Weekly Update 30 May 2025

by Takalani Musekwa | May 30, 2025 | News

7th Sunday of Easter – 1 June 2025

Psalm 97:1-12 • Acts 16:16-34 • Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 • John 17:20-26

Coming Events to Diarise:

Monthly Day of Prayer & Fasting – 14 June 2025

National Women’s Retreat 2025 – 8 – 10 August 2025

SEP 2025 – 13 – 20 December 2025

Denominational Conference 2026 – 23-26 July 2026, Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA.

**Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,**

Greetings in the name of our ascended Lord, Jesus Christ!

Thursday was Ascension Day. However, one of the things Jesus warned his disciples about before he ascended to heaven was about false teachers of the gospel. He said they would perform miracles, yet when comes he will say he never knew them.

Unfortunately, most of us are easily deceived by what we see. In Acts 16 we are told about a young slave girl who was demon-possessed and could predict people’s futures through fortune-telling. People went to her masters for consultations and they made a lot of money from her fortune-telling.

One day Paul and Silas came across that girl. The demon in her knew who Paul and Silas were; that they were men of God coming to preach “the way to be saved” (Acts 16:17). She continued saying this to the people for many days until Paul got tired of her. He instructed the demonic spirit to leave her, and it did.

What is fascinating in this story is that the girl was telling the truth about who Paul and Silas were and what their mission was. She was encouraging the people to listen to Paul and Silas’ message. However, she was not speaking on behalf of God, but of the demonic spirit in her. Sadly there are many such deceiving spirits today. They preach the bible and perform miracles, and yet they are demon-possessed. You cannot tell by simply listening to them because they say the right things. Knowing this, John warned us in 1 John 4 verse 1: “…do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Let us not be deceived. Let’s test the spirits.

My prayer for this week is that we may all learn to test the spirits lest we be deceived. Amen!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Mabusela Family: Lulama Mabusela passed away this week. Please remember her children and grandchildren in your prayers.

Sick Brethren: Please continue to pray for the brethren who suffering from various sicknesses.

Offerings: Please continue to pray for the offerings and needs of the church in 2025.

Have a blessed weekend!
Shalom!

Takalani

___________________________

NATIONAL WOMEN’S RETEAT 2025 – 8 – 10 AUGUST 2025

Registration for the National Women’s Retreat 2025 is now open. The retreat will take place in Polokwane, Limpopo at the Silver Exclusive Lodge. The cost per person is R2000 sharing, and R2400 single room (non-sharing).

Further details are available on the registration form available here: Register

SPIRITUAL EQUIPPING PROGRAM (SEP) 2025 – Applications Open

Applications for SEP 2025 are open. The closing date for applications is 21 September 2025. A non-refundable deposit of R600 is payable by 30 September 2025. The balance is payable by 31 October.

Please read the terms and conditions on the application form. The application form must be completed online by computer or mobile phone. To access the application forms click below:

Camper Application Form 2025 (13-18 years)

Vacation Bible School Form (9-12 Years)

Staff Application Form

REPEAT ANNOUNCEMNTS NOT TO BE READ IN CHURCH SERVICES

NATIONAL BUILDING FUND NOW OVER R1.3 MILLION

The National Building Fund has now passed R1.3 million. The balances for the various congregation are as follows as at the end of April 2025:

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 14 June 2025 (2nd Saturday of the Month)

Our next Day of Prayer and Fasting is on Saturday 14 June 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:

· June 14

· Jul 12

· August 9

· September 13

· October 11

· November 8

· December 13

March 2025 ISSUE OF FACE TO FACE PUBLISHED

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

Use the gifts we have been given

Messenger of God

The Art of Godly Restoration

Online Bi-Weekly Bible Study

Next Bible Study on 28 May 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