Fourth Sunday after Epiphany – 2 February 2025
Psalm 71:1-6 • Jeremiah 1:4-10 • 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 • Luke 4:21-30
Coming Events to Diarise:
Monthly Day of Prayer & Fasting – 8 February 2025
Pastoral Conference: 20-23 March 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As you may know by now, our Vision 2027 and beyond, is to become a Healthy Church that is Living and Sharing the Gospel, through the ministry avenues of Faith, Hope and Love.
In chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, Paul goes to great lengths to inform the church about gifts of the Holy Spirit. His objective was to show the church that there are more important things that they need to be concerned about, not gifts. According to Paul, spiritual gifts were of secondary importance. In Chapter 13, he argues that prophecies, speaking in tongues and knowledge will pass away, and that “these three remain: faith, hope and love” (1 Cor. 13:13). It is for this reason that we have defined the shorthand for GCI church ministries as Faith, Hope and Love avenues. Everything we do is anchored by these three.
In Colossians he says: “Faith and Love … spring from the Hope stored up for you in heaven” (Col. 1:5) The shape of our ministry is Faith, Hope and Love. For Paul, our “work [is] produced by Faith, your labor [is] prompted by Love, and your endurance [is] inspired by Hope” (1 Thess. 1:3).
These three represent the three-pronged ministry avenues of the church. The Hope avenue represent the ministry of worship as the church gathers together each week. The Faith avenue represents the church’s ministry of discipling or teaching members about everything Jesus taught his disciples. The Love avenue represents the church’s ministry of preaching the gospel to those who have not come to Christ yet.
My prayer for this week is that we all continue to grow into a Healthy Church that is Living and Sharing the Gospel through the ministry avenues of Faith, Hope and Love. Amen
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Building Fund: Please continue to pray for our building fund and other financial needs of the church in 2025.
Have a blessed weekend!
Shalom!
Takalani
___________________________
REPEAT ANNOUNCEMNTS NOT TO BE READ IN CHURCH SERVICES
NATIONAL BUILDING FUND NOW OVER R1.2 MILLION
The National Building Fund has now passed R1.2 million. The balances for the various congregation are as follows as at the end of December 2024:
Please support your congregation’s Building Fund by contributing additional offerings monthly or once off to the dedicated bank account as follows:
· Bank: First National Bank (FNB)
· Name: GCI Building Fund
· Account No: 6304 180 7835
· Deposit Reference: Name and Surname
You can also fundraise as a group or alone. You may have items that you no longer need or use which you can pawn and donate the funds, or approach friends and family who may be able to donate to the fund. If you need a letter to request donations please feel free to contact me.
Monthly Day of Prayer and Fasting –Saturday 8 February 2025 (2nd Saturday of the Month)
Our next Day of Prayer and Fasting is on Saturday 8 February 2025. Please see the dates for the rest of the year below, and diarise accordingly.
Please find some video links on Prayer and Fasting if you want to know more. Here are the links:
1. Fasting- The Forgotten Spiritual Discipline – https://youtu.be/7MgrVj_w9sY
2. Fasting Questions and Answers 1 – https://youtu.be/Mkk3U2KvPHg
3. Fasting Questions and Answers 2 – https://youtu.be/CghD-uxBbFk
4. Fasting Question and Answer #3 – https://youtu.be/ajKaWRgreLw (Question #3: How should I fast? Are there different types of fasts?)
Future Days of Prayer and Fasting:
· February 8
· March 8
· April 12
· May 10
· June 14
· Jul 12
· August 9
· September 13
· October 11
· November 8
· December 13
December 2024 ISSUE OF FACE TO FACE PUBLISHED
Our December 2024 issue of the online Face To Face magazine has been published. Please find it here: Face To Face
The Invisible God became visible
Online Bi-Weekly Bible Study
Next Bible Study on 5 February 2025
Please diarise and join the biweekly Online Bible study every second Wednesday at 19:00. The current series is: The Book of Acts.
To connect to the biweekly Bible Study, here are the details: Click
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89054374373?pwd=NFZVaFJjVGxqQjc5K0YyeWEzVVZMUT09
OR enter the details below to join the meeting:
Meeting ID: 890 5437 4373
Passcode: GCI2021
Time: 19:00
OFFERINGS: (should Christians pay a tithe?)
Even though some churches are not able to meet, we urge you to continue to give your weekly Thanksgiving offering that you would normally give during church services. The bank details for EFT and Cash deposits are below:
The Banking details for both the weekly Thanksgiving Offerings and the monthly Freewill Offerings are as follows:
EFT PAYMENTS
GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL-S.A –
Account No: 593 800 27523 – FNB Current Account Number
Ref. NameSurname Church
Please reference your offering so that we can send a receipt.
CASH PAYMENTS
GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL-S.A –
FNB Account No: 74451599946
Account Type: 32 Day Notice account
Ref. NameSurname Church
Please reference your offering so that we can send a receipt.