Oakwood Church

1. We are invited to come to God in Prayer

• Who: Everyone

James 5:13-14,17
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick?...Elijah was a man with a nature like ours…”

1. We are invited to come to God in Prayer

• When: Always

James 5:13-14,17
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick?...Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently...”

1. We are invited to come to God in Prayer

• When: Always

Luke 11:5-13
(Parable of the Impudent Neighbor)
"I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."

1. We are invited to come to God in Prayer

• How: With Faith

James 5:15-18
"And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up…The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit."

1. We are invited to come to God in Prayer

• How: With Faith

1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

1. We are invited to come to God in Prayer

• How: With Faith

“In short, God will either give us what we ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he knew.”
∼ Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

2. We are invited to come to God through Confession

James 5:15-16
“And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

2. We are invited to come to God through Confession

Psalm 32:1-5
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”

2. We are invited to come to God through Confession

Confession...

• Demonstrates Trust

2. We are invited to come to God through Confession

Confession...

• Requires Humility

2. We are invited to come to God through Confession

Confession...

• Requires Humility

“A maturing community is a confessing community - not a church without sin, but a church without secrets.” ∼ Tyler Staton, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer

2. We are invited to come to God through Confession

Confession...

• Brings Healing

3. We are invited to come to God with One Another

James 5:14-16,19-20
"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working… My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

3. We are invited to come to God with One Another

In Community we...

• Demonstrate Interdependence

3. We are invited to come to God with One Another

In Community we...

• Experience Restoration

3. We are invited to come to God with One Another

In Community we...

• Join God in His Rescue Mission

Luke 19:10
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

3. We are invited to come to God with One Another

In Community we...

• Join God in His Rescue Mission

Galatians 6:1
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

Just Come

God is inviting you to intimacy through:

• Prayer

• Confession

• Community