New Year's Prayer Breakfast • Looking Ahead to 2025

Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast.

We're so glad you chose to listen today.

This week, we take a moment to reflect on the past year with gratitude

and look ahead with hope and purpose.

This intentional time of prayer is focused on thanking God for His love,

growing in our faith, stepping into the mission He's given us,

and supporting those serving in the mission field, both near and far.

Take this time to center your heart on God's faithfulness

and align with His plans for what's next.

Thanks for listening.

The Apostle Paul writes, and I apologize, this verse isn't on the screen,

but he says at the end of Ephesians, when he's talking about the armor of God,

and he's gone through and he's broken down and explained all of this.

And he says this, he says,

praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

And we see this throughout God's Word, God's people, the importance of coming before their Creator,

coming before their Savior, coming privately before Him, coming publicly before Him,

coming in isolation alone before Him, and coming in community before Him.

So today, what we kind of do is we'll work through this prayer guide,

and if this is your first time, I'll explain this.

What we're going to do is we're going to corporately work through this together

as you privately come before God.

And if you're a family here with your kids, you might decide to gather around your table

that you're going to do these things together, and that's great, and that's fine.

Maybe you want to do this individually by yourself,

but I want to encourage all of us to engage with the Lord in this.

If you're a family that's here, and you've got little ones,

this might be the longest period of time that they're having to be here in a prayer service or like this,

and I know that it can be difficult, I know it can be hard,

I know that they're going to make noise, and that's okay, right?

That's okay, that's good, that's good.

And what I want to encourage you young parents with, with little ones,

is this, that number one, all of us have been where you're at,

and we commend you for what you're doing.

We commend you in the difficulty of all that it is to get them out on this rainy morning

where they're going to be loud, and they might spill something,

they might do all of these things.

We commend you for it, because you're discipling them,

and you're showing them the power and the importance

and the obedience of what it means to be a person that comes before the Lord in prayer.

So hopefully all of you around, you'll see one of these prayer guides.

I want to challenge you that you not just use this prayer guide this morning,

but that you can take this prayer guide and that you can use it over the course of the year.

What we'll do is we'll work through each of these four sections.

We'll have a time of prayer of praise,

we'll have a time of prayer of discipleship,

a prayer of mission,

and a prayer of partner, four partnerships.

In each one of these, it's got a Bible verse that connects back to why we are praying for these particular things,

and then gives you some suggestions of how you can pray within there.

Some people, when you talk to them about prayer, they're like,

like, I want to pray, but I don't know how to get started.

I want to pray, but I don't know what to do.

First, we know that the Holy Spirit is in you as a follower of Jesus Christ,

and in the power of him, he will pray for you when you don't know what to pray.

But also with this, it just kind of gives a way of discipleship to point our heart of what we'll be doing.

So we'll work through these over time together.

What I'll do is I'll say, we'll enter in time for this topic of a prayer of praise.

We'll read the Bible verse, maybe say a few words about it,

and then I'll ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes,

and then I will read for you each one.

And so we'll have that time to go through that.

At the very end, we have our prayer for our partnerships.

I was able to connect with most of our partners,

and you'll see that on the front and then continued over on the back

are some very specific prayer requests for each one of our missions partners,

our gospel partners.

Now, we won't read over all of those,

but maybe this morning when we go into that time to pray for our partners,

there's one that kind of captures your heart.

And you can spend some time right there, right there praying.

So before we go into our time of prayer,

I would like to lead us in a time of prayer

as we prepare our hearts for all that God would have for us.

God, I thank you for each and every individual who is here.

I thank you for every family and every family that is represented.

God, as we come into this time,

Lord, in the power of your spirit,

would you point our minds and our hearts back at this past year?

Lord, we thank you as a church.

Lord, we thank you for all of the baptisms.

We thank you for the faithfulness, Lord, that you provided in the giving.

God, we thank you in the mobilization of people.

God, we thank you for the volunteers that serve faithfully.

We thank you for people who took steps of growth and leadership.

We thank you for people who came and sought counseling

to work through difficult areas in their life.

God, we thank you for our partnerships that you opened, that you expanded.

God, we thank you for what you've done in our lives and in our hearts.

And so, God, we come together, united as a body, thanking you and praising you

and looking back, Lord, on all that you've done,

but we're looking forward to all that you're going to do.

Lord, we're here with eager anticipation of not what we can accomplish,

but, God, of what you can accomplish, what you're going to accomplish.

Lord, and we thank you, Lord, we thank you that you choose to use us.

That you will point times and places for us to be for your name, for your glory.

So, God, from every age here, God, as we go into this time of prayer,

may it be glorifying and honoring to you.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen, amen, amen.

So, our first time that we're going to have together, our first topic,

our first is going to be to offering a prayer of praise.

We want to come before God and thank him, right?

Before we come with our list of what we want, what we hope, what we desire,

that we need to spend time coming before him, thanking him for who he is,

for his nature, for his character, for his goodness, for his love.

Psalm 107.1 says,

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Oftentimes, we think that our praise comes in song,

that our praise comes when we speak that back and forth to one another,

and it does.

It does.

But how good is it to come before God and just thank him for who he is?

Would you bow your heads as we go into this time of prayer?

I want to encourage you as you go into this time.

Remember, thank God for his unfailing love for you,

for his grace and mercy,

and for your salvation.

If you continue in a posture and an attitude of prayer,

if you were to ask me to describe my wife

and what she means for me

and what she does for our family,

I would use the word sacrificial.

I've watched her for years sacrifice for her family.

And you've known people like that in your life,

that when you think of them,

one word comes to your mind.

What I encourage you to do this time

is when you think about God,

what is that word that comes to your mind?

Maybe it's his love, his goodness,

his kindness, his holiness.

Come to him in whatever that word is

that describes God to you.

Praise him for it.

Thank you.

Again, continuing in a posture of prayer.

One of my favorite words in the Bible

is remember.

Remember.

Especially with Israel

and their wandering.

Especially in Israel

when they enter in the promised land.

They are called to remember.

To remember back

to what God has done in their life.

So many times we want to look forward

to what we want God to do.

That we forget

to remember

and to look back

and to see his faithfulness

and his hand at work.

I know in this room right now,

this past year

came with its difficulties.

Relational difficulties,

marriage difficulties,

work difficulties,

health difficulties.

wasn't easy for anyone.

But you saw,

because I know of God's goodness,

how God worked and moved

in the midst of that difficulty.

How he used it to grow you.

How he and he alone sustained you.

How he provided for you.

And how he cared for you.

So as difficult as that situation was,

God used it.

So I want you to go to him right now

and thank him for that situation.

As difficult as it may be.

Thank him that he did not waste it,

but he grew you.

He sustained you,

that he provided,

and that he cared for you.

Would you go to him now?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

God, we come to you

and we thank you

for your goodness,

for your love.

Thank you, Lord,

for how you worked and moved

in every situation,

for your name

and for your glory.

And I thank you.

May we remember

your faithfulness

as we look forward

to see your hand work.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you guys for that.

We've got some more

that we're going to walk through.

Our next one that we're going to do

is we're going to go into

a prayer of discipleship.

I want to take this to share.

We're so excited about

where we're continuing

to go forward

in the ministry of our church.

And I want to encourage you

as you look at discipleship

in your own life

that you would take this time

and an opportunity to reflect

as it's a great year

at the first of the year.

It's a great time of the year

to begin to build in

those new disciplines

within your life.

Things to grow you

and make you healthier.

And part of what God has for us

or all that God has for us

in Christ

is for us to be able to grow

as a disciple

so that we can grow

in our knowledge

and our obedience to him

so that God can continue

to use us

to share his gospel

to those around us

and to minister

to those around us.

Peter writes in 2 Peter 3.18,

I love that.

Peter's challenge is this.

Don't become complacent.

Don't think I'm good.

Continue to grow

and grow and grow.

Grow in the grace.

Grow in the knowledge

of Jesus Christ

of who he has for you.

So we're going to enter

into a time

where you are going to look

for God to reveal to you

the areas in your life

that God wants to grow you

as you move forward.

