From Here To There

Did you know that before you were even born? God had a plan for your life. He chose the exact moment in history for you to be born. He put you in the right place at the right time to accomplish His right plan.

Proverbs 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish… “
The Hebrew word for vision is translated as chazown (khaw-zone).
Chazown means a dream, revelation, or vision.

This weekend we launch into a new series called From Here To There.

Everyone ends up somewhere, but few people end up somewhere on purpose.

We are not going to waste our lives. For the next 6 weeks we are going to seek God and find His Chazown for our lives.

The Power of A Moment

We are two days away from concluding our first ever 21 day fast here at OSC. God has moved powerfully in the lives of hundreds of people throughout our church and beyond. I happen to be a person who believes in the power of a moment. A single moment in the presence of God can alter a destiny and rock the world. I hear something almost every day that reinforces that reality.

Tomorrow night and Sunday night those moments will happen at both of our campuses. This weekend we will be sealing what God has done these past 21 days with two Worship Nights! I believe this will be a moment like none other that we have had at OSC.

Go read Acts 2 and see what happened in one moment. As we come together as ONE body, with ONE heart, for ONE God…we will see Heaven come down to earth. If you are ready to experience a powerful moment you don’t want to miss this weekend. Bring your entire family, lost friends, and anybody you can drag there. Live will be changed!

Tomorrow night at 6pm at the Eunice Campus and Sunday Night at 6pm at the Jennings Campus.

Pressing Through

We are in the last week of this season of prayer and fasting and the impact it has on people is as different as the people themselves. Most everyone agrees that spiritually, it is just incredible. Increased time spent in God’s presence always yields results. Yet, that does not mean there hasn’t been resistance spiritually, emotionally or physically. For some, hunger and the physical toll are a reality and they find themselves at that place where they are beginning to feel pressed. I have discovered that where there is no resistance, no effort is needed.

Effort is called for when there is something of value involved. What then is on the line? Simply put – tomorrow. I press through today so that I can position myself to be successful tomorrow. Tomorrow represents the next step towards all that God has purposed for you and for me.

A great preacher, John Wesley, understood the importance of pressing through, especially in the face of difficulty and adversity. This is an excerpt from his diary:

Sunday Morning, May 5, preached in St. Ann’s, was asked not to come back anymore.

Sunday p.m., May 5, preached at St. John’s, deacons said “Get out and stay out”.

Sunday a.m., May 12, preached at St. Jude’s, can’t go back there either.

Sunday p.m., May 12, preached at St. George’s, kicked out again.

Sunday a.m., May 19, preached at St. somebody else’s, deacons called a special meeting and said I couldn’t return.

Sunday p.m., May 19, preached on the street, kicked off the street.

Sunday a.m., May 26, preached in the meadow, chased out of meadow as a bull was turned loose during the services.

Sunday a.m., June 2, preached out at the edge of the town, kicked off the highway.

Sunday, p.m., June 2, afternoon service, preached in a pasture, 10,000 people came to hear me.

Perhaps at the end of the season of prayer and fasting you may not be preaching to 10,000 people, but what God desires for your life is worth pursuing. We want to believe Him right through to the end.

James 5:16 reminds us “…The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”I encourage you to press through. Kick up the fervency of your prayer. Remember that when you feel your weakest, it is at that place where you can be confident that He is most strong and in that strength, you can go the distance. Let’s together, believe God to the end as we seek Him in this season of prayer and fasting.

Awakening Prayer Nights

One of the most powerful components of this Awakening series is the Prayer Nights that we have throughout the fast. It’s so refreshing to come together as we’re all fasting and praying and just get into the presence of God. Every time we do these, we get some amazing testimonies of healings, breakthroughs, salvations and people getting fresh vision from God for their lives. It’s just incredible. The services are about an hour long and as we worship together, we spend some time praying corporately, but also allow time in the service for personal prayer and devotion. I encourage you to join us tonight, you really won’t want to miss this. Awakening Prayer Night Tonight, Monday January 19th 6:30pm At Eunice Campus.

I also wanted to share with you the overall prayer points that we are praying for during Awakening. We’re asking you to generally pray for these 4 things on a regular basis:

1. All the churches participating in Awakening – That we would have maximum effectiveness in advancing the Kingdom of God in 2009 and that God would do everything He wants to do in our churches and ministries.

2. Believers in the churches participating in Awakening – We are praying for the believers in your churches and their individual prayer requests.

3. The Body of Christ – That as a whole, the Body of Christ would be all that God wants us to be in 2009.

4. Pastors and Spiritual Leaders – That God would protect and strengthen our leaders on the frontline.

Inside Out

If you’re like me, I use focused times of prayer like the 21 Days of Prayer to refresh my list of things I’m believing God to do for me. And in the past, most of the things I have prayed for were external in nature – things like breakthroughs on projects, health for a family member, etc.

