Hollywood Prayer Network March Newsletter

[Hollywood Prayer Network]

  March 2011 Newsletter

Dear HPN Pray-ers,

 

Happy almost St. Patrick's Day!  As we begin to share what is happening here in Hollywood let's take a moment and pray for Japan, that the Lord would pour out His grace over that nation and send His comfort and aid.

 

In this beautiful month, our community has made it through a huge Awards month and now we’re in the middle of TV Pilot Season.  Thank you for your faithful prayers through these challenging and rewarding times. As you continue to pray with us for the entertainment industry we hope to give you more insight into how Hollywood works. We believe that you can pray with more wisdom if you have a greater understanding of the culture, people, traditions, things worshiped and language that combine to form the unique culture of the place we call home, Hollywood. One great resource for understanding this, the world’s most influential mission field is the TMZ or the Thirty Mile Zone! 

 

SUMMARY:

 

• Continue to ask God to guide Justin Bieber as he makes life decisions                         

• Would you pray with us for God’s continued financial provision for HPN?!              

•  Praise God that a lovely Christian woman is highlighted on 'Secret Millionaire'        

•  Praise God for U2’s lead singer BONO and his deep faith in the Lord                           

• We must pray for Charlie Sheen, who is on the road to self-destruction                    

• Pray for Anthony Hopkins and his faith journey                                                                   
• Pray for the dangerous influence of Scientology on our industry                                  

• Our industry is full of broken, hurting people who need prayer                                    

• Please pray for an HPN friend Barry, who asked for prayer as he produces              

• Pray for God’s presence at NAB, the world’s largest technology convention              

• Pray for comedian Ricky Gervais, who hosted the Golden Globes in January              

• Our prayer for you, the viewers, is that you will have compassion for artists            

• Check out our industry’s upcoming events and pray

WHAT TO KEEP PRAYING FOR:

 

• Continue to pray for Justin Bieber. As a 17 year old he is faced with unnatural life situations, public judgment and private difficult decisions that are challenging even for mature adults. Please remember the challenges that come with being a celebrity and for a teen-ager making wise decisions, acting always as a mature adult and being careful of every word he says, it is humanly impossible. He and his mom, Pattie, need our prayers for continued strength, protection, wisdom and peace. Click here for an updated clip of Pattie’s about how we can be praying for Justin and read about the prayer campaign that HPN is also supporting for Pattie and Justin: http://catholicexchange.com/jb/

 

• Would you pray with us for God’s continued financial provision for HPN?!  We are at our highest growth in members, prayer opportunities and open doors to share our vision, but we are at our lowest point financially. We know that God is faithful and we don’t question His plans or provision, but in our hour of need, we ask you to hold up our arms in prayer so that we will be strengthened by you and He will hear the prayers of the saints all over the world for our mission and our ministry!  If you would like to financial partner with HPN click HERE.  We look forward to reporting great miracles! 

 

WHAT TO PRAISE GOD FOR IN HOLLYWOOD:

•  Praise God that a lovely Christian woman is highlighted on 'Secret Millionaire'.  Let’s be encouraged by a show that is lifting up a woman who is boldly living out her commitment to the Lord. Though ABC has cut the references to her personal faith in Christ, Dani Johnson’s story is told about her generosity to the needy and her servant’s heart. Check out her story and if you want to tell ABC how much you appreciate her segment write to them at: ABC, Inc. 500 S. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-4551 And read about Dani at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/interviews/2011/secretmillionpublic.html

•  Praise God for U2’s lead singer BONO and his deep faith in the Lord. He is a role model for young music lovers and we need to recognize God working through him. Read this interview with BONO, who expresses his faith so beautifully. It should be an inspiration to us all: to inspire the curious, empower the believers and challenge the skeptics.  When you’re done reading, pass it on to your friends and family.

WHAT TO PRAY FOR IN HOLLYWOOD:

• We must pray for Charlie Sheen, who was the world’s #1 TV star last month and this month he is unemployed, desperate and out of control. He has serious emotional and addictive issues and he needs healing.  Our friend Terri wrote a comment on facebook that we found, reminding us that as Christians that must respond differently than the rest of the world, when it comes to judging, gossiping about or ignoring people who are hurting, broken and so lost. Instead, let's pray for Charlie, who needs medical help, spiritual help and God's unconditional love, now more than ever. Let's have our prayers be for Charlie's heart to be healed, so that he has hope for a better future. That only comes through the love and transforming power of Jesus. To read Terri's note and even respond, Click HERE.

 

• Pray for Anthony Hopkins and his faith journey as he talks openly about his latest film THE RITE, a film about a man who lost his faith. In a wonderful interview on Charlie Rose, Anthony talked about his own belief in God. Let’s pray for his hunger for truth, peace and contentment. To hear the interview click HERE. 

