Designed to Praise & Worship

WOWgroup Global Fellowships NY had an awesome time digging into the Word of God and finding out that yes Worship is a time for celebration, but it is a spiritual discipline.

To frame our study today we turned to the Old Testament book of Exodus.  We learned that the word worship is used 20 times.  We learned that the underlying theme is often thought to be the exodus, but if we take a closer look we will see that it is about worship.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY looked at three passages to see if this was true.

Exodus 3:9-12

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

 ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

 ¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you^[a] will worship God on this mountain.” 

After our discussion of the following scriptures we understood that God sees when we are hurting and in need and the way he reacts to us is by saving us.  This is the Father's nature, because He loves us and we are His children.  We are therefore called to be in a relationship with Him.

Point number one ~ Worship is: AN EXPRESSION OF RELATIONSHIP

Minister Tanya Merced assigned the following scriptures to the group: Exodus 7:16,8:1,8:20,9:1,10:3,10:7 

WOWgroup Global Fellowship noticed that the whole point of the Exodus was to have His people worship God.  After discussing these scriptures and noticing the common theme in all of them we understood that the reason God saved us was for us to Worship Him.

Point number two ~ Worship is: AN EXPRESSION OF APPRECIATION

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY then turned to Exodus 40:34-35 the second half of the book of Exodus, the setting of the tabernacle.  We each took a turn and discussed how it would be if we would witness the cloud and experienced what Moses did.  Just like Moses we agreed that we would be overwhelmed and in awe of our Lord and savior.

Point number three ~ Worship is: AN EXPRESSION OF AWE

One thing WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY agreed upon is that there is no "RIGHT" way to worship.  There are lots of ways to express relationship, appreciation, and awe. 

Romans 12:1-2 NIV

Living Sacrifices

 ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^[a] act of worship. ² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

All Things Are Possible

Matthew 19:26 NIV - " Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Today we began our WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY meeting praising and worshiping God.  Minister Tanya Merced ministered in a praise dance " He Wants it All".  If you would like to see the praise dance click here or visit our Media page. 
Andrew began his message by showing us a clip from (Cinderella Play) Shoe Fits.  After the clip Andrew told us that the message today is about focusing on what God can make happen in your life if you don't give up.  The prince in the fairytale Cinderella thought he would never find his love and grew desperate.  We see this by the prince's actions.  The prince charming went all over the kingdom looking for Cinderella and he didn't give up until he found her.
Then Andrew reminded us that in the same way God wants us to seek Him and find Him.  When we put God first all things are possible, even those situations where we feel hopeless and uncertain we need to trust Him.  When man tries to fix things we make a mess out of things.  When we decide to do it ourselves we are rejecting God and we are telling Him we don't trust you.
In October 2007, Andrew was in a school play called High School Musical and he told us that he had a very difficult time with many of the scenes.  He was so frustrated with the basketball scene and the teacher kicked him out, because he couldn't toss the ball to the other players.  " My weakness was basketball not acting, but I was not given a chance," Andrew said.   God, however, knew how much I loved plays and knew that I would play prince charming this year. 
"I have to say that I did get the role and learned that God made it possible!" Andrew said joyfully.
Thank you Andrew for reminded each one of us that even though we may have disabilities or circumstances that may appear impossible ~ God tells us to trust Him and seek Him and He will give us the desires of our hearts.

The Giver

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY had the opportunity of examining their spiritual gifts.  WOWgroup first began their meeting by watching a clip from the movie XMEN, if you would like to see the clip click here.  After watching this clip Minister Tanya Merced shared on how difficult it is to use the gift of prophecy ~ speaking forth the word of God for the building up of others.  Just like the mutants in the movie XMEN we can feel out of place and uncomfortable if we are not sure where our spiritual gifts belong.  Therefore it is important that we study the scriptures carefully and apply the Word in our churches so that our "gifts" can be used to edify and build the church.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY had the opportunity of taking a Spiritual Gift Analysis Survey online and discovered that many of our strengths were actually our spiritual gifts.

Other Gifts	The 5 Fold Ministry	The 9 Spiritual Gifts
Romans 12:6-8	Ephesians 4:11	1 Corinthians 12:1-14
Prophecy Ministry Teaching Exhortation Giving Leading Showing mercy (compassion)	Apostolic Prophetic Evangelical Pastoral Teaching	Wisdom Knowledge Discerning various spirits Speaking in tongues Interpretation of tongues Prophecy Faith Working of miracles Healing

It is important to note that some of us may not be gifted in evangelism as others, but in Matthew 28:18-20 it states that we are called to evangelize whether or not we have the gift.  The Lord commands us to witness, love and to disciple the nations.  Our God will supply and equip us according to our need.

