Not shortened. Behold the Lord s hand is. Isaiah 59:1. november 2016 Edition Throne of Grace Ministries. Pastor s Desk Election Page Youth Page

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1 november 2016 Edition Throne of Grace Ministries Pastor s Desk Election Page Youth Page Children s Page Women's Page Dress up for Jesus Promise Message TOG Tidbits Events in November Isaiah 59:1 Behold the Lord s hand is Not shortened

2 FROM THE PASTOR S DESK November is here and the year is almost over. We thank God for His faithfulness in His ministry throughout this year! During this month, we will have our first trip as a church to Israel. Many adults and children from our church are traveling, so please keep us in your daily prayers. We need His protection, safety, grace and His presence throughout the trip. The dates of many of our usual services have also been switched due to this trip so please refer to the last two pages of this newsletter and the save the dates for each service. November also means Christmas practice; please cooperate with the teachers and encourage your kids to attend the practices for the Christmas programs. We firmly believe that these kids will remember these skits and songs even after they grow up. The annual test will also be conducted this month, feel free to contact me or Indira with any questions about the syllabus or types of questions that will be asked. There will be a test for all age groups (2-12 years old). Thank you for your support and love, please continue to upload me and Indira in your daily prayers. God Bless you! Happy Thanksgiving! In His Service, Pastor Abraham K. Rajan & Indira Rajan 2

3 Pray for 1. Peaceful transition time between this presidency and the next presidency 2. God s favor to rest upon the new president and this country continously 3. A peaceful election day- no riots or protests on Election day 4. God s wisdom for the new president 5. Peaceful international relations in the new presidential term 6. Churches to have more freedom to carry out God s vision in this new term 7. All Christians to exercise their power and vote 8. People who are able to vote should understand God s will and vote accordingly 9. For all the ballot measures under review- only the right ones will be approved by the people 10. Protection for America from other nations and natural disasters Election 2016 Vote on November 8th 3

4 4 We all desire to be loved, right? But, today we are influenced by - what we see in TV Shows and movies, what we read in books, what we listen in songs, radio etc. - and get so many different messages about what true love is. With so many different messages, we are confused. It s hard to really determine what true love is. But, Bible clearly explains what True Love is. Bible is the only legitimate source for us to go, when we are confused about anything! Psalm 119:105 says Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. In our culture love is expressed as: a love of convenience - that is, I will love you as long as you love me or I will love you if you please me, or add value to me. For many, love is conditional - the conditions may be different, but there are still conditions to be met in order to earn love. However, God s love is not like this - God s love is unconditional love which never fails, His Love endures forever, and His Love is uncalculating and not motivated by personal gain. True Love has its foundation on Jesus: Unconditional love does not mean that God loves everything we do - but rather His love is so intense that He loves every sinner, no matter how bad we may be in the eyes of humanity - and He provides a way for us to find love, life, and holiness. True Love requires sacrifice, whether it is laying aside our feelings or even giving our life to show that love. Father God and Jesus are the ultimate example. God let His only Son die on the cross for us and Jesus willingly endured the suffering and death because of the Greatest Love. John 3:16 states For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Do you know Jesus? God created you and me in His image to have close relationship with Him. But, sin separated us from His relationship. By giving His life on the cross, He is offering His redemption and salvation to make us whole and complete again, and to reconcile us with Father. Will you accept His Love? Jesus is our loving friend, and gave his life to us, as we see in John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one s life for his friends. True Love cares for others: Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a: Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails - This verse describes the characteristics of true love. These qualities can certainly be found in Jesus Christ. In John 4:1-39, we read the story of Jesus going out of His way to meet the Samaritan Woman. Jesus was concerned about this one person and demonstrated His love towards her. She was a Samaritan, a people group that the Jews utterly despised, and she was an outcast and looked down by her own people. Jesus revealed Himself to her as Messiah and transformed her life. Our human tendency is to judge others because of stereotypes, customs or prejudices and dismiss them as lost causes or outcasts. But, Jesus treats people as individuals, accepting them with love and compassion. John 13:34-35 states - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. Jesus is asking and expecting you and me to show His True Love to others - care for others, pray for others and not to condemn or despise or dismiss them as lost causes or outcasts, but treat them as individuals and accept them with love and compassion. True Love is a love of redemption and love of relationship. Are you enjoying this True Love of Jesus in your life? Jesus is waiting for your yes to His true love, true friendship, true freedom and true relationship, and he wants to freely give His redemption. Will you say Yes to His call and surrender to His will. If you accept Him today, He will take care of you and do great and mighty things in your life and make you a blessing for others as its written in 1 Corinthians 2:9 - Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. If you are a child of God, and accepted Jesus as your savior, but you may say that I am not faithful to Jesus, and not able to do what I committed to Him. Don t feel guilty, Jesus will accept you if you turn back and surrender to Him, Jesus is your friend forever. True Love is best seen as devotion and action, not an emotion. Love is not exclusively based on how we feel. True Love will always lead to action. Are you loving others? But what about the qualities of love? Are you patient? Are you kind? Trusting? These types of questions are more pointed. How do you stack up? There is the other list too. Are you envious? Proud? Boastful? What about rude and short-tempered? Examine yourself and see how your love towards others is? Is it the type of love God has towards you and me? The True Love is not dependent on others; rather it is a personal choice. You can t make someone else have these qualities of love, but you can make a personal choice in your attitude toward them. Ask Jesus to give you grace to love Him and others. True Love TEEN S PAGE Bro. Premkumar Thomas

