Trigger

Who is God?

2011-08-24T09:08:00.000+08:00

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7loJpA/biblestudyplanet.com/jesus-from-genesis-to-revelation-2/

the bible and homosexuality

2011-08-13T18:48:00.002+08:00

here's the stuff we discussed this cg.
if you want to know what it is about, ask Keith/Ezra/Sarah

Next CG we'll be covering on the Bible and Vices

http://www.whosoever.org/bible/genesis.shtml

http://www.whosoever.org/bible/leviticus.shtml

http://bible.org/article/homosexuality-christian-perspective

http://carm.org/homosexuality

http://carm.org/christianity-and-homosexuality

http://www.twopaths.com/faq_homosexuality.htm

2011-08-03T22:14:00.001+08:00

Open Sunday Plan
Schedule
1.45-2.15 Worship by Youth worship team
2.15-2.45 Message
2.45-3.00 Change Up, Brief and split into teams
3.00-4.45 Games
4.45 Debrief and pack up

Mass briefing:
Split the people into boys and girls.
Number off 1 to 6(help to organize them, and count them off too)
Preferably 6 groups of 8

1. Nerf Gun Plan(Humans VS Zombies):
Venue: Hebron
Game Details:
1. In the arena, two groups will face off against each other in a Nerf War. Humans will have the guns and will wear light sticks on their wrists.
2. Referees will be placed across the room. These people will be holding thicker lightsticks.
3. Zombies will try to ‘hunt’ down the humans by snatching their lightsticks. Humans who are caught are to RAISE THEIR HANDS and head to the penalty area (stage) and stay till the end of the game. There will be a referee there.
4. When caught, the human becomes a zombie.
5. There will be one person at the light switches who will randomly flicker the lights at certain intervals so that players can keep a lookout for other players.
6. If the zombie is shot, they will take a ‘time-out’ of 20secs and then respawn. Zombies who are shot will also need to RAISE THEIR HANDS while making their way to the stage as well.
7. Humans will gain a point for each zombie hit.
8. Logistics should have more than enough time to gather and count the bullets available.
9. Time will be taken. Zombies try to catch all humans (by snatching their lightsticks) as fast as possible in 10mins
10. Switch sides in 2nd round.
Rules:
1. No one should be playing recklessly with the guns. These are other people’s expensive toys.
2. You are eliminated once you have been shot anywhere. However, please avoid intentionally shooting people in the face, foam bullets can still hurt the eyes.
3. Integrity from the zombies please.

Scoring system:
Each zombie is 2 points
Each human is 5 points
Logistics:
1. Need at least 6 Nerf guns, preferably 3 sets of 2 of the same type. (e.g. Two Recons, two Mavericks, two NightFinders).
2. Light sticks
3. Stopwatch/ hand phone with timer
4. Any device/piece of paper that will be able to record points scored by groups playing.
Manpower:
1 person to man the light switches
1 person to be at the stage
Any other people to be randomly stationed across the hall to ensure safety and integrity of players

2. Obstacle Course+ Banana Pass
Venue: Lvl 3 Terrace
Game Details (briefing should be done at the L3 terrace beside lift)
1. Place head on umbrella and spin around 10 times
2. Skipping rope section: skip 5 times
3. Run around in a zig-zag pattern through 5 chairs
4. Touch the cone using a different body part, eg. Nose, Elbow, Knee, Heel and Butt.
5. Once entire team has gone through course, players sit spread out in a line.
6. Players pass a banana using their feet and the last person must eat the fruit.
7. Timing for the entire obstacle course will be taken, and points will be awarded accordingly. (I.e. last group 10 points, 2nd last group 20 points and so on)

Rules
1. Small area, so please ensure safety.
2. No pushing or shoving.
3. If you drop the banana, restart.
Logistics
1. Cones
2. Chairs (Can take from faith room?)
3. Skipping rope x 2
4. Umbrella x 2
5. Bananas
6. Stop watch
7. Any device/piece of paper that will be able to record the timings of the groups playing.
Manpower:
1 at North Terrace
1 at South Terrace
1 (hopefully 2) at synthetic grass area between North and South Terrace

3. Captain’s Ball
Venue: 852
Details:
• Normal Captain’s Ball
• 3 rounds using a different ball
• Point system
• 5-7mins per round
Rules:
1. No pushing
2. Only the catchers are allowed to stand on the chair
3. Girls who score can earn double the number of points (up to the discretion of the referee that day upon assessing the turnout and groupings, but it has to be standardized across all groups)
Logistics:
1. Any device/piece of paper that will be able to record the points scored by the groups playing.
2. 2 kinds of ball:
1) normal basketball/volleyball (1 point)
2) small rubber ball dipped in flour water (2 points)

plans for this sat

2011-07-05T18:29:00.002+08:00

WE HAVE A ROOM
it's FAITH, 2nd floor beside toilets/church office.

Usual LCG time 2.30-4.30pm, but booked with a buffer (2-5pm). Pls note that if we exceed the booking time, our access cards will be deactivated and we will not be able to open the door either from inside or outside. It's part of the security feature. So please keep to your time, so we need everyone to be punctual before and after.

ok so for this week and next week, i'm busy. josh has exams this coming sat so he'll not be able to come for cg this week as well.
david tai has suggested for our cg to go bowling this sat, so is bowling alright?
I don't think anyone in our cg will voluntarily opt for BS so i'm not bothering to open up that option at all.
so just tell TAI if you want bowling in the morning/afternoon. get his number from me if you're attending.

WHERE EVERYTHING GOES 'LIVE

2011-07-03T17:51:00.002+08:00

HEYY TRIGGER!

I'm helping to publicise the event organised by Singapore Youth For Christ for someone in YGOS.Basically, PLAYMAX is organised once in two years I think and its a really REALLY BIG event!!!There are many things happening such as iphone app games made into real life size(angry birds,paper toss etc.), water games, fleamarkets, food and many many more. Most importantly, it is a great opportunity to reach out to many people.

Currently,the event needs helpers in the different areas such as being group hosts, game stations helpers, logistics blahblah. Yes, I know most of you guys will be having your Alevels around this period but dont worry! You still can help.How?????

You can sign up for the event and bring your friends along(esp non-Christian friends *hints hints*).No lah,Christian friends also can.You can also take this chance as a break from all the homework,mock exams,practice paper etc.

Date: 9th and 10th September
Location: St Andrew's Cathedral
Register at: http://playmax.sg/

Oh, those who can and are willing to help as group host,others.. can text me ya.cuz have to fill up form and there's other administrative details.Have my number right?

(Haha,watch out for eu jin and sarahL in the vid)

misc stuff

2011-06-21T23:11:00.003+08:00

IGNITE CONFERENCE

there's a free youth conference coming up in 2 weeks by Ignite Alliance.

This year's theme is "Burning Hearts" - being loved by and loving God, knowing His heart for us. Speakers are David Sliker & Marcus Meier from Kansas City's International House of Prayer. It will be held at Kum Yan Methodist Church @ Queen St (next to Bras Basah MRT).

Dates: 23rd to 25th June (Thu - Sat)

Venue: Kum Yan Methodist Church
(1 Queen Street, Bras Basah MRT, Exit A)

Thu, Fri, Sat: Evening sessions from 7pm
Fri, Sat: Day sessions from 9.30am

**Conference begins on Thursday evening at 7pm.
**Free admission for all sessions

I'm thinking we go either fri/sat as a cg?? reply to my hp pls! i need replies ASAP cos we need to register though it's free.

http://www.burninghearts.sg/
https://www.facebook.com/burninghearts.sg

MASS CHURCH POTLUCK

To celebrate our return with thanksgiving to God, the church would like to invite every LCG (as well as worshippers not in any LCG) to a potluck meal after the 9am and 11.15am service.

we need to contribute a dish as a LCG. We may choose from this menu:

1 - Pasta Dish (Spaghetti, Macaroni, etc)
2 - Fried Noodle (beehoon, mee, tanghoon, yew mee, etc)
3 - Mee Siam
4 - Casserole Dish (shepherd's pie, lasagna, meat stew)

If not, we can take charge of making drinks (tea / coffee) or contribute dessert (e.g. ice cream, fruits, etc) or if your LCG would rather buy food and contribute, that is fine, too.

The important thing is we need to let decide soon so that the people preparing can prepare the correct cutlery for the meal.

I'm taking this as a given that we're attending the potluck aft 9am service, since most of us go for 9am.

The food may be brought to the kitchen 15 minutes before the worship service starts.

Testing Positive for Growth

2011-06-21T23:10:00.000+08:00

Ephesians 4:14-16

When it comes to spiritual maturity, we can’t simply take for granted that we’re growing. To evaluate personal progress, I’ve compiled a brief inventory of spiritual benchmarks. Check the list for an idea of how you’re doing. But remember, these items are just a place to start; see the Bible for a complete growth chart!

We know we’re growing spiritually when we become increasingly aware of our sinfulness and weakness. As I read biographies of godly saints, it’s clear that they don’t “get better” with age and spiritual maturity. Instead, they become ever more sensitive to their dependence upon the Lord. Moreover, progress is apparent when we respond to sin with quick repentance.Failure to deal with sin is rebellion against God. Growing believers turn away from wrongdoing and embrace righteousness. As we live with the good results of dependence and repentance, our desire to obey intensifies, and the attraction of sin lessens.

Growth is also marked by an increase in two things—joy and struggle. Faith is often developed through hardship because living out the principles of trust and endurance help us “get it.” So we’ll see maturity in our relationship with God when we view trials and temptations as opportunities for growth.

