1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity

Monday, March 23rd
Prayers of Praise
2 Samuel 22:2
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn
of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy
to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”
This chapter in 2 Samuel is a psalm of praise. The interesting thing is that it’s very similar to Psalm 18. We see Psalm 18
prepared by David for the choirmaster, but many reference 2 Samuel as the origin of this psalm.
Before David was preparing psalms for the chief musician, he was in his prayer closet with his harp, because there’s no
better way to begin a time of prayer than with praise. When we begin our prayers with praise, it takes our mind off us
and puts it on God.
Use the Scripture above and praise God for being all of the following during your prayer time this week:

Your Rock - Matthew 7:24-27
No matter what trials or storms we face, our foundation is rooted in
Him.

Your Fortress - Psalm 46:10-11
The Lord never grows tired or weary. We can take refuge in Him.

Your Shield - Psalm 3:3-4
The Lord is our true protector, and through His Word, we can withstand all the attacks from the enemy.

Your Salvation—Exodus 15:1-3
There is not victory apart form God. He is our true strength and song.
Moses declared this after the Israelites were rescued from Pharaoh’s
army.
Tuesday, March 24th
Prayer for Repentance
2 Corinthians 7:10
“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
Paul was urging the church at Corinth to do away with self-centered, worldly grief that always leads to despair and
death. Godly grief, on the other hand, always leads to repentance and freedom. Many of us only experience worldly
grief. We feel “bad” when something doesn’t go right. Today, ask God to search your heart and bring Godly grief to areas that you need to repent.
Repentance is to change your mind about an attitude or action. True repentance is more than feeling guilty, it involves
turning from your sin and asking God to transform your thinking on the matter.
Today:

Ask God to Search Your Heart - Psalm 139:23
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!”

Repent of Your Sin - 1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Walk in Freedom - John 8:36
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Wednesday, March 25th
Prayer for Our Church
Matthew 28:16-20
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had
directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some
doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Apex Baptist Church is an authentic community of believers worshiping God EVERYWHERE we go, becoming more like
Him EVERYDAY, and serving EVERYONE we meet.
Today, spend a few moments praying for Apex Baptist Church.

Pray for the pastors, staff and leadership of the church.

Pray for the long range planning team and the development of Vision 2020.

Pray the following Scriptures for our church:
Haggai 2:9
“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give
peace, declares the LORD of hosts.”
Matthew 16:18
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Romans 16:17
“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that
you have been taught; avoid them.”
Ephesians 4:11-13
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of
ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
Thursday, March 26th
Prayer for Our Local Partners
Ephesians 3:10–11
“...so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in
the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord...”
Paul describes in these verses God’s overarching plan for the church. What is that plan? God’s plan is to make Himself
known to the world through the Church. That the gospel breaks through all barriers and brings together one worshiping, praying, loving body.
Going is the most personal step a church can take to fulfill this plan. You can even do that by driving across town. Local
missions can benefit from skilled labor such as carpenters and lawyers to simply offering love such as serving food, raking leaves, and donating time and resources to help a local thrift store. Every person has something that could benefit a
local mission. Helping in a local ministry helps fulfill the Great Commission right in our own community.
Today Apex Baptist Church is lifting up the local ministry partners with which we have partnered. For each of these
ministries, pray for strength and encouragement for those in administration, pray for the lives each partner touches,
pray that God uses each local partner to bring the gospel to our community, and pray as to how you need to be involved in one of these local partners.

Bethany Christian Services – offers adoption services within the US and internationally. Bethany also offers pregnancy, family and post adoption counseling.

Hand of Hope – local organization committed to providing compassion, support, and information to anyone facing
an unplanned pregnancy

Durham Rescue Mission – A local homeless shelter, providing food, clothing, permanent housing, vocational training, Biblical counseling, job placement, education, and accountability to broken men, women and children.

Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina – provides services to children, adults, and families in the areas of
emergency care, transitional living, family crisis and abuse relief.

Seeds of Mustard – A local corporation supporting the needs of children and families in crisis situations. Their mission is to meet the needs of children and families both locally and globally through generous donations and
through Thrift 2 Gift.
Friday, March 27th
Prayer for Our Nation
John 20:21
“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’”
The mission that we are given by Jesus is one of obedience and utter dependence. As the Father sent the Son into the
world, so He sends his church as a picture and signpost of His kingdom. We do not go into the world by our own
strength and with our own wisdom, but we go empowered by the Holy Spirit and we follow wherever he leads.
We are drawn into the unity and mission of Father and Son as we herald the gospel. In addition, Matthew’s Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:18-20, records Jesus telling the disciples that as they go and make disciples, they go with
and under his authority—the same authority that holds all things together (Col 1:17). As Apex Baptist supports our regional partners throughout the U.S., we do so as sent ones, given a sacred trust to both guard and proclaim the good
news of the kingdom with the authority of Christ.
Prayer Requests:

Pray for Matt Lawson, Pastor of Story City Church, situated in the heart of the media capital of the world, just 5
miles from Hollywood. Story City Church is located in Burbank, 224 square miles with a population of nearly 1.8
million, 98% of which are unchurched. Pray for Matt Lawson and Story City Church—that they would work shoulder
to shoulder with people in Burbank to serve, encourage, and demonstrate the gospel in community.

