Minister Michael John Ford preached the opening message where he unpacked many passages of scripture to teach the meaning of the Lord’s cross, his death, resurrection, ascension and the great commission.
The minister opened with Mark 8:34, “Today we will learn about the cross of Christ. The love that comes from the cross, and the resurrection of eternal life is the core message of the Gospel of God. We should pay attention to its order: first is the cross and then follows the resurrection.
Christians, we Study the cross of Christ as the way to know salvation and how to live a saved life, know true love and how to love and know the gospel. It also fixes misconceptions about God.We say that the cross of Christ is God’s grace, and it is. But we must understand that this grace is costly grace. As Christians, we don’t want to cheapen the grace of God.
Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. There are many that cheapen the grace of God and use it as a ‘I’m free to sin card’ and a ‘I’m free to live how I want to live card’. Many use the grace of God and don’t even acknowledge the price paid for it.”
After, a time of sharing over the message was held before lunch that was prepared by Minister Hyunhee Park.
Following that, YEF leader Danielle White taught about the Holy Spirit beginning in the book of Acts 2:2-3 explaining the early church, and how they are the model for us, today.
She preached saying, ” We’re seeing the beginning of the work of the Holy Spirit. We are witnessing this eternal, unlimited power of God resting on those who are limited. And thusly we can say that they are experiencing something amazing, right? More than just listening, we must think deeply about this. We, who are limited, are given the opportunity to experience the power of our unlimited Father. The one who created everything has given us this gift, that is accessible to all people. We mustn’t become numb to this truth and if we find we are, we must pray. It’s easy to get this way when reading the Word, especially if we’ve heard about something so many times, but the Word is like living water and should be flowing within us. If we find that we are blocked up like a dam, we must destroy that which is blocking us from receiving grace.
You could wonder if the Holy Spirit really works like this. Let’s say there are two people; one is standing behind a wall and the other is out in the open. The one out in the open says, “The wind blew my hair,” to another person, is that person going to say, “No, that’s just something you think is happening, because I didn’t see or feel it,”? To the ones who experience this, it is very true and precise. The one behind the wall just doesn’t know, because they’re behind a wall and didn’t experience anything. So, when did the Holy Spirit come to the apostles? It was when they were gathered in prayer. Before we talked about how it was important to look at how they gathered. They gathered together in prayer and in worship to God. And they waited; believing in the promise of God (that His Spirit will be poured out onto all people). They were able to experience such a precious and amazing thing because they believed.”
Following the message, attendants shared and asked questions followed by a time of prayer. Prophecy was given, as God declared that there are still so many lost in darkness, and though the church is made up of weak people, the lord has faith in them, and they can be the ones that fulfill his dream of the kingdom, reaching out to the lost.
The day concluded as the church leisurely played board games for fellowship inside while it rained peacefully outside.After the message, attendants shared and asked questions followed by a time of prayer. Prophecy was given, as God declared that there are still so many lost in darkness, and though the church is made up of weak people, the lord has faith in them, and they can be the ones that fulfill his dream of the kingdom, reaching out to the lost.The day concluded as the church leisurely played board games for fellowship inside while it rained peacefully outside.