A Chosen Nation

praying for burma

2009-05-17T23:39:00.002+08:00

just a short update from our brothers in Burma

the Nazareth home where Pastor Stephen houses his orphanage has been put up for sale by the landlord and they are currently in need of another house to continue their ministry. many of the landlords are not willing to rent to big families and these adds to their difficulties.

please pray for them that god will provide a place for them to continue their work in a land so lacking of the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

do also pray for the graduates from the bible schools as they have set forth into places all over Burma, places where we foreigners cannot enter to spread the word of God and they too face many obstacles such as lack of food, shelter and money.

please pray fervently for them that god will continue to provide and more importantly that they do not grow weary in doing their good work.

thank you

Free music!

2009-04-09T14:38:00.002+08:00

Hi Youths! Thought this is helpful for all who needs music to go with your school video project.

Normally its pretty difficult to find music tracks which are free for use. Legally we are supposed to pay.. So today I stumbled on this website. Please refer to the website's terms of use, and read through before you download. The soundtrack is free for non-commercial home/personal uses and student assignments. Excluding uses for web, podcast and blogs.

http://www.freeplaymusic.com/

Use it well ;)

Youth Outing 2009!!

2009-03-09T23:49:00.008+08:00

HELLO YOUTHS!!! *wave!!!*

Yeah.....
Introducing...

Youth Outing 2009!!
*whoohoo~~*

Date: 14th March (Sat)
Meet 0930hr at Lavender MRT station
(lets be good stewards of our time, be there on time!)

1000 hr : Basketball session // Tennis Session
1200 hr : Lunch + Shower

1430 hr : Gather at Marina Bay MRT station
(Marina Barrage - Admission Free)

1800 hr : Dinner @ City Hall area

# Bring enough cash for transport, lunch and dinner alright!! :)

Lastly, do bring along your non-Christians friends too!

SEE YOU THERE IN YOUR SPORTS GEAR YAY!
Blessed Week Ahead !

Youth Fellowship Meetings

2009-02-12T00:49:00.002+08:00

Hi all,

Yes i know it's Valentine's Day this weekend..but we hope you can be our valentine at this Saturday's YF! =)

Date: 14 Feb 09 (Sat)
Venue: Paya Lebar
Time: 4.30pm - 6pm
Topic: Study on the book of Titus!

Please bring your bibles along k? cos' realised some of you don't have the habit of bringing bibles for fellowship...Please do so!!

Also publicising for next week's YF too..

Date: 21 Feb 09 (Sat)
Venue: Paya Lebar
Time: 4.30pm - 6pm
Topic: Study on the book of Titus (2)

See ya there!

Happy 牛 year!

2009-01-26T11:04:00.003+08:00

Here's wishing all of you a Blessed Lunar New Year!!!

Back to School 09!

2009-01-10T22:55:00.015+08:00

Thank You to everyone who enthusiastically wore their school uniforms!!! We had fun, didn't we?? Check out the photos below...

Of course, let's not forget the key points Pastor taught today!

1. Seize opportunities to evangelize to your unsaved friends in this new semester!
2. Obey authorities (even if you hate them!!!)
3. Don't give into PEER PRESSURE~!
4. Make CHRIST the Lord of our Life!

CHALLENGE: Think of 3 areas you need to work on in order to better prepare for our finals!

1st JOY FELLOWSHIP 2009

2009-01-04T22:18:00.003+08:00

Yo! Everyone.. Happy New Year!

It's a new beginning.. a new start and a new venue!

So don't disappoint us & be at the first combined Youth & Young Adult Fellowship!

Yes, you have to wear your school uniform & uni students, we're not referring to your university uniform...

You can wear your house tee shirt, sports tee shirt, whatever that represents your school, even your school blazer, if you wish! (But no one in shorts please!)

For those who need to lose at least 10 kg before fitting into your old sch uniform, well...u can wear your army uniform or anything that looks as close as possible...

Date: 10 Jan 09 (Sat)
Venue: 736A Geylang road, level 2.
Meeting Time & place: 4pm @ Paya Lebar MRT Station.

Pls bring your bibles too k?? Let Carmen/Amanda/Josephine know your attendance :)

Carolling BEGINS!

2008-12-08T01:47:00.002+08:00

Hey all!

Christmas carolling begins this Friday!!! Practices on Friday will be at 7.30pm at church (have your dinner before coming) & on Sunday after service...Since there are not many practices, let's try & make it a point to go. Keep Josephine & Derrick informed of your attendance..

Speaking of which, i found an excellent attire for our Christmas carollers this year..check out...

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awesome rite?? they are called the glenrockers! i dunno how they are linked to glen but i think we should all glam up for carolling! haa..

actually it's quite nice lar but only if one day we bring FIBC carolling to a winter place then we can wear this when we carol...

Myanmar Mission Trippers 08

2008-12-01T00:54:00.002+08:00

Let's cover the Myanmar Mission Trippers in our prayers this week! Pray for

1. Safety - with terrorism attacks & unrest in the world, no place is spared from danger. So do pray for a safe trip as they travel.

2. Each tripper - Pastor Ang, Uncle Jonathan Tong, Bro Choon Yee, Spencer, Derrick, Josephine, Aunt Julia, Aunt Grace Ong, Aunt Rachel, Mr Wee, Uncle Henry, Judith, Aunt Sally & Johanna

3. Good health - Esp for Mr Wee and also Spencer with backache, Derrick with sensitive nose, Pastor won't have spinning headaches

4. Spirit of unity - pretty big team so pray they can work with one another despite of differences

5. Opportunity to evangelise, spread God's love & encourage believers

They will be back on 5th Dec, 9pm. So pray for a safe trip back too!

William & Michelle's wedding

2008-11-13T23:55:00.001+08:00

Hi Guys,

just a reminder to stay back for the briefing this sun after service for William & Michelle's wedding briefing.

these are the helpers involved in the wedding. (in case u din know)
1. Mary
2. Cynthia
3. Juliana
4. Spencer
5. Shane
6. Glen
7. Daniel
8. Timothy
9. Esther
10. Siqing
11. Jeremy
12. Derrick
13. Josephine
14. Siya
15. Amanda
16. Judith
17. Shaun
18. Johanna
19. Irving

There will be choir practice after the briefing. final practice so pls stay back.. very impt.

in the meantime, pls pray for the stressed wedding co-coordinator...hahaa.

thanks all!

~ carmen

FIBC Choir items

2008-10-22T00:42:00.001+08:00

Hi Guys!

A special treat! (Hope auntie grace & sis ellen finds fame on youtube, haaa)

Some announcements

2008-10-20T23:31:00.002+08:00

Hi GUYS!

There's no YF/YAF this Saturday (26/10) as the youth shepherds will be meeting up to discuss & plan for the upcoming year's YF/YAF programmes etc.

Next Sat will be Michelle's Bridal Shower. What's a bridal shower?

A bridal shower is a gift giving party given for a bride before her wedding. The custom originated in the United States, although the first stories about these events have been known to originate in Brussels, Belgium around 1860. It remains a primarily US and Canadian practice. Showers are usually coordinated by the bridesmaids, who invite guests to offer gifts for the home of the bride and groom.

Okay, this is not written by me but gotten from wikipedia. nyway, guys r erm sorry not invited. unless u all wanna squeeze in irving's room.

date: 1 nov (sat)
venue: michelle's place
time: tbc but shld be between 2pm or 4pm
pls confirm with juliana your attendance as i might have difficulty being around.
u can bring gifts for michelle!

just a note, mrs ang will be doing some sharing as it will be a bridal shower-cum-ladies fellowship but all girls r invited k? i went for ladies fship when i was in pri sch k!

tts all folks!

Church Anniversary take notes

2008-10-08T23:11:00.002+08:00

Hi guys!

This coming Sunday is our church anniversary! So other than prayin that it will be a smooth programme, do also take note of following so that we can have a good time!

1. Ushers, pls be reminded to reach at 9.30am as we need to arrange the chairs, souvenirs, be on standby. B/W attire

2. Those non-ushers, pls try and sit your friends & loved ones to the front as we expect a bigger crowd and we hope 2 have minimal movement on Sunday.

3. If you're not bringing a friend, do take note of new visitors and be friendly. especially friends brought by the youths or young adults. If any of the adults bring guests that are young-looking or youthful-looking, do say Hi and try to introduce yourself. (of course this is subjective cos' we have people like spencer who looks..oops. ha)

4. Last but not least, enjoy yourself!

~ Carmen

prayer requests

2008-08-25T21:11:00.002+08:00

i learnt a lot from the sermons the past 2-3 weeks on so on how christians should pray for those in authority above them. it's an area that we (youths especially) tend to overlook in our prayers or worse still, plot to climb over the heads of those above us, like parents, teachers etc etc.

