Sanctuary's Website Got A Makeover!!

Hello friends of Sanctuary House of Prayer!

This blog has gotten a makeover and has now moved from Blogger to the world of WordPress. So if you are subscribed to this blog in your favorite blog reader, please update your subscriptions to our new web address at www.sanctuaryhop.com/blog.

Also, go check out the site, as there is a lot of new and updated information about Sanctuary House of Prayer, our ministries, our leadership team, events, resources, and more!

SHOP's 6th Anniversary

It was on this day back in 2006 that we launched out with an idea and a whole lot of passion and began Sanctuary House of Prayer.  To be totally honest, we didn't really know what we were doing.  But, we were excited to give it a try and trust God with the results.  He had drawn us into a new way of thinking about life and ministry and His purposes on the earth and we just knew that this house of prayer was our part to play in it in this city.  There was a small group of us then and, although the numbers are higher now, we are still pretty small and hidden.  But, we have learned a few things, had our hearts softened and our paradigms rearranged and became even more convinced that daily worship and intercession was the wisest thing we could do in this hour of history.  It has been such an amazing journey and it leaves me very excited for the next 6 years.

Thank you, God!  It has been 6 amazing years.  I am thankful for being with such a great group of people who have given themselves to pursue you and your kingdom with energy and devotion. I am thankful for over 4000 hours of corporate worship and prayer.  I am thankful for your perfect leadership every step of the way. And I am thankful for your presence among us.  You are truly the reward in all that we do.

Brian
Ministry Director

IMPORTANT

Due to some scheduling conflicts we are postponing our evening with Carlos Sarmiento from Orlando. My apologies to all for this. However, we are rescheduling for the next month or so. Details to follow. This Sunday will be a normal day at SHOP, with an extended ministry time at 7:30pm for all who want to receive more of the Lord. See you then.

Blessings!

Brian

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Upcoming Event

On Sunday, February 5th, we are pleased to welcome Carlos Sarmiento to SHOP for the evening.  Carlos is the Director of Orlando House of Prayer in Orlando, Florida, and has been in this role since its inception in 2005.  At one time he was on staff at Benny Hinn's church in Orlando but God encountered him with a new direction and a house of prayer was born. He is a man of integrity and passion for the kingdom of God.  We are excited to have him with us!  He will be speaking and ministering to us beginning at 6pm on that day.  All are invited. 

Blessings!

Brian
Ministry Director

Onething Conference Webcast Day 1

A group of us are sitting together at the Community Life Church on Talbot and Allan watching the Onething conference in KC via video webcast and we are loving it! The worship is engaging and the teaching is the message for this hour. Come and be part of it if you have time. Let Him stir your heart these next 4 days.

Brian

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Holiday Schedule

With the Christmas season upon us, here are the relevant schedule changes for our House:

1. December 25th--we will closed entirely for that day

2. December 27th--no intercession meeting

3. Dec 28-31-- we will be webcasting the Onething conference in its entirety...every session to the wrap-up at midnight on New Years Eve! Come and be with us for this excellent conference. There is no cost for this event. We are gathering at Community Life Church on the corner of Talbot and Allan Street. Check the schedule of the conference sessions at www.ihop.org.

3. January 01--we are back at FCC with a full day of worship and prayer

4. Jan 02-- a new day in the schedule, this will be from 6:30-9:30pm and happen at the FCC building. We will have three one-hour sets and all are invited to be with us each week at this time.

Merry Christmas to all!

Brian

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Equipping Sunday

We are going to take a break from our normal schedule of worship and prayer to sharpen our skills and implement some things that God has been highlighting recently. It begins at 3pm and ends at 7pm. This is mostly for those who are an active part of the community, although all are welcome to attend. We will be having an intercession set at 6pm for one hour as well.

The following week, November 6th, and for the rest of the month, we are going to focus our intercession sets on revival in our city. The teaching series will also be focused on the same theme. We believe that there is a significant move of God coming to Winnipeg and we want to be prepared in our hearts and minds for what He has for us.

As well, all the others sets in November will be focused on thankfulness. We have felt recently that it will be a needed and significant offering to the Lord to express gratitude for all that He has done in our midst. It will align our hearts with Him and be a fragrant offering before Him from our house of prayer.

