Prayer Support & More

There are a few major things happening in our church family over the next few weeks.

Indonesia Service

Firstly, on this coming Saturday (31 March), we will be having our Indonesia for the first time in Bayview Hotel. We are all very excited about it and we are trusting God for great things. There are over 90,000 Indonesians residing in Singapore and we want to really let God make a big difference in their lives. They in turn will do many other exploits for the Kingdom as well.

Please pray with us for a stronger leadership base in our Indo group. Pray also for our end January 2008 goal of 100 people in our services.

Hope Kids Vision 4-4-1

Secondly, we are also having vision 4-4-1 in our Hope Kids Ministry. 4-4-1 refers to having 4 outreach teams for 4 bus routes working towards having 1 great service! We are launching it from this Sunday (1 April) onwards. This is no April's Fool joke!









We want to do more than just receiving kids when their parents come to church. We want to reach kids whose parents are not in church as yet. We believe that through the transformed lives of their kids, we will reach their entire families as well.

These 4 outreach teams will be involved in the 4 bus routes throughout Singapore. We want to eliminate any inconvenience that blocks these kids from coming to Jesus. Jesus said, "let the little children come to me."

Please pray that we will implement that 4-4-1 well. Pray for strength and tenacity for the leaders as we work hard towards making this a success.

Easter Outreach

Lastly, we want to be outrageous in our spreading of God's grace during this Easter season. Christmas and Easter are the two most significant dates on the Christian calendar.

Please be intentional in the spreading of grace during this season. I want to encourage you to work and pray along with the rest of the church. We want to see many people being touched by God during this Easter season.

We are having a per-Easter weekend on this coming Saturday and Sunday. Then we will be having our Easter weekend on the 7 & 8 April. For the next following two weekends, we will be having our post-Easter weekend to help retain the new believers as well as to help those who are still seraching to cross the line of faith.

Let's get onboard together!

6 Weird Things About Me...

I got tagged by JX. Not wanting to be outdated and uncool... here's my list....

These are the rules:
Each player of this game starts out by giving 6 weird things about themselves.
People who get tagged need to write in a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rules clearly.
In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names.
After you do that, leave them each a comment letting them know you tagged them and to read your blog!

1. I like to watch slow moving melodrama

I like these sorts of movies especially when those that move the human spirit. Movies like Hotel Rwanda, Cinderella Man, I Am Sam, The Pianst are just some that I can think of. I do not really fancy movies like LOTR, Star Wars or Matrix. They are too high tech for me and I do not understand why the characters do not walk, die or fart like normal people.

2. I am rather particular about how things are placed around me

On my desk and in my house, things have to be placed in the exact place. When someone merely touches the things around me, I would know. For example, the air-con controller in my study room has to be placed parallel to the edges of the table. It sounds like Oppressive Compulsive behavior but I assure you that it is not... at least not so serious yet.

3. I bathe a lot

When I am at home for the whole day, I can bathe up to 3-4 times per day. Because my heat tolerance is rather low, bathing is one sure way to keep myself cool... physically and emotionally.

4. I often brush my teeth after meals

Though my pearly whites are not really that white or properly aligned, I have this habit of brushing and flossing my teeth regularly. When I am in the office, I would mostly brush my teeth after meals. By the way, I use Colgate. LO would laugh at me when I floss. Because I floss so hard, he would ask me to take it easy so that the teeth won't fall out.

5. I often fall asleep during movies

Perhaps I am getting old, I often fall asleep during movies. It does not matter how exciting the scene is, I would still fall asleep. I once watch Jaws and I did not get to see the shark at all as I fell asleep at the very front part of the movie and only woke up to know that the shark had already been disposed of.

6. I am generally quite normal

People may think that I am generally weird. So the weird thing that you may not know is that I am actually quite normal. If I have my way, I would term this entry as 6 unusual or special things about me. But to begin with, who really defines normalcy?

Sorry, I have to break the rules here by not tagging it on to another 6 persons... I am the rules-stater as well as the rules-breaker.

Vocals Training

Since years ago, I had been taught that it was important for me to learn to speak from the diaphragm and not from the throat. Not only does it sound better, it will also preserve my voice for the long haul. I heard about it but I had never really learnt it.

So just last two Mondays, I had been going for the vocals training class. It was a small class with only 3 students, me being one of them.

