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Monday Group Bible Study

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Gratia church held a Monday group Bible study on October 25 and they studied Romans 8. There were two newcomers who joined it along with regular attendees and the sharing after the Bible study was very touching and graceful.

“ This Bible study is really deep and touched me so much. When I think about the comparison mind governed by the flesh versus the mind governed by the spirit, it hits me how I am living. I obey God in order to get things from God versus I obey God to get God and to delight and resemble him in love is a huge difference. I want to find back my original relationship with God by reflecting this message.” shared Alice.

We pray that all members can continue to grow deeper in the Word of God and experience God’s grace every moment.

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Gratia Graceful Joint Retreat with Berkeley Students

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Gratia church and Berkeley students had a very graceful joint retreat on October 9. They studied Genesis 6-9, the story of Noah. There were two Bible studies in the morning and had an outdoor fellowship in the afternoon.

“We learned about Fall of Adam and how sin spread in Cain and see results in the time of Noah. How is history? It is divided; a fallen history of sin in the world and a righteous history of God building the Kingdom of God. We learn the history of God through Noah how God judges the evilness of the world but He continues the history through the righteous ones. There’s time for judgment and all evil will be judged precisely, sin always has its limit. The God of love is also God of justice, in love, there is justice and evilness is not just forgiven but judged.” said pastor Walker in the Bible study.

Students received lots of grace through the time of retreat and held the sharing time one by one and prayed for each other. After lunch, they hiked a short trail near Berkeley and members were able to get to know each other deeply through talking and sharing their life.

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Gratia Continues on Teaching and Evangelism

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Gratia church had graceful individual and group Bible studies. Ivan, Kellie and Bill had individual Bible studies with pastor Walker and Julia. Each of them continues to learn the Sermon on the Mount, Galatians and Romans and every time they receive lots of grace and deepen their understanding on the Word of God.

In the late afternoon, there was group Bible study with regular students and studied Romans 6. Afterward, they shared their struggles in their sins honestly and openly and prayed for each other.

Pastor Walker and Julia went out for the campus evangelism in the afternoon and made  appointments who wants to join the Bible study this week. They want to continue on teaching and evangelism and pray that God can let them grow in His grace.

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Gratia Holds Dedication Service at New Location

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On September 26, 2021, Gratia Church held a dedication service for its new location where it will hold Wednesday Service, Friday Prayer Meeting, Bible studies, and other fellowship activities. Gratia will continue to hold Sunday service at its chapel location which was previously dedicated, but held a special Sunday service for this day.

In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng spoke about rebuilding which was the situation of Nehemiah and the Israelite nation.  In the same way, we are relocation and building a new location after a pandemic.  All of us are also rebuilding our lives after the pandemic.  

What we see from Nehemiah is concern after hearing about the devastation from his brothers that came back from Jerusalem.  Nehemiah could have easily ignored it being around the grand palace, but he had a deep concern.   For us, nothing will ever change if we don’t begin with concern for this fallen world and the restoration of God’s Kingdom.  

Also, Nehemiah had conviction for God’s greatness, who is higher than even the kings of the world.  In the face of God’s greatness, he humbly confessed his own sinfulness.  This is the honesty of Nehemiah that it wasn’t someone else’s sin, but it is all of our sin.  He didn’t try to blame anyone, but owned up to the problem.

In the final part of Nehemiah’s prayer, we see the confidence he has in God’s promise that God will do what He has already said.  At the same time, Nehemiah was personally committed to God using him to complete His work.  He didn’t pray for someone else to do it, but he prayed for himself to be used by God. May this prayer of Nehemiah strengthen us and may Gratia Church be a place of great prayer.

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Gratia Ministers Visit A Member After Surgery

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Gratia ministers Pastor Walker and Julia visited Kellie who received surgery on her leg and now she is under-recovery. Kellie was very grateful for their visit, prayers, and care.

“I felt strongly God’s presence in the morning. Through my pain, I realized the pain of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross and never cried like this before. I felt that God already healed me and I can walk freely. I don’t know the path before me but I want to be used for God’s purpose. I remember the last Bible study I had with pastor Walker right before my surgery and it was Romans 5, suffering brings perseverance, character, and hope and I believe in God’s hands that He trains me under all circumstances.” said Kellie.

 

We pray for her fast recovery and she can dwell in the presence of God during this time. 

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Gratia Graceful First Sunday Service at New Chapel

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On August 22, 2021, Gratia Church held its official dedication service for the new Chapel, located on the USF campus. 

