Pray 30 / 20 / 10

/

Jesus died for us so that we might be brought to God and have him as our Father in a relationship of intimacy and awe. Milton Vincent, in his book A Gospel-Primer for Christians, put it this way:

“God is radically committed to my life of prayer. He shed the blood of His Son so that I might be cleansed and rendered fit to stand before Him in love. He also permitted the brutal rending of His Son so that I might now have a way to enter into the Holy Place through the torn flesh of Jesus. ‘Draw near,’ he says… How can I not feel the infinite sincerity of these invitations, especially when considering the painful lengths that God endured so that I might enter his presence in prayer. Indeed the Gospel serves as the sweetest of invitation to pray.” – Milton Vincent

We pray because God invites us to come to him and enjoy him as our Father, delighting in all that he is for us because of Jesus. But we also pray because we believe he is our Father in heaven with all power and authority. He is omnipotent and with him, all things are possible (Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37). As we look out at the brokenness around us and even inside of us, we are forced to face our need for the grace and renewing power of God. Prayer is how we express that need.

That is why we have launched Pray 30/20/10. We are encouraging the people of Church at the Cross to commit to creating three slots of time in your day to give 30 minutes, 20 minutes, and 10 minutes to the Lord in his Word and prayer. If you are a night owl, make the 30 minute slot in your evening. If you are an early riser, schedule your 30 minute slot in the morning. The goal is to keep your hearts tethered to God throughout the day, listening to him in his Word and speaking to him in prayer.

AS YOU PRAY

  • Schedule it in or everything else will schedule it out.

  • Pray with confidence that Jesus has given you access to the Father.

  • Pray the Bible (use the Psalms or the Lord’s Prayer).

  • Prayer prayers of praise, confession, and gratitude.

  • Pray for specific needs: yours, others’ and the world’s.

  • Pray for those who do not know Jesus.

  • Pray for our Church’s maturity, mission, and leaders.

Prayer Prompts to Use In Your Quiet Time

/

PRAYER PROMPTS

Helping people and places encounter Jesus is an impossible vision apart from prayer. If we are going to experience God renewing our lives and relationships as well as using us as instruments of renewal in the world, we must become a praying people. We want to encourage you to use the following prayer prompts to guide you as you pray.  You need not limit your prayers to this specific language, but use these prompts to lead you into more specific and robust prayers. These prompts are informed by the values of Church at the Cross and will serve us as we pray for our leaders, our life groups, our homes, and for our own personal lives. We encourage you to use these prompts in your 30/20/10 prayer times as well as in times of corporate prayer.

CENTERED ON JESUS

Pray that God by his Spirit would give us the grace to know, love and obey Jesus in greater measure.

DRIVEN BY GRACE

Pray that God by his Spirit would give us the grace to rest in and respond to his unshakeable love.

SHAPED BY SCRIPTURE

Pray that God by his Spirit would uniquely shape and direct his Church through the truth in his scripture 

RENEWED AS COMMUNITY

Pray that God by his Spirit would enable us to promote love, wisdom, and holiness among one another.

SENT ON MISSION

Pray that God by his Spirit would empower us to courageously declare and demonstrate the gospel to our neighbors and  among all nations.

EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

Pray that God would grant us more of the Spirit’s presence and power in our lives.

Holy Week Guide | Sunday

/
Holy Week Guide | Sunday

For three days, darkness was over the land. Two of Jesus’ closest followers, “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary,” returned to his tomb in order to anoint the body of their beloved. The disciples were in hiding trying to make sense of the chaos, their hopes crushed by the cry, “It is finished.” But then we see the stone rolled away, an empty tomb, and hear that life was again thrust into the body of Christ.

Read More

Holy Week Guide | Saturday

/
Holy Week Guide | Saturday

The dream was dead. The One whom they hoped would usher in the Kingdom of God and set them free from their enemies had breathed his last. The text wants us to feel the dramatic reality of Jesus’ death. He really died. Pilate confirmed it. Then he handed over “the body” to Joseph of Arimathea who wrapped Jesus’ body in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb. Furthermore, he lays him in his OWN tomb. Both Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, saw the location of this tomb. These are eyewitness accounts, claims written at a time when other eyewitnesses were still alive who could corroborate them. We are reading verifiable history. Jesus of Nazareth died and was buried and with Him the hopes of this world.

Read More

Holy Week Guide | Friday

/
Holy Week Guide | Friday

Jesus was arrested in the wee hours of Good Friday. He endured a series of harsh and unlawful trials that would extend until dawn. The sleeplessness and agony of the garden had weakened his body. His fatigue was exasperated in anguish throughout the long day to come. Caiaphas and Annas, the former and current high priests prompted false testimony and pronounced their judgment. The Sanhedrin pressured the Pseudo-Jewish King, Herod, and the Roman Governor, Pilate, to crucify the Lord of glory. Throughout the evening and early morning, he was mocked and beaten both by temple guards and Pilate’s soldiers.

Read More

Holy Week Guide | Thursday

/
Holy Week Guide | Thursday

Bread and wine were two common items at Jewish dinner. But this was no ordinary dinner. This was the Passover meal and Jesus was sharing it with his disciples, his betrayer at the table. This was a meal rich with imagery of a past salvation and yet pointed to a newer and deeper one. The Passover meal commemorated the Exodus, God’s miraculous rescue of his people from Egypt. He delivered them out of slavery and into life and freedom.

Read More