Shalom! Dear friends, I’ll share what I’ve noticed in my own heart, and what I presume is also present in others. Every week, and even every day, we come into contact with God’s Word. It brings life, grace, and strength for a believer to live a righteous life and stretches out a saving hand to the unbeliever (1 Pet. 2:1-3; Rom. 10:17). However, as with so many other good things in life, unfortunately we get used to things. This is…
Greetings dear church! God is good! He answers prayers. He takes care of our needs daily. He gives both physical and spiritual strength to obey His will and fulfill our purpose here on this earth. And our greatest task is to praise God, build up the church, and preach the Gospel to everyone around. In this case, the goal of the church is to equip the saints for this work. Consider the church services as a tool, not an end…
Peace to you! When recently talking to a couple, we touched on a simple yet important principle: family and marriage require constant replenishment and attention, and if this doesn’t occur, as so common in the world, then the family will be going downhill, falling apart, and fading away. Special attention is required for the relationship between parents and children. Someone said that the most valuable thing a parent can give their child is time! Martin Luther once said, “Let the…
Peace to you! The small (home) group fair was a success! It was wonderful seeing many who were interested, registering, and inviting their friends to a group. One more time, on behalf of the elder board, I want to thank God for all the leaders and helpers who will be leading 22 small groups. This is a great work of love. And beloved, please pray that these brothers and their families would do this work with joy, from the heart,…
Rejoice always! Beloved, this week let us direct our attention to the events and things happening in the life of the church. This Saturday at 9:00 AM, in the church cafeteria, there will be a prayer retreat for all people who serve in the church. This is a significant event in the life of the church, firstly because this is a special time for prayer and also because it provides an opportunity to see and talk to all who are…
Peace to you, dear church! On behalf of the elder board, I want to remind you, beloved, that this year we are especially emphasizing growth in evangelism. We talk more about personal evangelism, share more about our experiences, and oftentimes begin our meetings with prayer for the people we evangelize. And now here is another step towards helping us grow in personal evangelism. What we’re proposing will help inform and equip us. We want to give all the members of…
Shalom! Beloved, you’ve probably met people who can beautifully and clearly express their thoughts. These people are very skilled with their words and think deeply. It is interesting to listen or read such people. It’s especially nice when these people are Christians since their thoughts are focused on the Creator. This week I propose we look at some famous Christians of the past and the present. Their observation don’t replace the Bible but they help us better understand the concepts…
Greetings! Further down in the letter you can view how kids listen to the Sunday sermons. These are just a few examples of what some kids heard and drew last Sunday. **Just no offense, but some moms in the drawings look like they just woke up 🙂 The topic I want to discuss today is how we listen to sermons, and specifically how we take notes and write down what we hear. This is an interesting topic because it deals…
Grace to you and peace! This week I want to remind you about the role and nature of faith. It is what separates people into two categories, saved and not saved. We eventually get used to such things and when the time comes to give a simple definition, we are unable to do so. (Gen. 15:6) And [Abraham] believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (John 6:40) For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son…
Shalom, beloved! Here is a quote from a book that I’m currently reading, 2,000 Years of Christ’s Power (Vol. 3), pg. 402: The First outstanding Scottish teacher of Protestantism was a Catholic priest named Patrick Hamilton (1504-28), a member of the great Hamilton family, one of Scotland’s most powerful aristocratic houses. Hamilton fell under the influence first of Erasmus, then Luther, while at university, and actually spent some time in Luther’s Wittenberg. In February 1528, he was arrested for preaching Lutheran…
Peace to you! “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 19:32) Many of us were taught since childhood how to behave properly in society. We learned to say, “Thank you,” “You’re welcome,” or for gentlement to take their hats off inside a building. So it was also in showing respect to the elderly: we refer to them with respectful titles, don’t interrupt…
Peace be to you dear church and friends! As you may have noticed, last week we began memorizing a very important Psalm, a Psalm of repentance! We’ll be memorizing it for the next few weeks. Why? Our goal is that as we memorize it, we’ll be saturated with an understanding of true repentance. Sin is the worst and strongest enemy of people; it destroys relationships with the living God, destroys relationships with people, brings suffering and pain to the soul,…