Paul, David, and Daniel prove that adversity can help form spiritual giants. These men recognized sovereign God as the gatekeeper of their lives. We are maturing when we perceive whatever comes our way as being from Him, which also means that He’s working it for good (Rom. 8:28).

bible study methods

2011-06-05T22:03:00.002+08:00

http://www.eachnewday.com/HowToStudyTheBible/the_Bible_study_methods.htm#Method_4

here are some bible study methods that you can learn.
for cg yesterday, we decided that many of us were inexperienced with studying the bible and leading BS. we either don't even do AT or get very little out of it because we don't know how to study the bible.
so from now onwards, every person who comes every week will have to share something they got out from their BS to the cg to force us to do QT (which was our CG goal), learn how to study the bible, and how to lead a BS

my plea

2011-05-29T22:45:00.004+08:00

please please please please please share. please come for cg. please share with the rest of the cg what's going on, the struggles in your lives, the struggles you face with God.
because if you don't, we'll never know. maybe until it's too late.

please stop clamming up.
because you only have yourself to blame when you say you don't have a supportive cg that you feel comfortable when you don't even want to share.

do you know it feels horrible and torturous when i find out individually how you feel towards cg? i can't take care of everybody, it's too much a hassle to go to each and every one of you one by one to try and find out what's happening, and most of the time i don't get anything out of you at all. i can only find out when i stumble across your rarely updated blogs, or when ade manages to dig something out of you. do you know that i feel horrible everytime i find out someone in the cg is going through a rough patch i didn't know about? and that i blame myself for not being as acute and as astute as ade is? that she can find out so many things about you that i can't? or that i haven't realised?

i was asked by someone in our church who's not in youth min
"Hey Esther, have you ever considered serving in church?" because he didn't know that i was serving. guess what was my reply
"I'm already a cg leader. It sucks."

it's really difficult, and to quote ade, "serving sucks", it really does. but i'm still hanging on. especially for the past few weeks, God has been repeatedly telling me in various ways, through various people that it is an honour to serve Him, it is an honour to know Him, to be saved be Him. That's why i'm holding on.

p.s. am looking at the names at the side of this blog. we're still one cg. i believe it. please pray for those who have been missing.

in response to mok

2011-05-26T20:42:00.002+08:00

well, when i first saw the sms from sarah, my first reaction was: wow.
haha.
and i noticed that she must've took the effort to remember/store/retrieve the acc name and pass, so that was a greeaatt encouragement to me cos even josh didn't(/doesn't) know --

well sarah i'm glad you took up my offer to lead BS, AND I WAS SERIOUS OKAYYY.
should i be glad that you were reading the bible, though not the passage i was referring to, and you're taking initiative to lead the next cg, though not leading the stuff that i want you to go through? i guess i should be right. haha.

i'm glad you were forced to come for cg last week C:

regarding your attendance to the cg, i thought of asking you, but i thought the other dear regular girl in our cg *cough* was asking you, so i didn'w wna bother you. apparently a wrong assumption to make.

SARAH MOK I'M SUPPOSED TO BE STUDYING FOR MY GP EXAM TOMORROW YOU SEE YOU HAVE SO MUCH WEIGHT LORH (not literally)

oh anyway i know you were not listening to my (somehat) BS haha.
and you all were having a good time playing one another's itouch/iphone games --

well my other reaction before/while/after reading you post: our prayers are answered.

Thank you, mok, for being such a great encouragement to be, cos i've not been having a great time spiritually as well, in terms of my growth and my determination to serve.

I look forward to your sharing!

btw, this week's cg is not on sat, cos josh, ezra and i are not free. so it'll be on sunday after 9am service WHICH MEANS JOEL AND SARAH YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP AND COME FOR 9AM SERVICE HAHAHAHAHA. sarah this is a physical milestone you have to conquer haha.

ok i really have to go study.

GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU C:

Sarah's first post AND ITS SERIOUS BUSINESS haha

2011-05-26T19:28:00.008+08:00

Hello Everyone.
Took a looooong time to figure if I should post what I wanna post but here I am. ( still uncertain whether to push the publish post later )
& It's pretty serious considering I POSTED IN THIS BLOG for the very first time.

SO READ. CAREFULLY. K.
I know it's long and I think I blabbered quite abit BUT READ IT >:

Anyway, the past month plus has been quite a rough time emotionally for me, for some certain reasons which I MIGHT share soon. & it really has made me lose faith ( majorly ). That's a huge part of why I've been MIA for a few weeks but looks like no one really asked ( I am quite happy I don't have to reply with white lies but on the contrary, I think someone should have been concerned enough to ask but I guess it's cause I havent been very regular anyway. )

SOOOOOO.......
Anyway, I finally went back to CG last Saturday ( Just for a record, the people who turned up were me, esther, joel, ezra and... oh nobody else, but I think we had a good time. )
Frankly, honestly, I turned up only because I promised Keith that I would go with him, ( but he had something on last min so I couldnt not go LOL ) and partly, the dog which bit me a few times... HAHA, and I had no choice cause I promised to go. So, ya... I WASn't very willing. :/ sorry guys but no more hiding the truth cause it's pointless.

Anyway, point is..

Esther said ( in a rather kiddingly way with a hint of seriousness ) that I should do the next bible study. But obviously I said noooo. HAHA.

My response to that is :

No, it's not because I'm lazy. ( maybe part of it ) BUTTTT...

For my first bible study, I will want to share what has happened to me, what made me lose so much of my faith these time round, what I am struggling with now, what affected my life so much and what made me into such an angry person. ( You guys might not see it but ya.. ) What made me take such a skeptical view on life and how I might be going to change all of that if I am able to with God's help. I say Might, because I really don't know if I can do it... I think it could be a fairly long shot.

But God gave me my first hint last week when I went back to CG.
Ironically he showed me he knew what's going on with me through literal words in the bible ( I'd say its a mix of coincidence ( skeptical view ) and also that he's trying to speak and grab hold of me before I slide away ( christian view ))
I was (pardon me,) Freaking amazed. So Esther, if you saw me so interested in reading the bible last week after telling me a passage to read, sorry to say, I was reading another page that was accidentally turned to. HAHAHAHA. But thank you so much for sharing the passage or else I would not have seen it!

SO TO END OFF,

I. WANT. TO. SHARE. WITH. YOU. GUYS. and it was a very very very difficult decision to make and I'm still wondering if I should but...

IF I WERE EVER TO LEAD A BIBLE STUDY. I WANT TO SEE ALMOST EVERYONE THERE TO LISTEN TO ME CAUSE I WILL NOT REPEAT WHAT I SAY EVER BECAUSE IT IS NOT A VERY EASY STORY TO TELL.

I WANT ALL THE MAIN REGULARS OF THE CG TO BE THERE. and i wonder if that's possible. So if it ever happens, please give me time to talk hehehehe.

Last of all, I don't know what you guys will feel after seeing this. But if it's concern or worry for ME, don't worry. BECAUSE IM FINE. Really -_- Dont come ask me what happen or give me verses that will not help me because it won't unless you guys listen to me!

... -_- I wonder if this will fall on blind eyes HAHAHA. Or empty brains.
Anw, make an effort to come together on one session at least because I might lose my motivation to speak soon HAHAHA >: & I might forget what I want to say. :/

Okay THATS IT.
SORRY TO MAKE YOU GUYS READ THROUGH THIS. ANY QUESTIONS ASK ME BUT DONT ASK ME WHAT HAPPENED K.

Yayyyy okay. Now I'm gonna sms all you guys to read this crap.

Love,
the sarah you don't know very well.

Go4th conference

2011-05-18T18:48:00.001+08:00

http://go4th.org.sg/wp/

Here's an event everyone is strongly encouraged to go. Do inform me/Josh if you're going, and you can join youths from other CGs/bring your own friends along.

2011-04-22T21:34:00.002+08:00

Good Friday.
some of you didn't even bother to say that you were not turning up.
The post that summarised our cg meeting and everyone's responses is still there, and most seem to have forgotten about it.
same thing, if you want a productive cg, you have to make it happen.
and this is supposed to be about God.

on a brighter note, I hope that all those who were there took something away from the short session that we had, i really appreciated everyone's presence. especially joel, who's notorious for being late and waking up late. joel you actually appeared! and were kind of on time! not bad!

as Good Friday and Easter Sunday passes I pray that God touches each and every one of you in His own way.

God Bless

2011-04-10T20:55:00.002+08:00

2 things to discuss.

1. Good Friday outing
a. do you all agree to go to woodlands waterfront? we'll meet at 1pm at CWP and make our way there, and end around about 4 or 5

2. Alpha
a. it should be around july-aug
b. venue? church building? respective cgs? (centralised/decentralised/part centralised part decentralised?)

pls only say yes if you can commit

continuing with sec 1s

2011-04-01T19:17:00.000+08:00

Please note that our current attachment to the sec 1 cg is still not approved by Ps Tim, it is only a trial which Eu Jin allowed us to join.
I did tell you people to pray about it and see which direction God wants our cg to move in, and then tell me the answer. Adeline said she'll agree to speak to Ps Tim on the conditions that
1. We prayed about it
2. God says something
She can't speak on our behalf if we don't speak to God first.
For those of you who were present at the discussion, you'd have remembered that there was no praying or anything of the sort done, instead, everyone just wanted to go ahead with it.
So what we need to do now is to read 1 sam 15, which will be the BS for this week.

As for cg this sat, I'm still waiting for Eu Jin's instructions, so it is not fixed yet. However, please still pray about us joining the sec 1 cg and prepare for BS

2011-03-13T21:54:00.003+08:00

next week cg at church office, we're combining with the sec 1s. please reach at 2pm. our punctuality (and attendance rate) will consciously/subconsciously create an impression on the sec 1s

helping with pauline's CG

2011-03-06T23:07:00.003+08:00

josh and i talked to ade/eu jin about combining cgs with the sec 1s during the 6 weeks Pauline is away. and their take is that we have to pray about it and ask God is that what He really wants us to do. so everyone, take some time off to pray (and do QT) and ask God if this is whut He wants our cg to do, and we'll discuss it next cg!

2011-03-01T21:50:00.000+08:00

Pastor Edward says...

This Week's Prayer Focus is for the Boys' Brigade Ministry.
We are now fully responsible for the Boys' and Girls' Brigade in Fuchun Secondary School.

Please pray for us.
1. From March 6 to April 3, we are having our BB Week 2011.
- BB Week is a month long donation drive to raise funds for the Boys' Brigade.
- Please Pray that we will raise enough funds for our 44th Company: Our Target is $16,000.
- Last year we got the Gold Award for our fund-raising, partly because of Adam Road Presbyterian Church.

