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It's that time again for us to really put our hearts and minds together to pray for Alpha and Beta. If you're new to this prayer email, then let me explain what we're all about. Alpha and Beta have a Prayer Team that prays weekly for the needs of Alpha, Beta, the guests, the leaders, and other aspects. I will compose a prayer email every week for the duration of the course, usually on Monday or Tuesday, and send it to you so that you can spend some time praying for our needs before the night of Alpha/Beta that same week. You are encouraged to contribute to the prayer items if you see a specific need in Alpha/Beta. You are also encouraged to contribute to _praise_ items if you see that God has blessed Alpha/Beta in some way. Just email me whatever you want. The prayer emails will be posted on my web page (for as long as I have it) so that you can look back and praise God for the answered prayers, and so that you can continue to pray for things yet to be answered.
First of all, think about this:
We as Christians are all gifts to Jesus from God:
John 17:6 "I have revealed you to those whom YOU GAVE ME out of
the world.
THEY WERE YOURS; YOU GAVE THEM TO ME and they have obeyed your word."
(caps are mine).
Isn't it neat to think that each of us were individually hand picked,
wrapped up in love, and presented as gifts to Jesus? When you go pick a
gift for somebody, you choose the best of the lot, right? Well, let's
help God in the picking process by raising new Christians who can be
deemed by God as 'perfect' gifts, who can be wrapped in His special love,
who can be presented to Jesus as gifts for Him to cherish forever.
I've been thinking of a theme (for the last 5 minutes) for Alpha that has something to do with the above image of us being gifts to Jesus from the Father. Any ideas of a theme motto?
Well, let's start with these prayer items:
* pray for the guests who came to our outreach events (the Celebration
dinner and the Easter Drama) and caught their first glimpse of Jesus, that
they will be enamoured with His person and want to seek a relationship
with Him.
* pray for new guests who couldn't make either or both of those outreach
events, that they'll have a curiosity about Jesus.
* pray for a possible Beta course, and that there ARE people who are
still in that seeking phase willing to take this next step.
* pray for the leaders, Diane, Christine, and Nicky, and our NEW
HELPERS(!) Bonnie Wong and Gary Lai, that each of us will be passionate
about our tasks and eager to find out what God has in store for each of
us.
* pray for Jez who has agreed to be part of her one-woman Food Team again.
She'll be balancing work and Alpha dinners for us, so praise God for her
willingness and commitment.
* pray for possible retreat locations, that we'll be able to find a
retreat without much difficulty.
* pray for the Alpha Video #1. It's still missing and nobody has
contacted me about it yet. Cook Ministries (www.cook.ca) sells the video
for $60.
That's about it for now. If there's anything else you think I may have missed, then please email me and I'll get it out to everybody.
In the Father's Love,
Nicky
I trust you have all had a great week with the sunshine and all. I certainly have (although it was enjoyed indoors, inhouse, inroom).
This week's, and perhaps next week's, prayers are quite important, as
we're having to deal with a lot of challenging things. Let's get right to
it:
* Pray for the non-Christian guests who have signed up for Alpha, and
those who didn't sign up at the dinner but have said that they would like
to come. Here are some names:
Crystal Leong (Gloria's friend),
Vance (Jennifer's friend),
Kevin Li (Alan's TWIN brother!),
Esther Mak (Kevin's friend),
Joyce Choi (Mitchell's friend),
Elaine Chow (Mitchell's sister),
Bonnie's TWO friends.
Wow! It's a great list, very encouraging, but I've learned to not be too enthused just yet. We've also phoned a few people about coming to Beta - Mitchell, Winnie, Lori, and Yvonne, but so far there aren't any takers. If this is the case, Beta will not be run this summer. So, please pray for those people.
* Pray for our missing Alpha tape. It hasn't turned up yet, and even though I've already ordered another one (unfortunately, they don't make tapes with Chinese sub-titles anymore!), it *could* still turn up anytime soon in which case I could cancel my order.
* Pray for Jez and Leslie, whom I have asked to be on the Food Team, and praise God for Jez's positive response. Leslie has yet to make a decision. Once again, Jez is balancing a busy schedule, so won't be able to make dinner every week, but, Lord, bless her soul!
* Pray for Bonnie and Gary, our new helpers, and that their attitudes and personalities would be like clay, willing to be molded into whatever God desires, and that they will receive multiple blessings for their service. Thanks so much, you two.
* Pray for our transition into a new environment. We'll be moving to another locale because the house will be permanently unavailable as early as May 12 (and will be razed on May 25!!!!!).
Ok, I've really rushed through this email and may have missed some important things, so please reply to all if you have any other prayer or PRAISE items!
(Prayer emails can be found at:
www.ece.ubc.ca/~nickyy/alphaprayer2.html)
In Christ Alone,
Nicky
Anyway, even though it was great having dinner together (thanks, Bonnie and Gary!) and then just relaxing and chatting, I hope it doesn't turn out that way from now on.
