Can a City Be Transformed?

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2

by Os HillmanTuesday, April 29 2008

"All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord." (emphasis mine Acts 9:35).

Can an entire city be transformed for Jesus Christ? The book of Acts reveals that at least one city was. There are four key ingredients required among its Christian leaders to see a city transformed. These include prayer, humility, unity, and knowledge of God's ways.

Prayer

In every city in which transformation has taken place, believers have come together to pray for their city. Prayer changes the spiritual climate of a city. Some of the main areas of influence that must be the focus of our prayers include churches and businesses; the legal, political, educational and medical fields; and the media/entertainment industry. Workplace leaders must be strategically aligned with intercessors to impact their city.

Humility

God uses men and women who recognize that they need each other and who do not seek glory for their work. "He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way" (Ps. 25:9). The workplace leaders that God is using today care little about being in the limelight.

Unity

Jesus said, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:23). God calls each of us individually and corporately to represent Christ to the world, but our independence, pride and egos often prevent us from becoming unified in the purposes of Christ.

Knowledge of God's Ways

Sometimes leaders can move in presumption instead of in a faith that is rooted in knowledge of God's ways. Such was the case of David, who wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem. He was zealous for God and celebrated as he brought the Ark into the city. However, the ark was being carried into the city on a cart instead of by priests on poles, as God required. When a man named Uzzah reached out to catch the Ark when the oxen stumbled, he was immediately struck dead by God. David was devastated. He lacked a knowledge of God's ways.

Do you want to see your city transformed? Make sure the three ingredients of prayer, unity and knowledge of God's ways exist in your leadership team.

"Walk for Life" Mission Project Update

Gaye Foster reports that you guys committed $695.00 this past Sunday for the Pregnancy Care Center "Walk for Life" (our "first" mission project since launching our leadership teams). Way to go guys!

We will give you another opportunity to sign up this coming Sunday. Thanks again.

New Leadership Teams

I trust that you were excited to learn last week about our new leadership teams and the many things we have planned over the next year. There are seven teams and each of you will have an opportunity to serve. The teams are: Care Group, Fellowship, Ministry Coordination, Outreach, Prayer, and Missions.

If you missed class last week, be sure to come this Sunday as we explain the teams again.

Luncheon & Fellowship is This Sunday!

Don't Forget! Our Sunday School luncheon is this Sunday, April 20 immediately following Sunday School.

Beware of Unusual Circumstances

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman
Friday, April 18 2008

"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit?" (1 Cor 12:7-9).

Whenever something unusual happens in daily life, these are often signs that God is up to something. We must have a heightened sense of awareness of what God may want to do in these situations. My mentor once shared how he was upgraded on an airline unexpectedly. A woman sat down next to him who was very troubled. He began to quietly pray for the woman and God gave him supernatural insights that her problem related to the fact that she had not forgiven her mother in a family-related issue. He decided to politely share his insight. The woman was shocked. My mentor began to minister to her on the airplane and ultimately led her to Christ.

God is raising the spiritual bar for Christians who want to impact the world for Christ today. He wants to break through into people's lives supernaturally by giving them insights into the needs of people in order to bring them to Christ.

Jesus often spoke supernaturally into the lives of others based on the circumstance of the moment. He often spoke of their current condition in life and invited them to make a change.

As you go about your day, there are situations that we can find ourselves in that are open doors for bringing Christ into the circumstance. In fact, He is the one orchestrating the circumstance!

Next time an unusual situation develops, be aware that God may be creating such a circumstance to bring His glory into the situation.

Urgent Prayer Request

Received this from Melissa Norman. Would you take time to pray now?

My brother Raymond was in a serious accident yesterday evening. He was hit by a car while on his bicycle in New York City where he lives with his wife Jen. So far they've determined he has two bleeds under his skull, a broken foot and two fractured ribs. They operated on one of the bleeds overnight and are watching the other one. He's currently in ICU but I don't know the name of the hospital yet and do not have many details right now. My mom and step-dad are on their way up to NYC right now.

Please also pray that this would be the event in Raymond's life that turns him back to Jesus. I spoke with Raymond a few months ago about his relationship with the Lord and although he was baptized as a young boy he told me he felt like he didn't understand what he was doing and didn't know now what he believed. He said he believes that he lives a good enough life that if there is a heaven he will probably go.

Please forward this to anyone who will pray.

Thank you so much.

Lunch & Fellowship in 2 weeks!

Mark your calendars for April 20 when the Sunday School class will be having a covered-dish luncheon for the entire family immediately following Sunday School. We will be passing sign-up sheets for attendance, collecting the per family charge of $7.50 and having you sign-up for covered dishes, etc. over the next several weeks. Hope you can make it.

