Home Groups

By Becky D.

The K's Home Group, like many others, is feeling the sensitivity of the Body as we take the time to learn more about one another and our call to be holy.

Matthew 5 speaks of Christian discipleship, and that it is not in OUR ability that the character of a true believer is seen. When we learn to build up one another and have personal righteousness, then we grow together. The love shown us in God sending His only begotten son should stir up a longing to obey, to reach out toward one another, and the lost. When we are in covenant, our position before God should change.

Some in our group have recently quit cigarettes and pop as part of their willingness to be pleasing before God. We should be set apart, ready without fear to be Godly witnesses. "but perfect love casteth out fear:" (1 John 4:18).

In studying covenant, the emphasis is covered in Hebrews 9:22, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.". Leviticus 17:11 reads, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.". Just like a "will" that is not complete until death. If we continue to sin without repentance, we can lose our covering. The less we struggle against allowing Him to put His laws in our hearts and minds (Hebrews 10:16), the more committed we can be to make it our prayer to submit.

Our group has also studied Psalm 91, where it speaks about the Secret Place. One particular word that seemed prominent in this study was how often the Lord tells us to "hear", and the secret of listening. Hearing not only gives us answers, but God speaks to us. Not hearing is directed to idolatry (Deuteronomy 30:17-18), whereby we can fall into pride and act as hypocrites. In Matthew 13 the sower comprehended by hearing, and learned the mysteries of heaven and gained spiritual knowledge. Mark 4:24 reminds us the measure of what we hear will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that come back to us.

Small group settings allow us not only a time of fellowship, but of being servants in learning to give and to receive. If our prayers are inspired by a quality of love, we can even find being stretched refreshing.

"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. Mark 4:24

Friday Night Explosion

RFC Youth Group

By Ricci P.

Passion, purity, and God's Presence... is it part of our youth?

To spend a Friday night among our youth is an experience not to be forgotten. When you enter the doors you are met with smiling faces, laughter, and the Presence of God. The Presence and love of the Father flows like a river through the lives of the youth to all who enter. There is no judgment, criticism, or condemnation, just love and acceptance for all, no matter what walk of life you have been on.

There is a passion among this group for God. A passion to see righteousness and purity restored and kept for all who desire it. These youth have chosen to be set apart by the Lord from all the evil desires of today. They pursue God with all that is in them, leading to a purity of heart. Ezekiel 10 tells us that the Presence of God can only be where there is purity of heart. Knowing this, the youth have lifted their voices, crying out for God to increase their hunger and passion so that the Presence of God would flood all of their hearts, bringing about the will of God. They do this not only for their lives, but for those who need Him to know and understand all that Christ offers us.

The leaders gather together and pray, often crying out for God to increase their passion, hunger, wisdom and understanding. Why? So they may be poured out. They desire to pour their time and energy into all our lives, to see the will of God accomplished in us. In Matthew 10:8, Jesus says, "freely ye have received, freely give." I thank God for raising up a people that are willing to sacrifice to see God's glory manifested in today's youth.

There is a purity among this group of young people that has been given, restored, and manifested by the mercy of our Lord; it is kept, by the grace of the Lord, teaching us to persevere through times of testing.

His mighty, awesome power continues to flow on Friday nights, bringing forth His will to bind up and heal broken hearts and to set the captive free. (Isaiah 61).

There is a pure passion that has exploded in the youth at Restoration Church, and it is quickly spreading to the lives of those they encounter everyday. There is love, freedom, and peace that meets you right where you are, desiring to bring healing, freedom, and purity so that you may walk in the peace of the Almighty. I would encourage all to join in the pure passion of our youth, allowing the Lord to flow through them into your life.

Mission Vision

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15

This is from a couple that visited us last year. They are located somewhere in Southeast Asia, but we aren't allowed to mention their names in relationship to the reports they send us.

Our family has settled down in our city and we've jumped right into our work... we've been here almost two months now. We don't have a phone yet, so I'm still doing e-mail via a telephone booth. We do have a cell phone that is a blessing! We were told we would need it.

