By Alesia Gadach
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20
Reading this from the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 has always caused an unexplained prick in my heart and an unexpected sting of tears in my eyes. Recently I’ve been on a journey of transformation that led me to study in depth this parable and I discovered why it affected me so deep in my heart.
Mission Fellowship, thank you for your generosity and hospitality to Marcel and Pauline Yanogo and the church in Burkina Faso. I am thankful to walk with you and serve Jesus with you as we attempt to do our part in growing the global church. As we were unable to answer all the questions that were submitted during the Q&A we had with Marcel at church, I wanted to take a minute and answer some of them as accurately as possible. While I may not have the dollar amounts 100% correct, they are definitely within a close accuracy to the current number. Please let me know if you have any other questions about Burkina Faso or our mission to take the gospel to the Burkinabe people.
-Pastor Hans
By Kayla Johnson
When I think of the men and women God used in the Old Testament, I tend to think of them as being mighty and special, a bit like super-heroes. They did incredible things. Moses led the Israelites to the promised land. David shot down Goliath with a sling and a stone. Elijah called down fire from heaven. Crazy, amazing things.
One of the ways that Mission Fellowship stewards the provision God gives us through the church family is to help in whatever way we can when Jesus calls one of His children from within our church body to serve Him in a particular way. Recently, the Mission family was able to assist one of our own, Susan Marthaller, as she stepped out in faith and traveled to Uganda with a group called Gospel Messengers. Mission was able to assist with a small amount to help in the work that was done. Below, you will see what the Lord taught Susan in her own words. Thank you Mission family for your desire to give generously to the Lord's work.
I recently came across this article posted on the Gospel Coalition Blog from Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York. I found it extremely insightful and convicting and hope that those of you in the Mission Fellowship family will read it with an open heart to hear from the Lord as well...
With so much information coming our way on a daily basis on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email, and every other online medium, how can we even tell what is true and what is false? Why are we constantly so confused by the world around us and how we are supposed to be "in it" but not "of it"? In a short study this week, I pulled together the following verses that pointed me back to Jesus and His truth. The simple fact of the matter is that the worldly system, including my own fleshly opinions and desires, are constantly pulling me away from Jesus' truth to pursue my own false truth. Knowing this helps me to easily discern what is truth and what is a lie... that which draws me closer to Jesus and His commandments is truth. That which does the opposite, is a lie. I pray these few scriptures help remind you of that today...
In our attempts to remove ourselves from the dead religion of many of our forefathers, we in the current church are sometimes guilty of casting out the good with the bad. One such tradition that has been wrongly demonized by some is that of fasting. Over my time in the church, I have often seen the topic of fasting abused or else excused by the very people for which it is meant as a blessing. Using the Biblical text as our guide, I would like to take a moment to analyze what God intended for fasting and how we can utilize it to empower our walk with Christ.