Prayer Chain Testimony “The Strength of

Bethpage Assembly of God Church
P. O. Box 429; 362 Stewart Ave.
Bethpage, NY 11714
US POSTAGE
PAID
NONPROFIT
PERMIT No. 429
Bethpage, NY
Winter 2015
A Place where
God is Able!
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Lead Pastor:
Rev. Sal Bennardo
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Spanish Pastor:
Rev. Carmen Garcia
Elders:
Dan Buttafuoco
Dan Collins
Kiddie Kollege Director:
Darlene Bennardo
Children’s Ministries
Director:
Stephanie Jurado
Church Secretary:
Annmarie Faggione
Prayer Chain Testimony
Church Administrator:
Carol Eppolito
Dear Community of Faith,
I would like to share with you a testimony from a member of our
congregation, Mrs. Eleanor Popolizio. As many of you know Eleanor is
a faithful member of our prayer team. Our dear sister suffered multiple
strokes over the past few months. The effects were quite obvious,
impaired speech and limited physical abilities, causing her to step down
temporarily from the ministry.
Bethpage Assembly of
God Church
P. O. Box 429;
362 Stewart Ave.
Bethpage, NY 11714
(516) 931-2378
www.godisable.org
In spite of these tremendous afflictions, she communicated to me as best
as she could that she was determined to be back on the prayer team.
Dear friends’ this is an example of perseverance which is defined as:
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
“Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving
success”
Eleanor has, by God’s grace, returned to the prayer team and is praising
the Lord for restoring her health and we welcome her gladly back to the
prayer team.
Whatever challenges you are facing, trust in the Lord, that “He will never
leave you or forsake you” and coupled with that, a determination (based
on faith) that you will overcome the obstacles before you. As we read in
Romans 8:37
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us”
Join us for Sunday Services:
9:00am & 10:30am including Children’s Services
Spanish Services: 1:30pm
As editor I may have to edit,
shorten and/or change
articles submitted for
publication. Also all articles
should relate to church
business or church events.
Also if you do not wish to
receive any future
publications, please call the
church office or email me at
carol1228@optonline.net
Carol Eppolito, Editor
“The Strength of
our Life”Pastor Sal Bennardo
Happy New Year and God bless you. How are
you feeling these days? Are you excited about
the prospect of a new year? Are you in a season
of hope or despair? Do you see yourself getting
stronger or weaker? I have a word from the Lord for
you- STRONG! God desires to strengthen you. In
fact, I am convinced God desires to strengthen every
relationship we have. It is my prayer that 2015 will
be marked by the Spirit’s presence and with the
realization that God “is able to do immeasurably
more than all we can ask or imagine, according to His
power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).
It’s so reassuring to think that as the Creator of all
that exists, God has you & me on His mind. You see,
when we invite God to walk with us in the journey of
life, we don’t walk alone. He is with us in the good
times & the not so good times. I have personally
experienced His awesome presence at high noon as
well as at the midnight hour! It was Jesus Himself
who said in the New Testament- “Never will I leave
you, never will I forsake you.” (Matthew 28:20) You
know what I have discovered? Never means never!
He is always present in our lives.
Beginning Sunday, January 4th, in both the 9:00 a.m.
& 10:30 a.m. services, I will be speaking a brand
new series of messages entitled, “From the Pastors
heart.” This is a series that deals with strengthening
our church, our family and our life. I liken these three
areas to what Solomon tells us in the Old Testament.
“A cord of three strands cannot easily be broken.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:12) Personally, this recipe for living,
has made all the difference in my life and I know it
can make all the difference in your life as well.
I am sure you have heard this saying. “In the real
estate business it all comes down to location,
location, location.” In the God-journey it all comes
down to relationships, relationships, relationships.
