Pentecost Sunday at Søndre Skøyen Chapel

This Pentecost Sunday we celebrate with a difference:

• Church service for this Sunday is held at Søndre Skoyen Chapel (Dalbakkveien 39, 0682 Oslo) at 2pm - please note the change of venue and time. View the map or the translated direction here.
• During service we will also have baptism of Natanael Lemma, son of Lemma Desta.
• We start a new series titled “Fruits of the Spirit” by OIC pastor Maicon Steuernagel.

OIC Trip to “Nordmarkskapellet”

In June, we spend the weekend together in a chapel in the woods near Oslo.
We have games, singing, outdoor and indoor fun and spending time together.
The recommended fee to cover the cost is NOK300, but do not let the fee worry you and do talk to Bodil or Maicon if you would like to contribute more, or less.

Important!

• Service in Gamlebyen Church will not happen as we plan to have it at Nordmarkskapellet.
• If you are coming, get the form  that looks like below, and sign up with Carol, Bodil or Marit so we can plan and prepare for this.

OIC Values: “Move/Serve”

After 5 weeks on the “OIC Values Series” we end it with a practical and application note focusing on the value “Move/Serve”. OIC Board leader and theology student Stian Holtskog will share.

Service is held at Gamlebyen Church and we have Sunday school

Join us and bring some friends!

Thursday 17th of May 2012 at 10:00am and 6:00pm

Norway Constitution day – Breakfast, Parade and Grill!

It is customary for OiC to spend time together during syttende mai or the Norwegian Constitution Day, and we have a busy day lined up.

• Starting 10am: We meet for a simple Norwegian breakfast hosted by KIA (Christian Intercultural Association) at Café Ichtys at Tullins Gate 4, and gather to walk the parade after that.
• Starting 6pm: Barbeque and games evening at Lyder Sagens Gate 7. We provide the fire and drinks, you bring something you want to grill for yourself and a few friends.

For more information about syttende mai, check out theWikipedia page, or some pictures from last year’s eventon Facebook.

Contact Bodil (952 49 197) or Maicon (469 13 628) if you have any inquiries or need for direction on that day.

Theme this Sunday: OiC Values – Prayer
OiC have identified 5 key values that are important to our church. Come find out as we share about the value of “Prayer” with Marit Sjølie from Norway this Sunday.

We also have programs for the kids, and this week it’s about Noah’s Ark – Fishes.

Join us and bring a friend!

Theme this Sunday: OIC Values – Word

OIC have identified 5 key values that are important to our church. Come find out as we share about the value of “the Word” with Lemma Desta from Ethopia this Sunday.

On last Sunday (15.04) we had our Annual Meeting where we presented information about the previous year and elected new board members.

We thank the former board for their valuable contributions and welcome the new board! Do continue to uphold our new board and church in prayer.

• Former Board (2011): Thea Haavet, Shewa Teketel, Stian Holtskog, Ryanne Kamp, Bodil Øglend, Janet Ling, Lois Emuge and Carl Fredrik Bommen
• New Board (2012): Sarah Asio, Liuba Brenne, Stian Holtskog, Annari Van Jaarsveld, Bodil Øglend, Kasper Tangen and Carolina Steuernagel

Let us continue to live a life worthy of His calling, and perhaps we can take some cue as Kasper Tangen shares in our new series this week – OIC Values.

We will also hold our OIC Annual Meeting where we report on matters concerning the church for the year that had just passed, and take the opportunities to elect new board members.

We appreciate your prayer concerning the following:

• Clear vision for church in the coming year
• For a church board, leaders and ministry that will serve the Lord and his people
• God’s providence in areas of finance, talents, and resources to be the church He has called us to be

This week, we remember the death, crucifixion, and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At OiC, we have special events and arrangements for Easter:

6th April – Starting 3:00PM

We celebrate Good Friday at Stian’s place with meeting up, food, games and perhaps songs.

Do bring: a) some food b) yourself and much laughter c) friends

Address: Skøyenbakken 3B

Facebook Event URL: https://www.facebook.com/events/136305949832321/

8th April – Easter Sunday at Lyder Sagens Gate 7

We start with Barbeque and Grill at 1:00PM, do bring some food for it

This is followed by Church Service at 5:30PM. Maicon Steuernagel will share the word.

