God and our festival

Deuteronomy 18:9-13
Galatians 2:11-14

Custom: A traditional activity or festival that takes place the same time every year
Festival: A day or time that people have holiday to celebrate some event
Superstition: Belief in magic or fairies. Certain beliefs in signs and luck. Have certain fears.

1. Religion and culture
Culture - all aspect of life
Religion – Covers spiritual side

2. The historical baggage

3. The stumbling block to our elders

4. How to be a good Christians without forsaking our roots
a. Chinese new year / Chun jie
b. Guo nian
c. Spring cleaning
d. Reunion dinner
e. Visitation
f. Ren Ri

Sermon taken @ Lighthouse Evangelism (preached by Ps Colin)

Last day in Toll Asia

http://www.toll.com.sg/

16th Jan is my last day in Toll Asia.

The journey: 2nd May 2005 - 16th Jan 2009

It was kind of a mixed feelings:
1. Sad and miss the people there
2. Happy and excited over the new embarkment

There were 2 kinds of prayer given to me too:
1. Blessings over my new job
2. Return of Chiyoong to Toll Asia (!?!?!)

Well, the decision lies no longer on man, but God. A miraculous opening of opportunity at this point of time. Should or should I not grab it?

I think I should grab it which I had and willl do my best. Yes, the point is this, to do my best and let God do the rest.

Truly, there are many people whom I will missed and many people whom I want to thank.
1. The good bosses whom God placed over me
2. The good working colleagues whom God has put in my environment
3. The nice and co-operative users whom God has made them to be :)
4. The bible study group which God has placed me in to grow spiritually

5. The good friends that God gave to me

6. The many things that God put me through to learn and grow

I&T Cruise Dinner movie clip


For better quality, please refer to I&T intranet.

it is my privilege to be part of God's plan...

Life Most Important Things

1. My relationship with Jesus
Isaiah 9:6
- whenever we call on Jesus, the Holy Spirit and our God father is there.

2. My relationship with my family
Ephesians 5:22 - wife submit to husband.
Ephesians 5:25 - husband love the wife.
Ephesians 6:1 - children cherish parent.
Ephesians 6:4 - Parent and children together.
- Family worship together and serve together.
- Take time communication with each other.

3. My comradeship with my staff
Luke 21:15-17
- Always try to dissolve problem among boss and staff.
- care for your sheep

4. My responsibility to my Lighters
John 21:20-22
- Don't look at other christian, just focus yourself on the lord.
- Just keep your eye focus on the lord.

5. Our effectiveness in Christ's Great Commission
Mark 16:15-18
1 Corinthians 2:4
- Lay hand on the sick and they shall heal. Not only in miracle service or at work place.

6. Our readiness for the Rapture
Matthew 24:37-41

7. A clear conscience
Acts 23:1-5 NIV
1 Tim 1:5
2 Cor 1:12

8. A rhythm of proactive living and sound sleep
Psalm 127:1-2 NKJV
Psalm 127:2-4 NKJV

9. Having the mind of Christ
"as a man thinketh in his mind, so is he"
Phi 2:1-11 NIV

"think of a strong point that a person has and you don't have"

10. Control the tongue
1 Peter 3:10 NKJV
Psalm 34:12-13

11. Putting objectivity into my EQ
Proverb 15:1
Proverb 4:23

12. Keep physically fit
1 Tim 4:8 (as compared between godliness and exercise)
3 John 2 NASB
1 Cor 6:19-20

13. A lifestyle of excellence
Colossion 3:23-24
- Character, Competence, Consistency, Continuity, Completion
Philippians 1:6 NKJV

14. Building meaningful relationships
Proverbs 17:17
Proverbs 18:24

15. Childlikeness towards God
- Simplicity of trust and faith
Character of a child:
1. They are easily motivated to believe
2. They trust their parent explicitly
3. They forgive readily
4. They are curious for knowledge and are teachable
5. They are in a world of wonderment
Matthew 18:1-4 NASB
Matthew 11:25

16. Major on my life message
Philippians 3:3-10 NKJV
Acts 26:4-20 NKJV

17. The habit of keeping things in order
- Dirt is matter out of place
1 Corinthians 14:40

18. Preparing the next generation
John 14:12
John 14:16-17
John 14:25-26
-Generation know not the Lord
Judges 2:10

Sermon notes taken during Sunday service at Lighthouse Evangelism (preached by Ps Rony)

Preparation for a new start

3 Factors of a fulfilled year

1. How we learn from the past
2. How to plan for the future
3. How we begin to take action now in the present


Scriptural Reference:
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

3 Steps to start anew

1. Leave the past behind (Phi 3:12)
2. Move forward from NOW on (Phi 3:13)
3. Reach for the ultimate (Phi 3:14)

Feeding which nature more?

Scriptural reference:
Romans 7:18-25
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Sermon notes taken during Sunday service at Lighthouse Evangelism

What happen when christians pray?

