On Monday, January 4^th, 21 days of prayer and fasting begins, as we set the 1^st part of the year to seek God wholeheartedly and all He has in store for us in the New Year.

DAILY PRAYER GUIDE FOR 21 DAYS OF PRAYER AND FASTING

We have received a great calling, to make disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:19), to be Christ’s ambassadors, ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20). How do our prayers echo the prayers of those who heard this commission from Jesus (Acts 4:23-31)? They prayed for the impossible and for the supernatural, that his glory would be revealed for the purpose of bringing others to faith in Jesus. And they prayed for the removal of obstacles that would keep the church from doing what he had called them to do.

Lord, teach us how to pray.

We ask for you to teach our hearts to love the people of this city as you love them. We ask to shake us out of our self-absorption, to give our first attention and our greatest energies toward the things that are on your heart. We pray that we as the church would awaken and arise to lead and serve our communities. We pray for a release of your Holy Spirit to equip us and guide us in how we live and make decisions. We lean into your holiness and goodness, abandoning selfish desires, fears, and doubts. We choose to honor our relationships, preferring others (Ephesians 5:21), walking through life with people who are also on a journey to becoming more and more Christ-like. We need you, and we choose to walk in your power and the gifts of your spirit.

As we humble ourselves to fast and pray, we acknowledge you as first in our lives and thank you for all you have given us. We praise you from our position of dependence, for you have given us life and breath and everything else. We pray into the gifts that you have given us through your Spirit, that with wisdom we would know how to serve the world and demonstrate your passionate love for mankind. These are the things God has given us, the fruit of the Christian walk that you want to develop in us, and we believe that as we pray into these things they will enrich our lives, draw others to Jesus, and bring glory to God.

Day 1: January 4 - Love

Ephesians 3:17-18

We draw near to you to grow in our love for you, and we pray that we would each have a personal revelation of the love of the Father. We pray that your love would transform how we view ourselves and that it would teach us about ourselves and give us boldness. We pray that love would hold us close during seasons when we are hurting, that it would passionately pursue us when we are tempted to abandon our faith or our community or the things God has called us to, and that love would draw people who are far away from you into your family.

Day 2: January 5 - Joy

Nehemiah 8:10

We acknowledge a hurting world, often bitter and angry, often cynical and fearful. But we choose joy, genuine joy that calls out the goodness in everything you’ve given us and celebrates it. We ask that our joy would be a light on a hill that cannot be hidden, a source of warmth and refuge for people around us, that joy would be contagious and it would call people to you. The joy of the Lord is our strength, so we pray that people in our families and neighborhoods are strengthened by our joy.

Day 3: January 6 - Peace

Philippians 4:6-7, John 14:1, Psalm 23

We exchange our worries and our troubles for your peace, because you are greater than anything facing us. We pray for harmony in our church, among our families and friendships, our pastors and leaders. We pray for fear and anxiety to yield to the truth that you are with us. And we pray with faith for others in our lives and throughout the world who are experiencing true hardship, grief, loneliness, and lack that by some miracle you would rescue them and give them peace that passes understanding in the trial.

Day 4: January 7 - Patience

James 5:11

Everyone of us is shouldering a burden and fighting a battle. As your people, we set your cross before us as an example of endurance and patience, trusting in your timing instead of leaning on our own understanding. We ask for your strength to sustain us, that we would not sin in our weakness or accept substitutes for your best. We ask that we would be empowered to extend the patience you have had with us to others. We pray for your wisdom in seeing people’s needs, that we would be able to carry each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). Stronger together, we commit to helping each other stand up under our circumstances.

Day 5: January 8 -Kindness

Hebrews 13:1-3, Romans 12:9-13

Compassion drives intercession. We pray that we would recognize opportunities to show kindness, not just niceness or politeness, but the transformative power of being the hands and feet of Jesus in our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. We pray that every person that enters our church services would experience home and be cared for, no matter where they are coming from.

Day 6: January 9 - Goodness

Philippians 4:6-8

You are good. Help us to put our daily concerns in perspective and to dwell on the good. Help us to understand the suffering in our world without making apologies for you. Because you are good and sending your son was an expression of goodwill to mankind. Help us to live moral, healthy lives that also benefit those around us and improve our environment.

