ferventfire

2005-07-01T04:45:00.001-07:00

The finished work! - Thanx to one and all who have helped out in the construction! Glory to God in the highest!

2005-07-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

Last day - Painting!

2005-07-01T04:44:00.001-07:00

after sanding

2005-07-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

after sanding

2005-07-01T04:43:00.001-07:00

before sanding

2005-07-01T04:43:00.000-07:00

Big guy to the rescue!

2005-07-01T04:42:00.000-07:00

Lights and fans readjusted

2005-06-26T07:13:00.001-07:00

here too!

2005-06-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

all closed up!

2005-06-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

E end of day 8...almost done!

2005-06-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

JQ to e rescue while clem carries on drilling behind

2005-06-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

Drilling is tough!

2005-06-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

a few more sides closed

2005-06-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

Not enough planks

2005-06-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile...its time to close up the sides

2005-06-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

a blue thread to draw the straight line

2005-06-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

You must wear a mask when sanding in progress (day 7)

2005-06-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

End of day 6

2005-06-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

Hard work once again! Sand and sand...the cloud of 'dust'

2005-06-23T08:32:00.001-07:00

Its for the barrier!

2005-06-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

nice wooden ladder

2005-06-23T08:31:00.001-07:00

Why are we building ladders for the platform?

2005-06-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

in this!

2005-06-23T08:30:00.001-07:00

Demolition tool that resulted...

2005-06-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

and the bendable knife!

2005-06-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

Expensive tools

2005-06-23T08:28:00.001-07:00

Day 6 - Last plank nailed in!

2005-06-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

End of first paint

2005-06-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

All planks laid and ready for painting!

2005-06-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

Almost there

2005-06-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

Day 5...huff and puff to hit the nails...

2005-06-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

end of day 4. First landing on platform!

2005-06-23T08:21:00.001-07:00

One by one...

2005-06-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

Start to lay the planks!

2005-06-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

at the end of day 3

2005-06-17T21:04:00.001-07:00

scissors paper stone!

2005-06-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

supports accomplished!

2005-06-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

Clem and sanding team

2005-06-17T21:02:00.001-07:00

the result of varnishing...

2005-06-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

varnish team

2005-06-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

the rest of the sanding gang

2005-06-17T20:59:00.002-07:00

another look at the supports

2005-06-17T20:59:00.001-07:00

finally all the supports are up!

2005-06-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

the lead sanding man

2005-06-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

attempt to find durian puffs failed...

2005-06-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

yum yum...

2005-06-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

lunchtime!!

2005-06-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Day 3...more supports up

2005-06-16T06:49:00.000-07:00

end of day 2 with the brackets starting to be in place...phew...

2005-06-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

more to help...

2005-06-16T06:47:00.002-07:00

grandmaster at work (day 2)

2005-06-16T06:47:00.001-07:00

the end of day 1

2005-06-16T06:47:00.000-07:00

end of day 1...

2005-06-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

cleaning up...

2005-06-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

3 of us...

2005-06-16T06:44:00.001-07:00

behind the scenes...(eh...how to turn?!)

2005-06-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

1 helper...

2005-06-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

In the beginning...there was only wooden planks

Announcement (Platform)

2005-06-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

Hi one and all fervent youths in Christ,

We will begin working on the much anticipated platform in the carpark this week. The confirmed warriors are

JQ, Jon, Daniel, Clement and myself.

Please appear at church at 10am on wednesday to receive 'training'.

Any other warriors who wants to take part can msg me. But do inform me only if you can make it everyday from wednesday to saturday. Else new people will have to receive 'retraining'.

Thanks. I will see you warriors on wednesday.

God bless!

Song (He's everything to me)

2005-06-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I've uploaded the lyrics of the song we're going to sing on the 3rd week of July. He's everything to me. Click on "song" above and download the ppt. Go through the chinese version and we'll practice after church camp.

There will not be YM this Sun (5/6/05) and the following Sunday as the Camp speakers will be speaking during service. All youths are encouraged to attend! :)

See you guys at the camp!

God bless!

Bro William Chia - 2nd Coming (8/5)

2005-05-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

Brother William Chia touched on 2nd coming during service. Summarised into the four main points below

1) God's coming is certain. The manner that He will come.

- Sudden

1 Thess 4 :16-18

"16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words."

2) 5 fold Hope

a Blessed Hope -

1 Thess 2 :13 " And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe."

b Glorifying Hope -

Phi 3:21a "who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

c Patient Hope -

James 5 :7a " Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming"

d Purifying Hope -

1 John 3:3 "Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. "

e Comforting Hope -

1 Thess 4 :16-18 "16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words."

3) Current Situation

Many uncertainties in the world. 911, SARS, Tsunami.

4) Readiness for 2nd Coming

Rev 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done."

Gal 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

1 John 2:28 "And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. "

Rev 22:20 "He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus"

Church Family

2005-04-12T04:01:00.000-07:00

Updated the slides from Uncle HL's message on Church Family. It's on the link above. : )

God bless!

2005-03-31T06:18:00.000-08:00

Nice one taken. But this is still not the full force!! That's the camp tee designed by DC! : )

CF Camp Photos

2005-03-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Some of the CF camp pictures have been updated unto the "gallery" section. Look under "CF Camp 2005" The pictures are courtesy of Aaron. I'll get the rest from official photographer Chris, and will update as soon as I get them.

There will be an IBS (Inductive Bible Study) at Sentosa organised by Changi this Fri, Sat. More updates will be coming. Stay tuned!

Hope everyone had a good time of fellowship at the camp and brought home some points to be remembered. Uncle HL's notes have been updated under "Camp notes" section and the rest will be up soon.

