"When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship." - Acts 20:36-38
This passage is part of Paul's last meeting with the leaders of the church of Ephesus. It is a bit teasing to compare this to Brian's announcement that he will be moving on to GRX in August, since he won't be leaving the city and we will almost certainly see him again. At the same time, many of the concerns are the same and the changes are no less serious. The Apostle Paul was genuinely concerned for the future of the church of Ephesus and warns of wolves moving in among the sheep. Later Christian writers tell us that the Apostle John moved to Ephesus and continued his ministry there, so God had a good plan for Ephesus that was unknown at the time Acts was written, while it was necessary for Paul also to embark on his "prison ministry". And yes, the wolves moved in too, but we have plenty of reason to be optimistic about what the Lord is doing.
HIGHLIGHTED PRAYER
Looking forward, we should proceed with both caution and optimism, putting our faith and trust in God, while being diligant in the work God has called us to do. Please pray for Brian and his familiy as they are making this transition. Pray for HOC6 as we rearrange things in preparation for the changes, and that God will continue to bring willing servants to be part of our congregation. Be sure to pray also that God's blessing will be on the work that Brian will do at GRX.
PRAY FOR OUR CONGREGATION
Please pray as we continue to promote and register people for our Spring Retreat (Apr 23-25). We pray more people will sign up for this chance for our church to come together on a spiritual learning & bonding experience.
"youngDisciples" has already met twice @ Ben & Angela's house, providing an environment where more of the youth's non-Christian friends will be willing to come to "church." It's too early to tell how that's faring, but please pray that more non-Christian friends will come and learn more about Christ.
Pray for guidance as we begin planning & recruiting for the Taiwan mission trip (adults) and our Urban mission trip (youth group).
Pray that God will help us to move on to the next stage of developing our leaders as a church.
PRAY FOR THE REST OF OUR CHURCH
HOC6's first mountain prayer is scheduled to be on 03/20/2020, the topic of the message would be "Enlarge Your Tent", pray for the preparation work and active involvement from our groups and ministries. The 40day fast praying is going on, now is with the Cantonese congregation Pray that our brothers and sisters will be faithful on this event;
There was a promotion for the AWANA ministry to be started in September this year. Pray that the Lord will provide leaders and kids.
Pray for the needs for the Cantonese ministry. We need new co-workers to help on worship, Sunday school, transportation and clean-up.
PRAY ABOUT HOW GOD IS LEADING YOU ON HIS MISSION
PRAY FOR THREE(3) OF YOUR UNCHURCHED FRIENDS/FAMILY
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
Amen
This passage is part of Paul's last meeting with the leaders of the church of Ephesus. It is a bit teasing to compare this to Brian's announcement that he will be moving on to GRX in August, since he won't be leaving the city and we will almost certainly see him again. At the same time, many of the concerns are the same and the changes are no less serious. The Apostle Paul was genuinely concerned for the future of the church of Ephesus and warns of wolves moving in among the sheep. Later Christian writers tell us that the Apostle John moved to Ephesus and continued his ministry there, so God had a good plan for Ephesus that was unknown at the time Acts was written, while it was necessary for Paul also to embark on his "prison ministry". And yes, the wolves moved in too, but we have plenty of reason to be optimistic about what the Lord is doing.
HIGHLIGHTED PRAYER
Looking forward, we should proceed with both caution and optimism, putting our faith and trust in God, while being diligant in the work God has called us to do. Please pray for Brian and his familiy as they are making this transition. Pray for HOC6 as we rearrange things in preparation for the changes, and that God will continue to bring willing servants to be part of our congregation. Be sure to pray also that God's blessing will be on the work that Brian will do at GRX.
PRAY FOR OUR CONGREGATION
Please pray as we continue to promote and register people for our Spring Retreat (Apr 23-25). We pray more people will sign up for this chance for our church to come together on a spiritual learning & bonding experience.
"youngDisciples" has already met twice @ Ben & Angela's house, providing an environment where more of the youth's non-Christian friends will be willing to come to "church." It's too early to tell how that's faring, but please pray that more non-Christian friends will come and learn more about Christ.
Pray for guidance as we begin planning & recruiting for the Taiwan mission trip (adults) and our Urban mission trip (youth group).
Pray that God will help us to move on to the next stage of developing our leaders as a church.
PRAY FOR THE REST OF OUR CHURCH
HOC6's first mountain prayer is scheduled to be on 03/20/2020, the topic of the message would be "Enlarge Your Tent", pray for the preparation work and active involvement from our groups and ministries. The 40day fast praying is going on, now is with the Cantonese congregation Pray that our brothers and sisters will be faithful on this event;
There was a promotion for the AWANA ministry to be started in September this year. Pray that the Lord will provide leaders and kids.
Pray for the needs for the Cantonese ministry. We need new co-workers to help on worship, Sunday school, transportation and clean-up.
PRAY ABOUT HOW GOD IS LEADING YOU ON HIS MISSION
PRAY FOR THREE(3) OF YOUR UNCHURCHED FRIENDS/FAMILY
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment