Koinonia EASTER REVIVAL APRIL 2017 O. Summer 2017

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1 Koinonia Summer 2017 APOSTOLIC FAITH MISSION 265 LAFAYETTE AVENUE BROOKLYN, NY REV. HERACLIO J. WYATT, JR., PASTOR Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Jude 3 EASTER REVIVAL APRIL 2017 O ur annual Spring/Passion Week Revival 2017 opened on Tuesday, April 13. Rev. Heraclio Wyatt Sr. spoke about Paul and Silas praising God even while their feet were bound in prison. Praise was the key to their release! Wednesday evening, Min. Seymour Smith reminded us that Jesus cares about us, but if we want something good from the Lord we must persevere. On both evenings, there were recurring themes of holiness and our hope of heaven during the worship services, including spontaneous testimonies of praise and victory. The following evening, Maundy Thursday, our congregation gathered to remember The Lord s Supper that Jesus kept with His twelve disciples. We kept this ordnance by our observance of the Lord s Supper and Foot Washing. Our pastor reminded us that we come to the table not because we are perfect but because we are saved, because the One Who is perfect has saved us! Once again the Lord s presence was felt as we communed with Him and each other on this solemn yet joyful occasion. (see next page for Good Friday service) Sunday morning we gathered for the first time in our church s history for an early morning Easter service at 8am. Those who were present can attest to the blessing of gathering together in the quietness of the early morning to praise and worship our Lord! At 11am we again gathered for our traditional Easter Sunday service, which was not traditional by any means! It opened with rousing praise and worship that had the congregation singing, clapping, and praising the Lord. Sounds of praise filled the atmosphere as members and visitors filled the seats. Later, our combined choir powerfully ministered through song the passage of Scripture in Matthew 28. They were accompanied by a few of the children who dramatized the words and actions of the Bible verses, how Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were told to Fear not. The tomb was empty but Jesus was not dead; He was risen as He said! Pastor Johnny followed with a stirring message about Resurrection faith that energizes us and allows us to believe that we are healed even though we may be physically sick, and believe that we are up when we are down. At one point, he described how the apostle John, in a depressed state living on the isle of Patmos after the death of his friends and a murderous attempt on his own life, wrote the book of Revelation to a depressed church. But during his time in solitude, John saw a vision of the Resurrected Jesus! The pastor told us that when we find ourselves in undesirable circumstances, like John, we can ask God for a vision of the Resurrected Christ.

2 GOOD FRIDAY APRIL 14, 2017 The next day we gathered on Good Friday from 12-3pm, the hours that Jesus hung on the cross, to hear our brothers and sisters minister to us about the Seven Last Sayings of Jesus on the Cross. Bro. Joy Ojo: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Bro. Ojo talked about his love for his daughters and how God must have felt to see His Son treated poorly and ultimately crucified. When he asked God to forgive those involved in His crucifixion, Jesus was essentially asking to hold back the wrath of a Father Who loves His Son. Sis. Sannette Forrester: Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Despite all the good that we have done we are often defined by our one indiscretion or sin. The thieves are not referred to by name, just as thieves, but they didn t start out that way. The only difference between the thieves and us is that their sins were made public for everyone to see. We are all guilty and all have a cross to bear. And if we acknowledge who Christ is there is forgiveness. Sis. Banke Aguso: Woman, behold thy son! John 19:26-27 Jesus took time to meet his mother s physical needs while He was meeting our spiritual needs. He cares about both our physical and spiritual needs. He set a perfect example of love and responsibility for us to follow. We are responsible for our families and our spiritual brothers and sisters in the household of faith. Bro. Willie Wilson: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Matthew 27:46 Jesus was speaking not as God but as a human. If Jesus felt the pain of being forsaken, of being outside of the grace and presence of God., how can we be so comfortable to be outside of the grace and presence of God? Sis. Khristian Brooks: I thirst Thirst is a signal we get when we are needing or lacking something. Jesus suffered not just a physical thirst but a spiritual thirst. We all have a thirst, just like the woman at the well and the thief on the cross who thirsted for salvation. Jesus thirsted for His Father s presence and He thirsted for us. The world gives us bitterness to quench our thirst. Christ chose the phrase I thirst to teach us of our own thirst. Bro. Robert Makasi: It is finished Holiness is the only thing that will qualify us for the rapture. God can see His own reflection in a holy person. The steps we must take to reach God s standard are outlined in David s prayer in Psalm 51: 1-3. Because of the finished work of God, we can live above sin. Minister Garfield Charles: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit Luke 23:46 Jesus did not say I am finished, but it is finished. Are we living so that we can say, Father into Thy hands I commend my spirit?