Let's pray.

God, show us in our hearts

and in our lives

the areas that we need

to surrender to you

and that we may grow

more

into what it means

to reflect Christ.

As you begin this time of prayer

under the guidance

and the power

and the revelation

of the Holy Spirit

ask God to show you

specific areas of your life

that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that we may have

that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that we may have

that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that we may have

that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

and that need spiritual growth.

God bless you this time of prayer

as God reveals

where he desires to grow you.

You've probably been

have in his kindness

been made aware

of some sin in your life.

That's good.

It's good.

It's not that you're caught

and being punished.

It's that God's revealed it to you

and wants to grow you.

So what I would encourage you

to do in this time

is to repent.

To repent.

To admit, to confess,

to come before him

to acknowledge your sin

and in that

what you will experience,

what you will receive

is the goodness of his grace.

Would you go before him now

in confession and repentance?

Thank you.

As you continue to pray to him, we've got all the specific areas that we need, but I'm going to ask that we as a church, over this year, have a prayer that we join together in.

A request that we all individually make known to God, that God very specifically would grow you and grow me and grow each one of us.

So that very specifically, in a world that is divided, in a world filled with hatred and anger and selfish pursuits of the heart,

that very specifically what may be seen in you and I is the fruit of the Spirit.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Pray, right now, that those traits, those qualities, that that fruit of the Spirit would be evident in you,

but also to those around you.

Would you pray?

Would you pray?

Would you pray?

God, I'm going to look at the areas of my life that are lacking.

Lord, I see a part of this wonderful singular fruit, the fruit of the Spirit that I need.

God, may this season, may this year be time for us as a church that we intentionally long for and pray for,

the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

That this fruit and the growth in that would be evident to us, that we see it in ourselves,

that we see our response of love and joy of peace,

to be a people of patience and kindness and goodness,

to exude faithfulness and gentleness,

to see self-control in our life.

But that also, Lord, that it may be evident to those around us,

within our homes and in our neighborhoods,

our work and our schools,

in the grocery stores,

in the shops.

May when people see us,

they think they're looking at us,

but they're seeing the work

of the Spirit of God.

God, may our hearts be united in this prayer.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to talk a prayer of mission.

I had somebody ask,

what do you think the number one strategy is to reach a community for Christ?

And I said, you know, I don't believe that it's a program.

I think programs are great.

I don't think it's an organized ministry.

I think organized ministries are great.

But I think the best way to reach a community for Jesus Christ

is when the people of God realize that they are the missionaries of God.

And that each one of you where you live,

where you live, work, and play carry with you the ability and the power to share the gospel.

But that God has specifically placed you in a mission field.

Specifically, specifically placed you in a mission field.

Sometimes you don't see it.

I love to go.

I love to go all over the world.

Dave and I were talking this morning about some of the different opportunities that we're having for men and women and our kids to go this next year.

And we're excited about what it means for us to pack up and go.

But that's just a small sampling of what God has for us.

And what I want us to focus in on praying about today is that God has for each one of us, for you and I,

the call on our life to be missionaries.

God's word tells us in Acts 1, Jesus tells us,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

Some of you may never get on a plane with me and go to the ends of the earth.

But you can walk across the street and be the missionary right where God has placed you.

And both of those, both of those are important in the ministry of God.

So would you pray with me?

God, help us have hearts of missionaries.

God, each and every one of us,

God, if there is air in our lungs,

if our heart is pumping,

God, then there's a story for us to tell.

So God, whether we're retired or just starting our career,

whether we're in school or wondering what's next,

whether we're staying at home or constantly on the go,

whether we're seven or 97,

God, as followers of Christ,

you've called us to be missionaries.

God, may we be obedient to you.

In your time of prayer,

maybe this is a different prayer than you've ever asked.

I want you to come before God this morning

and not ask,

God, what mission trip do I need to go on?

But instead, ask God to show you

the mission field that he has for you here

in your community,

in your Jerusalem,

right where God has placed you.

Would you go to him now?

Would you go to him now?

So you've been thinking about a place,

praying for a place.