Being Process is Not Easy!

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ had an amazing time worshiping, praising and studying the word of God.  The message was brought forth by a wonderful teacher Yolie Rodriguez.

The Theme and slogan for the day 
"Being Process in the Midst of the Process There is a Process"

4 Key Elements that were studied:

1. Trust
2. Delight
3. Commit
4. Wait

During the lesson we were assigned different scriptures to read and we discovered that many of these scriptures not only dealt with Trust, Pleasure, Commitment and Patience, but Character.

One of the things that we discovered was that "Processing is God building a Character," which by definition means that it is a choice we must make. Trust is a choice element. In order for God to take pleasure (delight)himself within us we must make the decision to walk in total obedience.

"Our Actions define who we really are (Character + Integrity)"

WOWgroup Global Fellowships NJ realized that these 4 key elements need to be studied more closely and so we give thanks to God that Yolie Rodgriguez was able to bring forth such an awesome timely word. We know that there is more to come.

Scripture References:
Isaiah 26:4
Psalm 40:1
Psalm 112:6-7
Psalm 119:15-16
Psalm 62:5-8
Psalm 37:9

Which Road Should I Take?

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY had a wonderful time praising, worshiping and studying the word of God.  Minister William Merced Jr. delivered an awesome and inspiring word.

Sometimes what happens is that when we go through things in life we go back to what we know.  We have to make a decision to let it go.  When we think things through we might get turned off and choose to do the right thing.

If its harmful to us we must stay away in order to move forward.

I would like to publicly thank William Merced Jr. for opening his heart and being so transparent with WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY.  Through Minister William Merced Jr.'s honesty about his personal struggles we were able to relate to the message of God.  The message that was brought forth was one of righteousness and holiness.


Scripture References:

Philippians 3:14
"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (NIV) 

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here." (NIV) 

James 4:17

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. 

Minister William Merced Jr. reminded us that submitting ourselves to the Lord is a lifestyle.  When we submit ourselves to the Lord daily the enemy Satan has to flee, because Christ lives within each one of us.  The revelation that we received was that God is internal and when we have the Lord within us then everything that is external our actions ought to be a reflection of Jesus Christ (lifestyle).  When you accept Christ you are accepting His life-style.    Jesus was about the Father's business, which was people.  When you are in Christ and Christ is in you there is no more I.

We were reminded that Christ did not badger people to accept the truth, but He shared His wisdom and demonstrated His love.  

Question:  Which road do you want to choose?

The Heart of Worship = His Will

Happy Anniversary
WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY celebrated its 2nd year Anniversary with WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ.

Our focus today was on our outward expression "Praise" to the Lord. Minister Tanya Merced focused on three points:
Why do we sing at church?
Why should we create a record?
Why should we give thanks?

Do you know that the bible mentions to "Sing to the Lord 104 times?" Singing in the bible is a form of giving God praise for what He has done. The focus is on the heart of the singer. God wants us to sing to Him. Okay, if you are like me and don't have a performer's voice you might be self-conscious, but God doesn't care. The Lord takes pleasure in your praise when it comes from your heart. Remember the heart of Worship = His Will.

Another reason why we should sing praises to the Lord. When we sing to the Lord something happens in the spirit realm.

2 Chronicles 20:21 "And when he had consulted with the people he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and to say, Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth forever."

Jehoshaphat sent the choir out in front of the army. Now you know they must have been saying this is crazy. (But singing praises changes the atmosphere ~ spiritual/natural. Praise brings total confusion to the things that are not of God.

Jehoshaphat's army won. The enemy became confused and started killing each other.

Why Should we record our services, takes notes, prophetic words?

We need to capture and understand what God is saying.
We need to make it a habit to take notes and not rely on our memories to retrieve information, so that we can go back and reread it, pray over it, pass it down to others. When we record the Lord's word we are honoring God.

Benefits of Note-taking

1. Clarify and structure your thoughts and actions.
2. Keep track of what has happened.
3. Plan what needs to happen next.
4. Keep good and correct records of ideas, facts, and information.
5. Reinforces your understanding of the information.

