equipping the Saints, taking the land...

Hello my Brother! Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!!!!!

No, I do not know any of them. We have lived here 8 years and have found it to be a different kind of place to live. We are hoping to soon move to Georgia. We are waiting for Father's timing.
I love the background of your page, it is gorgeous.

I really like the music on this page
Blessings

I played the trumpet in school for many years. I started the piano last year. I can play several praise songs on the piano. I haven't had any lessons lately so I am teaching myself. My piano teacher says that I have an ear to play by ear so I played my first song by ear...Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary...pure and holy....tried and true...Do you know that one?

Thank you for the music. I have listened to a couple of the songs already. I appreciate you sending it. It is a blessing!!

Hi Brother Thomas. I'm happy to hear from you again. First, let me give you my religious background. I was born a Roman Catholic. But when I was 13 years old (1st year in high school), I began to read the Bible. I found out that there were many things that my church was doing that were not to be found in the Book. So I questioned my inherited faith. I hopped from one group to another, Jehovah"s Witnesses, SDA, and the Worldwide Church of God. It was in the WCG that I stayed the longest time. I was a member there from 1976 to 1999. Since 1999 till recently I had no church to attend. The first five months of this year I attended a small group of former SDA's in Manila. I ended my "stint" with this group last May because I felt I could not be edified there. Worse, I was thought of as bringing to them false doctrines. I was asked to speak to them. I did. I first wrote down my message two weeks before my "sermon." The result was my millennium article which I have been promoting here at SC. When I delivered it (my very first speech in a church), I noticed they were fighting their sleepiness. I spoke for 45 minutes; but it was as though I spoke to the wind. They didn't get it. It was the end of my speaking career.
We have begun a Bible Study in the house of my sister in Bulacan about 70 kilometers from here. I'm the "pastor" or moderator. My "members" ask questions and I try to answer them. It's not regular yet. This coming Sunday we will have some guests that my sister invited. So that's our "church," if you're asking. Thank you!
Brother in Christ,
Edgardo

Interesting and good word on "Pruning". I was not sure where to comment because I don't see it posted in SimpleChurch but got it via an e mail. Thanks for the word. There is a lot of truth in it.

Joseph

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the fourth largest metropolitan area of India and the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, Chennai had a population of 4.2 million in the 2001 census within its municipal corporation. The urban agglomeration of Chennai has an estimated population over 8 million, making it one of the largest urban agglomerations in India.

The city was established in the 17th century by the British, who developed it into a major urban centre and naval base. By the 20th century, it had become an important administrative centre, as the capital of the Madras Presidency.

Chennai's economy has a broad industrial base in the automobile, technology, hardware manufacturing, and healthcare industries. The city is home to much of India's automobile industry and is the country's second-largest exporter of software, information technology and information-technology-enabled services, behind Bangalore.Chennai Zone contributes 39 per cent of the State’s GDP. Chennai accounts for 60 per cent of the country’s automotive exports and is sometimes referred to as "the Detroit of India".

The city faces problems of water shortages, traffic congestion and air pollution.

This is about the city. Then about our congregation.

We are not that many in numbers, There are exactly nine families in our congregation. By birth, some of us were catholics, some others were Hindus. I met the Lord when I was 28 in 1984. I was introduced to a pentecostal group. I was there for almost 10 years. Then I was in the local church of Witness Lee for around 9 years. By the grace of the Lord, we were out of it in 2004. Three families came out of that 'sectarian group.' Then we started preaching the gospel to our contacts. Thus, now, nine families are there. To describe our current walk with the Lord, I would like to use two adjectives-free and happy.

Every wednesday, I go to meet one family, where their friends and contacts are invited. We have an informal meeting there. On Thursdays, I meet another family. There too we do the same. On Fridays, my brother and I go and meet another family where new ones are invited. On thursday evenings, one sister has a small group meeting with some engineering students. Of couse she is a lecturer there.

In addition to these, we meet on Sundays also. But we are not meeting-centred but Christ Centred. This is one of the lessons that I learned from my past experince.

Merlin

Every day our Lord is liberating me and giving more happiness. Yes, I think it is a long journey. Still it is a long way to go. As you have mentioned, the writings of Watchman Nee were deep and many have benefitted a lot from his writings. Witness Lee claims to be his successor. Witness Lee was almost like a Pope to his congregation. He is still considered to be the only apostle/minister of this age by his followers. His followers will not associate them with any other group of believers, because they are under the false impression that they are the true church and that others are sects. In fact they are worse than a sect. If what I have seen is true, then reluctantly I can call them a cult. All the characteristics of a cult are there-exclusivism, more importance to the writings of a particular man than to the bible, exalting a man more than Jesus, etc. Anyway, it is a long story. We can talk about it later.

In our meetings, as you have mentioned, many brothers and sisters share their experiences, the light they received from the Word, their understanding of the Word, a testimony beneficial to all. So it is not one-man-show. No pastor, no elder, no prophet, no teacher. Mutuality is the key. Nobody 'leads' the meeting. As we come together, somebody calls a hymn, we sing it. If somebody likes that hymn, he may say a few words about that. It is very informal but we take it seriously. It is not social get-together. After the meeting we have our lunch. Sisters cook at home and bring it to the meeting. So it is a good atmosphere. The photo you see is my family.

Ok, brother. Take care.

Merlin

Thank You Douglas for your prayers. : )