Please note service is not held on Gamlebyen Church and will start at 5.30PM

Address: Lyder Sagens Gate 7

The preaching of John the Baptist

John the Baptist was preparing the way for Jesus. He preached to the people to repent, and he then pointed the people to Jesus.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  - John 1:29

So Jesus “takes away the sin”, but why? And what exactly does that mean?

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Rom 6:23

God is the very giver of life! Sin is turning away from God. So this verse is about more than just punishment. The essence of sin is to have greater love for other things than for God, and thereby turning away from life itself. The consequence is death.

To shed more light over this, we shall go to some of the important background stories in the Old Testament:

 Story 1 – The testing of Abraham

In this story God is testing Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac. They went up the mountain and his son thought they were going to sacrifice a lamb. When Isaac asked him, Abraham answered: “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

Just before Abraham is about to kill Isaac, The Lord stopped him. God did provided a ram to be slaughtered instead of Isaac. The story is pointing forward to a time when God will fully provide for everyone.

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. - Gen 22:13

Story 2 – The Passover  

The second story is what we have already looked at; the Passover.

And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. Ex 12:26-27

Isaiah 53 can also be mentioned here. It’s a prophecy of the suffering servant that was going to come and take the sin upon Him. He is here compared with a lamb.

Story 3. – Daily atonement sacrifice

Thirdly the people of Israel were instructed to make daily sacrifices of animals to atone for their sin. It was teaching them and reminding them how serious sin is and what the consequence is.

 These stories were a very important part of the identity of The People of Israel.

Jesus the perfect sacrifice

Jesus was perfect and without sin, therefore he was also the perfect sacrifice. The author of the letter to the Hebrews conclude as follows:

Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.  - Heb 7:27

The root of sin is choosing our selves before God. The solution is to give our selves up and die. But the problem is that we cannot die and still live.

Jesus takes the death that we deserved. He does not simply take away our sin, but also the root of sin. He does not only cure the symptoms, but also the disease itself.

So what does this mean to us? What are the implications? Faith is to identify with Jesus death, to die with him so that we can live with him. We are called to repent and identify, to embrace Jesus sacrifice for us.

In Exodus we read about how the Israelites settled down in Egypt. As they grew bigger, the Egyptians felt threatened. Because of this they did something horrible. They made the whole people into slaves, and they killed all baby boys!

This movie begins with the Egyptians starting to kill all the baby boys in Israel. One of the moms is trying out a last desperate solution. She put her baby boy in a basket and sends him on the river; in hope of a small chance someone will save him.

You can see the whole movie through YouTube. It is a wonderful movie!

As we are walking toward Easter, we are having a series in OIC called “The empty tomb”. 11^th of March, Maicon started out talking about the Passover. The following is a summary of his preaching.

PASSOVER

God choose to free Israel from their enslavement. Through Moses he commanded the Farao to let the Israelites go. Each time Moses gave him the message, and each time Farao said “no”, God sent a plague. Altogether he sent 10 different plagues. After the last plague, finally Farao is letting the people go.

The last plague is what gives us the name PASSOVER. God went through the country and killed all the first born. But before this he instructed Israel through Moses that they should slaughter a lamb. All the families should stay inside and paint their doorposts with the blood of the lamb. When the Lord came to the doors covered with blood, he PASSED OVER. The wrath of God passed over Israel. For us today, Jesus is that lamb that died. His blood saves those who receive him.

You can read the story in Exodus chapter 1-15

 CROSS OVER AND ENTER THE STORY OF GOD

The whole story of how God raised up Abraham and made him into the nation Israel is a story of how God is making his own story through the people. It is a story of how God made them into a people that was going to be a blessing to all nations. And in its final stage they would be a blessing to all nations through Jesus Christ. So the Israelites now received God´s salvation from the Egyptians. In this way they again enter the story that God is writing.

When the people walked out, they suddenly came to the sea. They were horrified to notice that the Egyptians now came after them with their army! Israel was trapped between the Egyptians behind them, and the sea in front of them. Now God makes a great miracle. He let them cross over through dry land. When the Egyptians come, he again closes the sea. This was their last view of the Egyptians. They had crossed over from death to life!

As we receive Jesus sacrifice, his salvation, we also cross over from death to life. We stop trying to make our own story. And we enter instead into God’s wonderful story!

Jesus says:

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word

and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged

but has crossed over from death to life.

John 5,24