That’s what we are all about in this community of
faith, building relationships within the church as well
as in the home. Both are vitally important. I would be
the first to admit that relationships are not easy, but
they are how God designed us to live on earth. Even
Jesus who came to earth for 33 brief years developed
strong, meaningful relationships. As you know, He
worked very hard at keeping them strong.
I came across this quote from Charles Spurgeon.
“Those who serve God must serve Him in His own
way, and in His strength, or He will never accept
their service. That which man doth, unaided by divine
strength, God can never own. The mere fruits of the
earth He casteth away; He will only reap that corn,
the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered
by grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love. God
will empty out all that thou hast before He will put
His own into thee; He will first clean out thy granaries
before He will fill them with the finest of the wheat.
The river of God is full of water; but not one drop of it
flows from earthly springs. God will have no strength
used in His battles but the strength which He Himself
imparts. Are you mourning over your own weakness?
Take courage, for there must be a consciousness of
weakness before the Lord will give thee victory. Your
emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled,
and your casting down is but the making ready for
your lifting up.”
D.L. Moody once said that “If you partner with God,
make your plans big!” I encourage you today to make
God your partner. God wants to be your strength.
Surrender to Him in your weakness and let Him show
Himself strong. Remember, if God brings you to it, He
will bring you through it!
From my heart to yours – Pastor Sal
Strength Made Perfect
In Community
God bless you, Art & Daisy Jimenez
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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORKS AND GRACE (Part 2)
by Elder Dan Buttafuoco (If you would like a copy of Part 1 of this article, please call the church office.)
I understand the
desire driving
people to accept
the false notion
that we can each
have it all but it is
simply not true and
is not borne out
by the evidence.
In the parable
mentioned before, the end result was unequal,
as was the starting point. In fact, in the end,
the lazy servant was stripped of his talent and
it was given to the one with the ten talents.
We have other biblical examples. David was
exceptional in his courage and in his trust in
God. That was God given grace. Not many
people would venture out to face that giant in
a fight to the death; indeed the entire Israelite
army had refused to do so, including King Saul.
David acted upon his convictions and David
got the rewards for it. We teach our children
to behave well and expect rewards. Is God
less intelligent or less wise than us? Does God
scatter his rewards aimlessly, without regard
to merit or justice? It may seem that way at
times but that is because we don’t know all
the facts. Some things are not readily apparent
and only God knows all but it would surely be
absurd to believe that our choices, our actions
and our beliefs don’t matter. In one way or
another, David was preparing his entire life
for that conflict; he was skilled with a sling
shot from long hours of practice in the desert.
He had faced up to the lion and the bear and
prevailed. THAT was grace of which David
took advantage by GROWING in skill, courage
and faith. That is how grace works. Like the
talents, grace grows when you apply it by
using it.
Isn’t it a better theology to teach that APART
FROM SALVATION grace not only falls as
God gives it (it is still unmerited and never
stops being grace) but attaches to obedience,
courage and wisdom where the wise and the
diligent, according to God’s ways, position
themselves and seek to tap into the never
ending flow of God’s grace? Is that not what
the Christian life is all about? Isn’t that what
we ought to exhort others to do? Pastors
should encourage their flock to excellence,
good deeds, courage, wisdom and right
living! Should not we strive, paradoxically, to
experience more of God’s grace by diligently
SEEKING His favor by doing good and
acting wisely? Of course! Pastors do their
congregations a huge disservice by pitching
grace’s results as automatic and our response
as irrelevant...for that is what our response
would be if indeed we (our actions) did not
factor into the equation. Throughout the Bible
and often in the New Testament we are told to
urgently seek greater blessings from God. The
gift of prophecy (1 Cor 14:1), healing (Isaiah
58:8), long life (Eph 6:2), eternal rewards
beyond salvation (1 Cor 3), treasures in heaven
(Matt 6:20), finances (Malachi 3:10) and strong
healthy relationships (Eph 5) are all, in part,
the product of following God grace and doing
his will. The very teaching and discipline of
God FOR HIS CHILDREN is calculated to move
us in exactly that direction, away from sin,
poor choices, laziness and thoughtless living.