2. We need more helpers because now we have a regular attendance of more than 60 Boys.

3. Pray for the safety of our Boys and Officers each week as we take the Boys out for very strenuous outdoor and adventurous activities.

4. Some Boys are coming to Christ.
- Pray that more Boys will be influenced for Christ as we conduct our Christian Education each week.

5. Pray that the Boys will enjoy our Worship Services this Sunday when they come.

Thank you and may the Lord Bless you.

Pastor Edward Chau.

discussion for today

2011-02-27T11:59:00.002+08:00

• Missions: no
• Youth alpha: yes
• Cg timings
o hold cg with sec 1s when Pauline is in sawa
o Friday night : 8-9.30pm
o Sunday morning aft 9am svc (most votes)

• a. What is CG to you. Where is it in your level of priority. Where do you want it to be. How are you going to change your attitude towards CG (if you intend to change)
o sarah: it depends on what is happening on her schedule that day. Aimless priority. Will change when she feels cg is becoming more meaningful/changing.
o Luke: priority quite high up; attitude not going to change, satisfied with status quo.
o Joel: very high priority. No intention to change attitude towards cg
o Beryl: high priority. Fine with status quo
o Kelvin: I feel pressured to answer!!!!!!
o Ezra: tries best to come; parental constraint.
o Pearly: not very high; don’t learn anything, schoolwork more important, fruitful than before
o Brandon: below school; take up time, schoolwork more important.

• b. Whose CG is it. Why are you coming for CG. (MY cg? YOUR cg? OUR cg? GOD's cg?)
o Kelvin: josh and esther. Comes for cg cos he wants to gain a new perspective of life
o Beryl: everyone in the cg. Come for cg for a time of BS, fellowship and sharing
o Ezra: don’t even think this is a cg anymore. Same reason as beryl
o Pearly: doesn’t feel like cg. Come cg hopefully to find a new meaning in it and try to reconnect with God once again.
o Brandon: everyone in the cg. Not coming cos of schoolwork; will come for fellowship and learn more about God
o Sarah: our cg. Coming to stay in touch with God; if not I’ll be disconnected from church COS I DIDN’T GO SERVICE WHAT
o Joel: our cg I GUESS. But if we think of it as my cg, I think more ppl will come. Sense of ownership instead of a shared responsibility that can be pushed away.

• c. who went/didn't go for the talk and why. would you have come if it were CG as usual instead of the talk and why.
o Joel: not interested, so study for exam
o rest didn’t even bother to check the blog, so “didn’t know there was a talk”

• d. what were our goals/visions for the CG. are we following it/ achieving anything and how can we improve.
o Beryl: cg bonding and leave impact on youth min. cg bonding- working on it. Impact on youth min- nothing. To do anything, we first have to come for cg
o Sarah: attendance, regardless of who else is attending. We’re achieving it cos no one coming. Change cg timing.
o Joel: won’t ask who is coming cos knows who will come. Don’t know what goals
o Pearly: what goals? (didn’t attend; saw goals but forgot)
o Brandon: attendance rate. Answer is evident. (Brandon doesn’t even attend cg)
o Esther: QT goal is…

• e. how do you want to contribute to the CG and Youth Min this year.
o Kelvin: up to God to decide. Volunteer for CWTC
o Beryl: serve in sec 1 cg
o Joel: start smaller somewhere, provide constructive comments during cg
o Sarah: not yet – till we move back into the church building. Can do designing for this year’s youth camp.
o Pearly: projection and volunteer for events
o Brandon: Attempt to come more
o Ezra: nothing --

• f. describe your attitude. I mean general attitude and perspective.
o Beryl: i have no answer
o Ezra: uh. Not too productive; need church building back
o Kelvin: YAH WE NEED THE CHURCH. Wait this is not an answer hahahaha. Sometime cg no sense of urgency.
o Joel: cg is a good place to get away from everything.
o Sarah: a bit bochup. But still wants to go if not will totally be lost and disconnected from church and God. Cg helps to stay in touch with God. There’s a difference between CG and God.
o Pearly: if cg is not fruitful, then don’t see the point in going, esp with a lot og work. But if it can help improve r/s with God, then will attend cg.
o Brandon: not sure

• What is the diff btwn cg last time in church building and now?
o Not diff now if ade and eu jin are around. Desensitized to ‘pleas’ to come for cg
o ‘mood is not there’
o Complicated CGL/ cluster leader hierarchy. Unstable.
o Church building offers a sense of a ‘peaceful sanctuary’
o No time now in tertiary education

Disclaimer: this text is presented from the POV of Esther and is biased.

things to prepare (I AM NOT PLEASED ):< )

2011-02-20T22:36:00.005+08:00

ok i need you ppl to prepare answers for these and reply me during the coming CG. (I hope that you'll PRIORITISE and MAKE AN EFFORT to attend CG.)

After the low (zero) attendance rate yesterday for the talk at the SBC,
1. I need a rough guide on how regular you would be for CG (or intend to be --)(as instructed by Eu Jin. Cos he feels that it's useless to chase aft everyone to go for everything and HOW OLD ARE WE)
I think it's obvious by now I'm extremely annoyed. So here's a few questions (some are questions i've always been asking, so you can tell how ineffective this is)
a. What is CG to you. Where is it in your level of priority. Where do you want it to be. How are you going to change your attitude towards CG (if you intend to change)
b. Whose CG is it. Why are you coming for CG. (MY cg? YOUR cg? OUR cg? GOD's cg?)
c. who went/didn't go for the talk and why. would you have come if it were CG as usual instead of the talk and why.
d. what were our goals/visions for the CG. are we following it/ achieving anything and how can we improve.
e. how do you want to contribute to the CG and Youth Min this year. And I'm very very serious about this question. Especially if we're staying on cos we haven't left any impact in the Youth Min. and you can volunteer for stuff you don't know how to do! like lead worship even though u don't know how to play the guitar or sth. if you have a burden we can always work it out. you can tell me you want to be a cg leader too.
f. describe your attitude. I mean general attitude and perspective. for example, why would you come for normal cg, but not attend the talk. cos you don't care and cg is just a habit etc?

moving on,

2. If you read missions world given out today(20feb) you would have realise that 'John' is back in SG from Sawa. If you want him to come to our CG for a visit to talk to him/ask him about missions please mention it next cg.

3. If any of you are living within walking distance of Evergreen Sec or know someone like that who has a spare room to rent, please let me know. There's Malaysian Sec 3 boy who is looking for a room as it's too tiring for him to commute to and from Malaysia everyday.

4. Do you people want to have Youth Alpha? It's de-centralised, meaning we'll hold Alpha at CG level. Which means we'll have to invite ppl and run the sessions. We can choose to work with our CG pairs on this. (think of this not as inviting them to Alpha, but inviting them to God for life. but if you think that we're not at that level, don't feel obliged to do so.)

yes and realise that the current attendance rate doesn't allow us to do much because everytime we try to do something with the CG, most remain ignorant abt what is going on, and a minority decides for the (uninvolved) majority. so i really really need you people to get more involved. and be glad i actually blogged because if not it would mean that those few that appear the coming CG would get a lashing by me.
ok i need a secretary for the coming CG session to take down all the answers to the questions i posted. any takers?

p.s. am not trying to put anyone off cg, and i apologise if i did!

2011-02-18T00:05:00.001+08:00

The Graduates' Christian Fellowship (GCF), together with the Evangelical Fellowship of Singapore (EFOS), is organising a Half-Day Dialogue on 'THE CONNECTED SINGLES" to be held from 1 p.m. - 6.00 p.m. on Saturday, 19 February 2011 at the Singapore Bible College, 9 - 15 Adam Road, Singapore 289886.

This program is meant specially and specifically for pastors, counsellors, parents, married people, and singles Men and Women. This seminar should help all concerned to better understand and thus more effectively and sensitively reach out to SINGLES. We all long to see this important group of God’s chosen to stay connected with HIM and the people they live and work with and continue in increasingly satisfying life.

Dr (Ms.) Mary Tay, author of the book, "THE SINGLE'S CONNECTION" will be the main speaker. Others include Mrs Mona Chia, Dr Goh Wei-Leong, Dr Suraja Raman and Mr Gregory Vijayendran.

5 Workshops/Dialogues will be offered:

Dialogue 1:

“Single and Content” by Dr Mary Tay

A Session open to Discovering yourself as a Single, Understanding Companionship and Learning to be Content (Phil 4:11)

Dialogue 2:

“Single In Church” by Mrs Mona Chia

A Session open to Understanding Singles in Inter-generational Relationships within the Church family and Fostering the spirit of Other-person-centredness (Titus 2: 2-6)

Dialogue 3:

“Single in Community” by Dr Goh Wei-Leong

A Session open to Discovering God, Celebrating Community and Exploring Significance as a Single; then contributing to a Counter-cultural society, a tangible Community of love in a broken world (1 John 4:12)

Dialogue 4:

“Singles in Adventure” by Dr Suraja Raman

A Session discovering God’s Adventure for Singles as they live out the gospel in a lost and needy world (1 Cor 7: 32 – 35, Rm 12: 11, 1 Pet 4:10)

Dialogue 5:

“Singles in Service” by Gregory Vijayendran

Understanding Singleness As A Season, Battling Temptations, Nurturing Spiritual Intimacy and Single-mindedness in Devotion and Service to the Lord (1 Cor 7: 32)

2011-02-09T21:08:00.001+08:00

BIBLE STUDY

2011-01-26T22:12:00.009+08:00

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?

consolidation of cg discussion

2011-01-24T22:08:00.003+08:00

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

How to Share Your Faith through Conversations

2011-01-24T22:07:00.000+08:00

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.

15th jan bs

2011-01-12T22:46:00.004+08:00

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 :|

2011-01-09T20:25:00.002+08:00

2010-11-07T23:08:00.002+08:00

prayer pointers:
BERYL - Her granny's sick,do pray!
- Pray for her A levels!