5 Therefore, if is in, he is a ; things have passed ; behold, things have become new. -1 Corinthians 5:17 What is the process where caterpillars turn into butterflies? What do you have to do to be a new creation in Christ? Children's Page Agnes Premkumar (King James Version) The Bible tells us to always praise and thank Jesus for what He has done and has given us so far. (November also has a full day devoted to Thanksgiving). So let s thank Jesus for the things in our life. Write down five things that you are thankful for this year

6 Abide WOMEN S PAGE Sis. Indira Rajan 6 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. John 15:4 Christ wants us to abide in Him. Only if we abide in Him, can we bring forth much fruit. Jesus has called us for a fruit bearing life. JOSEPH In the old testament times, the Bible says that Joseph was a fruitful bough (Genesis 49:22). Joseph had to endure many harsh paths; he was thrown into a pit by his own brothers, he was accused of a crime he did not commit, he was forgotten by those who he had been a blessing to. Despite all of this, Joseph was a fruitful bough because God was with him (Genesis 39:2). The Bible says that if we are in Christ, He will be with us (2 Chronicles 15:2). Since Joseph was with the LORD, the LORD was with him; he abode with the LORD in all situations. Commit yourself to abide in the LORD in all situations and you will bear fruit. PAUL Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:7 Paul advises us to be rooted, built up, and continuously walk in thanksgiving with Christ. He advises us to grow in all these aspects as well. Paul s life is a testimony to this. From the day that he had accepted Jesus as his savior, he started to abide in Christ and grew in His love. Even though he had accepted Jesus, he was rejected from the Jews, and he went through many other rejections. But he goes on to say that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:36-39). He considered everything to be a loss in the quest to know God (Philippians 3:7-8). We need to commit ourselves to not only be rooted in Him, but to also know Him more and love Him more. We need to consider our profits as loss, and keep Christ at the focus and center, so that we can be abide in him and grow in Him. God Bless you!