So let's cultivate a habit of praying for those who have power over us:

our national leaders -- who choose and implement changes that will affect our lifestyle

our parents -- as they watch over us & try their best to guide us on the path, straight and narrow.

our teachers -- who try their best to get our attention in the classrooms without losing their heads.

pastor -- who educates us with God's word every sunday.

the building committee -- as they decide on the prospective property on hand.

our bosses -- who handles our pay cheque (that's enough reason to pray for them!)

stripes, checkered, stripes, checkered!

2008-08-22T00:06:00.007+08:00

Happy Birthday to all August Babies!

(Pastor, Min Sin, Glen, Ian, Josephine, Daniel, Hannah, Shane!) WOOWWWW!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SINGAPORE TOO!

& ALSO HAPPY HAPPY FOR WINNING SILVER IN OLYMPICS!!!! Woohoo...

Thanks everyone who abide by the instructions to wear stripes & checkered! Well, one of the reason was to make the Birthday photos look abit more interesting!!! Anyway, hope for more fun themes in future...

Anyway does anyone still wanna hear or see any photos from our Yunnan trip? If want, we try to post some of this online lar...haa.. tag on the board, we will blog if it's by popular demand!

= Carmen =

endurance run

2008-07-15T00:16:00.002+08:00

I had my remedial training earlier today. no, it has nothing to do with science or maths but rather, it's a physical remedial training.

so what we do? we run.

we had this endurance run today. 30 mins, run, non stop around the stadium. no minimum rounds, no minimum speed. the rule was simple -- just don't walk.

and while running, suddenly God spoke to me about something. i really didn't think about it this way until earlier on when it dawned on me.

you see, life is like this long run. some run a longer distance, some run a shorter distance. some try to cut the corners of the running track, but they all end the same way -- there is an end point.

and we are all of a different stamina. some run like they have unlimited resources of energy, like they could just go on and on and not feel tired.

others run slowly and give up easily when they tire.

and sometimes, you will notice, the faster ones will try to encourage the slower ones by pacing them -- running alongside them, to encourage them just so they will not walk or quit running all together.

sometimes the slower ones accept this, and run alongside the stronger runners, trying to keep up with them.

sometimes they give up, and rather walk at their own leisurely pace, preferring to enjoy the cool evening breeze.

Christianhood is exactly like that.

We, having God's grace, should be the stronger runners, with limitless amounts of energy to keep on running. and more importantly, we should be running alongside the slower ones, encouraging them to keep up with us. if they slow down, try to encourage them. if they stop, give them a gentle nudge.

what we shouldn't do is to just say "hey! don't stop! come on! keep on running! finish the run!" and then when they still can't keep up with us, we leave them behind, without pushing them to keep their pace or increase it.

so hope this little insight will enourage some of us (including me) who are trying to reach out to others not to give up and instead, enourage them all the way. who knows one day, they might accept it and run alongside with you!

Prayers for Team China!

2008-07-14T01:27:00.003+08:00

Dear Youthies,

If you read this before 24th July, do pray for team China..as in the team that's going to China! - Pastor, Irving, Carmen & Mary...

Pray for safety as we travel from Singapore --> Kunming --> Lijiang --> Kunming --> Singapore --> Hougang/Punggol/Marine Parade/Bukit Batok ... haa

Pray for good health (especially for Pastor that he won't have spinning headaches or diarhoea) & for Irving who just recovered..
Pray we will be a blessing to our China friends. We're doing WAIT tr'g for the youths there...do pray they will benefit from our tr'g & be changed for His kingdom!

Pray for Mary & Irving to not be tongue-tied in their expression of our mother-tongue!

Pray the team will love one another, just as how Christ has loved us!

Keep us in your prayers~ Thank You!!!!!!

Do you want to be like Moses?

2008-07-13T01:24:00.003+08:00

Exodus 3:11-12

11 But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

Exodus 4:10-17

10 But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

11 Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

13 But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”

14 Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you.

15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do.

16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say.

17 And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”

i saw this scripture while reading someone's blog and it struck me, most of us are like Moses. we want to obey God but when He asks us to do certain things, we find ways and excuses to get around it because of our insecurities. Even though He assures us He will be with us, our faith is still tiny.

so the next time we feel intimidated of the task that God has told us to do, like reaching out to others for instance, remember, Moses was once in our position.

But he became a great leader in the end.

Good Job!

2008-07-10T00:15:00.002+08:00

This wouldn't fit into the tag board so decided to write it here.

I was very encouraged to see so many new faces that evening at the BBQ. Kudos to those who managed to bring friends cos we know how difficult it is.

Especially Hannah. She brought 2 new people that night and that is a remarkable achievement cos usually when we invite, people may be hesistant and come up with a billion excuses in their heads why they cannot come or whatever. Or some may genuinely have reasons that they cannot make it and sometimes these can add up to our discouragement.

But let us not be discouraged for in God's timing, he will "reap a harvest", as the Bible says. Yes, you might feel tired after awhile getting rejected and keep seeing only the same regular faces every time that there's an event but we have to press on, to invite the people that rejected us last week, last month or even last year.

For if we let our guard down, or we lose hope in the person and feel that maybe we should invite someone else who is easier to reach out to (which is really not the point of evangelism as there is no "score" system on who brings the most friends) or worse, feel that maybe you weren't "called to reach out to others", Satan steps in and uses his tools of disappointment and discouragement and it could set us into a freefall in our faith.

For those who have a fear of inviting, fear that their friends may not like joining this sort of events, that in their mind they think that you are weird by asking them to have a BBQ with a bunch of strangers -- don't place your own obstacles in your own path. Sure it may be a bit awkward, or you might feel a bit shy, but you can never really know the outcome unless you ask.

Some might wonder how to start up a conversation. I just happen to be really bad at it too. So what i did -- i got straight to the point. Well, it helps that the person i'm reaching out to is a backslider so he does have some knowledge about God. So i just told him as simply as possible, that our church was having a BBQ and was wondering if he would like to be able to fellowship again with fellow Christians in an informal setting. Then you can go on to promote about the games and the food and the people and the car in the lucky draw etc etc. It's just that simple.

So to end off what wouldn't fit into the tagboard, just wanna say well done to those who managed to bring friends and I hope they would follow up with them and pray for them that they might come to know Christ sooner rather than later. For those wondering to invite their friends for future events/church service, pick up the courage and let's spread God's word!

Great Time of Fellowship

2008-07-05T23:17:00.030+08:00

A big shout out to the peeps who organized the BBQ!

THANK YOU!!

(Cynthia + Judith + Josephine + Derrick)

Cynthia led the group of superheroes (namely Glen aka Spiderman, Derrick aka Ironman, Josephine aka Wonderwoman, and Irving aka Shrek) for some grocery hunting @ NTUC. Mary aka the Powerpuff girl joined after our hunt and we started making our way to Glen's house. It started pouring, I sang the off-tune version of Showers of Blessings while Derrick sung, of course ever in tune, Hear My Cry, O Lord... as we prod towards our FINAL DESTINATION.

Took a short rest before more of the youths came to join us! Kudos to Hannah Montana for bringing 2 friends along -- Zhi Sheng and Nicole! (*hope you guys had a great time!) Josephine led us in various indoor games which got us exposing some unique and interesting facts about ourselves. Pilot-tress (Esther), Anti-chewing gum and Mee Rebus rebel (Carmen) etc.. etc..

Then we moved on to the outdoor games! I'll let the photos do the talking.... and deepest apology... only got the photos of one team! @_@ Feel free to add on to the photo collection!

Ok... after uploading all the pictures... I am beginning to wonder... if any of the car owners will chance upon this blog! [x_@]

After which, the finale... the highlight.... the one... the only... BARBEQUE FIESTA! Cynthia single-handedly started the BBQ fire (despite much warnings not to play with fire.. Haha). After which, that was when I witnessed FIBC youth spirit burn passionately and furiously... everyone was playing their part... pple cooked... pple served... and more importantly... pple ate!

Putting this in another perspective with regards to spiritual growth.... Just like our hunger for BBQ food... let us all hunger for God's word together... and constantly edify one another in one way or another!

*Raises marshmallow with pride...*
(-_-)" ... zzz..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

2008-06-09T00:00:00.001+08:00

BLESSED BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

BLESSED BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

BLESSED BIRTHDAY TO SHAUNIE BUTT!

BLESSED BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

卡啦OK!

2008-05-16T21:32:00.003+08:00

God's Symphony

2008-05-03T20:28:00.002+08:00

I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend YF today because of my brother's birthday but I have a praise item that I would like to share to readers of this blog.

Some months ago, I shared about my friend, Joreen, who was undergoing chemotherapy for her lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. At last mention, we were raising money for her to repay her debts due to her medical expenses. Praise the Lord cos he has provided twice of what her debt was and that she had managed to go on receiving more treatment from the doctors and nurses at SGH, national cancer center.

