The Great Passover
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.
A New Birth
The incarnation and the birth of Christ gave a new beginning to man.
Two Liturgies every Sunday
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.
New Church building
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- This is a matter of faith, and we have many examples of the miraculous work of God with His children despite their limited resources:
- 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).
- 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).
- Five loaves and two fish were offered by a child and God used them to feed thousands.
- The door will be open to everyone to donate or lend money to the church with a mutually beneficial arrangement.
- We have to recognize the historical responsibility to serve the future generations in the area.
Remember (10)
Seventh Verse: “Remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 17).
Remember (9)
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).
Remember (8)
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).
Remember (6)
Third Verse: “Remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one [Heaven and Earth], and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two [Jews and Gentiles], thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both [Jews and Gentiles] to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off [Gentiles] and to those who were near [Jews]. For through Him [Christ] we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 11-22).
Remember (5)
Second Verse: “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.” (John 15:20-21)
Remember (4)
First Verse: “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32) – Continued
Remember (3)
First Verse: “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32) – Continued