“In whom (Jesus Christ) the whole building, being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” .
Eph. 2:21-22
We as a church are growing in the Lord but face many challenges as well. Teaching the members about commitment to the fellowship has been challenging. However, we have seen the Lord answering our prayers literally. One of the church members wanted to leave the town in search of work in Hyderabad. I pleaded with her not to go, but she told us that her husband and she decided to leave the town. I requested at our church meeting to pray for her and her family- that they may not go but stay in V___________ to be connected to the church. On that very evening she came back and told us that she changed her mind. We truly thank the Lord for what He is doing in our midst.
Now, looking at the challenges we have, a few of our members’ spouses are either not converted or going to different (unhealthy) churches. Please pray our members will show Christ-like love towards their unconverted spouses, that they may win them for Christ (1 Cor. 7:14,16). Pray that God may give a spirit of unity to those who are going to different fellowships.
Please pray that the Lord may grant us a growing love towards Christ and His church. Please also pray for wisdom as we counsel some of those who think they are Christian, when they are not. Brother Duke has been teaching a group of believers and non-believers on the topic ‘who the Christian is’ on Sunday evenings. He has been explaining the gospel by reading the first chapter, “Your Christianity and Your Church” in Mark Dever’s book What is a Healthy Church. Please pray for this meeting as three men from other faiths coming, along with a few nominal Christians. A couple of months ago, Duke was doing evangelism on the streets and he bumped into this guy who was asking, “if God were powerful, why would he not stop people from sinning, and why would he not stop calamites from happening.” Duke tried to answer his questions, but he was not satisfied. Just a couple of weeks later, a brother who we know brought the same man to us so that we might answer his questions. You should have seen Duke’s face when he came to us. His face lit up. This was truly providential. Please pray for these three young men who seem to be very keen to know that the Lord. Pray that He may open their hearts and receive Jesus as their Savior.
We recently discovered that there seemed to have been a lot of misunderstanding about baptism among-st a few people that are coming to our church. They are linking it with perfection. They are thinking unless you are perfect, you cannot take baptism. We have been patiently teaching them that Baptism is not linked to perfection, but it is linked repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 2: 38; Mark 16:16). Please pray that these people may understand what baptism is and trust in Christ alone.
We thank the Lord for brother Anthony and his wife Pushpa who have recently joined our fellowship. Anthony attended our ‘Bible Training Institute’. Please pray for me as I give training to this young man, that he may serve the church in the days to come.
Please pray for our church that we may all grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and that all of us may become bold witnesses of Him.
In His Service,
Sandeep K. and the members