7 Dress up for Jesus -October 2016 Thank you parents and teachers for all your help with this event! Just a reminder that the year end test for the children will take place during the November service. God bless you! Rancho Cucamonga Connecticut Woodland Hills Irvine- Saturday San Jose Irvine- Sunday Las Vegas 7

8 Behold, the Lord s hand is not shortened,that it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. Isaiah 59:1 (NKJV) November Promise Message Pastor Abraham K. Rajan 8 In this promise verse we read that the hand of our Almighty God is outstretched. His ears are open and are able to hear our voice. Because of His outstretched hand we receive many blessings. Through this message we are going to see: Why is God s hand stretched out? 1. To Establish Us Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, Where the floods overflow me. Psalm 69:1&2 (NKJV) In this verse we see that David is in a place where he has not able to stand and the floods are overflowing him. This shows that David in his life is not yet settled or established. David was a man who was anointed by God but even then he experiences a situation where he is unable to stand and he felt like the waters were overcoming him. This is because in his life David experienced various struggles through many people. Through defeating Goliath he brought about a great victory for Israel and was a great blessing to King Saul who was the King of Israel. But soon Saul wanted to kill David. David feared Saul left the land and hid in the wilderness (1 Samuel 21&22). More over after David became King of Israel he was scared of his own son, Absalom and he had to run yet again. As he was running in fear, David meets a man named Shimei (2 Samuel 16:6&7) and he cursed David. David s life was unsettled. But David looked at the Lord and called out to Him. Because of his enemies David cried out to the Lord:

9 Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters. Psalm 69:14(NKJV) God heard the cry of David and picked him up and set his feet upon a rock and settled and established him. I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3(NKJV) God kept him from those who were stronger than David. He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy-,from those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. Psalm 18: 16 & 17 Today just like David you may be unsettled and in all sides you are being swayed by the floods but God is stretching out His hand. He is picking you up and He will establish you. Do not be discouraged. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. Ezekiel 37:26 (NKJV) 2. To save us from the enemy Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. Psalm 138:7 (NKJV) The hand of God is outstretched because He will protect us from the enemy and save us. Many a time the enemy will come to disturb us in our life. In 2 Chronicles 14:7, we read King Asa tell Judah, Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side. King Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and removed the altars of the foreign gods and therefore God gave him and the land rest and there was no war. At that time an enemy, the Ethiopians, came to war against King Asa. The enemy does not like it when we are at rest; his aim is to disturb our peace. At that time King Asa looked unto God and called unto Him and God struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover (2 Chronicles 14:12 &13). God not only defeated the Ethiopians, He defeated them in such a way that they could not recover. During the time of King Jehoshaphat, the enemy came to throw him out of his possession (2 Chronicles 20:11). King Jehoshaphat looked unto God and God fought for him against the enemy and defeated them, (2 Chronicles 20:29). A Philistine giant named Goliath came to defeat the people of Israel so that people will be under the Philistine s control. Even at that time God helped defeat the giant Goliath and saved the people of Israel. Although each enemy came against the people of God with different intentions, God defeated them all and gave His people the victory. 9

10 Today, even in your life, the enemy may come to disturb your peace but do not be afraid. God s mighty hand is outstretched against such an enemy. He will completely defeat the enemy. Therefore do not be discouraged. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14 (NKJV) 3. To Redeem His People But to Israel he says: All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people. Romans 10:21 (NKJV) In this verse we see that the Lord s hand is outstretched toward His people. When it comes to His people here it talks about the disobedient and contrary people. Here the Lord is not condemning them or pushing them away. In Romans11: 2 we read that God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Here God s hand is shown as a hand of love and He is God who will hold his people and walk with them with His loving hands. I taught Ephraim to walk, Taking them by their arms; But they did not know that I healed them. Hosea 11:3 (NKJV) When God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt he was pillar of cloud during the day and pillar of fire during the night and He walked with them. Even then the heart of the people of Israel was not with God (Psalm 78:37). They were not faithful in their covenant, How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert! Psalm 78:40(NKJV) But even then God being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. (Psalm 78:38) and He forgave them. The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3(NKJV) With His everlasting love and His arms of lovingkindness he draws His people. Due to some reason you might be away from the Lord and you have been unfaithful in your covenant; even then, God will always be your help (Hosea 13:9). I drew them with gentle cords, With bands of love, And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them. Hosea 11:4 (NKJV) With bands of love He draws His people toward Him. Therefore do not be discouraged. In Christ there is abundant redemption and because of his outstretched hand he will redeem you (Psalm 130: 7 & 8). O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Psalm 130: 7&8 (NKJV) I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him. Hosea 14:4 (NKJV) May this Promise message be a blessing to you and your family. Happy Thanksgiving! 10

