For the Week of 16th November 2014 7 WAYS TO BASK of the
Transcription
For the Week of 16th November 2014 7 WAYS TO BASK of the
For the Week of 16th November 2014 7 WAYS TO BASK IN THE of the With another 10 months to enjoy PP’s Golden Jubilee year, let me share 7 ways every member can bask in the spirit of the celebration! 1. Give Thanks. Of all the people in the world, the Lord has sought and found us with His good news. As recipients of God’s choicest blessings, let us take time to count His manifold blessings over the past 50 years. “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever” - 1 Chronicles 16:34. 2. Renew your walk with God. Embrace the essence of the year of Jubilee. Examine your walk with God. There is no better time than now, the start of the Jubilee year. “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit” - Psalms 51:12. 3. Pay it forward. Look at your list of blessings (point 1) that the Lord has showered upon you, and ask yourself: “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?” - Psalms 116:12. 4. Proclaim the Jubilee message of liberty. So many in our world are enslaved by superstition, purposeless and hopelessness. Is there someone in your family, circle of friends and acquaintances, you can share the good news of Christ with? “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” - John 8:36. 5. Embrace the benevolent spirit. Look around you and be sensitive to the needs and hurts of others. Everyone can reach out, visit, bring a towel and basin to touch another with the love of Jesus. All we need to do is to truly desire to be Christ’s disciple. “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward” - Matthew 10:42. 6. Set the example in generosity and hospitality. You do not need to be rich or well off to be generous and to offer hospitality to another. The poor widow’s gift of 2 mites far outweighed the abundance of the rich. Taking time to sit beside a visitor or walk him/her to the bus stop costs nothing. Staying behind to help clear tables after our potluck is something we all can do. And for many whom the Lord has bestowed with much, let us look beyond ourselves and our families to be better stewards of God. “Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household” - 2 Kings 7:9. 7. Practise forgiveness - the core of the Jubilee year. In the original Jewish year of the Jubilee, Leviticus 25-27 documents in great detail the various acts of pardon, restoration and forgiveness. This is the basis of the Jubilee year, the year of reconcilation and liberty! “Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in the day, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” - Luke 17:3-4. PAGE 2 FOCUS Right: Brother Dale Gifford speaking to the congregation on “Body Life” last Sunday. He will continue with the second part of his lesson this morning. In the evening, brother Alvin Tjipto will speak at our 6pm assembly. The Wednesday SPC bible study sessions continues with the series, “Discerning the discipline of prayer” at 7:30pm, taught by elder Adrian. The SIBI weekend course on Effective Bible Study which started last Friday at the Chinese hall and will continue this afternoon from 2-4pm. Dean Brandi will teach you how to grasp God’s word more effectively. Members are also encouraged to join brother Gifford’s course on the book of Revelation Monday-Friday, 10am3pm at SIBI. Cover in your prayers sisters Doreen Lim (deacon Vincent's wife) and Alice Tan who are now in Zhang Jia Jie, China with John and Wendy Then. They will fly home on Monday. Registration for the annual December Youth camp ends 30th November. Hurry! Sign up at the booth at the lobby. We have received many good comments on the informative event slides by sister June Dhanabalan flashed 10 minutes before each worship. While it is good to know what is going on, members are encouraged to likewise respond to the events as they are able. Our condolences to sister Florence Ng on the loss of her beloved mother, the late Tan Hui Ngin this past Thursday morning. Many members were present at the wake and funeral. Men to Serve today and next Sunday 8am Scripture Text: 11am Call to Worship: SR/OP: S. Leader: Communion: Preacher: Closing Prayer: Ushers 6pm Call to Worship Scripture Text: Opening Prayer: S. Leader: Communion: Preacher: Closing Prayer: Proverbs 22:12 Proverbs 22:14 Elder Tan Beng Chuan Kenneth Kuek Johnsten Wee Elder Simon Goh Dale Gifford Elder Winston Chong Andy Wee HI Team Deacon Peter Lim David Goh Kelvin Koo Michael Yam Elder Simon Goh Elder William Wong Chen Yi HI Team Elder Tan Beng Chuan Proverbs 22:13 Johnelle Jumao-As Joemar Recomono Elder William Wong Alvin Tjipto Elder Winston Chong Deacon Peter Lim Proverbs 22:15 Asher Reign Jumao-As Johnelle Jumao-As Elder Simon Goh Elder William Wong Elder Tan Beng Chuan PPCOC's Vision: By God's grace, our vision is to be a vibrant, growing community of Christians where every member ministers to one another. Equipped by committed servant leaders and dedicated care teams at home, and passionate mission interest groups and partners abroad, we steward our resources responsibly for God's Kingdom. FOCUS PAGE 3 THIS WEEK’S Sunday, 16th November 2014 7:30am Shuttle Bus Service 8:00am First Morning Assembly Preacher: Dale Gifford 9:30am Bible classes for all ages 11:00am Second Morning Assembly 1:15pm Shuttle Bus Stops 6:00pm Evening Assembly Preacher: Alvin Tjipto Wednesday, 19th November 2014 7:30pm “Discerning the Disciplines” by elder Adrian Teo SIBI 3-weekend course for all on Effective Bible Study by Dean Brandi Kendall 7-9pm Friday, 21st November 2014 9am-12noon Saturday, 22nd November 2014 2-4pm Sunday, 23rd November 2014 Sunday, 23rd November 2014 7:30am Shuttle Bus Service 8:00am First Morning Assembly Preacher: Elder Simon Goh 9:30am Bible classes for all ages 11:00am Second Morning Assembly 1:15pm Shuttle Bus Stops 6:00pm Evening Assembly Preacher: Elder William Wong Wednesday, 26th November 2014 