1. PRAYER  John 16:23-24 “…Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

2. Sayings from the Church Fathers:  "The day when God is absent, when He is silent - that is the beginning of prayer. Not when we have a lot to say, but when we say to God “I can’t live without You.” - Metropolitan Anthony Bloom; from: Beginning to Pray  “Do not be inept in the requests you make to God, otherwise you will insult God through your ignorance”. - Isaac the Syrian; from: The Wisdom of St Isaac the Syrian  “Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance, suppresses anger, restrains pride and envy, draws down the Holy Spirit into the soul, and raises man to heaven. - Ephraim the Syrian; from: Orthodox Prayer Life

3.  “ Interview with Archbishop Anthony Bloom ” in: BEGINNING TO PRAY

4. Intro Chapter: Summary  An interview with Archbishop Anthony Bloom  Hard start to life  Up to his middle teens, he was an unbeliever and very aggressively anti-church.  Recollection of his first deep spiritual experience – a priest he met during a boys’ summer camp (@ 11yrs): “[This priest] had love to spare for everyone and his love wasn’t conditioned by whether we were good and it never changed when we were bad. It was an unconditional ability to love ”. -- Only later could he understand that this was a love that was beyond him (the priest), a divine love.

5. Intro Summary (continued…)  “If happiness is aimless, it’s unbearable” because it had no further meaning.  He gave himself a year to find meaning or he would commit suicide.  He heard a lecture by a priest and his ears “pricked up” with profound repulsiveness to the image of Christ and Christianity that he heard. He rushed home to check the truth of the priests every word in a Gospel.  TURNING POINT: As he was reading the beginning of St. Mark’s Gospel, on the other side of his desk there was a presence; with all certainty, he knew it was Christ – Christ was alive to him & he was in His presence – the Resurrection became more certain to him than any event of history.

6. Questions for Discussion 1) Archbishop Anthony's father is quoted on page 5: "Always remember that whether you are alive or dead matters nothing. What matters is what you live for and what you are prepared to die for?” -- How can I teach this to my children / others? 2) On page 8 Archbishop Anthony shares how unconditional love touched his life. Name one of the first examples of unconditional love in your life, other than your parents. 3) Archbishop Anthony speaks of, "doubting in order to discover the reality of life." [p.11] Share an experience of doubting which became a lesson of life.

7. Questions for Discussion (continued...) 4) D o I see myself as a beggar, hoping someone else will pay or am I prepared to pay the cost? [p.13] 5) Do you agree with the statement, "the realm of God is dangerous"? [p.15] Give an example. 6) How do I feel about the statement "there is a way of being defeated, even in our faith and a this is a way of sharing the anguish of our Lord” [p.18]?

8. Lets be united in making this a “FIREY” CHURCH  A GUARANTEE:  If we ALL make the commitment TODAY to: 1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work through us before everything that we do, and 2. PRAY TOGETHER at each monthly Servant’s Prayer meeting ( only 1.5hrs - once a month! ), just as the disciples did in the upper room on Pentecost Day…  …from now on we will see the Holy Spirit work WONDERS IN OUR LIVES, CHURCH & SERVICE!  Lets REFUSE to serve in vain!