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Gratia Sunday Service: I Have Seen the Lord

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On April 23, 2023, Gratia Church held a graceful Sunday service, full of God’s word, praise, worship, and fellowship. The sermon delivered by Pastor Peter Tzeng, was on John 20:1-18 entitled “I have seen the Lord”.

In the sermon, Pastor Walker spoke about Mary, one of the women recorded visiting Jesus’ tomb after His crucifixion. Interestingly, each Gospel records a different number of women at the tomb, with John focusing on Mary alone, emphasizing her great love for Jesus. Mary goes to the sealed tomb with a longing heart filled with sadness, but even in death, her love for the Lord remains strong. When she discovers the stone has been rolled away, she informs Peter and John, both of whom also loved Jesus deeply. John’s account emphasizes the love these individuals had for Jesus, and how that love compelled them to honor one another. The Bible captures real people with strengths and weaknesses, and it is through their love that they bear witness to the empty tomb, a testament to Jesus’ victory over death.

Despite their love, Mary and the disciples did not initially understand the meaning of the empty tomb. Love brings them to the tomb, allowing them to overcome the power of death, but something is still missing. In their faith, they have love for God and for their fellow believers, but they need to go further and witness the resurrected Jesus Christ. It is through understanding the Scriptures and meditating on the meaning of the cross that believers can move beyond the tomb and embrace the fullness of resurrection.

Mary encounters the resurrected Jesus but fails to recognize Him at first, as her sorrow prevents her from seeing the truth. As she converses with Jesus, her tears are wiped away, allowing her to recognize her Lord and exclaim “Rabonni!” This moment symbolizes the true meaning of Easter – not just the crucifixion, but the resurrection that follows. Jesus’ resurrection transcends the limits of earthly understanding, as it involves the transformation of the perishable into the imperishable. This resurrection is not only a future promise but a present reality, as believers can become witnesses to the resurrected Lord through the proclamation of the Word and the sacraments. 

As Mary testifies, “I have seen the Lord!”, let us also strive to be witnesses to the resurrected Jesus Christ, embracing the transformative power of the cross and resurrection in our lives.

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Gratia concludes Easter Retreat with Full Grace

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On Easter Sunday April 9, Gratia concluded their Easter Retreat with a full day of service, bible study, testimony, and fellowship. Easter Service was led by Pastor Walker, who spoke about the resurrection of the Jesus. Comparing the recording in Matthew with Paul’s explanation on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, Pastor Walker exhorted retreat attendees to live with faith and the power of resurrection in their lives. Easter Service also featured a communion celebration.

The last Bible Study in the afternoon was led by Pastor Esther, who spoke about the road to Emmaus and helped retreat attendees burn with passion for the Word to see the resurrected Lord. After a full day of retreat, members shared fellowship meal, activities, and prayer. Easter Retreat was a graceful time, please pray for all retreat attendees to hold onto the grace that they received. 

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Guest Pastor Speaks at Wednesday Service

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At Wednesday night’s service, the guest speaker pastor Larry delivered an inspiring message to the congregation. His sermon was based on Exodus 17, Jehosaphat, and Daniel’s three friends in the fire.

The speaker focused on the concept of spiritual battle and how it affects our daily lives. He encouraged the audience to put on the armor of God and fight the spiritual battle with faith and determination. Throughout the message, the pastor emphasized the importance of remaining steadfast in the face of adversity. He used the biblical accounts of Jehosaphat, Daniel’s three friends in the fire, and Moses’ victory over the Amalekites to illustrate how God empowers His people to overcome even the toughest challenges. The message was well-received by the congregation, who were inspired and uplifted by the pastor’s words.

Following the service, the congregation participated in a time of breaking bread, where they shared food and fellowship with one another. The service was a reminder of the power of faith and the importance of community, especially during difficult times. The pastor’s message left a lasting impact on the congregation, and many left feeling encouraged and motivated to continue the spiritual battle.

They had warm and delicious fellowship and it was a great time of sharing each other’s faith and they were encouraged greatly by each other’s work for God’s Kingdom. 

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Gratia First Sunday Service and New Year Celebration

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On January 1, 2023, Gratia Church held a graceful Sunday service, full of God’s word, praise, worship, and fellowship. The sermon delivered by Pastor Walker Tzeng was on Ephesians 4:20-24 entitled “Put on the new self”.

In the sermon, Pastor Walker encouraged church members to start the new year with Jesus Christ in their hearts. First, its about remember our first heart when we came to faith in Jesus Christ and never losing that passionate faith. Next, its about putting off our old self which has been corrupted by deceitful desires of sin in this world, covering up the beautiful image of God we were created in. Then, its about accepting by faith Jesus Christ in our hearts, the perfect one who lived holy and righteous. Finally, its about putting on our new self, not by ourselves, but the power God who transforms us to be Christ-like and in His glory.

After the service, church members went to Pastor Walker and Pastor Julia’s house to celebrate New Years by making dumplings together. It was a joyful time to share in God’s grace and start the New Year giving the first back to God.

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Gratia Concludes Christmas Retreat with Overflowing Grace

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Gratia concluded its three-day joint retreat near Lake Tahoe, California. Like the previous day, it was a full day of Bible Studies and fellowship, and also included an overflowing grace-filled Sunday Service with baptism and communion.

The Sunday worship service was delivered by Pastor Walker explaining the historic and universal meaning of the Word, or logos, becoming flesh in Jesus Christ. The Sunday service also featured the baptism and had a communion ceremony, where attendees took the bread and wine together in remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ and his continual sustaining of our lives of faith.

The evening concluded with a final prayer meeting filled with grace and the Holy Spirit. God led many retreat attendees to pray for ministers, just as many ministers had prayed for students in previous prayer meetings. Many members had the prayer topic of holding onto the grace they received during the retreat.

Through three days of the Christmas retreat, God filled all attendees to be filled with grace and united them in the love of Jesus Christ. Please pray that God may carry all retreat attendees to fulfill His glory and Kingdom.

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Gratia Held Fall Retreat on Labor Day 

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On Saturday September 2, Gratia Church held their first full day of the Fall Retreat. The Fall Retreat is a time to reunite after being away for the summer and prepare for a new semester of evangelism and missions. The retreat was held in Sacramento, the capital of California.

The day started with opening service led by Pastor Sharon who preached on John 2 and described the qualitative life change that the Lord brings. For the first Bible Study, Pastor Walker preached from John 5 about the invalid man being healed and the heart of faith that is called in effort to stand up for God.

The retreat also featured games and a walk outdoors that was a time for attendees to have deep fellowship together. Also, attendees shared talents by performing in a talent show with a Christian skits, songs, piano playing, and even a Christian rap. Fellowship meals were full of God’s grace. The day ended in a graceful prayer meeting where the Holy Spirit touched the members.

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Gratia Monday Group Bible Study Overflows Grace

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Gratia church offers group Bible study every Monday and regular Bible study students joined it on August 22, 2022. They studied Romans 3 and shared freely about the message after that. Some members asked questions like how we can define sin, and how we can explain grace to non-believers. It was very graceful to see how the attendees were strengthened by sharing their own testimony. We pray that God pours down abundant grace to all members throughout the week.

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