But recently I had a challenging thought. One of the most overlooked prayer focuses is the internal work that God wants to do in us. Let’s be clear. God is very concerned about our external affairs and enjoys it when we bring our needs to Him. But He also wants to do a deep work in our hearts. All we have to do is make sure our eyes are not exclusively on the external and but also on the internal.

Simply put, it means praying “Lord, do a work in me” – not just “Lord, do a work for me.” In response to that challenge, I have been praying for God to do a deep work in my heart. My personal prayer has been “Lord, make me more loving toward other people.” I would really like to grow more in that area.

What about you? What would your prayer be? Lord, make me ___________?

Just For Kids!

Many of you have asked how your children can participate in this season of prayer and fasting.  So we thought we’d share a post on fasting for kids from Pastor Kerri Weems from Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida.

Should My Children Fast?
“Personally, I think it’s wonderful for children to participate in the fast in some way, but their participation should come from a heartfelt desire – just like our fasting should. If your child expresses a desire to participate, then arrange for them to give up certain foods. I do not recommend that children skip meals or drastically reduce their food intake. A form of the Daniel fast which includes legumes, nuts and whole grains is a great way for children to eat anyway. If you feel uncomfortable with the idea of your child giving up meat completely, you could choose to give up red meat. Eliminating sweets, TV, computer time, cell phone usage, or video games is another way kids can fast. Encourage them to substitute the energy spent on those things for time spent focused on prayer, Bible reading, or serving others. I am actually amazed at how sensitive my children are the conviction of the Holy Spirit. If our children can learn to recognize and follow the voice of God, they will be positioned for a life well-lived and framed by wisdom and favor. Of course, you should always check with your child’s pediatrician before fasting.

Awakening Staff Update

Check out what all of our staff are saying about the fast!

Stand Strong

Today Pastor Jim Laffoon had a conference call with all of the senior pastors in our church family. He shared with them what God had spoke to him recently about our churches. He told the pastors to urge their congregations to pray a prayer covering over all our churches and their leaders during this season.

Our church family is currently in a season of prayer and fasting. We have not only gotten God’s attention, but we have also gotten the Enemy’s attention and he doesn’t like it. We have become a threat to the Evil One! The Devil doesn’t care who you are – his mission is the same; to kill, steal & destroy.  That means all of our churches, senior pastors and staff are in need of your extra prayer during this season.  Please take time today and  lift up our churches and their staff. Get ready we are moving into a great Awakening.

Pastor Bubba and Tracy McCann – Our Savior’s Church Jennings/Eunice
Pastor Jacob and Michelle Aranza – Our Savior’s Church Broussard/Lafayette
Pastor Todd and Lisa Schumacher – Church of the King Lake Charles
Pastor Steve and Jennifer Robinson – Church of the King Mandeville
Pastor Steve and Missy Farmer – Church of the King Gulfcoast
Pastor Jeff and Brandy Little – Milestone Church
Pastor Mike and Mary Banas – Community Life Church

Stand Strong in the Lord! 2009 is going to be a great year!!

How To Fast

Here is an instructional video from Pastor Stovall Weems of Celebration Church. His church organized the Awakening 21 days of prayer & fasting. We are joining with hundreds of thousands of people across the world during this fast.

Give It A Try!

One of the most exciting spiritual adventures we can participate has just begun.   Something good always happens when we take steps toward the Lord.  Fasting is one of the steps the Bible teaches us to take.  It is a step He promises to reward!

The key to a successful fast is to turn aside from some form of food while giving yourself to extra prayer and intake from God’s Word. Fasting brings huge spiritual rewards.  Perhaps the breakthrough you need in your personal life, your marriage or family, your finances, your future is on the other side of these 21 days.  I can assure you that something wonderful awaits you!

I also believe that God’s power will be seen in your life as we dedicate ourselves to this special season of seeking God. As a part of this time of fasting, we will be having special midweek prayer & worship gatherings.  Don’t forget Eunice Campus, we have our first prayer gathering tonight at 6:30pm in the worship center. The Jennings Campus prayer gathering will be on Fridays at 6:30pm. There is also a special section on this site devoted to provide you with devotional thoughts and prayer themes as we work our way through the 21 days together.

Some of you may be saying, “I could never fast for 21 days!  Why even try?”  I would say to you, you will never know if you don’t try!  You may be surprised at the stamina and help God will give you.  He sustains! Give it a try!  You may fast for 1 day, 1 week or for the entire 21 days, or any number of days in between, but whatever you do will be a blessing in your life.