God bless!

1Kings 22 (BS)

2005-03-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

- We learn here that Jehoshaphat's weakness here is actually being too friendly! (Towards King Ahab[Baal worshiper] and his sons). So we have to take a stand sometimes and not to be overly warm.

- V21 enticing Ahab with deceiving prophets was indeed unusual. The Lord used the prophets to deceive King Ahab to go and fight but He left Micaiah to tell the truth. So Ahab wanted to prove Micaiah wrong that he could safely return, so he dressed as one of the soldiers.

- But the Lord knew and a random arrow(v34) hit him and resulted in his death. Eventhough Ahab was 'camouflaged' as a common soldier, a random arrow could still hit him. This fulfilled what the Lord said in v20.

- Ahab had a choice whether to go up to fight. Like Ahab, we too also have choices, but we have to make the right one or else we will have to pay the price.

God bless!

Application Form

2005-03-03T04:26:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

The application form is up on the right hand corner. Click to download. Fill it up and return on Sunday to help the committee facilitate the administration stuffs.

$10 is for the shirt and the camp is based as usual on freewill offerings.

Thanks!

God bless!

Announcements

2005-02-27T01:52:00.000-08:00

A few announcements to make

1) The photos for today's birthday are uploaded

2) Those who are going for the CF camp please take note, the application forms will be posted here in a few days time. Print it and fill it up and return it on Sunday. This will great help the youth committee to facilitate things. Thanks.

3) There is a prayer request website set up. Do take a look it's at youthwtca2005.blogspot.com
If there is any prayer requests, feel free to approach anyone of us and we'll post it on the site. There is a password and I guess you guys should know. If not, email tongli to ask.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

God bless!

2005-02-27T01:48:00.000-08:00

Clement - " is the fashion now to have standing hair? oh well...Im still as handsome as ever nevermind the hairstyle"

2005-02-27T01:47:00.000-08:00

2 cake monsters...satisfied...finally...

2005-02-27T01:45:00.000-08:00

Abel - "What you want huh?!"

2005-02-27T01:44:00.000-08:00

Handsome boi and bday boi (shucks...I gave myself away...)

2005-02-27T01:43:00.001-08:00

"Give me more!!!!"

2005-02-27T01:43:00.000-08:00

inflatable balloon...

2005-02-27T01:42:00.000-08:00

"my desires are satisfied...wahahahaha!! more more more!!"

2005-02-27T01:41:00.000-08:00

Persis...why are u hugging the camera?! eeeee

2005-02-27T01:39:00.000-08:00

"More more more!!!"

2005-02-27T01:38:00.000-08:00

The cake

2005-02-27T01:30:00.000-08:00

Abel - "Can the flowers be eaten?" (Actually if u notice...he's just removing the candles...or is he? :p)

2005-02-27T01:29:00.001-08:00

David - "stop posing lah! I hungry already!"

2005-02-27T01:29:00.000-08:00

Joshua " time to cut the cake! heh heh..." Ferris " durian...my favourite... heh heh"

2005-02-27T01:27:00.001-08:00

Finally after many tries and attempts, the candles are lighted! ta da!

2005-02-27T01:27:00.000-08:00

This looks better...but now sophie become batgal oh...so andrew was hiding just now...

2005-02-27T01:25:00.000-08:00

I told you all to squat so ppl behind can be seen wat...now u see...joel look like batman then dnno who hide behind jon...hai... :p

CF Camp ( aka Youth Camp)

2005-02-24T15:23:00.000-08:00

Some details for the coming camp in march

Date: 24th-26th March (Good Friday Weekend)
Venue: Ponggol Campsite
Committee: JQ, Jon Chng, Stan, ML, Sam H, Dman, Jon Lim, Sharon, TL , (DC w camp Tee)
Transport : Transport will be provided by the church van at ponggol mrt to the campsite

Theme Verse: 1 Tim 4 :12
"Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

Campers: Sec 1 and above.

The camp will be done almost entirely by youths for youths. The topic to be covered this time will be on the theme of service. I hope that campers will come to this camp with an inquisitive mind. Some questions to tickle your mind :

"Does everyone have to serve?"
"How should I prepare myself?"
"How can I choose the right ministry?"

All these and more will be answered during the camp! : )

There is also a special programme being planned on the night of Good Friday itself. So everyone can look forward to that... :p

Have a wonderful weekend and see you guys in church!

God bless!

QT

2005-02-21T16:46:00.000-08:00

I think I wasnt very clear about what I wanted to say about QT. It's that we should continue to do QT each and everyday no matter how busy the day is or going to be. At first this will seem like a habit, but later the Lord will bring your heart to want to know Him more. From then more things will be added and time will no longer be a factor because you will want to know Him more and wake up slightly earlier to read His Word. Then unknowingly, you realise that you are spending more time with the Lord for QT...

I pray that all of us will have this heart of wanting to know Him more, to earnestly seek Him.

God bless!

CF Retreat Com

2005-02-07T02:06:00.000-08:00

Hi all, just wanna remind those who wanna join in the planning of this year's CF retreat, can contact me directly yah?

This year's CF retreat will be planned with youths and for youths. So if you wanna have a say in how it will turn out, hesitate no more and contact moi! : )

Mentality/Attitude Towards Service

2005-02-02T09:04:00.000-08:00

What Why How...

These are the key questions to ask when reading passages in the bible. What happened? Why did it happen? How did it happen? Just simple questions to guide us along when we do bible study...

1) Where the Lord is, there will I be also.

John 12:26

- It's really self explanatory...read the verse!

2) Death with Christ

2 Cor 4:7-10

- We should live the life of Jesus because of his death on the cross. We should not be thinking about ourselves but the will of the Lord.