Day 7: January 10 - Faithfulness

James 1:22

In this new year, we dedicate ourselves anew to studying your word and listening for your voice with diligence and devotion. We pray that we would be faithful with the words God has given us, putting them into practice and sharing them in our testimony, so that there will be overflows of thanksgiving to God.

Click here for the full 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Guide. Fasting is an opportunity to open your eyes to see what to pray for, to be open to intercede. Here are some additional resources about fasting.

Bible Reading Plan for 21 Days of Fasting from You Version

21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Participant Guide, Gate City Vineyard

Fasting: Types of fasts and basics, Church of the Highlands

Food List for the Daniel Fast, Lakewood Church

Quick Tips for Fasting, Jentezen Franklin

LIBERTY CHURCH UPPER WEST SIDE & FUTURE CHURCH PLANTING
On January 31, 2016, Liberty Church will be launching an Upper West Side community. Part of this year’s Seed Offering will be invested into the Upper West Side, as well as setting aside funds for the next Liberty Church plant after that, wherever and whenever that might be.

INDIA
With 1.3 billion souls, India represents one of the largest mission fields for the gospel on earth. In partnership with Vision Rescue and their network of 3,000 churches across the nation we will help train leaders to reach the fast-growing cities of India, fund some new urban church plants and send our first Liberty missions team to Mumbai and Kolkata to serve alongside these incredible people as our partnership continues to grow.

HOW TO GIVE

Give Now

 

Give Without an Account

 

Our annual Seed Offering is all about missions and church planting. This year our theme is “Reaching The Nations, Expanding The Kingdom, and Building The Future” as we believe together to sow more than $300,000 into reaching unreached people both locally and globally. While your regular tithe funds the ongoing operating budget of our church, the Seed Offering is an exciting opportunity for all of us to give sacrificially beyond the tithe and to help pioneer the frontiers of His Kingdom. So let’s all pray about our part to play. Let’s be generous like never before. And let’s not forget that, “The world of the generous gets larger and larger” (Proverbs 11:42 MSG).

Here is more information about two of this year’s Seed Offering projects.

Today we are excited to launch Seed Offering 2015. Our annual Seed Offering is all about missions and church planting. This year our theme is “Reaching The Nations, Expanding The Kingdom, and Building The Future” as we believe together to sow more than $300,000 into reaching unreached people both locally and globally. While your regular tithe funds the ongoing operating budget of our church, the Seed Offering is an exciting opportunity for all of us to give sacrificially beyond the tithe and to help pioneer the frontiers of His Kingdom. So let’s all pray about our part to play. Let’s be generous like never before. And let’s not forget that, “The world of the generous gets larger and larger” (Proverbs 11:42 MSG).

REACHING THE NATIONS

We’re looking for someone to join our staff full-time to lead & develop our outreach as a church both locally and globally. Through Liberty City we aim to serve and transform the neighborhoods in which we plant Liberty Church communities. Liberty Foundation exists to plant local churches globally with a focus on cities and reaching the unreached. Leadership of these two organizations together will require a high calibre leader who carries the vision and values of our church.

If you’re interested in more information or would like to apply please email your resume to trisha.schrader@libertychurchnyc.com.

This December, Liberty City is partnering with great local organizations to provide Christmas gifts to children in need in Brooklyn and Manhattan. We will be collecting unwrapped toys in all communities, every Sunday in the Lounge through Sunday, December 6. If you would like to provide a toy for a child, or be part of the gift wrapping and distribution team, sign up today at the Connections Desk in the Lounge, and bring an unwrapped toy with you this Sunday.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13 AT 2:30PM
BROAD STREET BALLROOM: 41 BROAD STREET NYC
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT.  

We have a big announcement… our Liberty Church family is growing.

With great excitement we would like to announce the launch of Liberty Church Upper West Side. At Liberty Church, one of our top values is family, and this time our family is growing via adoption. A year ago, Christ Fellowship NYC launched in the Upper West Side, meeting at the NY Ethical Society. Christ Fellowship is based out of Florida, and recently their leadership team felt lead to partner with Liberty Church. Over the next two months we will be joining forces, and continue to meet at the NY Ethical Society. We will officially launch as Liberty Church Upper West Side on Sunday, January 31st, 2016, one week after our first ever, all communities combined in one location, Vision Sunday.