CLS SESSION 5: REPENTANCE & FAITH Gathering Songs: Opening Prayer: Theres an old clich that says singing

is praying twice. So how much more when we are all gathered to pray and at the same time sing our praises. Lets have a thankful heart for all the abundant blessings He has given us. We can be assured that He is here with us. Lets sing our gathering song. (Fast gathering song)

Almighty and merciful Father, we honour and praise you for all the goodness you have shown us. Thank you Lord for the Holy Spirit, our Helper that slowly guides us, directs us in the right direction, and for sustaining us. We take delight in your Word in Hosea 14, The Lord says, I will bring my people back to me. I will love them with all my heart; no longer will I be angry with them. They will blossom like flowers; they will be alive with new growth, and beautiful like olive trees. Lord Jesus, be with us this afternoon. Enrich our hearts and minds with your wisdom. Help us in our daily undertakings and grant us the grace to be open for the changes you want to take place in our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(Sing Hosea) Welcoming: Good afternoon, brothers & sisters! Welcome to our 5th week of the Christian Life Program. When we started a month ago, from the first talk until last week, all the presentations given here focused on the very nature of God, of Who He is, What He has done for us and what awaits and in store for us! But starting today and the coming talks, the message will be on how we are going to respond to God. Opening Comments: From last week, the topic was WHAT IS THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. It opened our understanding of Who the Holy Spirit is. He is a counselor, refiner, comforter, the one who strengthen us in our weaknesses and most of all, He is the Helper sent to us by our Lord to assist us in our daily life. Last week also, I challenged you to share your insights from the Bible meditation. So today, we are blessed to have two sisters that will share. Lets welcome Sis. ____. Introduction to the Talk:

If there is one person from the Bible whom we can all relate our life as an ordinary person, it would be Peter. On several occasions he made mistakes. When Christ appeared to the apostles walking on water, Peter wanted to get out of the boat and walked on the water, too. But he became anxious and lost faith and started to sink. He had to ask the Lord to save him. When Jesus was telling his apostles on the way He was going to suffer and die in Jerusalem, Peter jumped up and said, No, Ill never let it happen. In effect, youll go over my dead body. A very understandable reaction of a loyal follower

of Christ would be expected to do. But the Lord rebuked him saying, Out of my sight Satan. You are thinking the thoughts of man, not of God. At the Last Supper, there was no problem with the other apostles when Christ washed their feet. They didnt understand what Christ was doing yet they accepted it. Only Peter did not allow it, he felt it was not right for Jesus to wash his feet. Jesus told him: Peter, if I do not wash your feet, you cant have anything to do with Me. And then the impulsive Peter said: if thats the case then wash me all over. Later on, Jesus said: One of you is going to deny Me. And Peter said: It must be one of the other guys. Jesus had to tell him, No, Peter. Its you. You are going to deny Me tonight. And indeed Peter did deny his Lord and Master that evening. Peter had made many mistakes. Yet he had his moments of faith and glory. When many disciples left Jesus because of His hard teachings, Jesus asked His apostles: Will you also go away? Peter answered for all of them: To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And another time was Jesus asked them, Who do you say I am? Peter answered, You are the Messiah. You are the Son of the Living God. That was when Jesus said, You are a rock, Peter, and I will build my church on you. Peter had many mistakes, yet in all, Jesus saw through his heart and He knew Peter as a man of faith, greatness, strength and humility. For us, ordinary as we are it is very consoling because God does not look at the mistakes we make but rather on the kind of persons we are. It just meant we keep on trying to become better. Now, how is this possible that we can become better, that we can overcome our own failures and mistakes? What steps do we need to do to realize these things?
Introduction of the Speaker: Talk on REPENTANCE & FAITH: Personal Testimony: Discussion Group Sharing: Closing Exhortation:

Repentance, being renewed or reformed is never easy. Jesus tells us that we must begin to repent. He does not promise that there will be an end in the process, where there are no more virtues to acquire or faults to amend. The life of a Christian is one of constant beginnings, many of them false starts; of repeated lapses, sometimes very discouraging that we can have the heart to try again. Yet our Lord Jesus Christ reminds us that if we put our trust and faith in Him, he will grant us the grace to stand up and begin again.
I encourage you to continue going through those meditations passages. Announcements: Within the next two weeks, your DGLs will have a one-on-one with you. This is in preparation for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Kindly arrange with your DGLs for a schedule when they contact or text you. The Confession Schedule will be on The Outpouring Mass will be on

Honoring Music Ministry Computer Snacks Speaker PT Closing Prayer: