Pastor’s Message – Pastor Jessica Letting go of self-centeredness is the catalyst for Unity The first entrustment to Christians is to deny oneself; it is not to deny our personal status, but a declaration to live a life away from self-centeredness. Luke 14:26 says “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple”. This verse means that we must practice a life that yields to the influence of Christ, regardless how trivial or important any situation is. In all things we must manifest through grace the fragrance of Christ. As His disciples, we must exercise discipline in all situations because Christ is in control, and we by faith we can entrust ourselves to Him, decide to manifest the fragrance of Christ and forsake our struggles: love those who Christ loves, even our enemies (For He died on the cross for them too), accept rejection by others as you follow the footstep of Christ, recognize our own inadequacy and learn to care like Christ, let Him be the judge so that we can love freely, maintain unity in church according to His Will, and long to know Him more. Denying oneself therefore is to learn to yield our control over to Christ who loves us. Our actions and viewpoints will then gradually move closer to our Lord and become more different from the world. We also can live a life separated into holiness, it is only a life like that, although has different values and methodologies, can change the world. Luke 2:20 tells us that denying oneself also means our life has a new focus; it is not serving or loving ourselves, but others. Denying oneself also means surrendering ourselves to Christ and experiencing the peace and joy that come with His presence regardless of situational factors. In church, disciples have different backgrounds and interests; unity therefore requires that everyone must letting go of their self-centeredness and focus on Christ, become more like Christ, and unity in Him becomes the naturally outcome of our strives for holiness and righteousness (See Ephesians 4). Prayer English: Lord Christ, strengthen our resolve this year to grow more and more into your image and likeness. Youth: Please pray for protection and wisdom over our youth workers and counselors as they walk closely alongside the teens in ICON and in ROOTS in the new year. Children: Pray for strength and wisdom for the preschool worship team as they lead the children to worship God. Cantonese: Pray that we will establish a good habit in daily devotions and prayers in the coming year. Mandarin: Lord, help us to forgive others as You have forgiven us. Home Church News Praise and Prayer: Our next evening of Praise and Prayer will be Tuesday, Jan 13th from 7:30-9:00pm during our regular prayer meeting time. Please join us for an evening of worship! Meet The Pastors Luncheon: It will be on Jan 25th . Mark your calendar and sign up at MPR today! Congratulations to: The following brothers and sisters who will be baptized on Jan 25th : Jared Quon, Annika Mak, Phyllis Leung and Martin Marasigan. Celebrate with us as we confirm these brothers and sisters in their faith. Fall ACE: Registration for the winter term is still ongoing, the new term will begin on Jan 18th . Three courses will be offered: 1) How to Read the Bible by Pastor Jeremy, 2) The People of Israel by Pastor Andrew, and 3) Faith at Work by Tim Cheung and Eddie Fong. ESL: The winter-spring term starts Jan 28th and will last for 16 weeks. For new student registration, email [email protected] or phone 604.524.3336 (loc. 310). We are still in need of volunteers to: 1.) assist in class & 2) coordinate snack preparation. Please contact Charlotte Ng, Loran Tsang or JJ Li for details. Youth Ministry: For anyone who might be interested in getting involved in youth ministry, ROOTS Sunday School is in need of teachers! Please contact Peter Ko if you are interested or have any question. 2015 BAC Directory: The draft of the directory has been posted in the foyer. Please check to ensure all the information is correct with  and make corrections if necessary. If you haven’t filled out the registration form, please do so & sign at the back. Deadline: Jan 25th . English Retreat at Cedar Springs: Aug 21-23, 2015. Missions Fest 2015: Theme: “Across the Street: Around the World”, at Vancouver Convention Centre from Jan 30th -Feb 1st . We encourage all brothers and sisters to join the event. For details go to www.missionsfestvancouver.ca. Other Event: A Promise Keepers rally is coming to Surrey on Feb 21st at Surrey Pentecostal Assembly from 830am-5pm. A group of men from BAC will be going. If you are interested in signing up, please contact Dan Louie ([email protected]). There will also be a sign up table upstairs in the MPR on next Sunday Jan 18th and 25th. http://www.promisekeepers.ca/events/event/195. Next Week’s Sermon Equipped: Part 2 ( 2 Timothy 2:1-13) Events for the Week of September Jan 11 – Jan 17 Tuesday Praise & Prayer Night (7:30-9:30pm): Jan 13 Friday Connect (Grades 7-8 @ 8pm): E-Wallet ICON (Grades 9-12 @8pm): Small Groups 3D (College and Career, 8pm): Welcome Back Small Groups meet throughout the week—see the board in the MPR for more information about when and where! LAST WEEK’S RECORD Sunday Worship Sunday School Prayer Meeting Offering $ 10,138.00 Cantonese 366 Cantonese 131 Cantonese 21 General 36 14 Mandarin 93 Mandarin Mandarin Thanksgiving $ 1,515.00 16 English n/a Building $ 530.00 275 English English 67 Children 88 $ 2,230.00 Children Mission n/a Youth 801 Total 271 Total 35 Total Total CAD$ $ 14,413.00 Financial Report as of December 31, 2014 General Mission Building According to 2014 Budget, amount of offering $ 97,500 $ 12,833 needed monthly Total Offering $ 139,271 $ 14,880 $ 2,925 December 1- 31 Total Expenses $ 88,216 Surplus/(Deficit) $ 51,055 Year 2014 Surplus/(Deficit) $ 28,698 $ 3,137.48 Building Offering Balance $ 151,974.50 Yearly Year-End Thanksgiving $ 61,630 Burnaby Alliance Church 8611 Armstrong Avenue, Burnaby, BC V3N 2H4 Tel: (604) 524-3336 Fax: (604) 524-0329 E-Mail: [email protected] Web site: http://burnabyalliance.org Praise/Prayer Requests: [email protected] Requests for Information: [email protected] English Ministry: Rev. Jeremy Rios Rev. Andrew Demoline Mrs. Joan Fong (Children), Peter Ko (Youth) Cantonese Ministry: Rev. Alvin Poon Pastor Chung Leung (College, Career & Young Family) Pastor Jessica Ngai (Caring & Family) Mrs. Doris Wong (Singles & Elderly) Mandarin Ministry: Rev. Thomas Sun Burnaby Alliance Church “Witnesses of God in Word and Deed.” Sunday, January 11, 2015 9:30am Worship Equipped: Part 1 2 Timothy 1 Rev. Andrew Demoline 2 Timothy 1:8-9a “So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me His prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace.” Welcome to BAC! We’re so glad that you could join us today. Immediately after our worship service you are invited to join us for coffee and fellowship upstairs in the MPR. If you are a first-time guest, please fill out a white “Staying Connected” card and drop it in the box that is right outside the sanctuary. For more information about ways to get connected and events throughout the week, see the inside of this bulletin!