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MALAR 7. ITHAZH 8
AUGUST 2022
TGC TIMES
TAMIL GOSPEL CHURCH OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER
Contents
Message from Pastor - 02
Missionary Story - 03, 04 & 05
Food for thought - 06
August Birthdays
& Anniversaries - 07
Announcements - 08
Are you free?
BY PASTOR SOLOMON KARUNAKARAN
In July America celebrates her independence from Great Britain
and in August India does hers. As immigrants or naturalized citizens,
we get to remember both and enjoy the American holiday. As you
think about life and the different stages in its natural progression,
from a child to teenager to adulthood we are always bound by the
rules of life and relationships that apply during those stages. As
children, we are expected to obey our parents and elders. At school
we are expected to heed to the teachers. When we start driving
thinking that we’ve got independence from parents we are bound by
the laws of the land. At work we do what we are expected to do and
not whatever we like. When married we are bound by the rules of the
covenant relationship. When we are old we depend on those younger
to help us around. We are never created to be free because we cannot
handle it. If we are really free to do anything we want and desire, we
will end up destroying ourselves and in effect humanity. That is the
battle we see going on, humanity trying to be independent of God.
As followers of Christ we are called to voluntarily and freely live
under the rule and Lordship of Christ that will bring us total joy and
satisfaction. We are called to live being considerate of others around
us. In I Corinthians 10:23-33, apostle Paul illustrates how this freedom
operates in the context of eating food that is offered to us. In verse 24
he provides the principle, “Nobody should seek his own good, but the
good of others”. If we apply this principle to all of life, just imagine the
society we will all be part of on earth. Imagine life, if we live applying
this principle which is actually the correct thing to do as followers of
Christ in the church. We are called to live according to the higher law
as part of the kingdom of God. Freedom in the kingdom of God is
radically different and benefits humanity. Therefore, freely do unto
others what you would have them do to you and be blessed, TGC
family.
PS
Graham Staines
MISSIONARY STORY
Graham Staines was an Australian Christian missionary who along
with his two sons Philip aged 10 and his brother Timothy aged 6 was
burnt to death in India by members of a Hindu fundamentalist
group named Bajrang Dal.
Name : Graham Stuart Staines
Birth : At Australia on 18 January 1941
First India Visit : In 1965 by joining the Evangelical Missionary
Society(EMSM)
Place of Service : Baripada in Odisha state India
Selfless Service:
He learnt to speak in Odia fluently. Staines assisted in the
translation of part of the Holy Christian Bible into the language of
the Ho people of India. Graham instantly bonded with the people of
Odisha teaching the people to make mats and baskets out of rope,
sabai grass & tree leaves. He main service was among the leper. In
1983 he established the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home as a registered
society. At the time when other villagers got scared to touch the
leper Graham was so kind to the Lepers, taking care of them &
treating them.
Marriage & Family:
Gladys was also called by God to serve in India . She did her
nursing & came to India to serve the Leprosy patients. She met
Staines while service the patients. They both decided to get married
in the year 1983. Their marriage was blessed with three beautiful
children - A daughter, Esther, and two sons, Philip and Timothy. The
couple dedicated the next 15 years to caring for leprosy patients,
looking after people in serious poverty and spreading the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Persecution:
In the year of 1999 during the school vacation time Staines’s kids
who were studying in a school in Ooty went home to spend
vacation with parents. It was the time of annual conference for
Christians in the area . On 22 January 1999, Staines attended a
jungle camp in Manoharpur, for the conference and to discuss their
beliefs in a social setting. The camp was on the border between the
tribal villages of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar, which is located within
the district of Odisha. He was travelling to the village of Kendujhar
with his sons. Staines and the boys elected to spend the night in
Manoharpur, sleeping in the vehicle due to the severe cold at the
time. His wife and daughter did not accompany them on the
journey, having decided to remain behind in the town and
municipality of Baripada.
A mob of about fifty people, armed with axes and other
implements, attacked the vehicle while Staines and his sons were
fast asleep, and set the station wagon alight, trapping them inside
and burning them to death. Staines and his sons had awakened
and apparently tried to escape, but were prevented from doing so
by the angry mob of vigilantes.
Impact of Persecution:
People who persecuted Staines & his sons were imprisoned &
were sentenced to lifetime imprisonment. Gladys irrespective of her
unbearable loss declared that she had forgiven the killers and had
no bitterness towards them. Rather than return to Australia, Staines
decided to stay in India where she and her husband had served
lepers for 15 years, keeping her daughter Esther, with her, stating: "I
cannot just leave those people who love and trust us. I have high
regard for the people of India and their tolerance”. Gladys continues
the ministry left by her husband. She transformed the leper house
she served at into a full hospital and named it Graham Staines
Memorial Hospital. Staines was awared Mother Teresa Memorial
Award for Social Justice & Padma Shri.