18 year olds - Pray/decide if you're staying/moving up to Pathmakers

Youth Camp - Pray for smooth preparations
-Harmony of the camp comm
-God's blessing upon the camp and during the camp.
-THOSE WHO WANT TO ATTEND CAMP BUT HAVE NOT SIGNED UP (cough cough. Closing date for registration is 14th nov, coming Sun. Late registrations/payment will not be entertained!)
-God open up the hearts of those attending camp!

JC people! - PW OP goes well! C:

David Tai - Safe return to Singapore

2010-10-26T23:10:00.001+08:00

2010-10-23T21:01:00.001+08:00

Pastor Tim will be visiting his previous youth ministry @ Bartley end of this month, as his youth pastor friend, Dave, will be giving his last message (returning to NZ in Dec).

They meet @ Bartley Christian Church, John Willis Hall, 3-6pm on Saturdays. We can meet at Bartley MRT 2.45pm, and can stay for worship and message (until 4.30-5pm), 2nd half is CG discussion.

Check out their website at http://www.frontlineyouth.sg.

Please sms me if you're interested, and tell me if you're coming for Youth Camp!

-Esther

P&P Pointers for Oct

2010-10-15T20:42:00.000+08:00

EK’s Graduation Concert (17 Oct @ Republic Poly)
Pray for the teachers as they prepare and train the children on the performance items based on the theme "Faith".
Pray for sufficient volunteers to help out on three days – 11, 16 and 17 Oct.
Pray for safety and God's protection over all involved for the 3 Days
Pray for the graduation ceremony and concert to go on smoothly on 17Oct.
Pray for the graduating K2 children to be able to transit confidently to Primary school next year
Pray that the many bible stories they have heard while at EK will remain in their hearts and they will grow to have a hunger to seek God.
Pakistan (Massive Floods)
International donations will increase and reach people. Pray against corruption and terrorist groups that seek to siphon off money.
Government leaders Task of massive infrastructure rebuilding, social & health needs. Plead God’s mercy & grace.
Open doors for the gospel, spiritual brokenness of people to lead them to Christ.
Pathmakers Zoo Outing (6 Nov) - for children of Blk 852 families
Let’s make it the Happiest Day of their Life - again! It’s going to get BIGGER!
Thank God publicity brochure is done!
Fund Raising 10,17 Oct. Hope to raise over $2k.
Publicity to children 10 Oct. Ask for good response.
Volunteer Recruitment 17 Oct. Pray for enthusiastic response from Pathmakers.
BB Boys. Good Pathmakers-WSC-BB partnership. Pray that they will see the love of God thru us.
Committee. Strength, wisdom, joy!

BIBLE STUDY CLASSSSSSS

2010-10-14T16:19:00.001+08:00

This BS class is by the youth leaders, but you all are encourages to join!

We will begin next Tue, 19 Oct, 7.30pm @ Woodgrove.
Here's the email from Ps Tim

Bring along:
1. Bible (NIV or NASB)
2. Notebook
3. Stationary - include highlighter
4. A ready heart to learn and grow in God's word together.

I will lead us on a preliminary session on biblical theology and we can discuss what book we want to study and how the class will work out e.g. who leads, teaches, etc. I'm suggesting either Luke-Acts or Romans. Come prepared to discuss!

The session will be 1.5 hrs, so let's aim to start on time ok?

See you next week!

P.S. Leaders of older LCGs (16 above), can you forward this either to your whole LCG or those whom you think will benefit from this class. Thanks.

--

Shalom,

Timothy Pang

Pastor (Youth)

Woodlands Evangelical Free Church

48 Woodgrove Ave S738245 (Temporary Office)
Tel: 63658590 ext.211 Fax: 63651537

Beryl posts!!!

2010-06-10T11:51:00.002+08:00

Hey Trig :D Esther posting on behalf of Beryl here. I'm putting up a mini-cg-testimony of Beryl's. I hope that after you read it you'll think of what does cg mean to YOU. and why you would/would not attend cg etc. Anyway Beryl's post has made me think of the question: "What does 'Trigger'/'Trigger-ed' mean to us as a cg, and why do we have that name. Are we carrying out the meaning of our cg name? ok I sound like a nag :| here's Beryl's post!

Hey people,its me. Gosh, it's really weird to be typing this in a somewhat dying blog or rather I feel weird typing this thing. I'm supposed to share this like a few months ago but hey,I'm doing it now(: Don't mind the long windedness as you read cause I'm the kind of person who like to put in a lot of unecessary info. I think Esther and Luke may have known this already, but just sharing for those who don't.

Actually,I have been in WEFC for a really,really long long time..since like pri school.And yes,I remember familiar faces(luke,joshua,hannah,lydia etc....) in the CG cause I also attended powerkids but you know,not the close friend type.At that time,I was close to Wei En(a girl, she moved to another church alrdy) and Aaron(coz all our parents are in the same cg).I attended church regularly okay.The problem starts in the transition to youth group la.

When I was in Sec 1&2,I was under Caleb and Sulwyn...Adeline came in during sec 2 i guess.Very vague memory but I think Wei En wasnt like there anymore in sec 2 cause her parents brought her to another church and Aaron wasnt there cause he was still,like young la.At first,it was okay with Wei En,she's funny and all.You know, like you have a friend with you.Then, we befriended another girl called Jessica(Winnie's younger sis).She's also the soft-spoken type.So when Wei En left,still have Jessica.Dont ask me why cause I dont know why I just cant make friends with other youths. Somewhat or somehow I see the other youths like "sacred-cannot-talk-cannot-touch"kind.LOL right?

Anyway,I also thought cg was a completely waste of time.During the period of splitting into the different gender cg(I'm still with Ade),I always got annoyed like how the other girls always laugh at their own inner jokes,over very small things etc...Just, laugh laugh LAUGH throughout the entire cg time and I dont get a single thing they are laughing about.So, I just stop attending in sec 3 i guess. Ade and Jessica kept texting me to come but I just gave excuses that my cca also happen to fall the same day(its true,but it ends way before cg so I can actually make it).There were a few times,maybe 1-3,that I came back but Jessica was gone..not gone gone la!

Adeline was still texting me to come back,she's really nice(: and she stop.. around the middle of my sec 4 year.Then there was once Aaron asked if I wanna join back the cg,told me I was still under Ade and I rejected it. I still have completely no idea that the cg was alrdy different and thought the same thing will repeat itself again.

Aha,now its my J1 year.Out of a sudden,someone most likely Adeline texted if I could come back to cg.Just dont know why, I agreed(I think God just suddenly said go! to me).

So I went and WAAAHHHLLAAAAAHH~~~~

I opened the door and I see this big group of guys with like 1 or 2 girls there. I totally freaked out man.Yes,outside maybe I'm smiling to be friendly or smth like that but inside,I was like shocked to the MAXX man.Oh shit, I'm with a group of strangers and I totally dont know how to talk or start a conversation at all.That's why I'm super quiet and weird during cg.An example if you havent notice,everytime I feel nervous or awkward, I will scratch myself excessively...scratch head,hands,legs and especially arms OR keep drinking water.

Then esther came along~woohoo,a girl and she looks friendly and shes the first I actually make friends with.So you notice I keep sticking to her.Then another problem....actually I was still uncomfortable with the cg(guys dont really talk if they dont know you well,sarah was like zzzz-i-dont-know-what-to-say-to-her,pearly was super scary,adeline was like go-and-make-friends-yourself kind)and I didnt want to become a leech to Esther.You know what it means right?
So I was on-off throughout J1.Esther kept asking me to come and I gave excuses again.

And so...didnt come for cg at the end of J1 and now,its J2 Year!
But this time,it was like BANG!!!Suddenly at the beginning of the year, God told me again to go back. This time,with a reason.It was smth like"Eh,if you dont go back it will just keep repeating.Just make the effort to keep coming constantly and build the relationship".And guess what,I did and also found out that Pearly,Brandon,Jeanette,Eliza all went to PJ.Its also another way to build friendship ya?

So I came for cg,David's farewell (: but thats not the end yet ):
I wavered in the recent 3 weeks and then news of Adeline stepping down strucked me.OMG,you know when she said that,I felt so guilty.I felt as though I disappointed her throughout my life since sec 2 and all.She's so nice,so....uh committed.

Anyways,I've decided to type this lloooooooong message cause I've just finished my 3rd day of E.E.Adeline texted me about this last wk and I felt so guilty that I told her I will go for it.

Alright,I will like end here.Hope you guys enjoyed my story and that you dont mind the long-windedness.Btw,I think you can guess who am I alrdy la.

-Beryl.

Reason to attend CG and Service!

2010-04-26T20:45:00.001+08:00

Satan loves detached believers, unplugged from the life of the Body, isolated from God's family, and unaccountable to spiritual leaders, because he knows they are defenseless and powerless against his tactics.

p.s. LET'S PRAY FOR EU JIN AS HE GOES FOR NS :D

2010-04-11T21:56:00.003+08:00

hey i'm starting to sound like a nag (hopefully i don't sound like adeline)but whatever haha.
I have been quite disappointed and discouraged by the cg attendace recently, I'm sure ade is too :/
I expected this to happen once we started jc luh. but the attendance is like really terrible. look to the left of this post. those are the people in our cg. but, for the past few weeks, the attendance could be counted on one hand luh.
i have to confess that i will also have cip on sat, but i try to not arrange anything on sats. Ethan doing a great job in trying to come for cg. he has cca on sats but he's trying to negotiate w his coach to let him go on alt wks so he can come for cg. i'm not expecting u ppl to do tt, but can u all try to do sth?
i have to admit also that i almost didn't turn up at tha airport ytd. i was thinking tt i would be the only non-dg person thr n i wld nt hv any1 to talk to. but i went, cos i told myself i'm going for God, not for the people.
we were supposed to do bs n discuss our cg goals ytd, and the passage was the one used for tdy's sermon. pastor kenny was talking abt bonding in our cgs, and all the while i was thinking, yeah, right, how do we even do that if there's nobody there?
while talking the bus hime ytd, i wanted to pon cg for once. i was thinking tt mayb if i disappeared, u ppl wld take note bcos i (in my memory) have never not attended cg before (mayb only once or twice, i cnt rmb). maybe, then someone would notice. not notice me and bring attention to myself, but at the attendance of the cg. then i realised that it wouldn't work, cos thr wld hardly be anyone attending cg in the first place.
the bs ytd was supposed to be for us to align our goals for the cg, but there were too little people present to do anything. only joel, jia ming, ade n i were there. what does it show? i'm not blaming you individual people, i'm hoping for a change, and i pray that it happens. i think from this post you can infer that my goal for the cg is the attendance. i don't hope for the cg to grow when the other people are not even coming. everyone's busy, i'm busy too. we have most homework on weekends, and my weekends are packed with cg, service and tuition. but i still come. i come even when i have 3 essays and my pi to hand up on monday. i don't demand that everyone comes, but i want you ppl to shift cg up to a higher placing in your priority list. doesn't have to be the first, that would be unreasonable of me.
keith mentioned that we need to have a common goal for cg b4 our cg can move on. we can't have individual expectations of the cg and ppl come every week trying to get different stuff out of the cg. he thinks tt in this way, the cg wldn't progress, n i think tt view is fair enough. but i would like to add that before we have a common goal or individual expectations, we must reflect on what does cg mean to us n whr does it stand in our heart.
yes. abrupt end. sorry.
*tsks at myself*
ok i hope u all got my message. (i think you all do, you're not retarded)

p.s. WELCOME BACK EU JIN!

