2024 December 1
European Surprise
Series: You Were Made for a Mission
12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
Paul and Silas in Prison
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.
English Ministry News
Annual Christmas Event: Friday December 20 6-9:30pm, Sign-Up gcgcny.link/christmas
Night of Music, Free Dinner, real stories
Baptism & Membership: December 15th, Contact Pastoral Team
Baptism: Patrica Li, Issac Ly, Isabella Wong, Sharon Tang, Winnie Chen, Michael Lam, Jadon Leung
Membership: Patrica Li, Matthew Davoodi, Ethan Chen, Nathan Tong, Wendy Ng
Adult Zone Fellowship: gcgcny.link/adultzone
Youth Sunday School: RBR (Regular Bible Reading), Lead by Pastor Santos
UNICOL may join too
Prayer Meetings
Tuesday – 7:15PM, Contact Pastoral Team
Sunday – 9:20AM in Conference Room
Volleyball Ministry – Contact: Terence Ma (terencecyma@gmail.com)
1. Casual Level – Wednesday 7:30-10:00pm
2. Semi-Competitive Level – Saturday Mornings
Weekly Signup Required – Regular GCGCNY attendees get priority Wednesdays if signed up
Join Discord Server – https://tinyurl.com/gcgcnyvball
The Bar Ministry: Serving singles in Christ. Contact Roland or Haidan. www.thebarministry.wordpress.com
Professional Christian Counseling—up to 8 free sessions to GCGCNY attendees. Contact Rev. Ted.
Rahab Ministry—a faith-based ministry, empowering women and children in the sex trade to be liberated and restored. For more info, contact 647-992-8029 or visit www:rahabministry.ca
Bible In a Year Group:
– Pastor Michelle: Hard copy
Church News
Church financial needs: As of the end of September, there is a deficit of more than 200,000. With the expected expenditure of the year, we need more than 510,000 from general offering in Nov and Dec in order to break even. Please pray that God will provide the needs of the church.
Cantonese Baptism and Transfer: December 1, 2024
Baptism: Gianna Yau, Chun Fung Suen, Tse Long Tsang, Elsa Chan
Transfer: Mui Ying Jenny Yim-Ng, Caroline Sin, Frank Yu, Vidy Ko
GCGCNY 30th Anniversary Videos: gcgcny.link/30
Community Buddies Grace Community Service
A friendly space for people on the autistic spectrum or with other special needs
We Offer: one-on-one mentorship, social group, psycho-education, information and resource, recreation, virtual and in-person support for participants and caregivers, all services are free
Interested in participating or volunteering? gcgcny.link/buddies
Serving Opportunities
We are Looking For:
• Sunday School Teachers and Assistants (contact Pastor Santos: santos.chan@gcgcny.org)
• Service Ushers—must be able to attend service in-person (contact Roland: c.rolandchan@gmail.com)
• Genesis (Youth Ministry) Adult Leader (contact Santos Chan) gcgcny.link/youthleader
• “Rooted” (Post-secondary Discipleship Groups) Leaders (contact Elim or Miga)
• Community Buddies Grace Community Services (gcgcny.link/buddies)
Last Week’s Attendance:
– Cantonese 199
– Mandarin 131
– English 121
– Children 44
– Tendercare 20
– Prayer Meetings: 70
Last Week’s Offering:
– General 27,420 (YTD 790,242.35)
– Building 140 (YTD 13,522)
– Special Fund Mission 175 (YTD 23,562.57)
– Foodbank 165 (YTD 16,494.80)