Cornerstone Church Winchendon is into week 5 of a congregation-wide study written by, Daniel McNaughton and Bryan Koch, entitled Follow: Learning To Follow Jesus. Each Sunday our pastoral staff is preaching from one of the seven attributes covered in the book while the congregation reads the daily devotions and participates weekly in a life group focused around the topic at hand.
The group I am tasked with leading has been dubbed “Turbo Follow”. Rather than approaching the class as a traditional Bible study we have chosen to act as an accountability group. The class begins with a brief overview of the daily devotionals. Then participants break into smaller, accountability groups. Each group participant asks questions of their fellows concerning the teachings. At the end of each class individuals are asked to decide what God would have them do in light of what they have learned. Then we pray for each other. This week we will be discussing: Learning to influence the world for Jesus!
But this post is a weekly follow-up of our last class. For those of you who are unable because of business or geography, to join us on Thursdays this blog is a perfect way to virtually join in on the fun.
Last week our devotion covered Learning to Heal:
Here is a summary of the daily readings from Dan Mcnaughton’s Book, Follow:
Day 1: In order to be healed we have to allow God to touch us: Walls must come down!
Day 2: Jesus has authority to heal!
Day 3: Healing is God’s idea first!
Day 4: Faith is required for healing.
Day 5: Healing is given to be given away to others.
And here are the questions we discussed with each other in our last class:
Turbo Follow Questions Week 4- Learn to Heal
1. Tell the group about a healing (spirit, soul or body) you have received in the past.
2. What do you see as the greatest challenge to God’s authority in the realm of healing?
3. What can you do to eliminate that challenge from yourself and those in the realm of your influence?
4. What healing would you like to believe God for in yourself or your family life?
I would love to hear from you about healing!
Lillie-Put 
Well, Pastor J you know I have had several healings one of which is a peanut allergy, Hallelujah, and there are so many more including both physical and emotional healing! This class has been such a blessing the fellowship, learning from other Christians, most of all getting to pray for one another and feeling my faith as well as their faith be increased week after week. It has been awesome, thanks, Pastor J for running our Turbo class!
It has been my extreme pleasure Deb! It is so neat to watch multiple spiritual conversations going on in a room all at once. The depth of the discussions is truly wondrous to behold.
In order to heal, it takes great faith. I’ve come along way from where i used to be. I thought that healing works as soon as you ask. Recently i have been struggling with anxiety. I hate it and i wondered why i had to and have to struggle. Through this struggle, i’ve been able to get closer toGod than ever before. He really does take things and use them for his good. God is so great and loving.
This is a great realization Savannah! The truth is that God is often try to perform more than one healing in us through situations and so the healing takes time because it comes in layers.
I don’t think any of us really understand how awesome it is that we are able to pray for the sick to be healed. I know I can’t grasp how profound that is .In Luke 9:1,2 Jesus sent out the disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out demons, to cure diseases, to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Today we have been given the same authority through the name of Jesus Christ to do the same things as the disciples did. WOW! Just think about that. In John 14:12 Jesus tells us that whoever believes in Him will do the same works as He did and even greater, because He was going to the Father. After His ascension He sent us the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. We have everything we need to accomplish the same great things for God that Jesus and his disciples did.
This is such an incredible and often neglected truth. The power we have to reach out is vast beyond measure isn’t it Linda? Using it does come at a cost to us (in all kinds of ways) even as it came to the disciples but the result is nothing less than world-changing. I get excited every time I think of the potential God has placed in us. I must keep my eye on the prize though otherwise the possible cost becomes a little frightening.
I love what Linda said. I too, am awed by the power of His name and the healing that takes place through it. There is such a “Wow factor” in knowing we have everything we need to heal the sick and do even greater things than they did because of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. IT’S JUST AMAZING!!!
It is amazing indeed. Let us count the cost in taking up that power!
Pastor J, Could you please expound a little on what you meant when you said counting the cost in taking up that power?
Hey there Linda. I think LIllian said it pretty well in her blog here
http://growingupgodandbeingbusy.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/be-on-guard-nehemiah-421/
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