In fact, the major part of the New Testament
is instruction to believers on how BEST TO
LIVE! Grace is in the instruction. We apply it by
doing it. Grace for blessings in this life should
not be equated with grace for salvation; they
are two completely different things. Failing to
distinguish between the two is foolish.
Grace is markedly different only when it comes
to salvation. Only then is is all God and not
us. Only with salvation can it be said that
God reaches down to us who were dead in
trespasses and sins and gives us a heart of
faith necessary to receive the grace of the
cross and Christ’s atonement and redemption
of our poor and hopelessly lost souls. Only by
pure grace (with no conscious action on our
part!) could we have ever been saved since
the natural man is at war with God, an enemy
of God, unable to respond due to our dead
condition. Dead means lifeless. One cannot
be partly dead. That is our natural state,
spiritually: DEAD, an enemy of God! Without
the saving grace of God, extended sovereignly
to us, by his divine election, not ours, could
we ever respond to the Gospel. We do
nothing to get saved because we COULD DO
NOTHING. He saved us solely by his grace. He
also blesses us after salvation, by his grace,
but in a different ways. Grace is differently
apprehended once we are God’s children,
born again, re-generated spiritually and with
Christ in us. Modern grace preachers fail to
make this important distinction, proclaiming
that grace is always automatic because it is
effectuated that way one time in the salvation
process. It is not. Once we are alive in Christ,
the Holy Spirit, living inside us leads is into
more grace but we have to follow, we have
to obey, we have to put forth an effort in
cooperation with God. That’s how grace works
once we are his children. It is similar to how
grace works with a natural parent. We know
that spiritual things often have a parallel in
the natural world. We never stop being God’s
children after are regenerated but whether we
experience blessing or discipline depends in
large measure UPON US!
So, let us forget once and for all the false
message of automatic grace unless by that
we mean that God will also grant us His grace
and punish us with discipline, often severe,
if we fail to invest out talent, perform his will
or keep his word. That is true faith: following
Christ and obeying his word and then there are
more blessings and yes, GRACE, that attaches
to that. May you find it.
Daniel P. Buttafuoco, Esq
Founding Partner
WE ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT OUR NEW WEB SITE! PLEASE VISIT US AT
WWW.GODISABLE.ORG AND SEE WHAT’S NEW!
HELPING HANDS MINISTRY
Girls Ministries
Girls Ministries is a club for girls of all school ages. There are six clubs in Girls
Ministries: Rainbows for girls (and boys) ages 3 and 4; Daisies for Kindergarten
girls; Prims for 1st and 2nd grade; Stars for 3rd through 5th grade, and Friends
for 6th through 8th grade.
Girls Ministries reinforces each girl’s personal relationship with Christ.
They learn about the bible, earn badges and form friendships. The Sponsors help
guide the girls in following God’s path for their lives.
In the spirit of giving, the girls were eager to help families in need. In October,
we collected $240.00 through Coins for Kids to send to an orphanage in China.
We had a party and learned about the customs of China. In November the girls
kept on giving!! We collected food for Operation Blessing Thanksgiving Baskets
and made homemade cards to include in the baskets. These precious girls have
such loving hearts and are always looking to help and pray for anyone in need!
We have more fun activities planned for these girls through the year!
Girls Ministries is open to all school age girls and pre-school boys. We meet
every Wednesday night from 7:30-8:45 p.m. during the school year. If you know
of a girl who would like to join Girls Ministries, please call the church office or
come downstairs on a Wednesday night.
We pray you all have a blessed New Year!
In His Service, Jill Ferriso, Girls Ministries Coordinator
MEN’S MINISTRY / NEWS
Greetings once again, to all the men
here at our local fellowship. At the
time of our last newsletter, we were
preparing for our annual men’s retreat
in October. When you read this
article we will be entering into the
new year of 2015. All the preparation
for Christmas and New Year’s will
be over and we begin a new season.