Unfortunately, Joreen did not respond well to the treatments that were to follow as one of the side effects caused her stomach to have ulcers which bled continuously, making it nearly impossible to eat, or pass motion. With her immune system at its weakest point, things seemed bleak and all that her friends and family could do were to pray for her.

But thankfully, God intervened. By placing people in her life, God managed to use this situation, to create something beautiful. Joreen accepted Christ in January, along with her entire family of her parents and 2 other younger brothers. Her boyfriend of 10 years also said the sinner's prayer and accepted Christ as his saviour. Praise the Lord indeed. In one move, God used Joreen to bring her ENTIRE family to Christ, and i believe this is something that most of us are trying really hard to do -- to reach out to our unsaved family members.

By this incident, I've seen with my own eyes, the invisible hand of God, orchestrating a symphony, using us in ways we will never realise until His work has been done. He used this story to demonstrate what unconditional love really is, both from within the family, and from the outside. And He also shows us that every subtle action of ours can impact others in ways we cannot imagine. It was from an sms that He urged me to send to Joreen that I got to know of her condition and also by putting others in Joreen's life, He managed to bring to her and her family salvation. He has also shown to me so many qualities that Joreen has which I find i lack and i really hope to improve on my character in near future. He is truly amazing.

Sadly though, He called Joreen back to be by His side earlier this week on the 28th of April and although it was very sad, He yet again showed us that we have hope even in death. I was initially very heart broken when i first heard of Joreen's passing. It came suddenly to me as only a month ago, her health seemed to be on the trail of recovery.

But i trust fully in Jesus. Yes, he has taken away a very close friend of mine, but at least i know in my heart that she's in a better place now, and moreover, she's with Jesus. That's the most important thing. 2 Tim 4:7 says "i have fought a good fight, i have finished my course, i have kept the faith." How aptly a verse to describe the attitude that Joreen carried with her even till her last breathe.

This incident had also brought many new people into contact with me and i'm hoping to be able to share God's word with them, through my blog and hopefully meeting them in the future. So do keep me in your prayers as well, that God uses me in whatever way He pleases. At the same time, keep PUSHing* on with our prayers to bring our family to know the God we love and never give up!

Gal 6:9 "let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

To know more about Joreen's case, do visit my blog at phderrick.blogspot.com

*PUSH = Pray Until Something Happens

Happy Birthday to...

2008-05-01T23:57:00.004+08:00

- M.A.R.Y -

Happy Birthday to You (x2)
Happy Birthday to Mary!
Happy Birthday to YOU!

-FIBC Youths-

Enjoy!

2008-04-29T16:57:00.009+08:00

Burning or burnt out?

2008-04-20T17:10:00.005+08:00

Are you burning or burnt-out?

Bringing you a one-time special @ this Sat's Young Adults Fellowship..

AVOIDING BURNT-OUTS

Date: 26 April 08 (Sat)
Venue: Church Office
Time: 4.30pm

Do try and make it, contact Michelle/Esther/Juliana to confirm your attendance..

-carmen

1st YAF Outing

2008-02-08T12:45:00.000+08:00

Thank You Michelle, Spencer & William for organising the 1st YAF Outing!

We had fun though we didn't get to eat the much-anticipated steamboat! Ha.. check out on Facebook the full story but here are just some group photos we took!

and the photo of the year! Heroes (FIBC YA version)

haha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYNTHIA!

2008-01-23T23:59:00.000+08:00

From FIBC youths! =)

May you continue to grow in spirit and in truth!

Drumroll....YAF 001!

2008-01-19T22:54:00.000+08:00

Calling all Young Adults in FIBC!!!

You're cordially invited to the first official Young Adults Fellowship!

Date: 26 Jan 08 (Sat)
Time: 3.30pm
Venue: Marina Bay

Join us for a time of bonding, fun & fellowship at Marina Bay. Bowling, soccer and most importantly yummy steamboat dinner awaits you! Let's begin the new year with a great time of sharing of God's goodness to us! We will also share with you the programme for YAF in 2008!

Inform Spencer, William or Michelle on your attendance! See you there!

* Note: Young Adults Fellowship will be on a monthly basis, falling on the last week of the month unless it clashes with church's events or public holidays. Therefore, do slot out this month to come for this special gathering! If you've unchurched or unsaved Young Adults friends (army, university or working young adults below 35), do invite them along too!

Youth Fellowship

2008-01-09T14:39:00.000+08:00

YES! Let's put our hands together... to welcome.................

*glitter* The 1st YOUTH FELLOWSHIP in 2008 *glitter*

"Director": God
"Starring": Pastor
"Co-starring": Irving and Shane

Ok, yes.. Enough of nonsense from me, this is a reminder to all! Youth fellowship will be held this Saturday, 12/01/08, at 4.30pm SHARP (*not hitachi*, lols). -_-" And yes, remember to bring along our bibles, writing materials and prepare our hearts to receive God's word and be challenged with Pastor's sharing.

In addition, we'll also have a short time of sharing so do prepare a short sharing with regards to how the new year has began for you.

In His love,
Irving

Recounting 2007!

2008-01-02T18:50:00.000+08:00

The last four 2007 happening events for FIBC Youthies! (bear with the long entry!)

SYFC PRC Christmas Party

Though it was not the first time that FI was carolling, we were glad to bring cheer to a group of Chinese nationals (polytechnic students) at this warm (*pun intended) & cosy Christmas party. Amidst the rain, the lack of a good stage, we bravely put up a repertoire of 7-10 Christmas items, including "We Were The Reason", "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" in parts (Woohoo!), "Siyahamba", Derrick aka Huaxing's solo "O Holy Night" and 2 Chinese carols!
Decked in black, the carollers were the stars for the night as many of the audience took pix and videos of their singing! But most importantly, we were glad to be part of an evangelistic programme for the night! Thank God for the good response as the PRCs sung & hum along with us...Kudos to Derrick & Michelle who co-ordinated the pieces & Spencer & Irving for their lovely guitaring and to all the youths who participated in this event!

Christmas Service 2007

This year, we were back with the lovely Christmas lunch at Ferntree Cafe. Thank God for Brother Choon Yee's hard work as we tuck into our favourite Christmas foods! It was a great time of encouragement as we listened to Pastor's sermon and reminded by the carols of God's great love for us... Yes, the youths performed again!

We thank God for the good turnout and for the opportunity to catch up with old friends & also the chance to bring our loved ones and friends to church.. here are some photos to savour the moments!

(Edit: I realised i don't have any photos now...Ha...just imagine k?)

Youth Camp 2007: Waiting For The Best!

Yup, this is probably the highlight of the year for the FIBC Youth Ministry! A total of 27 campers (full-time & part-time) turned up for this exciting camp themed: Waiting For The Best! Through Pastor's preaching, we learned the importance of abstinence from sex before marriage, pros & cons of dating and also personally set standards for our dating relationships.

Check out what happened over the three days of camp...

Day 01 (29 December 07)

A round of introduction of ourselves cos' some were new to one another...

Then time to make our group identity! You will be surprised at the creativity of the FIBC Youths!

We had a romantic lunch at the boardwalk shelter cos' it rained while we were eating! Ha ha.. After lunch, we proceeded to check-in at the chalet...

Amanda painting the small flowers for Faithfulness. William & Johanna drawing their 3-D sheep!

@ Aloha Changi Chalet M, we had...icebreaker games for you & me!
Demonstration by our models Seth & Glen :)

On the first round, Pastor brought us through fast facts of Sex in Sin City. It was alarming to know that more and more youths were involved in pre-marital sex. There was also an increase of youth seeking help for sex-related diseases. We also presented the kind of qualities we looked for our life partners. It was quite fun seeing traits such as beautiful, > 1.74m tall being presented.

Pastor reminded us that it's alright to have certain kind of preferences when it comes to attraction of the opposite gender. However, we need to remember not to yoke with unbelievers as that will be totally against God's agenda for us.

Two verses that Pastor reminded us were in Psalm 119:9 "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word." and 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable"

Day 02 (30 December 07)

All sleeply-heads headed off for service...Many caught naps in the bus so that we will pay full attention during Pastor's preaching. After lunch at Zion Food Centre, we zoomed off to camp site again for our group games!

Group Faithfulness' hero Jeriel saved the day by running fast & swift! With little covering, he still managed to keep his "little girl" picture intact! So the winning group was...

FAITHFULNESS!

(Note: prophecy? cos' this was the only group that took photo before the actual games started.....scary!!haa)

our unsung heroes!

we watched a video titled Choices after the sumptuous zichar dinner & roasted chicken (thanks to deacon edwin & auntie lucilla's treat!) A humble local production, it reminded the youths about choices that we all have to make in life, especially about relationships. The abortion images captured our attention greatly. It never occurred to us that the processes of abortion could be so graphic. Never listen to the myths that it's just flushing out of some cells. As long as the foetus is formed, it's a new life in one's body.

