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Triumph Connected

Be The Light!

February 4, 2024

Salvation is Free!

Spiritual Laws:

1. God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life. (John 3:16)

2. Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life. (Romans 3:23)

3. 3. Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man's sin. Through Him, you can know and experience God’s love and plan for you life. (John 14:6)

4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives. (Ephesians 2:8,9)

YOU can Receive Christ right now by Faith and Prayer.

God knows your heart and is not concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Scripture for the Week

Matthew 5: 14

“You are the light of the world…. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Prayer Works!

Fasting Prayer:

Lord Jesus,

Today, fill me afresh with the wonder of Your love and power. I need You! Holy Spirit I surrender myself to You! I chose to forego simple pleasures to focus on knowing You better and prioritizing my relationship with You. I ask You for a fresh vision for what breakthrough will look like in my life and the life of the Church. Please help me to have the courage to say no to things that distract me spiritually, mentally, and physically. Give me the power to not crave anything more than You. I long to be empowered with Your might and Your peace. Open our hearts to you like never before. Give us the desire to turn to You and serve You with all our

hearts, with all our souls, with all our strength. May my life display Your power and may I be a testimony of Your light and love. Do the impossible in and through me, I pray and count it done, in Jesus’ name.

AMEN

View from the Pew...

By Pastor Giles

FAST FOOD

The goal of a Christian fasting according to the Bible is not to lose weight, capture the secret of anti-aging, or fit into your skinny jeans. There is so much power in fasting, getting out of our own way, and connecting with the Lord God in this unique, spiritual disciplined way.

What is Biblical Fasting?

Biblical fasting can be defined as abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. Simply going without food because it is not available or because of medical reasons is not Biblical fasting. There must be a spiritual motivation to qualify as a Scriptural fast. Through the focus is on fasting from food, you can also fast from other things that may be hindering your relationship with God, like social media, television, etc.

Some Biblical Examples and Purposes of Fasting

Jesus fasted to acknowledge His dependence and to gain spiritual strength through reliance on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. He did this before He began His public ministry (Luke 4:1, 2).
Nehemiah fasted for confession, repentance, and favor in the sight of the king to get permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4).
David humbled himself for God in 2 Samuel 12:17, 23, he fasted for healing and miraculous intervention.
The Early Church fasted while they sought the Lord for guidance, confirmation, etc… (Acts 13:2; 14:23).

Jesus expected His disciples to fast (Matthew 6:16).

Wrong Motivations in Fasting

To be seen by others (Matthew 6:18). "The critical issue is not whether people know you are fasting but whether you want them to know so that you can bask in their admiration." To appear pious (Luke 18:12-14)

Right Motivations for Fasting

Repentance.
Spiritual breakthrough, strength against resistance, or an enemy attack.
To break demonic bondage. "This kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21).
To awaken a spiritual hunger for God that may be dulled because of a desire for other things.
To demonstrate our love and desire for God above all things (even His gifts).
To divide our bread with the poor – to house the homeless and poor, to loosen bonds of wickedness, to let the oppressed go free (Isaiah 58:6-7).

5. Types of Fasts

There are three types of fasts mentioned in Scripture:

Partial fast: described in the book of Daniel where for three weeks Daniel and his friends abstained only from “delicacies,” meat and wine (Daniel 10:3).
Complete fast: water or juice fasting, especially when fasting for an extended period. Juice fasts will provide you with more energy than water-only fasts and still lead you into the humbling experience of denying your desire for solid, chewable food.
Supernatural fast: these are total fasts no food (solid or liquid) and no water. Paul went on an absolute fast for three days following his encounter with Jesus (Acts 9:9). Moses and Elijah engaged in a supernatural absolute fast of forty days (Deuteronomy 9:9; 1 Kings 19:8). This kind of fast should be done with great care. Our bodies cannot go without water for more than three days. Be cautious, and always consult your doctor if you are unsure of your physical condition.

While fasting, read the Bible, pray, worship, listen to praise and worship music, and encourage one another. The goal when fasting is to approach God on a deeper level. When fasting focus your thoughts and actions on Christ!

Participate

in the

Triumph Fast!

Who: All Members of

Triumph

When: February 5-12

How: 2 ways to fast -

Please sign up to partake as many times as possible during the fast.

24 hours fast: 7:00 am-7:am the following day.
12 hours fast: 7:00 am.-7 pm.

During your fast time: spend time in the Bible, prayer, worship music, service.

Suggested readings: Psalms 139, James, Isaiah 58, Psalms, 1Proverbs, Mark, John,

Vision for the Triumph Fast:

In unity pray for these things. Each member please pray each day at these times: 7:00 am. 12 pm. 7 pm.

To “Be A Light”: For souls to come to Christ and others to mature in commitment to Christ.
To break strongholds hindering Triumph and the Body of Christ
For Unity and Priority of the members to Christ.
For growth: to be strengthened to serve Christ with their gifts in Triumph for in reach and outreach.

Our goal is to have all members participate: however, at minimum 40 church members participating in the Triumph fast with a minimum of 3 each day at one time on a full fast (no coffee, soda, dairy.)

*During this 7-day period, members can choose the day to participate in the regular fast and the duration for the day: 24 or 12 hours, however, it must be according to the time and the patterns that are outlined.

Also, you can use this time as a time to fast from media, social network, or other things that you might see as a sacrifice to Christ. However, whatever you do, do it unto the Lord.

Plan how you will devote yourself to a day of prayer and fasting (3 times as mentioned above).

Plan to have times of prayer during the day of fasting.
Plan readings from Scripture, (suggested above) worship music, etc., with time of prayer.
Plan to give thanks and praise to God with time of prayer.

Inspirational Song

Ministry News & Events

CELEBRATING

BLACK HISTORY

MONTH

We encourage each family to purchase a copy or two of the following, fun, sassy, and informative history of African Americans presented in the tradition of the political cartoon:

Still I Rise: A Cartoon History of African-Americans by Roland and Taneisha Laird (1997)

Click Here to Order

Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African-Americans by Roland and Taneisha Laird (2009)

NOTE: Updated version with 14 extra pages to include the history of the Obama presidency

Click Here to Order

TRIUMPH POP-UP AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM

Sunday, February 24, 2024

We ask that each family brings several “artifacts” of Black History to church that morning and place them on the tables in the vestibule for display (placards will be provided for you to write descriptions of your artifacts). After service, we will have a Black History Month cake reception during which we can view the Church Community’s collective history on display. After the reception, please take your items back home with you. We especially invite authors, authors, poets, and more to bring your Black heritage creativity for display.