Foursquare Gospel Church Igbosere (Chapel of Blessing)

OUR DAILY BREAD January 1, 2018 Monday BEGINNING AGAIN Everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.  Ezra 1:5 Ezra 1:1–11 Bible in a year : Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1 After Christmas festivities conclude at the end of December, my thoughts often turn to the coming year. While my children are out of school and our daily rhythms are slow, I reflect on where the last year has brought me and where I hope the next will take me. Those reflections sometimes come with pain and regret over the mistakes I’ve made. Yet the prospect of starting a new year fills me with hope and expectancy. I feel I have the opportunity to begin again with a fresh start, no matter what the last year held. My anticipation of a fresh start pales in comparison to the sense of hope the Israelites must have felt when Cyrus, the king of Persia, released them to return to their homeland in Judah after seventy long years of capt...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 22, 2017 Wednesday MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.  Psalm 98:4 Psalm 98 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 18–19; James 4 Back when I was searching for a church to attend regularly, a friend invited me to a service at her church. The worship leaders led the congregation in a song I particularly loved. So I sang with gusto, remembering my college choir director’s advice to “Project!” After the song, my friend’s husband turned to me and said, “You really sang loud.” This remark was not intended as a compliment! After that, I self-consciously monitored my singing, making sure I sang softer than those around me and always wondering if the people around me judged my singing. But one Sunday, I noticed the singing of a woman in the pew beside me. She seemed to sing with adoration, without a trace of self-consciousness. Her worship reminded me of the en...

OUR DAILY BREAD  November 21, 2017  Tuesday HELICOPTER SEEDS Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  John 12:24  John 12:23–33 Bible in a year :  Ezekiel 16–17; James 3 When our children were young, they loved trying to catch the “helicopter seeds” that fell from our neighbor’s silver maple trees. Each seed resembles a wing. In late spring they twirl to the ground like a helicopter’s rotor blades. The seeds’ purpose is not to fly, but to fall to earth and grow into trees. Before Jesus was crucified, He told His followers, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. . . . [U]nless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:23–24). While Jesus’s disciples wanted Him to be honored as the Messiah, He came to give...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 20, 2017 Monday TAKE A NUMBER Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  John 14:27 John 14:15–27 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 14–15; James 2 We have an ancient cherry tree in our backyard that had seen better days and looked like it was dying, so I called in an arborist. He checked it out and declared that it was “unduly stressed” and needed immediate attention. “Take a number,” my wife, Carolyn, muttered to the tree as she walked away. It had been one of those weeks. Indeed, we all have anxious weeks—filled with worries over the direction our culture is drifting or concerns for our children, our marriages, our businesses, our finances, our personal health and well-being. Nevertheless, Jesus has assured us that despite disturbing circumstances we can be at peace. He said, “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). Jesus’s days were filled with distress and disorder: He was beleaguered...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 18, 2017 Saturday HIDE AND SEEK In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  1 Peter 1:3 Ezekiel 8 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 8–10; Hebrews 13 “You can’t see me!” When small children play “hide and seek,” they sometimes believe they’re hiding just by covering their eyes. If they can’t see you, they assume you can’t see them. Naïve as that may seem to adults, we sometimes do something similar with God. When we find ourselves desiring to do something we know is wrong, our tendency may be to shut God out as we willfully go our own way. The prophet Ezekiel discovered this truth in the vision God gave him for his people, exiled in Babylon. The Lord told him, “Have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us...

OUR DAILY BREAD  November 17, 2017 Friday SERVE AND BE SERVED You were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.   Philippians 4:10 Philippians 4:10–19 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 5–7; Hebrews 12 Marilyn had been ill for many weeks, and many people had encouraged her through this difficult time.  How will I ever repay all their kindnesses?  she worried. Then one day she read the words of a written prayer: “Pray that [others] will develop humility, allowing them not only to serve, but also to be served.” Marilyn suddenly realized there was no need to balance any scale, but just to be thankful and allow others to experience the joy of serving. In Philippians 4, the apostle Paul expressed his gratitude for all those who shared “in [his] troubles” (v. 14). He depended on people to support him as he preached and taught the gospel. He understood that the gifts provided for him when he was in need were simply an extensi...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 15, 2017 Wednesday HOW MUCH MORE! If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!  Luke 11:13 Luke 11:5–13 Bible in a year : Ezekiel 1–2; Hebrews 11:1–19 In October 1915, during World War I, Oswald Chambers arrived at Zeitoun Camp, a military training center near Cairo, Egypt, to serve as a YMCA chaplain to British Commonwealth soldiers. When he announced a weeknight religious service, 400 men packed the large YMCA hut to hear Chambers’s talk titled, “What Is the Good of Prayer?” Later, when he spoke individually with men who were trying to find God in the midst of war, Oswald often quoted Luke 11:13, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” The free gift of God thr...

OUR DAILY BREAD  November 14, 2017 Tuesday  GREAT LOVE See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!  1 John 3:1 1 John 3:1–8 Bible in a year:  Lamentations 3–5; Hebrews 10:19–39 Recently, we took our twenty-two-month-old granddaughter, Moriah, overnight for the first time without her older brothers. We lavished lots of loving, undivided attention on her, and had fun doing the things she likes to do. The next day after dropping her off, we said our goodbyes and headed out the door. As we did, without a word Moriah grabbed her overnight bag (still sitting by the door) and began following us. The picture is etched in my memory: Moriah in her diaper and mismatched sandals ready to depart with Grandma and Grandpa again. Every time I think of it, I smile. She was eager to go with us, ready for more individualized time. Although she is as yet unable to vocalize it, our granddaughter feels loved...

