W.I.N. - A Publication of Freedom Covenant Global Ministries Hi ! In this issue, you'll read: A WORD FROM THE EDITOR - WEEK TWO NKJ James 1:22-25; 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. Once again, I pray that God will grant you His Wisdom and bless you with His understanding as you take time to read the articles and study the Bible lesson presented in this edition. May the Holy Spirit stir within your hearts the desire to draw closer to the Father. Rev. Sam T. Leigh ***A word to our readers: If you know someone whom you think would like to receive this newsletter on a regular basis, please pass along a copy of this edition for them to review. If they decide they would benefit from having this newsletter sent directly to their e-mail address, they may simply send an e-mail containing their name and e-mail address to winsubscribe@fcgm.org. One of the most remarkable things about the Gospel is that through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross an intimate relationship with God is now possible. Paul's defining passion was "to know Him." This is what Paul declared he was "pressing on" to take a hold of. Has this also become your defining passion? One of the marks of Christian growth is to progress from a "needs-oriented" approach to God to an "intimacy-oriented" approach to Him. We tend to live in a world of "contacts" rather than "relationships." And we often approach God in the same way. He is a "contact" on our list of "to do's" for the day. 1. Worship the Lord with one of your favorite songs. Now you're ready to talk to the Lord about specific needs. Remember, in your times with the Lord, prioritize what he wants before what you want. II. Putting it into Practice In your devotions this week, read Psalm 139. As you read, talk to the Lord about the content of this psalm. Then make Paul's declaration "that I may know him" your own as you read (study and meditate upon) this psalm again. III. Memory Verse Here are a few suggestions that may help you to memorize your memory verses: 1. Ask the Lord to help you remember his Word (see John 14:26). 2. Use the version of the Bible you are most familiar with. What you normally read in your Bible is what you need to be memorizing. 3. Don't just memorize the contents of the verse; memorize its “address” (the verse reference) as well. You can do this by following this pattern: Step 1: reference; Step 2: verse content; Step 3: reference. Then repeat steps 1-3. Note that you are quoting the reference twice as many times as you quote the actual verse content. This gives the verse a clear “reference tag.” 4. After you have read your memory verse out aloud several times, try going through your memory verse without reading your computer screen. 5. Look up your memory verse in your Bible. Look at its immediate context and read the verses that come before and after your memory verse. 6. Print out your memory verse or jot it down on a piece of paper. Take this paper with you when you go to work or do other daily activities. Meditate on the meaning of the verse throughout the day. 7. During your noon appointment with the Lord, take out your memory verse and go over it again. Talk to the Lord about what this verse means to you personally. 8. In the evening (at either your evening study or your evening devotions), see if you can quote your memory verse from memory. Then, without looking at the memory verse itself, see if you can find it in your Bible. 9. The next day, before you begin committing a new verse to memory, rehearse your previous day’s memory verse and see if you can remember it (without cheating!). 10. Finally, at the end of the week (possibly on Sunday), collect all your week’s memory verses, rehearse them and see if you can recall them without reading them. Spend a little extra time on any verses you have difficulty recalling. 11. Remember: Don't just memorize a verse. Put it into practice (James 1:22). It is not being able to quote a verse from memory that counts. It is His Word abiding in your heart that counts (John 15:7). When you actually apply a verse consistently to your daily life, that is when you truly know that verse! NKJ Acts 2:42-47; 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. This passage certainly helps establish a pattern of conduct within the early church. We need to determine how far removed the 21st century church has become from this pattern in order to better understand its condition. For the purposes of our examination, we will work on the premise that "with all things being equal, we can expect the same end result." EARLY CHURCH 1. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, In the next few weeks, we will be presenting a series of articles dealing with each of the twelve actions of the early church listed above as compared to the 21st century church, culminating with an examination of the end result as listed in number thirteen. Is it the same for both the early and the present church, and if not, how can we get "Back To The Kingdom?" Until next week... Bishop Sam T. Leigh 1. Rev. SORY Mahé Gaston - Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa Please pray for each of these new members as they take their respective places in the ministry to which God has placed them. It is indeed wonderful to see our ministry team grow and to watch as His commission is fulfilled as given in NKJ Matthew 28:19-20; 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'' Amen. Blessings to one and all in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Our Everett, Washington Campus is offering three courses this Spring to begin the core studies for a certificate or degree in Biblical Studies. For more information, please call 1-360-659-8874. For out of the area students, all courses may be taken through distance education, and tuition scholarships* are currently being offered to those who qualify. If interested, please contact our Director of Distance Education at The Washington Bible Institute is also currently seeking local ministry that may be interested in volunteer teaching positions in all areas of interest. For more information, please contact Rev. David L. Lathrop, B.Ch.Min. at NOTE: "The Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board has determined that The Washington Bible Institute qualifies for religious exempt status from the Degree Authorization Act for the following programs: Associate of Biblical Studies (A.B.S.), Associate of Christian Counseling (A.C.C.), Associate of Christian Leadership (A.C.L.), Associate of Ministry (A.Min.), Associate of Missions and Evangelism (A.M.E.), Associate of Theology (Th.A.), Bachelor of Biblical Studies (B.B.S.), Bachelor of Christian Counseling (B.C.C.), Bachelor of Christian Leadership (B.C.L.), Bachelor of Ministry (B.Min.), Bachelor of Missions and Evangelism (B.M.E.), and Bachelor of Theology (Th.B.) Any person desiring information about the requirements of the act or the applicability of those requirements to the institution may contact the board at P.O. Box 43430, Olympia, WA 98504-3430." The Washington Bible Institute is a Chartered Affiliate of Freedom Covenant Global Ministries and is a member of The Western Collegium of Bible Schools.