We rounded off the night with signing of the abstinence pledge, a covenant between us & God to abstain from sex before marriage.

Day 03 (31 December 07)

Last day of camp! Most of the young adults left for work but we spent time to recap on the camp & also write our testimonies for the night.

During watchnight, we presented the Best Camper award to Ian! Most of us were encouraged by his great attitude during this camp. Faithfulness was the winning group! Pastor also presented our lovely souvenirs to each camper!

we took turns to share our thanksgivings for 2007. the youths were well-prepared with their RBC sheep cards. We also were blessed by Pastor's sharing, watching Bro Wilson's video & also the touching testimony of a nose cancer patient. And as usual, we started the first few moments of 2008 with sparklers!

It was a great 4D3N spent with the lovely FIBC Youths. May we continue to cherish the lessons learnt, reminisce the great moments of 2007. Let's stay united for Christ in 2008!

RE: Youth Camp 2007

2007-12-20T01:21:00.000+08:00

Hello people, our e-invite is out! TADAAAA......

Credits to Shane and Spencer!

So do pass around the e-invite to friends or family members! I will be sending out the detailed schedule for the youth camp to everyone in church soon. For now, meeting point is at Tampines Bus Interchange, specifically in front of the bus 29 queue! Do pray for the camp, eg. the weather, for pastor, for the camp committee members etc...

Through this camp, the committee hopes we can start working on the theme set for FIBC in the coming year... Together we Build, United we Grow! By God's grace, I'm sure we'll all benefit from His word and have a great time "fellow-sheeping" and bonding with one another... =P

love came down at Christmas

2007-12-08T00:13:00.000+08:00

Came across this song that got stuck in my head.
i listened to it no less than 7 times since i found it.
Hope u enjoy it too.

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.

Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love from God to all of us,
Love for plea and gift and sign.

He Paid the Price!

2007-11-11T23:29:00.000+08:00

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response,

Pastor Thomas began to speak...'I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.

I stopped the lad and asked, 'What you got there, son?' 'Just some old birds,' came the reply.
'What are you gonna do with them?' I asked.

'Take 'em home and have fun with 'em,' he answered 'I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time' '

But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do?'

'Oh, I got some cats,' said the little boy. 'They like birds. I'll take 'em to them.'

The pastor was silent for a moment. 'How much do you want for those birds, son?'

'Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!'

'How much?' the pastor asked again.

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, '$10?'

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.
One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation.

Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. 'Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!'

'What are you going to do with them?' Jesus asked.

Satan replied, 'Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!'

'And what will you do when you get done with them?' Jesus asked. 'Oh, I'll kill 'em,' Satan glared proudly.

'How much do you want for them?' Jesus asked

'Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!'

'How much?' He asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, 'All your blood, tears and your life.'

Jesus said, 'DONE!'
Then He paid the price.

Be blessed. :)

W.A.I.T. Camp 2007

2007-10-28T16:54:00.000+08:00

Help! Everyone in class has a steady except me!!!

Can I hold her hands when we're out?

When love comes knocking, what do you do?

How do you love in God's timing? When is the right age to date?

Seek Godly answers at this year's youth camp!

Presenting ....

W.A.I.T. 2007 - Why Am I Tempted is the theme of this year's youth camp.
We invite all youths and young adults to be part of this camp! Explore together BGR issues such as dating, sexual abstinence and down to the basics of dealing with the opposite gender!

Dates: 29 - 31 Dec 07 (Sat - Mon)
Time: 10am (29 Dec) - 12pm (31 Dec)
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Jonathan Ang
Venue: Aloha Changi Chalet M
Committee Head: Irving & Carmen
Committee members: Shane, Judith & Hannah

Sign up today!

Keep a look-out for more updates on the youth blog!

- Youth Camp Comm -

Faith Independent Baptist Church Invites YOU!

2007-10-09T01:58:00.001+08:00

Hymn

2007-10-01T19:14:00.000+08:00

O refuge of my hardened heart,

O fast pursuing lover come.

As angels dance around Your Throne,

My life, by capture, fair You own.

Not silhouette of trodden faith,

Nor death shall not my steps be guide.

I'll pirouette upon my grave

For in Your path, I'll run and hide

O gaze of love,

So melt my pride.

That I may in Your House, but kneel.

And in my brokenness to cry,

Spring worship unto Thee.

When beauty breaks the spell of pain,

The bludgeoned heart shall burst in vain.

But not when love be pointed king

and truth, shall Thee, forever reign.

O gaze of love,
So melt my pride.
That I may in Your House, but kneel.
And in my brokenness to cry,
Spring worship unto Thee.

Sweet Jesus carry me away

From cold of night and dust of day.

In ragged hour or salt-worn eye,

Be my desire, my well-spring lye.

O gaze of love,
So melt my pride.
That I may in Your House, but kneel.
And in my brokenness to cry,
Spring worship unto Thee.

On Love

2007-09-30T22:37:00.000+08:00

Found this on my friend’s blog..

An article by Michelle McKinney Hammond.

The decision for a mate must be made on a spiritual and intellectual basis before its made on an emotional one.

What about love? you ask. I’ll tell you why. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jer 17:9). The heart is willful and is driven by its own agenda. It does not consider things rationally and intelligently - it just loves to love!

Therefore you have to point it in the right directions: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

Whenever you meet a man, you need to get clearance from God, check out his attributes, and then allow your heart to engage. Dating exists not for mating; it exists for collecting data. I believe that the biblical design would be friendship, courtship and then marriage. Friendship is two people walking together in agreement and accountability, learning and growing together. Courtship follows the mutual agreement to commit to one another exclusively - it is the decisive turning toward the agreed-upon goal of the marriage altar. It is a period of laying foundation and preparing your life together after marriage.

But dating? Well, if you do date, use the time wisely to gather facts. So when you do gather facts, let us compare the process to clothes shopping.

Check out the fabric.
Is the person mate material? Does this man have an intimate relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ? Does he care what God thinks about his behavior? Is he accountable to God as well as another co-laborer in the faith? Accountability is an important factor. It is imperative to maintaining a committed relationship. Is your potential spouse a member of the same family -the family of God? Scripture is clear on this : “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14).

You need to have common interest and values and agree on the essentials of living day to day. You have a similar spiritual walk. You eat the same diet. You enjoy a lot of similar things. You have like interests, like goals in life, like opinions on basic life issues. You have had like experiences in your background. Though there is some truth to the idiom that opposites attract, like-minded folks fare better together.

Furthermore, does he want to get married? If you want to be married and your dreamboat isn’t interested, don’t waste your time. Remember, women fall in love and get married. Men decide to get married and then look for a wife. Note the difference in order. So if a guy says he’s not looking for anything serious, take his words seriously. If he’s not going your direction, get off the bus & wait for the right one.

Does this man want you? Is he pursuing you?
The man who is right for you will pursue you and God’s hand in the relationship will be clear. No guessing, no fleeces, no dead ends. Scripture says: “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord”(Prov 18:22). Note - who finds whom? THE MAN FINDS THE WIFE.

From the beginning of time, God has transported men & women across the world in order to put them together. At the RIGHT TIME, He will bring that man on the scene and he will find you. In God’s perfect design, the man is the one who recognizes his mate. Adam has no problem recognizing that Eve was his missing rib. You do not need to strategically place yourself anywhere. You don’t have to help a guy out because he’s shy.

Men will do whatever they have to do to get what they truly want. The man in your life should recognize you as the pearl of great price in his life and be willing to do whatever he must in order to gain your hand. If he is passive about gaining your affections, take it as a sign that he is not interested.

Many a woman’s mother has suggested that it is a good idea to marry a man who loves you more than you love him. As cold as that sounds, it actually might be scriptural if you stop to think about it: “We love him because he first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19).Until then, take the ultimate chill pill. You don’t need a bunch of men in your life to make you feel all right about yourself. You need only one man - your man, the one God has selected to select you. And trust me, the right man at the wrong time can be just as awful as the wrong man at any time.

So trust God’s timing in this. He is the ultimate matchmaker. Relax, sit pretty and allow yourself to be found. Again - WAIT until the man voices his intentions. He should take the lead in establishing the relationship. You may have an inkling that he is the one, but God will use the man to set the tone of the relationship. Allow him the opportunity to woo you - this is your first act of submission. Jesus set the standard for all men to follow. They should love us first. And they should lead the relationship.

Does this man have a vision for his life?
Is he running with that vision? Remember, God decided Adam needed help once Adam got busy DOING his assignment. As we saw Adam, a man doesn’t need help until he is busy doing what he was created and called to do. Is your guy guided by a sense of destiny and purpose, or does he just allow life to happen around him?

