Sacramento Association of Southern Baptist Churches

February 2025

Welcome to the inaugural edition of “E-News,” a simple attempt to convey important information and some inspiration via electronic means. We want you to be well informed about upcoming opportunities for you and your churches that are designed for your benefit. We also want to share a little inspiration along the way. With that in mind, let me share a thought on prayer, specifically — what is the purpose of prayer.

As a preface to the model prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said this:

“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:7-8

The Jews of Jesus’ time thought they could impress and coerce God by the way they prayed and the words they used. The Jews had a tendency to long prayers – the idea that if we pester God long enough with our requests He will finally give in and give us want we want. That somehow, we can in some way talk God into something. Or, maybe they need to tell God something He somehow wasn't aware of, that if He became aware of it, it would move Him to respond differently. Jesus says – do not be like them. The purpose of prayer is not to inform God of anything. If God is something less than all-knowing, all-powerful, and omni-present – then why bother praying in the first place. He knows everything about you and what you need – before you utter a word. Secondly, the purpose of prayer is not to somehow coerce, pester, or beat down God until He finally relents and gives us what we want. Understand that God is more ready to give than you are to ask. When we pray, we are praying to our Heavenly Father who loves us more than we can ever imagine and wants what is best for us more than we do most of the time. His gifts and grace do not have to be unwillingly extracted from Him. We do not pray to a God who has to be coerced, pestered, or battered into answering our prayers. But we need to also accept the fact that there will be times when we will not get what we want. Because what we want is not what is best for us, and God wants us to have what is best for us.

So, what is God’s purpose in prayer? The purpose of prayer is not to get God to give us what we want – but to find out what He wants for us and conform our lives to that. Phillip Brooks said it best, "Prayer is not conquering God's reluctance, but taking hold of God's willingness." His purpose is to use our prayer time with Him as an avenue through which He can conform our desires to His desires, that our view of our needs would match what He already knows to be our needs. We need to hear what God says is best for us and then accept that. We also need to thank Him that God wants to give us what is best for us. So how does all this happen?

WE NEED TO LISTEN TO GOD MORE THAN WE NEED TO TALK TO GOD

May we truly be a people of prayer!

Items of Interest

• FYI — You may have noticed that we are once again referring to the Association as the Sacramento Association of Southern Baptist Churches (SASBC). For several years we used the term “Sacramento Regional Baptist Network.” Recently, it was decided to go back to our original name. This is not a major change, and it will take a while to make sure all references are synched up. Truth is — we will respond to you whatever you call us. We just wanted you to be aware so you wouldn’t be confused.

• The Spring Semester of Gateway Seminary’s Sacramento teaching center is under way with several of our pastors and leaders taking classes to help them be better equipped for the ministry that God has called them to. We have been able to partner with Gateway to provide scholarships that help make it possible for our pastors to attend. Thank you for your support of the Association that makes this possible.

• We have a couple of new church plants that are getting ready to launch in the near future. We will be sharing more about them in the coming days. Again, thank you for your support of the Association that makes it possible for us to partner with them as they seek to reach new people for Jesus.

• February 20 — Pastor’s Monthly Lunch

• March 1 — Pastor’s Prayer Gathering

• March 15 — VBS Clinic

VBS 2025 - Magnified - Discovering the BIGNESS of God in the SMALLEST of things

VBS Clinic Register NOW!

     Clinic Details                             

Date:  Saturday, March 15th, 2025

Place:  Fourteenth Avenue Baptist Church, 6240 Fourteenth Ave., Sacramento, CA 95820
Map it

Time:  8:30 am - 9 am - Registration, Check-In, and Welcome / 9 am - 1 pm Worship Rally,
Clinics, and Closing Rally

Cost: FREE! Refreshments will be provided

Click the Links below for more information and/or to register!

Northern California VBS Clinic Flyer and Registration

Register For the Northern California VBS Clinic

• May 17 — Evangelism Training Clinic