- Remember that Christ was humble even to the point of death. Likewise, in church, we should be humble to each other and learn to respect and listen to each other as we work together to build the church

- When there are conflicts, pray. Why let the church be a place of battle? Pray for the Lord's wisdom.

3) Be faithful till the end

1 Cor 4:1-5

- Judge nothing. It is the Lord who judges.

- If ever you are pointed out or wronged against your service to the Lord, do not argue back. Just reply gently or maybe with a touch of humour. Remember to direct your attention to the matter and not to the person. (impt!!)

1 Cor 12:4-6

Grace - Holy Spirit
Service (in hebrew) - Lord
Work - God

We see that the 3 above are from the Trinity.

- Hence we see that all gifts are from God. Dont look down on others.

For example. A very good pastor may be able to speak to the masses, but when he speaks to a child, the child wont understand. On the other hand, a children sunday school teacher may be able to speak clearly to the kids and the kids understand their teachers very well.

- Till now, you may not know which area of service you are suited in. Take that first step to serve and find out. Once you start to serve, you will know which ones you are able to do, which ones you are not.

- For example, the pastor wanted to play music very much so she took up playing the piano but the teacher gave up on her. So she started to sing cause she cant play. But even her husband didnt want to share song book with her. So she realised that music was not her forte. Of course later she became a pastor, that was where her gift was.

- So the important thing is to take that first step. You never know which areas you are suited for until you've tried.

Have a wonderful weekend ahead!

God bless!

What is the meaning of Service?

2005-01-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

I actually wrote this msg once...but because of login timeout...it was lost! So here it is again : )

Meaning of Service

1) Serve the Lord

Remember that it is the Lord whom we serve and not man. Even if works are done for man, the heart of the action is still service towards our Lord

2) Obey His will

To obey His will. Not our will but His.

3) Submit willingly

We serve to learn and to experience His grace in our lives.

Remember that when we serve, we must submit willingly and not to have any hindrance in our hearts. Always focus on the Lord because He is whom we serve.

Purpose of Serving

1) Jesus as our example (Matt 20:28)

We know that Jesus came down to earth, not to be served, but to serve. Likewise, we are to follow His example to serve as well. He has set this example for us to follow.

2) Calling from God (1Tim 1:12)

We must have a close relationship with God through daily prayer with Him. This intimate relationship comes from daily communicating with Him to understand Him more and more each day. From there on, He will lead us to be sensitive to certain areas and thereby giving us desires to serve in these areas.

3) Living Sacrifice (Rom 12:1-2,11)

It is said that we are to be living sacrifices, holy and blameless. To be fervent in our hearts when serving our God.

4) Growth in the church (Eph 4:12,16)

God is the head of the church and we are the body. We have to build each other up through service, in order to build up the church.

We are like pieces of puzzle. By ourselves, we are nothing, but when we come together, we start to see the puzzle forming and it is like that as we come together to serve in the body of Christ.

Next update I will touch on the Mentality/Attitude towards service. Have a wonderful weekend!

God bless!

Blessings from Heaven Ephesians 1:3-14

2005-01-09T13:29:00.000-08:00

Today's pastor, pastor Chen is the mentor of the present pastor, pastor Zhao, in the church in Frankfurt. He's like in his 60s I think...looked quite old. To be honest, he started off really slow and had loads of pauses and I thought to myself...could he be...(fill in the blanks)?! But after the whole message, (WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE EXCELLENT!) he was introduced by pastor Zhao, then he told us that pastor Chen was actually his mentor in the bible college and pastor Chen was the head of the college with PhD in New Testament Studies! No wonder his message turned out real good today...so lesson today (besides the lesson he taught)...never sleep 5 minutes into a message even if you think that the message is gonna be...yah... here's the summary...

Turn to Eph 1:3-14

He started off with the scenario where kids love sweets. So whoever gives them sweets are nice people to them. But parents dont like their kids to eat too much sweets because they will have toothaches. Moreover, if eaten just before a meal, the kids wont eat their meal proper. Which means they will not eat what their body really needs! Parents will give their children what they need and maybe sometimes what they want.

Similarly, our God may not give us what we want but what we really need. And these blessings we need from heaven are shown in this passage (Eph 1:3-14) He then touched on the 4 blessings mentioned

1. To be holy and blameless

God wants us to be holy and blameless. Of course we can try to put up false fronts and let others think that we are nice people and all. But those who stays with us and sees us everyday will definitely be able to point out our weaknesses.

But Jesus was the only who walked on this earth who could claim to that. He was holy and blameless! Now God wants to give this blessing to us too. A true blessing not to have weaknesses point out by anyone at all!

2. To be His children

What does being a child mean? The child will inherit the Father's assets in the future. Today can you go up to Bill Gates and say "can I be your child?" No! he will say " No, I dont know you!"
But our God who is the creator of heaven and earth wants us to be his children and to inherit this blessing! That we will rule with Jesus in the days to come! All we have to do is to believe in Jesus Christ our Saviour and what He has done for our sins!

3. To know God's will

So how can we receive these blessings? God's grace is perfect. So we do not need to fulfil any requirements to receive this free gift to us!

He then told abt his friend who always knew where to get the best offers/bargains in town. His friend would tell him news here and there about all these bargains and offers. But he did not know beforehand. So he ended up buying all the expensive stuff.

But Jesus came down to earth to bring about this news of salvation! This is the best news on earth! Better than any news of bargains or offers. Best of all, its free! (Now who says nothing is for free?) Even if you do not have any cash on you, you can still receive this blessing from God because its free for all who believe!

