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KOINONIA

Share your joy and sadness in order to practice true KOINONIA - to be closely involved in each other’s lives; to love, care and support each other. Please send your prayer requests and news to alethea.church@gmail.com before 09:00 on a Thursday morning.

You can also sms or call Magda on 072 246 1815

GENERAL INFO

Service time: 11:00-12:00 every Sunday Sunday school: 10:00 every school term Sunday

Bible study: Wednesdays, 19:00, church consistory Telephone: 012 664 2614 226 Basden Avenue Fax: 012 664 0004 Lyttelton (Corner of Basden and Alethea) Email: alethea.church@gmail.com

Newsletter: Magda Jv Vuuren 072 246 1815

Webpage: http://www.gkcenturion.org.za

Office hours: Mon-Thu 08:00-13:00

Rev: Maarten van Helden : 012 664 1384/ 072 143 1855 mvhel-

den@telkomsa.net

The newsletter is available online at www.issuu.com/gkcenturion

Services are streamed live and then available as recordings afterwards at http://audioserver.nl/?option=content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=92&user_id=853

Scripture: Revelation 1

Text verse: Rev 1:18

Songs: To God be the glory Praise My soul As the deer Crown Him with many crowns Guide me, o my Holy God Amen Music: Christine van Helden Projector: Marcel Wilson

Sermon: Rev Maarten van Helden

Please join us for refreshments after the service

Ephesians 4:15: “ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body

of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Today’s service Celebration of the Holy Communion

As we were preparing ourselves for the feast of the Lord’s Supper, we last week were reminded that Jesus came to fight against our great foe and enemy:

DEATH! He fought death with death. He paid the price! Fear, blood-sweat, loneliness, God-forsakenness, pain, suffering and then death. He was humiliated that we may be glorified. Today you can SEE the living Christ in the symbols of the Lord’s Supper! Come and experience how great was His victory and life by the grace of His blessing.

~Rev Maarten

ALETHEA MINISTRIES NEWS

14 September 2014 Volume 2, Issue 26

Behold! Look, it is Me, Jesus!

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Activities during the coming week

Today—we will celebrate Holy Communion together!

Every Wednesday evening Bible study @ Alethea - in the church consistory at 19:00. Contact Rev Maarten van Helden (012 664 1384 / Ernest Bornman (082 063 2564) for more info.

Junior Sunday School— 21 September The topic for next week’s Sunday school lesson will be God shows his power to Egypt in ten plagues and parents should prepare Exodus 3 - Exodus 11 with their children.

Personal Bible Reading – 14-20 September The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the eternal Word of God, who ‘became flesh and made his dwelling among us’ (1:4). As the book itself says, this Gospel was written so that its readers might believe that Jesus is the promised Saviour, the Son of God, and that through their faith in him they might have life (20:31).

Day 1: Read John 19:1-16 - Jesus sentenced to be crucified

Day 2: Read John 19:17-27 - The crucifixion of Jesus

Day 3: Read John 19:28-37 - The death of Jesus; John 19:38-42 - The burial of Jesus

Dear God …. So far today, I’ve done all right,

I haven't gossiped, lost my temper,

been greedy or grumpy, been nasty,

selfish or overindulgent. I’m very thankful for that.

But, in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed.

And from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot more help.

Amen

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Perhaps the Most Profound Thing Our Lord Ever Said by Joe McKeever

“Except you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).”

In his masterful work The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis imagines a busload of hell’s residents visiting Heaven to see if they might want to transfer. In Lewis’ story, told to make some wonderful points, anyone on the bus who wishes to remain in Heaven will be

allowed to do so.

To no one’s surprise, none of the hellish ones “fit” there. The things they lived for on earth just did not work in Heaven. Lewis tells of a learned Anglican bishop among the group from hell—I imagine that must have smarted!—who was considering remaining in Heav-

en just so long as he was given certain assurances.

“I should want a guarantee that you are taking me to a place where I shall find a wider sphere of usefulness—and scope for the talents that God has given me—and an atmosphere of free inquiry—in short, all that one means by civilization and—er—the spir-

itual life.”

His celestial guide responds, “No. I can promise you none of these things. No sphere of usefulness: You are not needed there at all. No scope for your talents: only forgiveness for having perverted them. No atmosphere of inquiry, for I will bring you to the land not of

questions but of answers, and you shall see the face of God.”

As the bishop protests and keeps insisting on the free exercise of his intellectual pursuits, the Heavenly One says, “Listen! Once you were a child. Once you knew what inquiry was for. There was a time when you asked questions because you wanted answers, and were

glad when you had found them. Become that child again, even now.”

The Heavenly Guide added, “We know nothing of religion here (in Heaven). We think only

of Christ. We know nothing of speculation. Come and see … .”

Suddenly the bishop remembers why he will not be able to remain in Heaven. “I’d nearly forgotten. Of course, I can’t come (to Heaven) with you. I have to be back (in hell) next

Friday to read a paper. We have a little theological society down there. Oh yes!”

If you can humble yourself enough to confess Jesus publicly and to join with these imperfect believers in trying to serve Him, in learning His word and growing in faith, if you

can become as a little child, you can enter that door.

That door was built for child-size people. All others exclude themselves.