16 November, 2008

This month I am spending almost half a month outstation due to travel, training and meetings. On top of that I was also struggling with various commitments and my body has not been helping me recently. As I am not available for visitations, meetings and ministry gathering, we see the strength of our church - the corporate leadership of our various leaders. The leadership and ministry of the Lay Readers, Group Leaders and Fulltime Staff had given good covering during my absence. I know that the Lord has blessed us with good preachers, ministers and fulltime workers. I received good reports on the various ministries of last week.

Thus, I am taking this good sign as a preparation for our church to move forward. In the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles were left literally with only the ministry of the Word, while the rest of the church remain active in witnessing and serving. We will need the church overall to begin to understand that though we have only one ordained minister in FCC, we have many spiritual leaders who can do the work of the minister. In fact, they can share the Word, lead in prayer, do visitation and house blessing. They were not only trained, but some are experienced. In near future, we will certainly provide more training to raise up more leaders in FCC.

 

9 October, 2008

Those who are close with me will see me bemoaning the absence of Bible in our ministry and worship services. We simply do not bring our Bible along to the church these days. The church administration might be held guilty of projecting almost all the Bible verses used during the service. But we do so for new friends who do not own a Bible. The fact that not all of us are reading from our Bible in service (assuming you have one) makes me wonder if we still turn our Bible and read it regularly. If it were your darling we should certainly met 'it' already? I started to wonder what some of your Bibles look like as I have not yet met with them!

 

The other reason believers are not bringing along their Bibles, I suspect, has to do with aesthetic and fashion. In the end of the day, it is hard to match the color of the book with our outfit, or to squeeze it into our handbags. Guys may choose not to carry a book around (what more girls!). Some of us have found a solution by having it in our PDA or handphone - which is brilliant if you can read the whole Mark Gospel (or at least, Jude) from it.

 

Carry the book. Be proud of it. I normally carry mine (you know, the one with a broken heart)  to hospital visits. Once, a believer was so surprise to see me carrying a Bible as I visited his son. What did he expect a pastor to carry? The Word of God is our weapon and source of power. One of my best experiences was to take an elevator with a bunch of young strangers in a five star hotel. We knew we were heading to the same Christian Meeting as each of us carries a Bible.

 

Psalm 1:1-3  NIV Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

 

 

25 September, 2008

Honoring the Sanctuary

 

Recently a few of us are concern with the proper upkeep of the church, in particularly the sanctuary. As we celebrate the Holy Communion at the Sanctuary and Worship God together there, it would be good we are guided by a the following:

 

a.) The Sanctuary (Main hall) is loosely, equivalent of the Old Testament's House of God. Hence we must honor the presence of God. We realize that God's presence is everywhere but the Scriptures clearly indicates the importance of the 'one place of worship' and 'God's presence in the midst of our prayer and gathering'.

b.) If the Church is the People of God, we shall therefore be mindful of respecting the people by keeping the order and proper upkeep of where the Church gathers.

c.) We expect the believers to understand and respect the sanctity of the sanctuary, hence showing good example to the visitors.

Therefore, I would suggest for us to be observing the following:

 

a.) Keep food and drinks strictly at the Lobby (plain water and infant's food are allowed).

b.) Keep the sanctity of the stage  - no one are to step up to it except the worship team and ministers.

c.) Please refrain yourself from distracting others during worship.

d.) Parents are to teach our children to respect others and God since young. Do not restrict them to worship but lead them to right places.

 

It is a blessing to have more and more people with us nowadays. Thus, our clarity of the sacred characteristics of the place of worship will help to build a long lasting impression to the new friends and pave ways for their healthy relationship with the Lord. Let us demonstrate God's glory through our right attitude and gesture.

 

 

18 September, 2008

 

Building firm foundation for further growth

 

We are entering a crucial period of the Year of Growth now. There is no question that the Lord has added numbers to us. We must now pray and plan forward so that we can sustain the growth and bring it to a higher level. We must strengthen the foundation or the root of the growing church so it will flourish and bear fruits. There are two areas which we must put our attention to:

 

Firstly, we must ensure that new friends who are ready are assimilated into various Share Groups. The mechanism of helping new friends belonging to a family is vital for future growth. The assimilation must be ongoing and smooth. We must provide the friendliest environment possible and then able to encourage people pledging their commitment to a Share Group - to the extent of signing the Share Group Covenant.

 

Secondly, we will have to have a strong prayer life. We must set aside at least one Wednesday in a month to join the Church-wide Prayer Meeting. We must pray with a vision. We must pray first before all else.

 

Baptism

 

I want to make it clear to the church that we can have Baptism on any weekend as long as the candidates are ready. We normally have baptism at the beginning of the Worship Service as it is a public declaration of faith and announcement of new member (baptism candidates) joining the church family. Please request for a Baptism Form from the Information Counter if you feel that you are ready. The church office will follow up and you will be properly guided. Do not hesitate if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior and Lord of life. Act now.

