Harvest Family,
A brand new year, 2015, is upon us. The Lord blessed our fellowship in 2014 with baptisms, new families, and a renewed sense of mission. I am declaring that we will build upon the momentum of the past year, and this year is destined to be the best year in the history of Harvest Christian Fellowship. This year we will celebrate our Eighth Church Anniversary under the theme, “Powerful Witnesses”. We cannot lose sight of our mission as a local church, to glorify God by making more disciples for Jesus Christ. God, through his Holy Spirit, gives us the power we need to do great things for his sake!
In addition to this anniversary theme, I believe that this year every member and ministry in Harvest Christian Fellowship needs to have an Outcomes and Actions mentality. In every case we should clearly know the outcomes that we are called and desire to see, and focus on the actions that will help us achieve those outcomes. Several years ago our theme called for Big Vision and Fulfilled Potential. Among our God-inspired goals were one hundred twenty-five in average worship attendance, one hundred twenty served through our ministry, thirty baptisms, and twenty new Christians. Of these goals, we met and exceeded the service goal while the others were not. Currently, our average attendance hovers around 100 persons each Sunday. Since May 2014 we have seen 11 people baptized. I believe that God has called and commanded us to change New Castle County, Delaware, and the goals articulated several years ago are still valid.
We have the ability to be powerful witnesses, both individually and collectively, for God. In order for this to happen we must yield to the indwelling Holy Spirit, and allow him to transform us into full-devoted followers of Jesus Christ. We have been set up for a great work for Jesus; let us not stop until the job is completed. We must finish what was started. With God on our side we cannot fail.
Information about the fast
We will begin this year with a corporate 14-day Fast. The Fast will commence on Monday, January 5, 2015, and end on Sunday, January 18, 2015. This year we our prayer and Scripture focus during the fast will be on 1) Faith and 2) Promises. In order to be powerful witnesses who are committed to outcomes and actions we will have to faithfully stand on the promises of God. There will be daily Scripture readings throughout the two weeks that correspond with faith and promise.
Again this year we will also have a daily 15-minute morning prayer call each morning at 5:45 a.m. To join the daily 5:45 a.m. prayer call dial (530) 881-1300 and enter access code: 160597#. Each week we will add to our prayer list of things regarding personal needs and congregational needs. Prayer requests can be sent to prayer@living4harvest.org.
We must remember that fasting is not about what we “give up,” but about what we put in its place. The idea behind fasting is to be faithful in spending the time with God, focused on the particular goal, and not to become a “food Pharisee.” The Christian should see fasting as God-centered feasting. During this time we are eliminating things from our physical diets, while increasing our spiritual intake. For some, the elimination of certain things will lead to pangs of hunger or longing. I encourage you to remember that food was made for the body, and not the body for food. We are not to be controlled by our physical appetites. Our culture, however, has trained us in just that way.
Week 1 – January 5 through 11
Scripture Focus – Faith
- January 5 – Genesis 15:1-6; Romans 4:13-25
- January 6 – Joshua 3:5:17
- January 7 – Psalm 27:1-14
- January 8 – Luke 8:40-56
- January 9 – John 6:35-51
- January 10 – Galatians 2:15-3:14
- January 11 – Hebrews 11:1-40
Foods to avoid
This week avoid eating sweets or added sugar foods. These include:
- Cookies, cakes, pies
- Sodas, sugar-laden soft drinks
- Candies
- Red meat
Week 2 – January 12 through 18
Scripture Focus – Promises
- January 12 – Exodus 3:7-20
- January 13 – 1 Samuel 1:11-20
- January 14 – 2 Chronicles 21:1-7
- January 15 – Jeremiah 33:14-26
- January 16 – 2 Corinthians 1:12-20
- January 17 – Ephesians 3:1-6
- January 18 – 2 Peter 3:1-13
Foods to avoid
This week avoid eating the foods from Week 1 and:
- Poultry
- Pork
- Caffeine
- Bread
- Crackers
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