This Sunday’s Lord’s Table
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am overjoyed to tell you that we will be resuming in-person services beginning this Sunday at 4pm at Trinity Church Central Oahu! The preciousness and longing for assembling in person has been heavy on our hearts for many weeks now. The Lord never designed anything less than the whole church to gather regularly and in person. Our online times of encouragement were very helpful, but could never substitute. The elders and deacons met last week in anticipation of this day, but we honestly didn’t know it would come this quickly. God’s timing is certainly not ours. Since our governor approved the reopening of church services here in Hawaii yesterday (Thursday, 5/21/20) the elders and deacons have been scrambling to get all things in order and in compliance with state protocols on meeting as soon as possible. We are thankful especially for the deacons (Al and Ron) who worked hard to get us to meet together by this Sunday.
Please note there will be no nursery and no Sunday School until further notice. If you are elderly, immune compromised, or just feeling uneasy about coming please feel free to stay home. We completely understand and hold no judgment against your personal decision. If you are sick or feeling ill, we ask that you remain at home. And please follow the livestream on Facebook Live at the Island Grace Church Facebook page.
So here are the guidelines by which our state has approved us meeting again (and forgive me if this all sounds so very familiar):
Though we want to be compliant with the state guidelines and want to respect the well-being and consciences of our members, please pray that the Lord will give you (and all in attendance) a freedom to enjoy the worship, fellowship, and long-awaited assembling of our people again (here and beyond Mililani). This is how the Lord has ordained that we as a people should meet with Him. Let us give much thanks for this liberty to do this once again.
“My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God…Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, ever singing Your praise!” (Psalm 84:2,4).
Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday.
In Christ,
Ray Palompo for the elders and deacons
Covid-19 Update Letter to IGC
Faithful to the Gospel
Dear Island Grace Church,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus! We are many weeks into our time of sheltering in and amidst the long Costco lines, home cooking, garage workouts, vivid dreams (am I the only one?), and waxing philosophically about what life will be like after we emerge from the depths of our dwellings, I hope that you are seeing evidences of grace in your lives. I have been praying for you all to grow deeper in your intimacy with Christ, your dependence on Christ, your worship of Christ, and your spiritual disciplines of reading and prayer that you may grow in the knowledge and grace of Christ. What a test for us that we can no longer make the excuse of “I don’t have the time for regular devotions in the word and prayer”. I hope you are seeing fruit and encouragement in this.
I was having a conversation with a fellow pastor the other day and I wanted to share the gist of it with you all. It seems the use of multi-media and the internet has become a practice for nearly all churches and nearly all ministries in these churches these days; in such a way as has never been utilized before. Couple that with humans all over the globe growing more and more anxious, fearful, and asking deeper questions than ever before. And what do humans do when they don’t have answers? They Google.
Today there are countless churches posting sermons online for the world to see and hear. More religious/spiritual information is available than ever before on the internet. Every pastor I know is doing this. Simply unprecedented. But what are people hearing? What are these churches talking about and preaching? Because people are more desperate than usual it is absolutely imperative that the answers they find must be the soul-freeing, Christ-centered truth of the Gospel. What a travesty if people in desperation look for answers on church websites only to find man-centered, God-diminishing messages devoid of addressing sin or the sufficiency of Christ. Now more than ever the purity of the Gospel is needed. Now more than ever, as the virtual floodgates are opened and churches pump out information, now more than ever the undiluted Gospel is the remedy for man’s greatest need, the cure for his anxious soul.
Let us pray for Christians and preachers all over the world that they would, like Paul, determine to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (I Corinthians 2:2). And like Peter preach to repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away (Acts 3:19). It is crucial that we proclaim that there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Let us pray for the pure Gospel to herald forth as the whole world tunes in.
And please pray for the elders, preachers, Growth Group leaders, and all teachers at Island Grace Church to also be faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as our words are transmitted through the internet. May the Spirit use our feeble efforts to awaken dead souls to life in Christ.
And may you all continue to find the delight of being with family, focusing on business at home, teaching your children, serving one another, and meeting alone with our good Shepherd. Oh, and sweet dreams.
In Christ,
Ray Palompo for the elders
A Letter from the Elders of Island Grace Church: Stay Apart and Draw Near (A Church-Wide Time of Fasting and Praying)
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Island Grace Church,
You have all been on my heart and in my prayers these last few weeks. I really miss being with you all, but have found ways of connecting through our modern technological marvels. And for that I am so grateful.