A man who is not certain of his mission can be a most miserable person - and you’ll be miserable too if you know where YOU want to go in life. A man who has vision is not intimidated by a woman whose mission statement is clear. He will be your best ally, cheerleader and assistant because he wants you both to make it!

A man who cannot be supportive of your achievements because he is floundering in a sea of uncertainty over his own life is not a healthy partner to have and to hold forever. Creating dependencies or feelings of obligation is not the way to get the best out of your man. Somewhere along the way, he will resent you and flee from the smothering burden of obligation he associates you with.

You want a man who is firmly anchored in his identity in Christ. Remember, we are looking for a man who will be priest and leader of his home. His first instinct should be to want to cover you, redeem you, and provide for you. Your job is to decide if this is the man God has ordained for you to complement.

Complementary.
Do your talents and gifts complement his? Do his gifts complement yours? What about your temperaments? Do you see the two of you as an effective team capable of bringing blessing to the lives of those around you? Do your futures mesh? Can you coordinate your gifts in an attractive and effective way?

This is why knowing your purpose is so important. Make sure your hearts beat for mutual causes. When I go shopping always consider the fabric, the fit and what I already have in my closet. Will my next purchase be a complementary addition to what I already have? If I find that I am going to have to buy shoes and matching accessories to go with a new outfit, I leave it right on the rack. It is too expensive a proposition.

If the man you meet makes you feel that you need to completely reinvent yourself, something is wrong. This is where I ask you to consider the relationship in terms of cost. Is this relationship expensive spiritually, emotionally or physically? Does your longing for a mate make you willing to forfeit who you are in the process? Or does he see you as the gift that you are?

The man in your life should consider you a rare find, a priceless jewel - because of you he is getting ready to get blessed big-time! Any relationship that causes you to feel unworthy, unlovely, unacceptable, undesirable or that you have to work for love, is too expensive!
God has called the man to cover, protect and provide not only materially for a woman, but emotionally and spiritually as well. You should be richer in mind, body and spirit for your union with the man of your dreams. The man in your life should make rich deposits into your heart and spirit, not withdrawals.

Does he have a healthy love & acceptance of himself?
Make sure the man in your life has taken time to heal from past relationships and has made peace with himself. How he cares for himself is how he will care for you. A man’s relationship with God is crucial here. His love for himself will only be as strong as his love for God. This is not something that you can impart. You cannot be his savior or teacher. That is out of spiritual order.

In his rightful place as your personal priest, he should be leading you to a richer relationship with Christ. If he is causing you to compromise your faith and destabilize your walk, if he is leading you into sexual sin or causing you to be distracted from your commitment to Christ, the relationship is too expensive. Offending the Lover of your soul, who promises you eternal love, is too high a fare to pay for a ride that has a limited run.

If you and your man can’t soar in the Spirit, when the force of your love for another is tested by the pull or gravity of the world, your union will not be able to survive. So you decide. How much is your life worth? How much is your love worth?

You will be able to accept only what you believe you deserve. God himself calculated the worth of your love and decided it was worth His life. He now pledges you His love for eternity. Yes, Jesus sets the example for all others to follow when He paid a ransom for His bride. Should you expect less from a mortal man?

Throughout the bibilical age, men were willing to pay the cost for the hand that they desired. The truth of the matter is, everyone knows that anything worth having, costs. And no one gets a ride in this life for free

Ladies, don’t rush. Wait for God’s timing. He wants and has the BEST for you.

Rose Coloured Stained Glass Windows

2007-09-09T20:31:00.000+08:00

Another sleepy Sunday, safe within the walls

Outside a dying world in desperation calls

But no-one hears the cries, or knows what they're about

The doors are locked within, or is it from, without...

Looking through rose coloured stained glass windows

Never allowing the world to come in

Seeing no evil and feeling no pain

Making the light as it comes from within, so dim...

Out on the doorstep lay the masses in decay

Ignore them long enough, maybe they'll go away

When you think you have so much, you have so much to lose

You think you have no lack, but you're really destitute

Looking through rose coloured stained glass windows
Never allowing the world to come in
Seeing no evil and feeling no pain
Making the light as it comes from within, so dim...

Called To Friendship - David & Jonathan

2007-07-22T17:44:00.000+08:00

Have you found the Jonathan or Davids in your life?

Well, it should still be fresh in your memory the message that was shared today on pulpit. Just recap a few pointers & i thought maybe we can all share here some thoughts on it?

1 Samuel 17:55-18:3

Introduction: The key problem for most of us is that we don't see friends as a gift from God.

The Difference: David & Jonathan were from incredibly different backgrounds yet they could in modern day context, click very well. One of the key things is because Jonathan didn't need David in his life to meet any needs. He was already complete in Christ. He was not dependent on David...

Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself. (18:1)

The knitted souls was an act by God...this means that all our friendships are given by God.
And since our sole agenda in life is to respond to calling of God, our friends must help us to fulfill our calling.

The Departure: There comes a day where we have to say "goodbye" to our friends.

42Jonathan said to David, "Go in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'"

Remember that God is the creative space between you & your friends!

So what do you think of this message today? Tag along or leave comments here :)

- Carmen -

Rockwall Climbing Outing

2007-07-16T01:14:00.000+08:00

Hi Guys!

It's been quiet arh...seems like Irving is busy with his special sem? It's okay! Carmen is here to throw in a quick post.

If you guys heard the announcement today, do remember to sign up with Sister Carmen or Michelle for the rock-wall climbing outing..

Date: 25 Aug (Sat)
Time: 10am -1pm
Venue: Emmanuel House, Aljunied
Nearest MRT: Aljunied MRT
Cost: $10 (includes insurance)

Do hope you guys will make it for this k? It's rare that we organise such a outing, oh yes, you're also encouraged 2 bring along unsaved friends, neighbours, cousins, relatives, exclassmates.. okay i think you get the picture.. Haa..

Ta! see ya guys at YF..

(Hap-) Beep (py) Beep (Birth-) Beep (day) Beep (to) Beep (you) Beep....

2007-06-28T22:15:00.000+08:00

Hello people,

Wondering what is with all the beeps, censorship? *Nupez* It's Esther's birthday card!!!!We didn't want to embarrass our dear sister-in-Christ with our melodious singing at the airport so we decided to get her a melody card. Yes, Esther is leaving for Jakarta today, and tomorrow's her birthday! In fact, I think she should have reached the place by this time since it's a 2-hr flight. Cindy, Cynthia, Mary and I arranged to meet at the airport to see her off. What is a birthday celebration without a birthday cake! Of course, we didn't get one big cake for her to bring over to Jakarta, just a small slice from Bengawan Solo! While we were deciding on which cake to buy and what colours to use for decorating her card, we realised we didn't know much about her preferences. From pastor's sermon last week on accountability, it reminded us that we can't be just superficial friends, we've got to get to know one another better! So if you guys do not know what's her favourite colour/colours or cake/cakes, ask her when she returns to Singapore! No offence guys but..... *Only Smarties got the answer* (Cindy, Cynthia, Mary and I) HAHAHA. Not funny as usual but never mind! Here's some pictures of the card we gave to her! =) Our group picture is in her camera, so I'll try get it from her when she returns from Jakarta.

PS: Do remember to continue keeping Esther in prayers while she's in Jakarta!

=Irving=

Worship - Tools for spiritual growth

2007-06-22T01:09:00.000+08:00

Hello youths, I’m late! Should have posted this way before but yes, I’m sorry! Think it is pretty related to my previous post. It talks about encouraging one another, about worshipping the Lord with our hearts and not only with our lips, renewing of our minds etc (Read on!). We all have Cynthia to thank as she was the one who provided me with the soft copy of the sermon so that I can upload it on the blog. We will be including the schedules for ushers as well as the Youth Fellowship schedule for the next quarter once it has been finalized. So do come back and keep yourself updated on the prayers and praises from our youths and feel free to make any postings!

Worship - Tools for spiritual growth

The roles of a prophet include predicting events as well as confronting people when they are not living right with God. As in the case of Isaiah, he was a prophet from a noble family. He preached for a long time before finally dying a terrible death. Sodom and Gomorrah was being judged because of their sins. Although they approached God as they were being told, because they were not living right with God, these offerings were meaningless to the Lord. In fact, their sacrifices for Him were a burden.