7:30pm “Discerning the Disciplines” by elder Adrian Teo FACTS & FIGURES 8am Worship: 11am Worship: 6pm Worship: Total: 157 196 55 408 Morning Giving Evening Giving Total Contribution $11,447.00 __$465.00 $11,912.00 Please Pray For: My employer’s children to recover from flu. Our relationship with God – Amelyn Allauigan Sister Siew Gek’s safety while in Korea – Soo Lang Travel mercy for my employer – Lolita Cataggatan Wisdom for my son, Xavier – Clarita Simon That my daughter, Grace will make the right decision and continue to walk in the Lord’s way – Arniel Orejudos My safe return home – Gina Lomibao That God will heal my brother’s swollen heart and my brother will open his heart to God and know Him – Ehpril Cammayo Spiritual growth of the Filipino group, and for the whole congregation – Linda Malana Yosva’s health and family. Henry Kong and family – David Dass God’s will in my life – Hendry Yosva Wisdom in my work - Kumar My friend, William Lockhart’s recovery from pneumonia – Lezel Tan Wee Hong’s well being and that he will get through his chemo treatment – Julie Wee Our brother in Christ who is scheduled for a minor operation that God’s hand be on the doctor and his recovery. Andy’s dad’s well being and health. Samuel’s walk with God – Julie Wee Thank God for: Brother Dale’s sermon – Geoffrey Kiang, Gloria Bilbao, Josephine, Grace Mariaraja, Lolita Cataggatan, Maribel Cammayo, Arniel Orejudos His grace and mercy. Healing of my younger brother Jay-Ar. Pray for his salvation – Maribel Cammayo My dad’s successful eye operation and all who prayed for him – Serene Tan Thanksgiving for a good medical result for a sister in Christ – Julie Wee Receipt No MF 1778 MF 1779 MF 1780 Donor Anonymous Ooi Joon Hin Anonymous Amount $300 $5000 $1000 PAGE 4 FOCUS Overcoming the odds… Introducing Rudy Lim Rudy first came to know about Jesus when he attended the Presbyterian Boys School (now renamed Kuo Chuan Presbyterian, after a merger with Kuo Chuan Girls’). In 1981 his brother, Randy, who is six years older, brought him to his first worship service at the Bedok congregation. Rudy was thirteen then and found joy in the warm fellowship and the realization that God loves him very much. He accepted Christ and was baptized on 10 September 1982. The Siglap Church of Christ subsequently became the Bedok Church of Christ and he continued to attend worship services as lives close by. Rudy’s parents are Catholic, and his brother Randy continues to attend the Bedok congregation. Rudy was born with cerebral palsy and has a speech impediment which may make it difficult to understand certain words such as proper names. He occasionally writes down words which are hard to pronounce to help him get his message across. When he was in primary school his parents took him to SGH for speech therapy sessions. These sessions stopped when the family moved to Bedok. He finds it easier to communicate with the hearing-impaired than speaking to those with normal hearing. After completing his “O” levels he was due to be drafted into National Service. At the medical checkup he was told he would be exempted because of his cerebral palsy. But he told the medical officer that he wished to enlist in National Service and was able to contribute, just like any regular person. He was appointed a storeman in 2PDF and later transferred to 21SIB. Upon his discharge from NS, he worked briefly for Matsushita Electric as a storeman whose main task was to send radio components to the production line. A church member helped him land his second job at MPH. He has been there for the last twenty-one years. Some of the pressures he faces is the physically demanding nature of his job. He has to receive cartons of books daily from suppliers, and process them to be distributed to various MPH outlets. One Thursday evening in 1988, while at Bible class, two hearing-impaired visitors walked into the building. Sadly no one there knew sign language to communicate with them, so the visitors left. This incident prompted Rudy to learn sign language so that he could be of help should a similar incident happen in the future. During the two years he was enlisted, he started to teach himself sign language from a book. He felt that by learning sign language he could also more effectively communicate with the hearing impaired. After two years of learning sign language he felt that he had the skills to start a hearing-impaired outreach, but lacked the courage to share this dream with the Bedok Church leaders. In 1992 sister Lilie Li encouraged him to visit PPCOC where a small hearing impaired group had formed. This was how he began to work with the hearingimpaired. After five years he missed the Bedok family and returned to worship with the Bedok Church. In 2004 brothers Henry Kong and Patrick Ong visited him at his place of work – the MPH bookstore in Parkway Parade and invited him to the Church of Christ, Pasir Panjang where he would be able to help with the Hearing Impaired (HI) work. After some consideration, he agreed and has stayed with the Church to this day. In his free time he likes to listen to his favourite radio station, Gold 90.5 FM as well as internet radio stations. On weekends and whenever he is on leave rides the bus and explores Singapore. He has attended the occasional annual church camp as well as one Asia Mission Forum held in Siem Reap, Cambodia. He says that the HI brethren have been a constant encouragement to him; they counsel him on managing difficult situations at work. He is constantly working on bettering his command of sign language, this time from the HI brethren who have been very patient with him; they sign slowly so that he can understand more easily. He says, “Sign language is like any other language – you must use it daily or you will lose it.” Do make the effort to get to know this amazing brother and let him know he is appreciated. - Ong Aun Nam Prayer List To remain faithful to the Lord and finish my Christian race well.