Author: servingsaints

Announcements for November 2, 2025

REMEMBER: Daylight savings occurs tonight, please remember to roll back your clocks 1 hour.

Lord’s Day Meeting – 9:30 AM

  • In-Person at the Bellevue meeting hall: 1835 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
  • Zoom

Announcements

  • The parents of the children will have a time of prayer and fellowship on November 2nd; lunch will be provided.
  • A care package will be sent down to the FTTA trainees on November 2nd for Peter Zheng, Daniel Lee, Jerome Shih, and Daniel Chen. Please sign cards and bring items for the trainees no later than that date.
  • The December training will be held December 22-27, 2025. Registration is due by November 1st. Here is the link to sign up: https://www.cognitoforms.com/Churchinbellevue1/_2025DecemberSemiannualTrainingRegistrationAndPaymentLink
  • Reminder: no parking in the Presbyterian parking lot or illegal turns into the parking lot
  • The Puget Sound Conference will be held November 14-16.
  • The Thanksgiving Conference will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana from November 27-30. More information can be found at: https://www.lsm.org/pdfs/2025-Thanksgiving-conf/2025ThanksgivingConferenceInformation_en.pdf 
  • Families with children going to the Thanksgiving conference should register for child care at: https://form.jotform.com/251444161206144 
  • We will continue with week 30 in Volume 5 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
November 4Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)
November 11Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)Redmond/Sammamish/Issaquah (English), TBD
November 18Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)

CLEANING SCHEDULE

TIME PERIODCLEANING GROUP (Zip Codes/Cities)
November 2CHANGE: 98004
November 998006
November 16Puget Sound Conference
November 2398007
USHERING SERVICE SCHEDULELORD’S TABLE SERVICE SCHEDULE
DateTeamDateTeam
November 2BNovember 21
November 9CNovember 92
November 16PS ConferenceNovember 16PS Conference
November 23ANovember 234

Schedule

  • Puget Sound Conference, November 14-16
  • Thanksgiving Conference, November 27-30

Prayer Meeting Reading (Prayer Ministry of the Church)

Matt. 18:19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.

Brothers and sisters, when we truly stand on the ground of the church and take up the responsibility of such a ministry of prayer before God, we will see God’s will carried out in the church where we are. Otherwise, everything will be in vain. There can be many prayers or few prayers, but the main thing is to have strong prayers. What God does today is measured by the amount of prayer that the church offers. God’s power cannot exceed the prayer of the church. The power of God today can at most be as great as the prayer of the church. This does not mean that God’s power is limited in heaven. In heaven, God’s power is unlimited. But on earth, God’s power is manifested to the degree that the church prays. The amount that the church prays will be the measure of the amount that God’s power is manifested. Consequently, the church has to learn to pray big prayers and make big requests. The prayer of the church is often very small; it prays only for ordinary problems.  This is not enough. The church needs to have big prayers and make big requests. Since the church is coming to such a rich God, there must not be small prayers and small requests. Since the church is coming to such a rich God, there must be great things happening. If the capacity of the church before God is small, it will restrict the power of God from being manifested. We know that the question of the overcomers is not quite resolved, and Satan is not yet thrown into the abyss. God must gain a vessel for His testimony before He can accomplish what He has set out to accomplish. The church must have big prayers to manifest our God. This is the ministry of the church. Brothers and sisters, I do not know whether God can say to us that this church has a ministry of prayer when He passes by our prayer meeting. It is not a question of how often we pray. It is a question of the weight of our prayer. If we see the church’s responsibility of prayer, we will see that our prayers are not big enough; we are limiting God and frustrating His work. The church has forsaken its duty! What a sad situation this is!

The issue at stake is this: Can God gain a church that is faithful to its ministry? This depends on whether we are those destined to be disqualified, or whether we are the real vessels of God who will fulfill God’s goal. Brothers and sisters, we have to cry out loudly that God is watching to see whether the church is faithful to its ministry. The ministry of the church is prayer—not small prayers, but prayers that pioneer the way for God. God is accomplishing His work. But the church first prays and prepares the way before God finds the way. The church must have big prayers, serious prayers, and strong prayers. Prayer cannot be small before God. If prayers are centered around ourselves, our personal difficulties, and our small losses and gains, it will be difficult to open a way for God’s eternal will. Many things should drive us to dig deep. But above all, prayer should drive us to the utmost depth.

