Those of you who know Pastor Cyndi and Mark know that we LOVE to entertain and have folks over for meals! Some of our favourite guests are our own family: Mama, siblings, our kids, grandsons, nieces, and nephews. We love to lay out a sumptuous spread, way more than anyone could ever eat in one sitting. In fact, we usually prepare so much that we can send everyone home with leftovers!

Could you imagine how it would make us feel, if after we had prepared an amazing meal and set it all out on the table – our family just sat there with their tummies rumbling, sniffing the air, drooling and licking their lips…but they never reached out and took hold of the food in front of them or confidently asked us to “pass the potatoes”? We would be so sad and wonder, “What on earth did we ever do to make them so reluctant to help themselves to the food we have so lovingly provided for them? Don’t they know WE LOVE THEM?

I wonder if that is the way our loving Heavenly Daddy feels when we approach Him with doubt, fear in our hearts…or when we avoid intimacy with Him altogether?

In 1907, Charles Widmeyer penned the lyrics of this well-loved hymn. Our Heavenly Father’s desire and delight is that we would benefit from and enjoy the abundant life Jesus Christ paid so dearly to provide. His call to us is… “Come and Dine”.

Jesus has a table spread

Where the saints of God are fed,

He invites His chosen people, “Come and dine”;

With His manna He doth feed

And supplies our every need:

Oh, ’tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time!

“Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine”;

You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;

He Who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,

To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine.”

We pray that our sermon series: PRAYER: Our Pipeline to Presence and Power has convinced you, once and for all, that Your Heavenly Father WANTS YOU to come to Him at all times and bask in the warmth of His goodness and love. We pray that you will “enter into His courts” with a joyful, expectant heart – praising and thanking Him for His faithfulness in meeting your needs in the past and declaring your confidence that He will be faithful to “give you your daily bread” today. But, most importantly, We hope and pray that you will see prayer as a beautiful way to simply “BE” with God – with no particular need, or agenda except to passionately communicate your love, devotion and trust to Him!

We know that you will grow in prayer and also in the mighty exploits you do in His Name as you discover that Our Awesome and Mighty God is Who He says He is and will do what He says He will do…

In closing, we leave you with the Apostle Paul’s potent prayer that so beautifully encapsulates and puts an exclamation mark on all the powerful promises we have been pondering over the past few weeks.

God Bless you Abundantly as you simply… take Him at His Word!

Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT 14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you EXPERIENCE THE LOVE OF CHRIST, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of LIFE and POWER that comes from God.

20 Now all glory to God, WHO IS ABLE, through HIS MIGHTY POWER AT WORK WITHIN US, to accomplish infinitely and immeasurably more than all we might ask, think or imagine. 21 Glory to him IN THE CHURCH and in Christ Jesus …through ALL GENERATIONS FOREVER and ever! Amen.