Weekly Update 15 June 2025

by Takalani Musekwa | Jun 13, 2025 | News

Trinity Sunday – 15 June 2025

Psalm 8:1–9 · Proverbs 8:1–4, 22–31 · Romans 5:1–5 · John 16:12–15

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 the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, which is celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost every year. As I mentioned previously, the Christian Calendar is a discipleship tool. It has been used by the church throughout the ages to teach the people of God about Jesus and his ministry for us.

Trinity Sunday is a reminder that the God that Jesus came to reveal to humans is a personal God. He is three persons, and One God. His triune nature is exactly what separates him from every other conception of pagan gods. Many ancient civilisations believed in many gods who were always fighting against each other. There is no pagan religion which believed in gods that existed in unity and love. They were always trying to dominate each other.

On the other hand, those who believed in one god believed in a unitary god who was alone in the universe before he decided to create people so that he can have somebody to love. However, the Christian God is eternally Love. He is love in himself as three persons. He is a fellowship of three persons in perfect love. The Father loves the Son, and he only loves his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. The love he has for humans is not another kind of love. He loves humans in Christ, not apart from Christ. Humans enjoy the love the Father has for the Son. In Christ, the Father makes us co-heirs with Christ. This means that the Father does not have two kinds of love, one for Jesus and another for us humans. He loves us with exactly the same love he loves Jesus with. We are deeply loved.

Many people believe in a unitary, lonely God who lives alone somewhere in the sky watching us from the distance. That is not the Christian God. The Christian God is triune – three persons in perfect unity. The Christian God is not watching us from the distance. He came into us and dwells in us. It is on this day that we must remember the words of Jesus, “on that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (Jn. 14:20 NIV). We have been brought into the fellowship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a fellowship of mutual indwelling, of being in and through each other. We live and move and have our being in him.

“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” (CS Lewis). Through Jesus we have been made to be partakers in the divine nature of God (2 Pet. 1:4). We have been made to share in his divine glory. Listen to these words from the mouth of Jesus: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (Jn. 17:22-23 NIV). Happy Trinity Sunday!

My prayer for this week is that we may all come to experience the fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen! Amen! Amen!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Disaster in Eastern Cape: At the time of writing, 72 people had lost their lives due to the floods in the Eastern Cape. Please pray for the families and all the people whose lives have been devastated by these floods.

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 25 June 2025

Please diarise and join the biweekly Online Bible study every second Wednesday at 19:00. The current series is: The Book of Proverbs.

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