“THE PRINCE OF PEACE” -10 Luke 2:14
Transcript of “THE PRINCE OF PEACE” -10 Luke 2:14
VISION STATEMENT A loving community of disciples and servant-leaders
SENIOR MINISTER Rev Luke Thurai
[email protected] 9653 7825
PASTOR EMERITUS Rev Dr William Wan
9662 3253
Elder Goh Keng Ngian EDC Clerk, 9829 1339
Elder Victor Shim 9100 4232
Elder Wong Soong Kuan 9298 5226
Elder Joshua Lee 9658 3573
Deacon David Seow Treasurer, 9734 5269
Deacon Angeline Tan 9638 7473
Deacon Vincent Goh 9615 7198
Deacon Kong Li Choo 9734 0035
Deacon Janice Chuang 9657 0700
Lawrence Khoo (Assistant Pastor—Youth + YA)
[email protected] 8113 5770
Daniel Lee (Assistant Pastor—
CG + Prison Ministry) [email protected]
8218 7865
Tony Lee (Church Administrator) [email protected]
8161 7716
Rosalind Choo (Worship & Admin Support)
[email protected] 9619 0707
Chen Yong Khiaw (Church Accounts)
[email protected] 9815 1630
Ho Sweet Meng (Projects)
[email protected] 9754 8987
20 December 2015 The HOPE PC Bulletin For Internal Circulation Only
ELDERS & DEACONS
COURT
PRAYER MEETING
1st Sunday of Month Room 311
WORSHIP SERVICE 4th Floor
PRAISEBABIES Room 301
PRAISEKIDS (3-6 yrs) Room 304
INTER - GENERATIONAL
WORSHIP & PRAISEHOUSE
CLASSES Every Sunday except last Sunday of month
PRAISEHOUSE WORSHIP
Last Sunday of month Tong Siu Hall / 3rd Floor
11.00am—12.20pm
FILIPINO FELLOWSHIP
Tong Siu Hall
FILIPINO
DISCIPLESHIP CLASSES & FELLOWSHIP
Rooms 305, 309, 310
POWERHOUSE+ FELLOWSHIP & CARE GROUPS 4.00pm-6.45pm
Kabek Hall
YOUTH RECREATION
6.30pm-8.00pm
SUNDAY
11.00am—12.30pm
SATURDAY
12.30pm—2.30pm
2.30pm—6.00pm
694 Upper Changi Road East, Singapore 486824 Tel: 6543 4858 Fax: 6543 4859
Email: [email protected] Website: http://hopepc.net
Building Fund as at 30 November 2015
Balance as at 1.1.2015 $ 1,716,674 Jan—Nov Collection $ 132,209 Balance $1,848,883
STAFF
PRAYER CORNER “Answer us when we call to you, O our righteous God … be merciful to us and hear our prayers”. Ps 4:1
Pray for the season of advent that God w ill prepare our hearts not only for the celebration to come, but also for sharing the Good News with friends, family and colleagues should opportunity arise. Grant us courage and a real willingness to talk about the love that came down to earth and walked among us. Pray for the Christmas service.
Pray for our Christmas Service. May those attending remember the first love that Christ called them to, so that they may be refreshed and renewed to serve him faithfully. May those who don’t know Christ receive the wonderful gift of salvation that he freely gives to all who are willing to receive it.
Pray for our families, that during this holiday season, they will grow in a close, loving and fulfilling relationship, valuing, appreciating and respecting one another.
WHISPER OF THE WEEK
2 Thes 2:15 "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold on to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter."
May I encourage you to stand firm in the faith, read His Word, commit to memory and obey it. Only then can you not be deceived by false teachers who will secretly introduce destructive heresies and exploit you with stories they have made up. Test everything. May our God help us. The BIBLE READING PLAN for this week is as follows:
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY, PROMOTION SUNDAY This event will be held on 3 Jan 2016, 11am, at Tong Siu Hall. All P1 to P6 children (in 2016) are invited to attend this special occasion. HAVE YOU MOVED, CHANGED YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR MOBILE NUMBER? If so, kindly inform the church office to update the changes. Thank you.
Thu Song of S 3-4
Poetry
9.00am—10.30am
Wed Ps 143-145
Psalms
Tue Neh 10-13
History
Sat II John Epistles
COMMUNITY
Sun Acts 23-24
Gospel
Mon Duet 26-28
Law
Fri Rev 7-11 Prophecy
“THE PRINCE OF
PEACE”
Isaiah 35:1-10
Luke 2:14
Rev Luke Thurai
CORE VALUES : HEART for God ■ OUTREACH for Christ ■ PASSION for God’s Word ■ ENCOURAGING One Another ■ PURSUING Christ-Likeness ■ COMMITTED to Serving
CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS AT HOPE, 25 DEC We are excited with the coming Christmas celebration this Friday as we want to spread the good news in a fun and engaging way through worship, songs, Christmas play and a message by Ps William Wan. The Directors and cast of the play have put in a lot of time and effort to stage this production.