11 TOG Tidbits 1. Have you experienced a miracle recently? We would love to hear about it! If you would like to share in the newsletter how God is moving in your life, please contact Pastor Rajan through or phone. Share and encourage others! (pastor.rajan@throneofgrace.us or at ) 2. You can now support our ministry by giving online. The portal to send in your offerings is open twenty four hours a day, and seven days a week. Offerings can be placed through the Throne of Grace mobile app or online at throneofgrace. us. Both methods of giving allow you to make an one-time donation or set up an easy recurring payment for each week. 3. In less than seventeen days, our Israel team will be embarking on their first flight towards Egypt, and then on to Israel and Jordan. Please keep them in your prayers! 11

12 NOVEMBER PROMISE Behold, the Lord s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. Isaiah 59:1 NEVER GIVE UP NOVEMBER 2016 Events for NOVEMBER S M T W T F S Irvine, CA Worship Services Promise Service - Tuesday, 6:00 am Every 10:30 am Saturday, 6:30 pm Saturday, 26th- Cancelled on 26th Monthly Prayer - Cancelled. Will be scheduled for December Rancho Cucamonga, CA Worship 5:00 pm Monthly Prayer Cancelled. Will be scheduled for December Sunday, 6th Las Vegas, NV Prayer Advance 3:00 pm Worship Service Due to prayer advance, we will not have worship service this month 5th Woodland Hills, CA Worship Service Sunday, 5:30 pm Monthly Prayer Cancelled. Will be scheduled for December Manchester, CT Worship Service Friday, 7:30 pm EST Monthly Prayer Wednesday, 7:30 pm EST San Jose, CA Worship Service Friday, 7:00 pm Conference Prayer Call-in #: Access Code: # SoCal (Mondays) Time: 9:30 pm 10:15 pm Connecticut (Tuesdays) Time: 9:30 pm 10:00 pm EST San Jose (Tuesdays) Time: 9:30 pm 10:00 pm PST USA & ISRAEL (Thursdays) Time: 9:30 pm 10:00 pm Las Vegas (18th Friday) Time: 9:30 pm 10:00 pm Pray for Israel Trip in your daily prayers Dates: Nov 17th Nov 30th Bible Test for Children in all locations. Please prepare and encourage your Children. Pastor Abraham K. Rajan & Indira Throne of Grace Ministries, 2134 Michelson Dr, Irvine CA Cell Phone : (949) Office Phone : (949) venue

13 Service Information NOVEMBER 2016 Worship Service: Every Sunday - 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM 2 nd & 4 th Saturdays- 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM Prayer: 3 rd Thursday - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM Worship Service: 1 st Sunday 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Prayer: 3 rd Friday - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM Worship Service: 1 st Saturday 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM Worship Service: 2 nd Sunday 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM Prayer: 4 th Friday - 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM Worship Service: 1 st Friday 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EST Prayer: 3 rd Wednesday 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM EST Worship Service: 2 nd Friday 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM IRVINE, CA Throne Of Grace Ministries 2134 Michelson Dr Irvine CA RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA LAS VEGAS, NV Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church 6080 Haven Ave Rancho Cucamonga CA Trinity Life Center 1000 E St. Louis Las Vegas NV WOODLAND HILLS, CA Canoga Park Lutheran Church 7357 Jordan Ave Canoga Park CA MANCHESTER, CT SAN JOSE, CA New River Community Church 314 Woodbridge St Manchester, CT Church of the Living Rock 675 E Taylor Ave Sunnyvale, CA Pastor Abraham K. Rajan & Indira Throne of Grace Ministries, 2134 Michelson Dr, Irvine CA Cell Phone : (949) Office Phone : (949) venue