9 October 2016 - ENCS

Joy Talavera spoke about the vision of Every Nation

Focusing on “Christ-centred” as a core foundation

Using Colossians one verses fifteen to twenty three

Several attributes about Christ were evident to see

#dropthemic is a performance completely definitive

That describes Jesus all the time, perfect He did live

Christ is the image of the invisible God, Paul did say

So He is the beginning and the end, including today

Because in things that are material, Jesus cannot be

If possessions take priority for us, trouble we will see

By, through, and for Christ all things were created

So He is the centre of everything, Joy then stated

Since Jesus knows everything that is in our heart

We should follow Him, from His path not depart

He is before all things and holds them all together

He can help us through even the roughest weather

And since he is pre-eminent for the entire universe

So not thanking him upon waking would be perverse

God’s fullness dwells in Jesus, per verse nineteen

So is Jesus with us permanently or only rarely seen?

If we let Christ into our lives, He brings real peace

And with such peace, our joy and love will increase

Between ourselves and God, Jesus bridges the gap 

To be reconciled with God we do not need a map

For only Jesus Christ can make us holy and blameless

More than anything we do, He pulls us from the mess

Being Christ-centred allows Christ to keep us centred

Putting an end to sinfulness that into us had entered

28 August 2016 - ENCS

Tonight Joy Talavera completed the Generosity Stories series

Focusing on our identity in God, for it is Him we should please

From Second Corinthians chapter nine, she did then quote

God enables us to abound in every good work, Paul wrote

Generosity is the act of being kind, Joy did appropriately say

Determined by security in our identity which we should obey

That our security comes from Jesus Christ is indeed a fact

Importantly, knowing who you are determines how you act

To make her point, from the Bible Joy used examples three

Our identity must hold no matter what circumstances may be

In tough circumstances, David maintained a positive attitude

Per First Samuel sixteen, he was omitted in an act quite rude

King Saul tried to spear him, per Second Samuel eighteen

Yet David praised God, as in Psalm thirty one is clearly seen

David focused on his calling rather than his circumstance

Very famously, he didn’t give Goliath’s size a second glance

From Luke fifteen, Joy then talked about the prodigal son

His father welcomed him back despite what he had done

Despite his good circumstance, he squandered property

For his focus was very wrong and he acted so carefree

The prodigal son’s brother was the third individual named

Upon hearing the party, “unfair" was what he proclaimed

He told his father that for years he had performed like a slave 

Taking this mentality would have burdened him until the grave

Both of the sons were raised in a very blessed circumstance

They had the wrong attitude but were given another chance

In summary, Joy said that before we ask, God knows our need

For if it matters to us, it matters to He who values us indeed

Per Romans eight, for us God treated His son as an outsider

God is Jehovah Jirah, which means that he is our provider

1 May 2016 - ENCS

Joy Talavera today spoke on “Getting Involved Is An Opportunity”

On the screen, verses one to seven of Acts chapter six we did see

The Hellenists complained that their widows were not getting fed

The Twelve rightly wanted to keep spreading the word, Luke said

So to serve the group, they selected a wise and Spirit-filled seven

Philip, Procurus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmaeus, Nicolas, and Stephen

