Fresh Ideas for Discipleship & Nurture

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I was preaching through the book of James a few months ago when I came to this passage:

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord" (James 5:13-14, niv).

How should I handle this text in a large Congregational church? What was it specifically telling us to do?

I thought back to my father, an evangelical Presbyterian pastor, who with my mother believed in praying for their five children when we were sick. I also recalled the words of a marvelous Christian pediatrician who stood next to our firstborn son, fighting for his life in an oxygen tent, and gently said, "I've found that the best combination in medicine is the proper blend between penicillin and prayer." We prayed together that day in Denver, and our boy recovered.

Now it was time to continue my expository series in James. I stood in the pulpit and told the congregation about a recent experience in our church family. A deacon's wife had been ill for some time and was not responding to medical treatment. Her husband had asked if some of the pastors and deacons would anoint her with oil and pray for her following a morning service. I was unavailable, but other pastors and some of the deacons had done as he asked. The Lord had responded with wonderful grace and brought healing to her.

So I announced that, from that morning on, our pastoral team and deacons would be available after each of the three services. They would pray for anyone in need of physical, emotional, or spiritual healing, or for broken interpersonal relationships ...

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