Just as in life, we go from one season
of our life to another. These changes
can be sometimes challenging but
with the guidance and direction of the
Holy Spirit it is always exciting to see
and experience what He will do next
in our walk with Him.
I pray that more young men would join us at the men’s breakfast each month.
We look forward to enjoying your company and what you could bring to the
group. There can be a void sometimes when transitioning from the youth
group to the next phase of your life and coming together with the other men in
the church would prove valuable to you and to us. Hope to see you there.
Be blessed. Elder Dan Collins
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continues to be a
blessing to all –
obviously to those
who receive but also
to those who give.
We are pleased to
continue in our efforts
to see a need among
our congregation and try to meet it. We have been more
than successful in the past few years. We have been able
to meet everyday needs such as meals, transportation,
visits, phone calls, companionship and a variety of other
needs.
At this point of the ministry we are hoping to move
forward with our desire to make sure everyone has a
place to go for any holiday. This includes all seasons.
The thanksgiving holiday was a success in that we had
some families open their homes to other congregants
who would have found themselves alone this year. Thank
you to all who gave in that way. If you are interested in
hosting a holiday or if you come to find yourself alone for
an upcoming holiday, please let us know and we will make
sure you are with other families among our community of
faith.
We are also still continuing to grow the portion of this
ministry that deals with the homebound elderly of our
congregation. If you are able to volunteer your time to call
or visit with some of our members who are no longer able
to attend church regularly, please let me know. Again, this
is an ongoing ministry in the works.
If anyone has a need or is interested in volunteering in
this very simple ministry, please let me know by email or
text. (If you recently called me and left a voicemail, I was
unable to retrieve it, so please call me again!.)
Thank you and God Bless You,
Connie Luciano connieluciano@aol.com
(516) 448-1562
SERVE IN MINISTRY?
God made us in His image and that is why we have the desire
to create. Because He is the Creator, each of us has some type
of God given talent to create, from a simple craft to a major
production. We serve an awesome God who created each and
every one of us with unique gifts and talents. Let’s encourage
one another in our community of faith to bring a talent offering
to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the New Year. No matter
the size of your talent, God wants it to be used for His Glory.
Whether it is singing, dancing, serving, sharing, production,
cooking, writing, small or large, bring your talent to the house
of the Lord. You will be blessed as you bless others.
Mark Roberti
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KIDS POWER AND LIGHT
REGULAR
WEEKLY EVENTS
Sundays:
Worship Services at 9am and
10:30am (Nursery provided for
both services)
Spanish Services at 1:30pm
Tuesdays:
10:00am: Intercessory Prayer at the
Ministry Center
1st & 3rd mornings: Bible Study at
Riker’s Island
Wednesdays:
7:30pm: Mid-week Bible Study
& Service
7:30pm: Youth Bible Study
7:30pm: Royal Rangers &
Girls Ministries meet
7:30pm: Mid-week Spanish Service
Fridays:
Mornings at Riker’s Island
7:30pm: 180 Youth Group
Saturdays:
1st Sat. of Each Month:
Operation Blessing
3rd Sat. of Each Month:
Men’s Prayer Breakfast
4th Saturday of each month –
Women’s Activity tba
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY
Open Letter from
Children’s Ministry Director
Dear Friends,
We pray multitude of blessings upon you and
your loved ones. I would like to take the time
to thank all the parents for your support to me,
our teachers and assistants. Special thanks to
our dear Miss Lisa Barrick and Miss Angela
Ochoa as they both served as interim directors
of our KPL and Spanish Ministry Children’s
Ministry respectively during my missions time
in Mozambique and Kenya. They and all our
teachers are always a blessing to me, to our
ministry and to our children.
