TRIGGER! a cg of 17 & 18 year old youths from WEFC Youth POD! ADELINE!! Eu Jin!! SARAH; BERYL; PEARLY; KEITH; JOSHUA; JOEL; DAVID; AARON; EZRA; BRANDON; ETHAN; LUKE; ESTHER; JIAMING; KELVIN GOD's word! :) TALK. ShoutMix chat widget PAST. November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 October 2009 March 2010 April 2010 June 2010 October 2010 November 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 AFFILIATES. Adeline Joshua Keith Michelle Pearly Sarah David CREDITS basecodes by: Jane edited by: Pearly ©Trigger '08 ; '09 |
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 @ 10:12 PM
BIBLE STUDY Hey!Its this week's BS,I'm continuing from where it last stopped.This is going to be a long and wordy post,I've tried my best to shorten it alrdy.Do try your best to read it,Saul aka Paul is quite an interesting man...so yeah. Note: It's my first time doing BS(belive it or not),so I got a lot of help from Esther's 'easy way out' (; Credits to Jonathan Teram ACTS 9:19b-20 Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. This was right after Saul's conversion to Christainity.The words 'At once' shows us that his conversion could not have been more sincere as he immediately began to preach the Word.Saul was also boldly preaching the Word in synagogues(a place where people gathered and talked about religious issues) ---> We can infer that one of the true marks of genuine conversion is the desire to spread the Gospel ACTS 9:21-22 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. Saul was “proving” that Jesus was the Messiah by using the Hebrew Bible to explain how the prophesies pointed to Jesus.Saul knew that Jesus was the Christ but after his encounter(9:3-9) with Christ himself,Saul was able look at the prophesies in a new light The Jews in the synagogues understood that Saul was preaching Jesus despite the fact that he was sent to Damascus to arrest those who preached Jesus(9:1-2).We can say that the Jews were not really listening to Saul’s arguments but instead,they were literally shocked that Saul was saying what he was saying ACTS 9:23-25 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him.But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. Some time had passed and Paul became more vocal, more influential and more powerful. Luke says in Acts that "the Jews" plotted to kill Saul but Saul tells the story differently: In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascences guarded in order to arrest me.But I was lowered in a basket from a window in a wall and slipped through his hands (2 Corinthians 11:32-33) The major events between Luke’s account and Paul’s account are in harmony.The only difference is that Luke mentions the Jews wanting to kill Paul and Paul said it was King Aretas. Obviously,the Jews sought to kill Saul by convincing the King that Saul was causing trouble in the town.God was with Saul all the time. ACTS 9:26-28 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple but Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. Although Saul returned to Jerusalem to escape persecution in Damascus,being in Jerusalem also posed a challenge to him because: 1.Jerusalem was where Stephen was stoned,Saul gave approval to his death (8:1) 2.where Saul persecuted the church (8:1-3) 3.where Saul came from before going to Damascus to persecute the churches Now,he would be surrounded and judged by all his friends who would learn of his conversion.However, the first thing Saul did was join the disciples.It is understandable that the disciples did not trust Saul as they were afraid of him. They thought that he might be pretending to be a Christian in order to infiltrate them and arrest them. At this point,we can also see Barnabas truly being a Son of Encouragement(which is also what his name meant). Barnabas stood up for Saul when no one else would and his testimony about Saul convinced the disciples to accept him.They accepted him as a brother in Christ.Imagine the man who had once tried to kill them!Note again that Saul could not help but preach the Word, even in Jerusalem. -->This is an extremely tender moment. Saul received grace from God, but now Saul also received grace from the church ACTS 9:29-30 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews,but they tried to kill him.When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. This is an extremely powerful verse.The last debates we saw with "Grecian" Jews were held by Stephen. Now it was Saul himself who picked up the debate where Stephen left off. However,Saul was once again the victim of a murder conspiracy.He was now being persecuted for the very same reason Stephen was persecuted. The reason why Saul was the one getting trouble was because he was so incredibly vocal in preaching Christ. The other touching aspect of this passage is that, once again, the church (whom Saul persecuted) saved his life. The forgiveness they extended to Saul could not have been more sincere! -->Remember,Satan wants to exterminate the message. When we preach Christ, we naturally invite persecution ACTS 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. Now that the chief persecutor joined forces with the Christians, the persecutions died down. God was able to bless the church in persecution but He wills for peace and thus,He blessed the church with peace and growth. It is important to note the Holy Spirit’s role in all of this. Satan tried to destroy the church but the Spirit caused the church to thrive instead. