Our outreach in July takes place in South Philly where we will be hosting an open-door coffeehouse. We encourage you to help us with setting up, meeting & greeting, and sharing the Gospel with this community.

If you have further questions, email Carol at carol@fusion316.org.

Churches from all over Philly and New York are getting together to display their best talent! If you’ve got a voice, we want you to rep’ your church! Five judges from various churches in the city will pick the top talent and prizes will be distributed. If you want to sign up email Sarah – sarah@fusion316.org.

Join us on June 19th at 315 E. Hunting Park Ave, Philadelphia, PA. Doors open at 6:30PM. 

Anyone else – come out and support your church! The church group with the largest turnout ALL get a prize. Admission is $5 and food will be available. If you arrive before 7:15pm, admission is $3! You don’t want to miss out on this event!

All proceeds go to our upcoming summer missions trip. In early August a few dedicated people are traveling to Trinidad and Tobago to work with a local ministry, TTUM, in sharing the gospel. We will be hosting a VBS, visiting prisons, women’s shelters, orphanages and hosting tent meetings. If you are interested in joining our team, send us a message. Even if you can’t go on the trip you can help this amazing effort by donating to the cause. Every bit counts!

Our outreach in May takes place in South Philly where we will be hosting an open-door coffeehouse. We encourage you to help us with setting up, meeting & greeting, and sharing the Gospel with this community.

If you have further questions, email Carol at carol@fusion316.org.

Written by Leena Abraham

“But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” Luke 5:5

In this chapter of Luke, we see that Simon Peter has had a weary night of fallen expectations. As a fisherman, he knows that his work involves extended hours of waiting on a potential catch that may never be seen. This night in particular, he had cast his net many times, only to be completely disappointed in the results. Yet Jesus comes and tells him to try once again – to let his net down just one more time. Simon’s reply is what makes it so obvious to us why Jesus saw something special in this man. Peter first acknowledges with honesty his tiredness, his frustration and his hopelessness in the situation.  Yet, the turning point of his response is in his final words of obedience. He says “…nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” Despite his own experience of failure, he chooses to submit to Jesus’ command.  Jesus doesn’t promise him success, or even a great reward for this repeated effort. Simon’s reason for casting his net again was simply because Jesus had told him to.

We know the all too familiar pang of disappointment – to have expected something that has instead slipped through our fingers. We understand working hard, and yet despite our most dedicated efforts, to be faced only with our own failures.  Opening our calloused hands, we see only empty palms. We often hold tight to our fruitless efforts and dashed hopes as a badge of how we have been victimized, abandoned and wronged. Finally, we decide that walking away from the losing battle is better than continuing to feel the pain of disappointment again. We are all guilty of prayers that are usually too full of copious requests and long lists of grievances to have room for the final cry of “…nevertheless, I will obey”.  Focusing on a specific moment or a certain pain, we cling to the hollow belief that we deserved more and we deserved better. The unfortunate result is that paralyzed by our own fear of being disappointed again, we become spiritually stagnant.

If we finish reading this passage, we’ll see that Simon’s obedience to Jesus’ command results in an abundant catch for this poor fisherman. Soon after, Jesus promises him that there are even greater things awaiting him – that he will be a fisher of men! It is due to our spiritual nearsightedness that we often can’t see God’s plan unfolding through the lessons He teaches us; that we miss the unveiling of the providence of an all-knowing God. It is through our pain that we learn to search for comfort in Him. It is through our insufficiency that we understand completeness in Him. It is through our failures that we grow to maturity in Christ. Are we willing to miss out on the promises of our Savior because we instead chose to cling to our own shortcomings? As Simon chose to cast his net one more time, we are also called to put our hurts aside in order to be obedient to the call of our Lord. When we are ready to lift our eyes to our King and say “Yes, Lord, I was hurt and disappointed, but nevertheless, I will press on”, we will see the glory behind our own empty nets.

Drops of blood ran down his face
As he anguished in that quiet still place
The weight of His burden began to crush Him
My God, My God, why does this have to happen!!
The devil was attacking from every side
Raising doubts and fears that even he couldn’t hide
All alone in the garden that night
Not a friend or loved one was within sight
He cried from the very depths of His soul
That the God of Heaven would make Him bold
Bold to do the task for which He was called
Bold to bear the sin of All
All God and All man crying out in that garden
Preparing himself to purchase our pardon
Why is He subject to this?
Why must he be betrayed with a kiss
A liar, a thief, a murderer He was not
But you and I we must be bought
Bought with a price more precious than gold
The blood of the lamb that will never grow old
So on he marched into the quite still night
Prepared for battle and ready to fight
Fight with the forces of darkness and hell
Even thought it is you and I who have fell
Prepared to fight even unto the death
Prepared to give every last breath
That you and I may reign with Him one day
So He cried Father let your will be done come what may!!!

By Dennis and Elizabeth Mathew

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4

A quick search through a Merriam Webster dictionary produced the following results when I looked up the word Trial.

a test of faith, patience, or stamina through subjection to suffering or temptation; broadly : a source of vexation or annoyance

a tryout or experiment to test quality, value, or usefulness

When I think of trials, I often think of terrible things that happen in a person’s life.  I think about people who survive near death situations, deaths in the family, sickness, and bankruptcy.  These are all terrible situations and should certainly fall into the category of a trial as they are more than vexations or annoyances and would be better classified as sufferings causing a level of physical and emotional distress.  Looking at the verse above and making it personal can sometimes be difficult if your perception of a trial is solely defined as an extreme circumstance.  Extreme circumstances may not happen often in your life.   In fact, you could be well along your path of living and feel that you haven’t faced such a circumstance.  When reading this verse, you may struggle to make it personal if you feel that you haven’t faced a trial.

