West Park Baptist Church

Loving God, Loving People, Impacting the World

West Park Baptist Church

Holy Week Prayer Guide 2022

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Jesus invites us to experience life-changing power as we see Him through the eyes of faith. Let’s prepare our hearts in prayer as we focus on the Light of Jesus and celebrate His resurrection during Holy Week.

Palm Sunday

Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-38; John 12: 12-19 
We thank you Lord as we approach this important Passion Week, where you triumphantly rode on a colt into the Holy City not only as King of the Jews but as our coming King. Thank you that our King did not ride in the city on a stallion, but meek and lowly on a colt. Thank you for being compassionate towards hopeless people. The crowds in the Holy City were pleading for salvation from their earthly enemies. The real enemy is not flesh and blood but it is the arch-enemy, the Devil. During this week, the Devil thought he would be the victor, but Jesus crushed his head. Glory and Honor to our King! We are so thankful that the King came not to be served, but to give His life as a ransom for many.

Monday

Matthew 21:12-20; John 12:1-14; Mark 11:11-33           
Hosanna to the highest! Just as the sweet perfume Mary used to anoint your feet filled the air of their home, may our prayer be a sweet aroma of praise to you as you sit at the right hand of the Father. In this solemn resurrection season, unlike the barren fig tree that Jesus cursed, may our lives bear fruit that testifies to your indwelling Spirit in our lives. As we come together to worship you, may our church be a house of prayer that glorifies, honors, and pleases you.

Tuesday

Matthew 21:20-27; Matthew 21:28-23:39; Mark 11:20-12:44              
Thank you, Lord, that the Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. There is no other name by which man can be saved. As we navigate in this fallen world, help us to look to you as the Cornerstone of our faith. May our hearts be aligned with yours Jesus, so that by your grace, we possess a faith that can move mountains. We are humbled when we consider that you have authority over heaven and earth, and yet you choose us and call us your beloved. We praise you as we sing Hosanna to the King of Kings. You knew what awaited in Jerusalem, and yet you rode the donkey into town in obedience to the Father.

Wednesday

Luke 22:3-6; Matthew 26:14-16
Forgive us Lord Jesus as we are so easily distracted from following you. Judas, your disciple, was possessed by Satan to betray you for 30 pieces of silver. The lure of money and other selfish desires can tempt us too. This fallen world beckons us every day to go astray. Help us to keep our focus on you and to realize our great need for you. Our personal relationship with you is far more valuable than silver or gold or anything this world could offer.   

Maundy Thursday

John 13:12-17, 34; I John 3:16-19a 
To the One who knew that He had come from God and was going to God; to Him who laid aside His garments and took a towel… and began to wash the disciples’ feet; You alone are worthy to mandate, to command, your followers to love in a self-sacrificing way. You gave us an example to live by during that Passover celebration. You want your followers to love not with lip-service but with action! Good Shepherd, help us to love one another in such a way that the world will know that we are members of Your flock.  

Good Friday

John 19; Psalm 22:1-24; Hebrews 10:19-25 
Lord Jesus, God the Son, in whom the very essence of the Holy Trinity exists, you were born into this world as man so that in obedience to the Father, you could lay down your life for man. Your agony was far more than your physical suffering on the cross. You took upon yourself the wrath of God’s justice that our sins might be forgiven and our relationship with our Creator restored. We bless your name as you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life for the world. 

Saturday

Matthew 27:57-65 
Lord Jesus, we can’t begin to imagine what was taking place in the spiritual realm while the body you used in the physical realm lie cold and still behind the sealed stone. We believe that you were spreading the news of your final victory over sin and death among those who had been waiting centuries to hear that good word. While your earthly followers hid themselves out of fear and confusion, your heavenly followers had a joyful celebration because they knew what had taken place. May we, who also share that knowledge, celebrate it and declare it with like passion among those whose hearts are like that sealed stone. 

Resurrection Sunday

Mark 16:1-7; Matthew 28:1-20; John 20:1-21
Father, your gift to us has been opened, complete, and today we celebrate, in awe, the finished work of Jesus. By His resurrection, death was defeated. The grave lost its sting. We have hope and life because on this day, as the angels declared to stunned disciples, and as He, himself, declared to Peter, Cleopas, Mary, Thomas, and all who gathered in a locked room, Jesus is risen. The debt has been paid. Thank you for the Spirit who inspired the writing of the Word and gives us understanding. Thank you that my shackles are gone. Thank you for an empty tomb. Thank you for the mission in the Great Commission. May we shout it from the rooftops, declare it in the streets, and live it out in our lives! Christ is risen!! We praise you for this! And may our lives say, “He is risen, indeed!” AMEN

Global Missions Conference 2022: Prayer Guide

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Missions conference week is an exciting time where everyone feels connected to the cause of global missions. However, we need to foster a culture where prayer is the normal, everyday response to the call of Christ to go to all the world. To pray effectively, how can we start? And for what things should we pray?  