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: 1.Will you be like Saul?Having the willingness and desire to share the Gospel despite how people may judge or say about you? 2.Are you a Barnabas?Are you able to be the first one to accept and encourage someone when no one else does? 3.Are you able to forgive someone who have done horrible or wicked things to the extent that the Church mentioned in the passage did? Beryl wrote. Monday, January 24, 2011 @ 10:08 PM
consolidation of cg discussion ok so on saturday, we decided that 1. cg will now start at 3.30 ON THE DOT 2. WE MUST ALL BE PUNCTUAL (5-10 mins allowance) 3. cg venue(s) can be shifted to Ethan's/Ezra's house 4. we will have an Inductive Bible Study session by Ade at church office on the CNY sat, 5th feb and point of information 5. Vday event with Fuchun BB/GB is on 12 feb morn (sat) p.s. cg this week is 3.30 at Josh's Esther wrote. @ 10:07 PM
How to Share Your Faith through Conversations just thought you ppl would find this useful How to Share Your Faith through Conversations Whitney Hopler Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Norman Geisler & David Geisler's new book, Conversational Evangelism: How to Listen and Speak So You Can Be Heard, (Harvest House Publishers, 2009). Many people today reject moral absolutes, are deeply skeptical of religion, and know very little about the Bible. All of that makes evangelism in this new millennium more difficult than before. Often, people won't be willing to listen to the Gospel message until you've first engaged them in spiritual conversations that prepare their hearts and minds to hear it. Here's how you can use conversations to help people get ready to respond to the Gospel: View evangelism as a process rather than an event. Sharing your faith is a process that's best done gradually through a series of conversations with people, building trusting relationships with them over time. Evangelism is helping your non-believing friends take one step closer to Christ every day and in every way. Try to make the most of every encounter with your non-believing friends to help them take steps toward Christ. Pray for more passion. Ask God to give you more passion for lost people so you'll be motivated every day to use your conversations strategically to help them find Christ. Focus on availability rather than ability. Remember that it's the Holy Spirit who ultimately draws people to Christ. You shouldn't feel the pressure of being responsible for how people respond to the Gospel. Your job is simply to lead them to it and give them opportunities to respond. As you make yourself available to God every day, His Spirit will empower you to speak the truth to others in your conversations. Be a musician. Listen carefully to what your non-believing friends have to say, and hear the sour notes -- things that don't sound right -- that they're singing to you. When you hear what people actually believe and detect discrepancies in their viewpoints, you'll know better how to reach them for Christ. So listen well, giving people your full attention when they speak. Eliminate distractions and focus on what they're saying rather than thinking of your response while they're still talking. Make eye contact with them. Reflect back what you think you've heard them say, paraphrasing it to clarify whether or not you truly understand them. Notice the different types of sour notes that people may be singing to you: discrepancies between their worldview and their heart longings, inconsistencies between what they say they believe and how they live, two or more beliefs that are mutually contradictory, and illogical beliefs. When you understand people's perspectives more clearly, you're more likely to engage them in meaningful dialogue. Be an artist. Paint a picture using questions to help your non-believing friends see themselves in a true light. Rather than telling them what they should believe, tactfully ask probing questions in ways that allow them to surface the truth for themselves and evaluate the strength of their beliefs. When they see for themselves the inadequacies and inconsistencies of what they believe, they'll be curious to hear more about Christ. Phrase your questions in non-threatening ways to minimize people's defensiveness. Ask questions that clarify the meaning of unclear terms they're using (for example, if someone says, "I'm