For two to be in harmony is not an empty word; it is not a slogan. If we do not know what the Body of Christ is and have not taken this ground, it will be useless even if two hundred people are praying together. If we know the Body of Christ and stand on the proper ground of this Body to deny the flesh, if we do not ask things for ourselves but ask for God’s will to be done on earth, we will see that our prayer is in harmony. When this happens, God in heaven will fulfill our prayer on earth.

Burdens For Prayer

Announcements for October 26, 2025

**Please note the registration for the December Training in the announcements below.

Lord’s Day Meeting – 9:30 AM

  • In-Person at the Bellevue meeting hall: 1835 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
  • Zoom

Announcements

  • The parents of the young people will meet on October 26th after the LD meeting for prayer and fellowship.
  • The parents of the children will have a time of prayer and fellowship on November 2nd; lunch will be provided.
  • A care package will be sent down to the FTTA trainees on November 2nd. Please bring items for the trainees no later than that date.
  • Reminder: no parking in the Presbyterian parking lot
  • The Puget Sound Conference will be held November 14-16.
  • The Thanksgiving Conference will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana from November 27-30. More information can be found at: https://www.lsm.org/pdfs/2025-Thanksgiving-conf/2025ThanksgivingConferenceInformation_en.pdf 
  • Families with children going to the Thanksgiving conference should register for child care at: https://form.jotform.com/251444161206144 
  • We will continue with week 29 in Volume 5 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
October 28Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)Redmond/Sammamish/Issaquah (English), Jason and Devin Jung, 15849 NE 92nd Way, Redmond WA 98052
November 4Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)
November 11Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)Redmond/Sammamish/Issaquah (English), TBD
November 18Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)

CLEANING SCHEDULE

TIME PERIODCLEANING GROUP (Zip Codes/Cities)
October 26CHANGE: 98005
November 2CHANGE: 98004
November 998006
November 16Puget Sound Conference
USHERING SERVICE SCHEDULELORD’S TABLE SERVICE SCHEDULE
DateTeamDateTeam
October 26AOctober 264
November 2BNovember 21
November 9CNovember 92
November 16PS ConferenceNovember 16PS Conference

Schedule

NW College retreat October 24-26 

Puget Sound Conference, November 14-16

Thanksgiving Conference, November 27-30

Prayer Meeting Reading (Prayer Ministry of the Church)

Matt. 18:15-19 Moreover if your brother sins against you, go, reprove him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to hear the church also, let him be to you just like the Gentile and the tax collector. 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. 19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.

The ministry of the church is the ministry of the Body of Christ, and the ministry of the Body of Christ is prayer. This prayer is not just for spiritual edification and personal needs but for “heaven.” This prayer, for example, tells others that a person has lost his fellowship with God, that he has not listened to the reproof of one brother or even two or three brothers, and that he does not take the judgment of the church. God has to consider him a Gentile and a tax collector. But He will not do this immediately; He has to wait for the church to do it first. God has to wait for the church to judge this brother as a Gentile and a tax collector in its prayer before He will do the same thing in heaven. If the church takes up this responsibility to pray, it will see that from that day forward his life and spiritual walk will dry up. From that day forward, he will appear to have no part in God. God wants to do this, but He has to wait for the church to pray. God has many things stacked up in heaven. He cannot accomplish any of them because there is no outlet for Him on earth. There are numerous things stacked up in heaven. Yet God cannot resolve them because the church has not exercised its free will to stand on God’s side and fulfill God’s goal. Brothers and sisters, you have to remember that the highest and greatest work of the church is to be the outlet of God’s will. The church becomes the outlet of God’s will through prayer. This prayer is not a fragmentary prayer but a prayer that is in the nature of a ministry, a prayer that is in the nature of a work. God gives man vision and opens man’s eyes to see His will. When this happens, man takes his place to pray.

