Dear Watchman, The Month of July always brings a reminder to all of us who live in the United States, of the amazing blessings we enjoy of living as free people. America is a free country. Freedom to live, work and worship without the threat of authoritarian attack or consequence is an essential component of our identity as Americans. As followers of Jesus Christ, we celebrate the greatest freedom freedom from the consequences and control of sin in our lives. Spiritual freedom identifies us as Christians. In John 8:36, Jesus said, Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. In the same chapter Jesus also said, You will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free. Have you ever thought about this? Your freedom is a priority to Jesus! Your Creator and Father doesn t want you to live enslaved or to identify yourself as a captive He wants you to walk in the freedom He purchased for you through His Son s death on the cross. As we pray this month, let s focus on both celebrating our personal and spiritual freedom as the gifts they are, but then let s also follow Paul s instruction in Galatians 5:13 to not Use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but to serve one another through love. Let s pray for our church family to know and walk in the freedom that has been purchased for us. Let s serve one another by interceding for one another! Aren t you thankful for the incredible gift of freedom? For His Glory, Paul Coleman Teaching Pastor July 2018 Alert, 1
As we continue praying through 2018, use the following prayer guide as just that, a guide. Spend time with God worshipping Him, praising Him, seeking to be closer to Him and listening for what He wants to say to you. Yield to His direction. Praise: Praising God for who He is and for what He has done. Praise God: Our Deliverer Psalm 22:4-5 (CSB), Our fathers trusted in you; they trusted, and you rescued them. They cried to you and were set free; they trusted in you and were not disgraced. Romans 3:24 (CSB), They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Luke 4:18 (CSB), Jesus speaks about himself, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed,. Praise the Lord: For two great months of worship services in our new Mobberly en Español worship venue: The Crossing. For the door He has opened, so we can begin the hiring process of a much-needed administrative assistant for Mobberly en Español. That high school and junior high summer camps were both amazing weeks. Thank you for your prayers and support! For the over 24 youth who made spiritual decisions in June: 18 for salvation and 6 for baptism and 1 who is exploring a call to ministry. For a wonderful VBS. 32 children trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. It is such a blessing to see lives changed by the truth of God s Word. A special big thanks to everyone who prayed for this week and for the amazing volunteers who gave their time to teach, lead, and love our kids on both campuses. For the attendance of our Marshall campus VBS almost doubling over the previous years and reflecting the diversity of the community. For the freedom we have to proclaim God s Word at Mobberly. For the amazing progress on the new Preschool addition. For blessing our Facebook Live Connect Group, Pastor-Led Bible Study and Women's and Men's Summer Bible Studies allowing many people to connect with Christ and others this summer. For using our Connect Groups to serve in our Preschool ministry and help, as many leaders are out this summer. Camp Thrive! has been overwhelmingly received by the public and has tripled in attendance numbers over last year. Celebrate Recovery continues to grow since relaunching last November. Adoptive Moms Support group is off to a great start providing support to moms of adopted children and the unique challenges that presents. For the 29 adults participating in Step Studies and Celebrate Recovery s Boundaries class. For families who are coming from as far away as Lindale and Atlanta to participate in our Empowered Parenting Lecture series. For Kris & Emily Thornton who hosted 87 participants in Marriage Moments in June. That plans are progressing well for the launch of Mobberly s Counseling Ministry this fall. July 2018 Alert, 2
Repent: Of sins I have committed and of commands I have neglected. Our ongoing sins disturb our fellowship with our heavenly Father. This is why we need to repent of our sins and confess them to God. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9, CSB) As you pray, take some time to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal your sins. Think through various areas of your life: sins of thought, sins of attitude, sins of omission, sins of commission, sins of self-rule, sins of self-reliance or sins of relationship. Ask God for the grace to repent. And then thank God that your sins were already paid for by Christ. Rest in His unfailing love. Ask: When our hearts are God-oriented in praise and purified through repentance, then we are ready to Ask. God encourages us to come boldly to Him and ask. