I received this question from a friend:

One of the most dangerous ploys Satan utilizes is to have us not hold God's commandments highly.          

Pride is the most dangerous of spiritual ailments that threaten our salvation. Indeed, it is extremely dangerous, such that when an archangel (cherub) succumbs to pride, it casts him down to the lowest levels of darkness.

I received this question from one of the servants:

The Passover Lamb was the key event for the people of God in the Old Testament as they set out to cross over from servitude, in the land of Egypt, to freedom. Through its blood, there was protection from death, and in the rituals of preparing and eating it, there lies many symbols and meanings that prepare the children of God to set out for crossing over. As we can see in the book of exodus: “And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.” (Exodus 12:11). There were two sides to this story. On the one hand, there was the Passover Lamb as a means for the people of God to cross over from death to life, from servitude to freedom, from sorrow to joy, and form objectionable life to honorable one. On the other, there was death, humiliation, sadness and desolation to Pharaoh and his people.

The incarnation and the birth of Christ gave a new beginning to man.

With the grace of Christ, we started conducting two liturgies every Sunday as of last week, October 6, 2013. Liturgies start at 8:30 AM, one is conducted in Arabic on the upper level and ends at 11:30 AM, and the other is conducted in English on the lower level in English and ends at 10:45 AM. The lower level has been setup nicely to appropriate for conducting the liturgy. This arrangement will continue on a trial basis for two months after which we will re-evaluate it and survey opinions on whether we continue or not.

1. Modern Churches are not merely places of worship; they have to fulfill the needs of their congregants such as worship, teaching, and various activities. There has to be room for all these needs.
2. The new building should fulfill these needs: Rooms equipped for Sunday school and youth ministries, Library, day care, Gym, stage, larger church to conduct two liturgies simultaneously, a small outpatient clinic, and conference rooms. The preliminary architectural drawings meet all these requirements and match the current building style while making an efficient use of the land.
3. The initial estimate for the whole project ranges from $6,000,000 to $7,000,000. Currently, we have close to $600,000 in liquid funds and we need to have around $1,500,000 by the end of January 2014.
4. The project will be carried out in three phases, and we would like to start as soon as possible because we in a dire need for these facilities. We have started the phase of the detailed drawings and obtaining the permits. With God’s will, we hope to start groundbreaking in early April of 2014.
5.  This is a matter of faith, and we have many examples of the miraculous work of God with His children despite their limited resources:
   1. The people of Israel took over the land of the Amalekites with very limited abilities, but with faith that was expressed by Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh:  “If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us…The Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” (Numbers 14:8-9).
   2. Nehemiah built the walls of Jerusalem in less than two months with almost no resources what so ever, and in opposition to many people. He only relied on the divine support and persistent prayer, saying: “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build” (Nehemiah 2:20).
   3. Five loaves and two fish were offered by a child and God used them to feed thousands.
6. The door will be open to everyone to donate or lend money to the church with a mutually beneficial arrangement.
7. We have to recognize the historical responsibility to serve the future generations in the area.

Seventh Verse: “Remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 17).

Sixth Verse: “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.” (Hebrews 13:7).

Fifth Verse: “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them, those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are in the body also.” (Hebrews 13:3).

Fourth Verse: “Remember my chains” (Colossians 4:18)