Thanksgiving

In the Old Testament some of the jobs of the priest were to stand and thank God for all the things He had done and what he was doing. We too must have this ministry in place in our church, our homes and in our private times with the Lord.
We need to begin thanking God for everything instead of complaining. We need to develop an attitude of gratitude and be thankful for all the things that we have.

Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord".

When we focus on all the things that God has done for us it prepares our heart to enter in and worship.

To worship You I Live

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY had a great time examining the meaning of " WORSHIP". Before we began today's message we each gave our own definition of what worship meant to us.

Some of the things that were mentioned at the meeting was that worship meant being thankful to God and showing it without pride. Another word that was used was death to self, and to surrender our very best. Everything that we are " our soul, mind, and spirit".

We then watched a clip from the movie " There Be Dragons". If you would like to see the clip Click Here. After we watched the movie we shared what we felt the movie was saying about worship.

After the discussion Minister Tanya Merced shared on what worship and praise is all about. Praise in the bible refers to some sort of outward expression: lifting the hands, shouting, dancing, kneeling, singing, playing an instrument, etc. Praise is something you can see or hear. Worship on the other hand, is a form of sacrifice or humility.

In the Old Testament Genesis Chapter 22, God told Abraham to sacrifice his son and Abraham considered it to be worship unto God. Psalm 95, "come let us worship and bow down." Romans 12:1 tells us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, and that is considered our spiritual act of worship.

John 4:24 " God is Spirit, and those that worship Him will worship in Spirit and in truth." Jesus told us that we must come to the Father in Spirit, because He is Spirit. In other words, when Jesus said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life. God is spirit, and Jesus is truth. John 16 also tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Now that we have access to the Father we must come and worship as He is.

As Christians we must understand that Jesus was telling us and showing us that the Father is looking for those who truly worship. Is worship about singing, praying, studying the word, etc? The answer is that is just part of it. The kind of worship the Father who is Spirit is looking for is a living sacrificial one. We need to come to God in complete humility and lay aside our will so that God can have His perfect will.

The Heart of God = His Will

Humility has everything to do with the breaking down of our will. The will is the hardest thing to break, but David said "...the sacrifices You desire are broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart." (Psalm 51:17).

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY at the close of the meeting understood that in order to please and honor God we must get out of the way and say just like Jesus " not my will, but Yours be done".

You Can Do Anything with God by your side!

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY had an awesome time learning and studying God's Word.

Minister William Merced Jr. brought a timely message about how we can become more effective in our walk with God. Not only are we to read His word, but we are to truly be doers of God's word. Minister William Merced Jr. gave personal accounts on how we can be instruments of God. At times sharing the gospel is enough, but clothing, feeding, and helping those in need is the heart of God. Moreover, we must be compassionate like Jesus. God is all about love and we too must be love.

John 3:16-17 (New King James Version)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY also had the privilege of having Andrew W. Merced teach Sunday School. Andrew W. Merced first began his lesson with a Sunday School Song called Clap Your Hands. After the song he told the children the story about a giant and a shepherd boy named David. Andrew handed out coloring pages and asked the children to point to the boy and the giant.

Andrew then read the following Memory Verse: " And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands." 1 Samuel 17:47

Andrew asked the children what they learned and they said they learned that a little boy named David defeated a giant. Andrew told them yes, but the most important thing for us to remember is that it doesn't matter how old we are or how we look. God looks in our hearts. God fights our battles and therefore we are not alone. We can do anything with God by our side. Andrew then showed the children a special God Rock film with David and Goliath. What a fantastic lesson.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY is so proud of Andrew W. Merced. Andrew does not allow autism to stop him from achieving the very best. God wants our best.

What Does Resurrection Sunday Mean to You?

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY celebrated Resurrection Sunday with praise and worship. Thanking God for His faithfulness to us all.

Casting Crowns Set Me Free was played as we watched a clip from the Passion of Christ. What an awesome loving personal God.

We shared Holy Communion and were reminded that Jesus broke bread with His disciples and called each one of them friend. How awesome is He to call us a friend.

Today we focused on the following question:
What Does Resurrection Sunday Mean to each one of us?

We had the opportunity to see two films and then give our personal insight. If you would like to see both clips click on the following:

The Tomb is Empty
Tell Everybody

After seeing both films, I can honestly say that both have reminded me of what Resurrection Sunday really is all about, but the one that really spoke to my spirit was the second clip.

We see in the second clip Mary Magdalene crying passionately about Jesus' body being removed from the tomb. We see Jesus behind her and he wants to console her, but he can't. Mary recognizes Jesus and tries to hold on to him. Jesus tells her to not hold on to him.