The Lord also shows us in these verses that individual prayers do not work. There must be at least two persons. If you do not see this point, you will not understand why the Lord says what He says. All the prayers in the Gospel of John are individual prayers. When John 15:16 records, “Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you,” the number of people is not a condition. But in Matthew 18 the number is a condition; there must be at least two persons. The Lord says, “If two of you are in harmony on earth.” There must be at least two because this is a question of fellowship. One person cannot accomplish this. One person cannot be God’s outlet; there must be two. The principle of two is the principle of the church, the principle of the Body of Christ. Although there are only two in this kind of prayer, the “harmony” is indispensable. The two must be in harmony, and they must stand on the ground of the Body. They must know the Body life. There is only one goal with them, which is to tell God, “We want Your will to be done, in heaven and on earth.” When the church prays in this position, whatever it asks will be done for it from the Father who is in the heavens.

Burdens

Announcements for October 12, 2025

Lord’s Day Meeting – 9:30 AM

  • In-Person at the Bellevue meeting hall: 1835 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
  • Zoom

Announcements

DATEPRAYER MEETING LOCATION (7:30 PM)Prayer Burdens, Zoom
October 7Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)
October 14Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)Redmond/Sammamish/Issaquah (English), at Jeff and Sarah MacGillivray, (360) 220-3014, 2313 192nd Ave SE, Sammamish, WA 98075
October 21Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)
October 28Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)Redmond/Sammamish/Issaquah (English), TBD

CLEANING SCHEDULE

TIME PERIODCLEANING GROUP (Zip Codes/Cities)
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
October 2698004
November 298005
USHERING SERVICE SCHEDULELORD’S TABLE SERVICE SCHEDULE
DateTeamDateTeam
October 12COctober 122
October 19DOctober 193
October 26AOctober 264
November 2BNovember 21

Schedule

NW Middle School / High School Retreat, October 17-19

NW College retreat October 24-26 

Puget Sound Conference, November 14-16

Thanksgiving Conference, November 27-30

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.

Matt. 18:19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.

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

2. The Harmony in the Holy Spirit

We have seen that the church should bind what God wants to bind and loose what God wants to loose. How does the church bind and loose? The Lord tells us in verse 19 , “Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter, any matter that they ask will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens” (alternate translation). Verse 18 concerns earth and heaven. Verse 19 also concerns earth and heaven. In verse 18 , when the earth binds, heaven binds, and when the earth looses, heaven looses. Verse 19 says that whatever one asks on earth will be fulfilled by the Father in heaven. The emphasis of the Lord Jesus here is not on asking in harmony, but on being in harmony concerning any matter and then asking concerning such matters. According to the original language, “any matter” belongs to both “in harmony” and “that they ask.” The Lord’s intention is not to tell men to pray for a certain matter in harmony, but to be in harmony concerning any matter. If we are in harmony concerning any matter, then our Father in heaven will accomplish whatever we ask concerning a particular matter. This is the oneness of the Body, the oneness in the Holy Spirit.

A man would feel quite extraordinary if his flesh had not been dealt with because even heaven listens to him. If you are not in the oneness of the Holy Spirit and not praying in the harmony of the Holy Spirit, do you think heaven will listen to you? If you pray this way, heaven will not bind what you bind and loose what you loose. To have heaven loose and bind is not something you can do by yourself. To think that you can do this by yourself is very foolish. The Lord says, “If two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter, any matter that they ask will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.” This means that if two persons are in harmony concerning any matter, as harmonious as music, then whatever they ask will be done for them from the heavenly Father. This kind of prayer requires the constitution of the Holy Spirit in the praying ones. God has to take you to the point where you deny what you want and want only what God wants, and another brother has to be brought by God to the point where he denies what he wants and wants only what God wants. When both you and the brother are brought to this point and are as harmonious as music, whatever you ask will be done for you from the heavenly Father. Brothers and sisters, do not think that as long as you agree in your opinions that your prayers will be answered. Those who have the same opinions often have friction between them. A sameness in goal does not guarantee that there will be no friction. Perhaps two people are trying to preach the gospel. But while they are preaching, they argue about it. Perhaps two people are trying to help others, but while they are helping others, they have friction between themselves. Sameness in goal does not guarantee that there will be harmony. We have to realize that it is impossible to have harmony in the flesh. When our natural life is dealt with by the Lord, when one is living in the Holy Spirit and the other is also living in the Holy Spirit and both are living in Christ, there is harmony, the same views, and the prayer in one accord.

