The annual fishing launch on Lake Mille Lacs was hosted by the Men's Ministry last night. The weather was pleasant and fun was had by all who attended. The fishing was good, the food was very good and the fellowship was excellent. Read the full story here.

The Men's Ministry continued the theme of Believer to Man of God with a devotional presented by John Schaenzer. This was part two in the series. Part one was presented at the Trap Shoot the group hosted last month. The series will carry through the annual men's retreat. You can read the devotional articles by following these links.

Believer to Man of God Part One

Believer to Man of God Part Two

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Hebrews 13:15
Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

While sitting at home wondering what is causing the pain, I look forward to the doctor appointment on Wednesday.

My work Pager goes off alerting me to the production of my day. A slow day, I was hoping for 62.5%. The numbers came in at 63%.

Having watched a couple episodes of Band of Brothers tonight which is about WWII, I am thankful for the sacrifices of others.

I turn to thoughts of thanksgiving for the poor number exceeding my hopes. Thanks also for my loving wife caring about my struggles. Then about my beautiful granddaughter and daughters who love me enough to visit me.

I turn to praising God for His loving kindness. Even in the midst of my struggles He is with me and upholding me by His grace. This is the Sacrifice of Praise and is loved by God as we turn to Him in our time of need. I am washed over by the warmth and comfort of His presence and comfort.

Believers are never to forget the constant presence of God. This is prayer when we enter into sweet communion with the God who cared enough to save us from the wrath we deserve.

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Praying for one another and the needs of the church is a regular practice in the Christian life. At Cornerstone Church of Blaine it is no different as we have regular corporate prayer meetings, leadership that believes in and promotes prayer and home groups that foster the building of relationships and caring for one another.

So how does one request prayer?

From time to time we see prayer requests posted in public on message boards which is a broader form of a person to person request. This is comfortable for some but intimidating for others. Person to person is probably the most common form of request as it depends upon someone with whom a relationship has already been built. Join a CCB small group and enjoy the personal support when you need it and offer support to others as they need it.

The prayer chain is another method within a church by which the request is passed along through a list of participants. In days past it would be a phone call to a person who then called one or more persons as assigned from the list of participants. Some people would not participate for lack of wanting to make phone calls. These days the chain is more of an announcement as people can sign up to have the requests emailed or texted to them. At CCB you can sign up to be on the list to receive an email.

1) Go to the church site, www.ccblaine.org
2) Go to the Members section and log in or register with the site.
3) Place your mouse pointer over the Members link and on the drop down menu click on mailing lists.
4) Click on the list or lists that you would like to be notified from. Ours is the Prayer Chain.

Requests can also be made in person at one of the CCB regularly scheduled corporate prayer meetings. There you will have attendees pray for your request immediately and remember to pray for you as you come to mind in the following days. Join us to pray as they did in the first century church and ever since.

"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."  Acts 1:12-14 It goes on to say that the gathering was about 120 people.

Corporate Prayer Times
1st Saturday of the month - 9AM - Sykes residence.
2nd Wednesday of the month - 7PM - Sykes residence.
3rd Thursday of the month - 7PM - Schaenzer residence.
4th Monday of the month - 7PM - Borchert residence.
Every Friday - 7:30AM - Sykes residence.
Every Sunday - 9:30AM - Stage Dressing Room.


You will not be required to pray out loud if that makes you uncomfortable.
Generally lasts one hour, there should be a time to fit your schedule.
Volunteers needed to host the 1st Saturday and 3rd Thursday meetings. Just open your residence for people to sit and pray for our congregation. Contact John Schaenzer with questions.

At Cornerstone we also have the welcome card in the Sunday bulletin which has room on the back to submit a prayer request. Simply write down your request and drop it in the offering basket. These cards are used at the corporate prayer meetings to pray for the requests unless the "For Pastor Only" box is checked.

Also, prayer requests can be made from the site, after signing in, under Members > New Prayer Request or by sending an email to prayer@lists.ccblaine.org .

