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Greetings in our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray this newsletter finds you well. These last couple months have been blessed, and I am excited to share with you this next chapter.             (Please note the address change listed in the contact at the bottom.) I am returning to Europe to serve in ministry for three months starting in January. Serving in Paris, France with the Bridge International Church. I will be working to assist the missionary Kelly Delp who is currently lead pastor of this international church. I will be working with administration, adult and children ministries, and outreach within the community.               While serving this missions term in Paris I will also be completing an internship for my Bachelor's degree in Intercultural Studies and minor in Theology for Southwestern Assemblies of God University. In completing this degree I will be better equipped and have on the field experience to move forward to full-time service on the mission field myself.               There are a couple of ways you can be apart of this mission term to Paris, France. The first and most important way you can be apart of this term is through prayer. Missionaries cannot make it on the field without the backing of prayers raising them up and supporting the ministry. I am asking for people who can commit to pray through this three-month term in January 2020 through March 2020. I appreciate and am blessed by your prayers!               The second way you can be apart of this mission term is by financial support. There is a couple of ways you support financially, 1. Cash, 2. Check, 3. Online. Means this term is also in fulfillment of the internship for Southwestern Assemblies of God University all of my funds will be sent to an account handled by the University for this term. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Below I have included instructions for the ways of giving. Thank you for your continued support as I continue to work in ministry. 1.    Cash- can be mailed to 1200 Sycamore Street, Waxahachie, TX 75165 with the prepared form filled out. 2.    Check- can be mailed to 1200 Sycamore Street, Waxahachie, TX 75165 with the prepared form filled out. Make the check out to Southwestern Assemblies of God University and write Rebekah Rader -internship in the memo. 3.    Giving Online- o  Type "Sagu giving" in a browser o  It's usually the first link: "Giving - SAGU" o  Then select the following options: § Use my gift for: (see more choices) § More choices: Student Missions Trip § What kind of gift is this: Outside Donation § Which trip: Internship § Student name: Rebekah Rader Phone number: 812-798-3991 Email: RFaith2Africa@gmail.com Website: https://faithlife.com/rfaithministries Facebook page: Rebekah FAITH Rader NEW MAILING ADDRESS: 12915 S. County Rd. 550 W. Jasonville, IN 47438 Rebekah’s Call to Ministry In 1999 Rebekah was three years old while sitting in a church service in Terre Haute, Indiana when she felt she needed to ask God to come into her heart and to devote her life to God. Rebekah asked her dad to go to the altar with her to accept Jesus into her heart. This was not just an acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior but also the day when Rebekah told God that she wanted to devote her life to Him. In 2000 Rebekah was four years old. It was a night like most when Rebekah’s parents sent their kids to bed but this time she had a dream that would altar her and set course for the rest of her life. “I woke up to a light beaming through my window over my bed. Then I watched an angel walking on the beam of light and through my window as he carried a small pillow with a crown gently laying on top. When the angel reached my bed he placed the crown on my head and took my hand. Not once did my mind question anything as I took the hand lent down to me. I was lead out of my room on the beam of light. I was lead into a large room that at four years old I would have described as a large ballroom. This courtroom was beautiful beyond words with pillars on both sides of the room. As soon as my eyes saw the front of the room my legs were running to the throne in front of me before I could think about what I was doing. When I reached the throne at the front of the courtroom I fell to my knees and took the crown from my head and placed it on the floor in front of me, at the feet of the one sitting on the throne. The next thing I was being scooped up into the arms of God. As I sat there with Him, He told me that He wanted me that He had important things for me to do and that He wanted me to be a missionary to Rhodesia. He then took me to see women and children in Africa. One specific young boy that I saw appeared to be malnourished and sitting against a partial brick wall with rubble and rubbish around him. As I looked at this little boy he reached his arms up to me. After God took me back into the courtroom He continued to talk to me about being a missionary to Rhodesia. The next thing I realized I was waking up back in my own bed. When I realized I was back in my room I jumped up and ran to tell my parents about being a missionary to Rhodesia. After my parents had calmed down their excited daughter, they told me that if I went back to bed that I put my homeschooling aside and look at maps with my parents to find this Rhodesia. The next morning I was looking at our school globe and any other maps that we had in the house with my parents. The problem was that we could not find Rhodesia on any map. For the next four years, I continued to tell my parents and anyone else who asked that I was going to grow up and be a missionary to Rhodesia. “ In 2004 Rebekah and her parents had the opportunity to look at a set of encyclopedias that her grandmother told her was old even to her. Like every time Rebekah found a map she looked for this country. Finally, four years after her dream Rebekah found Rhodesia in those encyclopedias. Today Rhodesia is known as two separate countries, Zimbabwe and Zambia, Africa. Rebekah has now served several missions opportunities including in both Zimbabwe and Zambia. She has received her Associates Degree in Church Leadership with Evangel University. She is currently a licensed minister working toward full ordination. Rebekah is also almost finished with her Bachelor's Degree in Intercultural Studies with a Minor in Theology to better equip her to work and effectively communicate with the different cultures she may encounter in the field of ministry.