3 EASTER PROGRAM APRIL 16, 2017 At 3:30pm, the Sunday School Department had their annual Easter program. Students from the Tiny tots to the primary classes performed recitations and sang Easter songs. The Junior class did a skit about bringing others to Christ and the true meaning of Easter.

4 May Revival May 2017 The theme for this years annual Spring Revival was Outrageous Grace. The entire week was filled with spirit-filled messages that highlighted God s Outrageous Grace! Min. Joshua Grant (Little Mt. Zion Church) kicked off our revival with a message entitled, Jesus Was There All the Time. He spoke of the gifts, blessings, and endowments that God s grace provides for people who don t deserve them nor could ever earn them. Min. Grant encouraged all to abound and to walk in the plentiful, over-sufficient grace that God s love makes available to us all. On Thursday evening, Rev. Alfred Ikotun (Apostolic Faith Church: Hempstead, NY) delivered a powerful, yet familiar message to the body of Christ. The message was centered on, The Power of Thanks we often forget to do. When God is moving, we should not try to go ahead of Him when we don t know what is going on we should learn to give thanks. The path to receiving from God is to be thankful. It is in a thankful spirit that we can forgive. May we double our thankfulness towards God.

5 On Friday evening, we were treated to a visit by Rev. James Crawley, a senior minister well known to many of the long time 265 saints and a beloved friend of our founding pastor, Rev. Leon C. Dicks. He began his sermon by spending a few minutes reminiscing about the times spent ministering to and times of fellowship with our church members in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Later he continued with the revival theme, Outrageous Grace, speaking to us from Ephesians 2: He spoke about the gospel of peace that unravels confusion and directed us to Colossians 3:15 to learn about the gospel of peace that rules in the heart. He also told us that the key to victory in our Christian life is to reach in our pocket for more of the grace and peace of God. He told us that we need God s grace in this time of confusion, to redeem us and to reconcile us. On Sunday at 8am service, Minister Sharon Allen reminded us that the grace of God will change us if we want to change. She told us that despite the names we are called by those around us, the Lord refers to us as sons and daughters, but it does not appear that we truly believe this about ourselves and others. If we did, we would treat each other differently, she said. Min. Allen closed by admonishing us to walk more, operate more, and be more of what the Word of God says we are. On Sunday at 11am service, Rev. Crawley returned to minister to us during our second service on Sunday and encouraged us not to let the revival fall by the wayside. He told us that something has gone wrong in every generation - that our land is sick, as we learn from II Chronicles 7:14, which gives us the key to obtaining healing. He told us that God s grace is for everyone - no one is above or beneath the grace of God or too good or too bad for His grace. It is because of God s grace that no one has to live in sin anymore, he said, but we can all be taught by grace (as in the popular hymn, Amazing Grace: Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved ) In closing, Rev. Crawley admonished us that if we want to be full of joy we have to throw something overboard i.e. get rid of something in our lives. He told us to envision ourselves on a train bound for heaven, to stay on the train and ride until the end.

6 MOTHER S DAY May 14, 2017 Our Mother s Day service was a day of celebration, as we honored to our mothers. Our day began with intercessory prayer that led into a time of praise and worship. Our women s choir sang two beautiful songs for the occasion, I Can go to God in Prayer and Where could I go but to the Lord. During the service, Master Heraclio Wyatt, III rendered a beautiful instrumental, our children s church recited a poem of love and thanksgiving entitled, A Mother s Prayer and we received priceless, spirit-filled words of encouragement from Sis. Mercy Oyadiran, Sis. Martha Huggins and from Sis. Lilith Barry. There was also time taken to honor and recognize some special mothers among us such as Sis. Mary McClary, Sis. Fannie Outlaw and two first time mothers: Sis. Slyvisha Perry and Sis. Annisia Toure. Our Pastor, Rev. Heraclio Wyatt, Jr. was the speaker for our Mother s Day service. He delivered a beautiful heartfelt message about Rizpah. Rizpah was a Biblical example of a mother who exemplified courage and devotion for her sons even in the face of death. The Pastor admonished every mother to have a Rizpah spirit and to keep fighting for your children. Thank God for the warrior mothers!

