Week of July 13

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Tribulation, Endurance, Approvedness, and Hope

“And not only so, but we also boast in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces endurance; and endurance, approvedness; and approvedness, hope.” (Rom. 5:3-4)

Tribulation is actually the incarnation of grace and the sweet visitation of grace; to reject tribulation is to reject grace, which is God as our portion for our enjoyment; grace mainly visits us in the form of tribulation by which God causes all things (all persons, all matters, all situations, all circumstances, and all environments) to work together for good, which is our gaining more of Christ to have Him wrought into our being, so that we may be transformed metabolically and conformed to Christ's image and so that we may be brought into the full sonship.

Tribulation issues in endurance, and endurance produces approvedness, which is tested character and approved worth (Phil. 2:19-22)…Along with approvedness, we have hope (Rom. 5:4), and we boast because of the hope of the glory of God (v. 2). The God of all grace has called us into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus; here and now we are enjoying Christ, who dwells in our spirit, as our hope of glory.

As we enjoy Christ in our sufferings, we are being saved in His life for accomplishing the organic goal of God's dynamic salvation, which is the producing and building up of the organic Body of Christ expressed in the local churches, where we enjoy the rich grace of the Lord and where the God of peace crushes Satan under our feet for His glorious expression and for the display of His victory. (Chapters 5 through 8 of Romans—the Kernel of the Bible, msg. 2, III.A, B, C, 2, D)

Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who…emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave…; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross.” (Phil. 2:5-8)

In order to experience Christ and live Christ, we must know Him as our pattern and take Him as our pattern, take Christ's mind as our mind, and know the Son's submission. (Key Statement 2)

Please pray that the speaking from the recent semiannual training would penetrate the entire recovery in an unprecedented way to match the Lord's present burden. Pray for the saints in all the churches to take Christ as their pattern in a subjective and experiential way. Pray that the One who not only set up the pattern but who Himself is the pattern would operate within all the saints as the indwelling God.

2025 Southwest Summer College Training

Dear saints, thank you for your prayer! Around 39 college students from different schools in LA participated last week in our region's summer college training at Oak Glen. This five-day training had the subject of “The Humanity of Jesus” with a focus on Christ as revealed through the type of the meal offering in Leviticus. Students were impressed with their need to have a proper humanity in order to express God for His purpose. Daily we have to eat and enjoy Christ as the “fine flour mingled with oil” to be constituted with His humanity for a proper Christian and church life.

There were also two supplemental lines on personal fellowship with the Lord and preaching the gospel. The morning line on personal fellowship helped the students know how to exercise their spirit to touch the Lord affectionately through pray-reading, calling, and confessing. After these brief messages, students were given the opportunity to practice spending personal time with the Lord. The line on gospel preaching was mainly carried out in smaller groups where the students were able to fellowship on the burden of praying for and contacting their friends. Additionally, throughout the week, there were group study times, verse memorization, and testing, as well as special fellowships on mental health, the Lord's recovery, and the Full-time Training in Anaheim.

As follow-up, please pray for the students' immediate practice of all that they touched during this training, in particular:

• For the students to eat and enjoy the Lord daily as the meal offering through reading and praying over the word of God.
• For them to be constituted with the humanity of Jesus to stand against the current of today's age and to be a testimony to their friends, family, and classmates.
• For them to have companions with whom they can enjoy the word and pray for those they are burdened for.

Nordic-Baltic Conference

This weekend, July 18 to 20, a conference for the saints in the Nordic and Baltic countries will be hosted by the church in Oslo, Norway. This conference is a highlight for the saints in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland, as well as for those in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. This summer's conference subject is “Our Faith Being Perfected.” Please pray for the Lord's fresh speaking and for the gathering and blending of the saints into the reality of the Body.

The Lord has been preparing and gaining a new generation of younger saints in this region—both church kids and gospel contacts. Recently, over a dozen students and young work saints attended the semiannual training in Anaheim, preceded by blending visits with several localities in Southern California, including Los Angeles. Some of these young saints are the only ones in their age group in their localities, so the blending has been encouraging. Pray for these ones and others to go on from strength to strength. After this weekend's conference, there will be a larger blending trip for students from the Nordic and Baltic countries—this time with 32 saints, two-thirds of whom are students. Lord, fully gain this new generation for the preparation of the bride for Your return!

Germany – Gospel Trips

Saints are invited to participate in gospel trips in German-speaking countries from October 5 to 19 for the purpose of contacting university students. A link to more information, including instructions on how to register for these trips, can be found at tinyurl.com/Gospeltrips-2025.

Please pray that the Lord will gain many young Germans, Swiss, and Austrians as remaining fruit and for the spread of the Lord's testimony in all these cities through these gospel trips.

A special fellowship was held at the recent semiannual training about the Lord's up-to-date move in Europe as a whole and specifically in Italy and in French- and German-speaking Europe. A video of that fellowship is available at lordsmove.org/reports.html.

Nepal

Pray for the campus work, that more students who are open and willing to read the Bible would be gained, and that 10 stable home meetings would be established in July.

Announcements

1. Morning Revival: Week 2 of Chapters 5 through 8 of Romans—the Kernel of the Bible.
2. FTTA: A video of the graduation presentation from June 28 is available for a limited time at ftta.org.
3. Bibles for America's newest blogpost “The Importance of Spending Personal Time with Jesus in the Morning” is available to read and share at bfa.org/blog. Helpful videos are available at bfa.org/videos.
4. 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy: A letter of fellowship and a letter with instructions on how to apply and participate in gospel trips are now posted at lordsmove.org/reports.html.
5. The LA Years: This oral history project at www.layears.org documents the early years of the church life in Los Angeles from 1958–1974, including written history, photos, and first-hand testimonies.
6. Ways to Give: Information about the church's online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.