Maybe it was a ball field.

Maybe it was a shop you frequent.

Maybe it was a neighborhood.

Maybe it was a place of employment.

But now I want you to pray for a person.

A person.

You may want to start big,

but I would encourage each one of us

to start small.

And pray for someone in your life.

And right now,

God has placed them on your heart.

And you know,

without a doubt,

that they do not have a saving relationship

with Jesus Christ.

What I want you to do

is I want you to pray for them.

I want you to pray for your opportunity

that God has for you

to share Jesus with them.

And I admit,

this is a scary prayer to pray

for most of us,

for many of us.

But God will not send you

where God is not working.

God will not send you to do

what God has not equipped you to do.

He is preparing the way.

He is preparing your heart.

He is empowering you to do it.

Maybe that person is in your home.

Maybe that person is across the street.

Maybe that person is at your work.

Maybe that person is in your school.

But I want you to pray

for that person right now.

Pray that God would begin

to work in their heart

for the gospel,

even before you have a conversation.

And that God would give you

an opportunity to share

and that you would be obedient to do so.

Would you go to Him now?

God, I pray for my church family.

God, I pray for myself.

God, that this year

would not be a year of excuses.

But this year

will be a time

of desperately seeking

opportunities to share Jesus.

God, to tell our story

of what you've done in our life.

To tell our story

of your faithfulness.

To tell our story

of how you've moved.

Because our story

is your story.

And may we be faithful to share.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

All right, so lastly,

we're going to go into a time

of looking at our partnerships

and praying for our partners.

One of the things that I love

is that God has opened doors for us

literally that start right here

on our campus

and extend all the way

to the other side of the world.

That God allows us,

if you look over on the back,

just two that are right here

in our community.

Project 153

that meets in our kitchen

on Wednesdays

to prepare meals

to take to downtown Columbia

to feed the homeless men

and women

and oftentimes families

that are there.

But it's not just

hand them a meal

and move on.

It's hand them a meal

and share Jesus with them.

Maybe you want to pray for them.

It's our ministry

right down the road

at White Knoll Elementary

in our snack pack ministry.

That it's an opportunity

for us to come alongside

with kids

who might not have a meal

that weekend

if not for the food

that was prepared for them

and packed

and placed

into their bags.

Had wonderful opportunities

to minister

to some of those families

even though it's done

anonymously

in the beginning

but we have opportunities

to connect with them later.

Maybe you want to pray for them.

Continue on

just on the back

to pray for our partners

in India,

Sam and Susan.

To pray for them

as they are facing

some very specific battles

in the area

in which they live

and the difficulty

and the oppression

that they feel

but the desire

that they have

to see many

come to know the Lord.

Maybe it's in prayer

for Rodney

and Jesse Ogle

who were some

of our partners

at Black Mountain

Children's Home

right down the road.

Many of you know Rodney.

Many of you know Jesse.

You know all that they have,

all that they face.

And here's some personal

prayer requests for them

but also some

big picture

prayer requests

as they look

to the future

and to the rebuild

of what God

has for them.

Maybe to pray

for Hans

and Brandy Ostrom

who are in Toronto,

Canada.

To pray for them

as their family

as they're walking

through a season

of where this past year

Brandy's father

passed away.

but also looking

for opportunities

to expand their ministry

and to share the gospel.

To turn back over

on the front,

Daryl and Christina.

I guarantee you

who are live streaming

us right now

from the Philippines

and who are excited

to engage in this

with us.

Daryl who will be

returning to the States

in April

so that he can have

a much needed surgery

but also for their ministry

as they continue

to pour into the village

surrounding them

so that they can minister

and share the gospel.

And then last

but definitely not least

is the wonderful ministry

of Walter

and Veronica Valencia

who pastored the church

Walter does so faithfully

for our partnership

that we have

in New York City.

Pray for them

and their ministry.

Pray for them

and their marriage.

Pray for them

as they share

with their church family

and the desire

in a ministry

where people come

and go very quickly

to get them

while they're there

to the opportunity

to commit

so they can see

the ministry grow

so that more

can come to know

Jesus Christ.