2010-04-08T23:34:00.001+08:00

eu jin's coming back soon :D

2010-03-17T23:46:00.001+08:00

tai's gonna poof to ang moh land soon. GOD BLESS!
we know you'll miss us, u know we'll miss you too!
come back soon!
(baldie's waiting, HAHA)

Christmas plans

2009-10-26T17:01:00.001+08:00

Hey trig, below is an email from Ps Edward for Christmas with the Community, 19 Dec 2009. lemme know what you guys are interested. ideally we can do as a cg.

Dear Leaders,

Christmas is just around the corner. It is our privilege to be able to celebrate Christmas and bring its true message to our community here in Woodlands. This year, we are producing our very own Christmas Play, entitle, “My Father’s Love” - written by our own gifted people from WEFC. Our audience are not only non-Christian guests from the community, WSC Bursary recipients, grassroot leaders accompanying the MP, but we are also expecting committee members of the Inter-Racial & Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) to come and attend this event. Imagine the rare opportunity we are given to share the message of Christmas to leaders of other faiths! Awesome, isn’t it?

There are some areas that we cannot do without your help. We need your CGs to play a part in bringing Christmas to the Community. These are:

1. Drinks Stall (Pathmaker CGs)

2. Pop corn Stall

3. Candy Floss Stall

4. Kachang Putih Stall

5. Registration for the Café

6. Registration for Children’s party (Youth CGs)

7. Christmas Draw (Wrapping of Prizes)

8. Security

9. Waiting on Tables

10. Ushers

11. Stage Hands (Youth CGs)

12. Table Hosts (Chinese / Malay / or English Speaking)

13. Movers (to move props to the CC, arrange tables & chairs for café)

Please let me know if your CG can help in any of these areas.

Thank you for your participation.

o lvls

2009-10-23T20:26:00.000+08:00

JIA YOU EVERYONE TAKING Os!!!
God bless! Study hard! (and effectively)

2009-10-22T10:03:00.002+08:00

found this video on facebook.
meaningful (:
pass it on!

-pearly

random pictures ._.

2009-10-15T16:44:00.002+08:00

here are some random pictures from last weeks cg.
in upside down chronological order (thanks to blogger's uploader)
so for your comfort, you can scroll/read from bottom to up xD

cake!

finger licking good pregnant woman. (niuzai style)

um.. think what you want.

poor Eujin becomes "=S" by skinny latte.

pre natal blues. :)

okay :D
bye! ^^v

2009-10-14T00:41:00.001+08:00

back to school week

2009-06-28T20:07:00.003+08:00

hulllloooooooooo dearies,

if anyone is feeling back-to-school blues, yours truly is feeling it too. so for those who have exams this week (beryl, keith, eu jin) all the best, i'd be praying for you. Everyone else pray for them too, esp keith bcos he says he hasn't been studying.

speaking of competitions, it's joel's first shot at a mega-regional competition! His heats are this thurs & fri mornings. I know that if he swims well for his heats, he'd get to compete in the semi-finals on thurs & fri night respectively. I was thinking we can support him for his semi-finals by going down.

the fixtures are as such:
2 july, thur, 6.30pm-9pm: 50 m breaststroke semi-finals
3 july, fri, 6.30pm-9pm: 50 m breaststroke finals, 100 m breaststroke semi-finals
4 july, sat, 6.30pm-9pm: 100 m breaststroke finals

so, here's what i think we can do, sms me if you can go thur and/or fri. And, er, i know this will be rush, but, when IF joel does make it to the semi-finals, i'd buy tickets on that day and we can go down =D [if someone, esp the one on hol, can offer to collect from Junction 8, that'd be great].

It's $8 per ticket. not that ex lah. and we'd be supporting our very own swimming talent!! so in the mean time, pray that Joel will be able to do his best, and that he'd work out his problems with his skins (or lack of his own personal one).

Lastly, cg as usual this week, 2.30pm. & if you still have friends who are keen on youth alpha, pls sms me asap k. Aaron's friend will be coming :) :)

ok, have fun back at school, for those who get extended hols (lucky you) enjoy your time. I pray that you'd continue to be salt & light for God in your schools.

love,
ade

2009-06-21T23:37:00.003+08:00

So, anyone up for bowling as an outing? this friday. last outing before school starts. again.

orchid bowl/yishun safra. about 1/2? its probably just like the last time we went bowling. was that at orchid or safra

there's my name down there \

Youth alpha

2009-05-28T12:57:00.005+08:00

hey trig,

as you'd have seen the presentation last sunday, the youth alpha dinner is 27 june 2009 (sat). Half of our cg invited friends for the V-day event. and quite a number of you have mentioned that you believe reaching out to your friends is something God has called you to do.

So, please keep in mind friends you'd like to invite for youth alpha, which will be held every sat in july and august. & pray for them.

There's a pre-alpha event 13 june 2009 (sat) 1.30-4.30 pm organised by the youth alpha comm, which Luke is a part of;) You can invite your friends to come. The service that week is slightly special, as Pastor Timothy's preaching, it'd be more geared to the youths, and it'd be evangelistic. So, your friends can come!

Everyone: think of 2 friends you'd like to invite & we'd pray for them this sun at cg.

Lastly, here're some prayer pointers for the pre-alpha event:

Firstly that the youths friends would be open to coming at their invitation.
Next that the youths would have a good time of fellowship and bonding.
Pray for a good venue and those planning the games that they would be filled with creativity.
Pray for safety and good weather.

combined CG retreat

2009-05-28T11:53:00.005+08:00

Last week, Eu Jin and I announced the ICs for our cg retreat.

here's a brief job description for each role, and some things you can start thinking about already:

Overall - overseer
Food - decide on venue for 2 outside lunches, prepare food for bbq, 1 dinner and 1 breakfast
Prayer - various prayer pointers, how we can pray more as a cg, individuals
Worship - prepare for 3 prayer sessions (you can appoint others to lead btw)
Games - prepare 1 ice-breaker, 1 afternoon game
Logistics - decide what stuff we need based on our prog, & be responsible for them
BS/Circle Time - for now, just read Daniel chapters 1-6
Treasurer - collect retreat fees & keep tabs on money

Here are the names of the sec 1s who will be working with you, their names are in blue. We'd let you know on sun how to include them into your preparation and planning, k.

Overall - Joshua
Food - Pearly + Aaron, Chelsea
Prayer - Esther, Nina + Linus
Worship - Ethan, Joel + Denise
Games - David + Beryl, Benjamin Leow + Amber
Log - Brandon, Benjamin Lee
BS/Circle Time - Ezra + Sarah
Treasurer - Luke

CG retreat is 19, 20 june (fri, sat).

There's youth GDOP this sun, the bus leaves at 1.30pm. Let's go for 9am service, so that we can have cg lunch at 11am . WEAR A RED SHIRT. Those who usually go on sat, switch to sun just for this week k? Because a few of us have youth alpha training on sat. I really hope as many of us can come, because we've not been able to meet as a cg for quite a while. Seems weird & incomplete when some are missing.

any qns, just ask;)

ade

21may, sat

2009-05-21T01:04:00.004+08:00

ok trig,

this sat's cg will be a lil different. We'd be having combined cg games with the sec 1 cg. SO, please be in PE attire. it'd be fun! wish i could be there to join you guys.

& because i won't be around in the afternoon (have to attend gb enrollment service), i'm proposing cg dinner after the 5pm service. Eujin and I will be briefing you guys on the roles for the cg retreat 19,20june. Which reminds me, i need you guys to pray for a venue. i'm having problems with that.

last 2 items:
1. we've yet to finish distributing the bags of rice. so we'd do so after cg dinner. hopefully more ppl will be at home. pray too!
2. GDOP (global day of prayer -- youth version) is next Sun 31may. we're chartering buses to leave church at 1.30pm. we'd return to church latest 7pm. Because of that, there won't be cg next sat. So let's go together as a cg,k?

when you've read this, pls leave a tag on the board for catering purposes for cg dinner. thanks.

love,
ade

it's the small things

2009-04-19T19:11:00.002+08:00

hey trig, read this first in the light of the Bible study we had on sat on John 13. the rest of this sat's bs will come mon or tue night:

Working in an office, living in an obscure village, we may feel that what we are doing is ordinary, mere routine. We do not seem to be having an impact on what we think are the great epoch-making events of human history. But everything that we do in the Lord is extraordinary. Everything that we do in the Lord has an eternal weight. And that is why we must give our lives fully and work with all our being, using our intellect, hands and feet to the greatest ability to serve the King and to make His kingdom known.

