Sixth Sunday after Epiphany – 16 February 2025
Psalm 1:1-6 · Jeremiah 17:5-10 · 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 · Luke 6:17-26
Coming Events to Diarise:
Monthly Day of Prayer & Fasting – 8 March 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.
One of the greatest misunderstandings of grace is that we don’t have to do anything because grace is free. God distributes his blessings equally to everyone. Even when God rewards a person, he rewards everyone equally. There is no extra reward for those who work harder.
There is even a parable of Jesus where workers received the same wage regardless of how many hours they worked. However, when we think of God in this way we create a caricature of God that misrepresents who he is. The truth is: God is a God who rewards.
The Triune God we read about in scripture describes himself that way: “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jer. 17:10)
God is not mocked. No evil deed goes unpunished, and no good deed goes unrewarded. In fact, the writer of Hebrews says that anyone who comes to God by faith “must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Heb. 11:6)
Jesus himself promised that when he returns with his angels, “he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt. 16:27). Paul reiterated that principle in Romans when he said “God will repay each person according to what they have done.” (Rom. 2:16)
My prayer for this week is that we may all come to realise that “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Amen
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Building Fund: Please continue to pray for our building fund and other financial needs of the church in 2025.
Pastoral Conference 2025: Please pray for the pastoral conference coming up in March 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 March 2025 (2nd Saturday of the Month)
Our next Day of Prayer and Fasting is on Saturday 8 March 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:
· 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
Resolve to do good
The Light and the Darkness
Online Bi-Weekly Bible Study
Next Bible Study on 19 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.