Weekly Update 28 February 2025

by Takalani Musekwa | Feb 28, 2025 | News

Transfiguration Sunday – 2 March 2025

Psalm 99:1–9 · Exodus 34:29–35 · 2 Corinthians 3:12–4:2 · Luke 9:28–36 [37–43a]

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.

This week we come to the end of the period of Epiphany. Next week we start the countdown to the commemoration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The people of Israel were able to sustain their worship culture by having an annual rhythm to their worship activities. At any given moment, their weekly worship was guided by what God had done in their history.

As Christians, we have the same rhythm today. Our rhythm is not on what God has done for the people of Israel, but on what he did for humanity as a whole through Jesus Christ. The Christian worship calendar focuses on the ministry of Jesus in the world, which continues today through us as the church. Jesus is the centre of our ministry and worship.

Our calendar starts with the anticipation of Jesus’ coming in the season called Advent during December. This is followed by the season of Christmas when we commemorate the birth of Jesus in human flesh as one of us. The Christmas season is followed by the season of Epiphany, when we celebrate the unveiling of Jesus as the son of God and our Saviour. That season culminates with Transfiguration Sunday which is commemoration of Jesus’ unveiling in glory with Moses and Elijah on the mountain, which also represents the unveiling of the glory we share with Jesus.

From next week we enter the season of Easter preparation. Easter preparation prepares us for the time to remember what Jesus did on the cross and in his resurrection. It specifically looks back to the time Jesus spent 40 days fasting and praying in the wilderness before the start of his ministry. During this period Christians deny themselves their daily comforts and draw near to God. It culminates in what is called Holy Week. Holy Week is a very special period in the Christian Calendar which starts with Palm Sunday, which is the Sunday before Resurrection Sunday. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John dedicate 25% of their writings to that week. It is the focus of the gospel message. It is so important and central to the Christian faith that we cannot afford to miss it. As we enter the season of Easter preparation, let us be intentional about it. How are you going to prepare yourself this year?

My prayer for this week is that we may all spend the next 40 days of Easter preparation intentionally preparing ourselves to remember the events of Holy Week. 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

January 2025 ISSUE OF FACE TO FACE PUBLISHED

Our January 2025 issue of the online Face To Face magazine has been published. Please find it here: Face To Face

Epiphany

Resolve to do good

The Light and the Darkness

Online Bi-Weekly Bible Study

Next Bible Study on 5 March 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