Women’s day was amazing! Singing, dancing, preaching, food and God, all at one wonderful event. Here are the highlights: 4 powerful testimonies: All about God’s promises of strength, peace, love, and healing Preached by Marlyn, Jacque, Ana and Bernie, 4/14/2012 (click the links below to stream audio, or right click to download audio) Marlyn […]
Category: North America
Degrees of Lukewarmness
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I’m about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16 The Easter Sunday Celebration Service of the City of Angels Church can be summed up in one word – “hot!” With an attendance of 864, the fellowship and the singing were electric! Included in the service was the AMS Region’s presentation of the moving play entitled, The Crossmaker – which so fittingly for Easter, glorifies the resurrection of Jesus Christ. During this momentous day, the Lord added 11 to our number – seven baptisms, two place memberships from our former fellowship, and two restorations – one of whom was Nivan Bhalla, a former Evangelist in India and Pakistan! Very excitingly, with a challenging goal of $334,000 for our Missions Contribution, the Lord blessed us as $374,956 was joyfully sacrificed to help plant five more SoldOut Movement Churches this summer – Boston, Orlando, San Francisco, Mexico City and Paris! God desires and demands “wholehearted devotion” from His people. (1 Kings 8:23) Jesus reiterates this total commitment when asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus answers quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:28-30) At another time, Jesus explains that “the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew
I Left My Heart In San Francisco
Guest Editorial: Mike Underhill (Mike & Brittany Underhill, who humbly serve as the Evangelist and Women’s Ministry Leader of the dynamic Chicago Church, are the San Francisco Mission Team Leaders. They are very dear friends to Elena & me. Though they are a young couple who was married less than a year ago, they are held in high esteem for their work’s sake by the entire SoldOut Movement. KM) “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 God has set His eyes on one of the most beautiful cities in the world – San Francisco. This “Paris of the West” has always been about the heart with songs written about it such as: I Left My Heart In San Francisco sung by Tony Bennett; Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding; Welcome To Paradise by Green Day; Save Me, San Francisco by Train, and of course, one of the hippie movement’s anthem songs – If You’re Going To San Francisco, which inspired thousands to move to San Francisco in the late ’60′s. Hauntingly, another lesser known song that is inspiring to the whole San Francisco Mission Team is by American Music Band, All The Lost Souls Welcome You To San Francisco! With that song in mind, there are almost eight million lost souls in this amazing world city who prayerfully will “welcome [the mission team] to San Francisco!” The local band Train sings, Hey, Soul Sister, and I am so honored to be called by God to “the City by the Bay” with my new bride and “soul sister,” Brittany, along with about 30 sold-out disciples – primarily from
Keep the Unity
Ephesians 4:3 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” According to this Scripture “every effort” must be made to keep “the unity”. What is unity? The greek word “henotēs”, which is translated as such in the NIV denotes unity but also unanimity and agreement. The websters dictionary simply defines unity as: “the quality or state of not being multiple”. Whenever we are studying the bible, we need to get into the sandals of the first century church and understand what they mean by unity; not its modern interpretation. Let’s look at a Scripture that not only prescribes unity but gives an example of it: Acts 4: 32-34 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.” This passage is like finding a fossil of a dinosaur that unlocks all kinds of secrets about how that dinosaur lived. This Scripture tells us that the Church operated like the tribes that the disciples were formerly part of before joining the “Church” or “The Way” as they called it. Billions of people in the world still live and die in tribes much like the first century disciples yet it’s extremely hard for the
Spiritual Cataracts?
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” – Matthew 6:22-23 “They know nothing, they […]
The Promise
Report: 2012 Women’s Day Guest Editorial – Helen Sullivan “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 What an incredible Women’s Day! When asked what was personally the most impacting, the women responded… “The gathering and sharing of women speakers always causes a great time of reflection. The event also allows me another opportunity to be closer to my daughter who invited me.” “The courage of the women and their vulnerability touched my heart. Also the interpretive dance moved me deeply. Thank you.” “Sonja was brilliantly used by God. Truly, an amazing day!” With 270 sisters in the City of Angels Church, we had a total of 726 women who came out to Women’s Day – 557 attended the English Women’s Day and 169 participated in the Latin (Spanish-speaking) Women’s Day! Although the events took place on March 3rd and March 10th, respectively, the preparation started much earlier! In December, the sisters – powerfully led by Elena – began to discuss the possible themes and most importantly, committed to pray daily for this special conference specifically designed to move women’s hearts. We agreed to keep everything simple! Once January hit, we began calling everyone we knew – family, friends and acquaintances – to invite them to attend. During Staff Meetings every Tuesday morning, the women gathered separately from the men in order to spend time planning and praying, as well as listening to inspiring lessons about loving women, reaching out to them, and winning them to Christ. On the morning of March 3rd, walking into the
Prayer Grows The Church
“When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’” Matthew 9:36-38 Since the City of Angels Church was planted by 42 disciples from Portland, Oregon on May 6, 2007, the Lord has blessed our prayers with an incredible harvest of souls! Our congregation is now having close to 800 on Sundays, a contribution of $25,000 per week, and God is adding “to our number daily” through baptisms, restorations and place memberships. (Acts 2:47) Of special note, almost 125 disciples have been sent-out by the Spirit to plant churches in Honolulu (2008), New York (2008), Portland (2009), San Diego (2010), London (2010), and Sao Paulo (2011), as well as to strengthen churches in Chicago, Hilo, Kiev, Phoenix, Santiago, Syracuse, and Washington DC. Collectively, in less than five years, “the 42” have multiplied into over 1,500 disciples with a combined attendance nearing 2,500! A few days ago as I was reading the book of Acts, I was reminded that prayer was of the highest priority to the disciples. Prayer moves God. In turn, our sovereign God moves and impacts men by His Spirit, His angels, His Word and His providence. This is how the early church grew so dynamically! Let the following prayers by our first century brothers inspire us by their ensuing impact, as well as serving as a pattern and upward call as we strive to build God’s church here in Los Angeles and around the world in
Adding to the Number
The first day of the rest of his life!
