Sunday, April 29, 2012

29 April 2012 - ENCS

Pastor Josh talked about Romans chapters 9 to 11
Starting with Paul wanting his friends to go to heaven
This highlights a big change in Paul's heart
From his old ways he clearly did depart
Onto God's children in the eighth verse
The offspring of promise, not the reverse
Verses 9-29 talk about God's election
Sometimes unfair seems His selection
But be careful about asking for fair
We wouldn't be saved if He didn't care
Josh said mercy is getting what we don't deserve
For instance, grace when laws we don't observe
Then looking at verses thirty to thirty two
By faith the Jews did not God pursue
Trying to rely on works led to a mess
While the Gentiles attained righteousness
The themes of chapter nine, Josh did saith
Are clearly compassion, mercy, and faith

Moving onto chapter eleven, we then did see
The themes are God's grace and sovereignty
Verses one to six say a truism again
That a remnant will always remain
From verses 7 to 24, a new plant has been crafted
For onto the vine, the Gentiles have been grafted
Moving onto verses twenty five to thirty one
God's ultimate plan will of course be done
From all nations, God wants to get all people
To worship together under a common steeple
And by making the Israelites jealous
He hopes they will again be zealous

Josh then returned to chapter ten
What should be done by all men?
In verses four through eight we so clearly saw
That salvation comes through Christ, not the law
To be saved, verses nine and ten do impart
We must confess by mouth, believe with our heart
To be made whole be God is to be saved
That is how our road to heaven is paved
Verses 11-13 say those who call on God by name
Will be saved and will not be put to shame
It matters what goes on in a person's heart
And remember that prayer does play a part
Josh said that prayer can change history
That statement should not be a mystery

Reading verse seventeen, Josh did then conclude
That through the word of God, faith is imbued
Whether through the Bible, prayer, or a sermon
We can hear His word and then His will can be done

Sunday, April 22, 2012

22 April 2012 - ENCS

Today we heard from youth pastor Mark Chu
With Romans eight the series did continue
Mark said that verses one to fourteen
Continued what in Romans seven we had seen
He did read from verse one, with no hesitation
For those in Christ, there is no condemnation
He then read the verse past number thirty eight
From God's love, nothing can us ever separate
But condemned is what we often still feel
Prohibiting us from getting God's full deal
Per verse 14, the Spirit gives us our identity
In 15, about the Spirit of sonship we do see

Mark asked "who do we say God is?"
And "what does God say about His?"
His father told him, when Mark was just sixteen
If abide by the rules, many privileges will be seen
But God is better, per the parable of the Prodigal Son
Privileges awaited no matter what the son had done
Giving us a robe of righteousness is God's way
For Bill Johnson said "God is in a good mood today"
Being a son of God means to be fully restored
We don't need to do anything to get this reward
In verse twenty eight, this is clearly stated
Since He loves us, we should be elated
And as we read again in verse thirty one
God loves us so He did not spare His son

Concluding his sermon today
Pastor Mark then did say
Our God is an awesome dad
Loving us even when we are bad
And with verse nineteen he then appealed
For us, the sons of God, to be revealed
Saying we should walk with our heads held high
So the world can learn about Christ, that's why

Monday, April 16, 2012

15 April 2012 - ENCS

On "The Power of a Sanctified Life" Rachel Ong did talk
As we went through the seventh chapter of our Romans walk
She talked about newness of life versus the lust of the flesh
What we want to do and not do seem to intertwine and enmesh
The law is spiritual but we are carnal says verse fourteen
If we do not refocus on God daily, more sin is then seen
Rachel also touched on verses eighteen to twenty
Our sinful nature leads us from good to stray plenty
Which is why we read in 1 Thessalonians 5 : 23
That only God himself can sanctify us completely

Rachel then talked about man's three part whole
The exterior body, our inner spirit, and our soul
The body is a dwelling place, what people see
The soul has our mind, emotions, and personality
Our spirit is our identity so we need Jesus there
To fight temptation we need to reach out in prayer
Per 2 Corinthians 5, anyone in Christ is a creation new
Jesus came to make our bodies and souls true

The message that Rachel did then give
Is that to die to self is the only way to live
We each have our daily crosses to bear
About all of them, Jesus Christ is aware
The first step is to surrender our rights
So that sanctification can be in our sights
And then Rachel said, in her very next breath
We must put the "law of sin and death" to death

