2 Peter 2:1-10
 
In this week’s passage, the apostle Peter warns his readers to be alert for false teachers. Pastor Dave said it is arrogant and foolish – one might add, naïve – to think we will never experience false teachers. We must be prepared to detect and reject false teaching at all times; after all, false teachers don’t announce themselves as such. That means we must develop a firm grasp of truth from God’s word. Ask the Lord to help you (and the rest of us) make engagement with Scripture a diligent habit. Pray that we would be so familiar with truth, so able to articulate truth, that the false becomes obvious.
 
Lift up parents, who bear the great responsibility of teaching their children truth so that they can recognize falsehood. God expects parents to teach and direct their children, not set them loose to figure things out for themselves. Lift up everyone who teaches children or youth about God, because they have the fearsome responsibility of getting it right. I remember listening to a woman teaching 2^ndgraders about heaven at our church in Michigan. She described heaven as a place where they would have every toy they had ever wanted and where they could eat any flavor of ice cream whenever they wanted. I think she was trying to make her lesson relatable to the kids, but her teaching was not biblical. Let’s pray that parents and teachers will give serious attention to biblical accuracy.
 
By warning Christians about false teachers, Peter implies it is our job to turn away from them. But it is God’s job to judge and punish the false teachers, and He will. Peter backs up that claim by broadening his perspective and giving examples of God dealing with all kinds of unrighteousness from the beginning of time (verses 4-10). But how often we fail to trust God to do His job! Like Lot, our souls are frequently tormented by the lawless deeds we see around us day after day. We want to see the offenders punished. We look over God’s shoulder and tell Him what He should be doing, and when. Before the Lord, remind yourself: You, Lord, are the righteous Judge, not me. I trust You to right wrongs in Your way and in Your time. Thank You that I don’t have to carry the burden of punishing unrighteousness; it is a burden too heavy for me.
 
Calvary Family
 
Be praying for the four individuals baptized on May 15: Asia Wilson, Yunica Huezo-Hertz, Ashlin Muldoon, and Ben Muldoon. (If you missed the baptism service, you can watch it here.) Pray they will grow and thrive in their faith like a tree planted by streams of water.
 
On Sunday, Pastor Dave highlighted two upcoming events – the Memorial Day picnic and Summer Supper Six – and stressed the value of personal connection. To function as a community, we need to prioritize being together. Pray for good turnout and warm fellowship.
 
Please pray for Doreen Eckels, who moved to an assisted living community about a year and a half ago. She has taken three falls in the space of a week, suffering several fractured ribs and a Baker's cyst. Pray for calm trust in the Lord for Doreen and daughter Susan and for wisdom to know how best to care for Doreen.

You may remember Kathy and Dave Haberer, who moved to Portland, OR, a year ago. Please pray for Kathy as she makes a missions trip with DualReach to Cuba, June 3-18. Kathy and three colleagues will be teaching English to house church pastors. The goal is to improve the pastors’ English proficiency so that they can more fully benefit from training conducted in English by DualReach staff.
 
As you pray for VBS, lift up the many people already working hard to prepare worship music, skits, Bible lessons, games, and creativity classes. Pray that Diana Aksel will be flooded with volunteers to serve the week of June 27 – July 1. Ask the Lord to be preparing the hearts of the children who will attend to hear from and respond to the Lord.

 In Christ,
Carol Gilbert