The question is simply this: Should people in need receive prayer

during services? Here is another question: Should the altar of the

church be used for prayer? And what about this question: Should a sermon be followed by an invitation for people to receive ministry?

The best way to reason about these questions is to look at the ministry of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Before feeding the 5000 in the slopes above Capernaum, Jesus spent all day teaching and praying for people from everywhere. It was late in the day when the disciples discovered that the people needed food (Mark 6:30).

In Luke 18, when Jesus approached Jericho, He met a blind man sitting by the roadside, begging. Verse 39 says that, “Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more. ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ “Jesus stopped and “ordered the man to be brought to him” (v.40).

Question: Should the altar of the church be used for prayer? I ask you, did our Lord minister to those that came to Him? Yes, He did.

Question: Should a sermon be followed by an invitation? Yes, unless you want everyone to be in an impersonal relationship with Jesus Christ. There are times for an invitation and times to be silent. Just do not miss the timing of the Holy Spirit.

Dr. David Barrett, in the Encyclopedia of Evangelical Churches, examines where profession of faith is taking place in the world in large numbers. After his research, he informs us that profession of faith is largely happening where persons are in worship and being ministered to in various ways.

Final question: Is it necessary to pray for people during the worship services? My answer is this: Anywhere you lift the name of Jesus Christ and do not please man, God will be pleased. God not only blesses the environment but blesses the pastors who pray for people in need.

In my 30-plus years of evangelism throughout America, I have never seen a church praying for its’ members to have financial problems or lack of membership growth.

Some people will still object to this practice. My advice to you is this:

“DO NOT SELL THE KINGDOM IN ORDER TO PLEASE ANYONE”.

Rick Bonfim

Edited by B.Mckinney

There are many approaches to understanding the real ministry of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. As Thomas Jefferson did, you can take the miracles out of the Bible and at the same time can create one of the most complex and powerful documents on human freedom: ”These truths shall be self evident…” Many of us believe in what the Constitution of The United States of America says about human freedom with more zeal than what the Bible says about spiritual freedom. The best of us can be mesmerized by scriptures and at the same time deny 50% of its content.

“These truths shall be self evident.” In my opinion, the truth of the Bible is not only self evident, but desperately needed today in our world filled with turmoil. The problem here is that our interpretation of the scriptures is so damaged. We accept the cross as self evident, but we do not accept the miracles. We accept the ministry of Jesus but the Acts of the Apostles are taken with a grain of salt. We accept the ministry of Jesus as the Son of God, but have a hard time accepting His virgin birth. We will accept the book of Mark, but the epistles of Paul are not to be given equal weight. In a way, the evidence of the truth is not good enough for us. Many of us are intent upon fitting the scriptures to our own spiritual taste.

The growth in the third-world church is astonishing. Millions are coming to Christ in South America, Africa, and Asia. We have seen a revival that has swept through Brazil and continues to burn. Even the Pope is worried that his beloved Catholic Church in Brazil will be in the minority within the coming decade. Yes, my brother the Pope needs to worry. The Protestant Church in Brazil is electing senators and congressman and congresswomen to represent them in the capital of Brasilia. In the third world, it seems that the scriptures are “self evident.”

There is no question about the truth of the scriptures. The result is that miracles happen in Brazil daily. In our mission trips we see people being saved by grace in the hundreds. The people going on our trips to Brazil are changed forever to become leaders and anointed servants of the kingdom of God.

How about you? What have you done with the truths of the scriptures? Are they “self evident” to you?

Rick Bonfim

Edited By Betty Mckinney