Wefc toilets

Being totally random here, but these are out new church toilets (:

Psalm 139

There are days when I just feel too tired or too ashamed to face God. So I try to put off making things right with Him; I try to hide. Well, of course we know we can't actually hide from God. It's kinda like the ostrich with the head in the sand. We think that just because we don't see Him, He's not there. Doesn't quite work like that.

A while back, I was trying to avoid God yet again, when this psalm came to mind. And I just prayed for forgiveness immediately. So now, I'm trying to memorise this Psalm in case my unfaithful heart ever decides to go into hiding again. It's a beautiful Psalm, a reminder that we can never flee from God...

1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,"
12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Feedback about CG

Yesterday we spent sometime reflecting on the things that we liked about CG, and the areas we felt we really needed to work on. Below is the list we came up with. I'm glad everyone shared honestly. Hopefully now that we've laid them out, we can really keep ourselves (and each other) in check, and really strive to improve things. As I mentioned, coming for Cg is not just about receiving but giving as well. We come to learn and teach, to be cared for and to encourage. I've been praying for us, that God will reveal our weaknesses and give us the power to improve on them. Do pray along with me. 

Things we like about CG:

The fellowship, dinners, outings and games

Being able to share with one another

Bible study is deeper, more meaningful, applicable and there's always something new to learn

Worship sessions

Members are fun and interesting

Things we dislike about CG:

Cliques (though slightly better now)

Noise at inappropriate times

The irregular attendance

Spiritual state of the CG doesn't seem as good as it should be for long-term Christians as ourselves

How we place other things before Christ

Lack of heart for evangelism

We are not serious enough about God

We don't approach other people (people outside our cliques or new people) and talk to them more

Bible Study can sometimes be dry

Our attitude towards God (like our conduct)

Our attitude towards Bible study

Evangelism

I'm reading this amazing book. It's basically talking about our responsibility as Christians to share the gospel even though it is God who does the work of converting the people we're sharing with. The danger for us is either to assume that we are the ones doing all the work, or take the other extreme, which is to assume God does everything and we needn't do anything. The book teaches us where our human responsibilty lies in light of God's ultimate sovereignty.

Evangelism is something that I'm starting to feel more and more strongly about. I wish I had caught the passion earlier, in my secondary school days. There's so much I would have done differently then. I would have tried to be a better example of Christ, to care more for those who were the "outcasts". I wish I could have been a better instrument for God in winning souls to Him.

How can we not care about the souls beside us that are perishing? We need to reflect on how we've been living our lives. Are all our ambition and goals worldly ones? We need to realise how temporal everything is and learn to refocus everything on God. A real Christian dies to himself the moment he receives Christ. This is what it means for us to carry our cross. We die to self-centredness.

I am excited for youth alpha and the potential that it has. But there's no point in me being excited if no one is going to do anything. Everyone needs to catch the passion for the lost. I am really hoping and praying that as a CG, we can humbly come before God and present ourselves to be used by Him in evangelism.

So the quetion is: have you been praying for the friends you're thinking of inviting?

Answers book

Anyone wants to borrow this? Chim and sciency answers to questions about Christianity. David?

A date by the reservoir

It was nice. Can we do it again sometime? Oh yea. I'm sentimental like that.

 

Thanks for the photos Marcus. I absolutely love them. You shall be our designated CG photographer. Says I.

Chee ko peh cookies

Thank you for coming over, Kai Li, Grace and Nadia! I had fun baking the rather fail Chee ko peh cookies. It's a long story... Ask Grace. Anyway, if ever we do try again, it's gonna taste a whole load better...

Sharing

Hi Cg...I just wanna share dis wit all of u tho it's really late...but can't wait for tml:):) hee...I m attending dis ltp every tue...but dis afternoon I don't feel like gg due to e overwhelming stress I'm facing in sch. Had so many project till I'm so confuse abt all my project mates...but just right after I msg my fren dat I'm not gg ltp...this Christian sitting next to me suddenly, out of e blue, shared wit me abt the church camp she served in last weekend...she told me she was so stressed den cos she haven't finished her assignment...but God assured her that he will be her shelter and be there for her. She then took out her bible and shared dis verse wit me. Right at that moment I suddenly felt like crying...not cos I'm sad or guilty, but I felt the warmt of God and how he gently correct me...I truly thank God...I'll describe that moment wit all of u when I c ur again...SMS cannot explain it all:) so in e end I decided to go for ltp:) I'm still really stress but I'm assured God is wit me...He is Dere for all of u too...enjoy ur hols

Love,

Wee Theng 

The Big Picture Conference - Uncovering The Bible's Big Picture

Hi everyone,

 

The author of one of my favourite Christian Books is coming to Singapore for a conference! Vaughan Roberts wrote the book: God's Big Picture and it puts the whole Bible into perspective and helps you see the old and new testament in one storyline. The book helped me a great deal. I'll be going for it and I really recommend you guys to sign up if you're free! Details below:

 

Uncovering The Bible's Big Picture - Evening Talks for All
Speaker: Vaughan Roberts
12 & 13 April, 7-10pm
Orchard Road Presbyterian Church
$20 Early Bird / $30. ($15 for 1 evening

 

Ever wondered how the Old Testament temple is relevant to worship in the New Testament age? Or how stories about Israel, her kings, priests and prophets are related to Jesus, the Messiah for all nations? What are the links between Abraham and David, Moses and Malachi or Adam and Jesus? The BPC aims to help all Christians understand the one storyline of the Bible from creation to new creation. This storyline makes us better bible readers by challenging us to read the various parts of the Bible in the light of the Bible's big picture. The bottom line is a more coherent understanding and deeper appreciation for what God has done, is doing and will do in history.