First, start with a time – 9:38.  

It can be either AM or PM or both.  

Why 9:38? It’s a time reminder based on Matthew 9:38, where Jesus says,  

“Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” 

This prayer initiative, started by the staff at ABWE, invites us to intentionally pray each day for missionaries to be sent out into all the world.  

As Pastor Sam Polson recently reminded us, when we pray this, expect God to move in our hearts. God will respond by sending laborers out, but He will likely work on your heart and mine to perhaps send us out in fields he’s prepared for us! 

How to Pray During This Conference 

Much hard work by our faithful staff members has gone into making this week possible. We would ask that you join us in praying some specific requests outlined below, for all our hard work is only possible by the grace of our Lord, and we need His help in every way that this week would be a blessing to our missionaries and church body.  

1) Pray for the Sunday preachers: David Woodard (2/27) and Paul Davis (3/6). Pray that they would depend on the Lord; pray that they would communicate God’s message to West Park. Pray that they would be kept from spiritual warfare and frustrations in ministry that often come and distract from the preparation that goes into preaching God’s Word. Pray that they would be personally challenged and encouraged by God’s Word.  

2) Pray for our missionaries: David and Debbie Woodard, Gary and Marty Crawford, and George Romeos and his son William. Pray that they are enriched spiritually, materially and physically while they are with us. Ask God to supply all their needs, as many face transitions and difficulties right now in their primary ministries. Pray that they would truly reconnect with the pastors and staff at West Park, and that they would be assured of our love for them.  

3) Pray for our church staff. Pray for healthy communication between staff members as they manage many fine-tuned details this week. Pray for their growth in grace and teamwork this week. Ask God to help them manage the communication details, particularly for the communication team. Ask God to help Pastor Joe and Debbie Trotter to oversee the various behind-the-scenes work of serving the missionaries this week.  

4) Pray for our church. Pray that all coming would experience the joy of seeing God work in the world. Pray that we would also be awakened from spiritual lethargy (sleepiness) that is causing us to be apathetic about evangelism. Pray that each person this week would be open to missions and to grow in areas of prayer, giving and going.    

How to Pray for West Park’s Missionaries 

We currently have 23 Missionaries (whether singles, couples or families) as well as the 6 organizations West Park is privileged to support. The money we are able to give is not the most important thing we can share – prayer is even more powerful! If you ask them, missionaries will tell you that they live by prayer. So, how can you pray? 

  • Read 1 Missionary Bio a day, and pray for that missionary. The details they share in their bio help you to know what types of things to pray about: the country in which they serve, the people they are reaching, and the types of ministries they are leading. In one month’s time, you could pray for each missionary and organization 1 time.  
  • Pick up the monthly Missions prayer focus and pray the specific requests that our missionaries communicate to us. The Prayer focus can be found in the Welcome Center, the Grand Foyer, and on the missions table in the passageway where the new church member photos are located.  
  • Pray the scripture for them. Often our requests become routine. As you read God’s Word, pray the Word for our missionaries. Some passages are prime examples of how to pray and give us ready-made requests to take to God. For example, see Nehemiah 1:3-11; Colossians 4:2-3; and 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5.  

Week 4: The Sanctity of Life

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ALL life is sacred, holy, and precious to God. During the month of January, the West Park Prayer Ministry Lead Team would like to encourage our church family to use this weekly prayer guide as we focus on life from the “womb to the tomb.” 

Set a time to do this together with your household whenever possible. One method would be to use the family devotions format. After a meal, or at the time you choose, follow these simple steps:

Step 1. Have someone or several people read the passage(s).

Step 2. Discuss the passage(s) by asking:  What does it say about God and us?  What should we do in response to what we have read?

Step 3. Review what you have learned or have been reminded to think or do based on the passage(s). Take time to turn these back to God in prayer. Praise Him for what His word has shown you. Ask Him to keep His promises in situations in your life.

