October 2017 Volume 23 Issue 10

Transcription

1 October 2017 Volume 23 Issue 10

2 programme. That single programme enabled me to preach in one day to more people than I had ever preached to in a lifetime. And now by the grace of God, and with the help of TBN UK's Leon Schoeman, I have my own daily devotional on TBN UK, Joyful Promise. The goal of this short daily devotional is to share the love of Jesus Christ to the world and to inspire God s people to be joyful. Recently, I received the following testimony from a TBN UK viewer: Pastor Dara, my youngest daughter has long struggled with mental illness... Recently you began appearing on TBN UK, and she said: 'Every time I hear him say good day, I HAVE a good day. He makes me SO happy!' I saw a spark of life and joy that gave me, as a parent, hope. The joy you exude, even over the airwaves is healing and delivering... God bless you Sir. Your ministry is the most wonderful way to start a day! Of course, we are so thankful for such testimonies that confirm God's faithfulness to use this ministry for His glory. Additionally, we are excited to have our programme airing on TBN in Africa. This is especially important to me because I have always wanted to minister to the people in my native Africa, and I am grateful to God and to TBN UK for giving me the platform to fulfill this dream. Without TBN UK, my ministry exposure would be limited to the U.S. alone. Let me take this opportunity to encourage you in your prayer and financial partnership with TBN UK. This network is reaching the United Kingdom and the world with the good news of Jesus Christ, and you are an important part of that mission. Thank you for your faithfulness!

3 MESSAGE FROM THE PASTOR I am grateful for another opportunity to bring you up-todate about the progress of our church. When I reflect upon what God is doing in our church, I must confess that recent months has brought me so much joy in the sense that I am seeing the hand of God in a lot of what we are doing in Zion Hill. Briefly, let me give you a picture of what I see: Our worship: If you have been attending church recently, you would have notice the quality our worship experience in Zion Hill. The word of God is going forth, the singing and dancing is inspirational and the entire worship atmosphere is quite welcoming. Thanks to every one of our musicians, singers, worship team, Joy Dara singers, dance ministries and many others who are making things happen for our church. May God reward you for giving your best for the glory of God. Amen! Spirit of Excellence: Have you noticed something different with our various staff and volunteers? Recently, I have noticed the quality of our Church lobby area. Thanks to our Deaconesses. Likewise, our Church ushers has changed their prayer cloth to a higher grade and quality. Thanks to our Church ushers. Then I noticed the new uniform of our Greeters and their effectiveness with our Church guests. All I can say is Wow! God s truth is truly marching on. As your Pastor, I am enjoying the pleasure of watching each church department stepping up on their own in a spirit of excellence to the work of the ministry at Zion Hill. This is quite impressive. May God richly bless each of our staff and volunteers. Our Church security: I am pleased to report that our new church security system is now in place. A total of 46 cameras have been installed to secure both inside and outside of our sanctuary and the family life center. By the grace of God, our facilities are fully secured with fire alarm system, security system and a modern-day security camera system. We are grateful to those of you who provided leadership to make things happen for all of us. May God reward you accordingly. Our Help Ministry: I am very pleased to report that our church is making a difference in the area of helping people. We feed people who are hungry, we help members and none members who are going through difficult times, we made two trips to Jasper, Texas to help people who are victims of the hurricane, we collaborated with other churches to help people in Netherland, Texas, and we collaborated with our sister Church, Calvary Baptist of Alexandria to minister to the evacuees during their short stay in Alexandria. To God be the glory! A quick Shout out: I cannot complete this article without giving a shout out to our media staff, sound engineers, technical crews, etc. I am so grateful to each of you for your commitment to the work of the ministry. It is refreshing to come to church and watch various high-tech equipment working well for the glory of God. Believe me, I sincerely appreciate your hard work and dedication to making all of us look good. May God reward you accordingly. I am equally grateful to our all of our men who works in the Church parking lot and brothers and sisters who cook for our young people every Wednesday. What a blessing to see so many of our Church members using their gifts and talents for the glory of God. May God reward each and every one of you accordingly. Amen! In Conclusion: I would like to remind everyone about our upcoming Church activities: On October 10, our church is sending a delegation of eight people to Chicago to go and study how we can construct a digital media lab for our Church youth. On October 15, our church will be celebrating its 94 th year anniversary. Pastor Joseph Franklin and the Mount Triumph Baptist Church of Boyce, Louisiana will be our guest. On October 30, we will be having our annual Fall Festival to celebrate Jesus instead of the Halloween. We thank God for the progress of our Church. May God continue to bless Zion Hill and its members more and more. Amen! Yours in Christ, Dr. Joshua Joy Dara, Pastor

