“The friendships we share, the connectedness to one another, the inner feelings of oneness and love that we have…these are invaluable assets that make our home churches such a sweet and pleasant family.”  ~  Pastor WD Favour

Experience the joy and ecstasy of our home church fellowships…

“A light snack awaited everyone on their arrival. ‘Nice one,’ a member thrilled.

We were glad to see each other and this was evidenced by the warm greetings during our snack time. We then ushered in the presence of the Lord and said a short prayer.

Our interactive study was on, ‘Consecration to God,’ and our text was from Proverbs 18:1. An avalanche of perspectives on the subject came to the fore, such as: extremity, focus, sacrifice, yielding, submission, being set apart, dying to all but one.
What a day!
In totality, a member postulated, ‘Consecration to God is allowing God to possess you.’

We transcended the present state of our minds and the power of thought during this session. It was a timeless experience.

We gave our offerings and then practiced for our presentation which is a mimic on ‘Blaze.’ Its a top-notch performance and will certainly edify the Church.

I personally prayed for everyone and their families and told them to be expectant as the Lord ushers new and pleasant realities into their lives.

Next week we’ll discuss, ‘Prayer as a key.’

Be expectant too and watchful.

Remain blessed.”

Pastor Anulika Mbakwe
Home Church B
Ogui Rd., Enugu, Nigeria

 

“Wednesday is fast becoming my favorite day of the week.
There was a general air of excitement as we all gathered, conversing and interacting with one another. We then said a prayer to usher in the Holy Spirit.

Our interactive bible study was on the topic, ‘Be fruitful and multiply’. Our texts were taken from Genesis 1:28; John 15:8; Luke 19:12-26. It was quite interesting as everyone tried to contribute. Comments included:
‘To be fruitful means to produce the desired results…’
‘Fruitfulness is God’s love language as illustrated in His first command to Adam and Eve…’
‘God expects us to multiply the gifts, opportunities, and talents He sends our way…’

It was a great time of bonding as we all put heads together to come up with a great presentation for our Sunday Family Gathering.

One of us, a nurse in training, passed her clinical exams; so we celebrated with her over drinks and snacks.

Next week we will be looking at ‘Be Fruitful And Multiply – Part 2.’

Have a nice weekend!”

Dr. Chidinma Njoku
Home Church C
Maryland, Enugu, Nigeria

“Our meeting began in an atmosphere of worship with a soft gospel music playing at the background as we welcomed each other. When most of the members had arrived, we began with worship songs to get our minds fixed on the lord. This was followed by intercessory prayers, after which we entered the interactive bible study segment.

Our topic of discussion this week was on “ Building a Strong Relationship with People.” Texts were taken from Deuteronomy 7:3-4, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, and 1 John 2:15. 

Questions were asked on how to manage relationships that were going through crisis; answers given include, ‘Define what you stand for, what you can tolerate and what you cannot tolerate,’ and ‘Build your relationships on the word of God, and not on human sentiments and feelings.’ We also shared our individual experiences on relationship matters.

Afterwards we had our group picture, took our offerings, rehearsed for our Sunday presentations, and ended with light refreshments.

Next week’s topic is ‘Perfect Focus’”

Udoka Enujeko
Home Church A
New Heaven, Enugu, Nigeria

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” ~ Psalm 133:1

Related posts:

1. Home Church Reports 8
2. Home Church Reports 5
3. Home Church Reports 6

At certain phases in every venture, every thing seem negative and hopeless.  Most people become sad here and quit.  Yet these are the most critical phases because at these phases the force of nature is ‘decaying’ the old to release the new. 

So, if all around you at this time appear negative and hopeless, don’t give in to sadness, rather raise your positive expectations now!

During my sermon yesterday, I challenged our congregation to focus on God and His promises, and not on whatever crisis they are going through:

“Understanding Crisis

Crises usually occur at the curve of change.

"And do this, understanding the PRESENT TIME.
The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber,
because our SALVATION IS NEARER NOW than when we first believed."
~ Romans 13:11

New levels are always preceded by new devils. One of the signals that you are about to move into a new realm of favour and beautiful experiences, is that all hell breaks loose around you!  For me, this is usually a thing of joy.

Now think about this: Before you put on a new clothe, you take off the former one. So, for a while, you are naked.. right? 
Such is life. 
The transition between where you are and where you’ll rather be, is usually characterized by nakedness – by circumstances of life that make you ashamed, and vulnerable…so you want to hide.

You see, just as nakedness is necessary for a change of attire, so also is crisis necessary for a change of realities, and circumstances.”

I exhorted the people to look beyond immediate negative circumstances to focus on the unseen realities of God’s presence and power working on our behalf.