Join with us!

Blessings,

Brian

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Fast Day #8

As we begin our second week of fasting, we are eager to encounter the Lord and hear his direction for us.  Last night we talked about the activity of ministering to God and the fact that being thankful before Him was a powerful way to align ourselves with who He is and what He is doing.  He has great desire in His heart for us, even when we are weak and easily distracted.  When we struggle and begin to complain about our circumstances, it pulls us into a bad way of thinking.  Accusation against Him and the way He has been leading us begins to grow.  Soon, we are believing lies that God is not really concerned about us at all.  It is a dangerous place to be.

Being grateful and expressing thanks to Him, on the other hand, sets us free from the deceptions and allows us to see Him as He truly is...filled with goodness and love, and eager to encounter us.  Even the smallest move toward Him in love brings delight to His heart.  We are bringing pleasure to God with our weak attempts to follow Him in love!  Grumbling and complaining can steal this reality from our hearts and it is an area we want to fight against with diligence. 

As we continue on this week, we are asking for grace to fast, open access to hear His word to us, hearts filled with thankfulness and a willingness to search this out and speak it out with devotion. 

Blessings,

Brian
Ministry Director

Fasting information

Its Day #2 of our 14-day fast and I was alerted to a good resource for us.  The IHOP website has some excellent information on fasting and how to enter in to this discipline in a safe and effective way.  It is worth reading!  In this two-week time of consecration and turning aside to listen, we want to see fasting as a way to align our will with the divine order of Heaven and to walk in step with the One we love. 

Here is an excellent point from the IHOP site:

"Breakthroughs often come after a fast, not during it. Do not listen to the lie that nothing is happening. It is our conviction that every fast done in faith will be rewarded"

We are pressing forward in our weakness with faith and confidence that God is ahead of us in this, and that even when we are hearing little and feeling a bit worn out He is definitely going to meet us in our efforts.  This is an exciting time for us and what He is doing through SHOP in our city. 

Blessings and grace to all of you!

Brian

Corporate Fast

Beginning Monday, September 5th we are calling the SHOP community and all friends of our prayer
community to join in fasting and prayer until September 18th.  This is an important season for us, a season initiated by God and one that we want to press into with integrity.  Recently, we have been hearing that God is going to speak to our house and we are going to take the next 2 weeks to embrace weakness and really listen.  Please join us in this or pray for grace that we grow in love with Jesus.

Brian
Ministry Director

Happy Birthday SHOP!

On May 7th of 2006 Sanctuary House of Prayer began with a handful of people, lots of zeal and faith for the future.  This past weekend we celebrated our 5th birthday and it gave us all cause to reflect and be thankful.  I remember that first day well.  We were excited to be on our own and going for it, but in my own heart I was unclear on what to next and nervous that it might not come together so well.  The building was new, the worship teams were mostly inexperienced and we were learning on the fly.  But, the Lord determined to bless our efforts. 

We are convinced more than ever that God is doing something on the earth related to prayer.  It is not given to one group more than the others.  He is raising up a generation that will seek Him and agree with Him  wholeheartedly.  His judgements are coming to the earth and there are very serious days ahead.  Jesus is preparing to return to the Earth and He is raising up something wonderful in preparation.  SHOP is pressing to make a place for everyone who wants to be before the Lord in wholehearted pursuit.  All are invited.  For many, this will be your primary calling in the kingdom.  Things are changing right now and Jesus is looking for those who will really make Him the central focus of their lives.  We are on the journey together to see this happen.

It has been said many times that a house of prayer is established through the combination of three key elements:  the sovereignty of God,  the agreement of humans and the activity of angels.  In the past 5 years we have had all three in operation.  It was a season filled with challenges and required so much effort at times, but it was the grace of God and His activity among us that made it all work together.  He has established this house for His pleasure and purpose.  We are so grateful to be on this journey and partnering with Him.  He is worth this and SO MUCH more!  May the next 5 years be filled with endless hours of worship and prayer before the only audience that matters...

Blessings,

Brian
Ministry Director

Final Day at the University of Winnipeg

I'm sitting in an almost empty prayer room on the U of W campus. It's the first of four hours we will gather before the Lord today and it is a wonderful feeling just to be here. The larger group has not yet arrived and our worship leader for this hour, Paige, is singing the scriptures back to the Lord in affectionate agreement to Him. We have been here for 4 weeks now and today is the final day. I can't believe how great this was. I can't believe it's almost over....

