NEWSLETTER
Wednesday Edition
June 29, 2011 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
|
A financial downturn can be a spiritual upturn, believe it or not! Again, the question: what does it mean to be rooted in Christ?
The apostle Paul writes to the Colossians who "have received Christ Jesus the Lord..." to be "...rooted and built up in him....abounding in thanksgiving."
Indeed, let us combat a culture that does not encourage thankfulness, seeing that we are in the midst of a culture which spends billions of dollars every year to encourage discontentment.
Let's always pray for wisdom to handle financial and other pressures that come our way.
The Church Staff
|
|
|
|
|
MIRACLE IN GIVING
|
There was something miraculous in the freewill gifts that our congregation "poured out" as a result of the challenge that Pastor John gave us last Sunday. The amounts received for "Davao" and "Cebu" were the exact amounts needed to build and complete the churches planned for those two areas! Praise be to the Lord our God!
Now we are looking for your testimonies on how God has blessed you as a result of your benevolence. For some this may be immediate, and for others perhaps later. But we can always depend on God's faithfulness. God is good all the time!
|
|
MISSION REPORT
|
Following is a partial report regarding Davao coming from Pastors Prom and Norma Amoguis regarding the Global Outreach of Gospel Life (GOGL).
At the last Pastors' Conference, 28 pastors and leaders attended the Leadership Training seminars. Food and necessities distributed to all church groups amounted to PhP16,662.00. These consisted of rice, canned sardines, noodles, coffee, salt and laundry bar soap.
There are now 6 organized Gospel Life churches in the Davao area ( there used to be 8 but 4 of these were consolidated into two churches) with a total membership of 296. In addition there are 6 outreach groups totaling 200 people in attendance.
We will give you a summary of the Palawan report in our next Newsletter.
|
|
FIRST SUNDAY
|
This coming First Sunday promises to be filled with a lot of participation from our congregants, says Pastor L J.
Additionally, there will be several baptisms, and a Core Group meeting is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
We'd like to see everyone nice and early for the Praise and Worship at the "River" which begins at 10:00 a.m. Those who attend this portion of our Sunday service will tell you how immensely blessed they are! So, come and soak as the Holy Spirit drenches us with heavenly dew.
And you won't want to miss the blessing of partaking of the symbols of the body and blood of Christ as we celebrate Communion!
|
|
CHRIST-CENTERED LIFESTYLE
|
We have been reprinting the elements of the Christ-Centered Lifestyle on a weekly basis. The fifth and last in the list is "Fulfilling My Life Mission (Mark 5: 13-16; John 17: 18, 20-23)"
How does one accomplish this?
a) By deriving my sense of meaning, purpose and direction from my intimacy with God; b) by trusting Jesus in all issues by seeking His guidance and supernatural blessing in all my decisions (carreer/employment, family/relationships, economic, health issues); c) by investing my time, talents and health toward the fulfillment of my God-given dreams; and d) by using my resources (money, food, clothing, housing, relationships, influence, skills and time) to benefit others and to transform society.
(From the Gospel Life Pamphlet, "Strategy for Kingdom Culture Formation: Gospel Life Master Plan 2011")
|
|
MARKETPLACE MINISTRY
|
Are You Horizontal or Vertical?
"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight" (Isaiah 5:21).
Many of us have been trained to make decisions and respond to problems in a horizontal way instead of vertical. Operating from a horizontal basis means we try to fix the problem through our own self-efforts by bringing greater pressure upon it through our reasoning or our natural skills. Operating from a vertical position means we are seeking God for the answer and waiting for him to impact the problem. Perhaps it is a spouse who fails to put their clothes away, or a boss who is overly critical, or an employee that you clash with. When we operate horizontally we attempt to shame or coerce the other to change their ways.
God knows the solution to the problem before it ever exists. Our responsibility is to ask God for help to solve the problem and to rely on Him for the outcome. The minute we take on the responsibility, God quietly stands by to let us experience the consequences of our action until we decide to seek Him for the answer.
One of the best examples of the contrast between a vertical and horizontal dimension in scripture is that of King Saul and David (see 1 Samuel 25). King Saul thought the way to preserve his kingdom was to kill David. While in pursuit of him there were several occasions when David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but David chose to wait upon God's timing and await his own deliverance because he understood authority. David had such respect for those who had been put in authority by God over him that he would not take matters into his own hands.
Saul represents the exact opposite of this principle. He thought David was the problem and sought to get rid of him through force. As a result, he lost his kingdom because he chose to rule horizontally instead of vertically under God's rule in his life.
No matter what problem you face today, stay vertical with God.
(Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.)
|
|
CHURCH GREETERS' SCHEDULE
|
July 3 - Ruby & Ding Dijamco
July 10 - Linda & Danny Santos July 17 - Vonnie & Tito Cabrera July 24 - Penny & Conrad Miranda July 31 - Eunice Alinsod August 7 - Lelit & Tony Luciano |
|
COMING UP
|
Small Group Fellowships, Various Times and Venues (Ernie & Ruth Jordan's Friday Group are not meeting for the duration of the Lion's Den School) Wednesday, June 29, 7:30 p.m. - Intercessors' Meeting - Fellowship Hall Thursday, June 30, 6:30 p.m.- The Lion's Den School (No Lion's Den School this Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2) Friday, July 1 - No LOL (Living Out Loud) Meeting Sunday, July 3 - 10:00 a.m. - Praise & Worship at "The River" 11:00 a.m. - First Sunday Program - Pastor L J Dijamco 2:00 p.m. - Core Group Meeting - Church Sanctuary Monday, July 4 - Independence Day 
|
|
|
|
MEDITATION
"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values..
"We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics.
"We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
"Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; fill us with your goodness; let your love flow through us and let us recognize you, Jesus, as the fountain of all Truth, for the Truth will set us free. Amen!"
|
|
|
|
|