“Stand Firm

"Do not be afraid.
Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.
The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
~ Exodus 14:13,14.

The ‘Egyptians you see today’ may be that life-threatening financial crisis, that torturing marriage pain, or that scary health issue; God has promised that you will never see again if you can stand firm upon His word and trust in His faithfulness.

Fix your eyes on the unseen

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our LIGHT and MOMENTARY troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16,17,18.

Do not waver in your commitment and determination to believe and expect the fulfillment of God’s promises in your life.  Your faith should be firmly anchored on God’s word. Your focus should be on God, on what He has promised to do, and never on the crisis going on around you.

I outlined 5 powerful keys to strengthen our faith so that we thrive at all times in spite of life’s crises.

“5 powerful keys to strengthen your faith

1. Reject the company of negative minded people. Some people are pessimists and possess very negative and poisonous personalities. Avoid these people like a plague.
2. Connect with highly positive and enthusiastic persons. Fellowship particularly with individuals that have very strong faith in God, and who are experiencing the manifestations of GOD in their lives.
3. Meditate daily on God’s word. Study it, memorize it, think constantly on it.
4. Learn to speak Gods words constantly over your life and your situation. Use God’s words to defeat negative thoughts, words, and dreams.
5. Stay diligently on course. Each day, in spite of your fears and doubts, pursue your best ideas and keep implementing those right actions you’ve already started.”

My prayer is that as you meditate on the message of this sermon, you will become empowered to rise and soar triumphantly above all storms of life and enjoy supernatural testimonies every day of your life, in Jesus name.

Related posts:

1. Transformation By Focus
2. Renewed Faith
3. Don’t panic! Hope and believe

“In our home churches, everybody is important, every persons worth is valued, and everyone’s skills are celebrated and utilized.  Each individual within our home churches has something unique to offer to the overall wellbeing of every other member.  This is the most beautiful aspect of our union in the LORD.”

Enjoy this week’s reports from some of our home churches…

Home Church B
Ogui Rd., Enugu, Nigeria

“We were basking in the euphoria of God’s goodness and finding out about one another when the final crop of our members arrived.

The presence of the Lord filled our hearts and home as we worshipped. Then, we said our opening prayer.

We discussed, ‘The real ways of men,’ a subject that saw us categorizing men as hopeful, courageous and full of desire. Ecclesiastes 12:13 was our text, as men who keep the laws of God are real men and have a secluded spot reserved for them in eternity.

The interaction was intense, much to my delight.

Although, no one was willing to see the session come to an end, we all decided to take a chill pill and continue next week.

We gave our offerings and practiced for our Sunday presentation which is an expose on "Ancient Words". Our presentation on Sunday is laced with finesse, perfection and class and will definitely produce a chilling effect.

Next week, we’ll study, ‘Consecration to God.’

Keep on loving Him and enjoy your weekend.”

~ Pastor Anuli

Home Church C
Maryland, Enugu, Nigeria
 

“As always, our home church meeting began with members’ arrival and friendly chats amongst ourselves as we tried to catch up on one another’s activities in the past week.  Opening prayer closely followed as we acknowledged the presence of the Lord in our midst.

Our discussion this week was one of the best we’ve had so far as members chipped in their personal experiences on the subject ‘Standing Firm in the Face of Challenges’. Strategies listed included the following:

• Applying patience
• Viewing challenges as stepping stones and not disasters
• Prayer
• Applying information from different spheres of life[ horizontal learning]
• Having the right kind of friends
• Wisdom.

The Assistant Supervising Pastor – Emeka – was in our midst and we were blessed by his contribution that ‘no problem is a condition till it conditions your mind.’

We had a swell time rehearsing together for next Sunday’s presentation – a song that involves praising God in the various native languages of our country; I can’t wait!

Next week we will be looking at ‘Be Fruitful and Multiply.’

Catch ya!”

~ Dr. Chidinma Njoku

Home Church A
New Haven, Enugu, Nigeria

“Our meeting started in an atmosphere of praise to usher in the Holy Spirit to the meeting. This was followed by intercessory prayers, then the interactive bible study.

Our topic of discussion was ‘Building a Strong Relationship with God,’ with texts from 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, and 1 John 2:15.  In order to build a strong relationship with God, you must understand the ‘why’ of your existence, and also separate yourself from sin. 

Other contributions from our members were that ‘Faith is essential to building a strong relationship with God, because we cannot see God,’ and ‘You must be willing to pay the price at all cost to maintain your relationship with God.’

Next week we will be discussing, ‘Building strong relationship with People.’”

~ Udoka Enujeko

Oh how good and pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to be together in love and harmony!

Please, do have a lovely weekend…

Related posts:

1. Home Church Reports 5
2. Home Church Reports 9
3. Home Church Reports 6