Why is it that some people request prayer regularly and others do it rarely if ever?
Read More

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Station 5 - Mission Trip 2010

Where:

Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan, Canada is the destination where we will serve the local community by teaching the youth, running outreach events and encouraging the adults to grow in their faith and prepare them to go and preach to the nations themselves. The trip is scheduled for June 27 through July  5, 2010.

Pray For:

Buffalo Narrows

• the families of those who recently committed suicide in Buffalo Narrows.
• that the return of prayer to the local schools makes a positive impact on students.
• for God to prepare the hearts of many there to receive the Good News we will be bringing and through Steve's church.

Flippins and Church

• for the Flippin's testimony class at church - that it will be instrumental in empowering the Christians there to share their faith effectively and help grow the church.
• that new attendees to their church will continue to rise and for continued growth.
• that God will provide an effective youth pastor for their church.

Preparations

• that our missions team will be able to write and effectively share their testimonies.
• that our fund-raising efforts (both individual and as a group) will move people to support this event either in prayer or with money as God moves their heart. Praise God for the $700 raised through the garage sale.

Journey

• for safe travel on our journey. Specifically, that there would be no issues crossing the border either way. Health and safety while there.

Our Ministry There

• that we will make a positive impact during the July 1st celebrations.
• that we would especially have an impact on the youth - that trusting relationships would blossom.
• for the banquet and talk that we are planning - for people to see the need to attend this event.

 Station 4 Ministries

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Station 4 - Ministries

Pray for our church ministries and ministry leaders. Pray that our leaders will continuously seek God for guidance, provision and to do His will. Pray for our congregation that individuals will rise up in roles of leadership and support by being active as the Holy Spirit leads them. Volunteers are always needed.

Elders

Pastor: Dr Ron Sykes
Chairman: Steve Harms
Elder: Mike Vedders
Elder: John Mittelstadt

Ministry Leadership Team

Youth Ministry: Jena Lauzon
Adult Teaching: Alan Furst
Men's Ministry: Jeff Seversieke
Women's Ministry: Linda LaFrenier
Outreach: Toni Borchert
Prayer/Nursing Home: John Schaenzer
Property Acquisition: Matt Ashworth
Children's Ministry: Heather Sundal
Worship Team: Bruce Cox and Steve Harms
Care Ministry: Peggy Bergley
Nursery: Jen Porter and Lola Sykes

 Station 3 Healing                                              Station 5 Missions Trip 2010

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Station 3 - Healing

We serve a sovereign God and we desire to see His will fulfilled both in the world and our individual lives. He determines the times and seasons of our lives and we do not seek to short-circuit any work that He is doing in us and through us. God has taught us to pray and in fact commands us to seek Him. So we follow the Scriptural example and pray for one another.

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins  to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:13-16

The Pastor and Elders are available to pray for and with you if you desire to take the step of faith in being anointed with oil and personal confession if necessary.

Pray for those in our congregation who are recovering or suffering from ailments and struggles whether they are physical, emotional, mental or relational in nature.

 Station 2b Prayer                                                                        Station 4 Ministries

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Station 2 - Prayer (Part 2)

A Praying Church (From our Five-Year Vision)

We desire to be a church filled with people who are dependent upon God through prayer as opposed to being self-reliant. Self-reliance is more akin to pride whereas dependence upon God honors Him. This spirit of dependence is portrayed in how people pray. We desire to be a church where individuals have a vibrant prayer life where prayer is saturated through all of our meetings and where corporate prayer is well attended. We would like to be "a house of prayer"!

Please note the time change for the Sunday morning prayer for the service. It starts at 9:30AM, but you can come back to the stage dressing room, or leave, at any time. The worship team joins us shortly before the service.

Corporate Prayer Times
1st Saturday of the month - 9AM - Sykes residence.
2nd Wednesday of the month - 7PM - Sykes residence.
3rd Thursday of the month - 7PM - Schaenzer residence.
4th Monday of the month - 7PM - Borchert residence.
Every Friday - 7:30AM - Sykes residence.
Every Sunday - 9:30AM - Stage Dressing Room.