John 20:17
Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Jesus when he rose from the dead told Mary not to touch him. Jesus was telling Mary there is a new way ~ things are not the way it used to be. Jesus death on the cross and his resurrection created a new relationship between us and the Father (A New Covenant).

What Does Resurrection Sunday Mean to me?

Resurrection Sunday means that I have total access to the Father, because of Jesus obedience. I can know the Father as a loving, caring, personal, God and not like a distant force.

God's Will

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ

Minister Richard Altreche delivered such a dynamic lesson reminding us that God's will for our lives is indeed perfect. The Bible shows us many ways of what God’s will is for us as believers.

1Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to 18“give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

We see here that part of the Lord's will instructs us to give thanks in all circumstances, again I say in “ALL” circumstances, something many of us find very hard to do over and over again.

Minister Richard Altreche gave us the following scenarios: you just received an eviction letter, or your boss just fired or laid you off, you just got into a car accident which incidentally was the other persons fault, or maybe you just had an argument with a family member, your electricity was turned off etc. The list as you know can go on and on. Now somehow while these things are all going on or even after they have already happened, you’re supposed to say "Thank You". For most people this is very hard to do while all these issues may be occurring in their lives. None the less, the Word of God instructs us to give thanks.

Minister Richard Altreche asked WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ to take a closer look at the scriptures to see that God will never give us more than we can handle. We were reminded that we must be joyful always. You might be saying in your minds; “now you have got to be kidding me, I have to be happy and give thanks after my car just went through a house and into someone’s living room?

The answer is “yes” the Word tell us in Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” We are to trust God even when things do not seem to be right to us. We were reminded that we must understand that the "Joy of the Lord is our strength."

If you are finding yourself weak during these moments it may be due to the fact that you are using someone else’s joy and not God’s joy. God’s joy is genuine. The Word speaks about many ways that we can receive God’s joy. Sadly many seldom choose to look for it through the scriptures. What they look for are imitations of joy that have no validity to them. They are oftentimes empty, incomplete and hollow. We need to depend on the joy that will continue to persevere even through the trials and tribulations that we may face.

Looking back now to verse 17 we see that along with being joyful we must also “pray continually,” if we are to be steadfast we need to be in communion with the Father. It is then that we will gain understanding, it is there that we will receive insight from the very one that has designed the purpose for our lives. We must confer with the chief engineer of our destiny. He is the rock in which we must lay our hope upon. When we come to terms and realize all of this we will see that giving thanks will not be so hard after all. Then we will be operating “In the Will of God.” His good and pleasing will.

The Power of Words

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY

We first began with Cami Ortiz a young seven year old girl reading a verse from her Princess devotional book. What a beautiful moment we experienced in the presence of the Lord.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY was presented with three clips from Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. If you would like to see each clip click here:
Lab Coat
Dad's Approval
Real You

After we viewed each clip we discussed what we saw and what lesson we learned from each one.

Proverbs 18:21 ESV
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear it.

Proverbs 15:4 ESV
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Minister Tanya Merced focused on the three clips and shared that as a result of Flint's mother speaking life into her son's life he didn't give up. We see throughout the film that Flint states in his own words " From that moment on..." Although his future inventions failed Flint did not consider himself a failure. The reason why Flint did not feel like a failure was due to the fact that his mother changed a negative situation (teasing) into a positive one (perseverance). The mother deposited seeds that would later go on to multiply and produce good fruits.

On the other hand, Flint's father spoke death upon his son's dream. Flint's father never approved of his son's inventions. It may have been that his father wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and inherit the business. Another reason could have been he was embarrassed of his son or he wanted to protect his son from failure. We see Flint searching for his father's approval, but as a result of his father's actions it produced a strained relationship between the two of them.

It is the job of every believer to build one another and not destroy. We are called to encourage and to bring hope to a lost world. In fact we might be the only Jesus people see. Our life must be a reflection of the King of Kings. If we believers are speaking death (negative) than the only thing we will produce are rotten seeds. Remember seeds do grow and multiply under the worse conditions. What kinds of seeds would you like to leave behind?

Below you will find five simple things you can do to encourage one another.

1. Speak encouraging words.
You want the person to know that you care and that you know they can do it.

2. Encourage by cheering them on. (Praises help to motivate)

3. Follow the Lord's example. Be an encourager! (Psalm 10:17)

4. Think positive. Don't use negative words or ideas.
We all have challenges we have to deal with in our life, however, if you focus on the challenges you will never see anything good in your life. You will lose focus.