Announcements for October 5, 2025

Lord’s Day Meeting – 9:30 AM

  • In-Person at the Bellevue meeting hall: 1835 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
  • Zoom

Announcements

  • The Middle School and High School retreat will be October 17-19 in Eason, Washington. We encourage parents to attend. Today is the deadline for early registration. Register with this link: https://www.cognitoforms.com/Churchinbellevue1/Fall2025NWYPRetreats
  • The Fall college retreat will be the weekend of October 31st – November 2nd. Details of the retreat are at: https://nwchristianstudents.org/ 
  • We will continue with week 26 in Volume 3 from the Holy Word for Morning Revival from the July training on “Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (3)”. Copies are available in the bookroom. 
  • Reminder: no parking in the Presbyterian parking lot
  • Please refer to the prayer meeting schedule below:
DATEPRAYER MEETING LOCATION (7:30 PM)Prayer Burdens, Zoom
October 7Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)
October 14Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)Redmond/Sammamish/Issaquah (English)
October 21Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)

CLEANING SCHEDULE

TIME PERIODCLEANING GROUP (Zip Codes/Cities)
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
October 2698004
USHERING SERVICE SCHEDULELORD’S TABLE SERVICE SCHEDULE
DateTeamDateTeam
October 5BOctober 51
October 12COctober 122
October 19DOctober 193
October 26AOctober 264

Schedule

NW Middle School / High School Retreat, October 17-19

NW College retreat October 31st – November 2nd. 

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)

The church is God’s chosen vessel. God has placed His will in this vessel so that it will declare God’s will on earth. When the earth wants something, heaven also wants it. When the church wants something, God also wants it. Hence, if God’s demand is rejected in the church, God will not be able to accomplish what He wants to accomplish in heaven

Many brothers and sisters are bearing a burden day and night. They are bearing the burden because they have not prayed. Once the tap is turned on, water flows out. Once it is turned off, the water is blocked. Is the water pressure strong when water is released or when it is blocked? We all know that when water is released, the pressure decreases. When water is blocked, the pressure increases. When the church prays, it is like turning on the tap; the more the tap is turned, the less the pressure becomes. If the church does not pray, it is like a tap being turned off with pressure building up. When God wants to accomplish something, He puts a burden in a brother, sister, or the whole church. If the church prays and fulfills its duty, it will feel relieved. The more the church prays, the more relieved it will feel. As it prays once, twice, five times, ten times, or twenty times, it feels more and more relieved. If the church does not pray, it will feel stuffed and burdened. If the church continues to not pray, it will suffocate to death. Brothers and sisters, if you feel heavy and pressed within, you have not fulfilled your ministry before God; God’s pressure is upon you. Try to pray for half an hour or an hour; the pressure will be released, and you will feel relieved.

What then is the prayer ministry of the church? It is God telling the church what He wants to do and the church praying on earth what God wants to do. This prayer is not asking God to accomplish what we want Him to do but asking God to accomplish what He Himself wants to do. Brothers and sisters, the church’s responsibility is to declare God’s will on earth. On earth the church declares for God, “This is what I want.” If the church fails in this matter, it will not be of much use in God’s hand. Even if everything else is good, it will not be of much use if it fails in this matter. The greatest use of the church lies in the fact that it stands for God’s will to be done on earth.

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.

Prayer Meeting Burdens 2025

Sept 23rd 2025

Fall ITERO 2025 / Northwest brothers Taiwan visit 

Church Service – functioning of every member

more Children and YP serving ones

Bellevue College 

  • Shepherding of 12 students (5 from Bellevue) attending UW Bothell in the Puget Sound
  • Shepherding of 5 students attending Bellevue College

France

  • That the Lord will raise up at least 3 new lampstands in 2025 and will eventually raise up lampstands in Rouen, Lille, Versailles, Mertzig (Luxembourg), Geneva (Switzerland), Marseilles, Toulouse, Caen, Nante,and Montpellier
  • That a number of saints will receive the Lord’s burden to serve in French-speaking Europe for one to three months to meet the urgent need for continued shepherding of the new ones the Lord has put into our hand
  • That the Lord will increase the team of full-time serving ones in Paris to take care of the Lord’s needs throughout French-speaking Europe. Please pray for the release of long stay visas for these saints
  • That many students, families, and mature saints will migrate to France within the next several years for the Lord’s interest

