Great Lakes District | The Christian Missionary Alliance

It is hard to watch the news and not be drawn into the ongoing political debate that seemingly swarms all around us each and every day.  As believers, despite our different political views, we are admonished to be praying for our leaders.

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” I Timothy 2:1-2.

At times thinking about how we as individuals might actually make a difference in what is happening in our world may seem daunting.  Yet the best place for us to start might be in simply holding our leadership up in prayer.

The Presidentail Prayer Team is a national ministry of half-a-million people dedicated to a focused mission of encouraging, inspiring and practicing prayer on behalf of our President, nation’s leaders and our troops. The Presidential Payer Team also seeks to be a catalyst in the development of a robust prayer lifestyle. They do this by finding and providing tools to encourage prayer – through email, web, mobile phones and other communication tools. Ultimately, they believe that prayer will transform our nation, one heart at a time.

Samaritan Ministries International is a community of Christians from around the world joining together to bear one another’s health care burdens in a loving, cost-effective manner that doesn’t involve health insurance.

How it works!

Samaritan Ministries is a health care sharing ministry, not health insurance, so members’ needs are handled differently than insurance. Each month every Samaritan household is assigned to share in the medical need of another member. Here’s how the process works:

1. Medical need begins – A Samaritan Ministries member has a need and calls the Samaritan Ministries office.
2. Packet is sent and prayer begins – A Samaritan Ministries staff member sends a Need Processing packet to the member, who is added to the prayer list so fellow members can begin praying.
3. The need is presented – He completes the form in the packet and returns it, with his medical bills, to the office.
4. The need is processed – The Samaritan Ministries staff verifies the need information and prepares it for publication in the monthly newsletter.
5. The need is published – The need is assigned to specific members, who are informed through the monthly newsletter.
6. Members respond – The members send their shares along with notes of encouragement to the need assigned to them. They also pray for the member with the need.
7. The burden is lifted – The member receives letters with financial gifts, notes of encouragement, and confirmation of prayers.
8. God is glorified- The member is encouraged and praises God for His provision.

Tyndale Toolbar

The free Tyndale Toolbar brings together many of the best Bible tools on the web:

• Bibles: Quick access to the main commercial Bibles and 70+ other translations.
• Languages: Quick dictionaries and full lexicons for modern & ancient languages (Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, Syriac etc, French, German, Thesuarus etc)
• Books and articles: Online libraries, specialist theology libraries and article subject searches.
• More help: Links to the best of the web for Biblical Studies, preaching and teaching, concentrating on the best of the free.

Find out more about the Tyndale Toolbar by watching the following video:

Have you ever been confused about a passage in the Bible? Have you ever wanted to quickly look something up about a specific verse? Supercharge your understanding of Gods’ word with the NET Bible!

NET Bible is a free Bible study tool that is available online or offline (through download). It is a translation of the entire Bible (in the New English Translation) with over 60,000 commentary-quality notes.

The NET Bible is so simple to use:

1. Visit http://bible.org/netbible/
2. Select a book and chapter from the Table of Contents at left of the window
3. The “NET Contents” link in the upper left-hand window will take you back to the list of books.
4. Scroll through the text using scroll bar at right of the window.
5. Click on footnote mark in main text and notes will appear in Notes Window beneath the main text.
6. Notes may be scrolled manually in Notes Window below.
7. Drag on frames to resize windows.
8. To go back to a previous note, use “Back” button on your browser.

iMOM is a program of Family First and the complement to the organization’s popular All Pro Dad fatherhood program. iMOM’s unique focus is to equip mothers with information, ideas and encouragement to positively impact their children in the following areas:

• Wisdom: Wisdom enables us to make good decisions in life. Without wisdom, a child is likely to make bad choices and suffer the consequences for those choices with potentially increasing regularity.
• Health: A healthy lifestyle is an important factor in a child’s life. How a child treats his or her body has a direct impact on how he or she grows physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
• Purpose: Without parental direction about life’s purpose, children will seek out answers for themselves. Often these answers will come from other youth and may not reflect a healthy, productive lifestyle.
• Relationships: Good relationship skills are essential. This skill development begins at birth through a child’s attachment to his or her mother. Without the ability to form and sustain lasting relationships, whether personal or professional, a child will struggle to find lasting joy and productivity in life.  iMOM.com

1 Minute a Day

Sign up for a free daily email called “Play of the Day.”

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1 Hour a Month

All Pro Dad’s Day is a simple idea with a profound impact.  It’s a one-hour monthly breakfast held before school where fathers and their children meet with other dads and kids in the school cafeteria or a local restaurant.  During this time, they discuss a wide range of family topics, spend time together, create fun memories, and are equipped with resources to strengthen their relationship.

>>>Find a chapter near you<<<

1 Day a Year

Since 2002, the All Pro Dad Father & Kids Experience has been held 60 times in 21 different NFL, MLB & NCAA markets (Indianapolis, Tampa, Miami, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Kansas City, St. Louis, St. Petersburg, Charlotte, Detroit, Jacksonville, Houston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Nashville, Canton, Athens, Tallahassee and Baltimore).

This year, they’ll bring the event to 9 NFL markets. The Father & Kids Experience is held at the team’s practice facility or stadium. During the three-hour event, dads and kids rotate through stations and participate in interactive games designed to strengthen their relationships and deliver useful fatherhood tips.

Their goal is to eventually hold this annual event in all 32 NFL markets.

>>>View Events in 2012<<<

All information and pictures taken from http://www.allprodad.com/

Looking for Moore Ministry Resources? Living Proof Ministries, a ministry of Beth Moore, can be found by visiting www.lproof.com.

Living Proof is devoted to investing in the Spiritual lives of people of every color and denomination through sound Biblical teaching and uplifting praise and worship. The noble expression “color blind” is often used to describe people without racial prejudice. They people at Living Proof Ministries are not at all sure “color blindness” is what God is looking for. They believe He wants us to appreciate and delight in our different colors and be “color-blessed” instead!

God has opened Beth’s eyes to a disturbing fact that most of the events where she was speaking were attended by far fewer people of color than she expected to see. God turned that disturbance in Beth’s heart into a full-fledged burden – to be part of a new acceptance and appreciation of Believers of all Christian denominations and colors…Technicolor Vision. They are now in the infant stages of the Technicolor Vision.

We can get a little taste of this in Revelation 7:9…I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,…and cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

Interesting in learning more? Visit the website (www.lproof.com) to see events, purchasable resources, and a listing of local Bible studies. You can also hear online messages from Beth Moore through www.OnePlace.com by clicking here!

What is MOPS?

MOPS stands for “mothers of preschoolers” – but don’t let that confuse you. MOPS is about meeting the needs of every mom of a child from conception through kindergarten. Whether urban, suburban, rural, stay-at-home, working, teen, adoptive, special-needs, single or married, MOPS is for the moms in your community!

MOPS Ministry Values:

• Dignity: The dignity of each human life and of each individual mother of preschoolers, no matter where she has been, what she has done or how she is choosing to live her life today, embracing both believers and nonbelievers and all ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
• Women: The equipping of women to become all that God has designed them to be.
• Mothering: The value of mothering for its contribution to individuals, children, society at large, future generations and eternity.
• Relationships: Relationships including the male/female marital relationship, the parent/child relationship, and the ultimate fulfillment of all needs through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Lifestyle Evangelism: Lifestyle evangelism as expressed through Christ-like relationships in an environment for growth and spiritual development as faith shared through actions and words.
• Leadership Development: The equipping of women to gain confidence in their leadership skills and guide others through lifestyle evangelism.

Find Out More!

Interested in finding out more about MOPS? Visit them online at www.mops.org!

You can also search for MOPS groups near you: MOPS Group Search

OR you can get information about starting your own group: MOPS Info Pack

YouthWalk is a devotional magazine for students designed to help them navigate the Bible, get to know God through it, and go on the adventure of walking through life with Him.

In a letter to a fellow Jesus-follower, C. S. Lewis once wrote: “Think of me as a fellow patient in the same hospital who, having been admitted a little earlier, could give some advice.”

That sums up the heart of YW. They’re on this incredible journey of walking with God, and as best they can in magazine form, they’ve captured what He has taught them along the way to pass it on to fellow journeyers who are pressing in and getting to know Him too.

So, what’s YW magazine like?

YW is made of four main components:

• Devotionals: The four weeks of devos in each issue unpack Scripture to see what the Bible tells us about who God is, what His heart is like, and what it means for us to follow Him. Each month’s devos are based on a theme that they dive into from different angles.
• Articles and columns: These 4 or 5 pieces in each issue are written by fellow Jesus-followers, and are basically quirky, winsome, and hopefully insightful articles about what God has been teaching them as they’re journeying through life with Him.
• Interviews: Each month, YouthWalk interviews a Christian musician or music group. The interviews read as if you’re sitting down and having coffee with an artist, picking their brain about what God’s been teaching them lately.
• Reviews: Each month they also review albums and books that can help students dive in deeper to the theme of that month’s issue.

Want to experience YouthWalk magazine? View a sample issue by clicking here.

Also, be sure to visit www.ywspace.org, where you can find out more about YW Magazine and even read a few of the magazine’s devotionals online!

Stop downloading sermons and start preaching better ones!

Preaching Rocket is launching in March of 2012.  Right now, their team is producing coaching videos, writing helpful content, and creating a brand new way to help preachers preach better sermons.

A Preaching Rocket membership will deliver three important benefits to your church:

1. A weekly story or illustration that you can actually use. No joke books or generic illustrations from a book of 1,001 Sermon Stories.  We’re creating usable stories – from history, science, current events and personal experience – that you can weave into your messages.
2. Monthly coaching. Their team will coach you on how to better prepare and deliver sermons.  You’ll hear from some of the leading voices, with content created just for the Preaching Rocket community.  They’ll interview some of the preachers you respect and listen to, and break down their messages like a coach breaks down game film.
3. Access to the Resource Archive. They don’t believe in downloading sermons, but they want to equip you with some helpful resources and documents that will help you prepare and deliver better sermons.

To get a sneak peak of  what PreachingRocket has to offer, click here. Also, be on the lookout for their full launch in 3 weeks!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!…

Want to hear more about how to “stop downloading sermons and start preaching better ones?” Jeff Henderson recently wrote a fantastic article for CatalystSpace that talks about the temptation to download sermons versus preaching your own.

Access the article by following this link!