Tuesday

People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy. Proverbs 28:13 (NLT)

Don Denton will be able to return to his home in Denver at the end of the week. He has been hospitalized for more than nine weeks. Thank God for the miracles of his improvement. Pray for safety for his wife and son as they drive home and for the medical plane that will fly him home.

During the weekend Emily Panter was able to see her children for the first time in almost two months. Her trach has been removed. She’s eating some and walking some. She has a regular room. There’s hope she will be able to go home soon. Thank God for the miracle of her recovery.

Mrs. Faye Price will have heart surgery tomorrow at North Oaks. Pray for her and her family as they prepare for Wednesday.

Mr. Morris Easley has been hospitalized at Greensburg due to an infection. Pray for him and for those caring for him.

Majel Dean’s sister and brother-in-law are both having medical issues. They are in the Jackson, MS area. Pray for them as they help each other through difficult days.

Barabara Bennett Gaines continues to work through recovery from complications of surgery. Pray for her as she continues to improve. Barbara one of Steve Bennett’s sisters.

Baptist Press
December 1, 2008

INDIA–Mumbai’s people ‘numbed’ by attacks, need prayer. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29429

WASHINGTON–Obama stands firm on ‘gay rights’ support. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29430

SWAZILAND–Myths worsen AIDS pandemic, workers say. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29431

SOUTH AFRICA–Caring ministry brings baby ‘from death to life.’ http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29432

TEXAS–GuideStone exec responds to market conditions. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29433

RHODE ISLAND–SBTS’ Bruce Ware is ETS’ new president. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29434

VIRGINIA–FIRST-PERSON (Paul Chitwood): History suggests sacrifice for Lottie Moon offering needed now. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29435

Week of Prayer for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions
Ethnic ministries, Brazil

One of the first things Virginians Phil and Donya Kesler noticed when they moved to Rio de Janeiro in 2006 was the international connections the city offered—produce shops managed by Chinese workers and Arabic mosques and churches were all just a short distance from their home.

As an ethnic ministries coordinator, Phil travels throughout the country training Brazilian missionaries in cross-cultural outreach. It’s a perfect fit with Phil’s natural gift for language. He can read, write and speak Portuguese, Arabic, French, Chinese and Spanish.

Phil and Donya teach a specific method for church planting known as “Churches Multiplying Churches.” The idea is to start a new church while simultaneously training local believers to assume leadership roles. Once the church is established, missionaries can move on to begin work in another area.

“Brazil is the next major country, we believe, to send waves of missionaries to help [spread] the Gospel from the unreached places in Brazil to the farthest nations on earth,” Phil says.

Because you give:

“We would like to thank Southern Baptists for your prayers—which are essential for keeping us in the field—but also for your generous giving that makes it possible for us to recruit, mobilize, train and equip Brazilian missionaries as well as strategic partners,” Phil says.

For more on the Keslers and ethnic ministries, Brazil:

PHOTO GALLERY – Ethnic ministries, Brazil

FEATURE – Churches Multiplying Churches: Keslers bridge culture, language gap among Brazil’s immigrants (659 words)

SIDEBAR – Phil and Donya Kesler: Helping churches multiply churches in Brazil (468 words)

SIDEBAR – Not too young to share: Missionary’s children take lead in sharing Gospel with peers
(524 words)

(You may use http://www.imb.org/main/pray/page.asp?StoryID=5745&LanguageID=1709 in you want to read the feature and sidebars listed above.)

More missionaries are being added to the rolls of the IMB. You may be interested to know the statistics in the following article:
TODAY’S PRAYER
INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD
DECEMBER 1, 2008

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

WORLD LEADERS. “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Please pray today for Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni of Cameroon (western Africa, between Nigeria and Chad).

A note from Ed Cox, director of the IMB’s International Prayer Strategy Office:

Thank you so much for your faithful intercession each month for the many conferences and events hosted by the International Mission Board. May God’s blessings abound . . .

Intercede for the 69 new missionary candidates who will be attending the Dec. 9-12 Candidate Conference. Ask the Lord to bless them with safe travel to Richmond, to guard their children from illness and accidents during their absence, to reveal His perfect plan for their lives, and to bless the consultants with an extra ounce of His wisdom. May each candidate leave Richmond with a clear understanding of where God would have him/her serve Him . . .

Please pray for the ISC Debriefing Conference scheduled for Dec. 10-14. Seventy-four returning journeyman, ISCers and Masters missionaries who recently completed their two- to three-year terms of overseas ministries will be reuniting at the IMB’s International Learning Center for a time of celebration, worship, debriefing and equipping for future ministry. May these days together be especially blessed for these precious servants . . .

Thank the Lord for the 256 missionaries who will be commissioned today, Dec. 17, for their overseas ministry assignments. They have successfully completed their eight-week field personnel orientation and will be departing very shortly. Please lift them and their families up before the Lord as they say their goodbyes. Several of the participants are still awaiting reception of their visas. And some of them have homes to sell prior to departure. Your prayers will be greatly appreciated. May the Lord show Himself mighty on their behalf . . .

In closing, I would like to ask you to pray for God’s blessings on the IMB staff as they serve you and our missionaries with faithful and caring hearts. May they sense God’s loving presence each step along the way . . .

KneEmail by Mike Benson
Enslaved

YOU’VE READ STORIES of lottery winners who are more miserable a few years after winning than they were before…

The wealth they dreamed would bring happiness didn’t. Not even close.

At the airport, Hugh Maclellan Jr. saw an acquaintance who looked troubled.

“What’s the matter?” Hugh asked.

The man sighed. “I thought I was finally going to have a weekend to myself. But now I have to go supervise repairs on my house in Florida.” Dejected, he sat waiting to take off in his private jet.

Here’s a man with everything he needs, with what most people dream of; yet he couldn’t even enjoy his weekend. He was enslaved by his possessions. We think we own our possessions, but too often they own us. Nothing makes a journey more difficult than a heavy backpack filled with nice but unnecessary things. Pilgrims travel light. (Randy Alcorn)

“And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” ( Luke 12:15).

Posted by Mike Benson at November 12, 2008 3:10 PM

Sometimes my “backpack” begins to get heavy with nonessentials. What about your “backpack”?
Anna Lee