OUR DAILY BREAD November 13 Monday  MULTIPLIED GENEROSITY See that you also excel in this grace of giving.  2 Corinthians 8:7 2 Corinthians 8:1–9 Bible in a year : Lamentations 1–2; Hebrews 10:1–18 Cheryl was in for a surprise as she pulled up to deliver her next pizza. Expecting to arrive at a home, she instead found herself outside a church. Cheryl confusedly carried the pepperoni pizza inside, where she was met by the pastor. “Is it fair to say life hasn’t been easy for you?” the pastor asked her. Cheryl agreed it hadn’t. With that, he brought out two offering plates that church members had filled with money. The pastor then poured over $750 into Cheryl’s delivery bag as a tip! Unbeknownst to Cheryl, the pastor had asked the pizza shop to send their most financially strapped driver over. Cheryl was stunned. She could now pay some bills. When the first Christians in Jerusalem faced poverty, it was a church that rushed ...

Theme for the year: Increased Greatness (Ps 71:21) Theme for the month: In Jesus Name (Phil. 2:9 - 11) Topic: What We Do In Jesus Name (Part 1) (Col. 3:17) Col. 3:17 - And whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him. (Amp.) It is readily known that we say our prayers and end them with “In Jesus Name”. It is very important for us to note and adopt a lifestyle that honours the name of Jesus in its entirety. Whatever we do, we should do it in the name of Jesus, not only while we pray. What does it mean to do something in Jesus’ name? When we do something in our own name, we do it the way we think it should be done, the way we want to do it. When we do something in Jesus’ name we do it the way Jesus would do it if He were there doing it Himself. So what are some things we should do in Jesus’ name? A. Play in Jesus’ ...

Theme for the year: Increased Greatness (Ps 71:21) Theme for the month: The High Calling of God (Phil. 3:14) Topic: HIGH CALLING (VANTAGE POSITION) EPH 2:6, PHIL 2:9-10 When God calls an individual, it is always to give him or her an edge or an advantage that would be naturally impossible to get. The call of God positions a person at a vantage point, which gives a good, broad and far reaching view. Psalm 103:7 says “He made known His ways to Moses and His acts unto the children of Israel”. The call of God in the life of Moses earned him regular summons to the highest part of Mount Sinai, where the perspective is better, the atmosphere is more conducive for the attention God needed with less distractions. According to Exodus 19:3 “and Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain”. This call distinguished Moses from the others and gave him privileges others did not get, including seeing God. The call of God gives us a Birds eye view...

Foursquare Gospel Church, Lagos Island, now Lagos Island District was pioneered in 1983 by Surulere Foursquare Gospel Church under the able leadership of our former General Overseer emeritus, Rev’d Dr. Gabriel Olusoji Farombi. The pioneering Pastor was Rev’d. & Rev’d (Mrs) Felix Oke. They started the pioneering work at Edward Balden Memorial Primary School, Okesuna before moving to the present location at Igbosere Road. Rev’d. & Rev’d (Mrs). Felix Oke served as senior Pastor from 193 to 1994. In October 1994 the Church became a Zone and Rev’d & Rev’d Mrs, Oke served as Zonal Superintendent up till 2000. In 2000 our immediate past General Overseer, Rev’d. Dr. Wilson A. Badejo upgraded the Lagos Island Zone to a District. In 2001, the Late Rev’d. Patrick Olakulehin and his wife Rev’d. (Mrs) Lola Olakulehin were installed as the pioneering District Overseer. They served from 2001 to 2003. He was followed by Rev...

Theme for the year: Increased Greatness (Ps 71:21) Theme for the month: The High Calling of God (Phil. 3:14) Topic: You Are God’s Workmanship. (Eph. 2:10) (Part 2) Ephesians 2:10 reveals that we have been "created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." This raises an obvious question: "What are the good works God has prepared for us?" Many of us would be inclined to answer this question by pointing to specific things Christians tend to do as an expression of their faith. Good works would include: attending worship services, praying regularly, studying Scripture, giving generously from our financial resources, joining a workforce in the church, visiting brethren to encourage them in faith, going for personal and group evangelism, caring for the poor, working for justice for the oppressed, loving our neighbors, and so forth. These are surely among the good works God has prepared for us. We rightly engage in these activities ...

Sunday 3rd September, 2017 Theme: The unfailing God (Isaiah 40:28-31); Topic: restoring the lost Grounds (1 Samuel 30:8; Ezekiel 37:3-5) God is supreme in the universe. His word is final. When He speaks heaven and earth are affected because great number of publishers is attached to the intent of His command or promise according to Psalm 68:11,”The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it”. See also 2 Kings 6:16 where Prophet Elisha assured his servant, “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them”. Everything in heaven and earth is affected when God speaks. Even Satan is affected because all things must work together for the good of the purpose of our God. Since the word of God cannot be broken, why do we always have some promises lingering for a long time without manifestation? Where do we miss it? The story of Daniel is an eye opener to us. The man of God stood in prayer for 21 days and the Prince of Persia (a...

OUR TENETS OF FAITH THESE WE BELIEVE (a.k.a. Our Tenets of Faith) Our  belief  is based on core biblical truths we call the  22 tenets of faith , as drafted by Foursquare founder  Aimee Semple McPherson. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES We believe the Bible is God-inspired (2 Timothy 3:16,17). THE ETERNAL GODHEAD We believe God is Triune: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). THE FALL OF MAN We believe that man was created in the image of God, but that by voluntary disobedience he fell from perfection (Romans 5:12). THE PLAN OF SALVATION We believe that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, signing the pardon of all who believe on Him (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). SALVATION THROUGH GRACE We believe that we have no righteousness and must come to God pleading the righteousness of Christ (Ephesians 2:8). REPENTANCE AND ACCEPTANCE We believe that upon sincere repentance, and a whole-hearted acceptance of Christ, we are justifie...