Every relationship needs a fresh

Transcription

1 Trinity News April 2015 The Newsletter of Trinity Church of Sunnyvale On the Inside s House of Grace - Food & Nutrition s Newsletter from United Christian International s Save the Date - Summer Camps s Thank You to My Church Using S.O.A.P. SCRIPTURE.OBSERVATION.APPLICATION.PRAYER Every relationship needs a fresh breath of life to keep it vibrant. Our relationship with God is no different. The psalmist writes, Let me hear of Your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to You (Ps 143:8). In order for you to give yourself wholly to God, you must trust Him. In a romantic relationship, that kind of trust is born out of continuous words of affirmation. If you re not exposing yourself continually to God s word, you are missing those words of affirmation. Relationships that grow are committed to seasons of sowing the seeds of love even if the results are not immediate. Healthy couples do this because they believe that the hard work now will someday in the future reap an abundant harvest of love. Likewise, we work on our communication with God in faith, that someday in the future the time and effort we put in now will bear the fruit of love. Jesus explains this when He refers to the Word of God as a seed in good soil. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted (Mt 13:23)! If you want to grow in your relationship with God, you must cultivate good communication. Good communication doesn t just happen. Simply talking with the one you love doesn t automatically bloom into great communication. It is an art form that is developed over time, and has some intentionality to it. It also varies from relationship to relationship. Likewise, just reading your Bible doesn t automatically produce a deep relationship with God. There needs to be a method applied to your time with God that helps cultivate and grow that relationship. There are many methods, but they all have basically the same principles. You need to read the scriptures, figure out what they are saying, apply it to your life, and act on what God shows you. One of these methods is summarized in the acronym S.O.A.P. Scripture - Systematically and routinely reading the Bible. Observation - Observing and interpreting what the scripture means. Application - Answering the question, What does this mean to me today? Prayer - Talk to God about what you need to do in response to the scripture and then do what He shows you.

2 When reading Scripture take time reading and allow God to speak to you. As you read, you re going to notice that a certain verse(s) stands out to you. Highlight, underline or place a mark in the margin of your Bible next to that scripture(s). When you are done reading the entire passage, reread the verses you marked, and choose one that particularly spoke to you that day. If you have the time, you might consider looking at a whole section of scripture, but most likely you will only have time for a few verses that the Holy Spirit brings to your attention. It may be a good idea to write down the reference to these verses in a notebook. This will help you keep track of how God is speaking to you. When you have identified these few verses you need to ask yourself, What is the writer trying to communicate here. Simply observe what is right there in front of you. Think about what the main idea is and what those ideas that support it are? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what the verse(s) means. Write down in your own words what you think it means and any observations you think may be important. The Holy Spirit not only wants you to understand what you are reading, but He also wants you to obey. Understanding the verse(s) without responding in obedience will eventually turn your heart cold. Application occurs when you personalize what you have read by asking yourself how it applies to your life right now. Perhaps it is instruction, encouragement, revelation of a new promise, or corrections for a particular area of your life. Write down how this Scripture can apply to you today. If the Spirit stirs something in you to do, make sure to write that down. When you have obeyed that prompting, go back and make a note of the date and how you obeyed that prompting. Bring your time with God to a close with prayer. This can be as simple as asking God to help you use this Scripture, or it may be a greater insight on what He may be revealing to you. Remember, prayer is a two-way conversation, so be sure to listen to what God has to say! That s it! S.O.A.P. It s as simple or deep as you want it to be. A great way to continue growing in your walk with God is by taking what you learn in your devotion time and sharing it with others. If you are reading along with the weekly Trinity Church S.O.A.P. reading you can also go online and interact with others: meet-with-god. Pastor Joel THE HOUSE OF GRACE And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. Genesis 1:29 n Nutrition and health are important to us all. On the evening of April 17th, we will share dinner and explore the benefits of good nutrition for ourselves and families with the ladies at the House of Grace. Learn how to make wise choices while we fellowship with the ladies. If you would like to share an evening of fellowship with these families, or need car pool information, please call Mary Singh at (408) April 17th Your prayers and support of these families makes all the difference as they rebuild their lives.

3 to my Church Three sentence description: 1. This is about my trip to my church s youth camp. 2. I really felt God s presence. 3. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever felt. n When I was at Winter Camp, the Trinity Church Christian camp for youth, I felt God for the first time in my entire life. It was like being reborn. I was able to forgive my past families for the horrible things that they have done to me and my brother. I was worshiping and praying one night when I felt god speaking to me telling me to forgive them and to love them even though they had problems. We all sin and we all make mistakes, some bigger than others. But its a sin in my opinion to not forgive them. I cried and really praised God and that was when I realized I was actually believing. It was the most amazing thing I have ever felt or experienced. If I had a chance to revisit the moment I would. I feel that everyone and anything even if you were to go back and point to Hitler, even he should be forgiven and have the chance to be blessed in such a wonderful way. God told me that you can t hold on to memories of pain forever and I will try not to. I want to devote my life to God and I will try. God made me realize that pain and forgiveness is the best medicine you will ever receive. You will never be able to avoid pain. But you will always be able to forgive. That really changed my life. This was written by a youth who attended Winter Camp for his English Lit Class. August 3 - August 6 at Trinity Church and Gateway Neighborhood Center n Trinity Church, in partnership with Gateway and Reach Potential, will be running several different camps the week of August 3rd August 6th from 8:30 a.m. 12:00 p.m. We are hoping to run a basketball camp, an indoor soccer camp, an art camp, a fun and fitness camp, a kinder-readiness camp, and a computer-building camp mostly for pre-k and elementary kids. Each camp will be run by its own team and will creatively figure out how to share Jesus and the gospel. Registration will begin sometime in April. If you would like to volunteer or help, please contact Karen Miller at karen. miller@svtrinity.org or kristy.espinsoza@ svtrinity.org.

4 n The following is the Newsletter from United Christians International, the ministry we support in Haiti. Jean Jean and Kristie Mompremier are the founders of United Christian International (UCI). Kristie was born in Iowa and Jean Jean is from Caiman, a village not far from Pignon in northern Haiti. They met when she went to work in Haiti in Once married, they served as missionaries for 2 years before moving to the States for further schooling. Jean Jean completed a seminary degree while Kristie became a nurse. Sensing a distinct call to Haiti, they established United Christian International in 2003 and returned to Caiman, Jean Jean s birthplace, in Caiman is a small village located 5.1km south of Pignon in the Nord Department of Haiti. Like many Haitian villages, voodoo beliefs and practices have been pervasive in the area. UCI was established in the region in 2005, and their impact has been immense. They have been involved in planting churches, improving irrigation and agriculture, providing high quality education, feeding malnourished children, tackling the need for clean water and sanitation, empowering Haitians, and constructing houses for the people. Since that time, seven churches have been planted and many have turned to Christ, including 13 witch doctors. In the newsletter, they have a small section on the importance of teams going to Haiti. The next time Trinity plans a trip to Haiti, consider a short term mission trip to share God s love that will change your life - guaranteed!

5 Some projects that teams have accomplished in 2015; YBS, prayer walks, cement floors, houses, churches, English class for UCC and UCCC, working in elementary school, university seminars, medical clinics, construction, painting, door-to-door evangelism, home visits, food and clothing distributions, relationship building, pastor training, youth group sharing, music ministry, agricultural training and sharing, cultural experiences, and especially SHARING GOD S LOVE.