The problem with that is there are dozens of examples in scripture of God saying “no.” But why would God say “no” if I ask him to do something or give me something I need? There are two reasons exposed in scripture.

The first is sin. Oftentimes sin will get in the way of us truly understanding what God’s desire is for us, making it impossible to even know how to pray! On top of that, sin – if left unrepentant – separates us from God’s blessing and favor. We see that in several examples like when King Saul prayed for help and guidance, but had previously removed so far from God and was so engrossed in unrepentant sin that He no longer answered Saul’s prayers (1 Samuel 28:6-7).

The second reason God often says “no” is when it is not His will and because it is not the best thing or the best way. The most obvious example of that is when Jesus prayed for the “cup of suffering” to pass by him. But – being our perfect example – Jesus also prayed for his Father’s will to be done and left room for Him to say “no.” Obviously, God did indeed say “no” to Jesus’ prayer that he not face suffering on the cross (Matthew 26:36-46).

This really shouldn’t surprise us. God is the perfect Father. I’m by no means a perfect father, but I find myself telling my 1-year old daughter “no” about 100 times a day! “No, don’t chew on the computer charger.” “No, you can’t have another Hersey Kiss.” “No, you can’t have sweet tea instead of milk.” “No, you can’t climb the fireplace.” Does telling her “no” make me a mean father? Of course not! It makes me a loving father who knows what is best for her.

As you evaluate your prayer life, first ask yourself if you are leaving God room to be your perfect Father and say “no.” If not, begin to pray like Jesus, asking for God’s will to be done – not your will to be done! Then if you feel God is saying “no” to something you ask, remember that He is the perfect Father looking out for what is best for you…even when it doesn’t look like it on this side of eternity!

The difference is in something I learned preparing for a sermon a couple months ago that has really taken root in my own life. Demands expect God to do what I want and think that I need or think that He needs from me. Prayer, on the other hand, allows him to say no.

For too long the Church has taught prayer to an extreme – just name it and claim it! If a prayer doesn’t get answered, it must be because I don’t have enough faith or because I didn’t ask in the right way.

But Jesus taught something much different. He taught that we should pray, “YOUR will be done…” What a dangerous prayer! It allows God to say no. It means I have to ask for HIS will to be done and leave Him room to be God rather than demanding MY vision happen, MY wants to be met, and MY dreams to come true. He knows what’s best for me, and He knows what will bring him the ultimate glory even when it hurts or makes no sense.

When we give God room to be God and say “no” it actually opens our life to much greater blessing. We see his glory revealed through suffering. We see his lovingkindness when He gives us more than we even ask for. We see his hand of protection keeping us from what we thought we wanted, which would have actually caused more pain.

Part 2 will deal with some of what I’ve learned through prayers that God said “no” to. Before then, what prayers are you praying that might actually be demands? Are you telling God what he has to do, or are you giving him room to say “no”? Like any good parent, he wants what is best for you and sometimes that means you don’t get your way. Reflect on that and thank God for being the perfect Father!

Believe it or not, there are some churches that don’t allow children in their services. One of our sister churches calls it a “Pro-Kids Policy” rather than a “No Kids Policy” because they believe it is what’s best for their kiddos. We’ve stopped just short of that because we believe it is ultimately the parents’ responsibility to do what they think is best for their children. But we do strongly encourage parents of children 6 weeks to 5th grade to take advantage of the huge investment of time, finances, and human resources we are making in OneLife Kidz for their children.

So here are a few reasons why – as your pastor – I encourage you to have your kids checked into OneLife Kidz each week…

1. Relevance – Our Kidz team works very hard in all of the age groups to teach kids about Jesus on their level. It’s not very relevant for a 3-year old to learn how God wants them to share Jesus at work or for a 9-year old to learn how to honor God in his marriage. But on the flip side, I love it that even my 15-month old comes home each week from OneLife Kidz with something that shows me she is already learning about her Creator. That happens in all of the age groups. Whether it’s a 4 year old or a 4th grader, we believe your child needs to be learning about Jesus on their level, not learning how to apply it as an adult.

2. Learning Community – OneLife Kidz is based on a small groups approach, where kids are put in groups of other children their age rather than one large room with kids of most all ages. We want your child to be worshipping and learning about Jesus with other children just like them, at the same stage of life as them. There is power in numbers, and when your child misses this opportunity they don’t get to see that lots of other kids are learning about Jesus and sharing in their experiences, too. But when they do experience this it teaches them an important biblical principle for life, that God wants them to live a Christian life in relationship with others.

3. Empower Families – We don’t want to just be a drop-off zone for kids. We want to be a part of their spiritual growth, with parents being the BIGGEST part! So each week we send home with each child some resources to help parents take some next-steps with their children spiritually. These take-home sheets allow parents to learn verses and biblical principles with their kids at home. Our Kidz Small Group Leaders also develop relationships with parents to help them through these important years of growth. Finally, we are in the process of developing some new opportunities for parents and kids to learn and worship together!

4. Eliminate Distractions – When children attend a service that is designed for adults, there are inevitably distractions. Parents are distracted, worrying about their kids misbehaving. Others around are distracted when kids inevitably act like kids. Even a sleeping baby is distracting as everyone around watches the baby rather than engaging in worship (or when parents start bouncing the baby, blowing in their face, and cooing – during prayer! Trust me, it happens!). Even more distracting in the past few weeks we’ve had everything from criers, to bathroom runs, to toys and sippy-cups being dropped and rolling down the aisles. When this happens, it distracts dozens of people and potentially distracts someone from the message that God may have for them that day.

For all of these reasons, we strongly encourage parents to take advantage of OneLife Kidz. We believe it is what God wants to use to reach your children for Jesus while also helping us create an atmosphere for adults that will lead many to find Him there, too.

Oh yeah, and did I mention there’s a HUGE surprise for them this week, too?!

Find out more about OneLife Kidz here!

This Sunday, as a church we are going to take a big chance. We are NOT having services on Sunday morning! Instead, we – as a church – will go out into our city to serve and BE the church, not just GO to church.

If you are a OneLifer, let me go ahead and tell you – this is NOT a freebie Sunday that you can just take off! We want hundreds of OneLifers out in our community serving our strategic ministry partners to show that we are SERIOUS about making a difference in our city for Jesus!

Here are the six different opportunities you have to Serve The City with us!

1. Friendship Church Clothes Closet – Friendship Church – OneLife’s original sponsor church and a church “re-plant” themselves – offers an incredible ministry each month, distributing free clothing to those in need in the Karns/Powell community. They have a need for clothing to be organized and restocked before next month, so we’ll be sending a team to help them get ready!

2. Angelic Homeless Ministry – This ministry helps hundreds of homeless and displaced individuals in downtown Knoxville every day. We will be partnering with them all throughout 2012, starting this Sunday with helping them around their facility and serving in any way that they have a need.

3. The Overflow Church, Setup/Tear Down – This Sunday marks The Overflow Church’s one year anniversary! This is a church that OneLife partnered with to help get started. To assist them in their one year celebration, we want to help them with their setup and teardown since they are similar to OneLife in that they are a portable church. This team will also attend their one year celebration service!

4. The Overflow Church, Children’s Ministry – So that all of The Overflow Church’s volunteers can experience the celebration service, we will be volunteering in their children’s ministry for them! This team will work with kids birth through 5th grade for their one, 11:00 service.

5. Powell High School Cleanup/Landscaping – Come help us fill the gap in an area for the high school that they aren’t able to do for themselves. We want to clean up their campus and do some light landscaping to help it look great for the Spring semester.

6. Powell Middle School Teachers Gifts – The principal at Powell Middle School communicated that one of their major needs is providing teachers with tissues and hand sanitizer. Normally, teachers have to provide these for themselves! So we are going to put together gift bags with these items for the teachers and deliver them to the school. Come to the OneLife office this Sunday to assemble these gift bags.

If you haven’t signed up for one of these opportunities yet, contact natalie@onelifeknox.com as soon as possible to let us know which opportunity you would like!

Then, make sure you attend our worship night on Sunday night to celebrate all the God did through us that morning! This will be a stripped down time of worship, communion, and celebration. DON’T miss it! This worship night will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Friendship Church on Ball Road in Karns (click here for directions).

Can’t wait to see all that God does as we take chances for Him!!

The first thing we need is to free up seats in the 11:00 service. A couple of weeks ago we had over 20 people in overflow because this service was so full! But the 9:30 service has some room. Because more first time guests come at 11:00 than 9:30 (almost double!), we need at least 50 people who usually come at 11:00 to commit to coming to the 9:30 service. That will give us room to fill up both services and maximize our space.

The second thing is where you sit. This may sound crazy, but we need you to sit up close! Help us by filling the auditorium from the front to the back, and don’t leave empty seats between you! While you’re at it, find that person sitting near you that you don’t recognize before the service and welcome them to OneLife! Then snuggle up close with your new-found friends and open up more seats for new guests

The third thing we need you to do after we create all of these empty seats is FILL THEM UP! Remember to ALWAYS be sharing your story of what Jesus has done in your life and then invite those who don’t go to church to come with you to OneLife!

Remember, this Sunday is going to be a MUST attend Sunday! So get fired up, bring somebody with you, and let’s have an awesome day!