From Pastor's Desk

Paul and his companions while in Philippi waiting for the spirit of God to lead them, went down to the river side on the Sabbath day, expecting to find a place to pray. They sat down by the river side and spoke with the women of the city who had gathered there. In this group of women was a woman by the name of Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshipper of God, and the Spirit of God in action opened her heart to respond to the message of salvation as preached by Apostle Paul.Dr. Luke says that this woman, Lydia, was convicted after heard the message of salvation through Jesus Christ and requested baptism in the name...

Paul having settled the matter of circumscion for the Gentiles, then continues on his 2nd missionary throughout Asia Minor. His first stop was in Derbe and Lystra (modern day cities in Turkey). It was in this city that a certain disciple by the name of Timothy, whose mother was Jewish but his father was a Gentile (Greek). The believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of Timothy, but because his father was a Gentile, he was not circumcised according to the Jewish tradition for all males. Apostle Paul, through the wisdom of the Spirit of God in action, directed that Timothy be circumcised, because the Jews in that area knew that his father was Greek. This action by Paul neutralized the potential...

In Antioch, Syria, the saints having received the directive from the Apostolic Headquarters Church in Jerusalem, on the matter of circumcision, rejoiced greatly that they were not forced to obey the strictures of the Mosaic Law, but were set right with God (justified), through faith and obedience of the Word of God. Judas or Justus (Barsabas – He was the disciple nominated to replace Judas Iscariot in Acts 1:23) and Silas, who were themselves prophets, spoke much to the saints in Antioch with many words and confirmed in several exhortations that the letter that they brought from Jerusalem headquarters were indeed genuine and they had nothing to fear concerning their salvation, which they obtained by faith in Jesus Christ, and not...

Greetings! We have resumed our weekly blogs on the Spirit of God in action from the book of Acts.The significant and explosive growth of the Apostolic church in Asia Minor and the Middle East after the initial start in Jerusalem in AD 33, created a number of organization and doctrinal issues. These issues started to surface as the Spirit of God in action deployed fervent missionaries to carry the Gospel to all parts of the world as Jesus commanded them to in St. Matthew 28:19 (to paraphrase – go ye into all the world and teach all nations…) In Antioch, Syria, certain people came down from Judea and began teaching the believers; "unless ye are circumcised according the custom taught by...

Scriptures:   Deuteronomy 23:18-23 [18] Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God. [21] When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. [22] But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. [23] That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God,...

Meaning of VOWS:   Hebrew 'ecar es-sawr' or riccar {is-sawr'}; an obligation or vow (of abstinence):--binding, bond. mibta` mib-taw'; a rash utterance (hasty vow):--(that which ...) uttered (out of). nadar naw-dar' a primitive root; to promise (pos., to do or give something to God):--(make a) vow. neder neh'-der or neder {nay'-der};a promise (to God); also (concretely) a thing promised:--vow((-ed)).Greekanathematizoan-ath-em-at-id'-zo ; to declare or vow under penalty of execration:--(bind under a) curse, bind with an oath. euche yoo-khay' ; properly, a wish, expressed as a petition to God, or in votive obligation:--prayer, vow. 　From the above definitions, one can see that a vow is a promise, an oath, or bond, hence, it is binding. Everyone has an obligation to fulfill his or her...

Greetings! Almost 10 months ago, in April 2012, I thought that I could deliver in another form, weekly writings on the scriptures which could be available to members of our congregation and the world at large via our web site. The Lord led me to write on the Spirit of God in Action (The Holy Ghost) from the Book of Acts chronology by Dr. Luke. These writings have been a tremendous blessings to me, as I read, digested and re-wrote again, the various events of the early church from the day of Pentecost in AD 33. I am more than convinced, and fully believe that the gift of the Holy Ghost is the most invaluable gift a believer can and must...

As Paul continued his first missionary journey throughout Asia Minor, the Spirit of God in action used Paul mightily to preach the word of God, and great miracles resulted in all the cities he visited. In Lystra, he was stoned by a mob comprised of Jews from Antioch and Iconium, and then dragged outside the city on the supposition that he was dead through the stoning. The scripture says that the disciples stood around Paul ( and I believed, prayed), and after a while, Paul rose up and came back into the city, and the next day he and Barnabas left for the city of Derbe.When they got to Derbe, they did the same as they did before, preached the gospel...

This week's lessons continues the record of Paul's 1st missionary journey throughout Asia Minor. Having just left Perga with a bursting revival, the scriptures says that the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Ghost. Paul and Barnabas then moved on to Iconium, and, as was their custom, went to the synagogue of the Jews, and spoke the word of the Lord. The Bible says in Acts 14:1; "that a great multitude both of Jews and also of the Greeks believed," the gospel. However, the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and corrupted their minds against the Apostles. These unbelieving Jews did not dissuade Paul and the other brethren with him from preaching the word of God, and they spent...

Dr. Luke continued his history of the Apostolic message as the Apostle Paul commenced his first missionary journey throughout Asia Minor and Northern Palestine. Paul and those who were with him left Paphos, Crete for Perga in Pamphylia (modern day Turkey), but Apostle John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. They then travelled by boat to Antioch in Pisidia (now modern day Turkey), and went immediately into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. The leaders of the synagogue read from the law and the prophets, and having observed Apostle Paul and the other leaders with him in their midst, requested if they (Paul and other) had anything to say, or had an exhortation to say to the...