Thank-you, God! You are worthy of so much more but it was a great pleasure to have been able to do even this much.

Brian
Ministry Director

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Prayer on Campus

For the next three weeks, during exam time, there will be a lot more prayer on campus! Janelle, the director of our local chapter of Luke 18 ministries, has booked the chapel on the University of Winnipeg campus and we are going for it. Meeting times are Monday-Friday from 8am-noon, with a combination of intercession for the campus, personal prayer for students and devotional worship designed to minister to the Lord. There will be incense rising before the throne in Heaven from this campus! Come and be part of it if you are in the area. Let's call out to the Lord on behalf of this emerging generation of leaders in our nation.

Feel free to email at info@sanctuaryhop.com if you require further info or directions to the meetings.

Blessings!

Brian
Ministry Director

Schedule Change

Sometimes you are part of something that is just so right, not just in this realm but in an eternal way, that you just know that you have to make it happen.  As we approach the 5 year mark for SHOP, we have seen the Lord build into us this internal knowing that we need to be before Him in ministry to His heart just because it is right in heaven and on the earth.  The four living creatures around the throne in Revelation 4 are unceasing in their declaration toward Him.  It is, in His presence, exactly as He wants it to be...and it never ends.  That strikes our hearts more and more as we give ourselves to this activity.  We know it is God Himself capturing us for something "other-worldly" and we are ruined for anything else. 

So, beginning this Sunday, February 20th, we are launching a new set.  It will begin at 9:30pm and run for one hour.  It is for all those who love to connect with God in the late hours of the day, with very few in the prayer room and the Spirit of God very present in the room.  We will be focusing on the Song of Solomon for the next number of months, using passages from this book as a springboard into singing about intimacy with Jesus and how He feels about us.  All are welcome to come and encounter the Lord.  Go deep for yourself!

One day, all of us will see Him as He is and the natural response of our heart will be unceasing devotion.  We want a taste of that today as well.  Join us...

Blessings,

Brian
Ministry Director

Another Wave

There is another wave of the Spirit's power and presence coming to the church in our near future. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows what has happened in the last 100 years of visitations: they are increasing and coming closer together. This is connected to the hour of history we are living in, of course. The day of His return to the earth is growing closer and many things are being affected by this reality. There is real trouble on the horizon and the earth is about to be significantly shaken yet again in preparation for His return. But, it will come in conjunction with an outpouring that is going to sweep oh so many into the kingdom in a short time. We believe there will be a move in our city unlike any in our history and several hundred thousand will encounter Jesus. The future is both great and terrible!

Before this comes and because of this reality rushing at us, we are giving ourselves to intercession for our city and ministry to God in wholehearted worship and devotion. It is the wisest thing you can do in the hours right before the most significant events in your city's history. Not only are we not going to deny the reality or run and hide from the challenges, but we are going to be found in the middle of it all. We are going to play our part now, calling for change and living like it is coming. And we are going to keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus as the centre of all that matters in that hour.

Jesus, do what you need to do. Return to take this planet for yourself. Take what is rightfully yours. We wait for you.

Brian
Ministry Director

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We are moving...again!

After 4 whole weeks at Tabor Baptist Church in the east side of the city, we are relocating this Sunday to our new home (for now).  You can find us at Faith Covenant Church, 1229 Windermere Avenue, located near Pembina and Jubilee. The start time remains the same (3pm) and we will continue to do what we do.

We are excited to see what God has for us in this next location. This journey has been so interesting.  We had the opportunity to share a building with a small Baptist in an area of the city we rarely go to, and now God is having us change locations, denominations and the area of the city.  We know that He has a permanent location waiting for us at the appropriate time.  The details will become clear when He reveals them to us.  But, for now, we want to remain thankful for what He is doing and choose to walk in step with Him.

If you are in the area, drop in and pray with us. 

Blessings!

Brian

Our new meeting place

Beginning this Sunday, we will be meeting at Tabor Baptist Church (710 Madeline Street) in the Transcona neighborhood of Winnipeg. We begin at 3pm as usual. We are on the move!

