Dear Friend,
 As I was praying and meditating this past week, the Holy Spirit gave me
a clear word for us to pray in today's Concert of Prayer.
"Cry aloud, spare
not. Lift up your voice like a trumpet and declare to My people
their transgression."
Isaiah 58:1
As someone who oversees a ministry in the 21st century,
I am well aware of the need to be strategic, to utilize trends and to be
relevant in what we say and do. The fact that you began reading this
either through an email campaign, a Facebook post, a Tweet or my blog
is evidence of the times in which we live...and my willingness
to be pliable toward them. Many tools can be used in ministry. And in
so doing, we should try to reach as many people as possible. However,
I contend with the extreme degree to which we have taken our "modern
sensibilities." We have lost our voice. Not just our voice-but the voice of God speaking through us.
With all of our concern over the emerging/emergent church, the
trends of the day, the proper terminology to use from the pulpit, the
strategies that will bring growth and the income required to fund them,
we have lost our concern for and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. We
have become hypersensitive and hyper-accommodating to everything else
but Him...
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 To the Point
Quotes on Prayer
"Let us think of the need of souls, of all the sins among God's people, of the lack of power in so much of the preaching, and begin to cry, 'Wilt thou not revive us again; that thy people may rejoice in thee?" And let us have this truth lodged deep in our hearts; every revival comes, as Pentecost came, as the fruit of united, continued prayer."
- Andrew Murray
"We may have an all-time high in church attendance with an all-time low in spirituality. It may have been that in the past liberalism was rightly cursed by many as the seducer of the people. Now T.V. is the scapegoat, getting the anathema of the preachers. Yet having said all this, and knowing that both indictments carry truth, may I ask us preachers a question: Have we to confess with one of old, 'the fault, dear Brutus, is within ourselves'? To sharpen my scalpel and plunge it further into the quivering flesh of the pulpiteers: Has great preaching died? is soul-hot preaching a lost art? have we conceded to the impatient modern's snack-bar sermons (spiced with humor!) the task of edging men's jaded spiritual appetites? do we endeavor to bring 'the powers of the world to come' into every meeting?"
"I am appealing again...for majestic preaching. The devil wants us to major on minors. Many of us in the 'Deeper Life' bracket are hunting mice while lions devour the land!..Paul the bond-slave, Paul the love-slave, having settled that he was the hardest soul God would ever have to deal with, strode out to shake regions for God. On his day he brought 'the powers of the world to come,' stayed Satan, and outsuffered, outloved, and outprayed us all. Bretheren, to our knees again, to rediscover apostolic piety and apostolic power. Away with sickly sermonizing!"
"The tragedy of this late hour is that we have too many dead men in the pulpits giving out too many dead sermons to too many dead people. Oh! the horror of it. There is a strange thing that I have seen ''under the sun,'...it is preaching without unction. What is unction? I hardly know. But I know what it is not (or at least I know when it is not upon my own soul). Preaching without unction kills instead of giving life. The unctionless preacher is a savor of death unto death. The Word does not live unless the unction is upon the preacher. Preacher, with all they getting--get unction. Brethren, we could well manage to be half as intellectual (of the modern pseudo kind) if we were twice as spiritual. Preaching is a spiritual business. A sermon born in the head reaches the head; a sermon born in the heart reaches the heart. Under God, a spiritual preacher will produce spiritually minded people. Unction is not a gentle dove beating her wings against the bars outside of the preacher's soul; rather, must she be pursued and won. Unction cannot be learned, only earned--by prayer. Unction is God's knighthood for the soldier-preacher who has wrestled in prayer and gained the victory. Victory is not won in the pulpit by firing intellectual bullets or wisecracks, but in the prayer closet; it is won or lost before the preacher's foot enters the pulpit."
-
Leonard Ravenhill
"What
the Church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organizations or more and novel methods. She needs men whom the Holy Spirit can use -- men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men -- men of prayer!"