5. Pray and dig deep into the Word of God.
The more you stay connected to God the more you think like Him. Leaving no room for doubt or hopelessness.

Psalm 19:14,
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Using God's Approach

WOWgroup Global Fellowships NY

At times it may be very difficult to do it God's way. Minister William Merced shared such a powerful message about using God's approach instead of ours.

We were asked to look at two pictures and discuss how these pictures made us feel. One of the pictures made us think of relaxation, joy, fun and the other made us feel sad, depressed, gloomy.

Matthew 6:22-23 (NLT)

²² “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. ²³ But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

Minister William Merced Jr. gave us examples about his childhood and shared how many of the things he saw he adapted, because he thought they were good. Moreover, examples such as smoking, becoming an abuser, drugs stems from what our eye sees and then internalizes it.

It is our responsibility as believers to represent the light and not to fill our eyes with things that are in darkness. One great example that was used by Minister William Merced Jr. was a conversation that he had at his place of employment. Minister William Merced Jr. stated " I found myself talking negatively about my employer and quickly I knew I had to stop and say instead of talking badly let us pray for that person". The conversation was quickly stopped, but Minister William Merced learned a valuable lesson he (the light) had the power to change the atmosphere from (darkness) back to light.

Spring Garden Party

WOWgroup Gelasia Women's Group Gelasia welcomed Spring with a Garden Theme Party. Throughout the evening the Gelasia ladies enjoyed words, sounds, laughter and food that welcomed Spring. Gelasia ladies played seed games, flower power games, relay races and as the night quieted down each Gelasia lady decorated her own flower pot. At the end of the evening prizes were won, flowers were sent with cards crafted with kindness. “Spring makes its own statement, so loud and so clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.” Geoffrey Garsworth

The Fool

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ knows how important it is to seek wisdom.

Minister Richard Altreche reminded WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ that a fool is someone who the dictionary defines as stupid, silly, lacks judgment or sense. A fool is weak minded.

A fool is not a wise person, but represents the total opposite. There is no one who wants to be categorized as a fool. Who would like to take on a label as a fool?

If we take on the label of weak minded than that would mean that we are unstable. The bible talks about an unstable man in the book of James chapter one, but if you dive in deeper into the scriptures we find that there are more descriptions of the qualities of a fool. The wise, however, is not a fool.

Let us focus on the fool so that we have a clear understanding and awareness, so that we can make wise choices and avoid making the same mistakes that overtake the fool.

Proverbs 14:18 " the simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge".

The book of Proverbs in the bible has many references to what a wise man is and a fool.
Are you a fool? Looking over the scriptures it is obvious that the Lord wants His children to recognize the poor choices a fool makes and what we should do to prevent from making the same errors.

Proverbs 1:33 Wisdom leaves us with a promise..."but whoever listens to me will live in safety and will be at ease, without fear of harm."

What a great promise for those who listen. The fool...Thank God that's not you or I.

The Sharecroppers Seed

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY ~ Began its awesome Sunday Celebration with a Mime Give Me Your Eyes performed by Minister Tanya & Son Andrew Merced. If you would like to see this mime click here.

After the mime WOWgroup was paired into partnerships and each were asked to view the following two clips. After viewing the clips each partner had to compare and contrast the films and come up with a common theme.

Links: Wheat things

Johnny Appleseed

Scripture References:

2 Corinthians 9:10 (New Living Translation)

¹⁰ For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

Galatians 6:7-9 (The Message)

^7-8Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

^9-10So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.

Minister Tanya Merced gave the definition for a sharecropper and explained that the landlord was the father above who is the creator of all.

Def. Sharecropper ~ A tenant farmer who gives a share of the crops raised to the landlord in lieu of rent.

(God is the landlord and we the believer His children are the tenant farmers who have the responsibility to take care of the land and give Him the very best).

***One of the things that we must be aware of is that God doesn't need us to give. It is us who need to be blessed.

Let me just mention briefly some of the things every believer must give in order to live a blessed life.

1. We must be able to give to the Lord our hearts. We must surrender all that we are (our soul, thoughts, emotions, etc.) If we do not surrender this we find ourselves in a pit that produces no fruit. (These pits could be anger, unforgiveness, abandonment, self-pity, lust, adultery,etc.) When we give our hearts to the Lord He has something to work with. The process at times is very painful, but when the Master is finished molding us to His likeness we are able to produce fruits(blessings).