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be […]
New York: The Battleground for Spiritual Revival
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.” – Acts 17:24 Beginning on February 12th, 2012, all churches in New York City are no longer allowed to lease a public school for their worship services, as a […]
Our Brother – John Mark
“When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem [to Antioch], taking with them John, also called Mark.” Acts 12:25 One of the most inspirational lives recorded in the Scriptures is John Mark. This is the same brother who writes the first widely accepted “Gospel of Jesus,” which is known to this day as the Book of Mark. His Hebrew name, John, would be translated, “Yohanan” which means grace. His Latin name was Marcus which probably indicates that he was a Roman citizen. Most likely, in his younger years, he was known primarily as “John Mark” to distinguish him from others who had the common Jewish name of John. Throughout his life, he was privileged to walk besides not only Jesus, but the most gallant preachers of the early church: Barnabas – the son of encouragement, Peter – the apostle to the Jews, and Paul – the apostle to the Gentiles. The Coptic (Egyptian Orthodox) Church tradition, backed by Alfred Edershim’s extensively researched book The Life And Times Of Jesus The Messiah, holds that Jesus and His Twelve had their last Passover meal together in the “upper room” in the home of Mary and her husband, the parents of a teenage John Mark. (Mark 14:12-16) Most believe that John Mark was perhaps 14 or 15 years old. Some even connect the Passover’s “upper room” of Mark and Luke 22, to be one and the same “upper room” as Luke mentions in Acts 1-2, where the 120 gathered led by the Twelve after Jesus’ ascension. Here, they collectively receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, not one scholar doubts that we are “officially” first introduced to John
Biblical Strategies For World Evangelism
“This is the gospel that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.” Colossians 1:23 Immediately before Paul was baptized, Ananias shared with him God’s destiny for his life, “The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His will… You will be His witness to ALL MEN of what you have seen and […]
Seek First His Kingdom!
Prayer Goals for 2010 By Kip McKean “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 Our 2012 theme for the City of Angels International Christian Church and our Winter Workshop is Seek First His Kingdom. However, before we look ahead, let’s remember how the Spirit has moved in 2011. Perhaps most amazing is witnessing the unfolding of Jesus’ plan of the multiplication of disciples! The City of Angels Church started 2011 with 303 disciples. In the past 365 days, “the Lord added to our number [more than] daily” as He blessed us with 366 additions: 260 baptisms, 49 restorations, and 57 place memberships – many of whom came from our former fellowship seeking revival! Also awe-inspiring was the sending out of the third Crown of Thorns Mission Team – Sao Paulo in late August. Already, the Spirit has more than tripled this congregation from seven to twenty-two sold-out disciples! In fact, over the past four and-a-half years since the City of Angels Church was planted, the Spirit has sent out 118 disciples on six mission teams – Honolulu, New York City, Portland, San Diego, London and Sao Paulo – as well as leaders to strengthen our sister churches in Santiago, Washington DC, Chicago, Kiev and Hilo. Therefore, since God planted the City of Angels Church in May 2007, the original 42 disciples from Portland have multiplied to over 1,500 disciples with 2,500 in attendance on Sundays! Multiplication by God’s Spirit has also occurred in the leadership of the SoldOut Movement. So incredible at our 2011 Global Leadership Conference were the reinstatements and appointments of 16 Evangelists and Women’s
Thoughts from I Kings – First Serving
Introduction to I and II Kings
When we read I and II Kings the chronologies are challenging. Northern Israel was ruled from 931BC to 722BC by 19 Kings. The total number of years adds up to 209. If the years of reign of the Kings are taken individually then they add up to 241 years. The […]
Great Deals from Illumination Publishers
As a special offer from the 2011 Global Leadership Conference, Illumination Publishers is offering a special deal on ALL Zondervan products at 40% off!! Also, all DPI books are also available at discounted pricing. Simply visit the Zondervan website,…
The Calling
2011 Global Leadership Conference
Hyatt Regency Hotel – Garden Grove, California
August 21-23, 2011
Jesus went up on the mountainside and called to Him those He wanted, and they came to Him. He appointed twelve “ designating them apostles “ that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach. […]