Psalm 30:5 NKJV
For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. I was reminded again today of how awesome is the character of God: that He can be angry at our sin but, when we have recognized our fault, gives us the power of His abiding Holy Spirit to get us back on course. While some if the hurt may remain, our renewed relationship with Him will open us to the opportunity for joy. We also gain some of His perspective and so can trust in Him to give us the grace we need as He opens tomorrows of everlasting joy and love in His presence.
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I hope you all are surviving this sweltering heat this summer. It definitely has led to some erratic changes in some of our bible fellowship settings. Please double check with your Bible Neighbourhood Coordinator to make sure where your study might be. Some folks have not gotten contacted, and have mistakenly gone to the wrong location.
I am working on the last two week's quick quizzes in order for you to see what you've retained from the studies. They should be uploaded today or tomorrow night. My schedule has not permitted me as much time as usual, plus I have had some pressing issues to handle of late, which has taken up a lot of my energies to say the least. We still have some openings for those whom would like to be a part of the new study group we are starting in the South Omaha area. I will be the minister and temporary coordinator for that study. It should be a lot of fun. Hope to be starting our studies the first week of September. I also have added to the archives a teaching series I've spoken about before on, " Life's Bitter Pool " by Reverend Derek Prince. DPM has been gracious in allowing us to use materials for the ministry, and once again we are thankful for their kindness. This particular series has helped me immensely to overcome a spirit of bitterness, that I thought was going to overwhelm me. Please take advantage of the availability to listen to that series of lessons. God richly keep you and bless you all. The Church of England has recently done a ten year study on church attendance. They've found that from 2001 to 2011 they have had an 3% level of church growth. However, the fascinating part of the study is that by and large most of that increase is in mid-week services.
Churches and Ministries must learn to adapt to the times, and still keep their historical identity. This allows for growth, as well meeting the needs of the public at large. Here is a link to an audio file describing the details of their report. Church of England Report We have uploaded the audio and pdf files for the Foundations of Life series, as well other previous CGMF study guides. I hope you will take the time to use them and enjoy them.
There is a new message on our homepage, plus Reverend Tom Burlington has allowed me to post some very useful tools for discipleship in our archives. I hope to have his audio interview with me updated from CGMF radio as well shortly. God bless you all, thank you for your grace and prayers. Yesterday, I was having a lot of thoughts about the past. Remembering both good and bad times, as I was in a rather melancholy mood. Then all of a sudden I came upon some old cassette recordings of mine from way back in yesteryear. I started to check them out, and found four cassette tapes of old recordings that I had made off my cassette recorder back in the 70's. They were from a program I used to listen to called " The Scott Ross Show ", which was birthed during the Jesus Movement, and had a lot of contemporary Christian music. I used to religiously listen to that broadcast each Sunday morning. From those broadcasts I learned about how personally Jesus wanted to be a part of my life. The ministry of Scott Ross and his guests encouraged me greatly in my Christian walk. Andre Crouch, Barry McGuire, Second Chapter of Acts, Larry Norman, and so many more touched my life with their personal testimony of what a difference Jesus Christ had made in their lives. I'd have to say they truly had an affect in my personal walk with God. Two things touched my heart as I wrapped up those cassettes and put them away last night. One, how much God loves me and sends special people or things in my life to let me know how much He cares. Secondly, how important faithful perseverance is in our walk of faith. Why is that you may ask? Well, because it keeps us on a steady course, no matter what the obstacles of life that come our way. That's right, those people or " things " remind us of how special God's love is, and that in every way, shape and form He cares for us. My friend in Christ will you pause and take the time to remember what Christ has done for you. Taking inventory of the special places God has " met " up with you and touched your life. I believe it will strengthen your faith, giving you new found hope. As you acknowledge God's love and presence in your journey of faith. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of those songs that touched me from those cassette tapes. Enjoy my friends. Praises, Andre Crouch and the Disciples
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Reverend Patrick Vossen,
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