Matt and I had a sweet vacation road trip to California and back! We went to Yosemite and Zion National Parks, then stayed the weekend in Redding visiting a church we like there called Bethel. On the way back, we visited a community we have a friendship with in Phoenix called Apprentice 2 Jesus, then Balmorhea State Park, then back home! It was a whirlwind trip, but we still feel refreshed and rested.
Visiting Bethel was a highlight. We decided that they like to have fun with Jesus and heal people in his name. Two great things to us! We felt a lot of freedom and joy while there which was really sweet.
Another highlight was visitng the community Apprentice 2 Jesus in Phoenix! We loved how they invited us in with open arms and were so hospitable. We got to go to one of the members' baptisms while there and get to sit in on their meeting discussing what next year's committments will look like for members. It was exciting to us since we're looking forward to being part of the AHOP community one day soon!
We also found out when we got home and were fixing something on our car that Jesus was holding our car together part of the way home! Thanks, Jesus. :)
Here are a few pictures.
by Moriah on Tuesday August 25, 2009
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Here's me and Matt close to the top of a mountain at Yosemite! The hike was 9 miles, half of which was pretty much straight up the mountain!
This is a shot of the soaking healing rooms at Bethel. Fun!
This is the prayer room at Bethel. We liked it, but not quite as much as AHOP. :)
by Matt LaCour on Saturday August 15, 2009
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Over the last few weeks I have been reading the book "The Nearly Perfect Crime" by Francis Macnutt.Macnutt writes about how the Church has slowly killed the healing ministry.And how originally the ministries of the Holy Spirit were for every person in Chirst.This has been an important message in my life lately as I have also been seeing God heal people around me.To just name a few of the healing that have happened.Two weeks ago Moriah and I had 12 youth come out to AHOPto be a part of our 1 week intinsive called Immerse.During this internship we had a girl's right ankle healed.We had a man's arm healed and a baby healed of a fever.The next week Moriah and I prayed for a girl with sores in her mouth and they were healed.And today we are out in California on vacation and heard of a woman who's gall bladder was healed and a man that had flat feet that was healed.God is Good!
Posted on Thursday July 02, 2009
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AHOP hosted the Antioch Network Gathering which began the night Leigh and I returned from Israel and lasted for three days. The Antioch Network is a relational network of churches and ministries who are self described as hard to describe. Over the years they have had goals and mission statements and have seemed to whittle their mission and goal down to simply and so profoundly "JESUS." I know that seems like an obvious thing to say, but I would suggest that it is a fairly easy shift from our goal being Jesus to our goal being building our ministry carrying out our events, maintaining and responding to day to day life, and so on. These things are good and have their place, but experiencing this wonderful group of believers who are so focused on Jesus, knowing Him, being known by Him, growing in the understanding and experience of who He really is, of what He is really like; this was an immensely refreshing and encouraging experience for me. Being around brothers and sisters who walk in this reality rekindled a vision and desire in me to learn how to still my busy mind and life and go deeper and deeper still into the wonderful embrace of my God and my King.
by Thomas Cogdell on Friday June 19, 2009
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AHOP hosted the Antioch Network Gathering on June 8 & 9.Antioch is an informal network of ministries in the US and around the world, and they gather twice a year to listen together to Jesus.
It was a great privilege for us to host them, and be invited to join them in their meetings.AHOP helped to lead prayer at noon and in the evenings, and provided food on the 9th.
The two evening talks by George Miley were amazing, and so on target for our calling as a community.The first was on prayer, and the second on reconciliation!
Here are links to the MP3s -- if you were not there, definitely you will want to download and listen to each of these.
- George Miley, June 9, "Practicing the Presence of Jesus"
- George Miley, June 10, "Reconciliation and the Return of Jesus"
And we recorded other sessions that may be of interest to you, here is a list of links for your downloading and listening pleasure:
- Amber Hunter, "Beatitudes" song (~ 3 minutes, absolutely beautiful song)
- Harp & Bowl, Michael MichelThomas Cogdell + team, Romans 15 (~40 minutes)
- Dan Davis, Legacy of Antioch Network in Austin (~1 hr)
- Panel Discussion, Apprenticeship to Jesus - turning into What is a Church (~1.5 hrs)
Thomas
PS: A few more pictures below, and even more at this link.
Amy leading noontime liturgical prayer.
Michael in a contemplative pose ... wow those arms are ripped!
Sandi & Amy
Linda worshipping Jesus
by Moriah LaCour on Thursday June 04, 2009
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A group of about eight of us kicked off the first summer night watch last Friday, towards the end of the 10 days of prayer. We're praying on Friday nights (Saturday mornings) from 12-4am. Matt and I felt like God was leading us to have the theme this summer be increasing our desire for God. We want this increased desire for ourselves, our city, and those He leads us to pray for. So, our first meeting was great! We started out praying from Psalm 42: As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, oh God. Then, we moved to praying for each other and hearing different things from God for each other. I think we were all encouraged! We ended by praying for salvation and evangelism to go forth with power in our city.