God can change our lives, making us a new creation
If we allow His Way to be our core foundation
But why does God let us struggle after that?
Because God loves us no matter where we're at
If we could kill sin in our lives once and for all
We wouldn't have needed Jesus to take the fall
We should humbly receive God's word per James 1:21
And delight in His Law, per Psalm number one

Remember that the rockiest soil produces the best wine
Because the grapes' strength comes from the vine
Jesus is our one true vine, per John chapter fifteen
So in the rockiest times, God's best fruit can be seen
All we need to do is to listen and abide
Not be discouraged, hopeless, or teary-eyed
We need to wait on Jesus in His time
That has been the point of many a rhyme

In summary, Rachel said with a spring
Is that sanctification leads to anointing

15 April 2012 - 1 Kings 19:3-9

Elijah was afraid and from Jezebel did run away
And into the desert he did journey for a day
Sitting under a tree, he prayed he would die
"I have had enough" to God he did cry
"I am no better than my ancestors" he did say
He fell asleep under the tree where he did lay
An angel touched him, telling him to "get up and eat"
Warm bread and water were by his head, not his feet
Elijah ate, drank, and again fell asleep as he lay down
"Get up and eat" again said the angel in a gown
Adding that "the journey is too much for you"
Elijah then realised that this was indeed true
Strengthened by the food, he travelled forty days
He then went into a mountain cave to seek God's ways

Elijah was clearly feeling desolate and defeated
But God's work for him was far from completed
So as Elijah asked how he had strayed so far
God replenished him with bread and the water jar
In the wilderness there is often weakness and despair
But we should never forget that God does really care
On the mountain, there is strength as well as hope
It is therefore always worthwhile to walk up that slope

Sunday, April 8, 2012

8 April 2012 - ENCS

On the sixth chapter in Romans Pastor Larry did speak
"Dead to sin, alive to Christ" was the apt title this week
For that is in line with the message of Easter weekend
And what in so many books of the Bible is penned

The first two verses refer back to Romans 5: 20
Shall we sin just because we have grace a-plenty?
"By no means", Paul seems to shout
Because "we died to sin", have no doubt

Further substantiation comes in verses three to ten
"Died with Christ, alive in Christ" again and again
And what must cause the enemy much chagrin
"Anyone who has died has been freed from sin"

Moving on to verses eleven through twenty three
Paul makes it clear that "alive in Christ" we should be
We should not obey our body's evil desires
But instead be a slave to righteousness' fires
Remember "the wages of sin is death", per verse 23
But the gift of God is life with Christ in eternity

Pastor ran through his points very quickly indeed
So that with moving testimonies we could proceed
We heard about so many before and after tales
God's hand was apparent, even in small details

8 April 2012 - PLMC

Christopher Chin spoke at the service at sunrise
Using acronyms for "EASTER" was quite a surprise
But first, he read from Luke 24 thirteen to thirty five
And the congregation responded "He is alive!"

Encountering Afresh Saviour Through Emmaus Road
Is what the disciples felt, to Jerusalem they strode

End's At Sight, Trouble Eventually Rolled-away
That is of course a key message on Easter Day

Pastor then referred us to verse five of Psalm thirteen
"God's anger lasts a moment, His favour a lifetime" is seen

Eyes Able to See Tomb Emptied and Redeemed
Things were great, not bleak as it first seemed

Ending All Sadness/Sickness Through Eternal Resurrection
We are all healed and benefit from His immense protection

Encouraged Again, Sent to Tell Everyone Rejoice
This is what we should all do in a very loud voice

Empowered And Sent to Testify, Evangelise, and Reach-out
God gives us new strength, of that there is no doubt

Acronym number six was the last
For the allotted hour had passed

Friday, April 6, 2012

6 April 2012 - PLMC

On this Good Friday in our faith's Holy Week
About "The Exchange" Pastor Reuben did speak
God's love for us should keep us going
For it is constant, not to-ing and fro-ing
On the cross, for six hours Christ did hang
A "measure of His great love", as we sang
Three hours in light, three hours in the dark
When God forsook Him, the contrast was stark
For when Christ took on the sins of the world
God could not look even with eyebrows furled
Jesus was beaten and whipped night and day
Yet he chose to take our sins on Himself anyway
And no matter how betrayed or pained Jesus did feel
Soldiers were slain and the centurion's ear he did heal

To prove that Christ did this voluntarily
Pastor referred us to Matthew 26:53
Legions of angels Jesus could have called
His enemies could have easily been malled

