Prayer for the City:

Pray for the recent string of violent acts that have occurred in and around the city over the past couple weeks:

- For 3 separate Scarborough homes where shots were fired in a period of 36 hours

- For the Regent Park community, who continually suffers acts of domestic violence, gang violence, and most recently, the death of a man who has lived there for many years.

- For the family of a Richmond Hill man who was fatally shot in a park last week.

• Pray for the grieving families – that they would be surrounded by those who can comfort and grieve with them.
• Pray for the police and authorities who are working on the investigations – that they would have wisdom and integrity in their research and that they would allow justice to prevail in these situations.
• Pray for the perpetrators of these crimes – that they would feel the conviction of their actions and would have hearts of repentance for what they have done.  Pray that they would be willing to accept their consequences and would be healed and freed from their brokenness.

Prayer for the Church:

• Pray that we would be a church community of repentant people – a people willing to confess our sins to one another for the sake of prayer, accountability and healing.

• Pray that our GGs would be places of authentic community and transparency.  Pray for the GG leaders to know how to model this through their own openness with their groups.  Pray for this to allow a deeper expression and maturity of our faith to develop amongst us.

• Pray for a culture of repentance that would lead to turning from sin, extending forgiveness where needed and healing and restoration in place of brokenness.

Praise the Lord!

See below for the ways we can praise God for the way He has been answering our prayers for Jon Collissimo, who suffered paralysis from the chest down since his accident this past November.

• Jon has been making great recovery lately! On Saturday, Jon moved his left ankle for the first time and his physical therapist has been working to get him to push with his legs.
• On his left leg he now has the ability to move his quad, calf, and hamstring.
• Then on Sunday he lifted the bottom half of his right leg!
• Praise God that although everyone at the rehab centre is shocked by his recovery, we can see God is at work healing him, despite the most recent comments from the doctors that hope for recovery was dwindling.
• Please continue to pray for full recovery. Jon is excited but still scared to be too hopeful, as it takes a lot of muscles to work and core body strength before he can stand.
• Please pray for Jon’s ability to have an extended stay at Lyndhurst so he can continue to get the best treatment possible.
• Please also continue to pray for Karman’s situation with her job. It has been very busy for her and she is concerned about how much longer her boss will let her work in the current pre-arranged limited capacity. There will be a lot more work put on her as Jon’s discharge date nears and she is struggling to juggle it all even with the lighter work load she currently has.  On harder days she feels like she is really getting burnt out.  She also feels it is getting harder to be upbeat and energetic on the hard days.  Please pray for her workplace to continue to be patient and understanding with her situation. Pray that she will have times of rest and time to herself.

James 5:16

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.

Hebrews 4:14-16

¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Prayer for the City:

• Pray for those who have been oppressed or mistreated by the world.  That they would know the existence of a God of Justice and that He would come to their aid.  Pray for outlets for them to receive care and a voice for their situation.

• Pray for those who are, whether by choice or not, in broken conditions – single parents, the addicted, the homeless, the poverty-stricken, prostitutes and pimps – that they would find a place of healing and recovery from their circumstances.  Pray for a strong support system around them to help them when they are vulnerable to returning to their current situation.

• Pray for the Hope Toronto ministries that exist to help those in need in our city.  Pray for Toronto City Mission, Yonge Street Mission, Squads, the Warehouse, Light Patrol, Sisters of Life and The Matthew House   That they would keep Christ at the center of their ministries as the motivation for why they do what they do.  Pray for their stamina, energy, creativity and resources – that they would have huge influence in the city and be a place of protection, blessing and true life-change for all those they reach.

Prayer for the Church:

• Pray that we would heed the call of mercy and that we would find ways to make involvement in mercy ministry a regular practice in our lives.

• Pray for our choices in the deaconate fund to know how to best distribute the resources for those in need.

• Pray for wisdom for the Hope Toronto committee to know how to continue sustaining and supporting the current partnerships and for wisdom on the timing and choice of future partnerships.

Prayer for those in our church:

-For those in our congregation who are in great need of our prayers.

• For Jon and Karman, as Jon continues to recover from his paralyzing accident last November.
  • Praise – Jon is continuing to notice incremental improvement in the sensation and movement of his muscles.  He can now clench one of the muscles in his legs.
  • Continue to pray for a miraculous recovery – that God would grant him the ability to move and even walk again one day.  Please continue to pray boldly and urgently for this.
  • Pray that his fingers get stronger, as it will really help him gain more independence.
  • Pray that the therapy treatment he receives each day would begin to show signs of major improvement, beyond just the minor incremental improvement he is currently seeing.
  • Pray that he stays healthy, as he is still unable to cough.
  • Pray that we as a church would continue to visit, care for, make meals and pray for them faithfully.  Pray that we would know how to be a source of encouragement to them.
  • Pray for wisdom to those who are administering care to him that they would know the best techniques for his recovery.

