Greetings Family,

Ponder these thoughts from the author of the book, “Farther In and Deeper Down”.

“What wonderful things God does in His children when they are forced to wait! Sitting in God’s waiting room is never fun or comfortable, but it’s where the child of God learns the most about the character of God and the depth of their faith. “ à (Page 44); Author: Dr. E.K. Bailey}

For this week (June 4 through June 10), we beseech you (one again) to ‘pray aloud’ and meditate on the prayer themes and the scripture verses from the “Psalms”. Just try it. Trust and Engage. Please add some of your favorite psalms to this list. If possible, let's pray together during the 7am morning hour, 7pm evening hour or 12:00 noon time-frame.  

Prayer Themes and Scriptures

  • Believe, God has the answers
    • Psalm 34:1-4; 8 (NIV): 1 I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
  • Believe, God has the answers
    • Psalm 5:1-3 (NIV): 1 Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. 2 Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.
  • Believe, God has the answers
    • Psalm 145:1-3 (GNT): 1 I will proclaim your greatness, my God and king; I will thank you forever and ever. 2 Every day I will thank you; I will praise you forever and ever. 3 The Lord is great and is to be highly praised; his greatness is beyond understanding.
  • Believe, God has the answers
    • Psalm 23 (KJV): 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
  • Sunday School Lesson (6/10) – Parables of God’s Just Kingdom
    • Matthew 13:24-33 (KJV): 24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” 31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.

[Come join us, as we wrestle with and discuss this week’s Sunday school lesson]

As we continue seeking the will of God and His discernment through the processes of prayer and meditation, we invite you to not only incorporate our Scripture & Meditation Focus into your daily life via the weekly newsletter insert, but also the entire archive on the Church website (Allen-Temple.org; click Pastoral Transition on the top blue bar of the home page), but to also join us at our Thursday Pastoral Transition Prayer Hours in the Sanctuary. The Prayer Hour will be followed by Thursday Evening Bible Study taught by Pastor Smith and Reverend Olu Bereola. Dates and times are:

Pastoral Transition Prayer Hour Schedule

Thursday, June 14 - 6:30pm to 7:30pm

Thursday, June 28 - 6:30pm to 7:30pm

Thursday, July 12 - 6:30pm to 7:30pm

Thursday, July 26 - 6:30pm to 7:30pm

Thursday, August 9 – 6:30pm to 7:30pm

Thursday, August 23 – 6:30pm to 7:30pm

Thursday, September 6 – 6:30pm to 7:30pm

God Bless!!!