Most of you, I am sure, have heard something of what is happening here between the Muslims and the Hindus. A train of Hindus was attacked and 57 people died in the tragedy. In retaliation, over 500 Muslims who had no relationship to the crime were burned to death during looting and rioting the following week. March 15, the day fundamentalist Hindus had promised to start building the temple, came and went, and due to God's intervention and governmental crackdown, did not erupt into violence. Our city has remained peaceful though others have seen and heard otherwise.

• Please pray for supernatural peace to descend on our country.

You may think this is an awkward time for a recruitment message, but actually we feel it is a reminder of just how important it is to act now. Five hundred of the precious souls for whom we are here have entered eternity unprepared. How much longer can we, the Church Universal, wait to respond to the need?

• Please pray that people will fill the following positions in LAMP.

WE NEED!

• Church Planters - people who can come and work with national believers and others to share the gospel and start churches in the cities of LAMP.
• Two Types of People with Media Skills - those who can help us communicate the vision and those who can design media that will communicate the gospel in this setting.
• People Who Can Run Community Education Programs - like teaching English to Muslim women. We want to start similar programs throughout our state, but we need people who can be the anchor for such a program.

GOOD AT SPORTS?

• We need teams and individuals to build relationships through sports to influence the community. Longer term we need someone to coordinate this type of ministry.

HAVE A SENSE THAT GOD IS CALLING YOU TO BE HERE, BUT YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIT IN?

What we need more than anything else is dedicated believers with a heart for sharing God's love with Muslims. A job description is secondary; passion is the key. So, let us know your heart and we will work out the details.

• Do you know someone who would be just right?
• Is God asking you to come and join us?
• Feel free to contact us!

RFC Body Life

Lunch fellowship on Sunday, May 26, will be held at the RFC Retreat. We will be having a Graduation Celebration in honor of Crystal B., Aaron L., and Ryan K. There will be more details in upcoming Sunday Bulletins.

Everyone is invited to a graduation/going away for Andrea R. on May 18, 2002 at her mom's home from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. She will be graduating from Casper College with an Associate degree in Nursing. Then she will be moving to Kirksville, Missouri to join Covenant Life Church for further training.

Mother's Day

By Trudy L.

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. (Genesis 2:18). God had a plan, a beautiful plan and mothers were going to be participants. Genesis 2:22 - "And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man." We are created in His likeness. Mothers need to have unconditional love, compassion, tenderness, strength, mercy, justice and a forgiving heart.

There are many examples of mothers in the Bible: Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary, Hannah, and many more. We can learn from these precious women.

Sarah was old when she became a mother, yet she became the mother of many nations. Elizabeth was the mother of "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord," John 1:23. Mary found favor with God and she was obedient. She remembered many things about Jesus and she treasured and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19).

Hannah prayed and fasted and surrendered all to God. The Lord was gracious to her and took her emptiness, misery and shame and gave her new life, joy and honor. She then gave God the glory as she states in 1 Sam. 2:1 - "My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD."

Our children are a "treasured trust" given to us for a time and in that time we have an important responsibility to train, discipline and guide them into adulthood. Sometimes it seems overwhelming, but we are not alone with this commitment.

Mothers, pray that God's will be accomplished in your children's lives. Pray for your grandchildren because they are the heritage that God has blessed you with. Labor in prayer for your Spiritual children, and the lost children even when the labor is intense. Don't give up for soon birth will come, Jesus will give new life and breathe into them the breath of life.

To accomplish this, we must be in the Word daily for guidance and direction. Love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind.

Women's Conference

By Brenda B.

Allow me to start by asking forgiveness for having such a negative attitude concerning the training that has been coming to us through our fellowship. It was good for me to be in Kirksville, Missouri, last week as now I understand that it's not Kirksville's Covenant Life Church we are following. It's the pattern of what the church is supposed to look like is that we're seeking.