Isaiah 1: 14 (KJV)
14Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

However, there is still hope for us. As mentioned in Isaiah 1:18 (KJV),

18Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Therefore, as long as we are willing to repent of our sins, through Christ we will be washed whiter than snow, presentable unto the Lord. In our lives, God give warnings and choices. We have to make the right choices and heed the warnings so that our lives will be acceptable and pleasing unto God. If we are not repentant, He will not loosen his iron grip and will punish us accordingly. As in the case of Israel, the lives of the people are evil, but they continued worshipping God on Sabbath day. As they are not living right, the prayers and sacrifices made were of no use. We need to stop doing wrong and learn to do right. Committing evil acts do not require much of an effort. In fact, sinning may even give us temporal pleasures. Doing right on the other hand requires effort and it is definitely not a natural course of action most of the time. We have to resist doing evil and persist making the right choices.

Food for thought: Was there a time when we’ve sinned, but did not apologize or repent of our mistakes? Instead, we try to make up for our wrong actions by serving more?

When we are worshipping, we give the object of worship its worth and do so by exalting the person. Praise is a natural human response to anything excellent, beautiful or awesome. When we see something fantastic, we marvel and are often caught breathless. God is the most excellent, beautiful and awesome of them all. If worshiping Him is not natural for us, it simply means we have not experienced Him like He wants us to. When we read and learn more about Him, as we grow closer to Him, we should want to praise Him even more.

Food for thought: How we know what is true worship really is?

Worshipping the Lord is not about us, but about knowing God. As we are worshipping, we ask of Him to convict me when we sin and encourage us when we are down. True worship starts in the heart. It is important that we are worshipping with our hearts and not with our mouths.

This is clearly stated in Matthew 15: 8-9 (KJV),

8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

9But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Food for thought: Do we obey God or the tradition of men?

Jewish men were wicked in the way they handled their finances. They declare that their money is dedicated to God with the intention so that they did not need to support their parents. This is an example of not living right and worshipping God in vain as they are clearly not following the commandment of honoring their parents.

In Romans 12: 1-2 (KJV),

1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are reminded that God wants our bodies to be living sacrifices and this is expected of us as a reasonable service. We are a step closer to imitating God when our minds are changed. Through the renewing of our minds, we will then be able to discern God’s will for us. By separating ourselves from this sinful world will we then be able to discover His will for us. There is no need for us to be afraid to seek His will as it is good and perfect for us. Our actions are outward portrayal of our inward states. Therefore, it is important to be concerned about our internal change such as the renewing of our minds.

True worship is both private and public. As in Exodus 34: 22-24 (KJV),

22And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.

23Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel.

24For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.

In this instance, God promises that if the men followed His command to worship him thrice in the year, no enemies will attack the nation whilst the men are away. He fulfilled His promise to them and the nation was preserved during these periods of time.

In Luke 4: 16 (KJV),

16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

It is the custom of Jesus to pray and go to the synagogue habitually. As a child of God, we should be walking in the footsteps of Jesus and follow this “custom” as well.

In Hebrews 10: 24-25 (KJV),

24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

We should be considering one another not to anger but to provoke unto love and to good deeds. As ye see the day approaching, we should learn how to love God more each day and should be encouraging one another as well. Worshipping is also more than just words and lip service, it is deeds

Leviticus 27: 30-33 (KJV)

30And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD.

31And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. 32And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.

33He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

Malachi 3: 7-12 (KJV)

7Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

8Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

9Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 12And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

One of the things we can do is giving tithes faithfully as commanded in the verses above. God told the people that they had been disobedient since the days of their fathers. The people were not able to realize what they have done wrong. They were trying to rob God by not giving tithes faithfully. Under law, they were supposed to be giving 10%; under grace, they should be giving even more. Since God wants us to give and if we do not give faithfully, we are robbing Him as mentioned in the verses above.

Matthew 6: 1-4 (KJV)

1Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

When we are helping the needy as mentioned above, our intent should not be getting notice by men. We should be doing it in secret, not announcing and making it known to all. If we do so, we will not receive our rewards in heaven.

Colossians 3: 17 (KJV)

17And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

We must also understand that we are doing all these deeds in the name of the Lord Jesus and not for ourselves. When we are through doing it, and in the process of doing it, we must remember that ultimately, God gets the glory.

2 Corinthians 8: 5 (KJV)

5And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.

Christians should always think of giving themselves first to the Lord, and by living a life consecrated to God, we are able to give everything we have. Before we give our resources to Him, we must be sure to give ourselves to Him first and keep in mind that true worship focuses on who God is.

I will be still, know you are God...

2007-06-19T17:25:00.000+08:00

Still

by Hillsong United

album: Hope (2003)

Still
Words and Music by Reuben Morgan


Hide me now, under your wings
Cover me, within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Find rest my soul, in Christ alone
Know his power, in quietness and trust

Yes, before I start making any comments! Let me clarify something, this is not a hymn. Therefore, in any case, if anyone feels uncomfortable with contemporary Christian music, do inform me and I'll take this post off the blog IMMEDIATELY. It is very important that what we are doing do not stifle the spiritual well-being of a fellow brother or sister-in-Christ in any ways! Instead, we should be encouraging and challenging one another as we are "Running the Race" while we are constantly in battle with this sinful world made up of sinful people like you and I. Also, we will also be sticking to hymns during praise and worship in church as set out by our church leaders. I would also like to share on a personal note that there are many times where I lose focus on meditating on the lyrics of some of these music, absorbed in self-gratification instead of exalting the Lord. Therefore, be it a hymn or a contemporary Christian song, it is important to note that there are times we do not set our hearts on the Lord during worship and it is important that we should refrain from doing so, albeit we are prone to do so because of our sinful nature.

Full credits go to Spencer for summing up this whole song. I was practically nodding my head as he types out how he feels about the song during my conversation with him on MSN. Storms are inevitable in our lives. One moment we might be experiencing peace, but the next moment, we might be caught in a thunderstorm. We must be reminded that, in any case, we have a God who's Lord above all, and we can rest assure to stay still and be calm in any storms because we know that He is Lord.

I will be adding the sermon which was discussed last Saturday during youth fellowship too. Credits goes to Cynthia as she will be sending me the sermon! I lost my worksheet, a clear indication of a bad student once again. I will be working on it! By the grace of God, may we be changed as we try to imitate Him in every aspects of our lives. Do spend time praying for one another and feel free to add in any praises and prayer items. I will end of with this verse from

Psalms 19:14 (KJV)
14Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

=Irving=

Your Monday Blues... or Rules?

2007-06-11T22:49:00.000+08:00

It doesn't matter at all! Because.....?

In contrast with man who lives under the constraints of time and circumstances, God transcends over these limitations. His omnipotence and omnipresence prevails!

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (KJV)
11He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

As we are facing trials and tribulations in our lives, physical and spiritual ones, remember that...

Romans 8:28 (KJV)
28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Therefore, since we know that God fulfills His purpose in His own time and own way, we must trust that He is in control!

Jesus sees our sorrows and our tears.

John 11:33 (KJV)
33When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.

We are not alone.

Psalms 55:22 (KJV)
22Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Let us learn from Thomas when he said he was willing to follow Jesus although he thought he might die due to the persecution by the Jews. Let us make statements of courage and commitment which are in accordance to His word...but more importantly, act on them! We are uncertain about how we will respond in a given situation but always be prepared and guarded with the Word of God as we will be tested in trying times.

In crisis we run..... not to Him.... but around in circles. We have not trusted in Him fully in many aspects of our lives. Let our faith be stretched and developed by these crisis... that...

John 11:15 (KJV)
15And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

Like the disciples needed experience with God to mature their faith, let us grow closer to God by reading His word.

May God change our lives!

Erh, this was in yesterday's sermon. But as usual, I'm not a good student. =( May have left out important parts of the sermon or might have gotten some parts wrong. Do correct and add on accordingly! May we try to apply these lessons this coming week and be faithful in everything we do. Amen!

=Irving=

Birthday Greetings!

2007-06-09T00:51:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday to you (x2)
Happy Birthday to Shaun...
Happy Birthday to you!

Dear Brother-in-Christ,

May you continue to grow in Christ-likeness!

=FIBC Youths=

Welcome to Singapore (Chow Yun Fatt)

2007-06-07T17:22:00.000+08:00

(Sings) Welcome... welcome all of you... Glad you... are... *voice fades away softly* Thank God you guys came back home safely! Sure you all have been blessed by the sermons as well as enjoyed a great time of fellowship. Those we couldn't make it for the June camp can't wait to hear the great experience you all had and see ALL the pictures you guys have taken! Ok, shan't ramble on and on! Have a good rest and see you all soon! =)

=Irving=

FI Youth choir

2007-06-02T01:12:00.001+08:00

Hey guys! I set up a youtube account for us already, username is FIYouths, and the password is shineforJesus. Feel free to add videos.

And now without further ado, I present to you our very own FI youth chorale! XD

the power of prayers

2007-06-01T18:21:00.000+08:00

the church had this sermon delivered by Dr Curt Lamansky on sunday and i've decided to share it online, though it won't be as good as the original message cos i've selective memory loss. but i'll still try to remember and share with you as much as i can.

the basis of this sermon is taken from one line in the bible which is from the book of James.

