Churchlife!

hope, hopeful or hopeless?

Churchlife — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:30:12 +0000

we are doing a series on Thessalonians in church with our elder. The reality of the Thess church is that they came to faith against odds and hung on to their faith, growing and demonstrating their genuineness of their faith in the midst of persecution. Hence Paul encourages them much about the hope they have - not a wishful sort of longing, but a solid promise of justice and peace when Christ returns. There is hope, and they can be hopeful because Jesus is coming back again. The Thessalonians may not have the hope that their trying and life threatenting circumstances may chance; not hope on this side of heaven, but they have etnral hope.

How often do we who live and serve in affluent Singapore think of the need for hope, eternal hope? Rather we hope that people treat us nicer, give us more respect, that we can find a safe place to worship (make that comfortable and near the MRT please)… what exactly do we hope for? Are our lives marked by a hopefulness that goes beyond this time-space? Or are we in fact not that different from the general mood of hopelessness in the world - where hope goes up and down according to economic and mood cycles?

How shall we learn to be hopeful, to stand on the Hope we have and to offer hope to others?

By taking a hard serious look at our false hopes and repenting of them

By facing our fears of truly hoping and acting in faith out of that..rather than playing it safe

By going out on a limb - where the fruit is - and risking…

By gazing at Jesus, the author of our hope and all our hopes.

Let us encourage each other while it is day!

sleepy in church?

Churchlife — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:26:20 +0000

Literally. yes, we dont have to nod away…there are many ways to slumber. even busy pastors, working, talking, acting…can be snoozing away. How? when we go into auto-pilot and rely less on God and more on experience, what works, and a whole hosts of ideas, programs ad nauseam.

Reliance on God is nearly impossible to see; yet it is detectable.

Some signs of it: peace, joy, perseverance, humility.

Now we dont see much of that around in our hearts, homes and churches do we? So we may be sleepy heads… then we better wake up; for who knows what is lulling us to doze!

you can also read “eating in the pews?” in Jenni’s Facebook Notes.

Easter thoughts

Churchlife — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:24:34 +0000

Easter is drawing near…it comes every year… with a mjor Gd Friday outreach at church; we can easily forget how important this season truly is.

The old church tradition has a forty day season called Lent that leads up to Holy week which of course culminates in Easter. We should bring back Lent - because -

we forget so quickly the things we meditate upon

when we are at work sometimes we even forget God and who we are in Christ

our lives get so cluttered with do-lists the good news of Easter is marred by the things we failed to do…

So bring back a long season like Lent or a forty day fast so that we can deiberately prepare ourselves for the incredible drama, power and truth of Easter. It has been said that we only appreciate the greatness of Grace when we recognise the deep darkness of sin within our hearts.

No wonder Grace today is good news is good health and weatlh. How does such a Gospel lift us out of this world to seat us in the heavenlies? It only lands us more squarely here on planet earth.

Easter is important and central to our faith because it is The Event, the V-Day, the Waterloo, the watershed… and that because of the whole larger story of our sin and God’s Love. How can we contemplate enough of it?

ending 09 well

Churchlife — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:08:47 +0000

Another year will soon come to an end. In true Singapore style, we will start to hear people moaning about how how fast time has flown and what a lot remians to be done…friends we have not caught up with, targets unmet, changes not implemented, hearts not settled…

How shall we end the year well? What herculean effort will it require from us - so that we can enter a new year with hope and look back with faith that our lives have counted?

If it’s faith and hope we want, then love is the cement, the anchor and the north start.

Love calls forth faith - to believe, to try, to risk.
Love calls out hope - to anticipate, to dream, to dare.

But of course, if we looked at our hearts or look to one another, we may more likely find doubt, disbelief and at best unsteady goodness.

So to end 09 well, make time for LOVE to visit afresh.

what a privilege

Churchlife — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:52:38 +0000

we were visiting one of the cells in church. the worship was smiple.the group was small…but there was a hunger and an opening of hearts before the LORD..and suddenly i just felt it is such an incredible, amazing, wondrous privilege to be able to say “I love you LORD”

Just think, when u say ‘i love you’ to anyone else…u often get doubted. But though we shrink from fearing to tell God we love Him, He never ever does strike out at us when we whisper with trembling, “i love you LORD”.

Imagine. Loving GOD!