During the first class last week, the first gentlemen introduced himself to us and to the trainer. He is presently working as an IT manager in a MNC and is thinking of a career switch to broadcasting. He spoke with a really deep voice and he articulated his words very clearly. I was wondering to myself, “why is he here?!?”

Then a rather slim lady did her introduction. Her voice was unbelievable. Her voice was really rich and strong and her diction was immaculate. In her introduction, she made mention that she does voice over and radio ads for a living. I wondered to myself, “why is she here?!?!?”

Then in was my turn. I introduced myself in my usual throaty voice and poor diction. I could almost read everyone’s mind in that room… “why is he here?!?!?!?!?!”

I felt so vulnerable. Every time I was asked to read a passage or even just a sentence, I felt like the whole world would cave in on me there and then. It’s been totally ego-crashing. But it’s been good as well.

I began to learn a lot about my own speech pattern (to be exact, wrong speech pattern). I also got to learn how I should project my voice from my diaphragm and not my throat. It is anything but natural at this point in time. I just have to keep working at it until I get it.

For the second class, I think I did better than the first class. Firstly, I do not think it can get any worse. Secondly, perhaps the trainer has the gift of compassion and she threw in some words of encouragement to preserve any bit of human dignity that still residues in me.

After speaking the same way for 30 over years, it is not easy to break many habits. But with God and being determine, I hope to go to the next level…

Steamed Fish Head In Hot Sauce

Here’s yet another hot tip for you... steamed fish head in hot sauce... you should really try this.

There are many stores (more than 5 as I recall) that sell steamed fish head at the Chinatown Complex Food Centre. Those of us who were with our church since KAPT days would know this eating place well.

The original place is under renovation and it is now temporary relocated just behind Outram MRT station.

This particular store is really nice. I cannot say that I have tried every other stores that served the same dish but this one is really quite good.

One fish head costs $13 and it can feed two normal human beings quite nicely. For some of us, perhaps we need one just for our own!

The waiting time is rather long. We waited for around 20-25 minutes for our steamed fish head. And this is not during the peak period! There are many other waiting customers. Business is so hot that the owner even installed a touch-screen register (like those at MacDonald’s).

The fish is really fresh and if you are an expert in “excavating” fish head, there are many tasty but unknown parts behind the head that is waiting to be uncovered.

Please try it and let us know your experience.

Enjoy!

John Stott On Ambition

This is one of the many quotes that I have kept in my computer for some time already. It is from John Stott.

John Stott is a British Christian leader and Anglican clergyman who is noted as a leader of the worldwide evangelical movement. He has written over 40 books, including Basic Christianity and The Cross of Christ


In a November 2004 editorial on John Stott, New York Times said that "if evangelicals could elect a pope, Stott is the person they would likely choose."



You can learn more about his ministry at http://www.johnstott.org/

There was this quote from him on ambition that moved me deeply. Too often, our dreams and pre-occupations are so minute as compared to God’s dream for us.

Ephesians 3:20 (The Message)
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Here’s John Stott on Ambition…

The motto of our generation is, “Safety first.” Many young men are looking for a safe job in which they can feather their nest, secure their future, insure their lives, reduce all risk, and retire on a fat pension.

There is nothing wrong in providing for your future, but this spirit pervades our lives until life becomes soft and padded and all adventure is gone. We are so thickly wrapped in cotton wool that we can neither feel the pain of the world nor hear the Word Of God…

Jesus did not remain in the social immunity of heaven, or hide away in the safety of the skies. He entered the zone of danger, risking contamination… How can we make safety our ambition?

Say No To No!

Below is a very interesting advertisement by Shell that inspired me. What the world call being positive is what we would termed as being faith-filled.

There are people who want to pull others down to their own low level of inadequacy, insecurities or faithlessness. We must be careful that we do not get sucked into the same realm.

Let’s live it up and take things higher...

Say No To No!

Isn't it high time someone got negative about negativity?
Yes it is.
Look around. The world is full of things that, according to nay-sayers, should never have happened.
"Impossible."
"Impractical."
"No."
And yet "yes."
Yes, continents have been found.
Yes, men have played golf on the moon.
Yes, straw is being turned into bio-fuel to power cars.
Yes, yes, yes.
What does it take to turn no into yes?
Curiosity. An open mind. A willingness to take risk.
And, when the problem seems most insoluble, when the challenge is hardest, when everyone else is shaking their heads, to say: let's go.