2. We must give our time to the Lord. We do this by spending quality time with Him, through prayer, meditation on His word, praise & worship, journals, etc.) You cannot trust a person you do not know well. (God is all about relationship). The more time you take in getting to know Him the more you will reflect Him and produce fruits(blessings).

3. We must give the Lord the tithe and offerings. The tithe which translated means "tenth or one tenth" it also symbolizes testing in the bible. Many of the tests starting with Pharaoh (10 plagues), Jacob with his wages (10) and other tests in the bible.

The tithe is not just one tenth of every dollar you make. It is your test. Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I want to end with Nicole Mullen's song ~ Sharecropper's Seed.

http://www.rhapsody.com/nicole-c-mullen-2/sharecroppers-seed-volume-1

I am going to continue this teaching online at A Touch of Peace ~ I hope that I see all of you there so that we can dig deeper.

Gelasia~WOWgroup Karaoke Fundraiser Event

Karaoke ~ WOWgroup Global Fundraiser Event (Missions ~ Maylasia 2011)

Oh what fun it is to gather with some friends and sing the night away and raise funds for a wonderful cause.

WOWgroup Gelasia NY would like to thank all the ladies who donated to this fundraiser event.

As a special thank you we wanted to post some of the highlights of the evening.

Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Using Your Giftings Under God's Authority

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ/NY ~ had an awesome time praising and celebrating
the Lord's Day. Minister Melisa & Ruthy Altreche led worship and created such a sweet atmosphere.

Minister Richard Altreche gave such an awesome illustration of how eagles and falcons soar through the air. Surely we need to search the Lord's will, our hearts and trust that we are beneath the shadow of His wings. It's so much lighter, because He is the lifter of our heads and He alone knows how to clear the storms.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ/NY participated in Holy Communion. Truly we are understanding more and more why the Lord needs the body to unite together as one.

Just when we thought it couldn't get better than this Minister William Merced Jr. brought a powerful edifying word. Today each WOWgroup Global Fellowship member was reminded that God has given us gifts to use for His plan and purposes. When each one of us use these giftings under His authority we see awesome and radical results that last an eternity. " Let's not be selfish with our gifts, but let us be servants with our gifts."

Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse]. James 1:17

A Purplicious Celebration

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
DR. SANDRIE S. SMITH!

Dr. Sandrie's birthday started with a game called "Why is Sandrie Purplicious?" As the music played the purple glow sticks were passed and when the music stopped the person with the glow stick had to give a Purplicious response. Every guest came up with beautiful and eloquent poetic words. Others came up with comical speeches as well.

We had a bubble gum sculpting contest ~ never knew that you could create such beautiful things out of bubble gum. Impromptu games were played and I have to say that our guests sure know how to be great sports.

WOWgroup Global Fellowships NJ/NY would like to thank all those who made this celebration memorable.

Unconditional Love

WOWgroup Global Fellowships NJ/NY joined together for a wonderful Valentine's celebration. Today's Sunday celebration was started with a motivational clip called 39 Pounds of Love. If you would like to view this clip
click here. After watching the clip we were asked to reflect and share two things that stuck out the most to us.

Too many times we are like Ami Ankilewitz deformed not in a physical way, but spiritually. The word deformity according to the Free Dictionary Website means the following: an affliction in which some part of the body is misshapen or malformed. We have become or allowed ourselves to become disconnected from the love of God.

Bible Scriptures: 1 John 4:7; Mark 12:30-31

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves (his fellowmen) is begotten (born) of God and is coming (progressively) to know and understand God (to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him)". 1 John:4:7

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Mark 12:30-31

Today's focus was on God's Greatest Commandment Mark 12:30-31.

• God wants our heart, which is our affection. God wants us to show Him affection in creative ways.
• God wants our souls, which is our spirit, our conscience, it is what makes us alive. The soul is our personality and it is our identity. The soul is responsible for making choices and decisions. When we make decisions it determines our lifestyle and behaviors.
• God wants our mind, which is our brain. The brain is the part that thinks things through. Our mind stores our thoughts, information, emotions and helps us make logical conclusions. We cannot have our souls believe in God, but our minds doubt God. This is a deformity.
• God wants our strength, which is our will, our desire and commitment. God has created each one of us to be our own individual unique self. We were not created to be robots. Each person has been designed and handcrafted by God for a purpose and a destiny. That purpose is so that we can come together and become one and do His will here on earth. The problem is that many of us struggle with this idea of releasing our will and desires to God. We want to have all the control and only when we can't do it ourselves do we seek or allow God to intervene. Again this selfish act causes the body to be disfigured and causes a disconnection.
  

