News from Around the Church
Here is the news…
The Elders will meet tomorrow at 12 PM. Please pray for the men as they meet. One of our primary topics will be the suggested changes for membership and associate membership at JIBC. For more details on that check out these links: http://www.thejibc.org/2011/07/the-jibc-elders-recommended-changes-on-membership/ and http://www.thejibc.org/2011/07/the-jibc-church-covenant-1989/ The elders hope to make it very clear what it means to be a member in the Lord’s Church. This should help our evangelism and discipleship ministries as we draw newcomers into the body of Christ. If you have any questions or ideas for the elders please email: elders@thejibc.org
A handful of men have been nominated for Deacon. Discussions with these new men are ongoing. Lord willing we will have three or more new deacons by the end of this year. Ian Beech and Kongkin Atmodjo are no longer actively serving as deacons. They are taking a break for personal reasons and we thank them for their service. John and Tony continue faithfully and busily! If you have a question for the deacons (finance, property, mercy ministry, ushers and greeters, etc.) please email: deacons@thejibc.org
The JIBC office is open Monday through Thursday from 9 until 5:30. We are still looking for a Church Office Manager. Please keep this in your prayers and if you know of any interested parties, feel free to make recommendations. Meanwhile we enjoy the support of our Office Assistant, Pak Herry, and our Church Accountant, Ibu Vina. Pastor Dave and and Pastor Stephen are also spending time working in the office. If the office can be of assistance to any of you, then please call the office of email: office@thejibc.org
New Curriculum for the JIBC Children’s Ministry has arrived. Special thanks to our Children’s Ministry Director, Louise Emmet, for organizing this. Thanks also to Mike and Julie Spake who helped facilitate the delivery of the material. Our Kids Club Sunday Schools still need new teachers. Please spread the word and be in prayer for willing servants from among our congregation. If you have any questions about Children’s Ministries, then please email: louise.e.emmett@gmail.com
JIBC has renewed our lease with the Occasion for one more year. Our Property Director, Kenneth Oh, and the deacons inform us that Darmawangsa Square will be developing a new facility which is most likely going to limit any potential use of the Occasion after August 2012. Therefore, we need to be praying together as a congregation about our future location. If you have any questions or ideas, then please email Kenneth: rainmaker789@yahoo.com or the JIBC Elders and Deacons: deacons@thejibc.org elders@thejibc.org
Praise the Lord for progress in our ministry as a result of the GPS. If you are a GPS goal owner and would like to update your progress, then please email: pastordave@thejibc.org Copies of the GPS are still available in the worship area.
The Lord has been providing for our budget in amazing ways this year. You can check our progress in the Bulletin each Sunday. May God get all the glory and let’s continue praying together for the $27,5000 per month we need to conduct our ministry at JIBC this year. If you have questions about finance, then you can email our Finance Director, John Suwardi: john.suwardi@thejibc.org
Ongoing discipleship activity in the Summer includes our Sunday Schools, Youth Fellowship, Home Bible Studies, and Men’s Fraternity. Please pray for all the busy ministry that is taking place each week. Staring in August we should have new Sunday Adult Bible Studies, a new Home Bible Study in the Book of Romans, another great year of Preteen Fellowship, and we will likely have Youth Fellowship in a new time slot. If you have any questions about discipleship ministries at JIBC, then please email office@thejibc.org and we will direct your email to the appropriate group leaders.
Audio improvements will be made in our worship area in the next week or two. If you have any questions about worship at JIBC, then please email: pastordave@thejibc.org
May the Lord Jesus, our King, be greatly glorified as we serve Him together at JIBC!
Christ Jesus - First in All Things!
July 21, 2011 by WebPastor
Filed under Weekly Words
Dear friend,
I am so thankful that my wife and I were able to attend a Christian college together. The motto of our Alma Mater is “In all things Christ Preeminent.” It comes from Colossians 1:18, “And He (Christ) is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.” Christ’s preeminence means He must be first in all things! He must be the number one priority in your life, because he is Master over everything.
That being the case, the Christian ought to be influenced by Christ in every area of life and in every field of discipline. The college we attended was not merely a Bible College, but a liberal arts school that taught music, language, science, education, art, philosophy, psychology, business, and much more. I appreciate the way the school curriculum proved that Jesus Christ has something important to say about each one of these subjects. In fact King Jesus rules over them all, because He is the Creator of the Universe!
Friend, do you recognize the authority of Jesus in your job, in your school, in your home, or even in your hobby? Ask yourself today how you can make sure He has first place in everything you do!
Your friend,
Stephen
Pastor Stephen St. John
How to Behave in the Household of God
1 Timothy 3:14-15 (ESV)
14I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.1 Timothy 2:8 (ESV)
8I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
What does the household of God (the church) look like?
1. The church is a spiritual household.
2. The church is complementary household.
3. The church is a holy household.
Click below for sermon audio:
1 Timothy 2:8
Announcements for Sunday July 17
JIBC is looking for a Church Office Manager. Please see one of the pastors for details if you or someone you know is interested.
Crazy Love Study starts again this Tuesday night at 7:30. For information, email pastorstephen@thejibc.org
We have begun planning for our next baptism service. If you are interested in being baptized, then please email office@thejibc.org
What does a church member do?
July 14, 2011 by WebPastor
Filed under Weekly Words
Dear friend,
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Mt. 28:18-19a).
The Lord Jesus has commanded us to make disciples. In this context, a disciple is a follower of Christ. A church member is a disciple of Jesus who follows Him in a particular way as part of a particular Christian community. How does a church member follow Jesus? What does a church member do?
I came across an old document in the archives or our church office. It made four clear statements about the meaning of membership. They come after an introduction and are written as four promises that members made. I am hoping you will find them helpful so I have republished them here:
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and on the profession of faith, having been baptized in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one Body of Christ.
- We promise, by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this Church, in knowledge, worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the Church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.
- We promise to maintain family and private devotions; to educate our children in the Christian faith; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in this world; to be just in our dealing, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the Kingdom of our Savior.
- We promise to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; and to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the teachings of our Savior, to secure it without delay.
- We promise that when we move from this place, we will unite as soon as possible with some other church where we can continue to carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.
These old promises define membership as a commitment to Jesus and others! If you are a church member, when was the last time you really thought about your commitment. Would you dare to make promises like those above? Are you wiling to bravely follow Christ as part of a body of believers? Would it not be beautiful if we all were?
Your friend,
Stephen
Pastor Stephen St. John
For All People
1 Timothy 2:1-7 (ESV)
1First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle ( I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Because God desires all people to be saved, we must reach out to all people.
1. We must pray for all people.
2. We must strive to live at peace with all people.
3. We must share the truth with all people.
Click below for sermon audio:
1 Timothy 2:1-7
How to Avoid a Wreck
1 Timothy 1:18-20 (ESV)
18This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
How can you avoid making a wreck of your faith?
1. You must remember God’s calling.
2. You must keep a good conscience.
3. You must be accountable to others.
Sorry, audio for this sermon is currently unavailable.