Whether you are a seasoned pastor-teacher, a sunday school teacher, a parent wanting to teach the Bible to your children or simply a Christian who longs to know God and his purposes from the Bible, BPC is for you.

 

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Church building

Pastors at work

Ever wondered what the pastors do at work?

Gig

Hello people, thanks so much for coming for the gig with me. And, ahem, I'm really sorry I got the time wrong. I'm a real failure at leadership... But I enjoyed the conversation!!! (minus David's dreadfully long movie synopsis)

Jie's Gig next sat evening?

Jie will be playing a short outdoor gig next sat at the Esplanade. Free! I'll be going and I think some of you are interested. Its around 6-7pm. Let me know if you can come. It'll be fun. You're 16 (almost), live a little!

Germs

Roles in CG

Secretary: Xin Ting
Bible Study: Nadia, Grace
Birthdays: Patrizha, Brandon
Worship: Ian, JC
Evangelism: Zenas, Ryan
Girls IC: Celestine
Boys IC: David
Events/wellfare: Marcus, Amanda (team: Eve, Joshua, Hao Jie, Kai Li)

For those who are not sure what your role involves, please ask me or Wee Theng!

Germs

Youth alpha in CG

Hi, for those who didn't come for Cg last sat, we were announcing that this year, Youth Alpha will be conducted on a CG level. Meaning for about 12 weeks or so mid year, we will be covering topics which are very suitable for non-believers to come for to find out more about God. Its an amazing opportunity to invite our friends. To be honest, I'm really really excited about it. I can't think of a better time to start now that you're sec 4 and going to leave your secondary school soon. If you're reading this now, and not at all excited about God using you to bring salvation to your friends then I really want to reflect about the kind of Christian you are. We don't receive salvation just so we can selfishly keep it to ourselves. We are expected to share this gift! Catch the passion!

It's really good that we can start this early, because it gives us time to prepare ourselves and work towards out goal. Be more sensitive to the people in your class. Start looking for friends you want to invite and be praying for them. Look out for at least 3 friends you'd like to invite. As I mentioned, it doesn't always have to be your closest friend. It could be someone in class who has problems, or someone who's lonely. Start by being an example of Jesus for that friend. Pray for them persistently. Then when the date is cast in stone, we'll send out the invitations together. By God's grace, may we impact the lives of people around us.

Germs

Leaders meeting. Behind the scenes.

Mistaken Identity

Hello people,

I was having a Romans class with pastor Edward this afternoon, on the topic of dying to sin and being baptised into Christ Jesus. Pastor Edward told Lloyd and I a story which really helps to explain this:

There was a rich man who while travelling the world, came across a poor village. While resting there, he noticed a poor young boy in the slumps, digging through the filthy rubbish to find something to eat. When he asked about the boy, he was told that the boy was an orphan, left to fend for himself. Pitying the young boy, the rich man decided to adopt him and brought the boy back home, to his mansion. He gave the boy a nice room and good clothes to wear. However, when it came to dinner time, the boy was nowhere to be found. Worried, the rich man sent his servants off to look for the boy. They eventually found the boy outside the mansion, digging through the rubbish, in search of food for dinner.

Just like the boy, many of us have been rescued by God from the chains of sin in order to live a new life, yet we foolishly continue in our sinful ways. In Romans 6, Paul said "How can we who died to sin still live in it?" The moment we received Jesus Christ, our old self was crucified with him in order that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Our bondage to sin is broken, we have been set free! Now, you no longer face the fear of being condemned by the law. Rather, you are given the freedom and power to be like Christ.

Let's not live a life of mistaken-identity. We have been saved so that we should be free from sin and more like Christ. The first step to doing that is simply understanding the significance of this truth. We are to CONSIDER OURSELVES DEAD TO SIN. Remember, we still face the pressures of sin, but we are master over the sin, not the other way around. We've been adopted into God's family just like the young boy was, and equipped (by the Holy Spirit) to live out his standards. Let's live up to this new identity we've been given.

Love,
Germs

Valentines Day

You don't know how many years it took me to realise that it was Valentine's Day, not Valentimes Day.

For quite a few years, my friends and I would spend Valentines Day together. We'd prepare a picnic. (By picnic, I mean it more like alfresco dining... because our food, was a spread) We'd whip up pasta, lamb, soup, fruit tarts. Then we'd drive down to the reservoir, set up a table beside the water, put on some candles, get the wine out and enjoy the dinner. I guess we stopped because we all got busy. But I miss those days.

Germs

Bible study on Romans

Dear CG,

for those who do not know, I've actually decided to meet up with Ryan and Zenas apart from cg time to groom them as leaders. (I would like the rest of you take the time to consider if you'd like to be working toward a similar goal as well. Do let the leaders know if this is something you are considering) At first, I was thinking of just doing the book of Romans with zen and Ryan alone. But after thinking about it, I decided that I shouldn't bar anyone else who has the sincere desire to study the book from coming for the extra lessons. So this is an official invitation for you guys to join for the Romans classes. Romans bible study will be twice a month which leaves me one session a month with Zenas and Ryan alone.

I have very simple but specific requirements if you'd like to join the classes:
You are expected to come regularly once you've committed yourself to the lessons (unless you have a genuine reason not to)
You are expected to do all the homework involved
You must have the desire to learn and grow

I don't mean to discourage you from coming. I would love it if everyone was interested. It's just that I want the classes to consist of focused disciples studying God's word passionately. My demands are not that you already know God's word so well. My demands are that you have a heart to learn.

Love,
Germs

Germaine's short film

Check out my video!