Let me conclude with an excerpt from an ordination address given by Michael Ramsey, former Archbishop of Canterbury. In this charge to men who were being ordained to the pastoral ministry, he said:

“Amidst the vast scene of the world’s problems and tragedies, you may feel that your ministry is so small, so insignificant, so concerned with the trivial. What a tiny difference it can make to the world that you should run a youth club, (or we could say, be a staffworker for a university group), or preach to a few people in a church, or visit families with seemingly small result. But consider, the glory of Christianity is its claim that small things really matter, and that the small company, the very few, the one man, the one woman, the one child are of infinite worth to God. And let that be your inspiration. Consider our Lord Himself. Amidst a vast world with its vast empires and vast events and tragedies, our Lord devoted Himself to a small company, to small things, to individual men and women. Often giving hours of His time to the very few or to the one man or woman. In a country where there were movements and causes which excited the allegiance of many - the Pharisees, the Zealots, the Essenes and others - our Lord gave many hours to one woman of Samaria, one Nicodemus, one Martha, one Mary, one Lazareth, one Simon Peter. For the infinite worth of the one is the key to a Christian understanding of the many.

It is to a ministry like that of our Lord Himself that you are called. The gospel you preach affects the salvation of the world, and you may help your people to influence the world’s problems. But you will never be nearer to Christ than in caring for the one man, the one woman, the one child. His authority will be given to you as you do this and His joy will be yours as well.”

~ Vinoth Ramachandra, Thy Kingdom Come

good friday plans

2009-04-09T21:46:00.006+08:00

ok, here's the agenda for everyone:

9am: Good fri service
11am: service ends. proceed to bishan park
12noon: reach bishan park. Good fri reflections & sharing.
2pm: reflection ends. picnic.
3pm: leave bishan park for bowling at (place still to be confirmed)
6pm: projected end time. i think it'd be good to go home for dinner with your family.

for those who can't stay so long, try leaving after 3pm k? the reflections are really impt! oh, this good friday event replaces cg on sat.

Hope this clarifies everyone's doubts, qns & smses. Remember to bring your Bible and journal/notebook and a pen. Bring water too and a brolly in case it rains.

Oh, before i forget, you are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to fast lunch tmr, because it is Good fri, and as i'd explained last sat, i think it'd good for us to try to identify with Jesus suffering. we'd have a simple picnic tea after our reflections.

& for the girls, I know we were supposed to meet on sat 1.30pm. I was thinking of meeting earlier, like 10 or 11 am? could you sms me & let me know what's the best time on sat? thanks.

see ya tmr ;)
ade

2009-04-08T17:52:00.004+08:00

(updated 09.04.2009 9.04pm)

HEY TRIGGER! :D
it's me! again! (YES. BRANDON.)

those who have not told me what you are going to bring please tell me asap!!!! (AND BE SPECIFIC) *hinthint to ezra*

there will be around 15 people going for the outing.
estimate how much food you need to bring.
so far...
LUKE - CHIPS. (edible ones. not those in casino)
ESTHER- HOT DOGS! (in your face ezra. hot woof :D)
BERYL- Bread for Esther's hotdogs
EZRA(woooooffff)- MALAY NOODLES
PEARLY&BRANDON (i'm here!) - COOKIES! (hopefully no semolina posioning :D p.s. i dont use semolina anws :D)
EUJIN-DRINKS.
DAVID-CUPS; PLATES ; FORKS ; SPOONS

and can someone can bring some NORMAL food like... beehoon..? :x

thats all for now :)
TAG OR SMS ME PLS PLS PLS!! ( i not despo, but ltr ade bite me :X)
byeBYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

2009-04-06T23:51:00.004+08:00

Hey Trigger!

For this friday's outing, everyone needs to bring something to contribute to our lunch. (must bring enough for everybody, not one only >< )

Sms me (yes me, i am BRANDON! :D) what you are bringing or leave a tag on the tagboard. (by thursday / ASAP :D)
(MUST HOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

-Brandon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! blogged this :x
(p.s. i'm a verbal blogger. :x)

check your email

2009-04-03T10:02:00.002+08:00

hey trig,

check your email for details for Open Sun. Can't post here.

Jpm tonight.

love,
ade

i/cs for open sun

2009-03-27T12:47:00.003+08:00

ok, just some things to add to David's post, bcos the names weren't clear.

also, the name that's in bold and blue is the main i/c of the station. so please call up your partner-in-crime to decide who to buy what for tmr ok? and get the stuff prepared in time for cg.

lastly, wear sports attire everyone (that includes shoes). if anything else was left out, sms david.

CG starts at 2.30pm. remember your memory verses too!

ade

Overall in charge: David and Ethan

0.5. Ice licker

-Luke, Beryl, Ethan

1. Pac man

-Keith, Joel

2. Captain fruit

-Sarah, Ezra, Brandon

-items. FRUITS. ok, this one is tricky, please conference amongst yourselves and buy a variety of fruits. Any qns, call david.

3. Ultimate prata.

-Esther, Aaron

4. Touch papaya

-Josh, Pearly

open sunday - things you needa know.

2009-03-26T22:42:00.003+08:00

hey guys!

first post, what an accomplishment.

okay. here's what's happening for open sun. everything here's tentative, btw.

we have one ice-breaker for everyone, followed by 4 station games (two teams per station at a time). hopefully, we'll end on time.

SO.

overview:

total time. 3~ hours

venues. cana, fushan, G1,6, bbal courts opposite

0.5. Ice licker (which is our ice breaker .___. )

-manned by everyone without a station; if your name isn't below that's you.

-items needed. plastic drink bags (like the ones from 834), the clues, tubs, water (for ice), stones.

-venue. cana hall

-procedure. we freeze each team's clue (where to go, in what order) in a tub of ice. they have to lick the ice till it melts. they're timed, the ones who finish fastest will get some advantage. points, maybe. we'll see.

-note. teams dont leave once they have their clue. they wait till everyone's done before moving off. time and placing is recorded though.

1. Pac man

-Keith and Joel

-items needed. paper plates, marshmallows

-venue. G1, G6

-procedure. we put marshmallows on paper plates and teams have to walk around picking up as many as they can with their mouths. there may be monsters or whatnot, i'm not sure how it works. haha, can ask keith on sat.

2. Captain fruit

-Sarah, Eliza

-items. FRUITS (not confirmed which ones. actually, fruits may be ex, so we could end up using cabbage), and chairs.

-venue. bball courts near mrt tracks.

-procedure. its just captains ball. with fruit/veg of course.

3. Ultimate prata. HAHA.

-Esther, Aaron

-items. frozen prata (the cheap ones you can get from anywhere), chairs

-venue. bball courts near mrt tracks.

-procedure. its just ultimate frisbee. with prata of course.

4. Touch papaya

-Josh, Pearly

-items. Papayas (at least 3 total), chairs

-venue. fushan

-procedure. its just touch rugby. you get the idea.

we're having a test of the games this sat so station ICs pls find a way of getting the items you need for ONE session of the game. if really can't, you can ask some other IC to help you buy or something. whatever works la, haha. and keep the receipts! ade says "the items are so cheap, don't bother claiming from the church!!" -.- but she's probably wrong. so keep receipts.

oh, we haven't thought of prizes yet.

can discuss more this sat.

thanks for reading this whole long thingum (:

tired-ly,

.tai

p.s. ade owes us cg outing, let's not forget :D

outing postponed

2009-03-23T23:06:00.003+08:00

hey trig, i've decided to postpone our cg outing because we should test run our games for open sun. When we plan, we need to give it our best and ensure that our loopholes are covered. and also, i just realised, we've not thought of a wet weather plan. our weather has been pretty erratic, so, it'd be good to have back-up. david will blog soon to update you guys on our plan and who's in charge of which games, etc.

oh, and this sat, please come prepared to recite the last 3 Bible verses which we've agreed on:

matt 25:29, "For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."

john 15:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

2 Cor 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

no BS. oh, and girls, those with the book, you can start reading until Ch4. We're meeting next sat April 4, 12.30pm. will confirm venue later.

with love,
ade

CG Outing

2009-03-21T22:53:00.004+08:00

Im having troubles finding a perfect place for CG lunch cos i cant find a place which is cheap enough, good and near cos many dun bother to make their own websites. So is there anyone who could suggest anyplace for a buffet? Cos those i have searched so far do not have buffet promos during weekends...

So for those who want to respond to my request, please leave suggestions in the tag box so i can check them out for u guys:):D:P

Thank you!!!

memory verse for 14 mar

2009-03-15T23:16:00.002+08:00

We went thru matt 25:14-30
Memory verse is matt 25:29
For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.
Whoever who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

THANKS ADELINE FOR TREATING US TO DINNER!
*lights fireworks in Adeline's honour*

Too bad for those who didn't come XD

-Esther

MEMORY VERSE!!! :D

2009-03-09T22:56:00.002+08:00

HELLO ESTHER HERE!

i'm here to remind you to remind your memory verse (duh)

it's john 15:5...

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

i bet a lot of you are secretly planning to whack me now thanks to my sadistic tendency of reminding you to remember verses.

In response to the previous 2 posts (essays) posted:

For we walk by faith, not by sight:
2 cor 5:11

2009-03-08T20:39:00.003+08:00

it is hard, no one says it was going to be easy.
i once thought that if i had doubts and sins in my heart, i've no business in church whatsoever. no right to serve, no right to be in the presence of God. but it struck me that if it is so, no one would be in church. In defense to my last statement i'm not saying that just live with your doubts and go about your christian life with that elephant in the room, never addressing it. What i'm saying is go to church with an open heart to hear God or rather listen to God. When there are doubts in your heart it can go two ways
1) oh i have doubts and therefore i should now be less confident of being a christian
2) is this a burden God has placed in my heart?

How to serve God with doubts in your heart? i think what has happened is that these doubts have turned into guilt unknowingly inside you and this wound of guilt and doubts have been festering making it unseemingly harder to come to terms with. I hope you'll move on from it being a festering wound of guilt and doubt into a burden that you can use to serve God with. Its a total 360 degrees turn from the angle you are coming at and i hope that you do not think I'm trying to sound godly or anything but rather that I'mas broken as you are if not more.