News from the Curlees

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20

Prayer Requests and Praises Praise God for a wonderful trip to Thailand for our yearly meetings and a chance to reconnect with others. Praise God for Easter and the ways we were able to share with others about Jesus' resurrection. Pray for Keith as he prepares for his big language test. Pray for our family as we have recently felt "under attack" by the enemy in different personal areas. Pray we will be close as a family and not lose focus. Pray for our House of Blessing church as we change locations for a two month trial period. Pray more people will come to know Jesus through the members of our church. This month's photo: This photo was taken of one of Levi's classmates. She and Levi are good buddies. She is very dressed up for kindergarten graduation pictures. This is quite a big deal in Taiwan. The students have two days of photos in four different outfits: normal clothes, cap and gown, and two "dress-ups". This girl chose a traditional Chinese chipao (dress). Levi chose a policeman outfit and a ninja outfit.

March/April 2008 Verse of the month: "Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you." II Thessalonians 3:18 Please join us in prayer for the people of Taiwan. Pray that the message of the Lord will spread rapidly among this precious population. Pray that the many strongholds of idol worship, ancestor worship, and fear will be replaced by joy and freedom of knowing the Lord and His love for them. Yearly meetings in Thailand: In early February, we spent two weeks in Thailand for our yearly meetings. It was a great time of worship, learning, and fellowship with many friends we haven't seen since last year. Milly enjoyed her first year as a "youth." She was able to stay in a suite with other girls her age and enjoy a wonderful program. The boys really loved their classes, too. It was a real treat to be in the warm weather during an unusually cold winter in Taiwan. House of Blessing Church: Our church has been growing lately! Through some new believers, others have been reached with the gospel, and some previous attendees have been coming again. We have decided to change locations to a larger facility (a middle school) for a two month trial period. We have also started monthly church family nights. Easter Sunday was very special service including singing, drama, lunch fellowship and an Easter egg hunt for the children. We had several first-time visitors, so please pray they will come again. Language: Keith and Page are still in language school. Page has cut back quite a bit, but still wants to study through a few more books. Keith is preparing for his big language test for the next two months or so - he will have his test on June 10. Wade and Milly have requested to take Chinese tutoring this summer, so we may let them go to our school for one-on-one tutoring for a few weeks this summer. English at Levi's school: Page has started teaching English on most Fridays at Levi's kindergarten. She rotates to each of the three kindergarten classes for 30 minute lessons. She is hoping to make it through the alphabet by the end of the school year. She also has given each student an English name (not easy to do with 81 students!) With each lesson she tries to plant a seed of the gospel that the students will hopefully carry with them. Please pray Jesus will use these simple phrases to touch their hearts. Morrison news: Keith found out he will be a full-time math teacher next school year. He will be teaching five math classes. He very well may be teaching Milly in math! We are excited that he will finally be using his gifts in teaching on a consistent basis. The other big Morrison news is that the elementary and middle schools will be torn down this summer to make room for a brand new facility! Classrooms next year will be in trailers as a result The past few months, several holidays have been celebrated. The following few paragraphs are descriptions of each of these: Chinese New Year: February 7 marked Chinese New Year. For the Taiwanese this is the equivalent to our Christmas or Thanksgiving holiday where extended family comes together. This year the schools were closed for three weeks. This Is the "Year of the Mouse". Around this time, new clothing is worn, houses are thoroughly cleaned out (to sweep away bad luck and be able to receive good luck), and gifts are given. The most popular gift is a "hong bao" or red envelope containing money. Special foods are eaten during different meals around this important holiday. Religious activities include cleaning out and decorating the family's alter and idols. Lantern Festival: About two weeks after Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival is celebrated. This time is always a full moon, and there are festivals all over the island. Many lanterns are made and displayed. This year thousands of Mickey Mouse lanterns were made for the kids in honor of the "Year of the Mouse". We had the opportunity to go as a family to one of the festivals. It was quite amazing. Tomb Sweeping Day: April 5 (actually April 4 due to leap year) is Tomb Sweeping Day. During this day, the kids have a vacation from school, and many offices are closed. The day is set aside to honor ancestors at grave sites. People pray before their ancestors, clean their tombs, and offer food, drink, and paper-made items to them. It is a time for families to spend together on outings and often flying kites..

Curlee Kids Corner: The Curlee kids have had an exciting few months with the trip to Thailand, Hunter's birthday, and a week of spring break. The first photo above was taken of Hunter and Wade in Thailand. They had their faces painted to represent their teams for the children's program (notice they are on opposite teams). The middle photo was taken at the Nine Aboriginal Tribes amusement park during spring break. The kids are posing like totem poles. Other spring break outings we took were bike riding, science museum and visiting a huge department store. The last photo was taken of Hunter at his rock-climbing birthday party. He is eight now!

Thank you for remaining faithful to His work. We are glad that the Lord has partnered us with you to tell the people in Taiwan about Him. Thanks also for all the encouragement you have sent our way. We love to hear from you, so please email us at kpcurlee@pobox.com if you have a chance. Or you can visit our blog at www.kpcurlee.blogspot.com and leave a comment!