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  • God’s vision for our failures

    Check out this video….it is worth the click.


    I enjoyed this video and thought it went well with today’s message.  May we remember  that when you bring your failures to Jesus you will encounter His grace and you will be reminded that He still has a purpose for you.  I pray that you will find hope in these Biblical truths. God bless!!!

  • Let’s pray for Journey Church of Atlanta

    As we fast and pray let’s remember Journey Church of Atlanta. This is their theme for 2011.  There is a lot of exciting things happening at JCA (http://www.jcatlanta.org/index.html).  They are part of the AMI community of churches but also they are the first church plant GCC was involved in. Here is their history as you pray for them. This is what Pastor Matt Ro wrote:

    August 11, 2004

    THE CALL

    The genesis of JCA reaches back to my years at Biblical Theological Seminary (1999-2002) where I felt God leading me to minister to college students. It was during my own college experience that I was saved. Up to that time, I had been involved in the Philadelphia youth ministry scene for 5 years. Soon after graduating from seminary, I joined the staff of Grace Covenant Church as a college pastor.

    My stay at Grace Covenant ended sooner than anticipated. After my first year of serving there, I began to pray independently about the possibility of planting a campus church somewhere. Initially, I began to pray very specifically about certain cities across the United States. However, the Lord re-directed me to consider Atlanta after Pastor Young Kim of Grace Covenant Church (GCC) approached me about its prospects in September 2003.

    That November, Pastor Young and I took our first “scouting” trip to Atlanta. We visited Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, and Emory University, attending campus fellowships and speaking with staff members at each school. On the last night before returning to Philadelphia, I felt absolute confirmation to start a campus church in Atlanta. Armed with a commitment to church planting and mission work, the decision to move forward with JCA became a reality soon afterwards.

    From that point on, God opened up doors and I, along with six other church plant team members, began our journey to Atlanta in the summer of 2004. Without jobs, we arrived in Atlanta in faith and obedience to God, with a vision of spiritual transformation among college students and young adults in the greater Atlanta area.

    When I found out that Atlanta actually has more churches than any city in America, I began to ask God, “Why Atlanta of all places?” After much prayer and contact with Christians in the area, it became obvious that there is indeed a great need for Christians to reconnect with God in a passionate and authentic way.

    On August 15, 2004, we will hold our first Sunday service at 12pm in Room 206 of St. Mark United Methodist Church! We can’t predict what the Lord will do through The Journey Church of Atlanta, but we are excited and privileged to be a part of God’s plan in reaching Atlanta, and the world, to the glory of His name. JCA is committed to “multiplying, maturing, and mobilizing passionate worshipers of Jesus Christ” and we welcome you to visit and pray to see if you too are being called to be a part of JCA’s history. Praise the Lord!!

    By His Grace,
    Pastor Matthew Ro

  • Pray for the Kang Family and Symphony Church

    Barry Kang is the lead pastor of Symphony Church in Boston. (http://www.symphonychurch.com)

    Before receiving his calling into ministry, Barry worked for a boutique investment management company in downtown Los Angeles. Educated in Hong Kong (elementary through high-school) and then at Stanford University, Barry thought his life was going to be about making lots of money, but God had other ideas.

    In 2003, God called Barry to minister to college students, and he has been loving college students since. Barry was the college pastor at the Church of Southland in Los Angeles (an AMI church) for five years, during which time, he also received his M.Div from Fuller Seminary. In 2008, God moved Barry and his family to Philadelphia to minister at Grace Covenant Church as a preparatory step to moving to Boston. For two years, Barry served as the Temple site pastor and built up the core Boston church planting team.

    In June 2010, Barry, his wife Sunny, and two boys (Caleb and Micah), and six team members moved to Boston to plant Symphony Church.

  • Update from Symphony Church


    We praise God for Symphony Church. Let’s keep praying for our daughter church plant to Boston.  God is so faithful.  I will be speaking for their retreat in February please remember me in prayer also.  If you cannot read this picture you can download the update here.
    http://www.symphonychurch.com/update20101225.pdf

  • Devotional #2 for Fasting

    Hi Everyone

    Please download these devotional I think they are pretty good. But for your convenience I will post them time to time….you can find all the devotional here. http://uc.gracecovenant.net/PrayerAndFasting/devotionals.pdf

    Devotional #2
    Have you ever been searching for a radio station only to be frustrated by finding static rather than music? You then focus to fine tune the dial again, and suddenly you hear a clear signal. The fact is, the signal always existed on the airwaves; the only difference is that now you have adjusted your tuner to the right frequency.  In our hectic lives, there are so many signals bombarding our senses that it can become difficult to distinguish God’s voice from the deafening “static noise” of life. Fasting enables us to tune out the world’s distractions and tune in to God.  As we fast, we deny our flesh. When we deny our flesh, we become more in tune to the Holy Spirit and can hear God’s voice more clearly. If you truly listen for God’s voice, you will hear it. When you hear it, it will build faith within you.

    If you desire to tune out the static of life and really tune into the voice of God, come to Him first and foremost with ears that are willing to listen and a heart that is ready to obey what he says. (Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 66:2) The more we practice being in His presence, the clearer and more recognizable His voice becomes. 
     
     
    John 10:27
    “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

    In this time of fasting, what is your mind tuned to?  What distractions do you need to remove
    so that you can focus on God?  Prepare your heart to hear the voice of God, and ask God to
    help you remove distractions that keep you from focusing on Him and hearing Him clearly.
     

