IPA WEEKLY BULLETIN

Shiji Job Mar 2

Relbin Thomas Mar 4 March 2, 2008
Tomy Daniel Mar 5
Renjini Thomas Mar 6
Kunjomol Aniyankunju Mar 6
Samuel (Sam) Mathew Mar 6 Rev. K.V. Abraham Rev. Finney Samuel
Monamma Alexander Mar 7 Pastor Youth Pastor

343 Jerusalem Avenue

IPA Youth Ministry
Saturday Night Youth Service- 7:30-9:30 PM
Special Guest will be ministering
Bring a Friend!
Pentecostal Young Peoples’ Association [PYPA]
PYPA Inaugural Convention
March 29-30, 2008 [6:30PM] Both Nights
IPC Rockland, Nyack
Guest Speaker: Pastor Valsan Abraham, California
PYPA Retreat 2008
April 18-20, 2008
Spruce Lake, PA—ONLY $99
Guest Speaker: Rev. Felix Chivandre & Patricia McNair
Visit www.pypaonline.org
Hicksville, NY 11801
(516) 942-5657
www.ipany.org
Weekly Announcements
Funeral of Bro. K. M. Joseph
Wake Today @ 6-9 PM
Home Going Service
Wednesday March 5th, 2008 ,Time: 9-11 AM
Venue: ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
636 PALISADES AVENUE, Yonkers NY 10703
-Tel #: 914-965-4967
Direction go to www. ipany.org
03/07//08 Fri - 10:30 AM - Friday morning fasting and prayer meeting:
Bro. Thomas Samuel & Sis. Molly
See The Church Directory For Address & Number
03/08/08 Sat - 7:30 PM - Saturday night service at IPA
 FROM THE DESK OF THE PASTOR…
-Rev. K.V. Abraham
Saints and Adversities
John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world
you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Adversities and sufferings are a
part of Christian life. It is not exempted to
Christians or saints. They also go through
various types of sufferings. Adversities and
miseries occur to humanity due to fallen
nature, according to the Bible. Major relig-
ions and philosophies came out in search of
answers to suffering and adversities. Adver-
sity strikes without warning, or at a time
when least expect it. They can include in-
tense pain, such as physical, emotional, or
mental pains.
Often times, people put the respon-
sibility of going through sufferings on vari-
ous things, it has a character and a nature
such as:
Blaming ourselves
Blaming others or someone else –
John 9:2 – “His disciples asked
him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man
or his parents that he was born
blind?”
Blaming God
Try to give up – think “it’s time to
give up”
Try to run away and hide
Try to live in a dream world as if
nothing happened
Blaming the fate
God has abandoned their life
Various types of suffering can include:
Death; sudden death - Sick-
ness
Defeat; failure - Health crisis
Accidents - Bro-
ken relationships
Persecution - Be-
trayals and Trials
Emotional breakdowns - Financial
Crisis
Termination of Jobs - Re-
jection and disapproval
Broken and dysfunctional families -
Loneliness
Natural catastrophes and calamities
From God’s viewpoint, adversity is
a tool to equip us to grow in faith. It is a tool
to build character. It is a time to taste the
goodness of God. It is the positive side.
When we go through pain, we have Jesus to
lean on, who also went through pain.
Adversity is for Building Character
God’s viewpoint of adversity is His
choice tool for building character. When
King David went through suffering, it was a
time when his life transformed into a more a
divine and godly nature. This can also take
place in our life.
Adversity is God’s Discipline
Heb. 12:10 – “Our fathers disciplined us for
a little while as they thought best; but God
disciplines us for our good, that we may
share in his holiness.”
Heb. 12:6 – “because the Lord disciplines
those he loves and he punishes everyone he
accepts a son.”
God’s discipline is not to destroy
us, but to build our life into a better shape
and level. God uses various methods to dis-
cipline us. Adversities and sufferings are one
type of methods or tools in the hands of
God.
Adversity is a Time to Learn
Ps. 119:71 – “It was good for me to be af-
flicted so that I may learn your decrees.”
Adversities can be a great school,
teaching us practical lessons of life. When
we go through affliction and sufferings, we
might learn things that we never before
learned in life.
God is Equipping Us for His Service
Phil. 1:29 – “For it is had been granted to
you on behalf of Christ not only to believe
on him, but also to suffer for him,”
God wants his saints to be fit for his
service. Through adversities and sufferings,
God transforms individuals into servants
where he fits into his service.
Adversities Make Us Strong
Adversity comes to the weak area of despair”
life, intending to make it strong. God knows
our weaknesses and our frailties. Through
sufferings, he wants us to learn from them
and make us stronger, as it happened to Paul our life.
the apostle.
Adversity is Based on God’s Love
Rom. 8:35 – “Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger
or sword?”
Adversity is based on the eternal
love of God. Love is God’s character. When
we go through adversities, we experience
God’s love in a meaningful way.
Self-Imposed Adversities
Self-imposed adversity God allows
bringing you back to fellowship. Examples
of self-imposed adversities can include Peter
falling into the water, or Jonah crying in the
belly of the whale. God had a purpose that
was bringing them back to his fellowship.
Adversities will Bring our Attention to
God
Rom. 8:28 – “And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who live
him, who have been called according to his
purpose.”
Our God is a God who wants our
undivided attention. He doesn’t like to share
our attention with anything else on this earth.
When we go through sufferings, we have
nothing else, but only to look to God for
help.
Adversities are God’s Testing Furnace
Job 23:10 – “But he knows the way that I
take; when he has tested me, I will come
forth as gold.”
Job 5:18 – “For he wounds, but he also binds
up; he injures, but his hands also heal.”
All the adversities are like a burning
furnace, with much pain, agony, and torture.
Remember, God will bring out a better per-
sonality, like gold, out of all these adversi-
ties.
Adversities Can Press us, but Cannot
Crush us
2 Cor. 4:8 – “We are hard pressed on every
side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in
The world may think that this is a
time when we are crushed, but in God’s
viewpoint, it is a time when God is enlarging
Adversities Can Mold us Into Counselors
2 Cor. 1:4 – “who comforts us in all our trou-
bles, so that we can comfort those in any
trouble with the comfort we ourselves have
received from God.”
When we go through adversities and
come out successfully, we can turn those
experiences into comfort for those who are
going through pain.
Adversities and the Christian Church
1 Cor. 12:26 – “If one part suffers, every part
suffers with it; if one part is honored, every
part rejoices with it.”
It is a responsibility of the Christian
church, when someone is going through suf-
fering, we need to share their suffering and
uphold them in our prayers. We should sup-
port them in every aspect of their problem.
Adversities are a time to Renounce Sin
and Seek God
Hosea 5:15 – “Then I will go back to my
place until they admit their guilt. And they
will seek my face; in their misery they will
earnestly seek me.”
Sometimes, adversities may come
through sin. We may think we are perfect
and holy, but only God knows who we are
and He wants us to renounce that sin and
seek him earnestly.
Adversities and Overflowing Joy
2 Cor. 8:2 – “Out of the most severe trial,
their overflowing joy and their extreme pov-
erty welled up in rich generosity.”
In the midst of trial, the early church
experienced overflowing joy. In the extreme
poverty, they were able to help those who
were in need. They showed a rich generosity
in that time of adversity. This is the best ex-
ample for us to follow.