Download - ACC News Letter Dec 2011 Edition
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Contact Us:
Pastor Isaac or Pastor Ravi c/o:
Holy Trinity Church
Burlington Road
West Bromwich
West Midlands B70 6LF
THE ASIAN CALVARY
United Reform Church, Lea Rd, Wolverhampton
Asian Calvary Church, Trinity St, West Bromwich
Asian Calvary Church, Derby Street, Burton
Christian Fellowship, Witton Lane, West Bromwich
December 2011 Edition
Business Name
Highlights:
Pages 6: Notice-Board
Page:14 Sunday
School Fun!
By Pastor Ravi Pages 4-5
The Gift List Pages: 4-5
Sibling Rivalry: Fighting for
Presents! Page: 12
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Welcome to the December edition of the Asian Calvary
Newsletter.
Finally the day is about to arrive and I cannot wait to celebrate
the birth of my Lord Jesus Christ, Happy Birthday Jesus!.
This special edition is packed with all things Christmas,
including why we have a Turkey and what is Boxing Day?
We also have a special Christmas message from our very own
Pastor Ravi. I trust you will find this edition both interesting and full of
blessing for you and your family.
Remember the real reason for Christmas: Jesus is the Reason for the Season!.
I Thank you personally for your Support, God Bless you all. Merry Christmas.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one
another without grumbling (1 Peter 4:8-9).”
believe it is our mission to:
♦ Spread the Gospel message & help the lost
— through faith in Christ
♦ Assimilate all into a local church fellowship
♦ Cultivate all in order to help them grow
spiritually
♦ Equip all for their own personal, fruitful
ministry
God Bless You — Your Friend & Brother......Bal Manku
Bal Singh Newsletter Editor Email: [email protected] Phone: +44 7824 348276
WELCOME — December’11 Edition
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Men being Men...
14
Kids Corner...
3
Youth Event!..
4
Pastor’s Pen… by Pastor Ravi : LUKE 1: 39-40
So now it’s time to think about the upcoming Christmas season. Again,
we’ll probably eat and drink too much, and watch too much TV. But the Christmas season has many other distractions, too, probably more than any
other holiday. We have to worry about shopping (getting just the right gifts for all of the
people on our lists). Many of those same gifts will then have to be returned
the following week (including clothes that don’t fit, and items the person already has or doesn’t like). The shops are crowded at this time of year,
and the traffic and parking are almost impossible. Christmas decorations need to be purchased and taken out of storage.
Putting up those decorations takes a lot of time and energy, because it has to be done "just right". There are decorations for the windows, the doors,
and the outside. And let’s not forget decorating the tree, with tinsel, lights,
balls, and all types of other keepsakes we’ve gathered over the years. I’ve saved the biggest material distraction until last, and that’s money! We need
to be able to pay for all of the other distractions I just mentioned, and a lot of us overspend in trying to buy all of those things that we think we need.
I want to talk about Mary and Elizabeth’s readiness for the birth of the
Messiah. In Luke 1, verses 39-40, We see that immediately after the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, telling her that she would give birth to the
Messiah, that Mary "got ready" and "hurried" to visit her cousin Elizabeth.
I want to look at what these two women of faith can teach us about our
own readiness to celebrate our Messiah’s birth, as well as our readiness to see Jesus when He returns at any time to rapture us into heaven.
Mary and Elizabeth have a number of things in common. First, they are cousins, related by family ancestry.
Both women also have unusual and miraculous pregnancies. Both women would have been religious outcasts to some extent. Elizabeth
lived most of her life unable to have children. Mary was a young girl who, although engaged to Joseph but not yet married to him, became pregnant.
According to Leviticus law, she could have been stoned for the sin of
fornication.
While this didn’t happen to her, no doubt people in her culture gossiped
and spoke badly of her for the sin of which they wrongfully judged her,
just as people undoubtedly did to Elizabeth for what they mistakenly
assumed about her.
Despite what people back then might have thought and said about them,
we know from the Bible that both were women of faith.
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Christmas Facts...
What is Christmas…?
The word "Christmas" means "Mass of Christ," la
ter
shortened to "Christ-Mass." The even s
horter form
"Xmas" - first used in Europe in the 1
500s - is derived
from the Greek alphabet, in which X is
the first letter of
Christ's name: Xristos, therefore "X-Mass
Why do we call it Boxing Day
…?
26 December was traditionally known as St
. Stephen's Day, after
the first Christian martyr. It is called
Boxing Day because in the
old days lords & ladies of England
presented gifts in boxes to
their servants on 26 December in appreciatio
n of the work they
had done over the Christmas celebrations.
Why do we have a Christmas
Tree…?
In the 7th century a monk from Devonshire, we
nt to
Germany to teach the Word of God. Lege
nd has it that he used
the triangular shape of the Fir Tr
ee to describe the Holy Trinity of
God the Father, Son and Holy Sp
irit. The converted people
began to revere the Fir tree as G
od's Tree. the tree became a
symbol of Christianity, and was being
hung upside-down from
the ceiling as a sign of Christianit
y. The Tree of Life and stood for
the eternal life of Christ..
Why say Merry Christmas…?
When the saying Merry Christmas first came
about, the widely accepted meaning of the wo
rd was peaceful or
blessed. Thus, wishing someone a Merry Christmas is truly
wishing them a blessed or peaceful Mass of Christ.
Why do we eat Turkey..?
Turkey is eaten at Christmas because it wa
s an
expensive luxury food item until the 1950’s.
Although the price of a Turkey is
cheaper now –the
tradition has remained.
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Fighting for Presents—Sibling Rivalry...
It’s that time of year again, when being a Parent can prove to be expensive & a headache. If you have a fairly young child or newborn then you can normally get away with making your own choice for a gift. Without any risk of back-chat.
However if you have teenagers or numerous children in one Family, then this can prove to be a real nightmare. So many requests and tantrums and mood swings, getting the right present and keeping everyone happy is an impossible task. Believe me I know, my kids are a perfect example!. It is therefore quite common then for brothers & sisters to think you treat each of them differently. My own sister used to think I was the favourite –because I was the boy of the house!. If I got to stay up late one weeknight or I was given new clothes, or got to go out with my friends—she would get into one of her moods and scream the house down and not talk to me for months.! Although to our Parents we are all equal—its hard for us to understand this sometimes and unfairly criticize our family. It’s only when we become parents that we realise what our parents went through. This problem even existed 2000 years ago - Joseph & his brothers also had some sibling rivalry. The brothers were already jealous because their father showed favouritism towards Joseph, but Joseph made the situation worse when he boasted about his dreams. After being sold into slavery in Egypt, Joseph learned some valuable lessons, including how to speak carefully. When you are tempted to brag about what you have got or done, be sensitive to the feelings of others. Instead of boasting, thank God who has given you these gifts. So this Christmas be sure to thank God for having such wonderful parents and loving brothers & sisters. Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ, so do this together - we are all equal in the eyes of God.
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Pastor’s Pen.. By Pastor Ravi : LUKE 1: 39-40
They were ready for what God had planned for them, and were willing to
be used in whatever way God desired. Today, as New Testament believers who live in the Church Age, we look ahead to the second
coming of Jesus the Messiah. During Advent, we try to go back in our minds and spirits to a time before Jesus’ birth. We remind ourselves how
He came, born humbly in a stable in Bethlehem. We remember why He
came, to ultimately die horribly on a wooden cross to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world. In this sense, we prepare for His first
coming, as Mary and Elizabeth did. Just as we today have so many social and religious distractions that get
in the way of our readiness, so did believers back at the time of Jesus’ birth. Their big distraction was religion. Instead of knowing the Old
Testament Scriptures and walking in the spirit of God’s word, the religious
leaders (the Scribes and Pharisees) had replaced faith and the true spiritual life with religion, a system of man-made laws for the people to
follow. For instance, if mud were to splash onto your garment on the Sabbath, you were not allowed to wash it, because that would be work.
Instead, you could let the mud dry on the garment, squeeze the muddy
area one time, and brush the mud away with your hand once. Anything more than that and you were then considered to be doing work on the
Sabbath. There were hundreds of these kinds of rules. Christianity today can be a religion that gets in the way of believers in
much the same way. The spiritual life becomes a set of do’s and don’ts, such as: I do go to church on Christmas Eve or morning; I only listen to
"godly" Christmas music and radio stations; I don’t let my children believe
in Santa Claus. Believers today who observe Christianity as a religion, as basically a list of do’s and don’ts, are usually not practicing the true
spiritual life as the Bible teaches. But just as Mary and Elizabeth were both prepared for the Messiah’s first coming, we too can be ready for
Jesus’ second coming. We have many opportunities during the Christmas
season to share our faith with family and friends; There are many people with physical and spiritual needs for whom we can pray and show some
consideration to. We can thank God in prayer for sending Jesus to save us; There’s nothing wrong with enjoying and participating in so many of
the secular activities occurring during the Christmas season. But if we are
truly ready for the Messiah’s second coming we can enjoy this season for all of the right reasons. May God truly bless you this Christmas season
and may Jesus be very real in your lives. On behalf of Pastor Isaac, Pastor Ashok and I, we wish you a very merry Christmas.
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Noticeboard — समाचार
Sponsor a Christmas Message
on Radio XL
this festive period –only £150
. The fee can
be shared between two familie
s. Please see
the Pastor’s for more informa
tion.
Programmes are on each day
from 7pm.
CHRISTMAS/NEW YEAR MEET
ING TIMES
Christmas Eve:
Time: 6:00pm
Venue: Wolverhampton, Lea R
oad Church
Christmas Day: -2 Meetings
Time: 11am-12pm
Venue: Wolverhampton, Lea R
oad Church
Time: 12:30 –3:00pm
Venue: West Bromwich, Holy
Trinity Church, Burlington Ro
ad
(Meal will be served)
New Year Eve: Youth Meeting
11pm –12 pm
Venue: Wolverhampton, Lea Ro
ad Church
New Year’s Day: - 2 Meetings
Time: 12:30-1:30pm
Venue: West Bromwich, Holy T
rinity Church, Burlington Roa
d
Time: 2:30p-4pm
Venue: Wolverhampton, Lea Ro
ad Church
(Meal will be served)
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Church Meeting Times...
Resident Pastor’s for all meetings are:
Pastor In-Charge: PASTOR ISAAC: 07960 787096
PASTOR RAVI: 07891 570991
PASTOR ASHOK: 07958 604487
Holy Trinity Church, Trinity St, West Bromwich Fellowship every Sunday: Ladies Bible Study every Tuesday 12:30pm-2:30pm 7:00pm-8:30pm Punjabi Bible Study every Wednesday 7:00pm-8:30pm English Bible Study every Thursday 7:30pm-8:30pm United Reform Church, Lea Rd,
Wolverhampton Fellowship every Sunday: 4:00pm –6:00pm Ladies Fellowship ever Tuesday
7:00-8:00pm Asian Calvary Church Derby St, Burton Fellowship every Friday 6:00pm—8:00pm Beth Sadha Christian Fellowship, Witton Lane,West Bromwich Fellowship every Thursday
**New** Youth meeting last
Saturday of every month... Contact the Pastor’s for
more details.
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Comical Church...
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News समाचार
The Truth Revealed YOUTH CONFERENCE
Location: The Elmwood Time: Friday, 23 October 2009 18:30
Email Elka for further details at:
JOIN the FACEBOOK Group for Asian Calvary, great forum to discuss about anything to do with Christian Life.
OPEN to all…. Go to: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?
gid=2648916948&v=wall Or just search for Asian Calvary on Facebook!.
Have a Testimony , Event or Story to share??
Then why not email or call Bal to get it included in the
next Edition.
♦ Email: [email protected]
♦ Tel: 07824 348276
NEW YEAR CELEBRATI
ON PARTY—14th JANUARY
Time: 9am –4p
m
Venue: Imperial Palace, School
Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 4LF
Website: http://www.theimp
erial-restaurant.com/
More Information from Pastor
Ashok.
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The Gift List..
It’s that "me of the year again, when everyone is thinking what to get each
other for Christmas, for some it is easy to get a gi$ for, for others it is
harder. If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?
Surprisingly, when people of the faith think carefully about this, they come
up with similar gi$ lists. Rich or poor, young or old, male or female, the
things people really want, are not sold in shops. Infact, they are not
material things at all. Almost all thinking people have five basic desires.
Does the list below include what you wish you had..?
1.Inner peace
2.Hope a)er death
3.Making sense of personal suffering
4.Uncondi/onal love
5.Knowing the secret of happiness
There is a special book that promises to provide these five gi$s. All in one
package. That book is the world’s all "me best-seller, the Bible!. Wouldn’t it
be wonderful if this was true?, the strange thing is, that people who say it
isn’t true are the same people who have not put it to the test! But
everyone who has received the gi$ which God offers has found it to be
absolutely true. The way to receive this gi$ is by accep"ng a fact about
ourselves and then making a choice. It will not be easy, but we have to be
honest. We have to meet God’s perfect standard, but we have failed –
& the Bible calls this ‘sin’. So where do we get this ‘help’ from to be perfect,
this special help is called salva"on. If we agree to God’s plan and our
responsibility, he will give us the gi$ of God –which is eternal life. It’s your
choice!.
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Prayer Requests...
We ALL need a prayer once in a while Whether its:-
DEPRESSION ,WEAK FAITH, FAMILY PRESSURE,
FINANCIAL CONCERNS,HEALTH CONCERNS,WORK ISSUES
God is always there for you
Call Anytime: 24/7 365 days a year
PASTOR ISAAC: 07960 787096
PASTOR RAVI: 07891 570991
PASTOR ASHOK: 07958 604487