The project, ‘One Voice’ led by Lawrence Johnson who founded London Community Gospel Choir, will help raise funds for development charity Tearfund, who are on the ground supplying emergency relief.
Cyclone Idai struck the coastline of Mozambique on 14th March and left a trail of devastation and heavy loss of life.
The UN has said 1.7 million people in Mozambique lived in the path of the cyclone, with a further 920,000 people affected in Malawi and many thousands more in Zimbabwe.
Speaking on behalf of One Voice, Les Moir from the Christian record label Integrity Music, said: “Cyclone Idai came just before the harvest season and washed away crops that would have provided food for this year.
“We’re partnering with Tearfund who are working closely with national partners to support the relief effort – delivering emergency shelter kits, food such as pulses and maize flour, water purification tablets, and urgent health assistance.
“Tearfund’s immediate response has been on saving lives, but now as the flood waters recede and the extent of the damage is being realised, communities are beginning to think about how they will rebuild their lives.
“We want to help them rebuild and find the strength to carry on.”
Meanwhile, tropical Cyclone Kenneth – the strongest storm to hit the region since records began -…
To reach the nominally churched and to get them more involved in church, you must first understand them. Today we discuss who the nominally churched are before we discuss how to reach them in the next episode.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
The early college years is one of the most common times people drop out of church for a season.
Family connections can be a clear draw to return to church.
Divorce is the most common reason for adults to drop out of church or leave a church.
If someone goes from churched to nominally churched, they’ll likely be unchurched within 6-9 months. People usually don’t stay nominally churched.
The nine aspects to understand about the nominally churches that we discuss are:
Vanderbloemen has been serving churches for nine years, but did you know that Vanderbloemen also serves Christian schools, nonprofits, and Christian businesses? So if you’re listening, and you know a Christian school, nonprofit, or values-based business that is hiring,…
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Lori Gilbert-Kaye was worshipping in the Chabad of Poway Synagogue in suburban San Diego last Saturday when a gunman entered the sanctuary. A man identified by authorities as nineteen-year-old John T. Earnest began shooting.
Gilbert-Kaye stepped in front of bullets aimed at her longtime friend and rabbi as he gave his sermon. She was killed, leaving behind a husband and an adult daughter.
Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein was shot in the hand and lost a finger. Nonetheless, he continued his sermon “telling everyone to stay strong,” according to a synagogue member.
As the rabbi was wheeled into the operating room after the shooting, he told a friend to “let everyone know that Lori stepped in and saved my life.”
“I thank God he gave me the courage to do what I did.”
Lori Gilbert-Kaye was not the only hero last Saturday.
Army veteran Oscar Stewart was in the synagogue when the shooting began. He started running out of the sanctuary along with his fellow worshipers. Then he turned around.
Something—he later said it might have been the “hand of God”—propelled him into the lobby.
There he saw the assailant in a military-style vest wielding a semiautomatic rifle. “Get down!” he yelled at the man. The gunman fired two rounds in response. “I’m going to kill you,” Stewart yelled back. This seemed to rattle the gunman, who began to flee.
Stewart chased him into the parking lot, where the shooter got into a Honda sedan. When the man reached for his weapon, Stewart punched the side of the car. The man started the car and sped away. He later surrendered to police.
Stewart told reporters, “I’m not a hero or anything. I just reacted. I thank God he gave me the courage to do what I did.”
“Everyone’s having a hard time.”
From attacks against Jews in California to assaults on Christians in Sri Lanka and Muslims in New Zealand, religious…
The Catholic leader met with industry representatives at the Vatican on Monday – the feast day of the patron saint for barbers.
Francis drew upon the life of the “humble and great figure” of St Martin de Porres when he encouraged them to practice their profession “in a Christian style”.
The pontiff said: “He encourages you, above all, to practice your profession in a Christian style, treating customers with kindness and courtesy, and always offering them a good word and encouragement, avoiding giving in to the temptation of gossip that easily creeps into your work environment, that we all know about.”
Francis explained how the 17th century Peruvian saint modelled humility, love and self-sacrifice in serving the poor and sick, through what he learned working with a pharmacy and a barber-surgeon.
St Martin de Porress, who died in 1639, was declared a saint by Pope John XXIII in 1962. He was proclaimed patron saint of barbers in 1966 by Pope Paul VI.
He is also the patron saint of mixed race people, innkeepers, and public health workers.
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The sister and her two brothers were targeted by paedophile Ian Samson at Lord and Lady Polwarth Children’s House in Edinburgh.
Samson, then aged 72, was jailed for 14 years in 2013 at the High Court in Glasgow after he was convicted of 22 offences involving the sexual abuse and rape of twelve children over a period of many years.
After raising a legal action last year with Digby Brown Solicitors, the woman secured £500k from the Kirk while her two brothers each received £250k, said to be the most compensation recovered from a religious body in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland said it hopes the settlement finally brings a sense of justice to the individuals affected and provides “some small redress for the trauma which they experienced while in our care”.
Some children at the home hid in cupboards and slept in dog baskets to escape abuse.
In a statement the siblings, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “Samson was evil and robbed us of our childhood and our future.
“Our case has never been about the money – raising a civil action in the courts was the only way we could get any sort of acknowledgement from the Church of Scotland.
“It’s a shame that an organisation which promotes ‘goodness and morals’ can’t do the right thing themselves and hold their hands up and apologise rather than force victims to go endure further legal proceedings.
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. — Genesis 50:20
This verse is part of the story of how God promoted Joseph to a place of power after his brothers had sold him into slavery. It is a great testament to God’s desire and ability to overcome evil with good.
Joseph’s brothers meant to destroy him, but Joseph became second in command to Pharaoh and was used by God to save not only his own family, but many thousands of others.
Sometimes you forget how big your God is. Whatever may have happened to you in the past, you must understand it doesn’t have to dictate your future. Set your faith and trust in God, and watch to see how He will turn it around for your good. Rejoice! God has a good plan for your life.
Prayer Starter: Father, thank You that You are fair, even when life’s not fair. Help me to put the past behind me and trust You to work everything out for my good. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. — Genesis 50:20
This verse is part of the story of how God promoted Joseph to a place of power after his brothers had sold him into slavery. It is a great testament to God’s desire and ability to overcome evil with good.
Joseph’s brothers meant to destroy him, but Joseph became second in command to Pharaoh and was used by God to save not only his own family, but many thousands of others.
Sometimes you forget how big your God is. Whatever may have happened to you in the past, you must understand it doesn’t have to dictate your future. Set your faith and trust in God, and watch to see how He will turn it around for your good. Rejoice! God has a good plan for your life.
Prayer Starter: Father, thank You that You are fair, even when life’s not fair. Help me to put the past behind me and trust You to work everything out for my good. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Matthew 10:42, ‘And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.’
Matthew 10:1-42, 11:1, Mark 6:7-13, Luke 9:1-6
This verse shows that even our smallest acts of kindness will be rewarded. As revealed in 1 Corinthians 3:13, every man’s work shall be tried to determine ‘what sort it is,’ not what size it is. Many people who have never done anything to gain the attention of the masses will shine bright in the day when the Lord passes out His rewards.
Some of the Lord’s rewards for our actions come in this life, such as children, financial blessings, health, and many others. However, some of our rewards will not be realized until we stand before God. This is the case with the reward for enduring persecution.
Many of the rewards for ministering the Gospel will not come until we appear before the Lord. Rewards can be shared by those who aid others in their righteous tasks.
The ungodly who are not in the Kingdom of God will receive no rewards even though some of their actions might have been good. Rewards are only for those who have been cleansed from their evil deeds by the blood of the Lamb.
Regardless of what these rewards shall be, there will not be any exalting of self over others. ‘For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?’ (1 Cor. 4:7) The twenty-four elders in Revelation 4:10 are shown casting their crowns (which were rewards) down before the Lord and giving all their praise and worship to Him. It’s all because of Him. Thank Him today for His goodness.
This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net).
READ: 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 New King James Version (NKJV)
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”
36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain,
38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
THE MESSAGE:
In furtherance of the discussion on the issue of resurrection, Paul made the very important point that resurrection does not entail the reconstruction of our earthly bodies. In other words, when we are buried in the ground, our earthly bodies will decay, only the soul is indestructible. The soul is what will appear before God on Judgment Day (in a new body!). It is good to take care of our physical bodies, but more important to care for the soul.
Unfortunately, many of us can do anything to decorate, feed and nurture our physical bodies, yet pay little or no attention to our soul.
When last did you really spend good time to feed your soul on the word of God and prayer? When last did you really allow God to work in your life and bring the much needed transformation? Paul is saying here that as far as eternity is concerned, our earthly bodies, no matter how beautiful they currently look, have no place in heaven. God will cloth the soul with a new body that is suitable to that heavenly environment! Knowing this, we must give our soul over to God that He may feed and nurture it and cloth us in the end for eternity with Him.
Prayer: Lord, help me from now on to dedicate my soul and body to You in preparation for eternity with You.
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” Matthew 4:10, 11 KJV
As a believer, you already have the victory because we are more than conquerors through Christ. The last time I checked, the Bible still says: “For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world” (1John 5:4 KJV) For everything the devil says to you, arm yourself with what is written. Remember, Jesus said concerning Satan in John 8:44 that he is a liar and the father of lies. He has been a liar from the beginning. How dare you think that the devil would ever tell you the truth? Whenever you hear something contrary to what God has said, know that it is a direct quote from the pit of hell. The enemy is the one speaking and not God.
When you confront the devil with ‘it is written’, you will always win. In Matthew chapter 4 and Luke chapter 4, all that Jesus was saying to the devil was, “It is written”. The devil came the first, second and the third time, yet Jesus kept saying, “It is written”. The scripture says the devil shut his mouth and left Him while angels came and ministered to Him. You must never be tired of opening your mouth to declare what is written.
Isaiah 53:4 says, “Surely He hath borne our grief, and carried our sorrows…”If He has borne it, that means you don’t have it anymore. Jesus confirmed it in Mathew 8:17, “… Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses…”Apostle Peter also said in 1Peter 2:24, “by whose stripes, ye were healed”. Psalm 118:17says, “I shall not die but live to declare the works of God”. Find out what is written concerning you. Never get tired of speaking God’s Word because that is where your power lies. You need to understand that anything that is written has been validated by the blood of Jesus.
Further Reading: Luke 4:1-13; Revelation 12:7-12
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- 1 Kings 8-9; Evening- Luke 21:1-19
Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.
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