A video was shown that was made by brother Mario, that shared the history in pictures of Gratia throughout the years leading up the move. 

To be able to hold service at the new location was only by the grace of God, that a church could be planted right on the campus, next to the place where Gratia ministers evangelize. The chapel is located in the upper room of St. Ignatius Church, a catholic church started in 1855 in San Francisco. The leadership at St. Ignatius Church warmly welcomed Gratia Church to hold services in one of their room.

Please pray for SF Gratia Church in its new location on the USF campus. May many USF students, souls in SF, and in the Bay Area truly come to faith in Jesus Christ and live for God’s glory and Kingdom.

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Gratia Church Receives Key for New Church Building By God’s Grace

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Gratia church received the key for the new church building on August 12 by the grace of God. The new building is located 2 blocks away from the USF campus and it is very suitable location for the USF students can come to the Bible studies and fellowships. The USF chapel which was just moved yesterday is for the Sunday service, this location will be used for daily Bible studies, fellowship, and office room.

It is expected to take 2 weeks of remodeling and want to hold the dedication service by the end of August. We pray that these changes can bring more young people come to know Jesus Christ and they become the cornerstone for God’s Kingdom.

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Gratia Sunday Service: Spiritual Family

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On June 6, 2021, 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 Mark 20:20-35 entitled “Spiritual Family”

In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng spoke about the line Jesus draws when it comes to what a spiritual family is. Jesus is clear that a spiritual family is the one who does the will of the Father. It’s that Jesus himself is doing God’s Will, even though the Pharisee tried to accuse him of using the power of Beelzebub. However, it’s clear that all good things come from God, so the Lord performing miraculous signs is obviously from God.

Jesus’ physical family opposition is a bit different than the Jewish leaders, they simply think Jesus is “out of his mind”. This is the same accusation that many of us can get from our own families as we do God’s Will. It is because family values can clash against God’s Will. Family values may come from the world and Jesus draws a strict line, saying it’s only about doing God’s Will. Anything deviating from God’s Will is sinful and part of the world.

That being said, God did place us in our families, allowing us to be born into our families for a reason. Also, our families are blessed through us. Therefore, we must pray for our physical families to also be spiritual family as well. It is that the bond of the Holy Spirit is much more powerful than the bond of blood relations. Therefore, we must build our families to be united in the Holy Spirit to do God’s Will.

Also, we must remember that ultimately, we are building a spiritual family in the church. May we remember this live for God’s Kingdom together.

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Graceful Outdoor Fellowship On Memorial Day

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Gratia church members had a graceful outdoor fellowship on May 31, on Memorial Day on Pacifica Beach right next to the Half Moon Bay. It was a bright sunny day that they enjoyed being outside in the warm weather, playing on the water, had lunch, and hiking on the trail by the beach shore. It was the first time of in-person fellowship ever since COVID and members were very happy to meet together. May the grace of God strengthen each other and continue the path of faith to grow together in Jesus Christ.

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Gratia Sunday Service: Why the Resurrection is Important

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On April 11, 2021, 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 John 20:19-31 entitled “That by believing, you may have life in his name”.

In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng first explained about the connection between the ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit, 10 day later. The Lord’s ascension and return to the Father opened up a new era of the Holy Spirit. When we return to our Father in heaven, it is also a new era, the seed on earth sprouting a new vitality of life that is unimaginable as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, the chapter on resurrection.

Second, doubting Thomas needed to see and feel the nail marks of Jesus, but the Lord told him to stop doubting and believe. We also need to stop doubting whether or not the Lord really resurrected.  There is 1500 years of prophecy of the Lord with multiple prophets over multiple eras, multiple recording of the fulfillment by Jesus, multiple skeptics scrutinizing the Bible, yet the resurrection holds up in history. On Easter, the Lord rose.

Finally, there is an even more important reason why the resurrection is important. Apostle Paul says that if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, our faith is futile and we are still stuck in sin. It shows us that just as the ascension is closely tied with our own return to the Father after we die, the resurrection has a deep connection to our life here on earth. It’s that we don’t have to die of our sin to live a new life, because Jesus already died and rose again. All we need to do is accept the Lord and we can live a new life and be born again. It means that our life that we live on earth is meaningful just as the Lord’s resurrection is meaningful.

May we live our lives with the faith and power of resurrection for God’s glory and Kingdom.

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