Pastor’s Letter for September 2023

09/06/23.

Pastor Jim Martin of St. Matthew United Methodist Church in Weston, WV
Pastor Jim Martin

Beginning the first Sunday of September, you are invited to join in a journey of prayer with others here at St. Matthew and across the West Virginia Conference of United Methodists for 28 days:  Sept. 3 through Sept. 30.  We will be engaging in what has been described as Breakthrough Prayer. 

We have three ways in which to participate. 

The simplest means is to set aside a few moments on each Wednesday of September to pray a simple but powerful prayer.  It is a prayer when offered in complete surrender to God can be life changing.  I ask that we pray wherever we might be at 7 p.m. each Wednesday of September the following prayer or your personal form of it:

“Lord, what is new and next that you have for me in mission and ministry, and what is new and next in mission and ministry for my community of faith: St. Matthew.”  As we briefly pray this prayer, I ask that we commit ourselves to continually look and listen for what God may answer us.   

Secondly, we have a devotional book, Dynamite Prayer – A 28 Day Experiment.  The adult Sunday school classes will have copies available starting this coming Sun., Sept. 3.  I am inviting you to include a daily devotion from this devotional book with your regular devotional and or prayer time each day for 28 days. 

If you wish to participate in praying these daily devotionals but do not attend a Sunday school class, please let us know by speaking with me or you contact us at our office so that we may secure a copy for you. 

Thirdly, I will be offering 4 teaching sessions on “Breakthrough Prayer” at three different times during the coming weeks.  One session will be on Sunday mornings during Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. beginning September 3.  This session will be with the Good News Sunday School Class which meets in the Fellowship Hall. 

The other two sessions will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evenings beginning September 6.   We will meet in the Conference Room in the Office Building.  The third session will be 10 a.m. on Thursday mornings. 

Overall, my hope and “prayer” for the month of September 2023 is that as a congregation we will begin to practice praying together and begin to experience how powerful prayer can be when as a community we fully surrender ourselves to God’s resurrection power. 

If you have questions please contact me, morning, noon or night!  I am happy to answer any questions or to help explain further Breakthrough Prayer.   

Peace,

Pastor Jim