SERVE Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Recently Dick and I were part of a team from Greencastle Baptist Church who participated in the SERVE Wilkes-Barre/Scranton missions weekend. Partnered with the Baptist Resource Network and the Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief, 500 volunteers descended on the area to minister to first responders, nurses, and veterans, and to help a Spanish-speaking church plant reach out into their neighborhood to share the Gospel.

The team we joined up with made hundreds of bead and rawhide “Witness Bracelets” like the one in the picture. Our team then divided up into groups of 3-4, with at least one Spanish speaking person in each group. As we walked the streets, we passed them out to anyone we met who was willing to listen as we explained what each bead meant:

Yellow: Heaven is God’s holy home. (Revelation 21:22)

Black: Everyone sins and is far away from God. (Romans 3:23)

Red: Jesus died on the cross as payment for our forgiveness. (Romans 6:23)

White: Jesus blood cleanses us from sin (1 John 1:7)

Green: We need to grow in grace and knowledge of God. (2 Peter 3:18)

Through the efforts of all the teams, 24 people came to know Jesus during the SERVE Wilkes Barre/Scranton missions outreach! So awesome! Hundreds of people were prayed for and invited to Christ-centered events and churches. We pray that the spiritual seeds that were planted will be watered and nurtured by the Holy Spirit.

This mission opportunity showed me that I need to work on my face-to-face witness to others. While it’s easy to talk about Jesus on this blog, it’s not so easy one-on-one.

If you ever get the chance to participate in a community outreach to share the gospel and pray with others, I urge you to do so. I guarantee you will come away with new insights and a sense of awe at what God can do when we are willing to step out in faith.

Be encouraged!

©2025 Pamela D. Williams

Teach Us To Pray

The people Jesus called to follow Him had no formal training as leaders in the church. They needed guidance, knowledge, and wisdom. They weren’t even sure how they should pray. In Luke 11:1 Jesus’ disciples ask Him to teach them to pray, and He gives them what we call today, “The Lord’s Prayer” as a guideline for them and us to follow as we converse with God.

The Lord’s Prayer suggests we include praise and petitions to our Heavenly Father for His holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as for our needs like daily bread, forgiveness, and spiritual protection.

Jesus’ own prayer life also taught His disciples and us many aspects of prayer. Scripture records several of Jesus’ prayers that we can look to for guidance in our own prayer lives.

Some of Jesus’ prayers were long and reflective. (John 17) Others were short and direct. (Luke 23:24) Jesus prayed in solitary, (Mark 1:35) and with others. (Matthew 18:19) Jesus prayed for others (John 17:9) and for Himself (Mark 19:13, Matt. 26:42). Jesus taught that prayers should be humble, not self-exalting (Luke 18:9-14) and that prayers should be submissive to God’s will, not insistent on our own. (Luke 22:42)

For Jesus—and for us—prayer is a conversation with our loving, wise, and trustworthy Father. It is not us trying to impress Him with our wordiness or to manipulate a positive outcome from Him with our persuasive language skills. Hebrews 5:7-10 says, “In His life on earth Jesus made His prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save Him from death. Because He was humble and devoted, God heard Him. But even though He was God's Son, He learned through His sufferings to be obedient.” That’s what God wants in our prayers—humility, devotion, and obedience.

Be encouraged!

©2025 Pamela D. Williams