We are very blessed to share what your
children will be learning during the fall time in
their classes and upcoming activities for our
Children’s Ministry. Some of our fall upcoming
events include our Annual Children’s Ministry
Sleepover in the beginning of October and at
the end of October our Fall Festival 2014. In our
Children’s Ministry Fall Program our Preschool
children will learn about how Joseph saved his
family, Rahab risked her life, and Joshua led
Israel into the Promised Land. Stories about
Peter, Matthew, the Samaritan woman, and
Zacchaeus show how Jesus helped people.
Through the faith of his great-grandmother
Ruth and stories about being a shepherd, being
anointed king, and defeating Goliath, David
will show kids how to love God like he did. Our
Middler kids will discover Jesus still has the
power to heal today. Through Esther, Jeremiah,
and others, kids will discover that following
God, the Source, helps to bring them guidance,
courage, faith, wisdom, and love. Peer pressure
is inevitable for students, our Young teens will
learn how to resist negative peer pressure and
search for positive peer contacts. They will also
take a closer look at what the Bible says about
heaven, hell, and living right now with an eye on
eternity.
We would love to see you and your children.
Our KPL Children’s Ministry is for all kids all
ages. We also would like to remind you that our
ministry teaches Friendship Ministry curriculum
for children with special needs. All our lessons
include prayer and worship time, bible reading,
games which the children enjoy. Come join us
on Sundays at any of our services 9:00am or
10:30am (English) and 1:30pm (Spanish).
Sincerely,
Stephanie Jurado
Children’s Ministry Director
KIDDIE KOLLEGE Pre-School News
Kids are the cutest! Each
month in Kiddie Kollege
we bring our students into
the church sanctuary for
“A Chapel Lesson”. One of
our lessons was taken from
Psalm 100:5. It reads like
so: “The Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness
continues through all generations.” In my explanation to our three
and four year old students, I began to expound upon God’s goodness
and what the word good means. Then I asked the children what they
thought the word good means. Little Gracie raised her hand and
without reservation declared, “Cheese!” I quickly thought about her
response and said, “Oh yes, my dear, so true. Cheese is delicious.
Provolone, mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan and American cheese taste
so good! And, if you think cheese is good, think how good God is!”
Our staff had a good laugh but it’s so amazing how children see and
relate one thing to another - simple yet so profound.
Women of Purpose
Solomon reminds us in Ecclesiastes 3 that there is a time for
everything. “a time to take down and time to build, a time
to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and time to
dance….”
Even in the changing seasons of nature we see how God uses
change to display His faithfulness. In the same way he calls
people and churches to a season of change. For any church
ministry to be healthy and continue to grow, it must undergo
transformation.
As we begin a new year, we want to take the time to thank Pat
Kaminsky for her years of service to Women’s Ministry. Her
“heart of servant” will not go unnoticed, she is a committed
woman of God and will continue to serve God as the spirit leads
her. Thank you Pat and may God Bless You for all your hard
work, commitment and service to the women at Bethpage.
As we look to the New Year, I am excited to share with you the
wonderful things that God has put on my heart for Women’s
Ministry in 2015. We will kick off the year with our annual
January “Workshop Day”. The Women’s Ministry will be taking
on a new look and new structure, as well as new leadership.
Plan to attend on Saturday, January 24th where I will share
my vision and plans for Women’s Ministry. I will introduce the
leaders and give you an overview of the year. I am excited about
what God is doing as well as what he will do in you
January we will begin in-house registration for the 2015/16 school
year. February, we will open to the public. If you have pre-school
children ages 2 to 4, please consider Kiddie Kollege for their first
formal educational experience. As our logo goes, “We Love Kids”.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please
Darlene Bennardo Director
feel free to email me at clara.laport@yahoo.com.
I welcome the opportunity to hear from you.
Operation Blessing News!
In Christ, Clara LaPort, Women’s Ministry Coordinator
The Operation Blessing team works together to provide food for needy families in the church and the community. Food is distributed on the
first Saturday of every month. Thank you to the many faithful volunteers who give of their time and talents each month to serve in this ministry.