Sometimes you want answers to burning questions. but what if sometimes answers to questions are more questions, just more and more questions, more and more questions. These questions would take a lifetime to approach and analyse and account for, more than anyone on earth can sacrifice? In addition, some answers do not not answer but question. In that case, answers make more sense if you have derived them yourself. Threfore i urge you to consider why sometimes people in church dont give you answers, but questions. I've come to the conclusion myself that nobody's answers make more sense to me that my own answers. You may think then why bother asking anyone at all? i think that its is a journey that you must embark on to answer your own question.

i mean look at it with a changed attitude. What if this is an oppotunity not a crisis? It may not seem that way now when you are confused and just seeking an answer, but i assure you everything happens for a reason.

Well if i want to be an advocate of advice to you, i guess i also have to admit my shortcomings. I want to explain why i have not come to church for the past month. Just having noticed it myself, i was using work as an excuse not to come to church but whats the real underlying reason, could it be that i was trying to avoid? avoid people who seems to be superior than me in action and thoughts? avoid people who care for me knowing that i've let then down once again? guilty and worn out from the mask i was wearing i decided it was way easier to avoid. cowardice you may call it. However now, i realise that the farce i wear in church is becoming way too thin and i'm determined not to be two faced anymore. I'm coming back different from before. determined to be nicer and care for the poepl around me who care. Learn from my mistakes, avoidance is the key to not getting your answers.

Lastly i just want to say that God may have noticed us sticking to one gift that he has given us, and that we focus so much on this particular gift that we neglect our other gifts. It may be for this purpose, that he wants us to develope the other bigger gift he has placed in your life, that he dormants the gift we are so keen in. to readjust our focus, to remember that all gifts are from him and that no gift should be bigger than the maker/giver of these gifts themselves. If we could realise, maybe just worshipping God without the baggage of noticing anything else then could be a lesson God wants us to learn.

Having said all that i just want to leave everyone with food for thought;
When God is the greatest moral, how can you call someone without God more moral than you.

p.s. we all care, really and we hope that you will be able to stand on your feet soon. Work this burden for you and not as a guilt against you. On a lighter note, this isnt something i tell guys often but i'm just a phonecall away, i could be your listening ear.

-keith

2009-03-08T12:20:00.002+08:00

Hey.

Just for anyone who doesn't know yet, I left cg yesterday, and pretty much (for now, at least) renounced my faith. Didn't eat bread or ribena at service either, didn't sing.

Its not really so much that I don't believe in God, to be honest. Its more like I don't really know how to love God like this.

There have been some questions on my mind for a long time that I've been putting off because I was...occupied. And these questions...it really takes knowing certain things that most of you don't in order to realize, and feel indignant about the system of how Christianity works.

If I'm to be completely honest as I have been already...it takes a lot to declare in front of a whole church of Christians that you really doubt your faith-than yeah, the truth is that if someone could actually decently come up with a reason as to why God operates the way he does.

Keith said 'an idle mind is the devil's workshop', but that's really not what's going on with me right now.

Or you could say that its this world at fault and not God? The God we love is supposed to be perfect and just. Someone told me that he lived by the principle that God wasn't fair, which really shocked me, because while it didn't really help me, it gave me something to think about.

I dont know how you guys know how to react to this.

Some of you have already been defensive. Particularly people I thought would be mature enough not to take anger at this kind of thing, to have the audacity to demand an answer from me. Caleb once said that cg leaders aren't more perfect, they're more broken, hence they can teach for experience and guide us away from what they're had the misfortune to go through. And while I don't always believe that they're 'more' broken, the truth is-we're all damaged goods. At least to those of you who really can't stand to even look at me, then tough luck because if that's what being a Christian is, than I'm amused at how similar it is to the way the world operates.

For those of you who have been indifferent, I'm going to take it that you either can't figure out what to say to me or you just don't care. Adeline once said that when someone part of the body is hurting, we should all be hurting. I think most of you know what I'm referring to. But for me...well I don't pretend to understand if I can't. Maybe once I used to be able to understand...but I can't now, so do you will.

Those who are just surprised...well some of you who knew me back in the day know that while I haven't always been the most serious Christian, I was baptized, and I was pretty confident, pretty determined to save people. To save anyone and everyone, to be precise. And I still believe that. When we were mock tortured in youth camp, I didn't renounce my faith then (though I'm pretty sure no one did, since everyone knew it wasn't actually real despite the whole eating crap thing.) because even at this point I believe in Christianity. I believe in a relationship with God and that he died to save us, but right now, it doesn't mean I'm happy with him, his system, and I am struggling to love him. I really struggle to love him.

See, I would die for what I believe in. I believe that God really did want to save all of us. I believe that God exists, that he does love me (otherwise it would be much harder to grasp the idea that he even exists), that you know, we're chosen and all that. That we're meant to go out and save people by his name. And I'd rather die than renounce the things that I believe in-I really would.

But at the same time, I believe that people who are more moral than you and I shouldn't be born destined to go to hell regardless of what we do in this time. I believe that the term 'free will' is false and its not something I can respect. Because really, what idiot wants to go to hell? Its not a choice. And maybe I'd rather go to hell than see people that I care about end up there, but what good would that do?

Do I resent God for it?
...yeah.

Some of you might take offense, or become more argumentative about proving your point.

Its not that I'm not open minded. Trust me, I'm more open minded about many things than some of you might think (especially keith, lols.). Its really that if you're going to argue, than say it logically. Think about it, come up with decent points and don't get upset if something I say contradicts what you say. Because I'm not unreasonable, and I WANT to go back to church withh my head held up high and declaring I'm a Christian, but how could I possibly do that with doubt in my heart?

Because there's going to be a point of time where YOU become old enough to question yourself. Maybe you already have. Maybe you won't be so in doubt or crushed by the reality of this lack or loss of faith as I havem but you will doubt God, because we're not perfect. We're not able to love unconditionally.

But we're trying.

And I guess what I really want to say, in the midst of this is that I'm sorry. For anyone who feels I let them down. I don't think any of you were looking at me as a spiritual leader or anything. Maybe a basketball leader, but not a spiritual leader. But just in case you were, I really apologize. I backslided, I guess. But well. I'm definetely damaged goods, and you won't see me denying it.

I...really want to be forgiven.

...but how do you love God when you're like this?

Luke

2009-03-08T03:29:00.003+08:00

umm HELLO :)
i have created an 'universal' account as requested by adeline.
i'll try to sms you guys the username and password asap.
the word GOD is in caps, but somehow appeared in small letters :(
well, have a great week ahead :D

-pearly.

Joshua's QT

2009-03-07T08:16:00.002+08:00

Read James: 5 1-6

Jesus said it, Paul said it, and James says it. Be careful with money, it is dangerous because its so easy for us to put it on top of the 'most important' list.
"We should love people and use things, not use people and love things"
In verse 2, James writes that 'money will not last' What we can take out of this world is relationships, and that's whats important
James holds the thought of having friends as 'a high priority'

From Adeline's guideline,
the Sin to avoid is placing money over friends
the Promise to claim is the exact opposite?
i don't exactly have an Example
the Command is to ask God to help you invest your time in relationships and people
Knowledge gained is that 'money will not last'

How important is money to you?

Have a great day,
sorry this was long overdue :S

7 March's Bible Study

2009-03-03T15:23:00.003+08:00

hey, this week, let's do things this way, apply SPECK according to the following passages from John 15: 1-11 and Matt 25:14-30.

There's JPM this friday 8-10pm.
CG same time at 2.30pm at G6.

that's all! have a good week :)

love,
ade

p/s. something to think about. do you agree with these lines from a song:

Lie awake in bed at night
And think about your life
Do you want to be different?
Try to let go of the truth
The battles of your youth
'Cause this is just a game

Ezra's QT

2009-03-03T07:38:00.000+08:00

Hey guys...

Ok was reading 1 peter 3:13-14

"Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even you should suffer for what is right , you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as lord.

Well...im sure most of us have heard it but i guess most of us had not been following it very often.

I feel that it renewed my determination to be a more 'God-sensitive' person than 'world-sensitive'. Hope it helps u guys:):):)

Many people tend to laugh at us when we are trying to be 'saints among them, there are a some among us..

Those who are already doing whats right, especially, get a lot more of criticism from others...
Guess thats God's opposition party trying to weaver ur faith, so be strong in the Lord...and "do not fear what they fear" for u know the Lord is (quoted from David) sovereign, they don't.

Gdnite and stay strong!! God bless!!:):):):):)

Esther's QT

2009-03-01T19:50:00.001+08:00

Proverbs 25: 21-22

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty give him water to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

According to Adeline's acronym, SPECK, i guess it should fall under command...

Well, I guess the command is obvious, nevertheless, i shall analyse this the E.lit way.

There is a paradox in the first verse, because there is a contradiction in what would be expected. As human beings with sin, when we see our enemy(ies) in distress, we would gloat at them and enjoy the sight of being tortured. However, God tells us that when we see our enemies, we should help them, and "in doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head". Thus, we, as christians, should learn to love our enemies and help them out in their times of need "and the Lord will reward you."

The phrase "heap burning coals on his head" can be interpreted in two ways:

1. You will make the enemy feel bad and guilty towards you. (hence you have triumphed over the enemy!)

2. Bring them warmth. (therefore you are a nice and obedient christian who loves and respects the Lord and follows his command.)

I think it's really up to the reader to decide which way suits better.
So, in conclusion, we should help out people who are in need, even those that you hate, because it will please the Lord!

David's QT

2009-02-27T13:39:00.003+08:00

Read: Acts 6:3 - 8:2

Stephen was the first martyr of the Christian faith. All most Christians remember about the story of Stephen is that he was stoned to death. he was also a good administrator and a powerful orator. And it was his speech that invited his death. Stephen knew Jesus Christ was who he claimed to be - the Messiah, the Son of God. And he just couldn't keep quiet about it. He desperately wanted those around him to experience forgiveness for their sins, as he had. He was burdened for his community and his people. He wanted them to know the true joy that only God can give.

So he talked about Jesus. A lot. In fact, he talked so much he made his listeners angry. You see, he didn't just talk fluff. He called sin by its rightful name: Sin. And he accused them of murdering Jesus, the Messiah. The high council of priests panicked at the thought of their evil deeds being exposed. So they had him stoned.

Can you imagine dying by having people throw sharp stones and rocks at you? It was an excruciating death. Yet, as Stephen was dying, he prayed that God would forgive those who stoned him. Even in his last moments of life, he was concerned about the needs of others.

