Pastor Brian – Welcome and opening Prayer
1. We want to welcome everybody this morning. As we can see, we have a lot of guests this morning. It’s nice to have guests who arrive on time. So, we’ll start worship with a fairly full house. And we’re going to invite you just to focus on the Lord while we all filter in. Our focus is on Him. Amen
2. Our theme today is going to center on prayer. We’ve declared that this is a year of prayer. Because we believe that all of our answers are found in Him. And we seek after many things. We seek after physical healings. We seek after material release. We seek after deliverances. We have many, many needs.
3. As a family, we have many needs. And I’m sure even among our visitors today, there are many different things that we would pray for. But we’re going to rest this morning in the fact that our God, through our Lord Jesus, is indeed the answer to all things. He’s the giver of good gifts. He’s the provider of all that is necessary. He is Alpha and Omega. And that means He knew the need from the beginning and He knows it at its end point.
4. He is already there with you in your healing, in your deliverance, in your provision, whatever it is that you call on Him for. He is already there. And He’s just saying, ‘Come, come to me and I will give you every form of rest.’ Amen?
5. So, can we just pray this morning together? Lord, we just invite you into this place today. You are, you are Lord all things. And so, we just ask you God to rest with us and be with us Lord. Abide with us, lift us up God. I pray that through song and through prayer and through everything that we experience today, Lord. Through the testimonies that we will hear God and through all that you desire to give and do. Lord, that we will both hear from you and receive from you. And because of that Lord, we will give you praise.
6. Hallelujah. Well, why don’t you just take a moment, greet somebody around you, move around a little bit, remind them that we’re here for the Lord, that is higher than us.

Pastor Brian – Prayer for sickness and healing
7. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you that you are here in your presence. And Lord, we believe that you are here in your power. So, Lord, we just pray right now, for every need that exists in this room. Lord, for every need that exists for those watching online. Lord, I pray for those that already called in today that they were sick and at home, Lord, I just pray, raise them up. Sickness, we speak to you and say you have no authority in our midst.
8. I rarely use the word, but Lord I just sense this morning. Lord, whether it be here in this house or somebody at home. I speak against the power of depression. We give praises to your name. Not to any other. We will not sing of the power of anything, but the power of your Holy Spirit.
9. Lord, I speak over addictions today. Lord, whether they be physical or emotional or even mental. Addiction has no place in your presence. Lord, I speak against doubt. We know who you are. Place that assurance in our heart, God. And let the doubts that we have in this life perish in front of you.
10. And Lord, I pray this one maybe even a little bit personally. Lord, I speak against weariness. In your presence, Lord, there is fullness of joy. I’m going to say it again, Lord, in your presence there is fullness of joy. And we declare that liberty today, in the power of the name of Jesus. It’s in you that we believe and it’s of you that we sing.

