July 8, 2009
If you are memorizing Revelation 22:12-13 you can “say it” at the welcome center this Sunday.
There is a list of the different translations at the Welcome Center. Tell the person what translation you have been learning and then “say it”. It is good practice and “puts you on the spot” in a good way.
Remember: Scripture memory is not just for kids…
gordon
July 6, 2009
This morning we boarded the Boomerang Express for a trip downunder to learn what it means to know and walk with Jesus. Please be praying for our many workers/volunteers as well as the children who will be here all week. This is an amazing opportunity for our church to impact the lives of children around the community.
We will post updates and pictures during the week. Please be in prayer for this vital outreach…
J
June 28, 2009
A group of 12 missionaries will leave Tulsa on July 20 for Colima, Colima Mexico. Colima is the City and also the State. It is located about an hour North of the Pacific Ocean and 2 hours South of Guadalajara.
We will be working with IMB missionaries Jeff and Deliegha Swanson. They have been in Colima for about three years.
The following are some of the things we hope to do:
1) prayer walking 2) witnessing in main square and public areas 3) door-to-door witnessing 4) cell group ministry 5) sports ministry 6) youth ministry 7) Sunday morning worship service.
We have been asked to do the music and messages for all the events.
Please pray for our team’s safety, success in bringing glory to God and the finances we need. Below is our team:
David, Ben, Adam, Elizabeth, Jeff, Charles, Ben, Michelle, Julia, Gordon, Craig, Kyle
June 28, 2009
Revelation 22:12-13
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. (NKJV)
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (NIV)
Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (ESV)
Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward {is} with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (NASB)
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (KJV)
He aquí yo vengo pronto, y mi galardón conmigo, para recompensar a cada uno según sea su obra. Yo soy el Alfa y la Omega, el principio y el fin, el primero y el último. (RVR)
June 24, 2009
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There truly is life in Christ and we are going to have the privilege of taking this message to the people of Colima, Colima Mexico from July 20-28. We are very excited about this opportunity to return to the same city that we worked in last summer and continue to build our relationship with International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries Jeff and Deliagh Swanson. There will be 12 of us on this years trip and we will have the opportunity to share the gospel many times as well as leading small group meetings and encouraging the local church.
As you can imagine this is not a cheap trip for our team and we really need your help in providing the necessary funds for the trip. This Sunday (June 28) we will be taking a love offering to help alleviate the expense of the trip, this offering will be taken during the morning service.
After the morning service we would like to invite you to join us for lunch in the Family Life Center. This lunch will be BBQ Brisket Sandwichs and Salad and some great cakes made by our students. The lunch will be free but we would ask that you donate toward the trip the amount of money you would generally spend on a Sunday lunch. During lunch Julia Small and Michelle Goree will be providing music, so it should be a great time together! Make plans to join us this Sunday and pray for us as we prepare for a powerful week in Mexico.
Jeff
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June 19, 2009
The following story happened a couple weeks before the Vietnam rebels took over the area where I lived in Laos. It amazes me what I did back in April 1961. It was only by God’s mercy and grace.
What is real courage? Being willing to obey God in a difficult situation. The first step of courage is to believe what God has said in His Word and to live by it. Although the world may ridicule us and will never understand, God will give us the courage to stand for Him. This will be needed more and more in this generation as society turns against God’s revelation.
God gave me the courage to believe Him when He called me to overseas service. It didn’t look like I had the health and stamina for this, but I was convinced God would enable me to obey Him. It was a joy to realize that He could use my life for an eternal purpose.
When I arrived in Laos, I needed courage to persevere in learning the Laotian language. This tonal language was not easy for me, as I had a slight hearing problem I had struggled with since childhood. In January 1959 I was assigned to an outpost near the Vietnam border with Ursula, an experienced worker from England. The day we set out on a trek to a remote area was a great fulfillment for me of God’s promises.
I was able to hike all day on a steep mountain path, carrying a backpack most of the time. Although I had had back trouble and leg aches in my youth, here I was striding up the mountain, feeling great. By the end of the day, 25 miles later, my legs felt like numb stumps attached to my hips, but I was thrilled to be where God wanted me. It didn’t feel like courage; it felt like victory over physical limitations. God had enabled me to triumph over the doubts and fears that Satan wanted to put in my life. I remember thinking, “This is what God gave me my body for — to use it for Him.”
Several years later I lived in Feen, a different village on a hot, flat plain where there were few hills around. One day in April 1961 I felt strongly led to visit some villages to the east even though they were near the area held by rebel troops. Some people had come to our house to hear the story of Jesus, and I wanted to share the Gospel with their whole village. I knew our time was limited to stay in that eastern part of Laos. My young partner Rienie didn’t want to go that far, but I got permission to go from the commandant of the local army post across the road. According to my diary, the next morning I set off at 5:45 on my bike. Taking time to eat some cold rice along the way, I arrived at Hia Sa Ngom village by 7 a.m.
Then I played the Gospel records at La Tup village. They sent a guide with me and it was a hot two-hour walk to Keng La Teng. Both villages showed good interest. At the last village I saw men in black clothing sitting in the background as I chatted in the headman’s house. They were probably rebels looking me over. I felt a chill of anxiety but pushed it away by faith that God had led me there.