First, getting involved is an opportunity to be part of a community

Language differences even led the Hellenists to worship separately

But the Bible says that Christianity is for every tongue and race

So in the church, for everyone there is more than enough space

If we speak our native tongue in a mixed group, we tend to isolate

And thus lose the opportunity to from others knowledge inculcate

In terms of ENCS, that means speaking English when we mix

That is consistent with the core message from Acts chapter six

The Hellenists took their complaint to the leaders, Joy also did note

This is more effective and productive than looking for a scapegoat

Second, getting involved is an opportunity to be part of a solution

Four Hellenists were among the seven chosen for food distribution

Implying that they did more than just note an issue and complain

Joy said that perhaps our complaints indicate our service domain

Getting involved is an opportunity to be part of something bigger

The Hellenists did not allow the Twelve's reaction to be a trigger

For the Twelve were focused on the core activity of the group

They did not want to be distracted by serving bread and soup

But they recognised that the issue raised needed to be solved

And it gave others with different gifts the chance to be involved

Each of us has unique gifts and talents enabling us to serve well

And together as a body of Christ, we are even stronger, Joy did tell

Nonetheless, we should always remember the Great Commission

Because all of our actions should help bring God’s plans to fruition

In summary, Joy basically said that we should be involved with rigour

So we can be part of a community, a solution, and something bigger

22 November 2015 - ENCS

To start things off tonight, Joy Talavera made us all wait

Her point was that nobody likes waiting, she then did state

Whether due to uncertainty, fear, or possible disappointment

But waiting is part of life’s journey so might be heaven sent

The title of Joy’s sermon was “Wait for What?”, not surprisingly

Several verses about Joseph throughout Genesis we did see

In chapter thirty seven, Joseph had his first noteworthy dream

His brothers only laughed and resented him more, it did seem

His father sent Joseph to help his brothers despite their feeling

They threw him in a dry pit with no clothes despite his appealing

To a bunch of Egyptian-bound traders Joseph was then sold

Apparently taking him further away from the dream he was told

But God was with Joseph and favour did He continue to show

Nonetheless, into prison Joseph was for no good reason thrown

He must have felt that the distance to his dream has again grown

But in prison, God showed him more favour and steadfast love

Allowing Joseph to interpret dreams with guidance from above

The cupbearer was released and about Joseph did soon forget

For two more long years, about his dream Joseph had to fret

But eventually Pharaoh’s dream Joseph did rightly interpret

And as a result, both power and a new nice robe he did get

After all of that, Joseph’s original dream did come to fruition

For he believed in God and God’s purpose, not just intuition

From Psalm one hundred thirty, Joy did read in conclusion

We should wait on the Lord, of that there is no confusion

25 October 2015 - ENCS

The “Gifted” series Joy Talavera did complete today

She used Ephesians chapter two to show the way

In verses nineteen to twenty two, we were then told

We are fellow citizens, members of God’s household

Jesus is the cornerstone, joining us all together

For we are better together, no matter the weather

This enables our God-given gifts to be better applied

And the results and blessings can then be multiplied

Joy highlighted three things that can get in the way

Of using our talents and gifts appropriately every day

The first Joy termed “comparison vs collaboration”

This occurs when others’ gifts become our fixation

Of course everyone is better than us at something

But per Genesis four, this allows sin to be crouching

For whenever we compare, angry we tend to become

By collaborating, “better together” is the rule of thumb

“Cringe vs courage” was the second Joy did highlight

When God gives us a gift, He provides grace to ignite

Grace acts like the batteries for a store-bought toy

Allowing our gifts to bless others in a spirit of joy

This grace, per Ephesians chapter four verse seven

Is apportioned to each person by Christ in heaven

Using that grace, our gifts each other do complement

For with courage, “better together” becomes an event

The third tradeoff Joy said was “captivity vs community”

When we are isolated, we walk into the enemy’s captivity

When we compare or cringe, isolation is often the result

This causes God’s family to mourn rather than to exult

Joy called on Kevin, who one chopstick could easily break

But when given a bundle, not even a crack he could make

Ecclesiastes chapter four verse twelve does state the same

To avoid being tossed about, Ephesians four says is the aim

When working as a community, God provides the sticky matter

For with community, “better together” leads the enemy to scatter

In summary, we should collaborate and with courage act

Then in community, our gifts are “better together” for a fact

5 July 2015 - ENCS

The “Building Momentum” series Joy Talavera did continue

About “God’s Brilliance” she did to all of us get through

For although momentum is movement over many a day

God’s light shines even when a situation is bleak and grey

She said that in the presence of God’s light, darkness must flee

His light shines brighter and fills the earth, in Scripture we see

We were created to worship, but that is not something to misuse

Whether to worship Jesus or something else, we must choose

We can know Jesus but with Him not have a true relationship

Or per Isaiah six verse three, we can join the angels in worship

To Isaiah chapter forty nine verse sixteen, Joy did then refer

We are like diamonds, on His palms our names God did confer

When our identity seems to be foggy, obscured by a cloud

We should turn to and trust God, not listen to the crowd

By llowing the Holy Spirit to blow the fog and clouds away

Things being clear and darkness must flee, Joy did again say

She then highlighted that all of us are God’s workmanship

Per Ephesians two verse ten, that means He does us equip

We are actually all poems, if we look at the root word in Greek

To shine His light around us must then be the purpose we seek

And in order for our lives to be a good reflection of God’s love

Our hearts must be filled with desires from Him who lives above

If in darkness we tend to cower, then darkness is what we see

Far better to live in His light, so that others can see our glee

Returning to Isaiah six, “the whole world is full of His glory”

So God’s light and might should be central in our life story

11 January 2015 - ENCS

The discipleship series was continued by Joy Talavera tonight

She talked about "Expectations" with so much energy and delight

The passage was Luke chapter five, seventeen to twenty six

In the story, some people resorted to "Miyagi moves" or tricks

Joy said that this links to the concept of "raising the roof"

For Jesus, seeing the effort made sufficed as solid proof

 

From all of Galilee, rabbis came to hear Jesus, the real deal

Due to the power of God in Him, Jesus had the ability to heal

A paralytic's friends could not find a way through the crowd

But giving up on their task was not something to be allowed

At times, we might feel paralyzed physically or emotionally

Not having control over events brings despair, not glee

Carrying him to the roof, the friends did all persevere

Then lowered him so in front of Jesus he did appear

Sometimes the crowd prohibits us from a breakthrough

Even ones close to us that we would normally go to

The roof represents hindrances in our lives, Joy did say

Getting others to help raise the roof may be the only way

Nonetheless, we should remember that people will fail us

And the only one who is perfect and never fails is Jesus

To get help and to improve our walk, we need community

As in Hebrews ten verses twenty four and five we do see

When Jesus saw their faith, the paralytic's sins He forgave

The paralytic walked home; praise the onlookers then gave

When a miracle occurs, we should make sure to share

This can also encourage others to go to God in prayer

 

The raise the roof sign is also a sign of surrender, Joy did say

This is something we can do whether it is a good or a bad day

We should also look to help raise the roof for others

Whether they be Christian or not, sisters or brothers