1. When God answers our prayer if does not cross the mark

-Job 36:32
-Habbakkuk 3:4

2. Our prayer reach the Throne Room

-Rev 5:8
-Rev 8:1-5

3. God answered David's prayer by thunder and lightning

-2 Sam 22:1-15

4. Agreement intensifies prayer effectiveness

-Matt 18:18-20
-Levi 26:8

5. Whose prayer does the Lord hear
a) the harmonious family (1 Peter 3:7)
b) the righteous (Romans 5:19)


sermon preached by Ps Colin @ Lighthouse Evangelism

Our Great High Priest

Scriptural reference: Hebrew 4:13-16

Hebrew 4:13
God is sovereign

Hebrew 4:14
Jesus is the perfect High Priest

-inferior high priest (Hebrew 5:1-3)

-Jesus the High Priest (Hebrew 10:11-14)

Hebrew 4:15
Jesus understands our weaknesses

Hebrew 4:16
God's grace allows us to approach Him


Sermon preached by Ps Pacer @ Lighthouse Evangelism

Answers To Critics Of The Pre-Tribulation (Part1 - Part3)

Details of the Rapture

1. The Lord himself will descend to the clouds in mid air
2. He will shout as He comes but only those who will be raptured can hear him
3. We will hear the voice of the Archangel and the last trumpet call of God for the Church and the Church age ends at this point.
4. In an atomic second, demised saints will have their spirits (from heaven) and their bodies (even scattered remains in this world) reunited, resurrected, translated and raptured to meet Christ in mid-air
5. Following the same twinkling of an eye, believer will be translated and raptured to join Christ and the saints who had gone before them
6. There will be mid-air monumental reunion in the clouds
7. That's when Jesus reconciles us to Himself and accompanies us to Heaven where we shall always be with Him

little background:

1. Church goers who missed the rapture will get serious with God
2. Age of lawlessness
- 144,000 Jews sealed by God
- 2 groups of believers killed during Great Tribulation
1. Martyred saints (Rev 6:9-11)
2. Tribulation saints (Rev 7:9-10, 13-14)


The 18 objections to the Pre-tribulation position

1. No way in the bible is there a single verse that explicitly state that the Rapture will take place before the Great Tribulation

2. If all Christians are raptured, then who will Anti-Christ persecuting?
- not all church goer will be raptured
- those left behind will be serious and fervent Christian
a) Left behind Christians
b) Jews
c) Opposer not in line with Anti-Christ
d) Political enemies
e) People who are against Anti-Christ
f) Unfortunate innocent victims

3. Didn't Jesus say that in this world there will be persecution? (John 16:33)
- different degree of suffering and persecution
- not referring to the Great Tribulation

4. Jesus' prayer in John 17:15 indicates that we have to go through the Great Tribulation
- John 17: 1-5 (Jesus prayed for Himself)
- John 17: 6-19 (early disciples)
- John 17:20 - 20-26 (all disciples of all time)

5. If early Christians had to suffer much persecution, why should we be exempted from the Great Tribulation?
- early Christians were not suffering from the Great Tribulation

6. Suffering during the Great Tribulation will purify Christians
- we are purified by the Word of God (John 17:17)
- reason why Thessalonians were serving faithfully

7.If millions of Christians are simultaneously raptured all over the world, how can the rapture be secret?
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

8. If all Christians are rapture who will continue to evangelize the lost world?
- John 9:4
- Revelation 7:1-4
- Revelation 11:3-6
- Revelation 14:6-7

9. Isn't it obvious that Christ comes at the 6th seal and that's at the end of Great Tribulation?
- Revelation 6:12-17

10. At the Rapture, the last trumpet will sound and that corresponds with the 7th trumpet of the Great Tribulation?
- Revelation 11:15
- 1 Corinthians 15:52

11. Even God's elect have to go through the Great Tribulation, and if we are exempted, are we more special than them?
- Matthew 24:15-22

12. Matthew 24:29-31, clearly states that the rapture will take place after the Great Tribulation.

13. Pre-tribbers are advocating a convenient Gospel in which Christians are exempted from any suffering and persecution.
- in any ages, Christians have been persecuted
- Matthew 10:23
- Jesus doesn't glorify in persecution

14. Most great preachers like Moody, Finney, Spurgeon and many others are post tribbers
- their statements were mis-quoted out of context

15. How can there be more than 1 rapture?
- the raptures recorded in the bible
a) Enoch (Gen 5:24, Heb 11:5)
b) Elijah (2 King 2:1)
c) Jesus (Acts 1:9)
d) Church (1 Thess 4:15-17)
e) 144,000 Jewish evangelist (Rev 14:1-5)
f) 2 witnesses (Rev 11:7-8, Rev 11:11-12)
g) Tribulation rapture (Matt 24:29-31)

16. 2 Thess 2:1-4 clearly states that the Rapture cannot take place before the Anti-Christ comes
- the anti-Christ must in the temple

17. The Pre-tribulation position is a recent erroneous teaching, which originated from an unreliable source
- all positions are relatively recent teachings

18. Pre-tribbers are deceiving believers causing them to be unprepared for the Great Tribulation
- no way to be prepared for the great tribulation

What and how to get prepared?

1. Be ready (Matt 24:44)
2. Be watchful (Matt25:13)
3. Be on your guard (Luke 21:34-36)
4. Be together (Heb 10:25)
5. Be faithful (Luke 12:42-44)
6. Be expecting his return (Heb 9:28)

Conclusion

Rev 22:20-21