4. Jesus came to give us these blessings through His blood

We cannot be blameless or faultless by our own merits no matter how hard we try. We're just like that. Sinners we are. But no one found fault with Jesus. However, He still died on the cross for our sins and because we believe, He is now in us.

God accepts us because He sees Jesus. He will not reject us when He sees us because He sees Jesus and He loves His Son very much as said in the bible.

Many people ponder what will happen after death. Even with medical advances, we may live past 100,110,120. Even if we live till 200. What happens next? But with Jesus who triumphed over death, we too have victory over death and God's blessing for us is through Jesus!

God gave us His best , His one and only beloved Son Jesus. Let us never cease to give thanks for what Christ has done on the cross for us.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! (Background to the 1st Christmas)

2004-12-22T07:57:00.000-08:00

Just wanna wish one and all a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! But even as we receive gifts from relatives and friends, we should always remember the greatest gift of all - God's gift to mankind - Jesus Christ.

So... do you know about the background to the birth of Jesus Christ?

It says in Luke 2 that Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Why was this done?

This was the first time that the Roman empire was going to implement the centralised government. This also meant that there would be an economic burden on the government to carry out this implementation. So...taxes were needed to reduce the burden of the government. Therefore, a census of the population was taken as a preparation for the tax.

Which was why Joseph (v4) returned to his hometown Bethlehem. They returned there to register. But remember...this was not just a short trip...for manyit was a journey to travel vast distances over long periods to return to their hometowns. So this was not a peaceful time at all...why?

As people travelled, they had to worry about the inevitable tax that would further burden them. Along the long journey, there may be robbers which they have to worry about. A place to stay in their hometown. Many uncertainties were in the air...

But it was during this time that God gave us the greatest gift of all - Jesus Christ. Who is also "Emmanuel" (Matt 1:23) that God is with us. Even as the people had to face the troubles, God was with them through Jesus Christ.

Jesus went through the pains and sufferings as a human and He died for our sins. Let us remember the birth of Jesus Christ during this festive season and thank God for this "greatest gift"!

God bless!

Temptation of Jesus (Presence of God - Emmanuel)

2004-11-29T13:42:00.000-08:00

Please turn with me to Luke 4:1-13

This passage describes how Satan tried to tempt Jesus but failed. What can we learn from this passage?

1) Was God absent when Jesus was being tempted by Satan?

If you turn with me to Luke 3:22 it says that "... a voice came from heaven : ' You are my Son, whom I love ; with you I am well pleased. ' "

God was never away from our Lord Jesus! But it was this that allowed Jesus to know that God was pleased with Him and will be with Him.

2) If you read the 1st temptation, Satan is actually implying that God is not around and that Jesus is to find his own food as he was hungry. But Jesus used God's word to reply Satan and He knew that God was with Him.

3) The 2nd temptation is again pointing at the absence of God. Satan is again questioning God's presence to Jesus. If God is not here, why not worship me? But again, the Lord replied with God's word.

4) The 3rd temptation, Satan used God's word this time. It's actually taken from Psalm 91 : 11 if you dont read carefully, you might think that they're actually the same verse. But Satan purposely left out " in all your ways"

So if our Lord actually jumped, the basis of our faith would be rendered void. But our Lord was firm and He knew God and He knew that God was with Him.

From here, we can see that Jesus' faith is not based on what He has seen or has not seen ; nor what He has heard or has not heard. His faith is instead based on what God told Him 40 days ago that He is the beloved Son of God.

This is also a reminder to us that we should not question God's presence, no matter what the situation or environment is because we know that He is with us always. Sometimes we may not hear God or even feel His presence but take heart, God is with us - Emmanuel.

God bless! : )

Holy Spirit

2004-11-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Havent shared in quite a while. So i tot I'd just share this small part from Act 2 : 5-12

We see the Holy Spirit working during Pentecost.

1) What is another name for Pentecost?

2) What happens during Pentecost?

So we see here that there was work done by the Holy Spirit. And that was the enabling of the disciples to speak in a such a way that anyone who heard the disciples, heard them speaking in their own language.

Which means to say that let's say I spoke, people from Germany will hear me speak in German and ppl from France will hear me speak in French etc...
Which is not possible, because the disciples have not been to these other places during their time and so they were not supposed to know the language, needless to say, spreading the Gospel.
But they did. This was the 1st time the Holy Spirit worked on people other than 3 kinds of people in the Old testament.

They were

1) Kings
2) Prophets
3) Priests

Then from then on , the Holy Spirit continued to work through many others.

Answer my qns on the tagboard!! : P

God blesS!

Service 10/10/04

2004-10-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Just sharing the service I heard today...

In Luke 8:26-53

There are 3 miracles. The first one is the driving out of the demons and the 2nd is the healing of the bleeding women and 3rdly, the reviving of the ruler os synagogue's daughter.

So the question was, how come the Lord asked the 1st and the 2nd people who received the miracle to tell people abt it but the 3rd, asked them to not tell anyone?

So Jesus was approached by Jairus (the ruler of synagogue) to save his 12 yrs old daughter who was dying. But on the way, the 2nd miracle, the women touched Jesus. This women was suffering from bleeding, in other words, she was considered unclean by everyone and everything she touched became unclean. So when so many people came to see Jesus, she mixed in the crowd so that no one would notice her. But also meant that those who touched her became unclean. She took a pretty big risk...

Let's take a look at the 2nd miracle, where Jesus healed the women who touched Him. He felt power left Him and He knew that the women was healed. But WHY did he still asked her to show herself to tell others that she was the one who touched Jesus?

Ans: Because she was unclean before, and now she is clean. Jesus made used of this opportunity for her to tell others that after 12 yrs of loneliness and isolation, she is finally clean and can join back to the society once again!