If you have already invited your friends through the invitation cards or other means, we look forward to seeing them. If you have not, you can still pick up the invitation cards at the WIC or send e-invites to your family and friends.
There is still time and we hope you will take this opportunity to spread the good news of Christmas and invite as many as possible of your family members and friends to this outreach event. If you have any questions, please contact Rosalind Choo at 96190707 or David Seow at 97345269. Lunch will be served after service.
WATCHNIGHT SERVICE, 31 DEC, 8.00-9.30 PM, KABEK HALL There w ill be many year-end countdowns taking place. But for every child of God, none is more meaningful than to usher in 2016 together with God’s family in God’s house. We invite all of you to join us for a sweet hour of worship and reflection to bless our gracious Lord as we celebrate another year of the Lord’s favour. Please register at the WIC to facilitate refreshment preparation.
ORAL INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY - BOOK OF REVELATION Resolving to study God's word more diligently next year? Do consider joining the study to be held on Sundays at 9.30 am before service. No preparation is required but the principles of effective bible study will be taught. Also, the topic of Revelation and eschatology is often difficult to understand.
Join this small group study by registering your interest at the WIC where more details are available. The first lesson will begin on 10 January 2016.
Today’s Worship Service
Duty Person Ps Lawrence Khoo
Worship Leader Deacon David Seow
Musicians & Singers Joshua Lee Wern Chian, Timothy Chua, Ivan Yang, Philip Wong, Janene Cortes
AV Crew & Projectionist Cheryl Lim, Quay Cheng Huat, Adelene Tang
Ushers David Lye, Deon Cho, Zusie Yanny, Melissa Tan
Scripture Reader Timothy Seow
Newcomers’ Corner Ps Lawrence Khoo CG 2 — P236
Next Week
Duty Person Elder Victor Shim
Worship Leader Justin Lim
Musicians & Singers Clara Goh, Charmaine Goh, Timothy Teoh, Jason Yew, Moe Yamamura, Joevan Lim
AV Crew & Projectionist Freddie Goh, William Ng, Lawrence Loh, Derek Tay
Ushers Wong Wai Meng, Alvin Lim, Lian Kay Yee, Lian Tian Tse, Jason Toh
Newcomers’ Corner Elder Victor Shim CG 3 — EZRA-lites
DECEMBER 2015 / JANUARY 2016
FOLLOWING CHRIST IS A VERB
25 Dec Putting Christ Back In Christmas Luke 2:1-20
Dr William Wan
27 Dec
T B C
Rev Luke Thurai
31 Dec
Watchnight Service
Rev Luke Thurai
03 Jan Consequences Of Fruitlessness Mark 11:12-14, 20-21
Dr William Wan
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Counselling Associates
James Tan Email: [email protected]
Nah Kiat Yong Email: [email protected]
Soh Choon Lee Email: [email protected]
DO NOT FRET “Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked” Proverbs 24:19
By Tony Lee David wrote Psalm 37 when he was in his old age. His life was one fraught with many challenges and struggles as King and in his personal and family life. While he was a godly man, he was human and went through many difficult situations. Therefore, his advice for us in this Psalm is valuable in the light of the stressful lifestyle we go through in Singapore; balancing work, travel, family and our Christian walk.
In Psalm 37, the phrase “Do not fret” was repeated thrice:
“Do not fret because of evildoers. Be not envious toward wrongdoers” - verse 1
“Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath” – verse 7b
“Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing” – verse 8
The Online Dictionary defines “fret” (used without object) as “to feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent or the like”. Based on the verses above, it is a combination of intense worry, anger and envy. As one of the Bible scholars reflected: “fretting gnaws at and erodes our ‘sound mind’.” (2 Tim 1:7).
There is so much wickedness in the world and many people go to get lengths to devise schemes just to get rich. The most “evil thing” relates to human traffickers involved with human smuggling and transporting refugees. I was outraged when I read about some of their evil deeds without any respect for human lives. (For example: loading 34 people on to a boat that takes only 11 people that eventually sank and drowned the desperate refugees).
This Psalm admonishes us not to cling to troubling thoughts nor let them build up as heated frets (and I have to confess that I get upset and worked out on horrible situations). David pre-qualified his admonishments with:
“Trust in the Lord and do good.” verse 3
“Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” verse 4
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this.” verse 5
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” verse 7
The lesson is to discipline our hearts and minds to “live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus“ (Phil 4:6-7). Our lack of faith, our worrying and our fretting do nothing for us.
On reflection, actually fret does something to us: stresses and causes all sorts of physical ailments. Having a concern and trying to do something is fine. But worrying or fretting over the outcome of some future event is not good for our mental or physical health. If we are worried or fretful, we seek to be self-sufficient, not needing the Lord’s help. Also Psalm 37:8 warns us that if we allow fret to consume us, it will lead to evildoing on our part.
Jesus said: “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things that come up when the time comes” Matt 6:34 MSG
God is already in the future and will be there when you get there. So do not fret or worry!