James 5:16-17
The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on earth. 18Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

The first line says "the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."
and as you can see, i've singled out three main words.

firstly, what do we understand by the word "prayer"?

the most basic explanation of prayer is a conversation to God, where we ask for things we might need help with, or confess to our sins, or perhaps to ask for wisdom in handling a particular problem. and in the bible, it often encourages us to pray.

In the preceeding verses, James 5:13-15, it says,
"is anyone among you suffering? let him pray"
"is anyone of you sick? let the elders of the church pray over him"
the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick.
and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
therefore, pray for one another and you may be healed.

so you see, in three examples, the bible already illustrates to us when we could pray.
and remember when i said prayer is a conversation to God?

imagine if we had a relationship with our loved ones the way we have with God.
we came home from work or school, then maybe talk a little around dinner, afterwhich we go to our rooms, play our computers, surf the internet, or spend time reading a book or watching tv. and maybe just before bed, we talk again for about 5 mins to them before doozing off.

if we kept up with this, a couple of days later, the wife would probably be asking "did i do anything wrong? why isn't he talking to me? is there someone else?"

so we must remember to pray often. i admit, i'm really bad at this part so i shall also learn to pray more often to God.

now the second word -- righteous
to be righteous is to be pure and godly. ie we must not have any evil intent of whatever we pray for. we must also pray for the right reasons as mentioned in James 4:2-3

James 4:2-3
2You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions (desires).

the final word is power. why do prayers have great power?

because God is powerful and he is able to give us whatever we want, beyond the physical things in this world where we can imagine. cures for every possible disease, even the flesh eating bacteria in Auntie Jane's case which i'm sure we are all familiar with. bringing back people from a certain death, He is able to do it. But the most important factor of prayer, is that we ask for it.

Further down the verse, in 17, there is another key word. "Ferverntly." this means to keep praying and to be persistent in our prayers. we cannot just pray once and take it that God knows about it since we have mentioned it. No, we must keep praying, for anything and everything.

The bible illustrates this in Luke 11 where there is a short mention by Jesus, about the story of a man who had a visitor come at midnight. In those days, it was custom to provide some form of food to the visitor, like bread for instance, but this man had no bread in this house. and because it was midnight and in 1st Century, they didn't have any 7-Elevens back then. So this man went over to his neighbour and knocked on the door, asking to spare him three loaves of bread. But the neighbour did not want to wake up, and so told him "Do not bother me. The door is now shut, the children are with me in my bed and I cannot get up to get you anything."

Jesus then said, though the neighbour did not want to get up to give him anything, but because of the man's persistence, he will rise and give him what he needs in the end.

So what God is trying to show us, is that we must not only pray, but to pray persistently too.

Now back to the verse. In verse 17, the bible quotes us an example, of how powerful and effective prayers can be.

What do you think of when i mention Elijah? Most people would say he's a great prophet. But verse 17 starts of by saying, "Elijah was a man with a nature just like ours".

Elijah is just like you and me! he was a normal person!

To know more about this, refer to 1 Kings 17.

1Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." 2And the word of the LORD came to him, 3"Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." 5So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

To summarise, God instructed Elijah, who is from a poor town of Tishbe on the outskirts of the desert, to go into the king's palace and in front of the greatest man of the region at that time, to say unto him "it will not rain for 3.5 years"

Can you imagine what their reaction might be? They would probably laugh their heads off at the sight of this weird man telling the king such a thing. And remember, the king had the power to kill anyone at that time. If he says off with your head, that shall be it. But we know from the bible they let Elijah go out of the palace. They probably thought nothing of his outburst and just had a great time laughing.

Further info: The Israel rain pattern at that time rained from Oct till March, after which there would be no more rain for as long as 5 months. Assuming that Elijah said this to the king at the end of the dry spell somewhere near oct, where it hasn't been raining for more than 5 months anyway, no one would have given any serious thought about his words.

So Oct came. The rains didn't. and the farmers' crops that depended on it all withered and an entire crop cycle was ruined. So after 6 months of dry weather when it was supposed to rain, came the dry period of a further 6 months and one full year was wasted. There wasn't enough food nor water for the people and you would imagine people dying in the streets from salvation.

And when the next Oct came, again the rains didn't and this ruined their second crop production cycle. another full year was wasted.

This again continued for the 3rd year running and in total 3 crop cycles were wasted. But Elijah prayed for it to not rain for 3.5 years. So add another half year and what month will that be in?

March! And then it started raining.. when it wasn't supposed to!

Many people have commented, there are better examples to show the power of prayer, why did God pick this one.

I believe, the point they are missing is this -- when all this is happening, wouldn't King Ahab be sending his military out to hunt down Elijah, the man whom they had the chance to kill in the palace but allowed him to escape instead?

His people were starving and surely he would want to kill Elijah as he probably had believed he had put a curse on the land and that the only way to get rid of it was to kill him.

But the miracle of it all was -- God protected him. 3.5 years is a long time and he managed to stay hidden all this while, unharmed and was even provided for!

And this shows how God constantly takes care of us in everything that we do.

-derrick-
original sermon by Dr Curtis Lamansky.

Theme Song for June Camp

2007-05-24T12:48:00.001+08:00

Hey hey FIBC youths, Guess who's back! It's "me!" chelle's brother. Alright, in view of the upcoming June camp! This is the song that the "prospective campers", as mentioned by Uncle Chiat Pang, will be singing for the upcoming June camp. However, all of us must learn this song because, as mentioned by Pastor, we are one big FIBC family. Therefore, do spend some time looking through and meditating on the lyrics. For those we remembers how to sing, you can also warm up your voices and start to practise singing the song. Whereas for those who can play the piano, even if you don't know how to sing, you've got no excuse, can play and sing at the same time.

I'm Leaning on Jesus

Another gentle reminder before I sign out, this Saturday's barbecue! For those who want to get to join the cast of "Lost Season 4" can meet me at Paya Lebar Mrt station at 1.15pm, I'll bring you on an adventure to anywhere except pit C14, cause I haven't figured my way there yet. Haha! Don't worry folks, I'll figure it out, the buses going there etc etc. If you want, you can also meet up with Ronald Macdonald's (aka Mary) at East Coast Park Macdonald's at 1.40pm. Don't be late, or you'll not receive your Happy Meal package. Alrigh'ty, that's all for now. For those who have not informed Cynthia with regards to your attendance or whether or not you are bringing along a friend, please do so soon, thank you! Looking forward to see everyone this Saturday!

=Irving=

Evangelistic Barbeque

2007-05-17T22:30:00.000+08:00

Hello one and all, in view of the evangelistic barbeque we are having on the 26th of May '07, we will be having a session this Saturday to prepare us on how to share to our unsaved friends and family members. Therefore, before attending this Saturday's youth fellowship, we can first read through the tracts we have such as the Bridge to Eternal Life to recap on how to share using tracts. If you've lost your tract, no fear, Irving's here. Erh, no link, but! In view of Spiderman 3 swinging into our cinema screens, there is, however, a web link.

You can visit,
http://www.cometocalvary.org/thebridge/pg1.html

I am sure most of you are already familiar and have committed these verses in your memory! As for those we are in the same league as me, *feels guilty*, do go read up and start to do so! Anyways, below is the picture of our invite. The pit number is C14 be the way, because of my inefficiency, I did not include in the pit number although Cynthia told me way in advance, *feels guilty*... again.

Other than that, thanks to Mary, we now have a rough idea where our pit is in East Coast.

That's all for now folks. Do keep Cynthia or Johanna in the loop with regards to the attendance! Also remember to bring money and make payments to Johanna soon, or else don't blame them if we've only got marshmallows on the bbq grill that day. See you guys soon!

=Irving=

Dim Sum Buffet

2007-05-09T12:17:00.000+08:00

Hello youthful ones, the long awaited pictures are finally here! *applause* Special thanks to Cynthia for uploading the pictures onto my laptop! Hurray! Carmen will send me the pictures on her camera so keep a "blog(look)-out" for Dim Sum Buffet Pictures Part 2. I don't think I'll be able to upload many pictures on the blog cause of the cap set by Blogger, therefore, I'll handpick a few nicely taken shots of the youths. If you want to get your hands on the pictures, feel free to approach Cynthia, Carmen or me!

Note: Carmen is busy, look for Cynthia or me first before approaching Carmen!

They use Colgate Total White... Get the picture? No? Put on your sunglasses!
Talk about JT super smiles! Dazzling!

Some bad hair days weren't exactly bad until... ... bad guys came along?
(Bad guys = check out sinister smiles)

more pictures to come... you've been awed by Spiderman 3, wait until you've seen Dim Sum Buffet 2!

Parents' Day!

