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Seven Ways I'm Praying for You in the New Year

Dear Staples Mill family,

What a joy to be your pastor! In addition to my ongoing thanksgiving to God over you, here are seven ways I am praying for you as we prepare to enter a New Year:

  1. I am praying for you to experience a closer walk with Jesus in 2024. I pray you will successfully schedule and guard daily time with the Lord in the Word and prayer. May these quiet times with Jesus deepen your love and devotion to Him. Life is messy and each day may not be idyllic, but I’m praying you will persevere and experience His peace, strength, perspective, and joy in His presence as many days each week as possible in this coming year. 
  2. I am praying for you to experience deeper connections in the SMRBC family in 2024. Staying active in a weekly Life Group will be an important first step. Serving consistently with others in the church is another vital step. Don’t give up. Let us know if you have any trouble getting connected. 
  3. I am praying for greater health and joy in your singleness and/or in your family life in 2024.
  4. I am praying for you to experience greater victory over temptations in 2024. We all face various temptations each day – opportunities for anger, lust, pride, gossip, greed, inaction, and self-centeredness. May we choose the greater joy of obedience to Christ, rather than the painful deceptions of sin. Pray for me too!
  5. I am praying for your gospel impact in 2024. May God give you the opportunity to have at least one deep gospel conversation each week. Even if you only get to share or invite someone once each month that will have an impact in RVA.   
  6. I am praying for you to invest in someone else in 2024. Look for others in the church whom you can encourage spiritually. Consider starting a Grow Group, where three or four of you meet during the month to read the Word, pray, and encourage each other to grow as disciples. 
  7. I am praying for you to experience good physical health in 2024. We are family and when one of us hurts we all hurt! Let’s pray for each other to be well, and let’s continue to bear each other’s burden’s when illnesses and surgeries happen. 

These are some of the ways I am praying for you. Know that your pastoral team is here to help with all of these things. Use the online connection card to ask for help with any of these areas. We have resources to help you know how to meet with God daily, how to lead a Grow Group, how to plug into ministry, and even a counseling ministry to help you in your singleness and family life. 

I’m so excited about what God is going to do through us in 2024!

In His love!

Pastor Jim