Stress Is the Enemy

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ had the privilege of hearing one of it's own Mrs. Cristina Altreche. A woman who a year ago would never would have dared to take this giant leap of faith and share such a powerful message.

“But in the beginning of the year I proclaimed change in my life so here I am, doing the will of the Lord." What a wonderful way of beginning a message kudos to you Cristina.

Mrs. Cristina Altreche began by given WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ the definition for Stress. According to the dictionary stress is the emotional and physical strain caused by our response to pressure from the outside world. WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ was reminded that many Bible translations do not use the word "stress," however, Scripture does teach on anxiety, worry and trouble. In addition, it gives us clear answers on how we should deal with each of them.

Mrs. Cristina Altreche then gave examples on how stress can lead to illnesses in the body. Stress is the reason for two thirds of the total visits to the doctors. It is also the leading cause of the coronary artery diseases, cancer, accidents and respiratory diseases.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ was reminded that some people handle stress better than others and how they handle stress can be a matter of life or death.

Example: When those problems or trials come their way they don’t let it stay with them or let it bring them down. Perfect example…. how heavy is this cup of water? The weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try and hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case it was the same weight the same burden the longer I held it the heavier it became.

Stress Management through Christ

1. The way to approach this at night is to go to God in prayer, UNLOADING OUR CARES before Him with a trust that He will help us deal with them, and then close our eyes and get the rest we need.
(Psalm 55:22) “CAST YOUR BURDEN ON THE LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

The Church Must Become as One

WOWgroup Global Fellowships NY had the privilege today in having Andrew W. Merced share his gift of song with us. Moreover, Andrew W. Merced reminded us of the importance of unity within the Body of Christ.

Andrew a teen with Asperger Syndrome does not let that stop him. I am so amazed at how God uses Andrew to capture our attention. Andrew began his lesson with a song from the Disney movie " Tangled". If you would like to see some of Andrew's singing click here.

After the song Andrew showed another clip from the movie "Tangled". If you would like to see some of the clip click here. Then WOWgroup Global Fellowship was asked to describe what was the message in the movie. Andrew then stated that the church must focus on becoming as one. Today many churches are divided and are not following the Word of God. We must learn to work as a team. It doesn't matter what church we belong to, or how we praise God, what matters is that we have salvation in Christ Jesus.

Then Andrew led us to the following scripture verses: Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Luke 10:27 (NIV)

²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’, and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

After the reading of the scriptures Andrew shared a personal testimony about a friend he met at Park Slope Christian Center who no longer attends, but that made a great impact on his life. Andrew told us that he was sitting by himself at a table while all the other teens were busy talking to their friends and that Anthony came to his table. Andrew told us that Anthony didn't look at his color or race nor that he was different than the other kids. Anthony started speaking with him and reached out to him. Andrew finished his experience by stating that Anthony made him feel happy and accepted.

Truly God was speaking to us. Andrew finished his message by reminding WOWgroup Global Fellowship that we must do our very best to be like the disciples from the early church.

Phil 2:2
² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

God Wants You to Hold On!

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY started it's celebration with worship and praise. Minister Tanya Merced and son Andrew performed a mime called Hold on (Toby Mac). The mime reminded WOWgroup Global Fellowships that we must not give up, but keep on going no matter how difficult it may get, because at the end we are victors.

If you would like to see the mime (Hold On) Click Here

Following the mime WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY was asked to describe a horse. Many of the words that were used to describe the horse were the following: loyal, fierce, smart, stubborn, fast, powerful, etc. After this 2 minute exercise we read the following scripture:
Job 39:19-25(NIV)
¹⁹ “Do you give the horse its strength
or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
²⁰ Do you make it leap like a locust,
striking terror with its proud snorting?
²¹ It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,
and charges into the fray.
²² It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
it does not shy away from the sword.
²³ The quiver rattles against its side,
along with the flashing spear and lance.
²⁴ In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
²⁵ At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’
It catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

Minister Tanya Merced than shared a clip from "Secretariat". If you would like to see the clip from the movie click here. Key Points we learned from watching the clip. We see God's awesome's power through one of His most majestic and mighty creatures. God wants us to be all those things we described loyal, fierce, powerful, steadfast, courageous, etc.