- E.M. Bounds
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A Reason to Give Thanks,
Even in Hard Times
This Thanksgiving Day, amid more job loss, economic downturn and
financial hardships, we tend to be preoccupied by all of the negative and
challenging circumstances of our lives.
As this thought crossed my mind today, the Holy Spirit brought a simple verse
to mind:
"Be at rest once more, O my
soul, for the LORD has been good to you" (Psalm 116:7).
No doubt you are experiencing
trials of one kind of another...
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Historic Thanksgiving
Day Proclamations
"I do...issue this my proclamation,
hereby appointing Thursday...a day of public and solemn Thanksgiving and
prayer to Almighty God, earnestly recommending to all the good people
...to set apart the said day for those purposes"
- Thomas Jefferson
November 11, 1779
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The Oldest American
Holiday
This morning I read an excellent article outlining the history of
Thanksgiving. Not only does it provide an excellent history of the
holiday, but it also presents yet further evidence of the centrality
of God in our nation's history. I have placed the article below...Thanksgiving is the oldest American holiday
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 Passionate Pursuit
A Joyful Journey to
More of Christ
Ladies, come
and enjoy coffee and dessert, uplifting music and a transforming
message as Natalie Nichols, founder of Shades of Grace Ministries, shares an encouraging word for
your present need.
Join us as Natalie leads us on a Passionate Pursuit to know Jesus and the power of God's Word more intimately each day.
Save the Date!
January 14, 2010 - 6:30 p.m.
Piney
Woods Country Club
3001 US
59 S
Nacogdoches,
TX 75964
 Vein of Silver with Sandra Nichols.
With effortless humor and and engaging candor,
Sandra shares nuggets of godly wisdom gleaned from
the mine of hard times. Sandra's segment will fill you
with joy, laughter and the calm assurance that God is in
control.
 Nothing Less with Natalie Nichols. We were created to know Jesus intimately, to live by
His life andd be satisfied with nothing less! There is no
other joy on this earth but Jesus Christ. How sad, sick
and cheated an existence to accept pitiful substitutes,
mirages of happiness. Through these stirring
messages, the Holy Spirit will inspire you to make one
simple determination that will transform your life:"No
matter the cost, I will pursue Christ passionately and I
will be satisfied with nothing less!"
 Moment in Concert
Throughout the Bible
and the history of the
great revivals,
concerts of prayer
have
preceded a life-changing, revolutionary
descent of God
upon the soul of man,
the
heart of the church and the life of the
community.
In this new segment, we bring
our
instruments of prayer together for a
moment in concert.
Registration: $5 online /
$10 at the door
Pre-registration
required for dessert. Pre-registration ends @ 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, January
12, 2010.
Invite Your Friends! Forward this email to a friend as their invitation.
Register online or by phone at 936.569.8741.
Upcoming Events:
Mark Your Calendar Now!- February 4, 2010
- March 4, 2010
To The Top
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 Discover Natalie Nichols and
Shades of Grace Ministries In the midst of severe illness caused by undiagnosed Lyme Disease, Natalie Nichols came to rely on God's Word to comfort and sustain her. Now through Shades of Grace Ministries, she shares how you and your loved ones can experience God's comfort and grace through life's trials.
Our Mission
The core mission of Shades of Grace Ministries is to lead others to seek and apply the Word of God in every circumstance of life.
Our Vision
Shades of Grace Ministries desires to see a world where every Christian walks by faith and stands upon God's promises as found in His Word.
 Watch Natalie's Journey
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In This Issue
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Thursday,
January 14, 2010
6:30 p.m.
Piney
Woods Country Club
3001 US 59 S
Nacogdoches, TX 75964
Invite
Your Friends!
$5 online
/ $10 at the door
Register online or by phone at 936.569.8741
Pre-registration required
for dessert. Pre-register
online by Tuesday,
January 12, 2010, 6:30 p.m.
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Shades of Grace now on YouTube!
Click here to visit our channel
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____________________
to visit the
Passionate
Pursuit page
____________________
visit Natalie
Nichols on Facebook.
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Click here to follow Natalie on twitter.
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