One Church, Two Locations

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Friday, July 15 - continued

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Today was the last day of the English workshops. These workshops were open to the public but mostly geared toward teens and young adults. We used passages from the Bible as our resources for teaching, sang songs of Christian worship to God (in English), shared personal testimonies, and played games together for fellowship and fun. The discussions that occurred this week were thought provoking and effective in giving insight to the gospel. The times of worship were inspired ... so much so that someone came into the building on the last day of classes because he'd heard us singing from outside. He could tell we were worshipping God, and he wanted to see what it was all about. A new friendship was developed, and the door was opened for further conversation. God is always at work.

Here are the passages we studied during the week:

Tuesday - Tradition vs. Truth - Mark 7:1-23 - This discussion centered on what truly makes a person's heart clean and acceptable to God. Is it rituals, ceremonies and traditions? No ... it is obedience through faith. Romans 3:22 - "This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe ...."

Wednesday - Jesus and the Samaritan Woman - John 4:4-30 - Although the Samaritan woman had come to the well to draw drinking water, Jesus offered her 'living water'. Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Thursday - Walking by Faith - Matthew 14:22-44 - This is the passage in which Jesus walked on water out to the disciples' boat in the midst of the wind and waves. He calmed their fear. Then Peter walked on water out to Jesus, but he began to sink when he focused on the wind and waves, rather than on Christ. A few challenging discussion questions were: (1) What situations cause you the most fear in life? (2) What are some qualities of Jesus Christ that make Him worthy of our trust?

Friday - Once I Was Blind, But Now I See - John 9:1-9, 13-35 - Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were skeptical and questioned Jesus' authority, but the former blind man believed. In verse 5, Jesus called himself the 'Light of the World'. What does light do? It gives us sight. We discussed 'spiritual blindness' vs. 'spiritual sight'.

2 Corinthians 4:4-6 - "The god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ."

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Friday, July 15, 2011

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Tuesday through Friday we hosted an English workshop each day for three hours (10am - 1pm). I'll write about those later. Every morning before the English workshops, we met for prayer at the Snyders' home. Steve and Bernatka are always so gracious to open their home for fellowship and prayer. Their apartment is very near to our hotel and to the English workshop site (a local school). People from both teams met together (Polish and American). Our American 'construction crew' also attended most mornings, unless they had to start a job early that day. Each of the four mornings, one of our team members shared a short devotional about what God was teaching them. Here is a summary for you:

1. I (Sherri) began on Tuesday and shared about how the Lord had spoken to me back on December 27. I had awakened that morning with a clear message on my mind. I wouldn't say it was a vision, but there was a tangible sense of God's presence. The first thought as I awoke was this: "A man found a great treasure in a field. Upon finding it, he sold everything he had and bought that field. Poland is that field." Of course, that is a paraphrase from Matthew 13:44 (the parable of the hidden treasure) ... but it was a specific paraphrase for me. In combination with other Scripture and personal testimony I had heard in the previous months, I felt that God was again leading me to the field of Poland and was reminding me that He wanted my 'all'. That is what prompted my obedience to go to Poland again this summer, and to share in the work of sharing the gospel. It is also what motivates me to continue in the work the Lord has begun in the partnership of these two churches .... as we encourage one another and spur each other on toward love and truth.

2. Caleb shared on Wednesday. He shared that we are one body, but each person is a different part of that body. Thus, each of us had a different purpose in being in Radom -- some seemingly more prominent, and others more 'behind the scenes'. Regardless of the specific purpose each person had to be there, God would use us together to accomplish His work. Caleb read from 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NLT) - "Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it." Also shared was 1 Corinthians 3:9 (NLT) - "We work together as partners who belong to God. You are God's field, God's building - not ours."

3. Brittanie shared on Thursday. She'd had a bad day on Wednesday, and by Wednesday evening she was feeling discouraged. God used Romans 2:4a (NLT) to speak to her heart: "Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care?" Prior to the trip, Brittanie felt like God was challenging her to be a better listener to His Word and His voice. By Wednesday evening, she was convicted that she had not been listening that week as she should have been. God reminded her to be quiet and listen, to recognize His kindness and patience toward her. This trip, this work, was more about what God wanted than what she wanted.

4. Alex shared on Friday. By Friday, Alex felt spiritually, emotionally, and physically exhausted. We could all relate! However, Alex was feeling specifically beaten down. Through a conversation the previous night, Alex realized that those feelings of discouragement and spiritual oppression were not from God. Actually, those feelings would keep us from doing what we needed to be doing. In realizing this, her heart was drawn to worship. She read from Revelation 5:11-14 (NIV) - "Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!' Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!' The four living creatures said, 'Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshiped." After Alex shared, we all sang together, "I Love You, Lord", and began our prayer time.

Each day following the devotion, we prayed together. Praying with our Polish brothers and sisters is always a beautiful experience. No translation is given, and each person prays in his/her native tongue. Although we each may not understand what the other is saying, God hears our prayers and understands them all. These mornings of devotion and prayer gave us the right focus to start the day, and encouraged us to accomplish the work God called us to do.

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