FTTA Trainees 

Gaining typical Americans 

Small group meetings 

Young working saints

Prayer

-Individual

-Small Group

-Church

Church in Everett

One accord and blending among the Puget Sound churches      

Life-study reading

-Formation of daily 15 minute reading groups

Shepherding according to God

Material Offerings

World situation

Israel – Middle east

Russia

Ukraine

United States

Europe – France and Germany

Announcements for September 21, 2025

Lord’s Day Meeting – 9:30 AM

  • In-Person at the Bellevue meeting hall: 1835 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
  • Zoom

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 children will have a time to pray and fellowship on September 21 after the LD meeting.
  • The parents of the young people will have a time to pray and fellowship on September 28 after the LD meeting.
  • Please refer to the prayer meeting schedule below:
DATEPRAYER MEETING LOCATION (7:30 PM)Prayer Burdens, Zoom
September 23Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)
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)

CLEANING SCHEDULE

TIME PERIODCLEANING GROUP (Zip Codes/Cities)
Clean on September 2198007
Clean on September 2898008
Clean on October 598052
Clean on October 1298074, 98075, 98027, 98028, 98029
USHERING SERVICE SCHEDULELORD’S TABLE SERVICE SCHEDULE
DateTeamDateTeam
September 21DSeptember 213
September 28ASeptember 284
October 5BOctober 51
October 12COctober 122

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.

THREE GREAT PRINCIPLES

We have said that God has a will for everything. Yet God does not act independently; He will not do anything by Himself. Even though God has a will, He wants the free will on earth to echo His will before He does anything. If there is only a will in heaven, God will not move. The heavenly move is accomplished on earth only when the earth wants the same thing as heaven. Today this is called the ministry of the church. Brothers and sisters, the ministry of the church is not only the preaching of the gospel. This does not mean that we should not preach the gospel; it means that the ministry of the church is not merely the preaching of the gospel. The ministry of the church is to bring the will in heaven to earth. How does the church bring the will in heaven to earth? It is by prayer on earth. Prayer is not as small and insignificant as some may think. It is not something that is dispensable. Prayer is a work. Prayer is the church saying to God, “God, we want Your will.” Prayer is the church knowing God’s heart and opening its mouth to ask for what is in God’s heart. If the church does not do this, it does not have much use on earth.

Many prayers for spiritual edification, prayers for fellowship, and prayers for supplication cannot replace prayers that are in the nature of work or ministry. If all your prayers are prayers for spiritual edification, fellowship, and supplication, they are too small. A prayer that is in the nature of work or ministry is one in which you stand on God’s side, wanting what God wants. Brothers and sisters, if a prayer is uttered according to God’s will, it is the most powerful thing. For the church to pray means that it finds out God’s will and speaks out this will. Prayer is not just asking God for something. For the church to pray means that it stands on God’s side to declare that man wants what God wants. If the church declares this, the declaration will be effectual.

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

Speaking Out God’s Will

In verse 18 the Lord said, “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.” Who is the “you” here? It is the church, because verse 17 mentions the church, and verse 18 is a continuation of verse 17 . Whatever the church binds on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever the church looses on earth will be loosed in heaven. This is a very important principle: today God works through the church. God cannot do anything at will; He has to do everything through the church. Without going through the church, God cannot do anything. Brothers and sisters, this is a very sober principle. God cannot do anything by Himself today. There is a free will besides His will. If this will does not cooperate with Him, He cannot do anything. The amount of power that the church has expresses the amount of power that God has because His power is expressed through the church. God has placed Himself in the church. The height and extent that the church reaches is the height and extent that God’s power reaches. If the power of the church is small and restricted, God cannot express the height or extensiveness of His power. The water department’s reservoir may be great, but if you have only a small tap in your house, a great amount of water will not flow out. If you want more water in your house, you have to install a larger pipe. Today the capacity of the church determines the degree to which God’s power is expressed. This can be seen from God’s expression in Christ; the capacity of Christ is the degree of the manifestation of God. Today God is expressed in the church; the capacity of the church determines the degree of the expression of God and also the amount of knowledge one can have about God.

