Announcements for September 28, 2025

Lord’s Day Meeting – 9:30 AM

Announcements

  • The Middle School and High School retreat will be October 17-19 in Eason, Washington. We encourage parents to attend. Register with this link: https://www.cognitoforms.com/Churchinbellevue1/Fall2025NWYPRetreats
  • The parents of the young people will have a time to pray and fellowship on September 28 after the LD meeting.
  • The Puget Sound churches will all begin Volume 3 (Week 25) from the Holy Word for Morning Revival from the July training on “Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (3)”. Copies are available in the bookroom. 
  • Please refer to the prayer meeting schedule below:
DATEPRAYER MEETING LOCATION (7:30 PM)Prayer Burdens, Zoom
September 30Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)Redmond/Sammamish/Issaquah(English), at Jeff and Sarah MacGillivray, (360) 220-3014, 2313 192nd Ave SE, Sammamish, WA 98075
October 7Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)
October 14Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)Redmond/Sammamish/Issaquah(English)

CLEANING SCHEDULE

TIME PERIODCLEANING GROUP (Zip Codes/Cities)
Clean on September 2898008
Clean on October 598052
Clean on October 1298074, 98075, 98027, 98028, 98029
Clean on October 19Medina, Clyde Hill, Kirkland, Kenmore, Bothell, Woodinville, Marysville, Carnation, Mercer Island, Seattle, Newcastle, Renton, Federal Way
USHERING SERVICE SCHEDULELORD’S TABLE SERVICE SCHEDULE
DateTeamDateTeam
September 28ASeptember 284
October 5BOctober 51
October 12COctober 122
October 19DOctober 193

Schedule

Middle School / High School Retreat, October 17-19

Prayer Meeting Reading (Prayer Ministry of the Church)

Matt. 18:18 Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Now let us consider three great principles in ministerial prayer from Matthew 18:18-20 .

1.     Speaking Out God’s Will (continued)

God wants to do many things on earth today. But He must have the church stand on His side before He can accomplish these things through the church. God cannot do what He wants to do by Himself; He has to do it with the cooperation of the church. The church is the means through which God expresses Himself. Let me repeat: the church is like a water tap. If the tap is small, the amount of water flowing through the tap will not be great, even if there is as much water as the Yangtze River. God truly wants to work in heaven, but He has to wait for the earth to move before He can work. There are many things that God wants to bind in heaven, and there are many things that God wants to loose in heaven. God wants to see many people, objects, and things contrary to Him bound, and He wants to see many spiritual, valuable, beneficial, and holy things that are of Him loosed. The question is whether or not there are men on earth to bind what God wants to bind and loose what God wants to loose. He wants the earth to control heaven. God wants the church to control heaven.

This by no means says that God is not omnipotent. God is indeed omnipotent, but He needs a channel on earth before He can manifest His omnipotence. We cannot increase God’s power, but we can hinder His power. Man cannot increase God’s power, but he can block His power. We cannot ask God to do what He does not want to do, but we can limit what He wants to do. We cannot ask God to do something that He is not willing to do, yet we can stop Him from doing something that He wants to do. Brothers and sisters, have you seen this? There is a power in the church that puts God’s power under its control. It can allow God to do what He wants to do, and it can stop God from doing what He wants to do. Our eyes have to be opened to see the future. One day God will expand the church to become the New Jerusalem. God’s glory will be manifested from the church without any hindrance. Today He wants the church to first loose on earth before He looses in heaven. He wants the church to first bind on earth before He binds in heaven. Heaven will not take the initiative to work; it follows the earth’s work. God will not take the initiative to work; He follows the church’s work. Brothers and sisters, since this is the case, how great is the responsibility of the church!

We have seen that Matthew 18:15-17 speaks of a particular case and that the great principle is given in the following verses. When a brother sins against another, he may not confess his sins or mistakes. When the church reproves him, he still may not listen. If this happens, the church will consider him as the Gentile and the tax collector. The sinning brother may say, “Who are you? How can you make me as the Gentile and the tax collector? I will just stop coming to your meeting. If I cannot come to this place, there are many other places I can go to.” However, what did the Lord Jesus say after this? “Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Hence, if the church decides to consider a man a Gentile, God in heaven will consider him a Gentile also. If the church considers a man a tax collector, God in heaven will consider him a tax collector also. In other words, God will do in heaven what the church does on earth. If the church considers a brother a Gentile and a tax collector, God in heaven will consider the same brother a Gentile and a tax collector. Not only does this case follow the principle, a thousand other matters follow the same principle. This case is only an example. It shows us how much the church can do. Then it shows us the greatness of the principle.