Weekly Update | March 17, 2022
Weekly Newsletter 03/17/2022
Shalom!
Dear church, I want to speak words of encouragement to those who, for various reasons, have lost peace in their hearts and joy in the Lord. Maybe you haven’t even considered your heart’s peace, joy, and love. Think about it. Lacking peace and joy are expressed in different ways: for some it is the lack of desire to be in fellowship with the saints (no desire to be in the church or a home group), for others there is no satisfaction in reading the Scriptures and prayer (your reading is just a ritual that must be performed), yet others lack a desire to serve (you are content with being a visitor in the church), and others don’t have a personal involvement in evangelism (fear, laziness, a lack of faith in God has paralyzed and removed your desire to share about your faith with others).
But we cannot and should not be content with a situation like this! God has called us to a joyful and fulfilled life with Christ!
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence…” (2 Pet. 1:3)
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21)
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps. 36:4)
It’s sad to observe that, for many believers, a life with Christ and satisfaction in the Lord are just not understood. Especially because we are truly living in the end times! In just a little bit we will no longer be on this earth. Just yesterday we were playing a board game with our kids and one of us won game, having collected the most money. But after the game, all the money was put back into the box and we returned to “reality.” The Bible says that everything that is on the earth, sooner or later, will be put “back into the box,” and we’ll step into the reality of eternity, and it will absolutely not matter how much I won in the game called “life on earth.” Beloved, if this is truly so then we need to work, labor, be wise, not lazy, but remember that we are on the path to eternity! Remember about eternity! It’s real! Don’t waste your life in vanity.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliot)
“Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” (C.T. Studd)
“Those who do not make God Lord of all, do not make him Lord at all” (Hudson Taylor)
And now, a reminder: as was already said, we are helping and will help those who have suffered from the war in Ukraine. This week we blessed and sent Joseph and Julie Sheremet to work with refugees in Poland (especially to preach the Gospel). Please, pray for their ministry. We are receiving a lot of requests for financial help from Ukraine and Moldova and we don’t want to be left on the sidelines from helping the saints. For this reason, a special fund was created (link is below). If you have the desire to help, please participate. Also, please share the link with your friends: https://gfchurch.com/ukraine/
The Scripture memory text for the next few weeks is – Proverbs 18:10
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”
Important announcements:
(1) On March 21, we begin the course “Christology” (the doctrine of the person and work of Christ and His sufficiency for all the needs in our lives). The course will be held every third Monday of the month for 3 months. The course will be held in English. For all questions, contact Eugene Bardosh.
(2) VBS volunteer sign-ups continue. Please look at the summer as an opportunity to serve and be part of spreading the Gospel! https://mygracefamilychurch.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1159506
Below are the services and meetings for this weekend:
Today, Thursday (6:30 PM) – Children’s Bible School (open to all but required for parents), followed by Bible Study (Proverbs) for the whole church at 7:30 PM.
Sunday services:
- – Worship Service in Russian at 9:00 AM
- – Worship Service in English at 11:15 AM
- – Church Family Service at 6:00 PM – Please bring some sweets or fruits to the table for our fellowship afterwards. Thank you!
As previously, due to the restrictions and orders from the health department, we remind you:
- – Keep social distancing and wearing masks in public places
- – Wash and sanitize hands more often
- – If you have flu-like symptoms, were in contact with a person with COVID, or are in the “high-risk” group, then we ask you to stay home
Elders of GFC
