Holy Week Prayer Focus
Pray for the salvation and/or strengthening of:
Sunday
Your lost neighbors
Our Church
Monday
Those infected and their families
Medical professionals
Tuesday
Your lost family members
Churches throughout North America
Wednesday
Your lost friends
Local, national & global government officials
Thursday
Your lost co-workers or classmates
Business owners & leaders
Friday
Unchurched in North America
Church planters
Saturday
Unreached People in North America
Missionaries
Ask God daily how you can show Care for and Share the Gospel with any of these people –
Then act on what He shows you!
The Four S’s of the Gospel Message
Let me sum up the basic message of the Bible, that is, the message of Salvation. To make it easier to remember, the key words all begin with the letter “S”.
The first word is “SPECIAL”. The Bible tells us that God is the center of the universe and created us to bring Him honor, not ourselves. As human beings we are distinct from the rest of the world. The Bible informs us that, unlike the animals, God created us in His image so we could have a relationship with Him and thus uniquely glorify Him. We are wired to connect with and relate to God. That makes us very “SPECIAL.”
⦁ Genesis 1:26-27: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth”27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
⦁ John 17:3: Jesus while praying to the Father said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
But, unfortunately, that relationship has been messed up by our wrong choices and attitudes. The Bible says that all of us are born with a sinful nature, have chosen to go our own way in life and that by doing so we are separated from the Holy God of the universe. God is perfect and we are not. The second “S” word is “SEPARATED”. By our active rebellion or our passive indifference to God, we are separated from Him – in this life and for all eternity - if something isn’t done to correct the situation.
⦁ Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
⦁ Romans 6:23a: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
⦁ Isaiah 53:6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Though we caused the separation, we can’t fix it! Because God is pure, good and just, our wrong requires punishment. You see, like a just judge, God can’t just overlook sin and pretend it doesn’t matter. But, out of love for us, God provided a “SUBSTITUTE”, the third “S” word. Jesus, God in human flesh, came to do what we could never do. Jesus lived a perfect life and then became our “SUBSTITUTE” by dying nailed to a cross. Jesus died on a cross, taking our wrong, our guilt, and the punishment we deserve upon Himself so that we could be forgiven by God. But, His death was not the end of the story. Miraculously, Jesus rose again, showing that He was who He claimed to be – the Son of God - and showing that His sacrifice had accomplished its purpose.
⦁ Romans 5:8: But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
⦁ 2 Corinthians 5:21: For our sake God made Him (Christ) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
But, for us to be reconciled to God and receive the benefits of what Jesus has done for us by dying in our place and rising again, we must “SURRENDER”. The fourth “S” word is “SURRENDER”. Now, “SURRENDER” may sound like a bad word…it may sound like we’re giving up. But, what we’re talking about here is giving up a hopeless cause, and that’s not bad…that’s smart! We need to “SURRENDER” trying to live our own way or trying to earn God’s acceptance by our own efforts. Instead, in faith, we need to “SURRENDER”. We need to quit trusting in what we can do, but instead rely on what God has done for us by sending Jesus.
⦁ Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
⦁ John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
-Does this make sense to you? What questions do you have?
-Have you personally embraced and experienced this salvation yourself?
-If so, we encourage you to memorize the 4 S’s so you can share the Gospel at the drop of a hat with the lost in your life when the opportunity presents itself.
-Who should you be looking & praying for the opportunity to share this unbelievable message with?