So many times we stop short of fulfilling our potential, because we put limitations on ourselves. Would the Lord place these limitations on us? Or instead, we like the horse can run the race , forget about the limitations and realize our full potential is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

How Can You Complain When God Has Plans to Prosper You?

WOWgroup Global Fellowships NY was reminded that we need to zip our mouths and just go before the Lord. Many times we miss out on our blessings or go in circles, because we haven't learned to go before the Lord and just be quiet.

Minister William Merced Jr. reminded us that when we pray and we allow God to change our attitudes we see remarkable changes. We get to see the prosperity that God so wants for each believer.

Today Jeremiah 29:11 was read and we looked at it from a different perspective: God's Perspective.

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version, ©2010)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 (Contemporary English Version)
11I will bless you with a future filled with hope--a future of success, not of suffering.

Minister William Merced Jr. shared his personal testimony how he was complaining about his job and as a result was doing so poorly. He told us that in this new position the bosses were not happy with him and as a result he was constantly pulled to the office. Then he decided to go before the Lord and ask God to help him to not to complain, but to learn how to do his job better. He prayed for his bosses and prayed that God would change his attitude. As a result, the Lord promoted Minister William Merced to a new position and now the old bosses come to him and recommend him and ask him for his opinion on certain matters that pertain to the old position.

God is in the business of prosperity, however, we can stop our blessing by complaining.
Complaining is evidence of unbelief. When we complain we are not taking God for His Word.

The bible states that “...all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). If the Christian really believes that the Lord is in control of their life, and is working “ALL THINGS together for our good,” he will stop complaining and start thanking the Lord for the plan He is working together for us.

70's Theme Party ~ WOWgroup Gelasia NY

Wowgroup Global Network NY ~ Women's Group ~ Gelasia had their 2nd gathering (70's Theme Style)

Since it was a Seventies Theme Party the Gelasia women were asked to dress in 70's theme attire and to relive the 70's for the night.

Gelasia women practiced using slang words such as Foxy, Skinney, Crib, Can You dig it? Groovey and many more.

The Foxy Gelasia women each brought a meal and worked as a team. Gelasia women added silly laughter, hours of conversation and made new friends throughout the night. We played 70's music, learned funny dances, sang 70's songs on the Karokee Machine and played silly games that brought the 70's alive.

Gelasia Women helped to raise funds for our missions trip to Maylasia and came up with many wonderful ideas for our next meet.

Thank you Foxy Gelasia for making our 2nd Women's Group gathering a success.

The Power of One

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY ~

Today is the 2nd day of 2011 a brand New Year! Isn't it wonderful that we can start brand new. I love the fact that the past is just that it's over and done with. Today is a brand new day and God wants to pour into us something new.

Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
" Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up: do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY ~ Celebrated it's first meeting of the year with new worship songs by Israel Houghton and William McDowell. We then had Holy Communion. WOWgroup Fellowship NY was reminded that when we partake in Communion, we are in fellowship with Christ Jesus. In John 6:53:56 we read the Words of Jesus and He is saying that by partaking in Communion we are in a fellowship that allows God to impart His very life on us.

The Power of One~Minister Tanya Merced delivered the message of "The Power of One". "The Power of One," can change and transform people. It's not about church buildings and all the things we associate with "church". It is the Power of the living Word living inside each believer that can alter and change lives. If you can change just one person that person in turn empowers and transforms a whole generation ~ their family and so on. We can not get caught up in the number game.

We then gathered the children and adults together to complete the following activity " Image of God". We had the girls give a definition of what an "Image" was and had the adults also give a definition. Next, we gave the dictionary definition: " a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible."

Then I hid two pictures of each girl in my hand and described the girls using a vague description. Each girl guessed correctly and was asked if the picture was the actual person? They responded "NO!" Minister Tanya Merced explained in the same way, we are created in the "Image of God". We are not God, but created to be like Him and reflect what He is like.

2 Cor. 3:18
"And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more".

Minister Tanya Merced then took a mirror and had everyone look at themselves. Each person was asked what do you see and the children were the first to respond" The Glory of God".

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY understood 2 things from this lesson:

1. We can use words to describe Jesus, but if we can show others His image in us, they will be able to recognize Him more easily.

2. How can we do this? We can be mirrors!

By us reflecting God's image, others will be able to recognize Him. We can use words to describe Jesus, but if others can see an image of Him in us, they will be able to recognize Him more easily.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY ended their Sunday celebration with personal declarations and decrees for the New Year 2011!