You will not be required to pray out loud if that makes you uncomfortable.
Generally lasts one hour, there should be a time to fit you.
Volunteers needed to host the meetings. Just open your residence for people to sit and pray for our congregation. Contact John Schaenzer with questions.

Are you on the prayer chain?

The prayer requests and lists sign-ups can now be accessed through the church web site. It makes sense to have all church activities centralized, so this too will be funneled through the site. I am sure that some of you have already signed up on the site while others have not. here are directions as to how to proceed so you can remain connected to the chain.

1) Go to the church site, www.ccblaine.org
2) Go to the Members section and log in or register with the site.
3) Place your mouse pointer over the Members link and on the drop down menu click on mailing lists.
4) Click on the list or lists that you would like to be notified from. Ours is the Prayer Chain.

Also, prayer requests can be made from the site, after signing in, under Members > New Prayer Request or by sending an email to prayer@lists.ccblaine.org .

Please keep the prayer team in your prayers as we get the new systems and prayer times under way.

 Station 2a Prayer                                                                               Station 3 Healing

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Station 2 - Prayer (Part 1)

While it may  seem silly on the surface to pray for prayer, this is where it all begins. Without prayer and seeking God for the work we do as a church and as individuals, everything is merely man's effort. Pray that we fulfill our church vision by becoming a praying church. Prayer is the path to becoming men and women of God. Our 2009 church goal is, "We desire to be dependent upon God through prayer and reading and applying His Word."

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:18

• Pray that your heart would be open to pray more consistently and fervently.
• Pray that your eyes will be open to the power of prayer and you will see direct results.
• Pray that we as a church will increase our desire to lift each other up in corporate prayer times.

Pray this Psalm back to God.

"The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the LORD in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise Your great and awesome name - He is holy. The King is mighty, He loves justice - You have established equity; in Jacob You have done what is just and right. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy. Moses and Aaron were among His priests, Samuel was among those who called on His name; they called on the LORD and He answered them. He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His statutes and the decrees He gave them. O LORD our God, You answered them; You were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds. Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy."

With God's Word, the Spirit's power, and fervent prayer in Christ's name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil.

Station 1 Communion                                          Station 2b Prayer

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Station 1 - Communion

One need not be a member of Cornerstone Church of Blaine in order to partake of communion with us.  The requirement is to be a follower of Jesus Christ, that is to have acknowledged one's sinfulness and need for a Savior and have submitted to Jesus Christ as Lord. The communion table is open to all who follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Step One: Read the following passage.

"The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup." 1 Corinthians 11:24-28

Step Two: Think of your sins and confess them to the Lord.

Step Three: Thank Christ for dying for your sins.

Step Four: Rejoice in the Lord and thank Him for everything!

Step Five: Partake of Communion

 Prayer Stations Intro                                                                Station 2 - Prayer

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Prayer Stations May 2010

Today's church service featured a shortened sermon time followed by a time of prayer. Attendees were free to move among the five prayer stations and pray for the various topics. The five stations were Communion, Prayer, Healing, Ministries and Missions Trip 2010.

At Cornerstone Church of Blaine we believe that prayer is of central importance to the welfare of our congregation and the effectiveness of the work that the congregation does. Without prayer anything that is done is in our own efforts and strength. When bathed in prayer, not only does the work become more effective and have the blessing and power of God, but we are also in a better position to hear and know the will of God.

Each station has a sheet with the items to pray for relating to its topic. The vision is twofold. First this time of prayer is important and beneficial for the specific topics that were chosen. Second is the individual who is praying as there is very real benefit for the person in communing with God. It is hoped that the people will also take the sheets home and use them as prayer topics over the coming days, weeks and months.

Prayer is not merely a spiritual discipline in the Christian life. It is the very real communication between our Creator, Holy God, and those who know the joy of salvation, those who were given "the power to become children of God." Prayer is the life blood of the Christians' walk with God. As with any relationship the communication between the parties will determine the quality and depth of the relationship.

Following are the descriptions of the prayer stations we used this time around.

Station 1 - Communion

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