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16, CSB) Ask God: To breakthrough in about five marriages who desperately freedom from bondage and issues that are causing serious problems in their marriages. To provide a professional Spanish-speaking counselor to help with the constant rising counseling needs in the ministry. To bring the right, qualified administrative assistant to Mobberly en Español in the next two months. For the Holy Spirit s continued work in the hearts of the children at VBS and students at JH and HS camp who came forward with questions, but were not ready to make a decision at that time. Pray all these children and youth will continue to take steps toward Jesus. For His provision during the upcoming camps for our kids. July 20-23 is Preteen Camp and July 30 August 3 is Camp in the City. Pray for great weather, safety, life changing decisions, and lots of fun to take place at both camps. For His hand of protection each time a child is in our care. We are diligent about following safety guidelines and procedures, but realize we need God s hand of protection covering every area of this campus, so our children will remain safe physically, spiritually and emotionally while in our care. For the truth of His Word to set in the hearts and minds of our kids when they are here on our campus. To provide for the safety of the workers on the new Preschool Building, especially in this intense heat. Also pray those working on the building may come to know the freedom from sin in their lives through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Pray those who come in contact with these workers will be bold in sharing their faith. To raise up new teachers for our new Connect Groups this fall. To strengthen our current Connect Groups this summer. To provide much needed Directors and Sidekicks for Thrive! for Kids in the fall. To encourage and equip our Celebrate Recovery leaders during CR Leadership Summit East July 11-13 in Hendersonville, TN. July 2018 Alert, 3
For continued wisdom and direction for the CMALT (Counseling Ministry Advisory Launch Team), staff, and church leadership in planning and launching Mobberly s Counseling ministry this fall. To guide as we plan and provide leadership as we launch a new MERGE Pre-marital Course this fall. For our high school mission team to be used in a mighty way in setting many free in Malawi, Africa July 10-21. They ll be doing village evangelism and working with Joe Veal and U-turn ministries. Please pray for each of these by name: Michael Curl, Catherine Arce, Calixto Arce, Madeline Archer, Logan Baldridge, Blaire Beaty, Jessica Cleveland, Amber Cummings, Molly Danna, Prissy Danna, Bradley Dawson, Aaron DeVille, Kelsey Dobbs, Kaylee Gleason, Shelby Hauser, Christian Herrington, Michael Herrington, Chelsey Hess, Kylie Hess, Nathan Hood, Emily Malone, Zoe Mayfield, Wesley McGarity, Kenly McNabb, Madeline Moore, Alex Pennington, Eric Perkins, Lacey Perkins, Noah Perkins, Katelynn Polanco, Dylan Russell, Rachel Stacey, Moriah Sundholm, and Larry Wilson. To work in the lives of many people through our junior high mission teams that will be doing missions in Dallas July 17 & 24. To safely guide the mission team going to Romania. Pray the gospel is unhindered as they share with the Romanian students. Pray for these going by name: Noel Norwood - trip leader, Molly Norwood, Elliott Norwood, Kevin Jones, Scott Sexton, MaKayla Cummings, Noah Terry, Bethany Terry, Samantha Mathias, Bryce Zackary, Brent Thorn, Jacob Thorn. To safely guide the mission team going to Cody, WY. Pray the gospel is unhindered as they share with those at the rodeo. Pray for these going by name: Bryan Hood - trip leader, Robert Inlow, Katy Carpenter, Kerry Hicks, Becky Hendrix, Michelle Herring, Meryl Herring, Vickie Mowery, Erin Mowery, Lani Allain and her 3 children. To use each of these college students working at different camps for His glory: Annie Stevens, AshLynn Stockton, Hannah Easterling, Hannah Williams, Lexi Wood, and Hannah Greer. To minister through these college students interning this summer: Jerin Hesseltine, Dom Polanco, Cortni Turner, Ashleigh Taylor. Felicia Amy. Bianca Treyvellan, Ashley Glenn, Joshua Nolte, Blaire Beaty, Kelsey Dobbs, Lexie Hamilton, Molly Brinkley and Kimberley Attaway. To call many participants to our second Summer Engage Visitation Night on Wednesday, July 9 (M) and July 11 (L). To lead our newly revised Engage 201 Interactive Curriculum for our classes starting in August. To begin to call out prayer intercessors for each upward team this fall. To guide First Baptist Church Hallsville and First Baptist Church Longview, as each of these wonderful churches in our community seek Him for their next pastor. Yield: to what God says to me. Yield my will to the will of God. Yield my agenda to the plan God has for my life. We must be willing to yield our desires and our thoughts to God s sovereign wisdom. As Jesus faced the cross, He prayed in Matthew 26:39 (CSB), My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. We must pray with that same spirit, humbly yielding our will to God's will. July 2018 Alert, 4
To close our prayer by yielding to God is a way where we submit our desires to Him. In the end, it is our way of acknowledging His will is what will truly satisfy us anyway. God s will and plan is better than ours. He knows the end from the beginning and He loves us more than we can ever imagine. Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. John 8:36, HCSB July 2018 Alert, 5