RENEWING OUR VISION

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus to Timothy, my dear son" (2 Timothy 1:1a, 2a).

Every church ends up somewhere in its life and ministry. Only few churches that have a vision know where they are headed - end up where they want to be. Vision is a great motivator. It creates something new, dares to dream dreams about the future, and helps move forward. Yet we go through times when our vision fades, its flame begins to dim and its passion begins to ease. That’s what was happening to young Timothy, the Apostle Paul’s young protégé. Paul had sent Timothy to try to recover a mess in the church in Ephesus. Yet when he got there, he found the entire leadership team in the church was older than he was and did not respect his leadership. To make matters worse, he was shy and timid, so he had a tendency to avoid confrontation. The stress of his ministry was affecting his health. In the meantime, the Paul had been arrested. So Timothy’s vision needed to be renewed and that’s why Paul wrote him a second letter.

Paul’s second letter to Timothy is his last letter. It serves to renew Timothy’s vision, and also serves to renew our vision. As we look at 2 Timothy 1:1-10, we see 5 specific areas where our church’s vision needs to be renewed.

  1. Renewing our vision for worship (1-3). We renew our vision for worship by embracing a lifestyle of devotion to God. We find an emphasis on worship in the word “serve” which refers to service offered to God as an act of worship. We need to make worship the lifestyle of our devotion to God, not just a Sunday morning church activity. 
  2. Renewing our vision for prayer (4-5). We renew our vision for prayer by expressing – opening our hearts to God. Paul expresses his heart and reports how he prayed day and night for Timothy remembering his tears and longing to be reunited with him and how he came to faith in Christ through his grandmother and mother. We need to make prayer the expression of our hearts to God. 
  3. Renewing our vision for service (6-7). We renew our vision for service by using the gifts God has given to us. God had given Timothy the gifts he needed to be effective as His servant. But the fire of God’s gift, in Timothy’s life, was going out because his fear was holding him back from using his gifts. Paul encourages him to “fan the flame” of his gift, so it would once again burn brightly and with intensity. We need to make service the means to use our gifts. 
  4. Renewing our vision for outreach (8a). We renew our vision for outreach by testifying about Jesus - by putting into words how He has changed our lives and by reaching out to others by our relationships. We need to make outreach the overflow of our joy of knowing Jesus as our Lord and Savior. 
  5. Renewing our vision for nurture (8b-10). We renew our vision for nurture by responding to God’s invitation to a holy life – a life separated from sin and wholly devoted to God, a life of spiritual growth and maturity nourished by the Word of God. We need to make nurture our daily discipline of spiritual maturity.


At church we need a vision that creates the necessary changes in our lives and pulls us toward what God has for us. This means that we need to renew our vision for worship by actually worshipping; for prayer by actually praying; for service by actually using our gifts to serve; for outreach by actually testifying about Jesus; and for nurture by actually responding to God’s call to a holy life. Helen Keller was asked once, “What would be worse than being born blind?” To which she replied, “Having sight without a vision.” What a profound statement by a woman, who was born deaf, dumb and blind. She could not help how she came into the world, but she sure could help how she left it.

Rev. Avedis Boynerian
Armenian Memorial Church, Watertown, USA

The Bible Society in the Gulf is pleased to announce the arrival of an engaging new book – Manga Messiah available for the first time in Armenian!

‘Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it .’ (Proverbs 22:6).

Bishop Shahe Panossian, Catholicosal Vicar of the Armenian Diocese of Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf receieving the copy of the newly printed MANGA Armenian book from Hrayr Jebejian, the General Secretary of the BS Gulf
The Bible Society in the Gulf is extraordinarily excited to announce the arrival of Manga Messiah in Armenian. Manga is the Japanese word for comics. It has become a huge hit around the globe and has been translated into more than twenty languages. Armenian is the latest addition to a long list of languages that includes Danish, German, Russian, Norwegian, English, Spanish, French and many more.
Manga Messiah is a faithful account of the life of Jesus based on the four gospels of the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The 288 pages are all in color. It includes a map of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. The book also features illustrated character profiles of the twelve apostles and other key people in the Bible. The Bible Society in the Gulf is especially proud to publish
  • the most popular comics
  • the fastest growing genre in the publishing world
  • the highly engaging, cutting-edge art style
  • and the most appealing rendition of the Gospel accounts to kids
in 2011, the Year of the Armenian Child, as proclaimed by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Committed to serve the different denominations with their Scripture needs, the Bible Society in the Gulf collaborated with the Armenian Apostolic Church in Kuwait and the UAE to translate, print and distribute Manga Messiah to Armenian children not only in Kuwait and the UAE but also in other diaspora communities around the world.

On the occasion of the groundbreaking release of the Armenian version of Manga Messiah, Mr. Hrayr Jebejian, General Secretary of the Bible Society in the Gulf, said, “I am extremely happy that after many months of hard work and intensive planning together with the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Gulf, we were finally able to procure the necessary funds for the translation, printing, and distribution of Manga Messiah. I am glad to announce that the books will be distributed to all free of charge. Hence, I would like to thank the sponsors who made this possible. I would also like to thank the director of Next, Mr. Roald Lidal, who made the Armenian version of Manga Messiah a reality. Our purpose is to reach out to young people in an ever-changing culture and challenging times with the message of the Gospel in an attractive, compelling format.”

