APRIL 2021 Edition
Elijah
Team
Maintain Your Revival
Sermon Date: March 3, 2021
Scripture: Galatians 1:6-9, 2:9-12, 3:1-3, 5:1, 6-7
To revive is to renew, refresh, rejuvenate, and recharge!
How? First, start your day with God-through prayer/meditation.
Throughout the day, read your Bible.
Sing hymns/ create a personal song or hymn.
I remember many years ago. Our Bishop encouraged the members to make a song. Mine went a little like this, 🎶Thank you, Jesus, thank thank you, Jesus…. repeat 🎶 I still sing it!
Once you are revived, you must maintain. For example, when you’re fixing up an old home to its original state, there is work you must do. It’s the same for your revival. You must do things like reading your Word, Pray, meditate, music, and have a time of worship.
After your revival, there should be continued daily maintenance, followed by personal development, good leadership, and feed your spirit!
We are saved by grace through faith.
We do not do right to be saved. We do right because we are saved
Now that you have had your revival, “NOW MAINTAIN!”
Deaconess Karen Alexander
Judah
Team
A New Church Model
Sermon Date: March 14, 2021
Scripture: Ephesians 8:13
"Get out of my house. You are grown". We have the babies, nurture them and watch them grow, but at some point, that child will grow up to be an adult.
So will the church. I'm not saying leave the church, but we have to learn how to minister outside the building.
The new church model is already a part of our life. Look at our children; we don't see them running home every time they fall; we want them to stand up and be strong. We teach them to pray, and we pray for them.
Bishop wants the same for the church. He prayed for us and wanted us to flourish. We must have a personal relationship with God, not a relationship with just the church. Yes, we love the fellowship of unity coming together, but we must also reach others.
Same way with our children, we teach, preach and pray they will flourish as they mature in adulthood and STAY IN THEIR OWN HOUSE. So let us not be discouraged as change will come with the new model church but encourage as we grow together.😀
Deaconess Karima Ward
Solomon
Team
Training For A New Model Lesson 2
Developing A Relationship With God Through Devotions
Sermon Date: March 21, 2021
Scripture: Matthew 6:11 & Deuteronomy 6:3-7
In Bishop’s sermon, Developing a Relationship With God Through Daily Devotions, he opens with this being one of the building blocks creating a new church model. Since the doors of the church aren’t currently open, it is important that saints develop their relationship with God. Yes, we praise God and have a good service in church, but we need to walk out our faith in our everyday lives to be impactful. Scripture says in John 4:23, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
God is seeking such worship from us wherever we are, not just in a physical building. If we are waiting to come to church to pray, there will be no prayer. If we’re waiting to hear the word of God until we come to church, then the word of God won’t be heard. If we are waiting to experience the presence of the Lord we come to church, then we won’t feel his presence. If we have in our mind that “the church” is the center point for our relationship with God, we are going to fail. So it is imperative that we develop our relationship with God.
Key takeaways we need to consider:
-
Start your devotion early. Seek to commune with God before your day gets started with anything else. There is power in the beginning of a day.
-
Have fellowship with God throughout your day.
-
Meditate on God’s Word.
-
Daily devotion increasing your ability to hear from God and have a sense of discernment.
How do you start your day? Consider starting your day with daily devotionals that consist of prayer and reading God’s Word to strengthen your relationship with Him.
As Christians, we are the church. Let’s be sure to have a strong relationship with God.
Minister Claudene McCoy
Words From Pastor Lynora Clark:
Hello Saints, I must tell everyone who will hear that the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. I can’t stop praising his name. Even though I have trials and tribulations, God is still in the blessing business. He sees me through every situation; he takes my hand and makes sure I come out and do not smell like smoke….like the Hebrew boys. I Praise him for waking me up every morning, in my right mind, and starting me on my way. I have so much joy within; it’s bubbling over into this writing….I’m praising him right NOW, joy unspeakable and full of heeeey……Glory! I would like to encourage you to see the good in whatever state you find yourself; the Bible says to be content. Phil. 4:11. Just know the Lord knows your place in life. He placed you there; he is with you! Continue to trust in the Lord with all your heart, don’t lean to your own understanding in all your ways; acknowledge him he shall direct your path. Prov. 3:5
That was my Praise Break!
We will start up our food pantry on April 22, and the time has changed to 4pm - 6 pm. We will need as many volunteers as possible. We will continue to wear our masks, social distance, and drive-thru distribution. If you know anyone that would like to volunteer, please inform Deaconess Rochelle Lattimore before time. So she can look at the schedule to see if we have availability.
Our Easter Worship was great. We sent out emails to all those parents with children to see if you would like your child/children to participate in the new Youth Development Program with our new Youth Lead - Deaconess LaShonda Miller, her age group 10-19 yrs. Please check your email and fill out the form as quickly as possible and look for Deaconess Miller to contact you or your child for our upcoming events.
Remember, our SuperSeed offering is April 11th. Our Bishop has asked every member to bring the Lord $250. He has asked Leaders to get $500 as a special offering to the Lord or our best seed. If you are anything like me, I like to go over and above what is asked with a Super Duper Seed!
It was so good seeing so many faces on Resurrection Sunday!
Praise the Lord and Happy Spring!
Grace and Peace to everyone,
This holy season where we reflect on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, has been very meaningful to me. I hope that you’ve had the chance to read through the various biblical passages that tell the story of the cross. If not, Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, and John 18-21 would be great passages to read during your daily devotions. The Psalm Sunday message is one that still rings true in my heart ‘It’s Time For A Change.’ The thought was taken from the passage where Jesus goes into the temple and sets the house of God back in order. I feel like the Body of Christ is at a place where we need to focus more on maturing the saints, as opposed to perfecting a church service. I exhort you to continue to follow me on this path as we endeavor to produce mature believers who know the God of their salvation and whose spiritual experience reaches far beyond the Sunday morning service. Let’s continue to evolve because it is time for a change.
Bishop Eric K. Clark
A WORD FROM OUR BISHOP:
David
Team
It's Time For A Change
Sermon Date: March 28, 2021
Scripture: Matthew 21:8-14
‘It’s Time For A Change!’ If you have been at BOCA for any length of time, you know that Bishop is always changing things and trying to make them better. The new church model is no different. It is a change that Bishop is mandating to help us grow in Christ and do our part in fulfilling the Great Commission.
I know ... change can be challenging; even when you know that it is necessary and for the greater good, it can still be hard. Most times, it is not the change itself that’s so hard; it is more so a change that must occur in the mindset. When you begin to think a different way, the actual act of changing may be easier.
Think about it ...
The doors of the church have been closed for the majority of this past last year. During that time, have you praised and worshipped the Lord at home? Have you read and study your Bible? Have you shared your faith with anyone? Have you prayed with someone? Have you taught anyone anything about Christ? If your answers to these questions are yes, you are already doing it. And for those who have may not have answered yes to every question, have no fear, Bishop has been ministering sermons to equip us for the task at hand. In addition, he wrote two Foundational Doctrines books to help us. Click the book cover to obtain electronic copies of either book.
I encourage you to change your mindset and embrace the change. Be blessed by the change and be a blessing because of the change.
Minister Erica Williams