Announcements for September 14, 2025

Lord’s Day Meeting – 9:30 AM

  • In-Person at the Bellevue meeting hall: 1835 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
  • Zoom

Announcements

  • There will be gospel trips in German-speaking countries (Germany, Switzerland, and Austria) from October 5 through 19 for the purpose of contacting university students. For more information on joining a gospel trip go to tinyurl.com/Gospeltrips-2025. The registration deadline is September 15th 2025.
  • There will be a landscaping service opportunity on September 13th at 9:30 am. Please bring gloves and tools.
  • The church picnic (potluck) will be September 14 at the Wilburton Park.
    • All families need to bring already cooked/prepared food appropriate for a picnic with a side dish or desserts/drinks, etc.
    • Plates, napkins, plastic utensils, and paper cups will be provided 
    • Please bring your own foldable picnic chairs; we will bring folding tables from the meeting hall to set out the food.
    • If moderate rain is expected in the afternoon, we will make a decision Lord’s day morning whether to stay and eat together at the meeting hall. If we decide to stay at the meeting hall, an announcement will be made at the meeting and an email sent out.
  • The parents of the children will have a time to pray and fellowship on September 21 after the LD meeting.
  • The parents of the young people will have a time to pray and fellowship on September 28 after the LD meeting.
  • Please refer to the prayer meeting schedule below:
DATEPRAYER MEETING LOCATION (7:30 PM)Prayer Burdens, Zoom
September 16Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)Redmond/Sammamish/Issaquah (English), at Jacob and Alethea Chiang, (425) 444-2734, 5435 161st Ct NE, Redmond, WA 98052
September 23Bellevue Meeting Hall (all languages)
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)

CLEANING SCHEDULE

TIME PERIODCLEANING GROUP (Zip Codes/Cities)
Clean on (or before) September 1498006
Clean on September 2198007
Clean on September 2898008
Clean on October 598052
USHERING SERVICE SCHEDULELORD’S TABLE SERVICE SCHEDULE
DateTeamDateTeam
September 14CSeptember 142
September 21DSeptember 213
September 28ASeptember 284
October 5BOctober 51

Schedule

Middle School / High School Retreat, October 17-19

Prayer Meeting Reading

Matt. 18:19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.

Matt. 18:20 For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.

HARMONY OF WILL

Some may ask why God would want the earth to control heaven. If we want to understand this, we have to remember that our God is limited by time. Time refers to the section between the two eternities. There is an eternity past and an eternity future. Between these two eternities, there is time. Within this section called time, God is limited. He cannot work as freely as He wants to. This is a limitation God encountered in the creation of man. According to Genesis 2 , God gave man a free will when He created him. God has a will, and man has a will. Whenever man’s will is not one with God’s will, God is limited. In this room, there is a table, chair, floor, and ceiling. If a man comes in, he can do whatever he wants and not be restricted. The table, chair, floor, and ceiling will not be able to restrict him. God is a powerful God; He can do anything. If the earth was filled with spiritless material, God would be without restriction. But one day, God created man. The man He created was not like a piece of stone or wood; he was not a table or a chair, which could be placed here or there by God at will. The man that God created had a free will. Man could choose to obey God’s word, and he also could choose to disobey His word. God did not create a man who was obligated to obey Him. He created a man with a free will, one who could obey or disobey His word. After God created a man with a free will, His power was limited by this man. He could no longer act according to what He wanted. He had to ask whether man wanted the same thing and whether he was willing to do the same thing. God cannot treat man like a stone, a piece of wood, a table, or a chair, because man has a free will. Since the day God created man, man could choose to allow God’s authority to be carried out or to be blocked. This is why we say that within time, the period between the two eternities, God’s authority is limited by man.

God is willing to be limited in time because He wants to gain a harmonious will in the second eternity. He wants man’s free will to be harmonious with His will. This is a glory to God. If you put a book on the table, it remains on the table. If you put it on the shelf, it remains on the shelf. It is very obedient to you. But even though it is obedient, you are still not satisfied, because it does not have a free will; it is completely passive. God does not want the man He created to be like a book that can be shuffled around at will. Even though God wants man to be fully submissive to Him, He also gave man a free will. God’s intention is that man’s free will would choose to obey Him. This is a glory to God! In eternity future the free will of man will be joined to God’s eternal will. That will be the time for God’s eternal will to be fulfilled and for man’s free will to become harmonious with God’s eternal will. Every man has a free will. In eternity future man will still have a free will, but it will stand on God’s side. He will still have the ability to oppose God, but he will not oppose Him. Hallelujah! Even though man will have the freedom to oppose God, he will not oppose Him. He will do what God wants. This harmony of will is a glory to God!

