A few weeks ago Ken Hulme shared about his recent trip to Africa including his time with his friend Cyprien and the many amazing ministry opportunities they had together.  Below is a note and a prayer that Cyprien wrote to our church upon receiving a financial gift from folks in our church.  We wanted to pass it along for all to read.  Please continue to pray for Cyprien in Africa and the work of the gospel all around the world!

THANKS AND APPRECIATIONS
Our thanks and appreciations go to: SOVEREIGN GRACE CHURCH for your physical, spiritual, and  financial participation and in various other ways,  which are no small thing,  to make our ministry grow, especially for encouraging the missionary trip of my friend Ken Hulme the great man God has been using in our ministry. And we are so grateful for the gift $624 USD given by some kind and generous people from your Church last week. You are helping us move forward in the vision for our ministry,

THIS IS MY PRAYER FOR YOU, SOVEREIGN GRACE CHURCH:
I command the Angels of the Living God to go out as warriors and fight the  battle against all sickness, diseases, evils, enemies, poverty, jobless, divorces, barreness, misunderstanding, accidents, failure, hunger in the Church –All of these things are perished in  the mighty name of Jesus Christ!  Signs, Wonders and amazing miracle of healings, resurrection of dead shall occur in SOVEREIGN GRACE CHURCH for those who believe in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Financial blessing, amazing success and spiritual growth belong to this PRECIOUS CHURCH.  We love everyone of you and one day we shall meet face to face to praise God together!

Cyprien
Cyprien’s Evangelistic Ministry

As you celebrate this day of thanks with family and friends, we want you to know how very grateful we are for you – our church family.  God has been gracious and good to us as a people for yet another year, and whether you have been a part of our church for all 24 years or have just begun to come, we thank God that He has brought you to SGC.  We are grateful for all your abiding faith toward God our Father, for your love toward one another born by the Spirit, and for your passion to make the Jesus known.

We are also mindful of our brothers and sisters who have lost family members this past year.  We know the reminder of an empty seat at the table is difficult today.  And we are also aware that for some, your time with your family may be awkward and painful today.  We pray that you will experience the nearness of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ today and are able to give thanks to Him in all things.

Have a great day!  Don’t eat too much!  Stay safe tomorrow if you are a Black Friday adventurer and we look forward to seeing you Sunday!

On behalf of the pastors,

Eric

Yesterday we studied Mark 2:18-22, the third of five conflict stories put together by Mark to show the increasing hostility toward Jesus.  On the surface, this controversy is about fasting, but Jesus takes it much deeper to reveal that He is the Bridegroom come to fulfill all of the law and the prophets and bring an end to the Old Covenant.   We learned that Jesus didn’t come to make old better, He came to make all things new.  You can listen to or download the message here.  I hope these questions help you to apply God’s word to your life.

1.  What do you believe the Lord was speaking to you through this message?

2.   Do you think that Jesus has your complete and total devotion; your whole life?  Why or why not?

3.  In what ways have you used Jesus as a “patch” in order to cover a hole or make your life a little better?

4.  Why will this never work?

5.  Jesus is not a temporary fix to our lives or a way to make our lives a little better.  Jesus wants to completely transform our lives as we surrender to Him.  What areas of your life do you believe the Lord is and wants to completely transform?  How do you believe He wants to do that?

I pray we will all continue to devote our entire lives to the Jesus, the One who called us, saved us, transforms us and empowers us to live our lives for Him.

Grace to you this week,

Eric

Last week I had the privilege of preaching from 1 Peter 2:4-10, which is all about the church.  I know I’m not alone when I say I love the church.  I have been a part of a growing and thriving local church, where people worship Jesus and build their lives together and reach out to others almost my whole life.  Charles Spurgeon once called the church “the dearest place on earth” and I, like many of you, have come to share that sentiment. What a wonderful thing it was to be reminded of the power and glory of God continues to shines through His church.

Speaking of messages on the church – EVERYONE SHOULD HERE THE MESSAGE BELOW!  It is one of the best messages on the church that I have heard.  Kevin DeYoung preached this sermon at NEXT 2010.  The last 15 minutes of the message holds the possibility to change your life!

The Church – Kevin DeYoung

Enjoy,

Eric