During our brief time

you might not have time

to pray for all of these

and I won't guide

or direct

once I finish

but it will give you

an opportunity

to specifically lift up

at least one

of these families

or ministries

in prayer.

Would you join me?

God your word says

in Philippians 1

3-5

I thank my God

in all my remembrance

of you

always

in every prayer

of mine

for you

all making my prayer

with joy

because of your

partnership

in the gospel

from the first day

until now.

God I thank you

for these men

and women

I thank you

for the friendship

that we have

I thank you

for the partnership

that we have

that it's not

in a business model

it's in a gospel plan

to see men

and women

and children

come to faith

in Jesus Christ

whether it's

at White Knoll

Elementary School

or Fellowship Mission

Bible School

whether it's

in a park

in downtown Columbia

or whether it's

in a village

in the Philippines

whether it's

in the busyness

of New York City

in Toronto Canada

or in the quiet

hills of Black Mountain

North Carolina

God we thank you

for the opportunity

God may we

as a church

lift up

these brothers

and sisters in Christ

may we faithfully

come to you

praying for them

would you take

this time

to come before him

and lift up

these missionaries

you're welcome to the next one.

to come before him.

God what a joy

and a privilege it is

to partner

with these saints

God as

Apostle Paul

writes to the church

at Philippi

a church that

partnered with him

a church that

funded

much of his work

of the gospel

God may we

continue

continuing to remember

to remember

our partners

continuing to pray

for them

continuing to

celebrate you

for them

God I thank you

none of these

individuals are in

places where it's easy

none of these

ministries are done

in comfort

but they're all done

with purpose

for the gospel

so God we pray

for blessing

pray for blessing

for Scott

Shull

and for his

ministry

with Project

153

God we pray for

blessing for

Patrick and

Jennifer

Tatushinsky

as they lead

the ministry

at White Noel

Elementary School

God we pray

for Sam

and Susan

and their

ministry in

India

we pray for

Rodney and

Jesse

and their

ministry in

Black Mountain

pray for Hans

and Brandy

and their

ministry in

Toronto

we pray for

Daryl and

Christina

their ministry

in the Philippines

we pray for

Walter and

Veronica

and their

ministry in

New York City

and Lord may

you bless

them

work in

them

work through

them

and God

may we be a

source of

encouragement

and support

for them

God we

thank you

for

them

God I

thank you for

this time that

we could have

together

Lord as we

close out

this year

and look

forward to

the new year

that you have

for us

God may

this not be

an isolated

moment that we

had today

but Lord in

the power of

your spirit

may it spark

within us

the desire

for what you

have for us

to be a people

of prayer

God I

thank you for

these families

and these

kids

these adults

may we be

united

in mission

and vision

and desire

of the gospel

God again

Lord I

thank you

thank you for

the baptisms

that we

celebrate

I thank you

for the growth

that we've

seen

I thank you

for the

faithfulness

of your

people

God

in the

privilege

of what

it means

for me

to have

the title

of senior

pastor

of this

church

God I

thank you

for every

man

woman

and child

God I

thank you

for their

encouragement

in my

life

God I

thank you

for the

partnership

that they've

extended

of the

gospel

God I

thank you

for their

grace

that they

show me

when they

see things

in me

that are

not of

you

I

thank you

for the

love

that they

have for

me

and for

my

family

I

thank you

for the

sacrifice

that they

make

in their

giving

in their

time

in their

serving

in their

worship

God I

thank you

that we're

not

an

organization

but I

thank you

that we're

a family

God thank you

for this

place

thank you

for these

people

thank you

for Jesus

because that's

why we're

here

and may we

go from

here

in the

power of

your spirit

under the

gospel of

Christ

made by

our creator

for your

name

and your

renown

it's in

Jesus name

we pray

amen

amen

that's it

for this

week's

message

be sure

to check

back next

week for

another

episode

in the

meantime

you can

stay up

to date

with

everything

happening

at

willow

ridge

by

visiting

us

on

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and

and

online

at

willowridgechurch.org

thanks again

for listening