So the Lord's main pt here was not to save, but to reconcile the lady back to the society. If he was concentrating on saving, he would have gone to the daughter of the ruler immediately and not stopped to ask the question of who touched him. Not once but twice. Imagine that he was on his way (A&E) to save another person's life, but stopped because of the lady, who suffers from bleeding. She bled for 12 yrs already. Surely she can wait another half a day or so, after Jesus heals the daughter. He already knew that the lady was healed without even asking. But he still asked, to allow the woman to be reconciled to the society. Similarly, in the 1st miracle where the man was healed, the Lord wanted the man to tell how the Lord has saved him, so that he can be reconciled back to his family and friends as well.

However, on the case of the 3rd miracle, there was no act of reconciliation. Because of the status of the ruler. Therefore the Lord did not want him to make known of the miracle done in reviving the daughter.

Thought it was quite interesting!

Continue to grow in the Lord!

God blesS!

2004-09-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Mou'en and Clement!! The piCs are up on the gaLLery section. Same old story...reps!! Send me the notes!! This will be the last week you guys will be sending me... : )

Sentosa / Dinner 7/9/04

2004-09-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

The photos are finally up! I'll burn the videos since the files are too large...Thanks to nette for opening up her house and feeding the gluttons....(like me!) haha

Hope everyone had a great time!

God blesS!

Gallery Update!

2004-09-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
Just finished uploading the pictures from Gospel! Relive the memories at the Gallery section!

God blesS!

SS 29/8/04

2004-09-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

Loving it... (i meant the standard of notes taken , not McDonalds!!!) You guys are getting good with the notes taking. The presentations are concise and straight to the point! Well done!
Should we have a monthly quiz on the lessons learnt so that we can consolidate our lessons and also clarify any doubts?

Remember the Gospel this Sunday! The address is Wilkie Terrace Christian Assembly. 17 Wilkie Terrace! : ) There will be a skit and some sharing from Uncle Mun Wai. See you guys on Sunday!! : )

Here are last week's notes...

p.s. When you see some words that are supposed to have ' or " (e.g. Jesus' not Jesus and Lord's not Lords) they should be there. Just that it doesnt appear as normal " and ' so I removed them. Remember the chinese characters last time? yah...

Ephesians 1: In Himself }
In Love }
In Christ Jesus } 14 times
In Christ }
In Him - most common 2 words }
What are the riches that we have in Jesus Christ?
V3: Blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus
without Jesus Christ we have nothing at all
V4: Lord God chose us - Holy and blameless before him in love
V5: Predestined us to be his sons and daughters through Jesus Christ.
Praise for his glory - appear at least 3 times/V6/V12/V14
V6: Accepted in the beloved
V7: Redemption through his blood/forgiveness of sons of his grace
V9: Make known his will to us
V10: Gather all things
V11: Inheritance - Place in heaven/ eternal life/reigning as co-heirs
Guarantee: Holy Spirit
V13: Receive Holy Spirit
V15: Faith and love
Dont wallow in guilt
Dont come to the Lord feeling guilty
- He has made us acceptable.
Lord has blessed us in Christ Jesus
Do we seek God for love?
Reminded to trust in him - V12
Questions to ponder
What do we lack in the church?
Faith? Love?
Do we seek the love from our Lord Jesus?
Why is our Christian life so weak?
- Never walk very closely with the Lord
- Never closely draw strength from the Lord
Lord puts us in great power
- This power gives us power over Satan/ temptation
Christians have a hope
God has an importance in us
We have an inheritance in Jesus Christ
Do we want to live victoriously?
Do we want to enjoy all these heavenly riches or do we want to just stay as we are?
Do we want to be a great testimony?
Do we want to experience the greatness of the Lord?

*Andrew

Continuation of James: >Beforehand<> modern word no longer as innocent and simple minded compared to the past.
---> no longer confined to things but are fully controlling it.

Chpt 2: 14 - 17:
"...if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? cAN such faith save him?"

--> faith alone is no good.

Scenario: A brother comes to u and tell u he's currently jobless. Do you just pray for him? That's not enough because there's more u can do than just praying. Keeping a lookout for him is one good way.

--> Indirect Question on FAITH thrown in: 2 theories to "Faith Healing" (Healing through Faith")

1st theory: having faith in God, so u don't take medicine.
2nd theory: God sent doctors to help u.

The key to the success of Faith healing is through 100% faith.

--> Doubting causes worse situations. Ex.: Look at Peter who tries to walk on the sea like Jesus; he was initially in the boat (safe condition); then try to walk on the sea like Jesus (working through faith); falls into the sea (because he doubt).

2nd theory: People might say, "U take medicine, does it mean u don't trust God?"

--> This is definitely not true. Look at this similar scenario: God can walk on water; but why does he still take boat to travel around. Does it mean that during the time when he takes boat to travel around, Jesus is not God? We all know it isn't so.

*Junqian

Scripture: John 13-17(Jesus last words, also called the holy of holies of the scriptures)

Key verse: I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12

Key theme: Jesus private ministry. Here we leave the multitude behind and follow Jesus as He lived the last week of His life on earth before His crucifixion.
Sunday- the triumphant entry into Jerusalem
Monday- the cleansing of the Temple
Tuesday- the conflicts in the Temple
Evening- the discourse on the Mount of Olives
Thursday- preparation for the Passover, the Jewish day to remember the nations escape from slavery in Egypt
Evening- the last supper with His disciples
Friday- Good Friday- the crucifixion of Jesus.