WITNESS ~ INSTRUCT ~ NURTURE / Volume 1 Issue 2
Mar 2, 2005
CULTIVATING AN INTIMACY WITH GOD
BACK TO THE KINGDOM - PART I
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
NEWS FROM THE WASHINGTON BIBLE INSTITUTE
Welcome to the second issue of the E-mail version of W.I.N. I hope you all took time to study and meditate on last week's Bible study lesson "The Intimacy of Prayer." It was certainly a springboard to this week's study, which is designed to help us move from a "needs-oriented" approach to God to an "intimacy-oriented" approach to Him.
Presiding Bishop
Freedom Covenant Global Ministries
E-mail:
Website: www.fcgm.org
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CULTIVATING AN INTIMACY WITH GOD
I. Developing a Devotional Lifestyle
Read Philippians 3:10-14
But prayer is so much more than just coming before God with a shopping list of requests. To be sure, God invites us to ask in prayer (Matthew 7:7), but just a few verses prior to this, Jesus tells us in NKJ Matthew 6:33 to "…seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." In your devotional time with the Lord this week, try out a combination of these "intimacy-oriented" activities before you begin praying for specific needs.
2. Talk to the Lord about how much you love him.
3. Thank him for what he has done for you.
NKJ Psalms 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
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BACK TO THE KINGDOM - PART I
Are you unhappy with the condition of the church today? Are the sermons too long and boring? Too short and powerless? Does the praise and worship seem mechanical and rehearsed? Is the church supposed to be "Full Gospel," but you feel like something is missing? Are you hearing about the power of the Holy Spirit, but not seeing it in action? Is it easier to stay in bed on Sunday morning and skip the drudgery? Then pause right now and pray, asking God to give you insight and wisdom as you read the rest of this article. Next we need to take a look at the early church to see if we find anything different from the 21st century church. Possibly, the following passage of scripture taken from the Book of Acts will give us a clue.
2. in the breaking of bread,
3. and in prayers.
4. Then fear came upon every soul,
5. and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
6. Now all who believed were together,
7. and had all things in common,
8. and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
9. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple,
10. and breaking bread from house to house,
11. they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
12. praising God and having favor with all the people.
13. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Freedom Covenant Global Ministries would like to welcome the following new ministers into fellowship.
2. Rev. Lawrence C. Uzoukwu - Sacramento CA USA
3. Rev. Joseph Ayimba Ogoro - Kenya, East Africa
4. Rev. Aaron B. Greene - Marysville WA USA
5. Rev. SEA Serges - Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa
6. Rev. KOYOUA Valence - Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa
7. Rev. T O U V O L Y B i a ll y L é o n a r d - Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa
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NEWS FROM THE WASHINGTON BIBLE INSTITUTE
The Washington Bible Institute is now offering courses of study leading to Certificates, as well as Associate and/or Bachelor Degrees in the following fields: Biblical Studies, Christian Counseling, Christian Leadership, Ministry, Missions and Evangelism, and Theology. To read or download our current catalog in Microsoft Word format, please visit us online at: http://www.twbi.org.
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This newsletter Copyright © 2005 Freedom Covenant Global Ministries. All Rights Reserved. Individual articles displaying copyrights from other ministries are used by permission, have been formatted for use in this publication, and remain the property of respective ministry. Permission is granted to copy, print, and distribute this newsletter for ministry purposes, whether whole or in part, so long as ALL copyrights remain in place and no copies are printed or distributed for sale or commercial purposes. Unless otherwise noted: All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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