2007-05-06T21:28:00.000+08:00

Happy Parents' Day! Have you hugged your mum/ dad today? Have you told them you love them? Come on... you can run... but you can't hide... from God. Ha ha, just a gentle reminder, the actual date for Mothers' Day is next Sunday and Fathers' Day is on the 3rd Sunday of June. So it's not too late, and even if you are, it's never too late, better late then never! Make every day parents' day if you can! Thank you Ian for the wonderful poem recital! Thank you Irving, *pats own back*, self praise is no praise! Hahaha! In any case, serve and do all things for the glory of the Lord, AMEN! As quoted from pastor's sermon, be reminded that we are tools to share blessings to others, and never draw attention to ourselves as it's the wrong motivation, do everything for God because He gave us our gifts! =) Dim Sum Buffet! Thumbs up for the finger linkin' good delectable delicacies! Toes up a good time of fellowship! Erhms, ok... I've got all four up in the air already! S...t...r...uggling... to type. Ok, enough. Made my point, sure you all agree too ya? Anyways, would like to thank all ushers for their professionalism in carrying out their tasks. Any better we're going to lose you to top restaurants in the world! Should upload the pictures of you guys standing along the spiral staircase leading to the restaurant. Haha, soon! I will get the pictures from Carmen and Cynthia this coming week. Thank you Carmen and Cynthia for busy snapping up pictures, (thankfully not at us stuffing all the goodies into our mouths), walking from table to table while we were busy burying our heads in the heaps of dim sum. Special thanks going out to Carmen for her impromptu "premiere" attempt at Chinese translation! This may just be one of the many talents God gave you! You're really a blessing to those listening to your translation today, and to us youths! Have nothing to be worried about, did great for an impromptu attempt! Quoted from *I don't know who, you all can check out if you're free and drop me a message*, the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement, no one is perfect... except God's son that is, perfect sacrifice for us sinners! To all others who are searching for which other areas they can serve in, no worries because according to 1 Peter 4:1, "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."! Last but not least, do remember to think about the challenges set out for us during youth fellowship, and shepherds are reminded to follow up with their sheeps too!

1. Would your current approach to service and ministry be best characterized by a battleship or a luxury liner? Why?

2. We've all heard (and even made) excuses for not having a personal ministry. When you're in a season of holding back, what are your most common excuses? Are they valid? Why or why not?

3. Can you identify a specific area of ministry (inside or outside the church) where you'd be missed if you stopped tomorrow? If you're not currently involved in a specific area of ministry, is there something you could begin to do to start making a difference?

4. If you said to God, "I am willing to do whatever you need me to do" and meant it, how would your life change as a result? Are you ready and willing to make that statement? If not, what things are holding you back?

In His love,
=Irving=

*PS: Kenji, thanks for joining us today. You're greatly missed by us!

Combined Church Bowling Challenge 2007

2007-05-01T16:51:00.000+08:00

Hey all, short blog before I head out of home again! First, I would like to thank everyone for taking time off to participate in the Combined Church Bowling Challenge! Hope it has been a great day of fellowship and bonding with your family, church members as well as with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ from Emmanuel Baptist Fellowship.

The picture below shows the results for the teams who emerged top 8! Well, too bad... my team is ranked 9th, on the second page! =| For those who wants to see my name or have other enquires like what your scores are can get the second and third page from me via email or msn!

*drum rolls* The top bowler... the next big thing... the next you know who... you've seen him do it with your own eyes... ... ....goes to.... *drum rolls... eye-rolls....*

Glen!

with an amazing total score of 477.

That's not the end of the story, he did not use his normal 14 pounds ball throughout the competition but changed to his 10 pounds ball halfway through the game due to unforeseen circumstances. His bowling ball's grip came off!

*evil laughter*
(whispers: He'll never know I sabotaged his ball! Got to stop him from getting his personal best)

=Winners for the bowling challenge=

After bowling, we had went to have lunch together at the hawker center below the army market and after which presented Mary her birthday card and birthday "carrot" cake (not the "cai dao quay" you might have in mind by the way). Woohoo! *pops confetti* Happy 20th Birthday! Oh yes, my hands were shaking after the bowling so didn't write much on the card! So yea, may you grow in faith day by day with every passing moment!

An additional note, amidst all the fun, please do remember to continue keeping all those who are in the midst of their examinations in your prayers!

Also, those who have not signed up for the Basic Biblical Mandarin lessons conducted by Sister Rachel, you can visit the below link to catch a glimpse on what we are learning to use for sharing the gospel with friends and family members who speaks mandarin.

http://www.god2100.com/

Now that I've caught your attention! See you at Sister Rachel's Mandarin lessons, you might well be on your way to singing Chinese hymns without breaking a sweat and surviving reading aloud Chinese verses during church service without suffering from a twisted tongue!

Blogged by,

= Irving =

finally, an update

2007-04-29T17:30:00.000+08:00

hi people!

I am sorry this blog is like collecting dust. cos i almost forgot the password. Will try, very hard to update it k? Anyway.. here's a photo of our army boy!

I will send invite to you guys, so more people can be posting here too :)

See ya guys on 1st May for the interchurch-bowling!!!

*karma waves.

Ron Patch Hamilton

2007-03-22T13:21:00.000+08:00

The encouraging story behind Patch The Pirate~!

Every young boy dreams of becoming a cowboy, a fireman, or maybe even a pirate, and I did too. I also dreamed of having a nickname that sounded dangerous and exciting—something like Buffalo Bill or Long John Silver.

When I was 27 years old, my dream came true. On a routine visit to the eye doctor, something unusual was discovered in my left eye. After several weeks of testing, I was rolled into the operating room for surgery on my eye. Only God knew what the outcome of that surgery would be. As I slowly regained consciousness several hours later, my wife gave me the startling news. "The doctor found cancer. Your left eye is gone."

The doctor gave me my first eye patch, and suddenly I was a pirate! Kids were fascinated by my pirate patch. Everywhere I went children would call out to their embarrassed mothers, "Look, Mom! There goes a pirate!" The children in my church gave me a nickname that stuck-Patch the Pirate.

Looking back, I can clearly see how God prepared me for this experience. Several years before I lost my eye, God's truth had dramatically changed my life. Verses such as Romans 3:23, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God," had shown me I was a sinner who needed God's help. And when I found out that all sinners "shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire" (Revelation 21:8), I was really concerned about where I would spend eternity.

Then I read, "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8), and John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

I'll never forget kneeling all alone by my bed one night and telling the Lord I was sorry for all my sin. Believing that Jesus Christ had died on the cross for me, I asked Him to forgive me and become my Savior. Since that night, my life has been dramatically different because Jesus Christ has been in control. I not only have the joy of knowing that I'm going to Heaven when I die, but I also have the assurance that God is working all things together for good in my life right now.

Yes, I lost my eye to cancer, but God transformed my loss into a great blessing. The Lord has given me and my family an exciting ministry to families around the world through Patch the Pirate Story and Song cassettes and CDs. We also have a nationwide broadcast called The Adventures of Patch the Pirate that you can hear on this web page. God has been so good!

You too can experience God's love and peace by turning from your sin and receiving Christ into your heart as your Savior. I know there are all sorts of so-called "new religions" being manufactured today. But I also know "there is no other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Jesus Christ is the only one who can save us.

Will you pray the same prayer that I prayed by my bed that night? Will you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior? Your eternal destiny depends upon your decision.

Thank you for letting me share a little of what God has done in my life. I pray that the Lord will greatly work in your life also.

May God richly bless you,
Ron Patch Hamilton

This blog is not dead!

2006-08-20T22:32:00.000+08:00

Okay I know this is one month late. No it wil not die out like the old MSN account. I die die make sure everyone reads this blog!!! I will try & update k.. Mary & Spencer also help lar...

Anyway, there's usher training this Sat.. So yeah, everyone involved, pls come down for training k. there will be some restructuring after the training as new ones will be roped in. so stay tuned for the changes..

Ta!

Please say somethin people!!

2006-07-12T19:45:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone, how come no one leave any comments? Please say sometHINGGG

Anyway this weekfor YF, please memorise

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."-Romans 8:28

And plus, complete pg 32-33 before coming YF!

See ya!

1st entry!

2006-07-08T20:40:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone!

Here's the new FIBC Youth blog...Ha..Yes, we know the old MSN group died.. Well, so well this place will stay here as long as people are still interested to come here & read stuff..

Will post announcements for YF, outings & photo links as well. Any more suggestions? Probably a tag board soon..Maybe from time to time, will also post prayer requests & thanksgivings too...Till then, leave comments k?

Do you wanna be a contributor? Do let me know... but becos this is a group blog, must keep to entries related to youth/the church/encouraging notes about God.. But it will be subject to my editing & approval also arh?? Haaa

God is good,
Carmen