The last evening together
Jesus washing his disciples feet- Jesus wants us to serve in the same spirit. He taught us that greatness is always measured by service, having a servants heart. There is no loving others without living for them.
Jesus foretells His betrayal by Judas (John 13:18-30)
Jesus gives His disciples a new commandment that they love one another (John 13:34-35). By your love for one another (not by creed you recite, not by the hymns u sing, not by rituals you observe) shall all men know that you are my disciples.

Jesus cure for heart trouble- faith in God (John 14:2, 3)
Jesus speaks of the Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit in John 14, and repeats the promise in John 15:26 and John 16.
Jesus reveals the real secret of the Christian life to His disciples in John 15. Abide in Christ.

Teaching about the Holy Spirit as given by John:
The incoming Spirit (3:5) - new birth by the Spirit. We are born by the Spirit into the family of God.
The indwelling Spirit (4:14) - He fills us with His presence and brings us joy.
The overflowing Spirit (7:38-39)
The witnessing Spirit (14-16) : He speaks through us. This is the particular task of the Christian through the Holy Spirit - to testify of Christ.

*Sophie

James 4b

v. 7: Examples of how God will lift us up
submit to God
resist the devil
v. 8-11: Other examples
v. 11: Do not criticize
It is pride (in passing judgment)
Matthew 7:1
Instead: Galatians 5:13 (Serve one another)
v. 12: One Law giver
God will be our judge, thus we should not judge
v. 13-17: Avoid self reliance
Submission to Gods will
v. 16: People to want to control their own destiny
James refutes because:
Life is complex (v. 13)
Life is uncertain (v. 14)
Life is temporary (v. 14b)
Life is subjected to the frailty of man (v. 15)

James 5

v. 1-6: Stewardship of our wealth
1 Tim 6:10: Money is not evil
Money in the hands of man corrupts
v. 2: Unfaithful stewardship
Storing of wealth
live in laziness
Matthew 6:19-21 (faithful)
Do good works
Store up treasures in heaven
God owns the things; we are merely stewards
Do not do the Lords work
v. 5: Example of greed and luxury
People eat and grow fat for slaughter
v. 7-12: Patience and endurance
Like a farmer waiting for crops
v. 8: Encouragement: the Lord is coming
v. 9: To grumble, it is also a form of judging others
v. 10: Perseverance for the work of God
Paul
v. 11: Job
He was repaid with a great reward
v. 12: Refrain from worldly reactions
Swearing
Explosions
Oaths
Taking the Lords name in vain
Our words should be strong enough
No need for the use of the name of God
v. 13-18: Prayer
Replacement of swearing when in sorrow
v. 14: Times of sickness (when we are impatient)
v. 15: People with strong faith
The sick woman who touched Jesus
The man with leprosy
v. 16: We avail ourselves to the power of God
v. 17: Elijah knew the will of God
1 John 5:14

Reflection (something extra for this week // something touching): Basically my class just completed the book of James. We did a reflection on the entire book and the lessons that were learnt. We read in James 5 to keep praying. This message is even more powerful, especially when I learnt about the history and context in which the book was written.

James was Jesus brother. However, he and Jude (Jesus other brother) never believed in Him. Once, during the Passover, they mocked Jesus. The Jews believed that the Messiah would come during the Passover, and they wanted to go to Jerusalem. They asked Jesus to go to Jerusalem, believing that the Messiah had not come.

Later, when Jesus was crucified, James was the most badly affected. He was so affected that he wanted to fast to death. However, during the third day, Jesus appeared to him. James later went on to become one of the three pillars of the church. He administered and taught the people. He caused the church to grow. He wrote the book of James.

In the Roman history, there were these two weeks when there was absence of this guy (don’t remember his post name). He was in charge of putting people to death. Without
him no justice was passed. The Pharisees took advantage of this week, and brought James up to the pillars of the church (the same one Satan tempted Jesus on).

They wanted him to deny Jesus. Of course, he said no. As a result, they threw him from the high places, and he broke many bones. However, he did not die. The people asked him again whether he believed in Jesus. All he uttered was the prayer, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

The people were furious, and continued to stone him. In the end, a man took pity in him for the pain he was going through, and cupped him to death. The faithful Christians took him and buried him, and for once they saw his knees. His had camel knees, which means they were swelling. It only goes to tell how much time James spent praying on his knees. It was more than he used to walk.

Well, hope everyone is touched by the acts of these many people that have really given their lives to God. When they say pray hard, pray hard.

*Jonathan

James chp2
Favouritism
-sin of favouritism
-believers showing favouritism to the weathy
-Favouritism of rich and contempt of poor should not be practised-Jesus came down as poor carpenter, someone who has no place to lay his head
-poor and wealthy are all alike in God's sight*Love your neighbours as yourselfIf you show favouritism, you commit sinmercy triumhs over judgementActions must be consistent with our professionIf we judge people by a certain standard,by this standard will we be judged
-We should show mercy to others as the same mercy God has shown us
-Faith needs deeds
-Without deeds, faith is deadSome people believe that we will be saved by character see no need for interchangeAfter receiving Chris, have faith then do good worknot do good works then save yourselfBelieving does not mean that you are saved, you must confess
SuMmArY: Faith with works is perfect!