I have been hearing great reports of ministries getting together to encourage, pray, and even plan during our time of isolation. The Lord has used this time of crisis and canceled gatherings to build a longing within His people to be together face to face. I, like many of you, long to be together on a Sunday and worship as a body in song and under the Word, But I am thankful that a healthy hungering has built up in all of us as well as, perhaps, a greater appreciation for our Sunday worship services. It will be a great day when we all walk into the building once again to gather for His Name’s sake.
In light of the circumstances of our times the elders would like to invite you to a church-wide time of fasting and prayer this Saturday morning at 8am. Even as we are mandated to stay apart, let us draw near to God in prayer. Here’s how we will do this. All of us, in our own homes, will pray at 8am over a list of requests (below). Now there is no magic in all of us praying at once, but there is within the heart of God a desire to hear His people pray as a body, lifting our requests with one accord (Acts 1:14).
For some of you fasting may be a new concept. To fast is simply to abstain from eating for a time for the purposes of focusing less on food (and things of this world) and focusing more on God. Jesus speaks of it in its connection to prayer in Matthew 6:5-6, 16-18 and Luke 5:33-35; highlighting that the heart of these acts is to meet with God. One occasion for fasting and praying is seen in Nehemiah 1, where the prophet fasted and prayed in grief and great need over sin and over the distress of the city of Jerusalem and over its broken walls. As each week passes we can see that we are living in times of great need and distress now. So the elders would like to call this time to fast and pray. (If you are not familiar with the discipline of fasting or would like to learn more, please don’t feel obligated to fast at this time.)
Requests:
What a privilege and opportunity for the body of Christ to set aside temporal things like food and give our full attention to spiritual needs and the Person of God that we may be in a simultaneous posture of confession, worship, thanks, and supplication (asking). Use this as an opportunity to talk to your children about what is going on in our nation and model how Christians must respond. And may this time calm our hearts and minds and place our full confidence on a loving, sovereign, gracious Savior. One final thought, James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Through prayer we may make our needs known, but more importantly, through prayer we draw nearer to our God. Remember, though troubles may come, the plan for all troubles is to make Him more known and to know Him more. Our greatest provision in hard times (and in all times) is God Himself. Our most treasured answer is more of Christ. Pray in order that He may draw near to you.
For His glory and our good,
Ray (on behalf of the Elders)
A Letter from the Elders & Deacons of Island Grace Church
Dear IGC Family,
A Letter from the Elders & Deacons of Island Grace Church
Dear Island Grace Church,
As far as our weekly ministries and Sunday School, we will inform you soon on what the leadership decides. Thank you for your patience and prayers. Please contact any of the leaders if you have any questions or needs. Simply respond to this email/contact us through FB/IG/etc (whatever is appropriate).
In the Name of the King,
The Elders and Deacons of Island Grace Church
A Letter from the Elders & Deacons of Island Grace Church
Dear Island Grace Church,
I hope this email finds you trusting deeply in the sovereign Lord Jesus Christ. I’m sure you’ve been keeping up to date with the ever-changing COVID-19 news and so I wanted to let you know that we will have regular Sunday School and service this Sunday. Our desire is to strike a balance between irrational panic and common sense. Please use normal good hygiene practices as we gather. Be considerate if brothers or sisters feel uncomfortable with handshakes or hugs. And if you are feeling sick, have a chronic condition that makes you particularly vulnerable, or are among our beloved elderly, please feel free to stay home this Sunday. We know your heart to not neglect the assembling of God’s people, but in this situation staying home may be a better way to show love for the saints.
Tomorrow morning the elders and deacons will meet to pray and discuss how Island Grace Church should move forward with ministry meetings and Sundays. We are listening to the experts, to our government leaders, but most of all need the leading of the Spirit. Please pray for wisdom and guidance as we meet tomorrow. And we will be praying for you for good health and for deep trust in the fact that Christ continues to be in control of all things and works all things for our good and His glory.
In the Name of the King,
The Elders and Deacons of Island Grace Church
95-388 Wikao Street
Mililani, HI 96789
(Trinity Church Central Oahu)
Worship Service 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