a pretty good person so I'm going to get into heaven," you could ask, "What do you mean by 'good'?".). Ask questions that surface uncertainty and expose false beliefs to help people see the cracks in the foundation of their worldview (for example, you could ask, "Do you think that all religious beliefs basically teach the same thing?" and then follow up by asking, "How is it possible for all religions to be the same when some of them contradict each other's key beliefs?"). To avoid overwhelming people with too many questions, pray for the wisdom to know which issues you should focus on. Be an archaeologist. Dig up people's history to find the real barriers that are standing between them and Christ. People often have unspoken issues that are getting in the way of them coming to faith in Christ. They may have intellectual issues that are keeping them from understanding why Christianity is true; in that case, they need answers from apologetics. They may have emotional issues that are preventing them from considering the truth; in that case, they need you to listen to their concerns, demonstrate compassion, and pray for them. They may have volitional issues in which they simply don't want to consider Christianity because they'd rather run their own lives than let God guide them; in that case, they need love and prayer. Determine whether the questions people are asking are legitimate or a diversion designed to avoid the truth. Uncover the nature of their barriers and the concerns behind their questions. Find out what would motivate them to get answers to their questions about Christ. Be a builder. Build bridges to the Gospel for people. Find the right balance in your approach between objective evidence (such as evidence for Christ's resurrection) and subjective experience (such as how people see God at work in your own life as a role model to them). Find common ground with the people you're trying to reach, and use those areas you have in common as the basis for meaningful dialogue. Earn the right to be heard. Then build a bridge from a point of shared beliefs toward the Gospel. Build "head bridges" by helping people come to understand the Christian faith better. Build "heart bridges" by showing people how Jesus satisfies the longings of their hearts and helps them realize their hopes. Then look for opportunities to transition from preparing people's minds and hearts to actually sharing the Gospel message with them. Deal well with different worldviews. Get to know people's varying worldviews well, and help them work through worldview issues on their own timetable, not yours. Don't pressure them to make immediate decisions; that will turn them off. Be patient and keep encouraging them to question for themselves whether or not the foundation of their worldview is adequate. Use these two key questions as measuring sticks: "Is your belief system consistently affirmable?" and "Is your belief system in fact livable?". Focus your questions on the issues that stand out the most, regularly asking the Holy Spirit for the wisdom to discern what questions to ask and when. Answer the questions behind the questions. Aim to not only answer people's stated questions, but also the questions behind the questions they ask you. For each question they ask, consider: "What are the possible questions (or issues) behind each question (or issue) that needs to be addressed?", "What terms that they use need to be clarified?", "What truth do I want them to grasp about the question or issue raised?", and "What questions and illustrations can I use to help them grasp this truth?". Then do your best to provide solid answers to their questions in ways that build bridges for them to cross to the Gospel. For example, if someone asks you, "Is it true that we're all going to be judged after this life is over?" he or she may really be asking, "Is God really fair for sending some people to hell?" or "Should God be punishing me even when I do my very best?". After answering the person's stated question ("God is just because no person lives up to His standard of right and wrong," you can add a statement that builds a bridge to the Gospel, such as: "But the good news is that God has provided an answer to our dilemma by sending Jesus ...". Always be ready. Be prepared to answer people's spiritual questions at any time. But beyond that, constantly anticipate people's questions or objections as well, and be ready to respond to them through your conversations. Use every encounter you have with your non-believing friends to help them take steps closer to Christ. Esther wrote. Wednesday, January 12, 2011 @ 10:46 PM
15th jan bs ok no cg this week, but am forced by josh to put up BS :C i'm really tired and busy and still have a lot of homework so i'm gna use the easy way out. here's a link to the BS this week. ok don't take the easy way out like me :| Esther wrote. Sunday, January 9, 2011 @ 8:25 PM
 Joshua wrote. |