Tell
me Your Story
"Everyone has a
story...."
We are putting together a collection of true stories
that Christians tell about their experiences in the world. We would like
for you to share one or more of your stories with us. We hope to publish a
book to inspire others. All stories will be published anonymously, so
we are asking each person to select a Bible name for the contributor of their
story.
We have already begun to collect stories.
We hope
you enjoy and grow spiritually from the stories we are offering you today.
God bless you.
Learning and Loyalty
A Story from Sudan
Learn
the language of your enemy.
(my
father told me this)
From Stephen
(a Bible penname for this grown-up child)
I was a child in a Christian family in
Southern Sudan, which was an area governed by Islamic Arabs of Northern Sudan. The regime in
Northern Sudan was very strong at that time—when I was a child of six. I have some vivid memories of my early schooling during those days.
Although we grew up speaking the language of our village,
we were forced to learn Arabic and use only this language in our school. Our
parents had learned English, for the English had ruled our land until 1956.
When I complained that I didn’t want to learn Arabic
because it was the language of our oppressors, my father told me, “Learn the
language of your enemy.” As I grew up I found that he meant more than just
learning the Arabic language.
It was the government policy for all children to study
Islam during the school day in the classroom because the country was about 85%
Muslim, and all of the village authorities and members of the government were
Muslim. The school officials, however, allowed those of us who were not Islamic
to study under our pastor, who would come to our school every morning to teach
us Christianity. He would bring a large picture of Jesus, and we would gather
under a tree in the school yard to learn our lessons about Christian beliefs.
There were a small number of us, but it was always interesting. I
often looked out the window during the classroom Islamic training to see the
picture of Jesus which the pastor held aloft for us.
However, although we were permitted to study Christianity
while the Islamic children were studying their religion, we were frequently
punished for not knowing what they had been taught. We were responsible for all
the memory verses from the Koran and religious information that the master was
teaching the children about Islam while we were outside studying Christian
beliefs and learning the Bible. If we did not know the answers, we were given
lashes. Read the rest of the story...
Before Her Time
A Story from our Past
“My times are in
your hand.” Psalm 31:15
From Hepzibah (a Bible penname for the contributor)
The time of giving birth to a child is one of the most dangerous events
faced by the mother and the infant— especially on the prairie over a hundred
years ago.
It is safest and healthiest time for a child to remain in
the womb for nine months—or a little more. But this tiny infant’s mother was
very weak, and she had been ill for many months. She was faint and everyone
feared for her as she suffered during the last trimester of her first pregnancy.
A doctor was not available in this
little village on the wild prairie, but the relatives who had gathered around
this very weak young mother realized that the baby was not likely to survive
such an early birth, so they prayed fervently for the mother’s life. When they
prayed, “my times are in your hand,” they were asking God to preserve the
life of the mother beyond this birth. They had no confidence in the baby’s
hope for survival and steeled themselves for losing her.
Late at night, after many exhausting hours, the tiny baby
was delivered—a little girl whom no one bothered to name or even look at with
tenderness. She was so very small—more like a doll, really. She was bundled
into an old blanket piece and quickly handed to the 12-year-old cousin who
wanted to help but hadn’t the skills.
What happened to this child? Read more
Click here to read more
stories.
Fall
Valentine
Click here for more inspirational
thoughts.
More articles for the pilgrims who
visit this web site are found on the "Articles
for Inspiration" pages. These include the following topics:
Pilgrim Journal:
Special Messages Created for You!
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"Sallow Autumn
fills thy lap with leaves..."
William Wordsworth
Autumn
Secrets
Secrets in a small
town are slowly revealed as their new pastor, Katelyn Zyker, learns to
live in their midst and love them deeply as you will.
This
new novel from Bonnie Meadows begins with death and ends with new life,
but what will you find in between? Here is a sample from the beginning:
Darkness stirs the soul as
apprehension sends chills through the body. One is both dampened
emotionally and exhilarated with foreboding at the same time. It was like
going into a battle that could not be avoided. And the constant dripping
into the puddle that one cannot see but can clearly hear does not help.
And this is the basement of a church, for goodness sake! the
pastor thought to herself as she brushed her abundant brown curls away
from her face. She descended the rickety steps with only the
dim light from her key ring flashlight to guide her feet. She could think
of some really bad language, but did not feel she was allowed to speak her
thoughts aloud. However, she thought, her observations were
the truth, after all.
“Let’s have a little light here,” Raynor called out
from the bottom of the steps, and the biggest flashlight was passed down
to him solemnly. With a few flashes at the ceiling and walls of the lower
regions of the church, he discovered the wiring that had lost its covering
decades earlier and was now badly damaged. That damage had caused the
whole church to be cast into darkness during last night’s mission
committee meeting.
Don’t go there, Katelyn warned her mind, which longed to
use darkness metaphors in
reference to the unruly group of members in this sleepy church in this
tiny mountain village.
Click here to read more of the first segment of this new serial novel. Autumn
Secrets
Fall in Virginia
pathways
Click here
for more delightful images of nature's beauty.
God's
Covenant Series
"I
have loved you with an everlasting love."