Let's present our requests to God and pray for these things.
Pray for these guests who signed up:
* Crystal, Gloria Wong, Kevin, Grace, Joyce, Elaine, Vance,
Winnie, Mitchell. It's been VERY difficult getting a hold of some of
these people, and I still don't know if they intend on coming or not.
Pray for Christine and her leading Beta, that it will run smoothly since this is a new curriculum we're trying ("A Life Worth Living").
Pray for a retreat to be found. I've called 5 places so far, and two have already called back without any vacancy. We're not really giving much advanced notice, but our circumstances were different this time so that presented an extra challenge. But who doesn't love a good challenge when it's with the Lord!
Let's pray together for Leslie, who is considering being part of the food team. Our numbers are sometimes overwhelming, and I'm really thankful for *anybody* that decides to take on the task of cooking.
Continue to pray for Gary and Bonnie. They've already jumped right into their helper roles by preparing dinner last week! And they did a fantastic job, too. Pray that during their service, God will speak to them, not just for guidance, but to COMMEND them because love for the Lord leads to service to Him.
With the demolition of the house drawing near, we're faced with having to find a temporary home. So let's pray that God will once again provide for us. Possible locations include: Christine's house, Bonnie's house, church basement.
That's it for this week. Things will pick up as we venture forth.
Serving with you,
Nicky
Please continue to pray for
* our guests: Vance, Mitchell, Crystal, Mike, Joyce, Elaine,
Yvonne, Winnie, Gloria, Jennifer, Kevin, and Grace. God is moving people
to respond to His call, so pray that these names will be written into His
boof of life.
* a retreat location with vacancy for our Alpha/Beta groups. I'm
0 for 5 now, and I have one more lead with a Whistler chalet that I have
to call. I'm running out of retreat locations. Know any??
PRAISE GOD FOR OUR GUESTS WHO CAME LAST THURSDAY!!! We had three last-minute guests, Mike, Elaine, and Joyce, brought by Mitchell, and their initial response seemed positive and it looks like they'll be sticking around for a while longer.
Praise God for His provision of a different venue for Alpha and Beta. Christine (and maybe Bonnie?) has generously offered her home while the church is still being constructed. Hmm...I don't think Christine knows that she's opened up a can of worms...oops, did I type that out?? :)
Thanks, team, for your strength in prayer.
Serving with you in Christ,
Nicky
It's been grrreat! so far at Alpha and Beta, and last week we had a lot of positive response in our discussion. Thanks to Christine and her mom and little doggies for sharing their home with us. It made a big difference in terms of the atmosphere to be in a cozy house where we could sit on the couch and not worry about too many bugs living in it.
Praise God for:
* the Alpha/Beta weekend retreat. After much telephoning around,
I've been able to book a Whistler chalet for our Holy Spirit weekend.
I've told a few people and have gotten enthusiastic response from it.
* the great discussion last week. We had many good questions
asked and I believe that every single person in our group had something to
share which is fantastic!
Pray for:
* our guests: Yvonne, Mitchell, Winnie, Jen, Vance, Crystal,
Gloria, Mike, Elaine, Joyce, Chu, and Rachel, that they will hear God
speaking to them as they strain to listen for His voice.
* the guests' willingness to commit themselves to coming to the
weekend retreat because it's probably the most important component of the
Alpha course.
Thanks. It's a short one this week.
(www.ece.ubc.ca/~nickyy/alphaprayer2.html)
Together in Christ,
Nicky
We're in full swing at Alpha and Beta now, and it's going very well. Lot's of discussion action going on. Can you dig it?!
Pray for:
* our Alpha/Beta retreat, that our guests will feel compelled to
make the effort to take the time off in their busy schedules to find out
about the Holy Spirit,
* for the organization of the Alpha retreat, in terms of rides,
food, activities, and fellowshiping amongst the guests,
* that this Thursday when we talk about Bible reading, the guests
will be intrigued in wanting to know more about the Bible and that they
will pick it up to read. In doing so, pray also that God will reveal
something of His supreme being to them,
* the possibility of starting Alpha at UBC for the students in my
former research group. I think I've received the third calling from God,
in the wee hours of this morning, that I was looking for to do this.
Praise GOD for:
* the awesome food that Jez always prepares. Sad to say, our
faces are so into our plates, that we don't get the chance to speak much
to each other at dinnertime.
* the high interest level in Alpha from some of my schoolmates,
and also the interest level from our own current guests. The interest
that they show is highly conducive to forming a relationship with Jesus,
and also with each other.
Thanks for your commitment in this ministry.