• Please continue to pray for Pete Hinton’s brother, Alan, who battled stage 4 cancer earlier this year and fully recovered from it, only to go in for a check-up a few weeks ago to discover that it has returned even more severely than before.
  • Pray for Alan – for his miraculous recovery, for the chemo treatments to work so that he doesn’t have to go through bone marrow transplant and for his ability to let out his emotions of this extremely difficult time in his life.
  • Pray for his wife, Helen – for her ability to know how to encourage and be with Alan. For her ability to find rest and for friends to support her during this time.
  • Pray for Pete and the rest of his family – to know how to support, encourage and care for Alan and Helen.  Pray for their opportunities to share about Christ with Alan and Helen.  Pray for spiritual openness in their hearts to want to hear the good news of the hope we have in our eternal, pain-free future with Christ.

Praise the Lord!

• Praise Him that He is the God of mercy and has poured His own mercy on us in the most all-consuming, life-altering way through the death of Christ in our place on the cross.
• Praise Him for the ways He gives us to show mercy to others and that we would follow His example in this.
• Praise Him for answering our prayers, even if they may not always be in the way that we are expecting.

Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

James 3:17

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Prayer for the City:

• Pray for those who have been oppressed or mistreated by the world.  That they would know the existence of a God of Justice and that He would come to their aid.  Pray for outlets for them to receive care and a voice for their situation.

• Pray for those who are, whether by choice or not, in broken conditions – single parents, the addicted, the homeless, the poverty-stricken, prostitutes and pimps – that they would find a place of healing and recovery from their circumstances.  Pray for a strong support system around them to help them when they are vulnerable to returning to their current situation.

• Pray for the Hope Toronto ministries that exist to help those in need in our city.  Pray for Toronto City Mission, Yonge Street Mission, Squads, the Warehouse, Light Patrol, Sisters of Life and The Matthew House   That they would keep Christ at the center of their ministries as the motivation for why they do what they do.  Pray for their stamina, energy, creativity and resources – that they would have huge influence in the city and be a place of protection, blessing and true life-change for all those they reach.

Prayer for the Church:

• Pray that we would heed the call of mercy and that we would find ways to make involvement in mercy ministry a regular practice in our lives.

• Pray for our choices in the deaconate fund to know how to best distribute the resources for those in need.

• Pray for wisdom for the Hope Toronto committee to know how to continue sustaining and supporting the current partnerships and for wisdom on the timing and choice of future partnerships.

Prayer for those in our church:

-For those in our congregation who are in great need of our prayers.

• For Jon and Karman, as Jon continues to recover from his paralyzing accident last November.
  • Praise – Jon is continuing to notice incremental improvement in the sensation and movement of his muscles.  He can now clench one of the muscles in his legs.
  • Continue to pray for a miraculous recovery – that God would grant him the ability to move and even walk again one day.  Please continue to pray boldly and urgently for this.
  • Pray that his fingers get stronger, as it will really help him gain more independence.
  • Pray that the therapy treatment he receives each day would begin to show signs of major improvement, beyond just the minor incremental improvement he is currently seeing.
  • Pray that he stays healthy, as he is still unable to cough.
  • Pray that we as a church would continue to visit, care for, make meals and pray for them faithfully.  Pray that we would know how to be a source of encouragement to them.
  • Pray for wisdom to those who are administering care to him that they would know the best techniques for his recovery.

• Please continue to pray for Pete Hinton’s brother, Alan, who battled stage 4 cancer earlier this year and fully recovered from it, only to go in for a check-up a few weeks ago to discover that it has returned even more severely than before.
  • Pray for Alan – for his miraculous recovery, for the chemo treatments to work so that he doesn’t have to go through bone marrow transplant and for his ability to let out his emotions of this extremely difficult time in his life.
  • Pray for his wife, Helen – for her ability to know how to encourage and be with Alan. For her ability to find rest and for friends to support her during this time.
  • Pray for Pete and the rest of his family – to know how to support, encourage and care for Alan and Helen.  Pray for their opportunities to share about Christ with Alan and Helen.  Pray for spiritual openness in their hearts to want to hear the good news of the hope we have in our eternal, pain-free future with Christ.

Praise the Lord!

