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Gospel Life Community Newsletter
September 27, 2010 |
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Greetings!
We had quite a busy weekend but it was all fun for the Lord. When we serve our Jesus we do so in every area of our lives, be it in church, at home, in our workplaces. There should not be a distinction between the so-called secular and the spiritual because everything that we do, whether we are at work or play, or when we are attending church services, are all done in the service of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Let's continue to dedicate everything that we are, have and do to His honor.
The Staff |
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A Recap of this Past Weekend
There were a number of activities both in and outside of the church this past weekend, several of which were primarily for the youth of Gospel Life.
Youth Activities
Jeff Almonte and most of the youth celebrated his birthday on Friday evening at the Hometown Buffet in Puente Hills Mall. Jeff is one of our Praise Team Guitarists and is in his senior year in engineering. Jeff's mother, Grace Veluz, organized and underwrote the event.
On Saturday evening, Annie Dijamco, one of our Praise Team leaders, was feted at her home by her parents, Ruby and Ding (Leonardo) with a "going away" party prior to her departure for her externship in Tuscany, Italy. This externship is a requirement to complete her training in Hotel and Restaurant Management at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena, CA.
Small Group Fellowship Meeting
The Combined Small Group Fellowship meeting of the Los Angeles and Glendale areas held its monthly meeting last Saturday, the last Saturday of the month, at Medy and Irma Alcaraz's residence. It is hoped that ultimately all groups in the area will be able to save the last Saturday of each month for this group meeting.
An interesting interactive discussion was held after the fellowship lunch which started at approximately 1:00 p.m.
Pastor Hansel Completes His Series
On Sunday, Pastor Hansel Orzame preached the third sermon in his series "The Ordinary Christian Life." His topic was "Naturally Supernatural," in which he emphasized that a Christian's life must necessarily be in the supernatural plane, naturally or as a matter of course. CDs of his sermons are available at the church foyer or upon request if they had run out.
Final Lecture on the Tipping Points of Grace
Pastor John Tulio, lead minister, completed the series of seminars entitled "Tipping Points of Grace: Old Dogma Re-Examined." This was an exposition of several beliefs and doctrinal points that are unsupported biblically in another church group. The main thrust of this series was to show the biblical basis of the beliefs espoused at Gospel Life and to equip its members in the knowledge of these biblical truths. The last lecture was entitled "Asleep in the Churchyard: Conditional Immortality of the Soul," a discussion on the state of the dead. An outline of the series and CDs of the seminar will soon be available. |
Baptism Scheduled Next Sunday, October 3
First Sunday
Next Sunday is First Sunday and as is the case on First Sundays, we will not have the usual Good News Hour but instead there will be testimonies, special songs rendered, perhaps poems recited, or an interpretative dance or a skit. This special time is for sharing, but please refrain from "preaching" as there will usually be someone assigned to do this for ten or fifteen minutes if at all. There will also be baptisms this Sunday coming up.
If there are those who would like to be baptized at this time, please let us know, so you can be prepared for it.
Pastor Hansel is in charge of First Sundays. Please call him if you are planning to participate in the program from up front.
There is also a communion or the celebration of the Lord's Supper towards the end of the service. Gospel Life practices "open communion" where every one who has accepted Christ is welcome to join and partake of the emblems of the bread and wine. It does not matter from what religious affiliation one comes from: every Christian may choose to participate.
Prayer Ministry for healing, for finances, relationships and for any other matter is always part of the service at Gospel Life. At the end of the morning's service, prayer ministers are available to pray for you, have a word from the Lord for you or prophesy over you as the Holy Spirit leads. |
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Greeting Cards
The greeting cards we have previously talked about are now available. They are being distributed through your Small Group Fellowship leaders or individually from the Church Staff. Each family is requested to take care of anywhere from 15 to 20 packs of these beautiful all-occasion blank greeting cards if we are to distribute the first printing of 10,000 cards. A donation of $10 per pack of 12 cards will be appropriate. There are four different sceneries in each pack.
You will be taking these card packs home on "consignment". Please turn in all donations collected to the church treasury. Make sure you have a "control sheet" with you when you take these cards home. This way you can record to whom each pack is given and the amount donated on the same line. The person from whom you obtain the cards will also give you the "control sheet."
This project will benefit Gospel Life's missions locally and abroad. Let's all help enthusiastically to make this a successful fund drive! |
Marketplace Ministry
Situational Ethics
"Lord, who may dwell in Your sanctuary? Who may live on Your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart." Psalm 15:1-2
"I cannot believe they are not going to honor my bonus agreement," said the executive who was about to take another position in a new city. Her understanding of her present work agreement called for a bonus at the end of the year. Management saw the situation differently. "It's not right. I am entitled to that bonus," she complained.
It was time to leave. The company had given her a laptop to use. However, when she left, she decided that because the company was not going to pay her the bonus she was entitled to, she would simply keep the laptop as compensation due her. "And they would never miss it," she reasoned.
She was now in the employment of the new company. As each day passed, she grew uneasier about her decision. She could not get it off her mind. Finally, she concluded that the Holy Spirit was telling her this decision was wrong and that she needed to call her former boss to confess her action. She called him and confessed what she had done and why she had done it. Her boss accepted her confession and forgave her. Strangely enough, he allowed her to keep the laptop computer.
Truth never changes. It is absolute. When we make decisions based on other actions that are taken, we move into making decisions based on the situation, not truth and righteousness. The executive may indeed have been wronged, but she had to address the wrong in the appropriate way.
Trying to compensate for the wrong by doing something that violates another scriptural principle is called situational ethics. If the employer had never wronged the executive, do you think she would have felt justified in taking the computer? Probably not.
When you isolate the two situations, you see that one action was taken in response to the other action. Have you had any experiences in which you have used situational ethics?
The Lord desires His people to have a higher standard, even at the cost of being wronged. Ask the Lord to reveal any business practices that may indicate situational ethics. You might be surprised what will happen when you do the right thing.
(From Today God Is First, Vol. 1, by Os Hillman) |
Coming Up
October 3 First Sunday - No Preaching Service Baptism
October 9 Walnut Family Festival - Free Diabetes and BP Screening Clinic
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Saturday)
October 10 Membership Orientation, 2 p.m. (Sunday)
October 16 Strategy Session, 9 a.m. (Saturday) |
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May God bless you and keep you safe in His hands throughout the coming week.
Sincerely,
Conrad J Miranda
Gospel Life Community
Associate Minister for Outreach |
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