List Of Great Questions

Someone once said, "I am not afraid of people asking questions; I am more afraid of people always giving the same answers!"

Asking great question is often the beginning of great discoveries. Excellent asnwers are birth from excellent questions. So, we need to learn to ask questions with regards to the things around us as well as the issues within us.

Moreover, a leader is also a learner and a learner is a student of himself.

Below are a list of great questions that deserve good answers. The list is not exhaustive...

Question in Leadership
Who am I discipling at the present moment?

2 Timothy 2:2
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

Question in Ministry
How can I do it better the next time?

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men

Question in Outreach
Who and when did I last share the gospel with?

1 Corinthians 9:16
Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Question in Spiritual Growth
What is God dealing with in my life now?

Ephesians 4:13
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Question in Accountability
Who can I be completely honest with regarding my struggles?

Romans 14:12
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Question in Prayer Life
What & when did God speak to me the last time?

1Thessalonians 5:17
pray continually

Question in Giving
When was the last time I gave until it hurts?

2 Corinthians 8:3
For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,

May we all learn to be brutually honest with ourselves with these self-searching (not self-condemning!) questions.

ps: this lesson was prepared in May 1999 for the youth leaders of Hope Singapore

How To Celebrate Unto God?

As I was praying the other day, I was reminded of the many leadership lessons that I had taught and covered after having been in our church for the past 15 years. I was thinking of how I can maximize these lessons for the Kingdom. If I do nothing with them, they will be wasted or at best, not be fully used for His purpose.

So what I set to do is to place some of these lessons on the blog. In this way, it will reach more people. It will reach more people in Singapore and even overseas. And my prayer is that these lessons will firstly be learnt, practiced and then passed on to others. In this way, we hope to bless more people.

The lessons may not be in the full text but I hope that it would still be of help. It is not our usual Worship Service expository style; here I try to gather different elements of celebration from the text.

So here’s the first one…

Text: 2 Chronicles 30

Title: How To Celebrate Unto God?

As leaders, one of the important things that we need to do is to celebrate with our teams. Celebration is a big thing that is often overlooked and under-utilized. As believers, we of all people, have the greatest reason to celebrate.

And when we reached our set goals and achieved our targets, we have to celebrate. We cannot not do anything about it. There is indeed cause for celebration when we achieve great things in the Kingdom.

I know of groups that celebrate regularly when they reach certain set achievements. And when they celebrate well (as compared to a not so good celebration), they were strengthened and this would in turn give them encouragement to take the next hill and face the next challenge. It is a wonderful cycle to have.

1) Invite All That Are Involved To The Celebration (v1)

We need to get all that are involved to come for the celebration. Do our very best to ensure that no one is overlooked. All who played any part are to be invited.

Supporting Verses: Nehemiah 12:27-28, Exodus 10:9, Exodus 12:47

2) Make The Celebration Details Known Beforehand (v2)

We cannot afford to play be ear for such situations. The reason is that we want to be as inclusive as we possibly can. No one should miss out due to the lack or poor communication.

Supporting Verses: Numbers 9:2-3, Exodus 23:14

3) Celebrate Unto The Lord (v1, v5-v9)

As believers, we should have the God-element in all celebration; especially when it is celebration pertaining to the progress of the Kingdom cause.

It is a good time for the leaders to help in re-focusing on God’s goodness and vision. We just cannot remind people enough of God’s love and God’s vision. Using celebration to do so is both a natural and creative way.

Supporting Verse: Exodus 23:14

4) Celebrate To The Fullest Measure (v21)

In celebration, we need to do it fully according to the culture and ways that are befitting to the people. If we only do it half-heartedly, it could leave a sense of incompleteness and even a dissatisfied after-taste.

Being believers who eternities are sealed and glorious, we should have the greatest reason to celebrate.

Supporting Verse: Nehemiah 8:12

5) Use The Celebration To Strengthen The People (v22)

Wise leaders will wisely use the opportunity to strengthen and to encourage the people. I have never seen people who are over-encouraged but I have seen tons that are discouraged.

Wise leaders will also use the celebration of God’s goodness and faithfulness as a platform to reach higher heights.