• Praise Him that He is the God of mercy and has poured His own mercy on us in the most all-consuming, life-altering way through the death of Christ in our place on the cross.
• Praise Him for the ways He gives us to show mercy to others and that we would follow His example in this.
• Praise Him for answering our prayers, even if they may not always be in the way that we are expecting.

Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

James 3:17

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

by Ethan Park

3) Our reaction to successes is different from what our society expects, because our successes don’t define who we are.

After Tim Tebow led the Broncos to improbable victory, he approached the podium. When asked about how he felt about being a national phenomenon, he responded quite humbly. Our society has taught us that our abilities, successes, experiences, and accomplishments define who we are. That’s how we get jobs and how we measure ourselves against others. Yet, the Gospel tells us differently. Our accomplishments don’t define who we are– Jesus’ death has already given us the identity that we need.

We are children of God, loved so dearly by the maker of this universe. Our identity doesn’t need, nay, can’t have more than what Christ has done for us on the cross.

4) Our work is a platform for the Kingdom agenda: to make Him known and redeem this world.

When Tim Tebow was asked about the overtime win, he said that he considered it a bigger win to be able to cheer up a girl who’s gone through a lot of medical issues. You may think it’s just words. I choose to believe it’s his heart.

Tim Tebow in his college days would write bible verses on his eye black. After his games, Google stats on searching the verse shot up drastically. He believes in what the Lord has called him to do– use the platform to make God known and bring redemption to this world. That means talking about Jesus at every opportunity he has– not because he has to, but because Jesus means so much to him. That means using his fame to care for those in need. He stated in his college days that he wants to use his platform as an NFL quarterback to bring hope to people in their darkest hour of need.

How can we use our work as a platform for Kingdom agenda? We have unique insight to non-believing coworkers who need to hear. We have opportunities to influence our employers and coworkers to help redeem this world. We can be a Kingdom-worker by using our position and influence for His Kingdom.

What we see from Tim Tebow isn’t fake– it’s a genuine display of faith. He will sin and put football before God at times — all of us do. But no one can deny his genuine desire to display his faith. He’s been criticized by so many in this world for displaying and expressing his faith to others– and they aren’t wrong. He is! And, in fact, that’s what we are called to do. As a blog puts it, “If Tim Tebow sold steak knives for a living, he’d be the same way. Except he’d be the “crazy religious steak knife guy.” Football is just what he happens to be doing now. He wants to win games and be the best quarterback of all time because it broadens his territory. His final destination is not money or fame or victory, they are means to an end: to hype Jesus on the biggest platform in America.

This Sunday (Jan 22), we will be discussing how we ought to understand and live “ambition” in light of the Gospel. Tim Tebow seems very ambitious—making the play-offs, making dramatic comebacks, and capturing the hearts of many football fans. But, his ambitions are rooted in something much deeper.

Join us this Sunday as we discuss ambition.

Read a blog for Tim Tebow and his faith:  http://supermassiveblog.com/post/14237066259/timtebow

Read a blog by Chuck Klosterman against Tim Tebow and his faith: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7319858/the-people-hate-tim-tebow

The buzz around the NFL this year has been predominately about Tim Tebow, an unorthodox NFL quarterback for the Denver Broncos, who started for the team in their last 11 games, posting 7 wins, most of them miraculous comebacks. A college phenom, he was doubted by the professional scouts that he would not be a successful quarterback, and grasped international attention with an unorthodox NFL quarterback skill set, ability to help his team win, and… his demonstration of his faith.

Religious displays in the NFL are not new. Most players will point fingers to the sky, giving thanks to God after touchdowns. Some talk about their faith. But for some reason, Tim Tebow’s displays look genuine.

After an improbable upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first playoff game with a dramatic overtime finish, Tim Tebow answered questions from the media with the following:

“I am just so blessed to have an opportunity to be the quarterback for the Denver Broncos and play games in front of such great fans with great teammates and I’m just very thankful for the platform that God has given me… I felt like we had a great week of practice and we practiced hard and had a great game plan and we knew that we were playing a very good Pittsburgh Steelers team. I was very glad that we were able to get the win. First and foremost, I’d like to thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ he’s done so much in my life and I also want to thank my teammates for the efforts they put out there and just showing so much character whether it’s good whether it’s bad all year and our coaches who constantly every game whether I’m doing good or bad just stick with me so I’m very appreciative of that.”

Soon after, a reporter asked this question: I know you have a faith in God, but do you have a sense of the kind of phenomenon you are nationwide?