I believe this is a serious trick of the enemy.  It’s easy to be so distracted in this life that when situations come up which test both one’s faith and patience; we fail to recognize it for what it really is.  As a result, we don’t realize how many times we fail when facing such trials.  The verse above tells us to count it joy when we face various trials indicating that they are an opportunity for us to pass a test and improve upon successful completion.  If we don’t see the hurdle in our path, how do we jump over it?

Trials come in many forms as indicated above.  A trial may be severe temptations we face each day.  It may even come in the form of small circumstances or annoyances which pick at us in our daily routine.  How do we react when someone cuts us off in traffic?  How about when we hear someone speaking negatively or gossiping about us?  It’s easy to let emotion get the best of us or to jump to conclusions in certain situations.  These may sound like small things, but they can get in the way of our personal spiritual development.  It’s time we recognize the various tests we face daily and remember that successfully passing these tests will help build our character little by little.

As we grow, we may face more severe tests in our lives.  What’s important is not that we look at how big the trial may be, but that we remember our God is here with us to help us through each and every trial.  As you remember what He’s done for you in past circumstances, you should develop the patience to make it through your current circumstance even if you don’t know the answer or which direction you need to take.  Doing so will develop your faith as well since faith is often what is being tested.

Use trials both great and small as an opportunity to grow your character.  Recognizing the trial and being able to trust in God is a big step in personal growth.  It’s easy to try to fight it on your own or shrug it off as an unfortunate event.  Seeing past the physical realm can make all the difference as we pursue perfection and completeness in Christ.

When bad things happen, I know I don’t always think about where my faith is or whether or not I’m being patient.  I know these are things I pray for each day so they are on my mind.  Sometimes we look far ahead to an end goal without realizing there is a process we go through in order to get there.  Some of the greatest persons of faith successfully endured great trials.  One key was recognizing the trial and most importantly, recognizing the need for God in order to make it through those trials.  So let’s take an account each day of the various trials we face and remember to look to God in each of these circumstances so that the testing of our faith may produce the patience required in developing the right character.

Article written by Freddy Mathew. Freddy is a member of the Fusion leadership team and drama team. You can reach him at fred@fusion316.org.

In the past week we’ve launched a new site! We’re really excited by the opportunities it introduces, namely user-submitted content. We really want you to help us build out our content by providing any inspirational/thought-provoking articles or devotionals or even artwork. Pray about it, and if you feel led, email us at info@fusion316.org.

Also – we’re really looking forward to your comments! Even if you don’t feel led to submit an article, we’d love to hear what your response is to what we post on the site.

One last thing, we’re also expanding what you take from the meetings to the web. For all of our Fusion First Friday meetings we are now going to have notes, video and photos from the event. We want this site to be an on-going resource for you, so any ideas you might have will be greatly appreciated.

Have fun browsing the site!

There are nearly 1,500,000 people living in the city of Philadelphia, not including its surrounding towns. Without a doubt, we can make a better effort of sharing the Good News in our city – but it can only happen from us working together.

The coffee was flowing and there was no shortage of donuts and cookies on Friday night as young people from throughout the city came to hang out and hear about ministry opportunities in the area.  Lighthouse, Urban Worship Center Project 215 , HUSH and of course Fusion shared about exciting ways to serve God.  It was amazing to hear about the exciting things that God is doing through these ministries!  We also had a chance to experience the talents of many of the young people in these ministries through songs, rap, videos, etc.  What a great time.  We’ll have to do it again soon!

So many search the world seeking after anything that can satisfy the longing inside of them to be complete, made whole, be happy, to be loved. Many of us are running away from the one true thing that will complete us, many of us are searching for something that cannot be found in an empty world. Our heart aches to know true love and its all encompassing embrace. Discover the difference between love and lust and understand the truly life changing impact of The Great Romance.

NOTES FROM THIS MEETING

Everything God created is meant for good, including sex. God designed people as sexual beings and intended sex to be kept between a husband and his wife. Sex, naturally, is used as a way of procreation, but God’s intention is much deeper. He created sex so a man and his wife could share a spiritual, physical and emotional connection with one another. Sex was created so that a husband and wife would share a profound love for one another.

But once sin entered into the world, the world made sex to be perverted. It’s more common for men and women to randomly “hook up” than to hear of a husband wife enjoy each other’s company.

Satan will present you with a relationship and try to convince you that your situation is love when in reality it is lust. You may not realize it right away, but there will come a point in time when you see that all you have been chasing after is lust, not love. Unmarried people who commit sexual sin consider it “making love,” but all they have really been doing is fulfilling their lustful desires.

Don’t think that you could never become a victim of sexual sin. Even the strongest (Samson) and wisest (Solomon) men fell into sexual temptation. Even a man after God’s own heart (David) was not immune.

What’s the rush? Haven’t you begun to realize that God’s timing is better than any timeline you could create for yourself? Create a list and take time to identify the physical and spiritual characteristics you want in a future spouse. Pray and seek God’s advice. Identify what you want; identify what you need and learn to differentiate between your prince or princess and the posers.

The world is continuously trying to convince us that we need to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, but remember, entering into a relationship too soon and isn’t meant for you can cause terrible damage to your psyche. You are more likely to make bad decisions and have more regrets because you think what you have is love when it is really lust.

Don’t waste your time trying to find Mr. or Miss Right. Spend your time trying to become Mr. or Miss Right. If you do not have a right relationship with Christ, don’t expect to have a right relationship with your boyfriend or girlfriend.

Don’t look to drugs, alcohol, sex or relationships to fill the emptiness in your heart. An empty heart must first be filled with Christ in order to understand what true love is. The greatest love that anyone could ever know has concurred hell, death, and the grave to save your soul.

PHOTOS