Shalom! Last Sunday we heard two wonderful sermons at both the Russian and English services. I’ll use this opportunity to talk about how we listen to sermons. Sermons are a common thing, so as a result, they’re not discussed very often. Today I want to discuss not the sermons themselves but their reception. Oftentimes, we get used to the status quo so we end up forgetting why certain things exist in the first place. “Preaching is God speaking in the…
Greetings to you dear church! As you know, this year we are praying, striving toward, and talking more about personal evangelism. This isn’t easy, but it is what the Lord Himself has called us toward. Yes, we can find many excuses to not do this (something like a language or cultural barrier), but the commission in Matthew 28 is directed also at us today, no less than the original disciples of Christ who heard it 2,000 years ago. Here are…
Peace to you! I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. (Ps. 104:33) In both the Old Testament and the New, believers worshiped God through song. This is a very natural and fitting expression of the inner condition of the heart. Even when a person is in difficult life circumstances, if he understands that he’s in God’s hands, his heart is ready to sing and worship Him (Acts…
Greetings, dear church! Firstly, on behalf of the whole church I want to thank many who served us the past weekend! Both at the picnic and during the services on Sunday, many faithfully and sacrificially served both the church members and guests. God has abundantly blessed us with guests and it is a great privilege for us to serve them and show them the Gospel in action. Many heard the message about the Savior. Many were encouraged in their faith….
Grace and peace to you dear friends! Bible Study is tonight at 7:00 PM for the whole church. We are moving the start time for the summer break, but we are continuing our study of the book of Proverbs. Since many home groups are taking a break over the summer, this is the only other opportunity to study the Bible together, so don’t miss this opportunity. A great celebration is awaiting us this Saturday – the church picnic, starting at…
Glad to greet you. Dear church, the brothers from the elder board are grateful for your prayers. The elders had an opportunity to go on a prayer retreat where we read and studied the epistle of James and prayed for the church, ministries, and each other. This was a very valuable time for us as a team since unity comes not when we all do the same thing but from understanding that we have one faith, one hope, one body,…
Shalom! Let’s talk a little about theology and doctrine. What is doctrine? “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 1:13) “…hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Tit. 1:9) Doctrine – a systematic summary of biblical truths, showing logical connections between them, forming a worldview, and defining a general approach…
Peace to you! There are many ways of showing pride, but one, in my opinion, is the most hidden and most common – a lack of desire to ask for help. Thing is, we are not always ready to accept or ask for help because this puts us into a weak and dependent position; and this totally destroys our image. We are much more open to helping others because this puts us into a position of a giver, or one…
Greetings! Many of you, in addition to Sunday messages, between Sundays, listen to the sermons and seminary from other churches. This is good and enriching in many ways practice. I want to share some of the sermons that I recommend listening to at least once. – R.G. Lee “Pay-Day Someday” (this sermon is considered classical southern-baptist sermon; recommended for all who are interested in learning how to preach) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mstq4QTyrQ – John Piper “One Day” (the sermon that has a nickname “seashells”…
Peace to you! Dear friends, I want to give you some compliments. Over the past month, we can see that many of you have become seriously involved in the needs of not only brothers and sisters in faith, but also all those who are in need now (especially in connection with the war in Ukraine). The way you have been given to the relief fund for those in need, how some of you have been involved in ministering to immigrants…
Shalom! It’s necessary for us to periodically do a self-examination where we ask ourselves questions that will help us determine where we are and what we need to pay closer attention to. Take a few minutes and “keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Tim. 4:16). Specifically, under each question grade yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is where you are at your worst and 10 is where you have achieved perfection…
Greetings! “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” (Matt. 5:13) For salt to have a real effect on the food that it is sprinkled on, it must come into really close contact with it. This example of salt, used by Christ, tells us that we are this means that must penetrate,…
Rejoice always! Beloved, there are just a couple things I want to inform you about: (1) Refugees from Ukraine have started to arrive and our church members are opening their houses, temporarily hosting them. Many families are large, and much help of various kinds is needed. Please, let’s look at this question as our ministry together. It’s definitely possible that those who are hosting someone wouldn’t be offended if someone of us would periodically bring some dinner, or take someone…
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Grace Family Church,
7031 Watt Ave, N.Highlands, CA, 95660.
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