*Abel

SS 22/8/04

2004-08-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

1. why does James tell us that we should ''count it a joy'' to be tempted-faith-Joy-God is ultimately in control
2. Why is faith important?-enables us to preserve through trials and hardships-Christian character brought to a maturity
3. From where does temptation come?Comes from Satan,but WE allow Satan to do so.Why does God allow temptation?To strengthen our faith...as a lesson...apart from God we can do nothing.
4. We must be quick to listen-do not form conclusions/judgements
be slow to speak ---practice what we hearSlow to anger-- when you are angry, cannot think properly..give Satan a foothold.
5.Faith saves our souls, but good works substantiate/support our faith

*Abel

James 3
- Controlling the tongue
- Godly wisdom

- Controlling the tongue
v2: all of us will stumble with the tongue
v3-5: Examples of the evil and power tongue controls
v.3: Control of the horse
v.4: Control of a ship
v. 5b: Spark in the forest
v6: Through the tongue we are influenced by hell
v8: We can only tame the tongue with the Holy Spirit
v9: Men bless God, but curse at one another (the image of God)
v10: Not of natural origin

- Godly wisdom
v13: We have to gain godly wisdom to control the tongue
Meekness and wisdom: only gained from God
v14: Bitter envy / self-seeking: not of God
We shouldn’t let ourselves be judged by the world
v17: Without partiality / hypocrisy: Mentioned in James 2
Difference between wisdom from God and wisdom from man
Half Truths
More destructive than lies usually
The way which the devil works within us
Lenin: “Lies told too often become truths.”
Advertisements is an example
Singapore idol: The judges enhance participants’ errors (according to the standard of the world)

James 4
- Titus 3:3

v1: Wars and fights come from dissatisfaction
v2: Matthew 7:11
Many times we take into our own hand the things that God wants to give us
We do not ask
v3: We have to ask according to what God promises us or the will of God
v4: The world tells us to but our own desires before God’s
Not in God’s will
Cannot have friendships with the world
Matthew 6:24
We have to rely on God
God loves and yearns for His people to go to Him
Exodus 34:40
Zachariah 8:2
God is a jealous God
v6: Proverbs 3:34
v7: Do God’s priorities
Like Jesus when He was tempted
v9: Not telling us to be sad
v10: Humbling ourselves instead
Only way God can use us
Matthew 23:12
1 Peter 5:6
Prosperity gospel: Not true
Only half of the truth
We are stewards for God
Stewards: People who take care of something although it does not belong to them
Riches: Does not belong to us

*Jonathan

2Tim3:2-4
Shows the negative elements applicable to work and schoollife. Common in Christian.
2Tim3:16
Refer of the purpose of the scripture.
JamesIntro:Written by james, inspired by God
James 1:13
Never say God tempts us for God cannot be tempted by evil.When man are tempted by his own evil desires, it will give birth to sin. After the sin is full-grown, it gives birth to death.
James1:23-25
This verses show differently of 2 personality, we have to be a do-er and not be a listener.
James2
-How to behave like a Christian-Favouritsm is forbidden-Don't ignore the poor and minority

*Jun Qian

Key verse Rom 14:7-8
Weak and the strong
We must not be a stumbling block to our fellow brethren
-Cursing, late nights before Sunday, stealing, in general, sinning
Matt 7:1-5
Do not judge others as you will be judged yourself with the same measure.
Judging and pointing out is different. (Different approach)
Important to do your part to point out some of the mistakes of a fellow brother (Ezekiel 33:1-11)
James 4:11-12
Example: Job and his friends
1 Cor 8:9-13
is there something that you do that may be a stumbling block to others?
-Breaking school rules etc.
Do not do anything that will cause your brother to stumble.
Whatever we do, we must give an account of it to God
Everything that does not come from the faith is sin
Love the lord and your neighbours.
Do not compromise when it comes to the word of God
-Sometimes we tend to be dishonest about our feelings
-We all have the tendency to fall onto temptation
-need to be transformed by God.

*Andrew

SS Lessons 15/8/04

2004-08-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

School lessons on 15/8/04

Excellent stuff. Thanks to Samantha and Jonathan. They're from the same class but both are posted. Take a look. Thanks to the rest of the reps too! : ) I'm impressed by notes taken! Well done guys! : )

James Chpt 2.1.
- Dont show favoritism
- In matters of religion, rich and poor stand upon a level, no mans riches set him in the lest nearer to God, nor does a poor man set him at a distance from God.
- If a poor man be a good man, we must not value him less for his poverty. If a rich man is a bad man, we must not value him more for his riches.
- has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? vs 5. It is expected from those who have wealth that they be rich in good works, but it is expected from the poor in the world that they be rich in faith.
- Those who are rich in faith, will have divine love.
- Therefore: respecting persons on account of their riches is shown to be a very great sin. V7.2. -vs8. Love your neighbour as yourself, you are doing right.
- mercy should be followed as well as justice. V13.3. vs 14-26
- a man is justified, not by faith only, but by works.
- Faith without works will not profit and cannot save us. (for a man to have faith and to say he has faith are two different things). He may boast to have faith, but be conceited himself.
- In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.v17.
- He who boasts of faith without works is to be looked upon at present as a foolish person.
- A working faith like Abraham will make them friends of God.
- In conclusion, faith is the root, good works are the fruits, and we must see to it that we have both. We must not think that either, without the other, will justify and save us.
*Samantha

Sunday school Lesson 150804
James Chapter 2

· 1st Part: Partiality / Favouritism
§ Favouring something without objectivity
§ Judging people
- v. 5-7: Partiality is not consistent with Christianity
§ In poor supposed to inherit blessings
· Luke 6:20
· Matthew 5:3
· 1 Corinthians 1:26
§ It is not normal to despise one’s friends and honour one’s foes
§ The rich blaspheme the Name of God
· Acts 13:45
- v. 8: the royal law (the law of the king)
§ We should treat others like how we want them to treat us
· Matthew 7:12
§ Leviticus 19:15
§ Acts 10:34
· God does not show partiality
- v. 10-11: Some sins have greater consequences than others
§ But both have the same violation of God’s will
§ Sinners should not be discriminated against because of their type of sin
- v. 12-13: If a man shows mercy to his fellow men, he will be shown mercy at God’s judgement seat
- Summary of 1st part: God sent Jesus to die for us all. Thus, we should treat everyone equally.

