Y Gary Wassam as he looks for a job.
SERMON NOTES: PRAYER REQUESTS
FEBRUARY 27, 2011
Y Thank you for praying for Ama
Sabah’s father’s recovery after
undergoing surgery on both eyes.
Y For Bill & Ann at a difficult time in
their respective lives.
Y For Stephen Muhia that they may
find an affordable apartment.
Y For Heather Butterfield’s friend
who is going to court this week—
she’s trying to decide whether to
plead guilty or innocent, pay the
fine or get a jury. Please pray for
wisdom and God’s help.
Y For Akosua Addo who is
overwhelmed with work and
planning site visit overseas with
colleague—pray for organizational
wisdom.
Y For the family of Tony Amato.
We’ve prayed for Tony in the past
as he struggled with his MS,
depression, drug and alcohol
abuse. Tony passed away this
past weekend at the age of 26.
Y Gene Moore, Paul’s uncle, who’s
having trouble with his health.
Y Jacob Mielke a 19 year old man
who is struggling with cancer. He is
getting chemo
at the Mayo Clinic.
Y Peter Ralston, Faith Ralston’s son
who is struggling with addiction.
Y For Steven Muhia’s family, sick
wife, and children’s & family
commitments, and their struggle
with finances.
Y Donna Mc Cullen, Ken Mc Cullen's
wife as she goes through more
intense chemotherapy treatment.
Y The Pastor Nominating Committee
of Community Presbyterian Church
in Plainview as they discern who
God is calling to be their new
pastor.
Y Bill Fink as he looks for a job.
Y Pray for continued courage on
Dwight Zvorak’s recovery from
alcoholism.
DEVOTION
This past Sunday, I, Pastor Paul,
started a Lenten sermon series on the
Sermon on the Mount. I looked at
what it means to be blessed. Jesus
started out this famous sermon by
sharing the people to whom he gives
special favor—those whom he blesses.
The blessings of God are far different
than the blessings that the world
knows. In the world we believe that
people are blessed through a powerful
job, or money, or a big house and
fancy car. Through the financial
struggles of the past few years, many
of us have learned that these worldly
blessings can be taken away.
The blessings of God stay with us.
This week I’ve shared six stories and
devotions about being blessed and
blessing others. Being clear about a
theology of blessing is important for
our own understanding of how God
works in our life and in the world.
Enjoy!
Comments about the devotion can be
E-mailed to: pastor@colpres.org
Monday, March 7
Read Genesis 12:1-9
A form of the word, “bless” occurs
over six hundred times in the
Scriptures. In this story the word,
2 3
“bless” is used for the first time in the
Bible. In a blessing a special favor is
transferred to another person. In this
story God offered a blessing to Abram.
God blessed
• Abram
• Others through Abram
• Those who blessed Abram
• All the families of the earth
through Abram
One significant part of this blessing is
that God blessed people through
Abram.
Who do you bless? Who would you
like to bless? As you pray today, talk
to God about to whom you would like
to give a special favor.
Tuesday, March 8
Read Deuteronomy 30:15-20
These words of God were given to the
Israelites right before they were
entering the Promised Land. God
gave the Israelites the opportunity to
choose life. When they chose life, the
Israelites would be blessed.
It’s important to understand the
nuance of this blessing. It’s not as if
God was saying that when we do the
right things, then we would receive
special favor from God; instead God
was saying we discover blessing when
we choose the right things.
To put it another way: I (Pastor Paul)
always encourage people to take the
high road during a situation. When we
are criticized or harmed, the natural
reaction is to fight back—to use the
tools which are inflicted upon us.
Instead when we choose the high road
we experience blessing. We can live
with ourselves and the choices (back
to this passage) that we are making.
God isn’t blessing us, but instead we
discover blessing by taking the high
road.
As you pray today, pray that you can
choose life and experience blessing
through the process.
Wednesday, March 9
Read Matthew 5:1-11
The first eleven verses of this chapter
are known as the Beattitudes. Jesus
shared with the crowds who had a
special place in his heart. The people
who Jesus wanted to extend a special
favor are people on the margins of life
—the poor in spirit, those who mourn,
the meek, those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, the merciful, the
pure in heart, the peacemakers, those
who are persecuted for righteousness
sake, those who are reviled on behalf
of God.
This list of people will not receive a
star on Rodeo Drive in Hollywood. Our
culture does not go out of its way to
bless this group of people.
God wants us as individuals and as a
church to have a special place in our
heart people who exhibit these
characteristics.
As you pray today, reflect on who you
know who has one or more of these
characteristics. Would you go out of
your way to bless that person today?
Would you ensure that we at Chain of
Lakes Church design ministries that
4
bless these people? Pray over this
today!
Thursday, March 10
Read Psalm 115:12-18
At the start of this passage the
Psalmist described the blessings that
God would give. Then at the end of
the Psalm the Psalmist wrote about
blessing God. This is an interesting
idea for how do we bestow special
favor upon God—who really is lacking
in nothing?
In this passage blessing is like praise.
We praise God for a quality of God.
God doesn’t need our blessing or
praise, but God is willing to receive
our blessing or praise. In the process
of praising God, we—who are doing
the blessing—are blessed.
What qualities of god are special to
you? In what ways can you bless God.
Today as you pray, spend some time
praising and blessing God for special
qualities of God.
Friday, March 11
Read Numbers 6:22-27
This blessing is known as the Aaronic
blessing. It’s often used by pastors as
a benediction at the end of worship.
It’s worth committing to memory.
Spend some time today, memorizing
the following words:
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon
you, and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon
you, and give you peace.”
2 3 4
Numbers 6:24-26

Saturday, March 12
Read Matthew 14:13-21
Miracles can happen when God
blesses something. This story of the
feeding of the 5,000 is probably a
familiar story to us. We don’t want to
forget the blessing that Jesus gave to
the bread. In some ways this is a
story of Communion. When we
receive the Lord’s Supper we
remember how God blessed the bread
and wine as a reminder of Jesus’ body
and blood. These were given to us so
that we can remember all the
blessings that God has given to us.

We celebrate Communion this past

Sunday at Chain of Lakes. How is
Communion important to you? Today
as you pray, give thanks for the
blessings we receive through
Communion. Pray that Communion
can be a special time at Chain of
Lakes where everyone present will
receive God’s blessing.