A Weekend of Thankfulness

The day is finally here...we are about to have our final Sunday at the building where it all began for us.  It has been a great 4+ years and leaving here now feels like the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.  It is certainly exciting...I can hardly believe it is happening.

As we talked about this transition, it became obvious to all that the best way to end this chapter is with a day filled with thanks!  We want to pause on looking ahead for a day and instead look back at all that God has done in us and in what He has built among us.  We want to build a monument to the Lord in the spirit realm, a statement before all who are listening on earth and in the spirit realm...He is good! 

The Lord showed us a few years ago that the activity of declaring our thanks to Him for how He has led is like fragrant incense before Him.  It pleases His heart.  To fail to do this, however, is essentially the same as accusing Him of being a bad leader.  We are telling Him that "we don't trust you with our future because we don't see anything good about the way you led us in the past".  And none of us wants to do this.   We know He is good and we know that our lives and journeys are a reflection of this...if we choose to see the good in it. 

In the days of the establishing of Solomon's temple in 2 Chronicles, the priests and singers raised up a declaration before the Lord together:  "the Lord is good and His love endures forever".  On this final Sunday in SHOP Phase 1, we are excited to declare this once again.  Come and celebrate with us as  we step forward into what He has for us next.  He is such a good leader.

Blessings!

Brian

WE ARE MOVING!

Things have been happening quickly in the last few months and God is doing something significant in our community.  The A2A conference with Justin Rizzo was an amazing weekend and we were all stirred around the significance of what we were pressing for: night and day worship and prayer.  It became clear to many of us that it just needs to happen in our city.  God is worthy of it.

In the last few weeks, we were asked by the leaders of the church in which we meet to end our time in their building.  King's Fellowship has been the best friends to Sanctuary House of Prayer in the last 4 years.  We have benefited from the use of the building and the freedom to grow in what we are called to pursue.  They are now in need of the space, their space, so we are moving to a new place.  Our last Sunday there will be September 5th.  A great chapter will end for us...and a new one will begin!

The issue now before us, however, is where to go next.  We are aggressively searching and praying, considering all kinds of options in the short time we have before us.  The Lord has been present in many encouraging ways and we know that this is the season of acceleration He told us was coming so often in the past year.  It is exciting although, to be honest, just a little scary.  Like any transition, things tend to get more intense as we get closer to the end.  We know there is a happy ending coming, but the process is stressful and requires real faith and confidence in His leading.

We would ask that you join us in three key ways:

1. PRAY that God would show us what the next place is for this house of prayer, and that He would make the pathway forward a smooth and straight one.  We know He cares and is very involved in our affairs, so we are posturing ourselves to ask for His help and direction in every aspect of this transition.  Where is the correct building?  What area of town is the right one for this next season of growth?  What is an appropriate price to pay and how will be best fund our new facility?   There are challenges ahead, as you can see.

2. SEARCH for a building whenever you think of it.  There are so many possibilities and they sometimes come to light as we keep our eyes open in our day-to-day activities.  We know for sure that we do not want to be in the west end of the city.  But, short of that, we are open to all options at this point.  As well, we are considering leasing and purchasing.  Again, it all depends on the specific building.  If you have an idea, email us at info@sanctuaryhop.com and we will follow it up.

3. PARTNER with us in practical ways.  We are going to need some help financially for things to move forward and we believe that there are folks who the Lord will ask to serve His purposes through giving.  Ask God what you should do.  Be obedient to His direction, of course.  Lets see what He is weaving together.  If you want to contribute to the purchase of a building, that would be terrific!  As well, we will need practical things as we settle somewhere (paint, carpet, chairs, sound equipment, etc) and all of these items cost money too.  Any way in which you can walk with us will be greatly appreciated. 

We are excited to see what the near future has for us as we focus our eyes on Him and do what we He is asking.  As things progress, we will update you.

Blessings and thanks!

Brian
Ministry Director

A2A is here!

It all begins Friday at 7pm at Calvary Temple. Head down to the
basement and get ready to worship. On Saturday, we begin the next
morning at 9am. We will maintain ongoing worship all day without
stopping and end the day at 8:30pm. It is entirely free and open for
all to attend.

Blessings!

Brian

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