· 2nd Part: Faith without works
- v. 14: A man who does not practise or live by faith shows his bad behaviour
- Faith without works is dead: Not against Paul’s preaching
§ In the book of Titus, Paul talked about the inward aspect of faith
§ James talks about the outward aspect of faith in his book
- Reference is to God’s commandments
§ It is useless when we are saved, but do not use our faith
- v. 18: James rebutted his critics
§ As long as we really believe, we will do good works
- v. 21-26: Examples of good faith
§ Abraham listen and believed in God. He was saved
· He was further justified by his works.
· This works were the sacrificing of Isaac
· He had further justification by works
· As a result, he received intimacy with God
· He became a ‘friend of God’
§ Rahab was a harlot
· Yet she risked her life to hide the messengers of God
· She had strong faith, and she could practise it
- Summary: We may be saved by faith, but we should do more good works to become more like Jesus. Our faith is not merely a mental exercise, but James continues to speak of it in his book as one that could be manifested in words, conduct and prayer.

*Jonathan

Romans 13
- Submitting to authority, but God as fair, maintain order
- Types of authority, teachers, bosses, parents, principle, monitor, prefect, employers, coaches, government, elders.
- Everyone is under some sort of authority.
Why submit?
- God has put them in command established by God.
Not a choice to submit to authority
Have to have discernment
13:3 - Response is to do what is right
-Dont have to be afraid
Eph6:1-9 talks about various responses
Children - parents - obey parents/not provoke kids
Recruits - corporal
Do not challenge authority (our memory verse)
Employees - employers ] Do things just to get attention
Slaves - masters ] -only for them to see
Citizens - government
Elders/deacons - members of the church
Reminder
- Give offerings to God--- make is a silent affair
Should not take advantage of slaves/employees
students/ teachers
e.g. Slaves who take advantage of their masters who do not exert authority.
13:6-7 - those who evade taxes
Authorities will have to be answerable to God if they abuse their authority.
If you have corrupted Government, citizens are not to be blamed for not paying taxes.
- They do what they know is right
Matt 32:17 - Render to God what is Gods and render to Caesar what is Caesars
Give to the Lord what is from your heart.
Respect, honor - Submission to authority
13:12-13-14 - Temptations are there.
Beware.
Sodom and Gomorrah - Present age is worse
You have walk in the spirit or you will become part of the flesh - Praying is like breathing.

*Andrew

scripture: John 8:12,9:1-41

key verses:
John 8:12 "When Jesus spoke again to the people,He said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never wald in darkness, but will have the light of life.' "
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light,as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Seven "I AM's"
I AM the bread of life - 6:35
I AM the light of the world - 8:12
Before abraham was, I AM - 8:58
I AM the good shepherd - 10:11
I AM the resurrection and the life - 11:25
I AM the way, the truth and the life - 14:6
I AM the true vine - 15:1

2 Samuel 5:6-8 When he became King, David fought fot Jerusalem because he wanted to build a house for God. What did satan use to block his advance to Jerusalem?the blind and the lame. Will David bully the handicapped?david was not deterred, and he went on to conquer Jerusalem. The enemy uses similar tactics today. Those who are spiritually blind or spiritually lame. The eyes of their hear are blind and cannot see God's will.

physical blindness/ spiritual blindness
can't see where they are going /grope for direction in a dark world
easily deceived /open to deception frome the evil one
sightless to beautiful scenes and colour/ sightless to spiritual truth
visionless to an entire dimension of life /oblivious to spiritual dimension
life can become quickly disoriented /disoriented to basic life issues
cannot relate to everyday descriptions of / cannot relate to the peace and joy
the world around them /of walking with God

severe limits on several activities
How did these people respond to the light of the world?
The neighbours (9:8-12): no commitment to Jesus
The pharisees (13-17,24-29,34): critical (spiritual blind)
The parents (18-23): afraid to be cast out
The healed man (17,30-38):happy that he was healed and believed.
We sometimes react to Jesus Christ in different ways depending on our circumstances and who we are with.How do you react to Jesus when you are at school, at home, at church, alone, with friends, with adults?
Walking in the light:Avoid every kind of evil(1 thessalonians 5:22);always abhorring all that is set against God(Romans 12:9);confess our sins(1 John 1:9)

*Sophie

Today we began on a new book, James. We learnt that James is a practical man, straightforward, single-minded, persistent, hardworking and honest.
We learnt also that we must have faith in living and faith at work(Be doers and not hearers only)We should also only have goldly wisdom and not earthly wisdom.We should also be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger as as the anger of a man does not achieve the righteousness of God

*Abel

Forum and Contact list

2004-08-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

There will be a discussion forum page coming up soon! Thanx to ideas from Sunday School teachers and designing from Xianghui! Hopefully we can make use of the discussion forum to post questions, exchange ideas and even organise outings!

The 2nd thing is the contact list. So far I have contacts for Clement, Lynette,Christine,Sophie,Amanda,John,Xianghui,Mousheng,Mou'en,Beatrice,Andrew,Daniel,Jonathan,
Meelin,Joanne,Junqian,Abel,Persis,Joshua,Joel and Josiah. If I missed anyone out, pls email me your name, contact no. , email, address and birthday to my email at fa_trix@yahoo.com

I was thinking how to create a handy contact list so that we can keep our wallets or sth. Pls give ideas... thanx once again for the kit-kat factory!! Well done! Thanx to Daryl too, who stayed up with me at my place to do the Gospel tracts!

Have an excellent week ahead everyone!

God blesS!