Pray for our partnership with the North American Mission Board and their Send: North America initiative. Pray
specifically for the city of Toronto—that the city would experience spiritual awakening, that NAMB would be given
discernment on where plant to churches in the city, and God would raise up church partners in Toronto and supporting, sending and multiplying churches as partners.

Pray for the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina. Ask that God would give them grace, favor and vision as
they provide programs and services for children of all ages, teen mothers, single mothers and their children, developmentally disabled adults as well as frail and aging adults.
Saturday, March 28th
Prayer for Our World
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in
Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the
message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore
you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God. “
All things are in the process of being reconciled through the cross of Christ. As believers we are assured that the entire
cosmos will ultimately be at peace with God because of Christ’s atoning work (Phil 2:5-11). It is as if the decisive battle
of the war has already been fought, and it is only a matter of time before the defeated enemy lays down its arms
(although some will do so grudgingly). In the meantime, the church is to plead with men and women to be reconciled
to God.
Paul gives the picture in 2 Corinthians 5 of believers and the church being the very mouthpiece of God. As Apex Baptist
supports our international partners across the globe we do so as ministers of reconciliation—as ambassadors for Christ.
We speak on behalf of our risen Savior with urgency and the awareness that God will ultimately complete what he has
begun in Christ Jesus.
Prayer Requests:

Pray for the International Mission Board (IMB) and its leadership under new president, David Platt, as they seek
God’s direction in allocating resources around the world, and as they strategically engage Unreached Unengaged
People Groups. Pray for God to give vision, favor, and protection.

Pray for our partnerships in India - Lift up the Muslims in the heart of India and ask that God would break through
their spiritual darkness with the light of the gospel. Ask that the Lord would raise up laborers for this harvest. Pray
also for Emmanuel Ministries in southern India. Ask that the children in Emmanuel would grow to be spiritual warriors for Christ.

Pray for our partnerships in Guatemala - Lift up the Armas family and the Hope for Guatemala ministry in Zone
18. Ask God to continue to send children and that Hope would be a blessing to families in the community. Pray that
the gospel would change lives and that many would be rescued from the chains of sin and death. Pray also for the
Quiche People Group in Santa Cruz. Ask God to raise up godly leaders for the churches there that will have a passion for discipleship and a zeal for reaching their own people with the gospel.
Ministry Partners
LOVELOUD 2015
LoveLoud, Saturday April 18, is a day of service opportunities which
enable our church family to “be the hands & feet of Jesus”. This
year we have three major initiatives. For more information and to
register go to www.apexbaptist.org/local or contact Chuck Thompson at 919-589-0732 or [email protected].
LOCAL MINISTRY PARTNERS
Seeds of Mustard
Durham Rescue Mission
www.seedsofmustard.org
www.durhamrescuemission.org
919-651-0482
919-688-9641
NC Baptist Children’s Homes
Hand of Hope
www.bchfamily.org
www.yourchoicepregnancyclinic.com
1-800-476-3669
919-577-9050
REGIONAL MINISTRY PARTNERS
Story City Church - Los Angeles
Mission Trip: July 18-25, 2015
Team Leader: Tyler Frank
www.apexbaptist.org/regional
For more information on our local & regional ministry partners visit
www.apexbaptist.org/missions
2015 International Mission
Trip Opportunities
Guatemala: March 30-April 4, 2015
Team Leader: Alex Cosio
For: High School Students, College Students & Adults
India: April 20-30
Team Leader: Nathan Stam
For: Adults
Taiwan: June 14-24
Team Leader: Peter Dubbelman
For: High School Students, College Students & Adults
Turkey: July 3-11
Team Leaders: Jason & Kelli Rumbough
For: High School Students, College Students & Adults
Guatemala: July 27-August 2
Team Leader: Jace Thomas
For: High School Students, College Students & Adults
Guatemala: August 3-8
Team Leader: Doug Huff
For: High School Students, College Students & Adults
India: August 10-20
Team Leader: Dwayne Lancaster
For: Adults
Guatemala: November 2-8
Team Leader: John Mark Harrison
For: Adults
India: November 9-19
Team Leader: Nathan Stam
For: Adults