The Universal Fellowship of the Body of Christ
“And they continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42)
“…The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of Christ? Seeing that there is one bread, we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread.” (1 Cor. 10:16-17)
The churches in different localities are for the universal expression of Christ. Local churches are the procedure God takes to reach the goal of His economy—the Body of Christ. Among all the churches that compose the one universal Body of Christ, there is no organization, but there is the fellowship of the Body of Christ. Fellowship is related to oneness; the circulation of the divine life in the Body brings all the members of the Body into oneness. (Vital Factors for the Recovery of the Church Life, msg. 3, II.G, H.1, III.C, C.2)
Therefore, this universal fellowship is the fellowship of the Body of Christ. It is the fellowship passed on to us by the apostles. Hence, it is the apostles’ fellowship, and this fellowship is with the Triune God. Such a fellowship must be universal. In administration the churches are separate locally, but in fellowship they are united to be one universally. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Vital Factors for the Recovery of the Church Life,” pp. 493, 495-496)
July Semiannual Training
The July Semiannual Training will begin on July 5. The books to be crystallized in this training are Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. Please pray according to this word written by one of the ministering brothers:
“The 12 messages will not be mere summaries of the Life-study messages on these books but will release light, life, and truth regarding the mysterious intrinsic significance of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. The writing of the outlines involved intense spiritual warfare. This indicates two matters: (1) that the enemy is opposed to the content of these 12 training messages and fights against them; (2) that this training is of great importance in the eyes of God, for these messages will enable the saints to experience and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ, to do the will of the Father in their life and service, to become in Christ those who will conquer the satanic chaos by the victory of Christ and accomplish the divine economy for the new creation, and to take the way of life in reality for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. This training will be a special blessing to all those who are willing to pay whatever price the Lord requires for us to be trained, matured in life, and fully prepared to be the prepared bride of Christ, loving His appearing and longing for His coming.”
California Summer School of Truth
This year’s SSOT from June 12 to 26 is currently being held online for all of the saints in the state of California. Thank the Lord for a wonderful first week; we are looking forward to the Lord’s speaking in the second week. We are grateful to the Lord for this opportunity that our YP could develop a taste for the truths we have inherited in the Lord’s recovery. In LA, we have already enjoyed a few in-person activities. We look forward to a corporate gathering this Saturday at Hall 2 to conclude the SSOT.
Please continue to pray that:
- The hearts of the young people would be good ground for the Lord’s word;
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The group fellowship times would be cherishing and nourishing to minister life, practical help, and experiential impressions to the young ones;
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The Lord would supply the serving ones as they shepherd the YP and coordinate various activities.
SoCal Chinese-speaking Gospel Meeting
The Southern California Chinese-speaking Gospel Meeting will be held online this Saturday, June 26, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm (Zoom ID: 843 2558 0468). The fellowship is on “An Unknown God” (Acts 17:23).
Please pray that:
- All southern California Chinese-speaking saints would cooperate with the Lord for the spreading of the gospel; receive the burden to pray for their unsaved relatives, friends, and neighbors; and boldly invite them to this gospel meeting;
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God would prepare the hearts of all participants as good earth, and the gospel friends could see God when they hear His words.
North America Chinese-speaking Saints Perfecting Training
The 2021 North America Chinese-speaking Saints Perfecting Training will be held online from July 24 to 31. This training is a special time for all Chinese-speaking saints, and the burden is based on the ministry book The Ten Great Critical ‘Ones’ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ. Any interested saints from Los Angeles may register until July 11 at http://tinyurl.com/bd3ny3fc.
Saints who need to work during the training can also register if they could attend all training sessions on both weekends, weekday evenings, all sessions on non-working days, and catch up with the other sessions by watching the video recordings.
There will be an open session to all saints with English translation on the Lord’s Day, July 25, 10:30 am to 12:00 pm (PDT).
Please pray that as many Chinese-speaking saints as possible would be open to the Lord, seize the opportunity, and consecrate themselves and their time to register for this training.
FTTA
We are thankful to the Lord and to the churches that we have been able to continue the training remotely for these past 15 months. As we resume the training in person this August, we would like to enter into the term in much prayer and according to the Lord’s leading.
The following verse and footnote express our desire: “Thus says the Lord Jehovah, moreover for this I will be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock” (Ezek. 36:37). The footnote on inquired reads, “The Lord promised to increase our number with men like a flock, but we need to pray for this and ask Him to do it.”
As the Lord leads you, please join us in prayer in asking Him to increase our number by sending 120 first-term FTTA trainees to Anaheim and 20 FTTA-XB trainees to Boston for Fall 2021!
European Parents Conference
We warmly invite parents and burdened saints to participate in a time of fellowship from June 25 to 27 concerning the raising up of the next generation for the church life. This online conference will have five messages on “Vital Factors in Caring for Children and Young People According to God’s Economy.” Included in this weekend will be a special afternoon family meeting for the whole family to see other children and families, and enter into the burden of having a regular family time. We will not have a separate family or children’s conference. For more information and registration, visit http://epcconference.eu.
Please pray for this conference and for the care for our children and young people. May the Lord use this special time to raise up many young people who would cooperate with the Lord to turn this age.
Turkey
Pray for the Turkish people, especially the saints’ contacts and spiritual book readers, that they can be enlightened by the Lord and have a spirit of wisdom and revelation, being saved from religion and darkness and entering into the fellowship of the Body.
Announcements
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Morning Revival: Week 3 of Vital Factors for the Recovery of the Church Life (ITERO).
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Holy Bible Recovery Version App is the official app from Living Stream Ministry that contains the Recovery Version of the Holy Bible in English with its enlightening footnotes, valuable cross-references, and useful charts and maps. For more information, go to http://www.lsm.org/rvapp.html.
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Living Stream Ministry has launched a digital newsletter called “Having This Ministry…” To learn more and subscribe, go to http://newsletters.lsm.org/having-this-ministry/index.html.
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FTTA Middle-Age Training is pleased to announce that the 2021 Fall semester begins on August 30. For details, visit http://fttamidage.org.
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Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.