Whether it be donating money or groceries to help fill our pantry, shopping and organizing the food for pickup, encouraging and praying with the
recipients of the food or helping to load cars and make deliveries, we couldn’t minister to the community without your willingness to help.
We are currently helping approximately 45 families. People from the community contact the church on a regular basis and ask to be added to
our list. Please, if there is anyone in the congregation in need of food, just call the church office and let us know. We are here to help.
Operation Blessing is excited to report yet another overwhelming response regarding our holiday outreaches! The generosity of our
congregation combined with turkeys supplied by Long Island Cares enabled us to provide close to 50 Thanksgiving meals this year! A great big
“thank you” to all the volunteers who came out to help! We certainly felt the joy of our Lord as we served these dear families together.
Likewise, we received another tremendous outpouring of love and enthusiasm regarding The Angel Tree Project. Over 140 gift tags,
representing children 13 and under, were quickly claimed by our generous church family! Gifts of toys and clothes and a basket of food were
provided to the families on our list just in time for Christmas. Thank you to Clara LaPort and Dawn Roseti for heading up this vital outreach.
Most of all, we thank you, Lord Jesus, for providing so generously for us so that we in turn, from our bounty, can joyfully give to others!
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may
have an abundance for every good work.” 2 Cor 9:8
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Spanish Ministry
of Bethpage
Rev. Carmen Garcia. Pastor.
Greetings and blessings to you and
your family.
We are approaching the end of the year
2014 and as always this is an appropriate
time to reflect, evaluate, and to thank our
God for everything that He has allowed us
to live. Perhaps we could not reach all our
goals. Perhaps we could not achieve all of our
dreams, or perhaps we could not meet all of our
expectations. But, one thing is for sure, through
it all God has been with us.
end this year 2014 as we wait with faith and
optimism for a new year 2015. I believe it would
be good to take a bit of this very busy time of the
year and reflect on what kind of person we have
been, assess what we have done and of course,
thank God for what we have received. Perhaps a
good wish to end the year can become a prayer
to God by asking Him to help us be as He wants
us to be, doing what He wants us to do, and to
thank Him for what He wants to give us.
The Spanish Ministry ends the year 2014 as a
big Christian family with a Service of Worship to
God on December 31 from 10:00pm to 12:00am
in our local church in Bethpage. We invite you
to join us for this great service of gratitude to
our God. We will also be very happy to see you
in one of our regular meetings on Sundays at
1:30pm.
Regular Schedule
of
➢ Activities
Sunday 12:00pm / Discipleship
1:15pm / Worship Service
➢
Tuesdays 7:30pm / Prayer and Bible Study
➢
Thursdays & Fridays 7:30pm / Life groups
➢
2nd Saturday of each month
9:00am / Fasting and prayer retreat
➢
3rd Saturday of each month
7:30pm / Men’s Meeting
➢
Bimonthly Vigil
Bimonthly Women’s Meeting
For more information on our special programs,
you can contact our office at (516) 934-0778 and
we will be very glad to assist you. Otherwise
we wish you a very happy holiday season and a
blessed New Year.
God bless you richly and abundantly.
The Bible says in Psalm 121:8 NLT: “The LORD
keeps watch over you as you come and go, both
now and forever.”
Life Groups....GREETINGS
Why is a Life Group important?
Greetings to our church family! We had
a wonderful Fall 2014 Life Group session,
learning to deepen our relationship with
the Holy Spirit through the gift of tongues,
and are excited to be resuming Life
Groups in the New Year. We built new
friendships, had more prayers answered
and strengthened our faith – reaping all the
fruits of the Life Group experience! The
next 8-week session will begin in February
2015. Sign-ups will begin in the early part
of January.
We currently have five different Life Group
meeting locations/days. We are looking
to add new Life Group meetings to better
serve the community of faith and we are
always looking for new facilitators – please
consider this ministry as we have found it
to be a complete blessing in our lives.
