journey

FROM FAMILY MIRACLE TO FAITHFUL MINISTRY

(September 23, 2022) K.C. Dipak from Nepal shares about his journey in Christ.

Although I was born into a Hindu family in Nepal, my mother used to go to church every Sunday. But my sister Shanti and I never accompanied her. There came a time when my father left us alone and went to India without telling his whereabouts. Sadly, he has never returned to us.

Mother had to work so hard as a domestic to fed us all… they were difficult times. One day, during my early teens, Shanti got very sick, and although Mother took her to many doctors and government hospitals, she did not respond to treatments.

Miracle
Extremely concerned, Mother decided to invite her pastor to pray for Shanti. Instead of just praying in the church, he came to our home and prayed over my sister and within two weeks, she fully recovered, praise God! This was a great miracle for my family and in May 2013 my sister and I started going to church regularly. 

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FIVE C’s OF PENTECOST

(June 6, 2019) Robert and Maureen McQuillan share serious kingdom thoughts/concerns about some Pentecostals today…

Pentecost Sunday this weekend – the church’s Easter celebration now seems so long ago!

Oh we can never forget the real Easter story… of a Saviour who loved us so much that he freely gave his life for us at Calvary, paying the price of sin, offering everyone full salvation and a way back to our Father God!

Scripture speaks the love that flowed that from Calvary’s hill …

  • ‘He [Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world’ (1 John 2:2).
  • ‘If you continue in the teaching of Christ, you will have fellowship with both the Father and the Son’ (Romans 8:10, 17).

But… now it’s almost Pentecost Sunday! We need to remember, to joyfully celebrate that the good news of God’s love continues beyond that extraordinary Passover event we call Easter.

Why? God had a further free gift to give to all who believe in his Son Jesus – the outpouring of his Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 2 to enable us to not only praise him in tongues but to serve him in powerful (dunamis) ways and touch the world!

Yet, as shared on Facebook last weekend we had found it dismaying that we hadn’t at that point come across any adverts or articles mentioning this coming Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Not even the Pentie church we attended last week highlighted it! Hmm! Let’s look at what we’ll term The 5 C’s of Pentecost… Carpeting, Correction! Celebration, Cenacle and Challenge. (more…)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHURCH!

(June 6, 2019) Dr Jim McClure, straight shooting theologian, shares about ‘the dynamite’ of Pentecost…

The Christian Pentecost is sometimes called the ‘Birthday of the Church.’  While some question the accuracy of that description, it nevertheless is a helpful reminder of a unique day in the life of the church.

Almost 2000 years ago a group of about 120 people (Acts 1:15) began a journey that was to impact the whole world. As that group of Jews who were followers of Jesus met to worship and celebrate the Jewish festival of Feast of Harvest (aka the Feast of Weeks), they were not expecting that what they were about to experience would change them, the church and ultimately the world!

The first Christian Pentecost was a hugely significant event. Luke recorded the event in this way: ‘Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them’ (Acts 2:2-4).

That is what happened, but why did it happen?

Peter explained it this way, ‘Exalted to the right hand of God, he (Jesus) has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear’ (Acts 2:33).

Pentecost was not just a random spiritual revival-type experience for those first Christians – it was a fulfilling of Christ’s promise in John 14:16-17. And it bonded those Christians together as a new community of faith.

The day of Pentecost is significant for many reason, such as:

1. Presence
In the midst of that group a mighty wind began to blow and flames of fire appeared.  In this startling and memorable way God demonstrated his presence with his people. They certainly would never forget those symbols of his powerful presence. (more…)

RAISED BY GAY PARENTS, HE SHOCKED THEM BY BECOMING A CHRISTIAN – AND A PASTOR

Mark Ellis
Mark Ellis shares a great story of God’s love and grace …

When he was two-years-old his university-professor parents divorced and his father and mother entered the gay lifestyle. His lesbian mom and her partner took him to gay pride parades, LGBT clubs, parties and campouts, while his father remained ‘closeted’ for several years.

‘Mom was a political activist,’ says Caleb Kaltenbach, author of Messy Grace (Waterbrook Press). At gay pride parades, Caleb witnessed Christian demonstrators spray homosexual marchers with water and urine. When he asked his mom why they were doing this, she said, ‘Because Christians hate gay people.’ (more…)