“You know, I’m just very thankful for the platform God has given me and the opportunity to be a quarterback for the Denver Broncos, what a great organization. It is special to have the platform of playing football, as I have an opportunity to affect people. I was very excited to have Bailey Knaub here at this game. Football is amazing, we love it, we’re so passionate about it as you can see there but the real win, at least as far as I’m concerned, was being able to comfort a girl who’s gone through 73 surgeries before this game. I get a chance to go hang out with her now and that’s the biggest win of the day and so they’re both exciting but that’s what I’m even more proud of.”

In our view of work, there’s much to learn from Tim Tebow.

1) Whether we are called to become an NFL quarterback or an assistant at a bank, we should see our job as worship to God.

Tim Tebow is by far not an ideal quarterback. Stats like 2 completions on 8 attempts in a game doesn’t bring much confidence in his abilities. But, when he plays, he plays with passion for the game. His coaches love his work ethic and his poise. His teammates believe in him and follow him because of what he stands for. He believes that he’s called to play football right now and he plays football like he believes it. That’s what we are called to do. God calls us, in his mysterious wisdom, to work in this world as agents of His common grace to this world. Tim Tebow understands that.

2) God is more important than our performance. Kingdom matters are far more important than success in our job.

When Tim Tebow plays, he plays differently. He helps his opposing players up after hard tackles. He prays on the sidelines when others would be studying the next plays. In his attitude and action, he applies Kingdom principles, God’s moral standards, and the Gospel in what he does. He never sees himself as better than others. In the team’s wins, he gave all of the glory to his teammates, coaches, and God. In his losses, he took responsibility, and moved on. Often, we are too far concerned with the performance of our job. Likewise, our faith should triumph over achieving success in our job. We are in the habit of pursuing success while ignoring our faith when, in fact, we should look for opportunities to display our faith at the expense of our success.

Prayer for the City:

• Pray for those in our city who are lonely, hurting or feeling isolated from those who care. Pray that God would open their eyes to know that He is present with them and is available to them. Pray that they would have a holy curiosity to explore who Jesus is and that they would be awakened to a relationship with Him.

• Pray for those who have been taught that prayer is simply a religious coping mechanism or a hollow tradition with no power. Pray that they would be guided to the truth and that they would meet Christians who can share the mystery and power of prayer with them.

• Pray for those who are grieving the death of the recent homicide victims (3 since January 1st). Pray for those around them to comfort and support them in their grief. Pray that the perpetrators would be brought to justice and would see the grievousness of their actions. Pray for restoration and healing to all those involved.

Prayer for the Church:
That this year would be an opportunity for personal growth in our prayer lives and in praying with one another.

• That a heart of prayer would be infused within the community of Grace Toronto and that we would build all other ministries upon a foundation of prayer.

• For those of us who are jaded by unanswered prayer requests or who struggle with believing that God hears and responds to our prayers – pray that we would be like the man in Mark 9 who cried out “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Prayer for One Another:

-For Jon and Karman, who are still waiting on Jon’s recovery from his paralyzing accident last November.

• Praise God! Jon has been seeing quite a bit of recovery lately. He now has small extension movement in some of his fingers and both thumbs.
• Pray that his fingers would get stronger, as it will help him gain more independence.
• Pray that he will also gain strength in his core muscles (abs etc) and legs. Core muscles are important for both his independence and general health.
• Pray that he stays healthy, as he still cannot cough.
• Pray that we as a church would continue to visit, care for, make meals and pray for them faithfully. Pray that we would know how to be a source of encouragement to them. Pray that we would know how to grieve with them.
• Pray for wisdom to those who are administering care to him that they would know the best techniques for his recovery.

-For Pete Hinton’s brother, Alan, who battled stage 4 cancer earlier this year and fully recovered from it, only to go in for a check-up a few weeks ago to discover that it has returned even more severely than before.

• Pray for Alan – for his miraculous recovery, for the chemo treatments to work so that he doesn’t have to go through bone marrow transplant and for his ability to let out his emotions of this extremely difficult time in his life.
• Pray for his wife, Helen – for her ability to know how to encourage and be with Alan. For her ability to find rest and for friends to support her during this time.
• Pray for Pete and the rest of his family – to know how to support, encourage and care for Alan and Helen. Pray for their opportunities to share about Christ with Alan and Helen. Pray for spiritual openness in their hearts to want to hear the good news of the hope we have in our eternal, pain-free future with Christ.

Praise the Lord!

• Praise Him that we can, “with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
• Praise Him for the ways we have seen His faithfulness, provision, love, presence, protection, care, forgiveness in our lives. Try to be specific!
• Praise Him for answering our prayers, even if they may not always be in the way that we are expecting.

Romans 8:26-27
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

We’re often rewarded for staying later, performing better and trying harder at work. Is this what God wants for our lives?

Join us on Sunday, Jan. 22, 1-3 at 41 Britain St. as we continue to consider Faith & Work by looking at what it means to be an ambitious Christian.

For more information, contact Faith & Work.

Prayer for the City:

• That this year would be a year of spiritual openness in our city towards the Lord and towards upholding His standards of justice, mercy and love in our city.
• That the recent time spent with family and friends and reaching out to those in need would not disappear with the holiday season, but would prompt our city to continued action and commitment to caring for those around us and those in need.
• That the busyness of resuming work, school, weekly activities, etc. would not consume our culture into self-centeredness and greed, but instead would make us aware of our weaknesses and our need for others in our lives to encourage and support us.

Prayer for the Church:

That this year would be an opportunity for personal growth and for opportunities to live missionally among our city.

• In our Grace Gatherings – for the continuation of both Biblical understanding and intimate, transparent relationships to develop among the groups.
• In our areas of service – that our service would stem from a joyful attitude of the heart and would be for the Lord and not to please others.
• In our personal times with the Lord – that we would establish these as a non-negotiable priority and that we would ask the Holy Spirit to stir up an unquenchable desire for the Lord on a regular basis.
• In our personal choices – that we would live well-balanced lives and be good stewards of our time, talents and treasures.
• In our relationships with skeptics and seekers – that we would purpose to make 2012 a year of being more intentionally focused on sharing Christ with those around us that do not yet know Him.

Praise the Lord!

• For what He blessed you with over the Christmas season (rest, energy, refreshment, time with family, friends, etc.)
• For the opportunity to put the past behind us and use this year for His glory and our joy.
• For His faithfulness, care, provision and love for us even when we reject and abandon Him.
• For always doing ‘new things’ in our lives.

Isaiah 43:18-19, 25

‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.’

Our next FilmSpeak evening is Friday, January 20, 2012 featuring The Tree of Life.

The Tree of Life is a 2011 American drama film with experimental elements written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, and Jessica Chastain. Malick’s film chronicles the origins and meaning of life by way of a middle-aged man’s childhood memories of his family living in 1950s Texas, interspersed with imagery of the origins of the universe and the inception of life on Earth.

Time: The screening is at 7:00pm, followed by a discussion.

Place: 41 Britain St

Advent Theme:  JOY

Quiet Reflection

-Read thru the following passages and reflect on the joy that is given thru Christ as the joy of His kingdom approaches:

• Psalm 43:3-4
• Zechariah 2:10-11
• Luke 2:10-14
• Matthew 2:10-11
• Hebrews 12:2

Requests

-For the city of Toronto to experience the Joy of Christ this season:

• Pray that God would use the words of Christmas songs, the ‘spirit of giving,’ and other seasonal traditions for openness to the Gospel in Toronto.
• Pray for the eyes of our city to be opened and softened to hear of Christ and the purpose of His birth this Advent season.
• Pray for those who find this time of year particularly painful to be shown some way to find joy in the midst of this season, both spiritually in their hearts through Christ and tangibly through the love of those around them.
• Pray for all the Christmas Eve services that will be happening in Toronto to be bold and gracious in presenting the true Reason for the season.

-For Grace Toronto to become a more joyful community:

• Praise God for something He has done in your life recently that has brought you joy…if you can’t think of anything, pray that He would make you more aware of His goodness in your life.
• Pray that God would be the source of our joy during this Christmas season and not presents/vacations/relationships, etc.
• Pray that the opportunities we’ve had to share the joy of Christ to others thru our service projects (Squads, Christmas in Canada, etc) would inspire us to continue serving in the future and bless those we reach out to.
• Prayer for the Faith & Work ministry, that they would help us be equipped to effectively live out our faith in the work place and share this news of the joy Christ brings to all those around us.
• Pray for the Grace Centre for the Arts, that God would continue to be the inspiration of this ministry and their involvement in the arts.  Pray that just as creation reflects God’s glory, that their art would also reflect His glory.
• Pray for our church’s leadership, that they would find their joy in the Lord and would steward their positions wisely and with integrity before the Lord.

-For the world to join the celebration of the Joy found in Christ:

‘Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room, and Heaven and nature sing…

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy….

He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove

the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love…’

• Thank the Lord that He reigns over ALL the earth and that there are people everywhere around the world this season finding their Joy in Him!

Jude 1:24

‘Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with GREAT JOY, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.’