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MALAR 7. ITHAZH 8 AUGUST 2022 TGC TIMES TAMIL GOSPEL CHURCH OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER Contents Message from Pastor - 02 Missionary Story - 03, 04 & 05 Food for thought - 06 August Birthdays & Anniversaries - 07 Announcements - 08
Are you free? BY PASTOR SOLOMON KARUNAKARAN In July America celebrates her independence from Great Britain and in August India does hers. As immigrants or naturalized citizens, we get to remember both and enjoy the American holiday. As you think about life and the different stages in its natural progression, from a child to teenager to adulthood we are always bound by the rules of life and relationships that apply during those stages. As children, we are expected to obey our parents and elders. At school we are expected to heed to the teachers. When we start driving thinking that we’ve got independence from parents we are bound by the laws of the land. At work we do what we are expected to do and not whatever we like. When married we are bound by the rules of the covenant relationship. When we are old we depend on those younger to help us around. We are never created to be free because we cannot handle it. If we are really free to do anything we want and desire, we will end up destroying ourselves and in effect humanity. That is the battle we see going on, humanity trying to be independent of God. As followers of Christ we are called to voluntarily and freely live under the rule and Lordship of Christ that will bring us total joy and satisfaction. We are called to live being considerate of others around us. In I Corinthians 10:23-33, apostle Paul illustrates how this freedom operates in the context of eating food that is offered to us. In verse 24 he provides the principle, “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others”. If we apply this principle to all of life, just imagine the society we will all be part of on earth. Imagine life, if we live applying this principle which is actually the correct thing to do as followers of Christ in the church. We are called to live according to the higher law as part of the kingdom of God. Freedom in the kingdom of God is radically different and benefits humanity. Therefore, freely do unto others what you would have them do to you and be blessed, TGC family. PS
Graham Staines MISSIONARY STORY Graham Staines was an Australian Christian missionary who along with his two sons Philip aged 10 and his brother Timothy aged 6 was burnt to death in India by members of a Hindu fundamentalist group named Bajrang Dal. Name : Graham Stuart Staines Birth : At Australia on 18 January 1941 First India Visit : In 1965 by joining the Evangelical Missionary Society(EMSM) Place of Service : Baripada in Odisha state India Selfless Service: He learnt to speak in Odia fluently. Staines assisted in the translation of part of the Holy Christian Bible into the language of the Ho people of India. Graham instantly bonded with the people of Odisha teaching the people to make mats and baskets out of rope, sabai grass & tree leaves. He main service was among the leper. In 1983 he established the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home as a registered society. At the time when other villagers got scared to touch the leper Graham was so kind to the Lepers, taking care of them & treating them. Marriage & Family: Gladys was also called by God to serve in India . She did her nursing & came to India to serve the Leprosy patients. She met Staines while service the patients. They both decided to get married in the year 1983. Their marriage was blessed with three beautiful children - A daughter, Esther, and two sons, Philip and Timothy. The couple dedicated the next 15 years to caring for leprosy patients, looking after people in serious poverty and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Persecution: In the year of 1999 during the school vacation time Staines’s kids who were studying in a school in Ooty went home to spend vacation with parents. It was the time of annual conference for Christians in the area . On 22 January 1999, Staines attended a jungle camp in Manoharpur, for the conference and to discuss their beliefs in a social setting. The camp was on the border between the tribal villages of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar, which is located within the district of Odisha. He was travelling to the village of Kendujhar with his sons. Staines and the boys elected to spend the night in Manoharpur, sleeping in the vehicle due to the severe cold at the time. His wife and daughter did not accompany them on the journey, having decided to remain behind in the town and municipality of Baripada. A mob of about fifty people, armed with axes and other implements, attacked the vehicle while Staines and his sons were fast asleep, and set the station wagon alight, trapping them inside and burning them to death. Staines and his sons had awakened and apparently tried to escape, but were prevented from doing so by the angry mob of vigilantes. Impact of Persecution: People who persecuted Staines & his sons were imprisoned & were sentenced to lifetime imprisonment. Gladys irrespective of her unbearable loss declared that she had forgiven the killers and had no bitterness towards them. Rather than return to Australia, Staines decided to stay in India where she and her husband had served lepers for 15 years, keeping her daughter Esther, with her, stating: "I cannot just leave those people who love and trust us. I have high regard for the people of India and their tolerance”. Gladys continues the ministry left by her husband. She transformed the leper house she served at into a full hospital and named it Graham Staines Memorial Hospital. Staines was awared Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice & Padma Shri.
Psalm 37 : 23-24 "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand" COMPILED BY SIS. KAMATCHI BILSON
Food for Thought THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS SECTION IS TO DRIVE ENGAGEMENT AMONG THE PEOPLE OF GOD TO GET DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON SOME OF THE AREAS SUCH AS BIBLE VERSES, GOSPEL LYRICS AND CONTEMPORARY EVENTS THAT A BELIEVER COMES ACROSS IN HIS/HER DAY-TO-DAY LIFE. PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND RESPONSES TO EDITOR@TAMILGOSPELCHURCH.ORG. PASTOR SOLOMON WOULD REVIEW YOUR RESPONSES AND SHARE HIS PERSPECTIVE IN THE FOLLOWING MONTH’S EDITION OF THE NEWSLETTER. YOUR RESPONSES AND PASTOR’S THOUGHTS ON THIS SUBJECT EVERY MONTH WOULD SERVE TO EDIFY THE BODY OF CHRIST, UPHOLD OUR FAITH, AND GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD OF GOD This month's Food for Thought 2 Cor 12: 2 states 'I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven'. Question: How many heavens are there? Last month's Food for Thought Genesis 18: 20 and 21 state the following: Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous, 21I will go down to see if their actions fully justify the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will find out." Why should the LORD need to go down to see if the actions fully justify the outcry. Couldn’t He see the actions of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah directly from heaven? Response received from Mrs. Kamatchi Bilson Thanks to her, who has faithfully responded correctly to the question. God did it in order to show His perfect righteousness ... just like how we as parents deal with our children's disputes and investigate further to confirm our act of justice. Another explanation is that God uses human ways in order to help us understand how perfect He is in all of His dealings.
DIANA BITYA FRANKLIN August 01 August Birthdays JASON THEODORE August 03 SHEEBA JAGAN August 04 CHRISTILDA IMMANUEL August 07 JENIKA BENNEASER August 10 For by me your days will be RHEMA SOLOMON August 11 ANITHA EDWARD August 14 multiplied, and years will be SHILOH SAMUEL August 14 added to your life. CHITHANNA GEORGE August 15 PASTOR JOSEPH August 17 SHILOH ADONIA SAMUEL August 22 PROVERBS 9:11 SOUNDRA MOSES August 26 FREDERICK JOSHUA August 29 JEFFRI SHARON CHRISTOPHER August 29 JOANNAH GEORGE August 29 RAJASINGH SAMUEL August 29 BENNEASER JOHN August 30 NANDEESH MATHAD August 31 August Anniversaries But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. ISAIAH 40:31 EUGENE JEBAKUMAR & SUGUNA EUGENE - AUGUST 15 SAMUEL EDWIN & SHARMILA SAMUEL - AUGUST 26 BILSON & KAMATCHI BILSON - AUGUST 29
ANNOUNCEMENTS BAPTISM CLASS JULY 31 & AUG 07 SUNDAY SERVICE EVERY SUNDAY @ 5:00 PM FASTING PRAYER “CHILDREN ARE A HERITAGE FROM AUG 13 @ 11:00 AM THE LORD, OFFSPRING A REWARD FROM HIM. LIKE ARROWS IN THE HANDS OF A WARRIOR ARE CHILDREN BORN IN ONE’S YOUTH. BLESSED IS TGC PICNIC 2022 - THE MAN WHOSE QUIVER IS FULL OF PLEASE BLOCK YOUR CALENDARS THEM. THEY WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME WHEN THEY CONTEND WITH THEIR OPPONENTS IN COURT.” DATE : SEP 17 P S A L M S 1 2 7 : 3 - 5 N I V LOCATION : THOMPSON PARK, LINCROFT, NJ Congratulations to Stephen & Helena on the birth of their second boy “Lukah Arul Stephen” on July 27. Helena and baby Lukah are doing very well, May God bless the little one, big brother Manasseh and the family.
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