James 2:24

Have you ever been in front of the dilemma where you have to choose between thinking the right thing and doing the right thing? If you have, and you’ve chosen to actually DO the right thing, have you ever felt like it doesn’t really add sunshine to your cold winter days or draw smiles onto your faces or even bring that inner peace that you so hoped you would get?

Lately, I found myself exactly in the situation that I have just described in the introduction. You see I had a choice, and I already knew the answer of every question in my head. And it all came down to this conclusion: I say yes, and choose to change my life as a believer, or I say no, and choose to stay in it. Now in theory and in actions some people know where they stand, and have no second thoughts at all. How blessed are they, right?! However, with some of us, especially those who are still growing in Christ, are somehow seduced by whatever the other part of the world offers, and saying no without second thoughts, with great certainty, and without having “ what if…”s is unfortunately somewhat more challenging.

Having said that, we all know that in our nature we, humans, are or tend to be nosy. Most of us, if not all, have that interest to explore the world around us. But my question here is how far can we go in exploring? And to what extent can we explore without risking our belief and Christianity? In his book, Esther, Charles R. Swindoll explains how people in severe conditions (hate, jealousy, greediness…) may carry out the most heinous of sins, and this is what he says about this issue: “The same animal-like nature resides in me, and it resides in you… And were it not for the presence of grace and the miraculous deliverance of Jesus Christ at work within us, controlling our passions and urging us to forgive and move on, it would consume us” (Swindoll, 1997, pp.68).

His point is clear enough, isn’t it? The man is basically saying that, believers and none believers come from the same nature. And it is my personal belief that when we’re born we have equal amount of percentages to do good and/or evil, and it is what our environment and our own deeds that nurtures one of the two in our character. So the probability of us losing our faith, ourselves, and most importantly Christ in our lives is present, and sadly it is available in high percentages too.

So where does that put us now?

Luckily, sometimes there are verses in the Bible that stick in our heads no matter how long ago we have read them. One of those verses with me happens to be Mathew 5:37, which says: “Simply let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’, and your ‘no’ be ‘no’…”

You’re probably wondering what this verse has to do with my topic; I mean the questions I’ve raised are not yes or no questions, right?! However, what I see in this verse, and what I’ve always seen in it is the importance of being consistent. What I see in this verse is being responsible, that is, if one has made a choice one must stick up to it, handle it, and endure it. This verse tells me: make up your mind, choose, use your freedom of choice that God has granted you from the beginning and choose anything you want but decide! Raise your voice and speak!

But, on the other side, I also see a warning in it. Somehow, through this verse I hear God’s voice telling me that whatever my choice is I will be held accountable to it. Surely, this is just my own understanding of this verse.

Thus, my fellow friends and siblings in Christ our Lord, I somehow realized that I cannot choose both lives. Yes, somehow realized, because I know that I knew I can’t choose both lives, I know that I should choose a single path and walk in it consistently, regardless all the stumbling stones along the way and the endless temptations this world offers. But this time it was different for I felt it on my skin. I am still tempted though, so I need your help, I need your prayers. Even more, I believe that we all need help and prayers in this area, since we are all tempted by something or some things one way or another. So, NO, I am not ashamed to share this with you, for this shows that I am growing in Christ. Therefore, my prayers are that all of us may keep always growing in Christ and in the Holy Spirit. And I guess my perfect conclusion to this article would be by quoting from James 2:24, that says: “We please God by what we do and not only what we believe.”

A. Tahazian
Aline Tahazian

Armenian Evangelical Ashrafieh Church's Sunday School Outing in Kchag

It was a blessing for the students and the teachers of Armenian Evangelical Sunday School in Ashrafieh to gather in KCHAG on Sunday 13th of November from 8:30AM till 1:00PM.
Instead of having our weekly worship time in church, we spent quality time enjoying KCHAG's beautiful scenery singing, learning Bible verses, doing arts and crafts and playing.
We also had breakfast together: Milk, cornflakes, cheese and bananas, a way of encouraging the kids to eat healthy.

























The funeral of Haig Arslanian

The funeral of Haig Arslanian was held October 16, 2011, at the St. Marie-Madeleine Church in Belgium. State and national Armenian officials, family, and a large crowd of mourners attended the funeral services.

A joint church service was conducted by Father Zadig Avedikian and Very Rev. Rene Levonian, the spiritual fathers respectively of the Armenian Apostolic and the Armenian Evangelical churches.

Following the funeral services, Michel Mamourian, President of the Armenian Community in Belgium, delivered his heartfelt words. He said that Haig Arslanian was the brave Armenian who kept the Armenian flag high before and after the independence of Armenia. He emphasized that the church’s very building owes its existence to Haig Arslanian.

Avet Adonts, the Ambassador of Armenia to Belgium read a letter of condolence from RA President Serj Sargsyan to the Arslanian family.

Sella Tnjougian delivered a speech on behalf of the Central Committee of Hamazkayin and expressed words of condolences from the larger Hamazkayin family to the Arslanian family, as well as to the attendees.

Finally, Haig Arslanian, the grandson of the late Haig Arslanian, expressed his pride that he is named for his grandfather and promised to keep his memory always alight and be true to the patriotic and benevolent path he chose.

Following the funeral services, the body of the deceased was buried at the cemetery in Antwerp. It is the wish of Mr. Arslanian’s children that his remains be transported to Armenia to find eternal rest in his beloved fatherland.

Source: Hamazkayin