Sunrise Community Church

Nothing out of the ordinary, cautiously give God a wide margin for error, enough for someone to stay afloat. Do these things characterize life-giving prayer? Nevertheless they constitute the prayer strategy of so many of us.Jesus combats this kind of prayer as seen here in Luke 22: 31-34. We can too.

From Ecclesiastes 5: 1-7, Pastor Ryan sets out & explains King Solomon's wise positional plan for hearing & discerning what God says.

During the month of November (and this last Sunday of Oct) we'll be examining our last section of prayer case studies: "Praying Obsticles into Opportunities." What we often consider as obstacles in prayer are, when seen from a biblical perspective, actually opportunites to further deepen our prayer lives.Here we deal with the potential obstacle of cynicism: Prayer doesn't really make a difference. Pastor Ryan leads us through Philippians 1:3-11 to show us how genuine prayer for someone always makes a difference - just not necessarily in the person we were expecting.

When you set out with others to do something really Big for God, what should you expect?If the account of Nehemiah (Neh. 4:1-15) is any indication, we might expect to (1) Receive a task & a team; (2) Get to Work; (3) Encounter Opposition; (4) Overcome.And as Pastor Ryan explains, the key to overcome is inseperable bond between both work and prayer.

We transition in mid-October from the soothing comforts of personal prayer to the jungles of praying with and for others.We start with the example of Moses, whose hallmark of godliness and leadership was faithful intercessory prayer for others. Learn 7 lessons about intercessory prayer for others from Numbers 14:1-25.

Jesus was clearly concerned with Prayer in Real Time & in Real Places. So before issuing out the glorious & laborious of the more famous Lord's Prayer, He gives his disciples a couple wise tips for communion with the Father & for making sure it lasts (Matthew 6:5-8).Looking at this passage, Pastor Ryan offers a plan to put to paper & then how we can begin working that plan.

The Prayer for Wisdom is a popular prayer. But what are we really praying for when we ask God to grant us wisdom?Pastor Ryan examines 1 Samuel 1:1-20. Hannah's prayer is a prayer for wisdom which allows her to both avoid potential idols and receive a concrete answer to prayer. It's the kind of thing God wants to do in our lives as well.

It's not a new message. But then again, God typically wants to do new things within us using what's old. King Josiah stumbled upon God's Word - which had been absent from popular culture for 57 years. Not "knowing any better," he uses it as a guide for prayer - Reading it & responding to God. Learn how we might do the same.

The Lord's Prayer exposes the two extremes Christians toward which Christians tend to err when praying.Find out which extreme you may tend toward and how to begin correcting so you might strengthen both your faith and your hope.

The first introductory message to our new sermon series in which we seek to examine God's Word regarding (1) How to pray; (2) The problems of life for which prayer is the answer.In doing so, Pastor Ryan also explores the most important question pertaining to prayer: Where do you stand?

Extremities or trials show in various forms -- sometimes they show through our character, other times through circumstances, and still other times -- through people.In Psalm 27:11-14, David utlitizes 3 weapons when fighting a battle against an adnversary and against bitterness.

Having prepared for extremity (vv.1-3) & having located the one thing in which he is going to seek shelther during times of extremity, David writes of how he is going to respond once the Lord brings success by delivering him from extremity.David prays us through a helpful example of how to respond so that we'll be ready for the next one -- because there is always a next one.

In moments of extremity, we find out who we really are. And during such moments each of us looks to something to provide relief, to provide shelter from the storm.In Psalm 27:4-5, David reveals his 1 thing. What's yours?Find out what that one thing is for you & what you might do to make a change.

Each of us wants to be a little better version of ourselves - especially when times are tough & even extreme. Psalm 27 helps us answer the questions: How might I display radical confidence in God during moments of extremity?

Starting with John 14:27, Pastor Ryan gives us a re-cap of what we can take away from examining the Mission & Vision of the church over the past six weeks.The take-away is the glorious reality that Jesus & His gospel of grace is both reliably surprising...and surprisingly reliable.

We don't need every detail in place or for the stars to align just perfectly for us to begin serving in God's church. We just need enough direction to take that first step.That's exactly what the Apostle Peter gives us in I Peter 4:10-11. And along the way he provides a hint of how we might, through serving one another, provide a glorious, fresh portrait of Jesus to an onlooking world.