Pastor Brian – Announcements
11. We’re not going to stop the spirit of worship today. So, I’m not going to give you a bunch of announcements. But I do want to greet you this morning on behalf of Pastor Gail. We arrived back from Tunisia on Saturday morning at one o’clock. And Stavros knows the time because he was there to pick us up.
12. And then he was back on his way to the airport at four o’clock in the morning, to take our mission team back, who send their love. But also, to put Pastor Gail back on an airplane to travel to Florida in the USA. So, she had about two hours at home to take a shower. Repack her bag and go to America.
13. So please pray for her. I know she’s exhausted because she hasn’t texted me. And usually on any Sunday morning she’s away, I have at least five or ten texts. Reminding me what should happen that morning. So, this morning you’re in my hands. I get to decide. So, for me it’s a good morning. But she does send her greetings and her love.
14. She’s there to give honor to another pastor who is retiring his church. He and his church have been a tremendous supporter of our mission ministry. He’s been to Greece here a couple of times with us but I don’t think any of you ever met him because he was on his vacations. Or most importantly his 40th anniversary with his wife.
15. So, the Lord has used him to build a tremendous church. It’s called the Father’s House. So, for those of you who are Glyfada Christian Center and will invite the rest of you as well. Just lift a prayer today for the Father’s House. That as they make this transition in their history that the Lord will just move them forward. In strength and that their days ahead will be greater than those that were behind. So just under your breath or out loud say Lord bless the Father’s House.
16. You can find your announcements online or call the office. All the usual stuff, except next Sunday is our Palm Sunday. For our American friends this is Palm Sunday. So, we celebrate that with you. But when you finally learn the correct calendar, you will join with us next week. Your Easter, our Palm Sunday.
17. And we will have as usual our prayer services Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Then we will have our devotional service with communion and feet washing on Thursday. For those of you who have never participated in that it is a precious, precious time. So, I really encourage you to be there Thursday night.
18. Then Friday morning at 11 o’clock in the morning we will have our devotional service then. Just an hour to be together to remember the day that our Jesus was crucified. For those that don’t know at noon on Friday, the mourning bells, mourning M-O-U-R-N the crying bells will begin at noon. And the churches throughout Greece will ring those bells. As in our hearts we remember what this symbolizes.
19. But then Saturday night at 10 30 p.m., we gather for our Easter service. And we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. We light the candles because the resurrection has come. And we flow out of the church, while the fireworks go on around us, and the bells ring, not for crying but for rejoicing.
20. Easter week is a special time. So, I really, really encourage you. Come be a part of it. And if you have friends and family that don’t go to church any other time of the year. Bring them with you. Because we believe the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit will meet with us here. We will be changed. And lives will be changed. Because the Messiah has come. Can all of God’s people say amen. So that’s our only major announcement this week.