And to those who knew him, that was no surprise. Stephen made it a habit to help those in need. He was one of seven leaders chosen to supervise distribution of food to the poor, and he took his responsibilities seriously. Because Stephen had fulfilled small assignments with excellence, he was prepared for the bigger assignment - that of giving his life for the gospel.

What kind of risks have you taken to be a follower of Christ? Are you willing to die for him? How about living for him... day by day by day?

Bottom line: God wants you to speak out for him, but he also wants to use your lifestyle. Do your actions reflect him?

Pray: Before you can give your life for the Lord's sake, you must first live your life for his sake. Ask God to strengthen you and give you the courage to live for him... and, if necessary, to die for him.

SPECKs in the Bible ;)

2009-02-25T09:46:00.003+08:00

hey everyone,

just something to help you as you do your QT. in case some of you read and feel nothing's really applicable, when you read, you can follow this simple acronym --SPECK:

Sin to avoid
Promise to claim
Example to follow
Command to obey
Knowledge to learn

lastly, remember there's NO CG this sat. we're having Open sunday at 11am. go for 9am service. Bring the consent forms signed.

&Girls see you for lunch at causeway point this sat at 12.30pm. it wont take more than 2 hours:)

love,
ade

Aaron's QT

2009-02-22T22:58:00.002+08:00

“ David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them were all bitterly grieved, each man for his sons or daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the LORD his God”
1 samuel 30:6

a. david was in distress because the amalekites wanted to stone him.
b. But in the lord, he found strength to believe in himself

1. Believing in the lord for strength and encouragement is very important
2. Confidence is something you choose to have
3. One should not wait for people to encourage them to believe in them because ultimately it is they themselves that makes the decision

However, to have that strength to believe in yourself is never an easy task. This is because it is hard to gain assurance and security to do it alone.
But I believe in god’s strength you will be able to believe in yourself because HE believes in you.

Validation

2009-02-19T11:18:00.005+08:00

hey, some of you may have watched it on my blog already. i woke up this morning, with a chest heavy with green phelgm (ugh. pray for me) and the bright idea that this video would be a good example of us being ambassadors. so watch it, and i hope you are encouraged ;)

smile,
ade

21 feb

2009-02-17T22:06:00.003+08:00

hey,
this sat, there's youth worship in Hebron at 1.30pm before cg at 2.30pm. so see ya ;)

also, continue to be an ambassador for Christ, we'd share about it on sat.

lastly, kudos to all of you for the V-day event ;) to those who were serving as waiters, comm and those who brought your friends! Be prepared! don't get tired of introducing yourselves every week, it may become a regular protocol in cg :)

& for those who have been praying along with sarah for more girls, haha. eversince the year began, beryl, esther & michelle (and soon, valerie: welcome back!) -- you girls have been our answered prayers. God hears our prayers!

love,
ade

Be a man and woman of action.

2009-02-10T20:30:00.004+08:00

Hey trig, NO CG this sat. but, there's youth and of course the V-day event in the evening.
Do come to pray for God to soften the hearts of the people coming this sat, from 2.30-4.30pm. Venue: ask Joshua.

On the same note, there's Befrienders session on Friday, 7.30-9.30pm. Venue: one of the galilee rooms. The 5 of you who are bringing friends on sat, it's really important to come. I know you love your friends (that's why you invited them right?). If God's really real, you would want to talk to them about it. And I know it's difficult to talk about Jesus to our friends, that's why it is very important to come to learn how to share your testimony and talk about God without intimidating them. For the other 3 of you who signed up but aren't bringing friends, come too! You can help befriend your friend's friends and answer questions posed. This fri we will be learning how to Handle Objections. Sometimes, our friends ask us the hardest question. Let's learn to know what to say and do when that happens.

Lastly, I was thinking about our last bs on sat, about being ambassadors for Christ. On sat, I could see that you guys were sincere about wanting to kill those bad habits and loving God in action. SO, let's have a cg challenge. Whatever we prayed about in our small groups last sat, GO DO IT this week and next. When we come back for cg session next sat, let's be prepared to share how it went. Whether it was difficult, or your friends noticed the change in you, etc. I'd be prepared to share mine too.

James 1:22-27

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.
But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

love,
ade

BS for 7 Feb

2009-02-02T12:32:00.009+08:00

Hey, we'd finish off the BS questions from our last session, do them in your journals :) Before you answer the questions, read this article about Micheal Phelps first, (CLICK HERE). [Pearly!! is there anyway to change hyperlinks to another colour, so that it's more obvious??]
(pearly: UHHH MAMA... is this obvious enough? :DD)

1.What is Phelps an ambassador of? How has the report of Phelps smoking marijuana tarnished his image as an ambassador? What do you think about what Phelps has done?

2. What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ? (v20)
Think of concrete ways you can be an ambassador for Christ in your school, your CCA, leisure time, home, etc..

3. In v21, Paul says God saved us so that we might become "the righteousness of God".
What do you think it mean to be the "righteousness of God"?

4. From the way you are living your life now, do you think you have become "the righteousness of God"? Why/why not?

Some announcements:
1. JPM this friday, 8 to 10pm. Come and pray!
2. Befrienders session, sat 7.15 - 8.45pm. Come learn how to share your personal testimony with your friends.

Oh, before I end off, I know, and also can see written very plainly on your faces, some of you are rather tired. It could be the mountain of schoolwork piled on you, many responsibilities in school (and church and home and etc), stress from yourself, you fell sick. Or you could be just tired, and you don't know why. Do try to sleep an hour earlier. It's impossible to be productive with insufficient rest. & I pray you'd receive physical rest and turn to God who's the Source of all rest.

love,
ade

2009-01-30T20:28:00.002+08:00

where did the blogger icon go to?
it got replaced by the cross icon! :D
okay random :X
happy chinese new year to all! :D

& Esther and Michelle,
can give me your email and birthdate?
so that i can add you as an author? :D

WEEKENDS ARE HEREEEEEEEEEEE :D

byebye.

weekend happenings

2009-01-28T23:54:00.003+08:00

only 2 announcements!

1. we'd be visiting Keith & Ezra's homes this sun. meet in church at 11am, so please go for 5pm or 9am service ya? oh! remember to bring a pair of oranges for bai nian (pay respect). I know it's old-fashioned, but it's good to keep some traditions alive, we christians have killed so many :)

Keith's mom says she will prepare lunch for us. But if the rest of you want to bring food (bcos we said we'd do potluck), please let keith know via sms k?

2. This sat, there's a session on How To Make Small Talk with our friends. It's organized by the Befrienders from the V-day comm, to help us learn how to have meaningful conversations with our friends. It's 3-4.30pm. Venue will prob be one of the Galilee rooms.

Since there's no cg this sat, you are highly encouraged to come for this session. hope to see you there :) please sms me by fri to let me know if you are coming for this session.

3. No Bible study to prepare this week. so, yes, we can all heave a sigh of relief ;)

love,
ade

this sat, 24 jan

2009-01-23T20:41:00.004+08:00

Hey trigger,

the new set of questions! there are 4, qn1 is a repeat of the last Bible study session. so do think it through deeper, because we didn't really get much time to do so the last time. sorry for rushing!! hopefully tomorrow we can share at a deeper level ;)

oh, a few announcements:
1. CNY visitation. we'd confirm a date tomorrow, but looks like we'd most prob visit on 7Feb Sat. ask your parents if they're willing to open up their homes for our growing cg to visit!
2. Pastor Edward says we MUST finish home blessing by this sunday, if not the oranges will be rotten. So, tomorrow after service or after cg, we die-die must finish.
3. Caleb says please bring the consent forms for Feb Open Sunday, signed.

2 Corinthians 5: 17-21
1. John Wesley said,

All things are become new - He has new life, new senses, new faculties, new affections, new appetites, new ideas and conceptions.

From v17, list in YOUR LIFE, the old things that have gone, and the new that have come.

2. Why do you think God reconciled us to him? (v18)

3. What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ? (v20)
Think of concrete ways you can be an ambassador for Christ in your school, your CCA, leisure time, home, etc..

4. In v21, Paul says God saved us so that we might become "the righteousness of God". From the way you are living your life now, do you think you have become "the righteousness of God"? Why/why not?

Times by Tenth Avenue North

2009-01-11T21:16:00.002+08:00

hey, just came across this video. The song's by the same band that put up By Your Side.

2009-01-10T09:23:00.002+08:00

check mail please :)
author invitation sent out.
accept it and you will be able to post here :D

and i need the birthdate and email of these three ppl.
-Keith
-Ezra
-Lydia
PM me in MSN or sms the details to me.
TYVM!!!!! :D

fyi, i'm pearly :O

2Cor Bible study for sat

2009-01-08T17:14:00.003+08:00

Hi Trigger, please read 2 Corinthians 5 (the WHOLE chapter) and answer the questions below.
You can use the journal I gave u guys at watchnight.

1. In vs 12, Paul says there are people who take pride in "what is seen rather than what is in the heart".
a) How do we take pride in what is "seen"?
b) How do we take pride in "the heart"?

2a. Honestly, who/what do you live for?

b)What does Paul say in vs 15 that we should live for?

3. What does it mean to regard from a "worldly point of view" vs16?
Is your point of view, "wordly?

4. What does it mean to "regard" Christ vs16?

5. What does it mean to be "in Christ" vs 17?
b. What does it mean to be "a new creation"?
c. List "old" things that have gone and "new" that have come.

2009-01-02T19:53:00.001+08:00

arlo arh

DONE!

2008-12-30T20:43:00.002+08:00

skin completed 8.43pm.
30 DECEMBER 2008 :D
rate please.
& please post up your email for blogger on the tagboard so that i can add you into the admin!
THANKS! :D

:D

:DDDDD

2008-11-10T08:41:00.001+08:00

sample of how html commands look like on this skin :)

UNDERLINE ME :D
I'M BOLD!
~~STRIKEDDD!!~~
X-TRA SMALL.
SMALL
NORMAL
LARGE
XTRA LARGE!!!

UHH BLOCKQUOTING