A Sword

«For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions
of the heart » Hebrews 4:12 

Paul, more than once, refers to the Word of God as a sword. In Ephesians 6:17 we read, «and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God». Jesus said in Matthew 10:34, «Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword». A sword is generally something you would not use in your everyday life. A sword is a violent tool, once used in wars and conflicts. The ideas that come to mind when thinking about a sword are death, attack, violence, power. Do we treat God’s Word as a sword in our daily lives? 

 Paul didn’t use this word randomly. A sword separates a being into two and an object into two parts. The Word of God is a sword that cuts through us and reveals our true nature. Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to the Word of God, they were confronted with their nudity and shame. The Word of God is so powerful that the amazing universe was created through it.
Millions of galaxies, stars, moons, planets, and gigantic black holes were created by the Word of God. People have found courage to resist torture through the Word of God. Christians through years have suffered persecution, fed to lions, and beheaded but the Word of God still keeps on changing hearts. The Lord said in Isaiah 55:11, «so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it». God doesn’t need mortals like us to spread His Word, but He trusts and loves us so much that he has given us the privilege to be His hands and feet. How are we dealing then with His Word? Are we giving it the worth it deserves? Are we using the Word of God as a sword or as a pillow? 

Often, people tell me that as Christians it is hard to debate and that non-Christians have better arguments than we have. It is hard, but a sword always wins the battle. If the Word of God is like a sword, then we should trust it to cut through. We should study it so deeply. The Word of
God should be so rooted in us that it doesn’t simply become a sword, but mine and your personal sword. People don’t like to be told what is wrong in their lives, and that is exactly what the Word of God does, it cuts through and shows what is really inside. The Word of God cuts through our daily masks and challenges us to become our greater self in Him. God’s Word is a sword, a very sharp one, but it doesn’t stop there, it is a light as well that if we let it shine it will change our and people’s lives forever; if only we believe and trust in it.

Vahé Jebejian

SOLIDARITY DAY WITH ARMENIANS OF KESSAB FROM FRANCE

We received the following announcement from Rev. Gilbert Leonian from France:

Wednesday, November 11, 2015
The program entails display of paintings, books, decorative items, CDs and clothes. The visitors will taste delightful Armenian specialties, and watch a video about the life of the people of Kessab in 2015. Rev. Serop Megerditchian will give a presentation about the plight of the Syrian Armenians.
The event will also showcase poems in Armenian and French, musical entertainment, meditation and prayer.

All the benefits will be donated to support the people of Kessab in Syria.


My Personal Experience in AMAA Internship 2015


8 July 2015 was the marvellous day when 20 interns from all around the world (USA, Canada, Greece, Syria and Australia) gathered in Armenia, under the leadership of Rev. Vatche Ekmekjian, to participate in the Summer Internship Program that was organized by AMAA (Armenian Missionary Association Of America). Though we didn’t know it at the time, the following weeks would shape our hearts and lives permanently and help fix our sights on furthering God’s kingdom wherever we went.

The theme was “God’s Work in Our Hearts”. Every morning, we started our day with worship and devotion, both of which were very inspirational to me. We ended each worship session with prayer, praying that He would be with us throughout this mission to show us His creation and work around us and in our hearts. For certain designated days, we met with local pastors who graciously opened up their churches to us, even if they were as small as one room. Another day, we fellowshipped and worshipped with youth who shared the hard facts with us about the difficulties of living in Armenia and the emotional, spiritual, and economical challenges the youth there face. On the same day, we also met the Armenia Representative of the AMAA, Harout Nercessian, who detailed to us AMAA’s mission in Armenia and all the projects they currently fund or operate.

We were invited to visit several of AMAA’s many mission centers and witness how the AMAA was contributing to uplifting and building up the lives of many impoverished Armenian children. Among the sites we visited were the newly-built Avedissian School, Shogh daycare center and Camp Sheen Shoghig in Hankavan.

I know for a fact that our group was most moved and affected by our time spent up at camp in Hankavan. During our three days there, we participated in a wealth of different activities; from sitting in on the children’s morning devotionals to teaching them new worship songs to playing a game of soccer with them on the field. None of us will forget how heartbroken we were when, as we were driving away from camp in our bus, we saw all the children and leaders sorrowfully waving goodbye to us from the soccer field. We truly felt that God was there and that He revealed himself to us through the adoring eyes, the loving hands, and the tender hearts of the children there.

Not ones to be kept down after such an emotional experience, we joyfully continued our journey around Armenia. We visited several Armenian Evangelical churches all around Armenia, from Armavir in the south to Vanadzor in the north. We were royally treated to the traditional Armenian hospitality and kindness by the respective congregations, often being offered delicious five-course meals and refreshments. For those who didn’t speak Armenian coming into the trip, they certainly learned a new word after all that food: gshdatsah (I am full).

Also, we got the unique opportunity to meet with some very needy families and share the love of God with them. We raised over $400 total out of our own funds to donate to families in Dilijan, Shiragamut, and the suburbs of Yerevan. Seeing how little those families had, yet how happy and upbeat they were, we realized how much we take for granted. The visits really lifted our spirits and made us appreciate all that we have.

We attended two Sunday services; one at the Evangelical Church of Armenia, pastored by our local “guide” and dear friend Badveli Hovig Hovsepian, as well as the Harav Aremtyan Taghamas church, where we got the chance to praise the Lord with the congregation. The worship was beautiful both times and both services were punctuated by moving testimonies from Anna Shanazari and Eliz Hovsepian from Burbank, CA, and Nayiri Papazian from Montréal, QC, Canada. Badveli Vatche Ekmejian, our leader, also delivered two powerful sermons during that time.