Pastor Brian – Testimonies
21. I told you at the beginning of the service our focus today is prayer. And the power that that has had in people’s lives. So, we have a few people who are going to share with you today. About what that has meant in their lives.
22. We’re going to start with one of our own. And then we’re going to hear from a couple of the teams. And one of their leaders who will share with the power they’re experiencing as they are here to pray. And to serve. But to pray. It’s in their name. They are the praying pelicans. They can explain to you what that means. And then we’re going to finish it with a testimony from another one of our own.
23. But I want to encourage you. In fact, I’m going to turn that up a little bit. I want to challenge you, that as you hear these testimonies today. Let them remind you of the faithfulness God has shown to you. Be encouraged in your heart. Because our God is good. His faithfulness is forever. His mercy endures always. And we celebrate Him today, as we look to Him. Amen?
24. And then we’ll wind it up at the end, Leto, with our giving. Not because we’re giving to a church or to a ministry. But because we’re giving to the Lord. We’re recognizing His goodness and His mercy, and His provision, and His love. Amen. Everybody say, ‘Thank you for Stavros.’ Thank you.
25. I’m going to introduce Sean. And most, I think everybody, well except our guests, everybody knows him. His wife Beatrice couldn’t be here today, right? So, Beatrice and the baby could not be here today. Which is a little bit sad for us. It’s a lot sad for us. Because they’re leaving. And we don’t like it when people leave. Especially when it seems like they just got here.
26. But they’re going to be moving back to Mauritius. To raise the family, and we want their lives to be blessed. So, before he shares, I want you to just bow your heads. If you feel comfortable with it, just go ahead and extend your hand out to Him.
27. And Lord, we just pray today for the whole family. Lord, that You would lift them up on wings of eagles. That Lord, in the time of this transition, they would just soar with You. Lord, I pray that You would make things easy. Because we know moving is never easy. And when you’re moving with a young baby and a wife having to care for it along with him, Lord, we know that the steps that have to be taken, the struggles can be intensified. But Lord, You can make all things good. So, we pray that You make their transition very easy. Lord, that You provide everything that they need. And that Lord, they will only experience better and better things with You. Lord, we pray that they would find a good and healthy church home where they will be loved and cared for. And where they can use the gifts that You have put in them, which are many. And Lord, we pray that the report down the road will be that You have done great things. And we pray it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sean – Testimony
1. I have some notes. I’m a new dad so I’m quite sleep deprived. Hello, I’m Sean as Pastor Bryan explained. I’m from Mauritius Island. Which if you’ve probably never heard of it, it’s in the Indian Ocean close to Madagascar, kind of right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. And today I stand to share what God has done in our lives. And how this whole church has been part of that story.
2. So, in September 2024, my wife Beatrice and I came to Greece to visit. The plan was simple, we’ll spend a few days in Athens. Then go to some Greek islands. And mostly my wife Beatrice wanted to have some feta, she loves feta cheese. So, on our first evening I bought a Greek salad with feta cheese. She tasted it and she said it’s off. I tried it and I said no it’s fine. But she insisted something is wrong with this feta. So, it went on for a few days, until we had confirmation from a doctor that she was pregnant.
3. And that’s when our plans changed quite a bit. What was meant to be actually a short visit became a much longer one. Because of some complications early in the pregnancy we couldn’t travel and we had to remain based here in Athens.
4. During that time Beatrice found this church online. We planned to come together but before she could she was hospitalized due to some severe bleeding. I came here alone at first. And from that very first Sunday I was welcomed with open arms by the entire church. And thank you Angelo actually for that first welcome. Angelo was the first person I met.
5. And from that moment on this entire church became our village. Through your consistent prayers, your support, your visits and calls and even the meals that you brought us. We experienced God’s provision, His protection and peace that surpasses all understanding. In moments that were honestly very uncertain for us. And this time with the meals that you brought us. This was after Beatrice’s pregnancy after she had given birth. Nothing was off. Beatrice even said the feta tasted amazing.
6. Some of you have met our son. Unfortunately, he couldn’t be here today. We named him Luca Yanni. Which means bringer of light and God is gracious. He was dedicated here with Pastor Gail and Pastor Brian, and with many of you standing with us. Even after his birth there were moments where things didn’t look straight forward and we had concerns along the way. But again, and again we saw God provide, sustain us and carry us through. Today over a year later he is thriving. And by God’s grace he will be celebrating his birthday next month.
7. We don’t have time to name everyone but we thank God for each and every one of you. And those who are watching online as well. Thank you for being faithful.
8. As we leave Greece, we don’t leave empty. We leave carrying a testimony of God’s faithfulness, and the power of your prayers. And this church is a part of that story. And looking back what we thought was something off at the beginning. Was actually God setting everything in motion and writing a beautiful story.
9. We give him all the glory. And we thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus in our lives. And if any of you find yourselves in Mauritius. You’re always welcome and we would love to have you. And as we step into this next season, we would appreciate your prayers. As we settle and find a home there. We came here as visitors but we leave as family. Thank you for everything.

Pastor Brian
10. One of the things I do want to mention, that Sean didn’t share. Is that when baby Lucas was born. He and his mother had some struggles. And there was some concern over how the baby was going to develop. But we want to thank the church for the prayers that were prayed. Consistently, and we believe effectively.
11. And mom and baby, maybe they’re learning to live together, as well as with Papa. But they’re getting there. And baby Lucas is going to be healthy and strong. And Sean and Beatrice are going to move in the strength of a mom and a dad who are committed to the Lord. And who will teach that child what the Lord has done for him from day one. Day one meaning when we found out about the pregnancy. The day that feta turned bad. Has indeed become a glorious day for cheese. God, bless you give him a hand.
12. As the service ends, we always end by the way with coffee upstairs don’t run away go upstairs. We truly believe that our fellowship time is as important as anything else we do. Most of us see each other once a week at best. So, spend some time loving on your family. And if you don’t know somebody, ask them who they are. And make a new friend. That’s important for us. Amen. Glyfada people say amen. Thank you.
13. All right. Well, we have two different teams with us today. So, we’re going to invite one from group one to come on up. I am not pre-informed, so we will find out what’s your name.
14. Maddie. Where are you from Maddie. South Dakota. I just felt the glory of God there. Because I am also from South Dakota. So, we’re like one of two people they let leave the state. Maddie from South Dakota tell us what you’re here for.

Maddie
15. Good morning family. Thank you so much for inviting us to your church. We’re happy to be here. As I said we are a group from South Dakota in America. And we are a group of seniors from Rapid City Christian High School. We have come to Greece to walk in the footsteps of Paul, to follow his path told in Acts. Not only are we here to see the sights and eat the amazing food.
16. But we are here to be the hands and feet of God. We are here to look for opportunities to share the Gospel. The good news of Jesus with the people of Greece. So, we are excited to be here. And we appreciate you guys welcoming us as your family. Thank you.

Pastor Brian
17. Not only are we from the same state but we’re from the same city. Although the hospital I was born in as I understand is now a home for the mentally ill, which explains a lot about my life path. Actually, for those of you from Rapid, how many of you are from Rapid? This is awesome.
18. I was born in Rapid but I actually lived on Pine Ridge until I was six. My father was a superintendent of schools on the reservation. And he is now in his 80s. And although we’ve lived many places since then. He has made it his end-of-life quest to take teams every summer back to the reservation. I don’t think we have a concept for that here. The place where the Native Americans live.
19. Where he discovered that several of the people now on the tribal council were children that he had in school way back when. So that has reconnected our family back into the territory. And oh, how I miss the Black Hills. Black Mountains.
20. So, group two. Ah come on. Good. What’s your name? Jady. Nice to have you here. Where are you from?

Jady
21. So, I’m from Acworth, Georgia. Not too far out of Atlanta from the United States. My parents now live just outside of Chattanooga up the road from here. Which is a big family today. So, we’re here from Acworth, Georgia, from Cornerstone Preparatory Academy. That is a Christian school. And we are sent out multiple mission trips to different places.
22. And we’re very excited to serve here throughout the week. And see and learn about all of the biblical history. And we thank you guys so much for having us here. And being so welcoming. And we’re very excited. Very excited. Thank you.

Pastor Brian
23. These guys have been well trained. Although having ended my time in the US in Tennessee, I have to ask the question that they ask Jesus in Bethlehem. Can any good thing come from Georgia? Just kidding. Atlanta is one of my favorite cities.
24. So, we’re going to invite now one of the leaders of the groups here, Mike. I don’t know your last name, Mike. You’ll give it to us. He is the executive director of a ministry that has an excellent name. Cave time. Cave time ministries. Yeah, good luck with that. It kind of gives me the feeling of, grrr. So, Mike’s going to share with us with us a little bit about their prayer focus.

Mike
1. Thank you, Pastor Brian. Thank you, Stavros. We had to travel all over Greece. We were able to try and find a pastor from our hometown. And we were successful. I want to share a little bit about how prayer has had an impact on our trip. I also want to give you some encouragements from the Word.
2. The reality is that we are called to always be praying. We have been praying for this trip for many months. And we have longed to be in the will of the Lord in all that we do. Our experience is that Jesus answers every prayer. Sometimes he says yes. Sometimes he says no. And sometimes he says wait. But be encouraged. Jesus answers every prayer.
3. We see in the Scripture, that prayer is so important that the trinity is involved. We see that because of Jesus, we are given access to the Father. None of us in this room can enter the presence of God apart from Jesus. Jesus gives us access to the Father.
4. The Scripture also tells us that the Holy Spirit is involved in prayer. The Scriptures tell us that there are times when we don’t know what to pray. And it says the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. And speaks prayers that we can’t even utter. So, the beauty of prayer is we can yell out loud help. And the Spirit of God interprets exactly what the need is. And because of Jesus, the Father lays his ear low. And listens to the prayer, and answers the prayer.
5. One example that we’ve had of this back home. We had a horrible windstorm come through our town. And it blew hundreds of trees over. Knocking out electricity throughout the town. For our home, we didn’t have electricity for six days. Which meant no water, no heat, and no refrigeration. It was a scary time.
6. So, we prayed. We prayed that he would turn our electricity back on. It didn’t come on the first day. Or the second. Or the third, fourth, fifth or sixth. But the day that God saw fit to turn the electricity back on, it was his birthday, Christmas. So, God saw fit in his perfect timing, to answer our prayer in the way that would give him the most glory. When God’s answer to your prayer is yes, that is how he’ll receive the most glory.
7. When God’s answer to you is no, that is when he will receive the most glory. When God’s answer to you is wait, that is when he will receive the most glory. So be very encouraged by this this morning. The prayers that you lift up to God, he will answer in perfect timing. So that he receives the most glory due his name.
8. In Paul’s letter to the 1 Thessalonians 5, we see an answer to the question, what is God’s will for my life? First Thessalonians 5:16 says this. “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.” So, when the answer is yes, rejoice, when the answer is no, rejoice, when the answer is wait, rejoice.
9. One more time and encouragement from his Word. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. One last encouragement about prayer for you this morning. I want you to think of the conversations you have with your friends. If only one person talked, you wouldn’t say you had a conversation. In a conversation you talk back and forth. So, when we pray to our God, wait to listen to him as well. He wants to speak back to you. The Word says, “Always be praying. Let his will be done in your life.” In Jesus name. Amen.

Pastor Brian
10. We have one more testimony today. Thank you for that encouragement, Mike. Take that Scripture home with you and meditate on it.
11. We’re going to hear from Fernando in just a moment. We’re just going to refocus ourselves a little bit here for you can stay seated. But there’s a song that we do here commonly in our church. Written by a very good friend of ours who is suffering terribly with Parkinson’s disease. Yet he likes to constantly remind us of this song.

Fernando
12. I would like to share my experience in the strength of prayer and faith. We had a very difficult winter myself and my family. It’s been a long time since we’ve been here. It began last September when I was at my job in Mykonos, on the boat.
13. The pain started to arise in my abdomen, on my sides. My back. I didn’t give a lot of attention to it because as we’re there, work can be hard, it can be normal. But I continued to hurt from many days, so I decided to go to the health center there. They did some tests; they didn’t find anything. They gave me some painkillers; I went back to work.
14. I continued to hurt, I kept going to that place, they kept giving me painkillers, I come back and continue working. And after it went on for a long time, I realized I have to do something about this. I spoke to my employer and I said that I need to go and get it tested in a deeper way. I either have to come back to Athens or have to find another result.
15. So, I went to a specialized private health center, there in Mykonos. They did many sorts of tests there, MRI scans, etc. They couldn’t find what it was. They said we can’t figure it out here, you have to go to Athens. So, I took the next plane, I came to Athens. And I went into a private hospital called Eigeia.
16. They are a large number of tests started. MRI scans, all these different scans again. They couldn’t find what the problem was in the beginning, but then they told me it was a problem in the kidneys. They told me it was autoimmune problem. Somewhere in the kidneys. We did more tests. I couldn’t stay in the private hospital anymore, it cost a lot.
17. So, the last day that I had to leave, they also told me that they found some carcinogenic cells in the urinary system. And the most likely thing is that it’s cancer in the urinary system.
18. So, there were some tests that needed to happen that I could no longer do in the private hospital because it was private and I had to do them outside. I left that hospital and I found I arranged a date that I could go to a public hospital a week later. The week passed quite calmly, relaxed, but with a little bit of anxiety, thinking I might have cancer.
19. There was a lot of prayer for myself and for my wife. One day before I go to get this test done, I got a lot of fever, a high temperature of fever. I got to 40, 41 degrees Celsius. But I went to the hospital because we had to see what was happening. They told me that with this amount of fever and with my health history, there’s no way we can do this test because it was a surgical test.
20. So, they told me I had to go to another hospital that was open and be admitted into the emergency department. So, I went to the Laico that was open at the time. I told them what was happening. I gave them my medical history. And they immediately took me into the hospital. And to do this test, the fever had to drop. For a full week they were trying with different types of medication, so the fever would come down.
21. And more tests were happening all the while. I stayed another seven, eight days there. And when the fever came down, they told me I had to make another appointment so I could go do the test. And I waited that they would call me to do this surgical test. To cut a long story short, something was always happening to delay the time.
22. I believe 20 to 25 days, maybe even a month, passed so that this test exam could occur. From when I learned that this is what it was, I said, no matter what, it’s from God. And what I said was, Father, may He will be done.
23. The exam occurred. It was a biopsy. They took parts from my kidney from different places that they needed to. And I needed to wait another 20 to 25 days to get the results. The results came out. And they told me it was not cancer. And they told me now, we need to look at the problem with your kidneys.
24. Again, they started to take blood, take urine. And when they tested these things as well, they told me yes. From all the other tests that you had done, it seems like you had a problem in your kidneys.
25. But with the tests that we have done now, we see nothing. We don’t know exactly what had happened, but we see that in the other tests there were problems and in the new ones are not. The doctors from the private hospital that I first went to still call me up into this day to ask me how I am anxious about the fact that I’m unwell.
26. When I tell them that they can’t find the problem that we had at the private hospital? They tell me I’m here with the doctor that did the tests on you and he’s telling us there was a clear problem. But the others say I don’t have any problem at all. The other week they called me from the other hospital, which was looking after me. We need to look after you, but we see that there’s no problem at all. We can’t find anything.
27. So, what I truly believe is that in all of our difficulties, when things are not well at all, what I believe is that ‘Father, may Your will be done.’
28. Thank you very much.