For eighteen years I have seen authority and submission as being "bossy" and was getting tired of being told I needed to deal with that area. I got stuck in the familiar and I was not able to receive. I must be a visual person because at Covenant Life Church I saw a beautiful display of submission and authority. How the people work with one another and complement each other as they operate in their gifts and callings has such a beautiful flow to it. It's about serving and honoring one another, not one being over another. There is a line of authority and it's for our protection. Submission is easy when we all fall in line. We all get in line when we are operating in confidence in our gifts and callings.

For instance last Sunday Pastor Dave called me forward to pray for someone. I prayed, then the next person began to pray so I moved behind her and began to pray for her as she ministered to this person. Another person began to pray and we moved back and began to pray that God would give her the words to pray. It flowed and was not bossy; it was serving. We will all be moving more in that direction as we really serve one another. This is submission.

We really are not trying to be like Covenant Life Church and we won't be like them. They are walking in a pattern that looks like Jesus and that's what we want to look like. It is coming.

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Ephesians 5:21

Women's Conference

By Linda S.

Excitement was high among the 18 sisters as the journey to Kirksville, Missouri began and the anticipation continued to mount as our destination drew closer. Each and every one of us had a different vision of what this conference held for us, and all expectations were met and exceeded in each case. The presence of God was so awesome and the speakers that lead us into his presence were walking fully in God's grace. The days were long, emotional and exhausting but I do not believe that any of us would have changed a thing. An added bonus to this beautiful experience was the fellowship that we shared as sisters of this body. We really came to know one another and to strip away the misconceptions and wrong thinking and ideas that have kept us from becoming close and vulnerable with each other. It was a journey of love and understanding and of touching the glory of God.

I was impacted most when I realized that when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I also accepted the awesome responsibility for the souls that are still lost. I had been content to live my spiritual life for myself because I thought I could not really make a change in the life of someone else and that they really did not need me. I thought this because I was selfish and didn't fully understand the request that had been made of me. To share the good news with all is now a strong desire in my heart, and a responsibility that I passionately accept. It really is not about me, because I have Jesus in my life, but there are many many others who do not.

My second slap into reality was realizing that the multitudes dying daily in this world are real and they have a face, a name, feelings and pain and hurt and they need someone to lead them to the Lord. They may not know what they are in need of but that is only because they have not been told of the possibility of a glorious life of eternity with God. Now when I see the numbers and hear the stories of the young people that are dying everyday it will not be easily dismissed, because now there is a face and I have looked into the eyes of a young person lost and it is real. I am thankful for this awakening and this correction because now the purposes for which I have been called have one less barrier to contend with and the path has straightened a little.

An Inspirational Thought: Fear of failure forfeits your future destiny.

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13:17

Kid's Church News

Different... as usual"

By Laurette F.

Throw away any preconception of children's church, because God is redefining!

The glory of God is spreading to the fellowship hall and the young people are having real experiences with the living Saviour. This is truly an answer to my prayers for my boys, and I am sure it is for many of you as well. Who would have thought that antsy seven and nine year old boys would seek the Lord with all their hearts and get on their faces and cry out for a visitation of the Holy Spirit so that they can live a holy life set apart for his God?

Well, it is happening, not only in my sons' lives but also in many of the other children as well.

The Kid's Church teams have felt compelled by the Lord to not assume anything - we have thrown away the crayons, the silly songs, and activity sheets and have focused our time with the kids solely on Jesus and the Word. And they like it!

So the challenge has been set for me. If my two young men hunger for God on Sunday, how much more so during the week if I will only nurture an environment of worship in my home?

I have made the choice to cast away the old wineskinnish-way of thinking and have determined that passion for Jesus is no longer reserved only for teens and older. Boys and girls - at any age, can live holy, hungry lives, and they should. Therefore, weekly prayer meetings and Sunday mornings cannot be an exclusive "adults only" time of worship. I need to encourage, if not mandate, that my kids can and should participate in all aspects of church life; after all they do in Kid's Church. Pray for me, and I will pray for you! Moms and Dads, let's not withhold the blessing of worship and discipleship from our young ones until they are older. Let's press into God now as families to fulfill the call to worship on all of our lives.

"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength..." Ps. 8:2a