Supporting Verses: Psalm 145:7, Exodus 12:17

6) Leaders Have To Give Sacrificially For The Celebration (v24)

In celebration, the leaders must contribute things that mean something to them. This reveals their heartfelt appreciation to the people that they are leading.

For example, those who are rich could give better treat at restaurants while those that are not as well off could give the best that they can afford.

Supporting Verses: Luke 15:22-24, John 3:16

So let's all do better in this department of our leadership!

109 Teochew Yong Tau Foo

As I do not want to be accused as a promoter of unhealthy food, allow me to introduce to you a tasty and healthy (sounds like a paradox but it is true!) Teochew meal.

Yong Tau Foo is commonly known as a Hakka food. But we discover this very tasty Teochew version at Syed Alwi Road. The exact address is 216-6, Syed Alwi Road (Jalan Besar) Tel:(65)62991643.

The food is simple and good. It goes easy on the stomach and does not give you a bloated after feeling (provided that you do not overeat).

The ingredients are all freshly prepared on the spot and there seems to be very little, if any, trace of msg in the food. It is the kind of food that ladies would mostly like and guys would learn to enjoy as they age.

The noodles is the typical “law-mee” style. The homemade chilli goes really well with the food.

The food for both Claudia and I (two bowls of noodles, 12 pieces of Yong Tau Foo plus one lime juice) costs us only S$6.60. That is really good value for money. The first time when I visited and when they told me the cost, I thought that they must have miscalculated.


















And if you are into politics, you may even have the opportunity to talk with Sylvia Lim over Teochew Yong Tau Foo. The Workers' Party Head Office is just next door.

The 15th Day Of Chinese New Year

Let me begin by admitting that Liverpool did indeed played better than Man U at Anfield last night. Liverpool dominated most of the game but they just couldn’t finish their well orchestrated passes. I was so nervous to see Man U under siege that I switched to other channels after having tuned in at the later part of the game. It was too nerve wrecking for me.

As the game progressed, I was praying for a draw and then, as fate would determine it, John O’Shea scored the winning goal two minutes into injury time! Hopefully, Man U will be crowned the Champions of England.

I started this morning with the Hope Kids Live! Service. It’s a fantastic place to be serving God in. Hong Teck and his team have been doing a wonderful job there. For me, it’s really not easy to preach to kids. I have to work really hard to capture their attention to what I was trying to communicate. Hong Teck fedback to me, and I agreed that I should have used some objects lessons and props to aid me.

The 20 minutes teaching/preaching took so much out of me that I was virtually a slow-mobility zombie at the end of the class. I dragged my body to the 2nd Adults Service after the Hope Kids Live! preaching.

As tonight was the last night of the Chinese New Year celebration, we met at my parents place for dinner. Dinner was a really sumptuous steamboat meal. Mum would always use the best ingredients for everything that was served. It was food of the highest standard.

My sister also prepared a white fungus and papaya double-boiled with rock sugar dessert. The whole dinner was delicious and most satisfying.

Not only does today mark the last day of the CNY celebration, it would also mark the first day of watching my diet (by God’s grace!). For the past 15 days, I would have eaten enough food to feed a whole village in some remote part of China!

I need to be working on my diet, health and fitness for the coming days. In the next few weeks, there will be weekend with 6 preaching and I need to be prepared.

Easter is here… harvest is here as well…

Some Interesting Numbers

Just had a meeting with the pastoral leaders for each congregation. As a church, we did really well for the 2006 ministry year (to be exact it is February 2006 to January 2007). Allow me to give some numbers to wow you…

On the worship service front, we reached a total of 505 more people. We grew from 2700 to around 3200. That’s an annual growth of 18.5%.

On the small group side of things, we manage to connect 390 more people. That’s also around 18% per annum growth. We started with 2170 people connected in small groups and we ended with 2560 by the end of January 2007.

Our small group/worship service percentage remains consistent at just over 80%. That is to say for every 10 people in our worship services, 8 of them are also connected in the small groups. That’s a pretty strong number to have and we want to do even better in this ministry year.

Then from February 2006 to end January 2007, we also had the privilege of witnessing 2270 people crossed the line of faith!

After looking at the figures, we were really thankful that God used us to be His co-workers in His Kingdom. It is such an awesome honor and privilege. Every group has grown and played our part in fulfilling God's plan.

Like what the ACS people would have said it… “the best is yet to be!”