At a recent Wednesday evening Bible study and prayer service of the International Church of Rome, a young woman walked in out of the darkness from the street. At work, she had met one of the church members who invited her to come. She came out of curiosity. Katiusha was from Russia but lived and worked in Rome. The Bible study was from Global University’s course, Christian Worship, and discussion was on the topic “What will we be doing in Heaven?‟ AGWM Personnel, Bob and Lynne Rose who pastor this congregation relate what happened next. “We talked about having the assurance of our future being in God’s hands here on earth as well as in eternity. As Bob taught, he could see that Katiusha tried to give the appearance of knowing and understanding the Scriptures. She nodded at the right time, clapped her hands and assumed a posture of prayer, but within her there seemed to be a struggle going on. Before we began our prayer time, Bob felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to ask her to come forward and he then talked with her. He gave her the simple truth and foundation of the Gospel: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
“Katiusha understood a physical birth but a spiritual birth was only head knowledge. So Bob asked her if she wanted to pray to be born again in a spiritual sense. With a strong voice, she repeated a prayer of repentance and acceptance of her new spiritual life. Joy filled her heart and a smile broke out on her face as she basked in her new relationship with Jesus. Like Nicodemus, Katiuisha had come by night with her curiosity and left with the assurance of her salvation!
“Katiusha came to church the following Sunday. During the service, we prepared to celebrate communion and as we had several visitors there, we gave the guidelines for receiving it. As we came forward to receive the elements, Katiusha got out of her seat and walked up to Bob and asked, ‘Can I take communion now that I asked Jesus into my heart? Is it for me?’ What a thrill it was for Bob to tell her that as a newborn believer, communion was for her!”
At a recent Wednesday evening Bible study and prayer service of the International Church of Rome, a young woman walked in out of the darkness from the street. At work, she had met one of the church members who invited her to come. She came out of curiosity. Katiusha was from Russia but lived and worked in Rome. The Bible study was from Global University’s course, Christian Worship, and discussion was on the topic “What will we be doing in Heaven?‟
AGWM Personnel, Bob and Lynne Rose who pastor this congregation relate what happened next. “We talked about having the assurance of our future being in God’s hands here on earth as well as in eternity. As Bob taught, he could see that Katiusha tried to give the appearance of knowing and understanding the Scriptures. She nodded at the right time, clapped her hands and assumed a posture of prayer, but within her there seemed to be a struggle going on. Before we began our prayer time, Bob felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to ask her to come forward and he then talked with her. He gave her the simple truth and foundation of the Gospel: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
“Katiusha understood a physical birth but a spiritual birth was only head knowledge. So Bob asked her if she wanted to pray to be born again in a spiritual sense. With a strong voice, she repeated a prayer of repentance and acceptance of her new spiritual life. Joy filled her heart and a smile broke out on her face as she basked in her new relationship with Jesus. Like Nicodemus, Katiuisha had come by night with her curiosity and left with the assurance of her salvation!
“Katiusha came to church the following Sunday. During the service, we prepared to celebrate communion and as we had several visitors there, we gave the guidelines for receiving it. As we came forward to receive the elements, Katiusha got out of her seat and walked up to Bob and asked, ‘Can I take communion now that I asked Jesus into my heart? Is it for me?’ What a thrill it was for Bob to tell her that as a newborn believer, communion was for her!”