12th Sunday after Pentecost – 31 August 2025
Psalm 81:1, 10–16 • Jeremiah 2:4–13 • Hebrews 13:1–8, 15–16 • Luke 14:1, 7–14
Coming Events to Diarise:
Annual General Meeting – 31 August 2025
Monthly Day of Prayer & Fasting – 13 September 2025
Regional Leadership Conference – 5 – 7 December 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.
As spring approaches, it brings the summer vibe comprised of a lot of outdoor events, weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, braais and a lot of getting together. As we look forward to such celebrations, I reflected that there is one thing that Jesus taught which I have not seen any Christian practise. Of course there may be people who practise it, but I haven’t come across them. It is not because it is impossible or difficult to do. It is in fact relatively easy to do.
One Sabbath, Jesus was invited by a prominent Pharisee for a lunch party at the Pharisee’s home. The Pharisee had invited many other prominent people. Jesus observed the social dynamics as people came into the house.
The people who thought they were important did not wait to be seated. They picked the prominent seats for themselves. Some of those people probably did not know Jesus, and they didn’t know he was more prominent than them. One of them probably sat where the host wanted Jesus to sit.
Jesus then confronted them. He told them they should be waiting to be shown where to sit, or rather they should have been choosing the non-prominent seats.
He said to them, “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.” (Lk. 14:8) Of course they didn’t like being exposed or reprimanded like that.
Jesus then turned to the host and said “You should not have invited these people. They have a sense of self-importance.” Of course he didn’t put it exactly like that.
This is what he actually said, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Lk. 14:12-14)
In my life, I have not seen anyone do this, including myself. We always invite our family and friends, our colleagues and neighbours. Jesus says we should be inviting people who can never host a party. People who can never invite us back.
To do what Jesus is saying here means having a party for the sake of others, not ourselves. This is what the kingdom culture looks like. It is the opposite of the cultures in the world. In our cultures we would rather invite our friends and family who are likely to bring us gifts and help us have a good time.
This is a hard saying. How will our lives be transformed if we actually tried to do this? When is your next party? Who will you invite?
My prayer for this week is that we may all be challenged to practice this social etiquette. Host the people who can’t host you back. Amen! (Of course there is time to host your friends and family also).
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2025: Please remember the AGM this Sunday (31 August) at 15:30. The AGM is an opportunity for us to connect and get an update about GCI South Africa, and any other GCI news. All are welcome. Here are the meeting details to join:
Topic: GCI SA AGM 2025
Time: Aug 31, 2025 03:30 PMJohannesburg
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84175722495?pwd=HBDhADVlAuJmFrtNdyGVb8zupH2mv8.1
Meeting ID: 841 7572 2495
Passcode: GCI
Sick Brethren: Please continue to pray for the brethren who are 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
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Regional Leadership Conference – 5 – 7 December 2025
We are pleased to announce a Special Regional Leadership Conference taking place from 5 to 7 December 2025 at Aruka.
GCI President, Dr. Greg Williams, and his wife Susan will be joining us as the special guests, along with the Superintendent for Africa, Pastor Kalengule Kaoma and all Africa Regional Directors.
A special worship service is scheduled for Sunday, 7 December, and all members are warmly invited to attend. Please watch out for more details soon.
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)
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REPEAT ANNOUNCEMNTS NOT TO BE READ IN CHURCH SERVICES
NATIONAL BUILDING FUND NOW OVER R1.4 MILLION
The National Building Fund has now passed R1.4 million. The balances for the various congregation are as follows as at the end of July 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 13 September 2025 (2nd Saturday of the Month)
Our next Day of Prayer and Fasting is on Saturday 13 September 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:
· September 13
· October 11
· November 8
· December 13
JUNE 2025 ISSUE OF FACE TO FACE PUBLISHED
Our June 2025 issue of the online Face To Face magazine has been published. Please find it here: Face To Face
He is more than Enough
God’s Grace
Growing Older
Online Bi-Weekly Bible Study
Next Bible Study on 3 September 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
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.