It's neat setting aside the night hours to pray: there are less distractions to entering in to intimacy with Him. We also will be interceding for our city in a time when most are asleep, and also when the most crime and darkness is happening. I'm looking forward to the next night watch!
by Matt LaCour on Monday June 01, 2009
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We at the Austin House of Prayer have just finished praying with the church of Austin and the Church around the world for 10 days nonstop. Finishing these 10 days with a prayer meeting that was coordinated around the world. This year we had representatives from every country praying together. It is such a great feeling to be a part of something so huge.
by Thomas Cogdell on Saturday May 23, 2009
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We're on hour 67 of the 240 hours leading up to the Global Day of Prayer. (If you haven't signed up yet, the schedule is almost full ... click here to view the schedule and sign up.)It is so wonderful for our community to get a taste of the glory of 24/7 prayer.We have set ourselves to build 24/7 prayer in the city, and yet because we have not focused on building it in our prayer room but instead helping the entire city grow in prayer, we are not 24/7 in our own prayer room yet!So to have 10 days of continuous prayer in our prayer room provides a wonderful opportunity to "taste and see" how good this goal of ours is!
Last night at community prayer was a wonderful example of this.Ben Sims prayed for the team from the session before, and from the first song it seemed that we had an easy onramp to the throne of God.Everyone was engaged, the prayers were passionate, the leadership was strong, and the presence of God was very powerful.Seeing the team adjust to Mari moving from vocal to guitar to piano, with Jason coming up and going back, was such a beautiful picture of servant leadership.Hearing those in the room lift their voices together, crying out for believers in Austin to let go of lesser things and pursue nearness with God, inspired me to lift my voice with them -- Catholic, Mennonite, non-denominational, regulars, visitors -- all gathered to gaze on God's beauty and call on His power.More pictures below ...
Wow ... 7 more days left!
Then the Global Day of Prayer on May 31!
How about this for an amazing fact -- every single country on the face of the earth has a registered Global Day of Prayer gathering!!!!!!!Do you want to be left out? I think not!Here is a link to a page that has all 9 city-wide services on the actual Global Day of Prayer ... make plans now to attend one of these services.
Ethan praying at the open microphone
Steve Jensen leading prayer, Matt on percussion
Thomas praying for our friends Reid & Tordis in Stavanger, Norway
Posted on Monday May 18, 2009
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O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by* the flesh? Gal. 3:1-3
A few months back I feel like I had an insight in the prayer room which I believe was from the Lord... "My people have freedom and constraint confused"
my interpretation is this:
There is a place of true freedom found in self contol, discipline and obidence that is not stifiling, it is not burdonsome, nor is it legalistic. Quite the contrary it is a broad place of security and acceptance where our souls are Shepherded by the Shepherd of our souls, where He makes us lie down in green pastures, where we take His light yoke and trust that He really is Good. It is a place of abiding. The problem is that things like discipline, surrender and submission can be seen as restrictive, stealing my freedom, they can be fairly easily dismissed as legalism; at least when action is required and not just intellectual accent!
On the other side, there is what is comonly thought of as freedom,
.... doing what I want when I want..., which in the end tends only to leave us drained and disconected from the vine. I think, to use Paul's word, we have been "bewitched."
Felipe
A few months back I feel like I had an insight in the prayer room which I believe was from the Lord... "My people have freedom and constraint confused"
my interpretation is this:
There is a place of true freedom found in self contol, discipline and obidence that is not stifiling, it is not burdonsome, nor is it legalistic. Quite the contrary it is a broad place of security and acceptance where our souls are Shepherded by the Shepherd of our souls, where He makes us lie down in green pastures, where we take His light yoke and trust that He really is Good. It is a place of abiding. The problem is that things like discipline, surrender and submission can be seen as restrictive, stealing my freedom, they can be fairly easily dismissed as legalism; at least when action is required and not just intellectual accent!
On the other side, there is what is comonly thought of as freedom,
.... doing what I want when I want..., which in the end tends only to leave us drained and disconected from the vine. I think, to use Paul's word, we have been "bewitched."
Felipe
by Thomas Cogdell on Thursday May 07, 2009
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As we launch this new web site, we the staff of AHOP are undertaking something we've never done before ... a staff blog. Why? Because life at AHOP is filled with hidden joys, challenges, and the activity of our great God. We would like to share with you our experiences, our thoughts, and our prayers. We expect to update the blog on a weekly basis, and all the staff members will contribute on a regular basis.
As I was in the prayer room early in the morning last week, praying from Zephaniah 3, I was struck by the fact that God has washed our sins away with the blood of Christ. How can the sovereign, all-knowing God ... forget anything? How can our sins not be always before Him? How is God able to cast our sins as far away from Him as the east is from the west?
As I pondered this, I thought about Jesus' words on the cross, from Psalm 22 -- my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It's as if at that one moment, when all the sins of the world were heaped upon Jesus' shoulders, the Father looked away -- actively did not look, did not see the sins and His Son's agony. Was this when my sins were forgotten?
It is a mystery. And the proper response to a mystery is worship ... so truly God is worthy of all my praise, all my thanksgiving, all my honor, all my power, all my wealth!
As I was in the prayer room early in the morning last week, praying from Zephaniah 3, I was struck by the fact that God has washed our sins away with the blood of Christ. How can the sovereign, all-knowing God ... forget anything? How can our sins not be always before Him? How is God able to cast our sins as far away from Him as the east is from the west?
As I pondered this, I thought about Jesus' words on the cross, from Psalm 22 -- my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It's as if at that one moment, when all the sins of the world were heaped upon Jesus' shoulders, the Father looked away -- actively did not look, did not see the sins and His Son's agony. Was this when my sins were forgotten?
It is a mystery. And the proper response to a mystery is worship ... so truly God is worthy of all my praise, all my thanksgiving, all my honor, all my power, all my wealth!
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