 

• Pray for the dangerous influence of Scientology on our industry, on the city of Hollywood and on the whole world. A successful and respected screenwriter, Paul Haggis, who was a devoted member of Scientology, has come out publically with the falsehoods, lies and schemes of the cult. Let’s pray that the revelation of the lies will spread. Let’s also pray for protection for vulnerable people and an end to the growth of this deception in spite of its effective media and celebrity spokespeople. To learn about Paul’s experience click HERE.

• Our industry is full of broken, hurting people. Most industry professionals are spiritually starving and those who are seeking truth often land on a false belief or reject the faith that they learned as a child. We can bring up many stories of unknown, struggling artists who get in horrible situations because of the loss of or absence of faith. But often the people in the limelight merely represent thousands of others who are following the same path. So, since we can’t name them all, let’s pray for Miley Cyrus and all the others like her, who have wandered from the faith of their childhood. As you pray, click on this insightful interview with her dad, Billy Ray.

• Please pray for an HPN friend Barry, who has realized that as he produces his independent film, he can’t get anywhere without prayer. He represents so many Christian filmmakers who are producing commercial films and seeking God in the process. We should pray for protection for Barry and for Barry to fall more in love with Jesus along the way. You can even email him a prayer at: [e-mail] or on his website at: http://www.linksofutopia.com/cms/

• Pray for the powerful presence of God to be found at the world’s largest technology convention this April.  At the 86^th Annual NAB Show, April 9 – 14 in Las Vegas, 90,000+ media and entertainment professionals from over 150 countries and 1,200+ members of the press gather to purchase content, technology and share the latest information on what’s new in our industry. It’s also a spiritually dark place for many who are surrounded by temptations throughout the week. We want the attendees to have a miraculous encounter with God at this gathering where one would least expect to find Him. As you pray, click HERE to understand more about the event.

• Pray for comedian Ricky Gervais, who hosted the Golden Globes in January and was so mean spirited that he caused quite a stir.   Many expected that he would be ostracized for his comments and yet, within a month of the controversy, he was invited back to host the 2012 Golden Globes. It appears that people love jokes told at the expense of others. In fact, some people felt the people Ricky targeted deserved it. He ended the evening with “And I thank God... That I'm an atheist." Let’s ask the Lord to surprise Ricky with an experience of Jesus’ unconditional love, and that this formula will no longer be true in Hollywood: funny + good ratings/ tons of press = forgiveness. For more info: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1657016/ricky-gervais-golden-globes-invited-him-back-2012.jhtml

 

A WORD FROM HPN:

• Our prayer for you, the viewers, is that you will understand that art always reflects or projects culture in society. God’s first act was creation and when He was finished He said, “It is good.” We pray that you will understand the crucial role of the creative artist in society and know that God highly values the work of the artist. They are needed to keep His heart and soul in our culture. If you, the audience, can value the work of the artist then you will be more supportive of the need to pray for and encourage the people in Hollywood and the global creative community. We don’t have to love their choices or their lifestyles – those we should be praying about. But we must acknowledge their importance in our world and lift them up to the Lord.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• HPN is sponsoring a Spring Bible study for women on Beth Moore's "Living Beyond Yourself" - an 11 week adventure into exploring the Fruit of the Spirit – starting Thurs., March 31 at 7pm at the HPN offices. For more info email Kathy Young at: [e-mail] or check out the website at: www.hope4hollywood.org/HPN

 

• Prayer for Hollywood every Wednesday from 12 Noon – 1pm in Wylie Chapel at FPCH. For more info email: [e-mail]

 

• The Annual Biola Media Conference is coming up on Saturday, April 30^th. It’s the largest gathering of Christian entertainment professionals in the world and you are invited. You can see details about the conference at http://biolamedia.com or to register just click this link: http://biola.me/cFAI9o

 

• Join our industry professionals and local pastors at Bel Air Presbyterian Church on May 5^th at 7:30pm for the National Day of Prayer gathering. We’re spending 90 minutes in prayer and worship for our country, state, city and our industry, followed by 30 minutes of personal prayer. We want all of LA to gather on the hill with us to spend the evening with God in corporate prayer! For more info, click HERE.

 

• For other Christian events in Hollywood, click here: http://www.hollywoodconnect.com/events/upcoming

 

Thanks so much for praying with us. We believe that praying for Hollywood will bring cultural revival.

 

Karen and Caren

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TIP OF THE MONTH:  Pilot Season – Can they deliver what the shows pre-natal hype has promised? 

 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:  "Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me."     Saint Patrick

VERSE OF THE MONTH:  "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God." Isaiah 61:10

 

 

 

If you feel led to support HPN, just click here for on-line giving or contact information for sending a check. All gifts are tax-deductible. Thank you so much. http://www.hollywoodprayernetwork.org/section/support