Step 4. Take time to sing a hymn, song of praise, or spiritual together.

Step 5. Take opportunities to encourage those in your community with what God is teaching you.

Prayer Guide

Week Four – Seniors

Jan. 23 – 2 Timothy 4:1-8

As the world drifts farther away from God and what He has taught us, help us to be faithful and strong to stand on God’s Word. Help us to teach the Word to our children and grandchildren at every opportunity. Open our eyes to see the teachable moments that pop up every day. Help us to purposefully invest the years we have remaining in the lives of others.

Jan. 24 – Luke 2:25-32

The bible records the account of faithful Simeon who watched and waited patiently, expectantly, for God to reveal the Messiah as foretold in the scriptures. Simeon was well-acquainted with God’s Word and immediately recognized when the prophecy came to pass. Let us keep God’s Word in our hearts that we, too, may be aware that God is at work all around us.

Jan. 25 – Psalm 37:25

When we get anxious about our circumstances, when there seems to be no way out, God makes a way! When resources are nowhere to be found, help us to hear the bleating of the ram in the thicket. The experience of the lifelong believer is that God’s timing is always perfect and His supply is more than sufficient.

Jan. 26 – Job 12:12

God’s clear commandment is that we should honor our earthly fathers and mothers that our days may be long on the earth. Help us to submit to the authority of our parents and come to appreciate their knowledge and wisdom, born from experience.

Jan. 27 – Isaiah 46:4

God is all knowing and all powerful; yet He gently carries us even into our final years, as a loving shepherd would a new lamb.

Jan. 28 – ll Corinthians 4:16

God helps us even in our later years to stand strong for Him regardless of the trials we face in our flesh. May our spirits be renewed every day as we spend time with God in prayer and meditation on His Word.

Jan. 29 – Ecclesiastes 12:13

At the conclusion of his life, King Solomon the Wise realized a great truth. He concluded that nothing a man could do was more important than to live a life of reverence for God and to obey His commandments. The sooner in life we learn this lesson the better. May we impress this truth on the hearts of those around us by our words and behavior.

Jan. 30 – Psalm 112:1-3

Let us remember that we are to lay a foundation of spiritual and material blessings for our descendants to help sustain them for the future. May the decisions that we make today not be a burden to our descendants in the days ahead.

Jan. 31 – Psalm 71:17-21

Sometimes it is difficult for senior adults to keep up with changes in society and technology. May we be protected from those who seek to do us harm through technologies that we do not fully understand. We know that God is not finished with us yet, so let us be active learners that we may communicate His unfailing love to our families and peers who need guidance and encouragement.

Day 20: Friday, December 17th

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Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine…right after a meal is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus.  What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage.  Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc.  Ask the Holy Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

Week Three – The Shepherds (Joy)

Revelation 1:4-8

4John to the seven churches that are in Asia:Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Suggested Hymns: Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Day 19: Thursday, December 16th

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Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine…right after a meal is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus.  What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage.  Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc.  Ask the Holy Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

I John. 1:1-4

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Suggested Hymns: Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Day 17: Tuesday, December 14th

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Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine…right after a meal is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus.  What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage.  Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc.  Ask the Holy Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

Week Three – The Shepherds (Joy)

Isaiah 35:1-10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Suggested Hymns: Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Day 16: Monday, December 13th

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Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine…right after a meal is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus.  What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage.  Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc.  Ask the Holy Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

Week Three – The Shepherds (Joy)

Luke 2:8-14

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”[a]

Suggested Hymns: Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Day 14: Saturday, December 11th

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Family devotions and personal worship are great spiritual disciplines to embrace in this Advent season and continue year-round.

  1. Gather with those in your home to set apart a daily time together (15 minutes or more is fine…right after a meal is ideal).
  2. Have someone read the passage for that day.
  3. Discuss what it means in light of Jesus.  What does it say about Him or His coming?
  4. Pray in response to the passage.  Thank God for fulfilled prophecies, answered prayers, renewed hopes, etc.  Ask the Holy Spirit to keep your hearts focused on His Word.
  5. Sing a hymn or carol of the season.

Week Two – The Bethlehem, The Way (Faith)

Isaiah 53

1Who has believed what he has heard from us?a
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3He was despised and rejectedb by men,
a man of sorrowsc and acquainted withd grief;e
and as one from whom men hide their facesf
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;g
when his soul makesh an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall seei and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,j
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,k
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Suggested hymns: O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Do You Hear What I Hear