Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Cluster camp pics..
Dear all,
Pls click on the link to view some of the pics... Look out for the remaining pics from our cluster's blog.. coming soon (i think.. hehe)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ah_pao/sets/72157603235805068/show/with/2046783397/
Pls click on the link to view some of the pics... Look out for the remaining pics from our cluster's blog.. coming soon (i think.. hehe)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ah_pao/sets/72157603235805068/show/with/2046783397/
Saturday, November 03, 2007
ESTHER
Heya! For the benefit of those who couldn't make it on Thur, i've uploaded the lesson here. (Sorry, a bit long as i dunno how to put attachments.) The last question in red is our reflection for this week. Please post your reflection as a comment to this post.
luv,
choi.
Outline
Royal Banquet
-The story opens with a royal banquet by the Persian King Ahasuerus (v 1-9).
- Queen Vashti refused the request of the king to attend his banquet and thus forfeited her claim to the throne (v10-22).
Esther becomes Queen
- Esther found favor in the eyes of Hegai and eventually became Queen.
The Moment of Crisis
- Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman incited him against the Jews.
Notes
The story of Esther is similar to other stories in the Bible, e.g. Joseph ( Gen 37-50), Moses( Ex 2), David (1 Sam 29-30), Daniel etc. Can you tell what is common among them?
In each of these stories, a gifted Israelite is taken into the palace of a foreign king and there is granted an opportunity to preserve the life of God’s people.
The unique feature about the story of Esther is that it teaches about God’s provision for his people without ever mentioning God in the book.
God is like the author of the script of the drama which unfolds in the story. Given the “coincidences” at key moments in the story, there is no room for doubt that the events happened as they did because they were planned that way by God.
God’s Sovereign Grace and Divine Providence
The situations in our lives are not always the way we want them to turn out. E.g. the place we live, the people we must associate with everyday, the problems we encounter. And these things may not be our fault. We may be the victim of circumstances, or we may have made decisions we thought were right but did not work out as expected.
Mordecai understood God’s sovereign grace and divine providence. He said to Esther, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14)
Esther is no safer than any other Jew. When it is known that she is Jewish, her life will be endangered too. Mordecai is convinced that God cares for his people, and if He doesn’t use Esther to deliver them, He will use some other means. He is a sovereign God.
Application
- God is sovereign and He is able to turn difficult circumstances round to work for our good. This includes the wrong decisions we have made.
- This, however, does not mean we should live our lives in total disregard for the will of God, and then expect Him to clear up our mess. The result is unhappiness, sorrow and regret, as many Christians can testify. The consequences of willful sin can be unbearable.
- The sovereignty of God simply means that when we put our lives in Christ’s hands and yield ourselves unreservedly to Him, we can be certain that He has a great plan for us. He can use everything that has happened to us in the past and every circumstance in our present experience to help carry out his plan.
- God has a purpose for you, right now, right where you are, no matter who you are, where you live, to whom you are married, what you have experienced in the past, or what you are facing in the future. In fact, He has allowed you to come to this place in your life for a specific purpose, “for such a time as this”. He has something specific for you to accomplish in your present situation, and He wants you to look for the opportunities in that sphere of influence.
- As believers, we are a part of God’s great program on earth. We have a destiny. God does not want us to moan our plight and look for a way out. He will be honored if we claim His Grace to be what He wants us to be and do what He wants us to do in our present circumstances. We must take advantage of the opportunities He has made available to us in the here and now. He may later open up wider spheres of opportunity if that suits His purpose, but that is in His Hands. Our responsibility is to let Him use us where we are.
- God is at work in our lives just as definitely as in Esther’s. Our circumstances may not be all we would like them to be. But we can thank God for them anyway. They provide Him with the opportunity to demonstrate His sovereign love and care, and for us to glorify Him. Rom 8:28- And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”.
Q: Recount some of the problems or circumstances you have faced in the past that you now realize God has worked out for good.
Q: What are the present circumstances in your life that you wish were different? What opportunities to glorify the Lord are provided by these circumstances? How can you serve the Lord in them?
luv,
choi.
Outline
Royal Banquet
-The story opens with a royal banquet by the Persian King Ahasuerus (v 1-9).
- Queen Vashti refused the request of the king to attend his banquet and thus forfeited her claim to the throne (v10-22).
Esther becomes Queen
- Esther found favor in the eyes of Hegai and eventually became Queen.
The Moment of Crisis
- Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman incited him against the Jews.
Notes
The story of Esther is similar to other stories in the Bible, e.g. Joseph ( Gen 37-50), Moses( Ex 2), David (1 Sam 29-30), Daniel etc. Can you tell what is common among them?
In each of these stories, a gifted Israelite is taken into the palace of a foreign king and there is granted an opportunity to preserve the life of God’s people.
The unique feature about the story of Esther is that it teaches about God’s provision for his people without ever mentioning God in the book.
God is like the author of the script of the drama which unfolds in the story. Given the “coincidences” at key moments in the story, there is no room for doubt that the events happened as they did because they were planned that way by God.
God’s Sovereign Grace and Divine Providence
The situations in our lives are not always the way we want them to turn out. E.g. the place we live, the people we must associate with everyday, the problems we encounter. And these things may not be our fault. We may be the victim of circumstances, or we may have made decisions we thought were right but did not work out as expected.
Mordecai understood God’s sovereign grace and divine providence. He said to Esther, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14)
Esther is no safer than any other Jew. When it is known that she is Jewish, her life will be endangered too. Mordecai is convinced that God cares for his people, and if He doesn’t use Esther to deliver them, He will use some other means. He is a sovereign God.
Application
- God is sovereign and He is able to turn difficult circumstances round to work for our good. This includes the wrong decisions we have made.
- This, however, does not mean we should live our lives in total disregard for the will of God, and then expect Him to clear up our mess. The result is unhappiness, sorrow and regret, as many Christians can testify. The consequences of willful sin can be unbearable.
- The sovereignty of God simply means that when we put our lives in Christ’s hands and yield ourselves unreservedly to Him, we can be certain that He has a great plan for us. He can use everything that has happened to us in the past and every circumstance in our present experience to help carry out his plan.
- God has a purpose for you, right now, right where you are, no matter who you are, where you live, to whom you are married, what you have experienced in the past, or what you are facing in the future. In fact, He has allowed you to come to this place in your life for a specific purpose, “for such a time as this”. He has something specific for you to accomplish in your present situation, and He wants you to look for the opportunities in that sphere of influence.
- As believers, we are a part of God’s great program on earth. We have a destiny. God does not want us to moan our plight and look for a way out. He will be honored if we claim His Grace to be what He wants us to be and do what He wants us to do in our present circumstances. We must take advantage of the opportunities He has made available to us in the here and now. He may later open up wider spheres of opportunity if that suits His purpose, but that is in His Hands. Our responsibility is to let Him use us where we are.
- God is at work in our lives just as definitely as in Esther’s. Our circumstances may not be all we would like them to be. But we can thank God for them anyway. They provide Him with the opportunity to demonstrate His sovereign love and care, and for us to glorify Him. Rom 8:28- And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”.
Q: Recount some of the problems or circumstances you have faced in the past that you now realize God has worked out for good.
Q: What are the present circumstances in your life that you wish were different? What opportunities to glorify the Lord are provided by these circumstances? How can you serve the Lord in them?
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