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NEWSLETTER Monday Edition
August 20, 2012 |
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Greetings!
Challenges to our faith in God's power come to us day by day. Many times we lose sight of His promises and dwell easily on the things that assail us from either side. When we let go of our focus on Him who is the Supplier of all our needs, physical, material or spiritual, the level of our attention is drawn to a much lower plane than is necessary to keep our perspective on higher ground. Let's find assurance from this verse in Psalm 16:8 - "I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me." The Church Staff |
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 Pastor Tony Speaks at the Good News Hour
Hard to believe and even more difficult to understand is the biblical truth "Once Saved, Always Saved." And yet, Pastor Tony Luciano laid out in simple terms with ample biblical support this principle that has elicited debate among Christians of various persuasions.
The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints finds credence in John 5:24 where Jesus says, "...those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life." NLT
Again in the familiar verses of John 3:16-18 many do not go beyond the 16th verse, but if they read the next two verses, they tell us that "God sent his son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him" and that "there is no judgment against anyone who believes in him." NLT
Another set of verses in John 10:27-29 state that those who follow Him "receive eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me..." and "No one can snatch them from the Father's hand" either. NLT
Pastor Tony went on to explain that this is all possible through the "perseverance of faith" that God gives to all believers. This is made even more certain because Jesus Himself and the Holy Spirit pray and intercede for us on a continuing basis. (John 17:20,24; Hebrews 17:25; Romans 8:26)
(All in all, this is made possible through Jesus Christ's finished work on the cross which God recognizes as sufficient to cover all the wrongs that humankind has done, past, present and future, once for all time. -- Editor) |
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 Lion's Den Graduation
Another graduation program comes to us on Sunday as the present batch of Lion's Den students finishes the course work they have done in the last three months.
Keith Ferrante from The Mission at Vacaville, CA who is one of the guest faculty of the Lion's Den School, will also be our guest speaker for the graduation/Good News Hour tandem.
We all look forward to Keith's ministry this weekend. |
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 Men's Breakfast Group
The upcoming Men's Retreat will be based on the movie "Courageous" (from the makers of the movie "Fireproof"). The movie will be shown on Friday evening, September 21, at 7:30 p.m.
The following morning, Saturday, September 22, there will be breakout sessions for the attendees who will go through a related bible study that essentially says "honor begins at home." this will start at 8:30 a.m. and will conclude at about 12:30 p.m. |
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 Prison Ministry
Please do not forget that the bible and book drive for the Prison Ministry being coordinated by the Monday evening SGF is still going on.
Kindly deposit the soft cover/paperback books and bibles in the large white box located at the church foyer. Please make sure that there are no names, telephone numbers or addresses written within the covers of the donated material. |
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Ministry of Grace Corner
The success of the ministry of giving is dictated by the natural principle of sowing and harvesting.
2 Corinthians 9:6 - "Remember this: Whaoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." NIV |
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 Marketplace Ministry
Unlimited Potential
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13
What might God want to accomplish through you in your lifetime? As a workplace believer, you may yet have your greatest contribution to society. Such was the case of Cyrus McCormick, born in 1809. Raised on a farm by an inventor father, Cyrus McCormick sought to invent a mechanical reaper to harvest wheat. His father's attempts at inventing a successful machine had failed until Cyrus, at 22, created one that worked. McCormick had to overcome many setbacks including the loss of his patent 14 years after his first invention. This opened up competition. Then, in 1837 he went bankrupt due to the bank panic of 1837. However, these setbacks did not prevent McCormick from achieving his goals.
He expanded his market by trying to sell his machine to European farmers in 1851. A long series of honors compensated for the lack of recognition and praise from his American compatriots. By 1856, he was not only a world figure but his factory produced more than 4,000 reapers a year.
McCormick was a committed believer. He lived during the time of D.L. Moody and gave $10,000 to Moody to start the Chicago YMCA in 1869. That building burned along with his Chicago factory in 1871. By this time, McCormick was over 60 and wealthy enough to retire. Before his death in 1884, he had given $100,000 to help open Moody Bible Institute. His son, Cyrus Jr., was to become the first chairman of the school's board. Cyrus McCormick was a devoted Christian who passed his faith on to his son who later met up with J. Pierpoint Morgan to become the first president of a combined reaper firm, the famed International Harvester Corporation. [John Woodbridge, ed., More Than Conquerors (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1992), 328-331.]
What might God want to accomplish through your life? Surely you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
(Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.)
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How Well Do You Know God? - A Challenge
It is an unmitigated turmoil for all of us when we have never trusted Jesus as our Redeemer and we go through trials without depending on Him. It is time to come to Him now. Without Him all suffering is meaningless misery. Letting Him take control, on the other hand, allows Him to walk us through any and every difficulty resulting in unexplainable joy even in the midst of pain, be it physical, emotional, mental or spiritual.
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Think about this: He suffered in our place on the cross so that we can experience His peace eternally, forever. If you haven't done so yet, will you accept His offer of salvation now? |
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MAILING ADDRESS:
436 Crestwood Lane
Walnut, CA 91789
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| Meditation | | |
Dear God, do other people see me as a faithful friend or a burdensome buddy? Thank You that I can be the kind of person that other people love and appreciate; not a person that others want to avoid.
And I thank You that with You working on me, I can be a good friend to others. "A man that has friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24).
Thanks for improving my friendship skills...and making me an example of your love in all I do. Thank you, God. In Jesus' name I pray and give you praise, amen. |
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