7 FATHER S DAY June 11, 2017 We truly give God thanks for our fathers in Zion! Our Father s Day morning worship service began with a selection of beautiful spirit-filled songs of praise and worship as well as choir selections from our men s and children s choir. During the service, Bro. John Morrison and Deacon James Leonard were also honored and recognized as loving and devoted fathers. We were also favored by instrumental selections by Bro. Joshua Adesina and Bro. Heraclio Wyatt, Jr. III as well as a beautiful sermonic selection by Sis. Abigail Wyatt. The fathers were nicely arrayed in black and white with an accent of purple. Our Pastor, Rev. Heraclio Wyatt, Jr. delivered an inspirational Father s Day message centering on the story of the prodigal son entitled, The Father s Heart. He spoke about how the son wanted the blessings of God without having a relationship with his father. In order to receive a blessing, we must first be connected with the Father. The son didn t want to be in the Father s will he wanted to be in his own will; however, the Father has a different will for us. The Father s will is for our good. Pastor Wyatt admonished the saints to stay close to the Father and His presence.

8 CORNER a church with a heart for the unchurched PASTOR S In a recent sermon series I preached about God's heart for Lost Things. In the gospel of St. Luke, chapter 15, the Pharisees were seriously troubled by the fact that people were drawn to Jesus. And they were equally disturbed by the fact that Jesus responded by receiving them into his company. What the Pharisees did not realize is there was something incredibly powerful about Jesus Christ's message that made people of all backgrounds and life experiences open up to hear the gospel message and receive it. And this was all part of God's plan! To be sure, part of the magnetism to the message was the authority with which Jesus preached, and ministered. He healed the sick, raised the dead, and forgave people of their sins. Jesus is the Son of God; He is the Savior sent with power to heal and forgive. Yet, Luke intimates that what drew sinners, tax collectors and other marginalized people to Jesus was more than HIS message and ministry. Jesus was expressing The Father's heart to "seek and to save the lost." The Father loves all; but there is urgent concern and care for those who are outside the fellowship of believers. Christ did not come to fellowship with the righteous, but to help the sinner. Jesus says "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." There were a lot of people in Jesus' day and even more today who need Jesus' help! Thank God he sent us Jesus. To get the message across to the Pharisees in his day and to Christians of every stripe today Jesus shared with us three poignant parables centered around lost things: The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons. Through constant refrain of the parables we learn three important lessons. First, there is an urgency in finding lost things, whether we are talking about lost hopes, lost passion, or lost people, there should be an urgency in rediscovering things that are lost. If we don't possess that sense of urgency there is an danger in permanent loss--this is really urgent when it comes to finding loss people for the sake of the Gospel. The second lesson that we learn is that there is value in lost things. The is an important lesson especially in our time when everything is so replaceable; when we throw away things and relationships at the first sign of obsolescent. Finally, the third lesson that we learn is that there is joy in finding something that is lost. That was joy in finding the lost sheep, joy in finding a lost coin, and joy and celebration over finding the son who was lost in rebellion and depravity. The house of God should be a place of celebration and the people of God should emanate joy! There is joy because in the Father's love there is forgiveness-- we long for people to come to Jesus to receive that forgiveness of sin. "It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found. -- Luke 15:32 The question we must ask ourselves is: do we share God's heart and compassion for lost things or are we indifferent to anything outside of our circle of relationships, and possessions. My prayer is that we would all capture God's heart for the Lost. As we continue to strive to be "a church with a heart for the unchurched." We DO that by being like the Father in the parable of the prodigal son. We position ourselves to receive unchurched people, making room in our hearts with outstretched arms, making room in our lives through joyous celebration for those who receive forgiveness of sins, and ultimately making room in our lives for rich fellowship with people we do not know well, but whom we are connected to through our shared faith in Jesus Christ. Blessings, Rev. Heraclio J Wyatt, Jr., Pastor