 

 

7 September, 2008

 

We have started Group Connection since the beginning of August, planning for it to last for only a month. However, I have decided to extent this open period to encourage the forming of more new Share Groups and also to see operating groups stabilize. Soon I will start to register names of the various Share Group members to pave way for the eventuality of the signing of the Covenant. This time, for the benefit of the Share Group, we will not rush. We will only ask the Share Group leaders to submit the names of their Share Group members. The Share Group Leader will only ask the members to sign the Covenant at the right time in the near future. This is to ensure that we have enough time to explain and assimilate new members into our groups. I believe this will build their confidence.

 

This week we will conclude the very first phase of our Building Fund Collection for the second half of 2008 - to collect RM40,000 by the end of August or first week of September. The ultimate target is to repay RM200,000 by year end and at the moment we have only a few thousands collected. So we need to remember that we give to the Lord. The work of the church is the work of the Gospel. And as we invest, we sow into a ministry in the Kingdom which will last for a long time. So let us be encouraged and sow generously this weekend. Give by faith and use this as our opportunity to grow our commitment, intimacy and love for God who first loved us and preserves us. Give as it shall be given back to you in many fold or blessings.

 

We are honored to announce that Mr. and Mrs. Desmond Chong have responded to the call to teach and serve at the newly built St. Patrick's Sri Indah Vision School. Again the Lord has chosen leaders and capable people from among those in FCC for His pioneering work. Desmond will leave us in a fortnight. Let us all pray for them and also pray for smooth transition for their ministry in FCC.  

 

24 August, 2008

I am glad to announce the arrival of our new church van. Over the past few months the ministry of the church has grown beyond our expectation. The need for more transport is so immense that we are constantly looking for drivers and volunteers who are willing to fetch new friends to church. The arrival of the new van will not in anyway fulfill our transport need as it will simply replace the use of bus. Together with other vehicles, the new van will provide more fluidity compared to the bus.

Meanwhile, we will still need members who are willing to ferry new friends to church. We are also looking for more drivers to help up in the transport ministry. Fetching of new friends and students or those who have transport needs is a wise and kind move. In fact, most of those who are now committed members today were once passengers of our vans in the past. We can certainly show the love of our Lord through this transport ministry. Those who were loved will learn to love.

This week we will also call upon the church to respond to the Building Fund in a more tangible way. We will now lock on to an interim collection target of RM100,000 by the end of October. This means RM500 for 200 committed members in general in three months. So let us start by encouraging one another to put in their first RM200 this month. In other words, let us by faith give 40,000 in two to three weeks’ time to get this going. Giving is a blessing. We know that this building is our first settlement after 13 long years of wandering. It is also a testimony of what God can do through a bunch of young people. It is the only Anglican Church that sits next to six or more top universities and colleges in the whole region. This year we are finally starting to establish ourselves as a strong local church and there will be many more the Lord will do through us if we are faithful.

 

17 August, 2008

The use of Communication Slip has been a success. So far we have been able to pray for many people who submitted their requests. Many of you have also given comments – including some who stressed that pastor is handsome! I will now respond to some of the specific needs below:

> Baptism – please note that baptism forms are available at the Information Counter. If you would like to receive baptism, get a form and then the next step is to pass the form back after filling it up. All you need is to find at least two witnesses who will be your godparents. The church office will call you after that to arrange a meeting with the pastor.

> If you want to know more about getting married in church, join the forthcoming Marriage Course in English every Monday Night, 15 September - 27 October, 2008. The next step is to make an appointment to see the pastor for further details. If possible, join the Marriage Course as early as possible, preferably one year before your wedding date.

We will respond to every return of the slip that mentions a need. So please do continue to use the Communication Slip to communicate with me and the church leadership. Reading your responses and praying for you has become my joy. I am sure the simple act of putting the decision of My Next Step into the offering bag is also an act of faith for us to give ourselves for the Lord and His Kingdom. I am thrilled to see people responding to Transport, Café and Children Ministry and dedicate themselves to their work/ study for the Lord. Let us continue to strive for excellence together as a church and pray for more exciting times ahead!

 

27 July, 2008

As the church now enters into the period of Fast & Prayer for 40 Days, I call on everyone to seek the Lord and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

One of the most dangerous enemies of the church is the breakdown of relationship between believers and the Lord Himself. We can have worship services or fellowship every week but if we start to lose our focus on the Lord we make the church religious but not necessarily alive.

We can easily be distracted by money, personal hurts, past experiences, rejection, cynicism, untrue self-evaluation and stress of life. If we are not filled with the Spirit, a lot of times, we are filled with the abovementioned!

Romans 15:13  ¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

20 July, 2008

We are going to have a churchwide prayer meeting coming Wednesday night at 8:30pm. The aim for the prayer meeting is to seek God together as a church as we serve Him. In every such prayer meeting we will aim to make peace with the Lord on a personal level and then move on to pray for the church body. We will also pray for our nation and society, bringing God our supplication.  In other words, we shall be ministered personally and also seek to be ministered corporately. If we come to the Lord to seek His face, He will surely comfort and direct us:

Psalm 4:2-3  ² How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? ³ Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him.