4 Shout Out to these two cuties, they were nominated as volunteers of the month. Ms. Andrea Williams is 12 and in the 7th grade and attends Arthur F. Smith and Ms. Samiah Hicks is 9 and in the 4th grade and attends St. Frances Cabrini School. Congratulations ladies!! Jondrea Heron Let s give a shutout to this Phenomenal woman of God! Jondrea has been a member of Zion Hill since 2000 and although you rarely hear her voice her actions speaks volumes. She is an Author, Nurse, Community helper, works with the Health Ministry and volunteers at the Manna House. Jondrea is apart of the Zion Hill Disaster Ministry and has traveled to Canaan, Fond Parisien and Croix de Bouquet, Haiti and is always willing to help, lead and guide. Thanks, Jondrea!!! She is the author of a coloring book telling of the culture, love and missions of Haiti and encourages youth to become involved in their communities Serve God with hands and heart; VOLUNTEER. Volunteer Corner

5 Zion Hill Church Family Disaster Ministry Shout out to the ZH Disaster Ministry. These guys traveled to Jasper,Texas To deliver some much needed supplies. You guys are the real MVP. Jasper Texas our hearts and our Prayers are with you!!

6 The Zion Hill Disaster Relief Outreach Team Ministry had the privilege of teaming up with NC Baptist Builders Disaster Recovery. This Ministry is a group of Volunteers in this organization each pay $75.00 to get on a bus and drive miles to any disaster area. (22 hours to Texas). They have been in Nederland, Texas since Hurricane Harvey. They rotate teams of 30 to 40 people with the average age of 70 years old. Each team rotates every 6 days in the disaster area. They sleep on blowup mattresses, they shower in portable showers. They work outdoors from 4pm to 7pm everyday feeding 50,000 people a week, they hand out supplies, gut homes, do laundry...the list goes on. But the most important thing they do is Minister and Pray to anyone who is in need.

7 Free Movie Night An investigative journalist and self-proclaimed atheist sets out to disprove the existence of God after his wife becomes a Christian. From the studio that brought you, God's not Dead, the Theater Ministry presents, "The Case for Christ" Friday, November 17, 2017 at 7:20pm in the FLC. Rated PG. Zion Hill Church LifeShare Bus 500 Baptist Street Sunday, October 10:00a.m. to 2:00p.m. Alexandria North Mall Drive. Alexandria, LA *Baton Rouge North Boulevard. Baton Rouge, LA *Bossier City Doctors Drive. Bossier City, LA *Texas Donor Centers: Beaumont 4305Laurel Street * Texarkana 1321 College Drive Contact: Jondrea

8 This group of Amazing writers held a book signing in Winnfield, La at the Winnfield Library on September 30, 2017 at 10am Zion Hill authors are Jondrea Herron, Starla Jones, Barbara Watson and Patricia Williams. We write to motivate, encourage and inspire. Motivate, Encourage and Inspire. Thank you Zion Hill for your support! Salvation is a Process an evangelistic resource that can bless all who read it. I pray that everyone who has read the book and who will read the book will share it with at least one person. The goal is to help win lost souls and touch the hearts of others. The 2nd Sunday of October will be the last opportunity to get your copy. I will have a table setup in the lobby. I appreciate your kind words as it is encouraging to know that others can see God using me for His glory! Blessing to all, Minister Edwina Lewis

9 Winter Gala Saturday, December 2nd Tickets are $25.00 each Starting at 7:00 PM to 11:00PM PLEASE COME OUT AND ENJOY GALA YOU WILL NOT FORGET. ALL PROCEEDS GO TO ZION HILL CHURCH. ATTIRE: Elegant