The most amazing part for me was at the end of each night where we did something we liked to call “Share The Day.” We would gather around and each would share his/her experiences, insights and emotions about that particular day and give thanks to the Lord  for the wonderful time we had.

This was my third visit to Armenia, but this extraordinary trip was by far the best time I’ve ever spent there. 

I thank God for the wonderful experience that I had throughout this internship and for the brothers and sisters in Christ that I gained with whom I made unforgettable memories.

George Megerditchian

Camp Armen Returned to Its Rightful Owner

Our friends in Istanbul have confirmed the return of the ownership of Camp Armen in Tuzla to the Armenian Evangelical Church of Gedik Pasha in Istanbul.

The camp was founded by Hrant Guzelian, who has tutored Hrant Dink, Rakel Dink and many orphans and children. After the Turkish authorities unjustly confiscated the camp, Hrant Dink strived and endeavored to get it back to its rightful owner. Before his assassination, he was always visiting the camp from time to time to keep an eye on it.

Today, his dream and the dream of the orphans who have grown up and built part of the camp themselves has come true. Praise be to God!


The Speech of the Representative of the Christian Endeavor Union at the Night Vigil of the Centennial Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide

It's the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Furthermore, it's the centennial of the shameful crime of the Ottoman government and the continuous denial by the consecutive governments of Turkey, which to this day fabricates lies and plays political games to cover up and distort the truth of the Armenian Genocide.

Exacerbating the pain of the genocide, this year Turkey has decided to commemorate the Gallipoli anniversary on April 24, the same day the Armenian intellectuals were imprisoned and sent to their death.

More than one and a half million innocent lives were put to death, by starvation, deportation, rape, brutal killing and murder. The Armenians were suddenly uprooted from their fatherland and ancestral lands, and sent to the Syrian desert to perish and die. They were left without food, without water, without shelter. Many children, whose parents died during the genocide, became orphans and were deprived of their natural upbringing and parental care. The whole experience shook the remnants of the Armenian nation. Our fathers and mothers struggled for livelihood, for survival, for bread and water, trying to recover their sanity, dignity and humanity. They survived and then started rebuilding their lives in Lebanon and Syria.

Our fathers and mothers came to live in new countries and new lands, whose languages they did not speak. They toiled and labored night and day, putting their skills and talents to the benefit of their hosting countries. They built new houses, new churches, new schools and communal organizations. Together, the Armenians looked to the future, to a better future. They educated themselves and rose to the challenges that the new circumstances brought. Today, the Armenians all around the world are educated, successful men and women. Today, the Armenians are looking at the Genocide not only with sorrow and anguish. No, the Armenian youth today look back and demand retribution and compensation from Turkey, before the whole International community.

We demand from the Turkish government compensation for the losses of the Armenian Genocide, both financially and morally. The Armenian monasteries and churches, schools and houses, cultural and economic centers, community and private lands were converted into animal places, military posts and prisons, and modern Turkey was built on the confiscated wealth and lands of the Armenians. We

demand that Turkey return the public and private lands and properties back to the legal owners, the Armenians.

The Western civilized countries, concerned only about their political gain, stood by and only watched the complete annihilation of an ancient civilization and a prosperous nation. But we weren't completely left alone, during these horrible crimes against humanity. Many did reach out to us, leaving their safe countries, to come to our aid, to live with us in our perilous conditions, to endure pain and humiliation with us, and to even die with us. Missionaries, nurses, doctors, teachers, professors, social workers, pastors helped alleviate our conditions and became our Good Samaritans. We hold these noble men and women with high regard and we praise God for their worthy deeds. They became fathers and mothers to the Armenian orphans and sisters and brothers to the Armenian people.

Last month, Mr. Robert Fisk, the well-known British journalist, asked what the Armenians would do on the 101st and 102nd anniversaries. Well Mr. Fisk, the Armenians will remember and demand, they will remember and demand, they will remember and demand.

Armenians all over the world have gathered tonight. We've always remembered what happened to us. But the centennial marks a new era, an era of transferring the Armenian Genocide from the platform of recognition to the platform of legal framework.

Next year is the 101st anniversary. We will gather again, reminding Turkey to face up to its crimes against humanity. We will stand united and we will ask the world communities, organizations, and governments to stand with us against the continuous denial of the Armenian Genocide.

We will continue to remember and we will continue to demand.

Raffi Chilingirian,
Representative of
the Christian Endeavor Union's Executive Body of the Armenian Evangelical Churches
in the Armenian Genocide Centennial Youth Body of Lebanon

Armenian Evangelical Christian Endevour Youth Camp 2015 in Kchag

This year, the Chanits youth of the Armenian Evangelical Churches had the privelege of hearing God's word through Rev. Megerdich Melkonian. He shared about 4G connection of the Christian with God.
The youth also had sharing time, worship, played outdoor/indoor games, learned about apologetics.





(Back left-to-right) Mrs. Jimmy Kozman Ohanian, Badveli Datev Basmajian, Mrs. Houry Melkonian, Rev. Hrayr Cholakian
(Front left-to-right) Badveli Hagop Akbasharian, Ms. Shake Geocherian, Rev. Megerdich Melkonian, Badveli Sevag Trashian, Mrs. Yester Kilaghbian