Psalm 9:10  ¹⁰ Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 14:2  ² The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

Psalm 34:10   ¹⁰ The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Our prayer meeting will be very much a family environment as those who come will pray in truth and in spirit. As we pray in unity we also submit ourselves to God for His vision for FCC in near future. Therefore, we will often have sharing of vision and even ministry time.

We are also going to mobilize and officially begin the 40 Days Pray and Fast in this coming churchwide prayer meeting. Praying for our nation IS the best contribution we can give to our country. Change comes through from our godly and obedient prayer. Fasting is a discipline which helps us to exercise self-control. It is a reminder to us that we do not live by bread alone. We may not be able to fast as much as we expect, but let us encourage one another and see how far we can go!

So I invite all those who are in the church family to come together to pray. Let us enjoy each other’s presence as we enjoy God’s presence together!

 

1 July, 2008

We are finally entering into the second half of the year. We have achieved much in the first half of the year, hitting our target of growth in number. Now in the second half of the year we will need to continue to invite guests, make friends with them and invite them into our family (Share Group).

Apart from the ever exciting and growing work of ministry, we shall also start focusing on the repayment of a short term loan which amount to RM200,000. We will need to collect this amount by this yearend. This is a loan taken to finance the new building in which we reside now. So far the Lord has enabled us to finance the larger part of the cost for this building. So we must continue to trust Him.

Has the Lord not used this new building to bless more people? Have we not experienced a renewed faith and passion for Him? Have we not been growing both in number and maturity? I am sure we all know the answer. 

Mathematically this short term loan repayment is attainable, but I want all of us to see this more than just a loan repayment. This is, to me, a contribution to a building which will become a blessing for many more people. If in a short span of three months we can be used by the Lord to touch the lives of 104 people, think 5 years, 10 years and you will know what your contribution has accomplished! No hand phone, plasma TV, handbags (though they are all good!) can be of such great use!

2 Corinthians 9:11-15 ¹¹ You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. ¹² This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³ Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴ And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Many have already come to know God and praise Him through your good work. Many more will.

 

26 June, 2008

As we enter into the second half of the year we will now need to ask the Lord of harvest to raise up more workers. The Lord has sent us harvest that is beyond our expectation. Last week, we saw many more came to the weekend worship services. It is now a fact that God has entrusted us with all those honorable guests who have come to visit us.

Now we must not disappoint our guest. Let us invite them into our open groups and offer them not just a place to have friends but ultimately a family where they can belong to.

To achieve that we will need to learn to first connect to them on their first visit. Let us shower them with friendly smile, and lead them to the cafe for the free drinks. Let us talk to them and assist them. Making them feel comfortable and at ease is our responsibility as host. Furthermore, Christ said that when we do so, we do it on to Him. So let us all continue to be a good channel of blessings!

 

19 June, 2008

A mission team from FCC will join the Anglican Diocese of Sabah's English Youth Camp in August. I will be one of the main speakers in the camp, partnering Rev. Yong Thiam Choy. Desmond Chong will lead a group of members to join me in the camp to lead in small group and speak in various workshops.

The aim for the mission trip is to enhance our relationship with the youth in Sabah. This is to ensure that they are connected with FCC prior to their coming over to further their studies. The mission trip is also to train the members in FCC to minister in a wider context. A trip to Sabah will be a good exposure for some as it will be a great experience to share Jesus and touch lives outside of our usual surrounding.

Hence, let us all pray for the team. I encourage us to also contribute to the mission trip by our giving.

Mission Team to Sabah:

• Timothy Lim
• Desmond Chong
• Jovina Ng
• Michael Lim
• Grace Li
• Gabriel Li
• Gracy Yong
• Theodore Kong
• Danny Wong

 

Last week we hit another record in our weekend worship attendance. This is after we broke the record a fortnight ago. Let us give thanks to the Lord for His work. We are blessed to see all the new friends. It is our honor to be a channel of blessing to them. To be part of God's plan of salvation is the greatest privilege.

Let us keep up the good work and straining forward to see the Lord work through us to bring in an even greater harvest!

 

13 June

This week we will launch English Faith Music. The purpose of this new Friend Environment is to allow more people especially those who are English-speaking to serve in church with their musical talent. The Chinese Faith Music has been a success and we have also successfully produced an album as a result. Faith Music in general has the functions of:

• Providing a welcoming and friendly environment for interaction. Anyone can register and join Faith Music.
• Training musicians, nurturing new talents.
• Organizing events - Red Compass is a good example.
• Album production.
• Preparing musicians for Worship Teams.

We are also going to have the Alpha Course Holy Spirit Weekend tonight at Church. As usual, I encourage us to bring friends who have doubts and questions in the subject of the infilling of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues to come. This is normally our yearly seminar on these topics so do not miss it!   

Next week, we welcome the visit from Juby Kuo from Taiwan in our Chinese Service to share with us her testimony. So bring your friends to the service and I believe the Lord will touch their hearts.