Jeremiah 31:3
by
Bonnie Meadows
“Children of Promise:
You
are a Precious”
1) God's
gift of VALUE
God called a people into a covenant relationship—and calls us to maintain that covenant relationship.
We are adopted as
children of God
and given the privileges of the people who were first called by God.
We receive their
instruction about how to respond to that special calling
and live in relationship with a holy God.
“God said
to me, ‘You are my son; today I have begotten you…’” (Psalm
2:7)
This verse reminds
the reader that kings were called the children of God—and those rulers
were reminded that they must always submit to God’s wisdom and
judgment. We are also called
the children of God, and we too must submit to God’s plan for us.
“Do not fear, for I have
redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.
You are precious in my sight, and ... I love you.”
(Is 43: 2, 4)
The prophet Isaiah
is reminding the people that God has already redeemed them.
God has loved them from the beginning and calls them by name in an
intimate relationship—like a loving father and his child.
We too are invited
to take part in that loving relationship and call God our father.
“All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God…
You
have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry ‘Abba! Father!’ it
is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children
of God.”
(Romans 8:13,
16)
Paul reminds us that we are not called to a spirit
of slavery, but we received a spirit of adoption.
We are considered children of God and are led by
the Spirit of God.
Click here
to read the complete message.
World Christians
in America
Immigrant Christians are
God's gift to America for spiritual renewal.
All across America, and indeed
throughout Europe and in other places around the world, there are
fellowships of Christians meeting together to celebrate God's grace to
them and to worship their creator.
On our Multicultural page you
will find some pictures and stories of people from various
fellowships. Please share your stories and pictures so that we can let
others know about groups where fellow Christians might come to worship.
Tell your friends about this
web site, too, so that we can nurture one another. We will be providing a
sermon in English each week for your fellowship to use in worship. Use the
sermons and worship plans we provide to enhance your worship experience if
you wish.
If you need a worship leader, let us know. Let us share information with
one another so that we can grow strong in faith and service to our Lord.
We will also be
providing leadership training materials and other information through this
web site that will
help you and your congregation prepare for Christian ministry. Let us know
what you need.
Our future hope is to create a
foundation to help provide pastors and training for the Christian fellowships we
discover. You can donate financially to this foundation now.
For more information, click here.
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~Christ
Covenant International Church is a Christian church in cyberspace serving
an international community of believers who come together in your home to
worship the Holy God~
Our
virtual church has begun meeting together this month. Click on the church
name above to read our Mission Statement and membership information.
We do not look like the church pictured above because we meet where you
are. We encourage you to share your worship experience with others near
you. You may use the sermons and worship information we provide in your
homes and fellowships. If you would like to become a member of this
church, see below or click here.
New sermons will be published on this web site each week. Click here to read the
Sermon of the Week
Our
ocean of connection from the Maine coast
Mission
Statement
Teaching Christ’s commandments and serving with love in our homes, our
relationships, our communities, our nations, and our world.
Statement of Faith
The three persons of the Trinitarian God are living in a way that is not
governed by time: Almighty Creator God eternal, Jesus Christ—who existed
before humans came into being and walked on earth in the first century,
named for his presence—and the Holy Spirit—who proceeds from these and
interweaves their being. I
cannot imagine life without God’s presence. God is never and cannot be
restricted by gender or other human traits. These three are one and are
witnessed in Holy Scripture, on which we continue to rely for revelation.
Through human time and every day God lives and guides, hears and responds
to all who lift their voices for help. God is almighty, forgiving,
faithful, and works constantly with created beings in justice and love.
God created a way to demonstrate those traits by becoming incarnate and
“tenting” among humans in the form of a man, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus
was—in some way that humans cannot understand—fully human and fully
divine...
The Holy Spirit moves among us today, teaching, witnessing, guiding, and
comforting. The Holy Spirit sustains and guides the church, providing
leadership and assurance. We read and proclaim the Word of God, and the
Holy Spirit provides the community with insights.
Click here for
the complete statement of faith for our Christian leaders.
Become a Member
Today!
Join the Christ
Covenant International Ministries and become a member of our cyber church.
Read our membership vows, and make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life. Click
here for more information about joining our church. As
children of God we are all privileged to participate in mission and ministry
in the name of our Lord. This web site is a public ministry of the Christ
Covenant International Ministries. We have discovered that several thousand
people from all over the world are coming to this website each month for
nurture and ministry.
When you have been blessed by this
ministry, make a donation to help further our ministry and bless others.
Abigail's Special
Story
Would you like to send a free electronic celebration
card to someone special? Go to www.dayspring.com
Visit
the Network4Pilgrims Humor page.
You
might also like to read Bonnie's Ministry adventures. Click
here to
read
more from her spiritual journal.
Something
new on the block: A new pastor
experiences the adventure of a mountain village and discovers some
secrets hidden there.
Autumn
Secrets
Read
some excerpts here.
New ones appear often!
Sunset on an Iowa Farm
"In returning and rest shall be
your salvation;
In quietness and in trust shall be your strength."
Isaiah 30:15
Sudanese Christian Fellowship of Las Vegas meets in a home for Bible Study
Field of Late Daisies
Click here for more images.
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