10 Cutting It Straight Greetings my brothers and sisters. Today is a great day to be counted among the living. This is the day that the Lord has made. Be glad in it. Rejoice. Praise God. God s mercy endures forever, regardless of your situation and in spite of your circumstances. If you would take a moment to consider what is happening around you, your observation would note change. Leaves are turning colors and falling from their lofty branches. The grass is browning. School terms have started. Holidays are beckoning. Temperatures are becoming cooler. Things around you are changing. One look in the mirror can make you acutely aware of this fact. Changes come in our lives and it seems that the most difficult ones come in pairs. But for those of us who are in Christ, changes that occur in our lives can be gifts because of the truth of one verse in the Bible. And that verse is Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Good News Translation) That truth is truly good news. No matter what changes are occurring in your life, Jesus is and will remain the Center of stability for you. In the midst of your changes whatever they may be (death, divorce, loss of a dear friend, illness, financial loss or whatever irrevocable change), you need to know you have the changeless Lord as your comforter, your strengthener, your stabilizer, and your guide. Expected, sudden, desired or forced, changes are certain. But Jesus remains the same at all times yesterday, today, and forever. Just what is meant by these designations of time? Well, yesterday, the day preceding today, the near past. Today, at the present time; nowadays. Forever, throughout eternity; everlastingly. These are the definitions of the time designations according to the Webster Comprehensive Dictionary, International Edition. Each segment of time speaks of the constancy of Jesus in the midst of whatever changes that may be occurring in one s life. Because Jesus is constant, never changing (immutable), and ever-present, you can count on His help. You can be assured that Jesus is with you. Your confidence in Him is lifelong because He has not changed, is not changing, and will never change. Jesus cannot be compared to the wind nor can He be compared to mankind. Both the wind and mankind directions may change and do so on a continual basis. What does it mean that Jesus has not changed? Well, it means miracles have not ceased, signs and wonders have not ceased, and the authority in the name of Jesus remains. And this being true, then devils can still be casted out, sick people can still be healed, blind eyes still can see, captives can be set free, yes, even still. Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. Nothing has changed for you, the believer in Christ. Jesus remains the same in what He demands of you as a believer. You are to follow Him, obey His commands, serve Him, and do what He has called you to do. He has called you to be light (Matthews 5:14), an ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20), and an evangelist (Matthew 28:19-20). These callings have not changed. Time has changed. People have changed. Appearances have changed. But, Jesus Christ has not changed. Since Christ has not changed, none of His promises to you has changed. He is the Lord and like His Father, He does not change. All of His promises remain. All of His words remain true. All of His love remains the same. What comforting thoughts to meditate upon as you gaze upon the changes of this fall season. There is a truth worthy of daily repetition. That truth is God is not like people, who lie; He is not a human who changes his mind. Whatever he promises, he does; He speaks, and it is done. (Good News Translation) Yes this world is ever-changing, but Jesus remains the same. Isn t it a joy to know that His constancy in your life ensures you of both triumph and victory right now and in the future? Boldly proclaim the words of the psalmist in Psalms 118, a prayer of thanks for victory, verses 6 and 8-9. The psalmist says, The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid; what can anyone do to me? It is better to trust the Lord than to depend on people. It is better to trust in the Lord than to depend on human leaders. (Good News Translation) Yes, you can trust Jesus. You can trust Him completely confident, fully persuaded, and steadfastly sure that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it. So, enjoy all the changes you will experience during this change of seasons. Seasons will come and they will go. But be of good cheer Jesus is the same yesterday, today, forever. So until the next article, I want to encourage you to find the gift in every change that occurs in your life. God is working all things (even changes) for your good. And remember whatever you do with the Word of God, be sure to cut it straight. May God s grace and mercy be with you all. Minister Millicent Rubin

11 Stand Firm! Only God is in Control Ephesians 6:10-11 The Armor of God The Belt (of Truth) The Breastplate (of Righteousness ) The Shoes (of Peace and Preparation ) The Shield (of Faith) The Helmet (of Salvation ) The Sword (of the Spirit) We can be safe in evil times by avoiding the stumbling blocks and pitfalls the enemy (devil) places in our path to impede our progress of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We should: 1. Make the most of every opportunity to use our time wisely. (Eph. 5:16) A wise person determines his or her conduct by the character and purpose of a Holy God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10) 2. Understand God's will. (Eph. 5:17b) It is not enough to know what God wants us to do, we must also do it. That is, we must put that knowledge into action. 3. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 5:18b) Apostle Paul admonishes us by saying, "Be filled with the Spirit". Paul was not referring to a one time experience, but to a continuous process in which the Christian turns an ever increasing amount of control of his/her life over to the living Christ. 4. Always give thanks to God the Father for everything (Eph. 5:20). We are to express our gratitude to God "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". Gratitude is closely related to praise from a grateful heart. Don't complain and be negative, but grateful. (Read Psalm 136:1) God promises safety through His word where we find HOPE! Hope is important to the Christian. We must read, study, pray and meditate on God's Word daily. "May God Bless you and your family". Sis. Pat Hudson, President Please join us for Senior Mission on Mondays at 11:00 a.m. at the Hunter St. Location

12 Dr. Joshua Joy Dara, Pastor 312 Hunter Street Pineville, Louisiana Mailing Address: P O Box 3914, Pineville, LA Phone: Fax: Office House: 9am-4:30pm Administrative Assistants: Diana Mitchell and Patricia Wilson James Smith, CEO Family Life Center 312A Hunter Street Pineville, La Phone: Newsletter Staff: Krystal Johnson-Wimbley, GraphicsE-ews Editor Rose Vanburen, Photographer LaQuanda Burise, Photographer Millicent Rubin, Writer Karen Thomas, Youth news Minister Irene K. Isaac, Editor newsletter@zionhill.com Printed at Zion Hill monthly