One man in black asked what I thought about the war. I told him honestly that I was not on either side because my main responsibility was to teach people about Jesus. I ate the rice they served me and didn’t stay long. I had traveled 46 kilometers that day, walking 20 after the bike ride.
I was very tired on the last stretch. My stomach was a bit upset with diarrhea and nausea when I got home, so I ate only a light supper and went to bed immediately. I noted in my diary that I felt my chest cold returning, but I had a satisfied feeling from being in God’s will.
The next day our house helper, Somjit, received Jesus into his heart, praying in Laotian very sincerely. He was our first tribal convert in that area! I shouted Hallelujah in my heart. That day several people came to see me from the two villages I had visited the day before. It seemed that God was working in their lives, but I never knew if any began following the Lord. I don’t remember their names and no one has been able to visit that area since the communists took over at the end of April 1961.
Many years later I heard that believers from the Bru tribe in Vietnam had crossed over the mountains into Laos in the 80s to avoid persecution in their homeland. They had the N.T. in their language and were vibrant witnesses for Jesus. Churches were established in the Feen area, also in Nong and Sepon where I had previously worked. I had sowed the seed, but God had brought in the harvest.
It is never wasted effort when we do something God tells us to do.
Rosemary Watson
June 6, 2009
It’s hard to believe it is finally here, but camp begins Monday morning in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. We are looking forward to a great week and covet your prayers for our workers, students and staff.
Faith Week holds a special place in my heart as it is the place that I came to know and follow Jesus. It was the summer between my junior and senior year in high school and I was a “good church kid”, but I was as lost as a duck in the desert. My camp counseler (who happened to be my Sunday school teacher) took me aside and talked to me very frankly about the things I said I believed and the way I lived my life. God used that conversation to help me recognize my need for a Savior and I knelt by a tree outside the worship center and gave my life to Christ. My story is not unique, God has changed the lives of literally thousands of lives at Faith Week. What a privilege it is for us as a church to host this camp each year, thank you Eastwood for your sacrifice and willingness to invest in the lives of young people…you are a blessing.
Please set aside some time this week to pray for God to move in a powerful way at camp this year. I am praying that lives will be changed and that the impact of this week will influence the nations in the coming days.
Jeff
May 27, 2009
The short answer is “No” if you mean “Do dead people come back as ghosts?” When a person dies their spirit is either present with the Lord in heaven or separated from the Lord in hell. There is no temporary period when a dead person’s spirit lingers in this world or is able to haunt or harass the living.
In the movie “Ghost Whisperer” Melinda Gordon (played by actress Jennifer Love Hewitt) supposedly has a gift – she can communicate with earthbound spirits or ghosts who cling to the living because they have unfinished business in our world preventing them from “crossing over” or going into the light. This movie was inspired in part by the work of famed medium James Van Praagh and of Mary Ann Winkowski, a supposed real-life communicator with earth bound spirits. GHOST WHISPERER explores the spiritual side of life and death. Melinda bridges the gap between the dead and the living with her actions as an intermediary between the ghosts and those they haunt.
People are searching. There is a lot of emphasis on the supernatural. However, being a medium or contacting the dead is forbidden by the Scriptures [Lev 19:31, 20:6, 2Kings 23:24, 1Chron 10:13, 2Chron 33:6]. It is forbidden because it is really contact with demon spirits, not dead human beings.
Satan is very deceptive. The movie industry is taping into a real need in peoples lives: the spiritual. A person today can be “spiritual” and not be a follower of Jesus Christ. We don’t have to fear ghosts (which are not real) or demons (which are real).
More later…
Gordon
May 26, 2009
It’s hard to believe that camp is almost here, and we will soon be making the trek to our favorite valley in Arkansas. This will be the 35th year that Eastwood has hosted this camp which has seen literally thousands of lives changed over the years. There are pastors and missionaries all over the world who trace their call back to a service at Faith Week. What an incredible privilege it is for our church to be part of such a dynamic ministry.
Pray for our students and workers as we head to Arkansas June 8-13. Pray that God would meet us there and that lives would be changed and through those lives God would ignite the world!
This years speakers are:
Camp Speaker: Brad Fogarty
Youth Bible Study: Kyle Doan
Adult Bible Study: Gordon Small
Worship Leader: Kyle Spencer
May 10, 2009
Why do we or why are we taught to bow our head and close our eyes in prayer?
People may have personal reasons for bowing their heads. I think the main reason is to close out distractions and also to humble ourselves outwardly. Obviously you should pray with your eyes open and head up if you are driving in your car. It would be unwise if you are the driver to take your eyes off the road. I pray when I drive and have heard others say the same thing.
We teach children to bow their heads and close their eyes in order to make a conscious effort to focus on God and humble ourselves before Him. When you talk to someone your attention shows that you care about them. It is easier to hear God when He speaks to us if we are not distracted.
There is no law or rule about our posture of prayer. Notice the following verse; it appears that Jesus has His eyes open and looks toward the sky. Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You” John 17:1.
God sees our heart motive so we can pray standing, sitting, kneeling, lying down, head up, head down, eyes open or eyes closed, it really does not matter. However, the Bible has many verses which show people on their faces before God. If our request is urgent or extreme or deeply weighing you down your physical posture will change. Notice the following verse when Jesus is in the Garden before His crucifixion:
[Jesus] went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You [will]“
Mat 26:39.
Gordon
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