Psalm 37 : 23-24
"The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand"
COMPILED BY
SIS. KAMATCHI BILSON
Food for Thought
THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS SECTION IS TO DRIVE ENGAGEMENT AMONG THE
PEOPLE OF GOD TO GET DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON SOME OF THE AREAS
SUCH AS BIBLE VERSES, GOSPEL LYRICS AND CONTEMPORARY EVENTS THAT A
BELIEVER COMES ACROSS IN HIS/HER DAY-TO-DAY LIFE.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND RESPONSES TO
EDITOR@TAMILGOSPELCHURCH.ORG. PASTOR SOLOMON WOULD REVIEW YOUR
RESPONSES AND SHARE HIS PERSPECTIVE IN THE FOLLOWING MONTH’S
EDITION OF THE NEWSLETTER. YOUR RESPONSES AND PASTOR’S THOUGHTS ON
THIS SUBJECT EVERY MONTH WOULD SERVE TO EDIFY THE BODY OF CHRIST,
UPHOLD OUR FAITH, AND GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD OF
GOD
This month's Food for Thought
2 Cor 12: 2 states 'I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the
body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a
one was caught up to the third heaven'.
Question: How many heavens are there?
Last month's Food for Thought
Genesis 18: 20 and 21 state the following:
Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because
their sin is so grievous, 21I will go down to see if their actions fully justify the outcry
that has reached Me. If not, I will find out."
Why should the LORD need to go down to see if the actions fully justify the outcry.
Couldn’t He see the actions of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah directly from
heaven?
Response received from
Mrs. Kamatchi Bilson
Thanks to her, who has faithfully responded correctly to the question. God did it in
order to show His perfect righteousness ... just like how we as parents deal with our
children's disputes and investigate further to confirm our act of justice. Another
explanation is that God uses human ways in order to help us understand how
perfect He is in all of His dealings.DIANA BITYA FRANKLIN August 01 August Birthdays
JASON THEODORE August 03
SHEEBA JAGAN August 04
CHRISTILDA IMMANUEL August 07
JENIKA BENNEASER August 10 For by me your days will be
RHEMA SOLOMON August 11
ANITHA EDWARD August 14 multiplied, and years will be
SHILOH SAMUEL August 14 added to your life.
CHITHANNA GEORGE August 15
PASTOR JOSEPH August 17
SHILOH ADONIA SAMUEL August 22 PROVERBS 9:11
SOUNDRA MOSES August 26
FREDERICK JOSHUA August 29
JEFFRI SHARON CHRISTOPHER August 29
JOANNAH GEORGE August 29
RAJASINGH SAMUEL August 29
BENNEASER JOHN August 30
NANDEESH MATHAD August 31
August Anniversaries
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings
like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
ISAIAH 40:31
EUGENE JEBAKUMAR & SUGUNA
EUGENE
- AUGUST 15
SAMUEL EDWIN & SHARMILA SAMUEL
- AUGUST 26
BILSON & KAMATCHI BILSON
- AUGUST 29ANNOUNCEMENTS
BAPTISM CLASS
JULY 31 & AUG 07
SUNDAY SERVICE
EVERY SUNDAY @ 5:00 PM
FASTING PRAYER
“CHILDREN ARE A HERITAGE FROM
AUG 13 @ 11:00 AM
THE LORD, OFFSPRING A REWARD
FROM HIM. LIKE ARROWS IN THE
HANDS OF A WARRIOR ARE CHILDREN
BORN IN ONE’S YOUTH. BLESSED IS
TGC PICNIC 2022 - THE MAN WHOSE QUIVER IS FULL OF
PLEASE BLOCK YOUR CALENDARS THEM. THEY WILL NOT BE PUT TO
SHAME WHEN THEY CONTEND WITH
THEIR OPPONENTS IN COURT.”
DATE : SEP 17 P S A L M S 1 2 7 : 3 - 5 N I V
LOCATION : THOMPSON PARK,
LINCROFT, NJ
Congratulations to Stephen &
Helena on the birth of their
second boy “Lukah Arul
Stephen” on July 27. Helena
and baby Lukah are doing
very well, May God bless the
little one, big brother
Manasseh and the family.You can also read