Because He lives,
Nicky
I hope you all had a good week. Last week in Alpha, we discussed the Bible and reading it. I challenged our guests to read the Bible - not much, perhaps a chapter or three from Mark. Discussion wasn't really happening because most of them had no experience with the Bible before. But in any case, I'm excited for Alpha and Beta and our many guests.
Please pray for:
* the willingness of our guests to read the Bible, and that even
though most of the guests are non-Christians, God will speak to them and
draw their hearts and minds as they read His words.
* the Alpha retreat. There are already 3 people who cannot
attend: Vance (he'll be out of town), Mike (he works 7 days a week),
Elaine (she works weekends). I can't do anything about their
circumstances and situations, but God surely can. He *has* in the
past!
* Newbern's Alpha Initiative. We're not going to be officially
participating in the Canada wide Alpha Initiative campaign, but please
pray that whatever way we chose to "invite the nation to dinner", we'll be
blessed in our efforts.
* Alpha at UBC. The numbers are slowly rolling in, and I have
three non-Christians who may be interested and potentially many more!
Graduate studies in Engineering at UBC is like some funky, untapped
resource for evangelism! Pray for Mel and Nicky as they draw up plans on
how the course will be run.
* our transition into either the new church, or into somebody
else's home(??)! Alpha at Christine's house is quite pleasant and homely,
but we can't have it there forever, as much as we like Jacky and Jessie.
Pray that wherever we decide to have it, our guests' interests and
intentions will not change.
I pray for you all, that you will be inspired by all this great news and by God's working in this ministry of ours.
In Christ,
Nicky
It's the Holy Spirit weekend coming up for Alpha, so let's all make that a
priority for us to pray about this week. I still haven't been able to
confirm how many people are going as some people didn't come last week, so
here's what we can petition God about:
* the attendance of Vance, Joyce, Mike, and Elaine, not only for
the retreat but for the rest of the course, and that God will not allow us
to lose them,
Jesus says in John 6:39 "And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day."
* the certainty of people to want to commit themselves to God this
weekend as they are incited by the Holy Spirit,
* the organization of rides and meals,
* safety and security for everyone on the roads,
* Mel's preparation for his talk,
* spectacular weather, and
* great, open, loving, worship and fellowship time.
Praise God for:
* those who are coming and who are looking forward to this
retreat!
* Jez, who persistenly makes great meals. Sad to say, I'm too
busy eating and stuffing my face and my hollow legs to make any
conversation other than with my food!
I've also been quite troubled by something lately. I've inadvertently made it a burden upon myself to think that people should be committed to Alpha, and so it grieves me when I hear that people aren't coming because they don't feel like it. Well, I don't believe that that's how God wants me to feel. Perhaps I'm supposed to learn how to pursue these people more passionately and to try not to lose them. After all, Alpha is not about commitment, it's about free will - will to decide freely. So I'm going to ask God tonight to help me see with His eyes and to feel with His heart, and not to be distracted by my own feelings. Well, time's up for me.
Let's think about these things and pray about them.
Let everything that has breath PRAISE the LORD,
Nicky
We've passed the half way mark of the current Alpha and Beta courses, but it seems like the brunt of the work has just begun. I hope you all read the Alpha retreat review and conjured up some great images from it. Of the non-Christian guests who came to the retreat (Crystal, Chu, and Rachel), it seemed that they are all still searching and are not ready yet to take the next step of faith. In no way is that not promising at all! I strongly believe that their direction of development is very auspicious. That's where the work of the Holy Spirit comes in, and that's where we as people of prayer need to start feverishly petitioning God, that the Holy Spirit will cause a major breakthrough in their beliefs. At the retreat, there were some good questions asked and answered, but there may be many more. So let's pray for these things:
* all our guests will continue listening for the Lord's call, and
that they will recognize His voice when they hear it,
* they will continue questioning and openly seeking answers that
would arm and equip them in tearing down any strongholds or false beliefs
they may have,
* that God will show us a way to reach out to those who are
fence-sitters, and refrain us from forcibly pushing them to one side or
the other, but that the Holy Spirit would gently tip them over,
* praise God for our safety at the retreat, for the spectacular
weather, for the fellowshiping, and for our dialoguing,
* that God will oversee our transition into the new church next
week as we adapt to a new environment.
Thanks once again for your prayers in this joint-ministry of the Lord's,
Many blessings,
Nicky
That's what Peter tells us in his first letter. In more ways than one, the end really is near. For our guests, this may be the last time that they will hear the name of Jesus and be exposed to His teachings, and this, surely, will signify an end for them if they eventually choose not to make Jesus a part of their lives. So while the opportunity is still there for us to do something about it, let's just focus on a single prayer this week for our non-Christian guests.
Pray for:
* Crystal, Chu, Rachel, Yvonne, Mitchell, Mike, Elaine, Joyce,
that they will CHOOSE JESUS!
In Christ Alone,
Nicky