In 1 Corinthians chapter two verse two
Paul made it clear what we should do
Ignore the other lies we may hear
Focus on Jesus, for He is so dear
In this way, we give Him access to our heart
Once there, the Holy Spirit can do its part

"It is finished", Jesus said after taking a drink
This is good news; our hearts should not sink
His work was perfect and was finally complete
Our sins forgiven, the enemy Jesus did defeat
There is nothing we can do to add to His work
From believing in Him we should not shirk

Another passage telling us what Jesus had done
Is 2 Corinthians chapter five verse twenty one
Putting our sin on the one who was sinless
So God's righteousness we might possess
The cross is a symbol of suffering and shame
But even more powerful is Christ Jesus' name
For his actions bridged an immense gap
For our sins, from God he took the rap

Looking at verses 59 and 60 of Matthew 26
To Jesus, no false accusations could affix
And reading on through Matthew 27 verse 1
It is quite clear what the Sanhedrin had done
They all plotted against Jesus and wanted him dead
Christ spoke the truth; they called it blasphemy instead

Pilate said that Jesus was not guilty of any crimes
In John chapters 18 and 19, three separate times
But with Pontius the Jews would not agree
A crucified Christ is what they wanted to see

We turned back to Matthew 27 verses 16 and 17
For this is where the exchange is actually seen
Barabbas' first name was also Jesus is turns out
That he was a hardened criminal, there is no doubt
Son of the father is what Barabbas' name did mean
There were hidden meanings in this famous scene
The Jews decided to set Barabbas free
But this is what was intended to be

On Good Friday, Pastor says not to mourn
Remember that the temple's curtain was torn
There is one real reason for Jesus' selfless act
God has great love for us, that is a fact

From 1 John four verse seventeen we do read
Boldly we can approach judgement day indeed
Because in us, love has been made complete
That is something we should be happy to tweet

Pastor related this to the parable of the prodigal son
Particularly Luke fifteen verse thirty one
The elder son's jealousy was plain to see
"My son, the father said, you are always with me"
"Everything I have is yours" he then said
We should be out celebrating instead

In conclusion, Pastor then asked how we should live
"With this truth in our hearts" was the answer he did give

6 April 2012 - 1 Corinthians 10:13

1 Corinthians 10 verse 13 makes points two
Starting with "no temptation has overtaken you"
"Except what is common to mankind"
Nothing is unique to us, it does remind
The second is that"God is faithful"; He is just and fair
"We will not be tempted beyond what we can bear"
And when we are tempted, we should have no doubt
We can endure it for "He will provide a way out"

So dear God, on this Good Friday morn
Let me never be discouraged or forlorn
All temptations will disappear or abate
For I know that our God is indeed great

1 April 2012 - ENCS

Pastor Charles spoke about Romans chapter five
Martin Luther's life it apparently did revive
The earlier chapters say all men are in sin
Chapter five talks of all the benefits we win
Another way to talk about the author's shift
Is that he now provides a much-needed lift
"Justified by faith" is mentioned in verse one
"Access by faith" is how it should be done
Pastor shared with us points one to four
With more time, there would have been more

The first is that we have been justified
Pastor Charles then gave us a little aside
He told us that when the Bible we do read
We should study it well, not go for speed
Paul made a point in Galatians 2 verse 16
Justification comes from faith, it is clearly seen
It is not enough to keep the Commandments Ten
This point has been made again and again
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus did tell
That more than actions, it is thoughts as well
As such, we could never really do our part
That is why God came to change our heart
To be justified is to be declared not guilty by law
Thanks to Jesus, God does not see even one flaw
To stand in the presence of God, not chagrined
Allows us to feel "just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned"

The second is that with God we have peace
That means that our war with God will cease
The conflict for our soul is over indeed
The enemy may fight but he will not succeed
Pastor Charles then read to us the tenth verse
Being reconciled, things will be better not worse

We have access to God is point number three
We can approach boldly, in Hebrews 4:16 we see
Our faith should not be passive, but instead be bold
For God's grace He will not from us withhold

We have eternal hope in God is point number four
Our inheritance is entering through heaven's door
For we have been reconciled per Romans 5:11
Thanks to Jesus who came down from heaven
This atonement is not just the covering of sin
But the replacement of all sin that has been

In conclusion, Pastor did not leave us guessing
For us, Jesus purchased every spiritual blessing
And from Ephesians 1:3 we can gladly read
That in Christ, we can find everything we need