September 14, Church Picnic

Dear saints,
Our church picnic will be this coming Lord’s Day, September 14 at Wilburton Hill Park in Bellevue (next to the botanical garden) after the Lord’s day meeting. We will meet next to the baseball field up on the hill.

  • All families need to bring already cooked/prepared food appropriate for a picnic with a side dish or desserts/drinks, etc.
  • Plates, napkins, plastic utensils, and paper cups will be provided 
  • Please bring your own foldable picnic chairs; we will bring folding tables from the meeting hall to set out the food.
  • If you have a grill, please consider bringing it (and we can prepare hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.)

NOTE: there is a possibility of rain on the Lord’s day. If moderate rain is expected in the afternoon, we will make a decision Lord’s day morning whether to stay and eat together at the meeting hall. If we decide to stay at the meeting hall, an announcement will be made at the meeting and an email sent out.  

Grace to you.

Reading Excerpt

Dear saints,
We will read an excerpt from The Prayer Ministry of the Church at the start of the prayer meeting. These will be included in the announcements going forward. The reading except for tomorrow’s prayer meeting is below.

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.

Matt. 18:19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.

Matt. 18:20 For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.

THE EARTH CONTROLS HEAVEN

In verse 18 the Lord says, “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.” What is special about this verse? The special thing is that there must be a move on earth before there is a move in heaven. It is not heaven that binds first but the earth that binds first. It is not heaven that looses first but the earth that looses first. After the earth binds, heaven binds; after the earth looses, heaven looses. The move in heaven is controlled by the move on earth. Everything contrary to God has to be bound, and everything in harmony with God has to be released. Everything, whether it is something to be bound or loosed, should have its binding or its loosing originate from the earth. The move on the earth precedes the move in heaven. The earth controls heaven.

We can see how the earth controls heaven from a few cases in the Old Testament. When Moses was on the mountain, the Israelites won every time he raised his hands, and the Amalekites won every time he lowered his hands ( Exo. 17:9-11 ). Who decided the victory at the bottom of the mountain? Did God decide or did Moses decide? Brothers and sisters, we have to see God’s principle of work and the key to His move. God cannot do what He wants to do unless man wants it. We cannot make God do what He does not want to do, yet we can stop God from doing what He wants to do. The victory was decided by God in heaven, but the victory was decided by Moses before men. Truly, God in heaven wanted the Israelites to win, but if Moses had not raised his hands on earth, the Israelites would have lost. When he raised his hands, the Israelites won. The earth controls heaven.

Ezekiel 36:37 says, “Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.” God has a purpose to increase the number of the house of Israel so that the Israelites would increase like a flock. Those who do not know God will say, “If God wants to increase the number of the Israelites like a flock, He could go ahead and do it. Who could stop Him?” But this verse says that God must be inquired of first before He will accomplish it for them. This is a clear principle: Even though God decides on a matter, He will not do it immediately. He would increase the house of Israel only after they inquired of Him. He wants the earth to control heaven.

Isaiah 45:11 has a most peculiar word, “Thus says Jehovah, / The Holy One of Israel and the One who formed him, / Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, / And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” Brothers and sisters, is not this word most peculiar? Concerning the sons and the work of His hand, God says that we can command Him. We would almost be afraid to use the word “command.” How can man command God? All those who know God realize that man cannot be haughty before Him. But God Himself says, “Concerning My sons, / And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” This is the earth controlling heaven. It does not mean that we force God to do what He does not want to do. Rather, it means that we can command God to do what He wants to do. This is our position. After we know God’s will, we can say to Him, “God, we want You to do this. We are determined that You should do this. God, You must do this.” We can utter such strong and powerful prayers before God. We have to ask God to open our eyes to see the kind of work He is doing in this age. In this age all His work is based on this position. Heaven may want to accomplish something, but heaven will not do it alone; heaven waits for the earth to do it first, and then heaven does it. Although the earth stands in the second place, at the same time, it also stands in the first place. The earth must move before heaven will move. God wants the earth to move heaven.