Romans 3:1-20 -Paul is continuing to talk to his Jewish brothers here, he is responding to a dialogue that may have happened if he we having the conversation face to face. This leads one to believe Paul may have spoken to other Jewish brothers on this same discussion over circumcision and righteousness. -Paul does point out that his Jewish brothers have an advantage with the promise of God over the Jewish people, but also points out this does not void them from judgment. -Though the Jewish people have the promises of God, they will be judged for their faithfulness, and it is pointed out that the Gentiles have been provided justification through Jesus Christ (apart from the law). -The oracles of God referenced to in verse one is the Old Testament scripture spoken by the prophets, specifically the promises and covenants. So when it said "the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God", they were entrusted with the promises and covenants of God, they carried these as bearers. - In verse 3 Paul raises up God's faithfulness, and he is directing this at the Jews. We can take this in hand with the church today. Many compare the people with God on a regular basis. Well if this leader of the church cannot be faithful, how then could I trust the God they claim to serve? Though it is true that those who have received justification through God's covenants and Christ should be holding themselves up in the manner God does because he represents God and should be reflecting him. Let us remember what quoted in this very chapter, "None is righteous, no not one;..." -Verse 4 "may prevail when you are judged"- Paul is quoting the Septuagint of Psalms 51:4, presenting that God's judgment is justified and does not nullify His faithfulness. -Verse 5 proposes that God has an opportunity to show His righteousness through the judgement of the sins of the unrighteous. -Versus 9-20 Paul is showing here that universally we are all sinful, both Jews and Gentiles are under sin. In this being universal, the law does not lead to justification but only leads to the knowledge of sin. The only way to justification is through the faith in Jesus Christ. -In Paul's day he dealt with Jews who believe that because they bore the covenant and promises of God that they could in no way be equal to the Gentiles. Paul shows us here that though they are at an advantage sin is common between both nations. - "they deceive with their tongues" The Greek verb dolioō is used, meaning "to flatter with intention to do evil". -3:15 Sinful people speak harmful words also act on those words. - Sinful people cannot live in peace, especially among other people. The more weighted down in sin you are the harder it may become to be at peace with your brother. - The works of the law refers to the requirements of the law. The law emphasizes the practices distinguished between Jews and Gentiles such as certain ceremonial observations like circumcision, food laws, and Sabbath laws. Though people can observe these laws, as Paul points out they will still fall short of observing everything in the law. As Gentiles, we must also remember that we have been written a new covenant in blood that applies us to justification through the faith in Jesus Christ. (This is not saying that we are not to keep the commandments given to Moses, Issac and Abraham, but that some have truly been written out and it needs to be extinguished through scripture which is Jewish law and which still applies to Gentiles. Romans 3:21-31 - Recommended! I highly recommend writing down or printing verses 21-31 and reading is now and then, this gives us a greater understanding of our nature and yet the nature of God our Father as well in how just and loving He is. - Paul has already made note in previous versus that both Jews and Gentiles are under sin and that the righteousness of God is available equally through the faith of Jesus Christ. Man cannot be justified by law but only by faith. - "But Now" tells us that there is a shift here in what Paul is discussing, a shift in his argument. Here he transitions in the history of salvation and began with the death and resurrection of Jesus. -Remember Paul is not negating the law, but saying the law testifies to the revelation of God's righteousness besides the the requirements of the Jewish law. - The gift of righteousness is a gift to all without bounds of nations or circumstances. Both Jews and Gentiles have failed and will continue to fail to meet the righteousness of God. - Being justified is to be set apart or declared righteous, refers to both the acquittal of all charges and provision of right status before God.

Romans 2 - Chapter 2 Paul shifts gears, as he says "you", he is talking specifically to the Jews. He however quickly includes the Greeks (all non-Jewish people). Now that the Gentiles to have the same saving grace available to them as the Jews, God will judge each man according to His works and not according to whether He is Jew or Gentile. - Many would like to say that if a man does not hear the name of Jesus and have the opportunity to accept him as savior through hearing is not bound to sin because he does not know. This is not so, as creations of God we would have the law of God written on our hearts. It is up to each individual to recognize that law that has been written on our hearts, and will be judged accordingly to how we follow the law. -Though Paul continues to talk to the Jews, we can clearly take what he is saying and apply it to the "Greek" church today, to our church and lives. We have the law, we know the law, we teach the law, so do we ourselves keep the law? As you pass judgment on other people, expect to be judged yourself!

Romans 1 -The writer of Romans is Paul, previously known as Saul of Tarsus. (Acts 7:8; 9:11) Paul said he was a servant of Christ Jesus, here he is showing us his character of humility and submissiveness toward Christ. -Some become confused in the idea that Paul could call himself an apostle means he was not one of the original 12 men chosen by Jesus. Paul is saying here that he has the same authority given to that of the 12 disciples as he too was commissioned by Christ to speak and act on special authority. -The word used in the Greek for (set apart) is aphorizō- describes the setting of something or someone apart for a particular function or task. - Paul was born a Roman, a man who recognized God's salvation plan for the Gentiles and so the people who were not Jews became his missionary focus. - Paul describes how God has clearly revealed Himself to all so that no one will be with excuse. God not only revealed Himself, but has given to man what his desire has been, whether it be of evil or of God. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ro 1:1). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.