Sunday Service 26/08/2012 - Ravenna

Tomorrow we are invited at 
Chiesa Evangelica di Ravenna,

 

 

an Independent Baptist Church in Ravenna, a town which is about an hour from Bologna by the Adriatic Sea.

Stefano will preach on Mark 4:1-2; 21-29 about "The Farmer's Patience"!

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them...

..."Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

Mark 4:1-2; 21-29 (ESV)

Sunday Service 19/08/2012 - Sasso Marconi

On Sunday Stefano and Jenny will be at
Chiesa Evangelica di Sasso Marconi,
a Brethren church in a village near Bologna.

Stefano will preach on Matthew 21:42-22:14:
"What I'm wearing for the Wedding?"


Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him." When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet. And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.' But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.' And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

Matthew 21:42-22:14 (ESV)

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Interactive Bible-Study - Hebrews 11 - Christ in the faith of Jacob

Tonight Stefano will lead an interactive Bible-Study on the series on Hebrew 11.

The goal is to see Hebrews 11 as a museum gallery full of portraits, but each one of them is pointing to the end of the gallery: that is Christ!

Tonight  we'll answer in groups at these questions:

1. Would you use Romans 9:13 (see Malachi 1:1-3) to explain the biblical concept of election to salvation? Why?
2. Why do you think God allows that Jacob tricks Isaac, or that Laban does it to Jacob, or that Jacob marries Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah without really loving them?
3. Would you say that in your life your have "fought" with the Lord or that you have tried to "get" something from God outside His will? In which way does Matthew 11:28-30 answer to this?

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

Series on Hebrews 11 - Christ in the faith of Jacob

Tomorrow Stefano will continue the shared series on Hebrew 11.
The goal is to see Hebrews 11 as a museum gallery full of portraits, but each one of them is pointing to the end of the gallery: that is Christ!

This Sunday Stefano will preach on Hebrews 11:21 - Christ in the faith of Jacob!



By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 

Hebrews 11:21 (ESV)

 

John Owen:

We may see herein the infinite purity of the divine will, effectually accomplishing its own purposes and designs through the failings and miscarriages of men, without the least mixture with or approbation of their iniquities or miscarriages. So did God accomplish his purpose and promise unto Jacob, by ordering the outward circumstances of the irregular actings of him and his mother unto his own blessed ends.

John Owen, The Works of John Owen, An exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Volume 23, The Ages Digital Library, Albany, 2000, pp. 153-154

San Lazzaro 2012 Town Fair Video

Yesterday we finished our witness at the 2012 Town Fair.

We had quite a few conversations and we distributed more than 20 Bibles in Italian, 10 in French and English and 20 Gospels in Arabic.

San Lazzaro 2012 Town Fair

Tomorrow evening from 6.00 to 8.00 pm Stefano and Jenny will be at the stand of the church with free Bibles in many languages including Arabic and free literature as
John Blanchard's Ultimate Questions
also in many languages!



Every year for the last 30 years the church
of San Lazzaro had a stand at the annual summer Town Fair. In the years we had quite a few contacts from this evangelism so please pray that the Lord will prepare the people we'll be able to talk with this year.

My Space Summer time

Today we'll spend the day in Porretta at the swimming-pool with some of the kids from the My Space club and others from the 2012 Exch@nge Camp we run in July.

We trust it will be a day of fun and that we'll have good time with these kids, showing them in practical ways God's love for them!

San Lazzaro 2012 Town Fair

Tonight we'll have a special prayer meeting for the San Lazzaro 2012 Town Fair.

Last year more than 23.000 people visited the Fair and similar numbers are expected for this year from Thursday to Sunday.


Tomorrow afternoon from 3.00 to 6.00 pm Stefano and Jenny will be setting up the stand of the church with free Bibles in
many languages including Arabic and
free literature as John Blanchard's 
Ultimate Questions also in many languages!