• It could change your life.
• It will help you to learn/improve your social skills.
• It will help you to discover and
develop the ministry God has for you – remember we ALL have a ministry.
• You are important to the body of
Christ. We need your input, experience, and testimony of what God
has done in your life. We lose out when you are not there.
• God wants to encourage you as you go through life’s journey by hearing the testimonies of those who have gone through what you are experiencing now.
• You will meet new friends.
• Most important of all – Jesus is at every meeting!
Don’t forget that Life Groups are open to
all - feel free to invite friends and neighbors
outside of our church family to share the
glory of our Lord.
Blessings – Joe and Linda Nardulli
That promise, as well as many others, gives
us the peace and tranquility that we need to
COUNSELING MINISTRY
Eugene Simonson, LMHC
NYS Licensed Mental Health Counselor
A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He
will not snuff out… Matthew 12:20a
I am sometimes confronted by the paradox of why a person would
behave in a manner that is counter-productive, or even destructive,
to his or her life, relationships and testimony. Why might someone
remain, almost willfully in bondage (addictions), or continue to engage
in maladaptive relational behaviors, and find it so difficult to let go of
problematic thinking patterns that result in chronic distress?
One reason is that the person finds comfort or even safety in
maintaining their status quo. Such individuals will actually find shelter
in their maladaptive ways of dealing with wounds, past traumas, fears,
insecurities, and relational deficits. This is because, to do otherwise, is
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to face the pain which originally drove them to these thoughts and
behaviors in the first place. Behind the drugs, alcohol, illicit affairs, eating
disorders, co-dependency, excreta, is the pain that the person is thus
far unwilling to confront. So they continue with their “solution” until,
maybe, it gets worse than the problem.
Thankfully we have a Savior who understands our struggles and
gives us this encouragement; “For we do not have a high priest
that is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have
one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet
he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help
us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16.
At Bethpage Assembly of God, we endeavor to use the modality of
counseling as an instrument of God’s healing and grace in an environment
that is safe and confidential. Please feel free to contact the church or
myself (516-780-0444, eugenesimonson@yahoo.com) if you have any
such need.
GREETINGS from
RIKERS ISLAND!
“FROM THE PASTOR’S HEART”
This is a Sunday Sermon Series beginning in January that
deals with strengthening our church, our family and our life.
I liken these three areas to what Solomon tells us in the Old
Testament. “A cord of three strands cannot easily be broken.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:12)
Personally, this recipe for living, has made all the difference
in my life and I know it can make all the difference in your life
as well. Pastor Sal
In Luke 7:36-50, the story of Jesus being
anointed by the sinful woman, Jesus asks
the very powerful question, “Simon, do you
see this woman?”
None of the Pharisees at Simon’s house
saw anything other than this woman’s sin;
her mistakes, her shortcomings, her failures.
She was a woman to be condemned and
avoided. She was beneath them.
Yet Jesus saw past her sin, past all her
transgressions and saw her for the person
that she was, a woman in desperate need
of a Savior. He did not judge or condemn but
gave love, mercy and forgiveness to the
one in that room who needed it the most.
That is the God that we serve and that is the
example that He has set for us.
The Bethpage Assembly prison ministry is
bringing the love and mercy of Jesus Christ to
those who so desperately need it behind
prison walls. In conjunction with the
Reach Out and Touch Prison Ministry, we
are preaching regularly on the Island,
providing one on one mentoring weekly,
administering a bible study correspondence
course and writing personal letters of
encouragement and discipleship to the men
and women we serve.
We have recently spoken at churches in
Brooklyn and New Rochelle on the plight
of the incarcerated and have been invited
to others in the Bronx, Brooklyn and
Queens. Our Lord is on the move in the
regards to His people!
Please continue to pray for this ministry
Be a Light
Mike Luciano and Nelson Ramirez
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