He answered I will not but afterward

In the parable about the two sons Jesus emphasizes to his disciples the importance of doing his will. He vividly portrayed two sons, one of whom fulfilled God’s will while the other did not. The worst thing was that he said to his father, “I will go,” and then did not go. The other son replied, “I will not go” but he later changed his mind and that made him to be the fulfiller of his father’s will. The addressees of this parable were the Pharisees, who believed that they were fulfilling the will of God in everything they could. They adhered to the outward performance, while denying the essence of the law. So, this lesson is valid for us today. As Christians today we could adhere to all proper Christian insignia and know all the Christian songs yet do not fulfill the core truths that Jesus taught.

Summer Family Camp

Our SFC was a blessing this year. We had to delay the first day of the camp for two days due to severe weather. But the Lord’s blessing in the form of good weather was upon us. Some unbelievers were amazed at how Christians behave between themselves with love and respect. We praise the Lord and for this rare opportunity to spend fruitful time in preaching and sharing the Gospel. Our prayer is for all the participants whether church members or not that the Lord continues his work in their hearts to attain his goals.

Praise and Prayer Points

In our last prayer letter we asked you to join us in praying for our ESL students. We can share with you today that several of them have contacted us recently and expressed their willingness to proceed in our studies. Please pray for this group of people who are quite far from the Lord that they will all see their real spiritual condition and accept Jesus as a cure.
Two weeks ago we met a woman on the street who used to go to our church about 17 years ago. Now she has walked away from the Lord and is living a very ungodly life. Pray that she will return to the Lord and restart going to church.

Friends and Family

Tim has to write his end of year tests yet. Pray for his good preparation and successful passing of all of them. Continue to pray for Liliya’s father, his health condition and salvation.

Thank you for your prayer and your standing with us!

You can make tax deductible contribution to Ufa Bible Ministries which is recognized by the IRS as a 501c3 non-profit entity. Make checks payable to:
Ufa Bible Ministries
PO BOX 1761, Columbia, SC 29202

If you would like to go back and watch parts 1-7, please click here.

Take that thine is and go thy way

In Mathew 20 Jesus teaches his disciples the parable of the workers in the vineyard. While the workers hired at different hours all received the same pay. In it he emphasized that nobody sought God and his salvation came to us by grace. He showed that it might be hard for church members who were with Christ all their lives to accept a person who just came to God. He also illustrated God’s grace and the unexpected nature of salvation within the Kingdom of Heaven. This challenges our human notion of fairness and emphasizes God’s generosity. So, we have to accept this God’s truth and treat a newborn Christian as having the same value in the eyes of God as the old ones.

ESL students

Our ESL school is on long recess for the summer. Some of our students wrote to us that they already miss our classes. We praise the Lord for his slow but steady work that He does through this ministry. Our continuing prayer is for all of them that the Lord continues to change their minds to see the truth. Pray for preservation of the souls during the long summer break. From our experience this is where our enemy gets its hold in the hearts of the people who make steps toward God.

Praise and Prayer Points

We had special Easter services on April 20th. The halls were full despite hardships some of our friends faced. Please pray for people who came for the first time. The church’s picnic on May 9th was also a blessing. A few people came who were friends of our friends. For them it was their first time spent with evangelical Christians. Continue to pray for the preparation for our Summer Family Camp. The camp is scheduled for July 28-August 3th this year. We still have a $600 gap to be covered toward the camp.

Friends and Family

Christina has passed her exams for this year successfully. Tim has yet to take his tests. Pray for his preparation and successful passing through them all. Continue to pray for Liliya’s father, his health and salvation.
Thank you for your prayer and your standing with us!

You can make tax deductible contribution to Ufa Bible Ministries which is recognized by the IRS as a 501c3 non-profit entity. Make checks payable to:
Ufa Bible Ministries
PO BOX 1761, Columbia, SC 29202