  • Happy New Year-Join us in a season of fasting and prayer

    There is a new year ahead of us. I am excited to see what God has for us in 2011.  This year I am asking GCC to start the New Year with 21 days of fasting and prayer.  Please go to our church website and download our resources for the fasting and prayer campaign.  Read what we are doing!!! Here is the devotion for today….download the rest of the devotionals and join us in fasting and prayer!!!  http://uc.gracecovenant.net/PrayerAndFasting/devotionals.pdf

    Devotional #1
     
    If one were to look at the kind of fasting that took place in the Old Testament, it would be easy to assume that the reason for fasting is to gain forgiveness. In the book of Joel, the Israelites had wandered far from God, and their sinfulness had resulted in famine and pestilence in the land. Through the prophet Joel, God called them to repentance, ordering them to declare a sacrificial fast that along with mourning and weeping, would show God the sincerity of their repentance. In return, the prophet said, perhaps God would, “turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing.”
     
    Such a fast of repentance is seen under the Old Covenant time and again, because under the Old Covenant man had to rely on his works and sacrifices to avert the wrath of God. But under the New Covenant, we don’t have to fast for forgiveness. Every wrong we have done and will do was forgiven at the cross, and when we accept Christ, we walk under a New Covenant of grace and forgiveness! We don’t have to fast, weep and mourn to convince God of our sincere repentance or to avert His wrath.   I Thessalonians 5:9 tells us that, “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” So then, why do we, as people under a New Covenant, need to set aside special times devoted to fasting and prayer?

    As we walk with God, there are times that we feel far from Him or disconnected.  Joel’s words resonate with us who live in a context of grace – “return to me with all your heart.” There are times we realize that, though we have chosen to follow Jesus, the flame of our love for him has grown cold. It is during these times we can return to God with our whole heart, put aside the distractions of the world and focus solely on loving Him. Your time spent in prayer each day of the fast can result in a new richness, a rewarding connection with the Father. No matter where you are on your journey with Jesus, you can always take a step closer towards Him.  
       
                
    Joel 2:12 NIV
    “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping
    and mourning.
     
    As we begin this time of prayer and fasting, let’s turn our hearts toward God.  
    Make a commitment to seek God daily.  Pray that your love for Christ will be increased 
    and your passion for Him will be reignited over the next 21 days.
     

  • The New Year Service and New Year Fasting Campaign

    We will be having our New Year Service at St. Paul’s Church in Mainline Area (10:30pm).  I want to encourage you to join us. Personally, I love praying into the New Year!!!  It will be a simple service and fellowship as we reflect on God’s faithfulness for the past year and usher in 2011.  I will be preaching from Matthew 6.  Join us!!!


    Also as many of you know we are fasting into 2011 with 21days of fasting. Join us!!! We have some resources set up to help you. http://uc.gracecovenant.net/prayer_fasting.php  Let’s start of the New Year getting blessed together!!!

  • Interesting

    I found this in the Chicago area (Harvest Bible Chapel) as I was looking for a service to go to for Christmas Eve.  I thought this was very interesting and applicable even at GCC….so following their example if you want to give to GCC before the year ends you can do so through our website.   Believe it or not many give to GCC in this way.  http://www.uc.gracecovenant.net/giving.php

  • GCC 21 Days of Fasting

    As a church we will be starting off 2011 with a 21-day Fasting and Prayer Campaign. We will be doing a Lent-like fast for 21 days to start off the New Year with an attitude of refocusing and renewing our hearts to Jesus Christ. The staff will be fasting from meat and doing a juice fast for the last week with a complete fast on the last day, January 21st. In addition to fasting, we will be posting a daily devotional to the website/facebook to keep us centered in the Word as well. We definitely want to encourage all of GCC to join us in this fasting and prayer campaign as well. We think it will be a great way for us all to dedicate the New Year to the Lord and to experience greater breakthrough in our lives and in our church’s ministry.

    This Fasting and Prayer Campaign will coincide with three events. First, we’ll kick it off with the New Year’s Eve Service (Dec 31st, 10:30pm at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church), then we’ll have a GCC-wide prayer meeting on Friday January 14th (7:30pm at Meyerson Hall in the UC), and we will end the campaign after the FNL prayer meeting on January 21st (7:30pm at DRL).

    Here are some suggestions for observing this Fasting and Prayer Campaign:

    Try to intensify your commitment to God within this time period. Commit to read the Word and spend time in prayer.
    Try to “fast” from something. Keep in mind that it should cost us something. What I mean by “cost” is this: If you are not a breakfast eater, fasting from breakfast will not cost you anything. Try to fast from something you know that at times will challenge you. Here are some examples:
    Fast from TV or video games
    Fast from chocolates or coffee
    Fast from going out to restaurants
    Fast from studying on Sundays (b/c you are diligent in getting everything done from M-Sat)
    Also there are some things to remember in the midst of fasting:

    Remember not to judge. Don’t look down on people who are not actively fasting with us. Remember it does not make you more spiritual. If we are not careful it can lead to spiritual pride.
    Remember not to get discouraged. If you fail, pick yourself up and try again. Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again (Proverbs 24:16)
    Remember to focus on Jesus. It is all about what Christ did for us on the cross. May we never forget!

  • Immanuel Community Church

    Pray for me as I will be preaching at Immanuel Community Church in Shaumburg Il (http://www.immanuelcommunity.org). This is the church that Dr. Steve is at….excited to minister there. I would appreciate much prayer. There is a lot of snow in the Chicago area…it seems like snow is the forecast for Philly too…press on and join us at Mainline… Pastor Dave will be preaching. Let’s get blessed on the last Sunday of 2010. God bless!!!