Pastor Brian
29. I won’t ask you to raise your hands, but I wonder how many in the room here today could say that the Lord has literally done a miracle for you. We don’t use that word lightly. But we have some living miracles in this room.
30. I don’t see Sunil today, but he’s now twice declared free from cancer. We’ve seen physical healings, emotional healings, mental breakthroughs, financial miracles, and it doesn’t always come when, how, and if we want. But when the answer is yes, rejoice. When the answer is no, rejoice. And when the answer is wait, it’s coming. Rejoice. Come on, amen.
31. We have one more thing to do this morning. You’ve been patient and thank you for that, but it’s been good to hear. The Lord says we’re made over comers by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. So, when you go upstairs to coffee today, give Sean lots of love. Give Fernando lots of love. Meet as much of the teams as you can and make them welcome to Greece. Give each other love.
32. And then we have one more thing to do before we leave. And that’s to call this young, growing man up here. He’s twice the man he was when I met him. This is Victor’s last Sunday with us for a while. I never believe what you say. We’ll see. But for a while, anyway.
33. So, I’m going to ask everybody, Emmanuel and Nicholas and Felicia. Everybody who comes to the Thursday nights. If you’ve even been, just come up here real quick. I’m going to ask you guys just to gather around Victor. He’s going to be off pursuing what the Lord has for him.
34. Who knows? Maybe he’ll have the next big hit career. But whatever the Lord has for you, Victor. It’s going to be his best for you. It’s going to be his best. So, guys, just come over here and if you don’t mind, just put a hand on him somewhere. And just join me in praying for Victor today.
35. Lord, it’s with glad hearts and with sad hearts that we commit Victor to you today. Lord, as he goes to the UK, we pray that you provide everything necessary for him. Lord, surround him with only the best of influences. And we pray that the angels of the Lord fight off everything that is not from You. Guard his heart and guard his mind in the protection and the love of Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray you would let him wake up every day, remembering that he has a family back in Greece that is praying for him and cheering for him God is just rejoicing as we watch him move forward. Lord, I pray for his family.
36. Lars, would you just step up here for a moment, do you mind? Is Marina here? Marina, come here. Is your sister here? I want us to say a special prayer too for Lars and Marina. I left home when I was 17. Nevertheless, I feel that Victor is too young to leave home. I’m kidding, he’s wise beyond his years. It’s hard for Mom and Dad in these times. Victor has sisters. They all need the strength of the Lord. And the grace of God to rest on them. So, Lord, we thank you for the faithfulness of Mom and Dad. And we thank you, Lord, that you’re going to guard their hearts and that you’re going to keep them focused and that, Lord, they’re going to be aware and wise of what is good for their family and what is good for Victor.
37. And we pray all of this because it’s all wrapped up in your goodness. Your mercies are new every morning. Let them experience that in the most profound way as they all go into this next phase of life together. And we pray it all in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah.