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Paul Prayers

Sunday 11/23/25

Title: In my prayers for you…

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In my prayers for you…

Today we’re wrapping up our review of the “2nd stage letters” written by Paul to only certain churches.

By “2nd stage letters” I mean the letters he wrote calling them into deeper waters of maturity through his prayers and written encouragement.

There were only 3 churches and thereby 3 New Testament letters written by Paul who met these qualifications – Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians.

Things in common:

They all loved Jesus and their brethren.
They all had a well proven and demonstrated faith in Christ and faithfulness to Him

Things Prayed:

Love will abound – hearts being knit together
Filled with knowledge of Him and His will
Understanding enhanced
Approved walk (pure & blameless; full of fruit)
Hope of calling; to the glory of His praise
Two mentioned God’s power towards them to accomplish these goals

The difference is more pronounced by other letters…

The one to Rome, Thessalonians and Corinth come close, but are not as complete. In those there was an acknowledgement of their faith, and in some ways their love but their longing in prayer was to come to them and increase their faith through teaching.

Colossians 1:1-12; 2:1-7.

“(1) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

(2) To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

(3) We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, (4) since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesusand of the love that you have for all the saints, (5) because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.

Of this[hope] you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, (6) which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, (7) just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf (8) and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

(9) And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, ASKING that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (10) SO AS TO WALK in a manner worthy of the Lord,

fully pleasing to Him:

bearing fruit in every good work and

increasing in the knowledge of God; (11)

being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; (12)

giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

Colossinas 2:1-7,

“(1) For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, (2)

that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,

(3) in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

(4) I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. (5) For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

(6) Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, (7) rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

Colossians 4:12,

“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf IN HIS PRAYERS, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.”

The other two churches…

Philippians 1:8-11,

“(8) For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. (9) And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, (10) SO THAT YOU MAY APPROVE WHAT IS EXCELLENT, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, (11) filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Ephesians 1:15-23,

“(15) THEREFORE I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, (16) do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

(17) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of GLORY, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, (18) the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;

THAT YOU MAY KNOW what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance IN THE SAINTS, (19) and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power (20) which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, (21) far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”

“(22) And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, (23) which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all.”

Things in common:

They all loved Jesus and their brethren.
They all had a well proven and demonstrated faith in Christ and faithfulness to Him

Things Prayed:

Love will abound – hearts being knit together
Filled with knowledge of Him and His will
Understanding enhanced
Approved walk (pure & blameless; full of fruit)
Hope of calling; to the glory of His praise
Two mentioned God’s power towards them to accomplish these goals

The difference is more pronounced by other letters…

To the saints in Corinth, there was faith, but less love for the brethren.

1 Corinthians 1:1-10,

“(1) Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

(2) To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

(3) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

(4) I give thanks to my God always for you

because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, (5) that in every way you were enriched in Him in all speech and all knowledge— (6) even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— (7) so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, (8) Who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(9) God is faithful, by Whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

(10) I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”

Blessings!

Tri

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!