Tim Hughes in Singapore

Heya Ladies,

Interested in going for the following events? Click on the links for more info. Thinking of going for the Thursday session (10th Apr). Let me know if you wanna go. I'll register for the free tickets! Let me know latest by next Sunday ya?

Ady

http://www.alpha.org.sg/wcps/

http://www.alpha.org.sg/wcc/program.htm

Pastor on the cover page!!...well, sort of

And here's the full story. Though not really on FCBC, but you can read for leisure! :)

Expo, the way to go

Centre making a name as a church hub

Monday • January 14, 2008

Alicia Wong
alicia@mediacorp.com.sg

IT HAS always been a venue for conventions and exhibitions, one of the top in the region. But strange as it may seem at first glance, this same site looks to be South-east Asia's hub for churches as well.

Whether attending youth rallies, outreaches or weekend services, a sizeable number of church-goers have religiously flocked to one of the few places that can accommodate their numbers — the Singapore Expo.

Which says as much for the Expo as it is a sign of the growing numbers attracted to churches in Singapore and their subsequent need for space.

It is "one of the busiest and most popular venues for church events," said a spokesperson.

Each weekend, as many as 27,000 church-goers head for the Expo, and could contribute to as many as 90 per cent of its visitors on a non-event weekend.

From 2005, three of its 10 multi-purpose halls have been leased to two churches every weekend.

The City Harvest Church (CHC) holds three services on Saturdays and Sundays at hall 8 for its 17,000-strong congregation. The Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) rents the Max Pavilion and hall 9, drawing about 10,000 attendees over the weekend.

When Today visited FCBC's youth service, parked cars lined the roads leading to the Max Pavilion. The auditorium was about half-filled but the remaining seats, yet to be filled, were reserved.

Smaller-sized Bethesda Community Church, which has held its Sunday services at the Expo for the last seven years, occupies about half of the total conference and meeting rooms at the centre.

CHC's executive pastor Reverend Derek Dunn said his church chose the Expo for its large hall size and long-term availability. "There isn't another venue with more than 10,000 sq m of floor area that could offer that to us," he said.

CHC had "maximised" usage of its Jurong West building and needed more space for its English-language service.

Expo officials would not reveal lease or rental costs but a regular user of the centre told Today the daily cost for the use of an empty 10,000-sq-m hall could start from about $50,000.

A hefty sum to pay to worship in airconditioned comfort?

Perhaps, but the tithe and donations from worshippers undoubtedly help foot the bill.

The CEO of a medium-sized company told Today she contributes 10 per cent of her monthly salary — about $1,000 — every month.

Mr David Chew, 56, who attends FCBC with his wife and three children, said the move to Expo was "practical". FCBC has held many smaller services at Marine Parade in the past.

FCBC provides shuttle buses from Simei MRT startion, he added, to make it easier to travel to the Expo.

Mr Jonah Wang, 26, an FCBC member who spends about an hour travelling to the Expo from Yishun, said the distance was "not an issue".

"My spiritual family is here," he said referring to his church at the Expo.

According to the Expo spokesperson, CHC and FCBC each hold about five additional annual events annual and other churches, including New Creation, hold a total of about 15 events at the Expo.

The Catholic Archdiocese Youth Centre (CAYC) held its youth rally at the Expo last year.

Citing economical pricing as one reason, CAYC's youth coordinator Edwyn De Souza, said CAYC also chose the Expo because of its big bus bay.

Members of the various congregations also liked the Expo's relatively isolated location as it reduced distraction and the halls being on "ground-level made it safe and convenient for the elderly, the handicapped and children", the Expo spokesperson said.

Church-goers, by their sheer numbers, also served as a draw for event organisers planning to use the Expo to stage exhibitions, she said.

Miss Ng Xuehua, 19, told Today she would visit exhibitions at the Expo after attending FCBC's Mandarin service, "especially if it was an IT fair", while Mr Calvin Hue, 53, said car exhibitions and computer fairs attracted him.

The Expo plays host to about 700,000 to 800,000 visitors on a weekend when events are held.

Can Singaporeans expect more churches to hold their services at the Expo?

Cornerstone Community Church will be hosting its second event at the Expo this month.

A church official said: "As it is, there is a shortage of medium to large facilities in Singapore, halls that can hold 2,500 to 5,000 people will be in great demand."

One mega-church, New Creation Church, however, has chosen another way to house its large congregation — it will be moving to an integrated lifestyle hub at one-north in three years.

Now holding its Sunday services at Suntec City's the Rock Auditorium, it attracts a congregation of over 15,000 and many members have to be "directed to our overflow rooms where they can follow and participate in the service via simultaneous telecast on projection screens", a church official said.

Thanksgivings for 2007

1) Xide's marriage proposal to me
2) Thank God for helping me to raise more than $500 for the QQS trip
3) My relationship with my colleagues and Xide's family have been better than last year
4) I got my bonus and it's better than last year (haha, cos i work one year already!) :)
5) Thank God also for adding Hannah to our family.

Thanksgiving for 2007

I thank God for....
a) Surfacing hurts through my "tennis elbow"
b) Change of job
c) Last revelation of the year - To stop complaining like Israel
d) Everyone who loves me! :P

Entering 2008...

Yat, Grace and I decided to pay Seth, FS and Hannah a visit before heading down to the Countdown Party on New Year's Eve..

It was my first and last time carrying Hannah in 2007.. but i look forward to more opportunities in 2008!! :-)
We were trying real hard to wake Hannah up but she was so soundly asleep.. Maybe she wanted to join us for the Countdown Party at Expo!!! When she finally did stir for a moment.. I jumped at the opportunity to capture her many different expressions!

Anyway, us 3 aunties (yes Yat, you din manage to wake Hannah up..) headed down to Expo.. met Yanling near Hall 7 and started to queue up to enter the hall..

It was a great time of celebration.. and as usual, some came earlier than others.. thank God for the seats! For me, what was meaningful was reflecting on 2007 and giving thanks for the victories in my life. I'm sure there are others who share the exact sentiments!

The main highlight was the pyrotechnics and balls and balloons galore at the stroke of midnight!!

The celebrations at the party may be over.. but let's continue to give thanks and look toward 2008, the year of Sabbath!

2007 Thanksgiving..

I have more than 1 thanksgiving so I shall give a summarized sentence..

Thank God for growing closer to my family over the year.
Thank God that my sister is pregnant.
Thank God for my girls in Gkidz ministry.
Thank God for His perfect timing in all seasons of my life.

okie here's the one thanksgiving for a victory in 2007 grace asked us to post during processing.

thank God that i was voted by my peers as most-valuable-person (MVP) for my overseas community involvement programme :)

Moving into the FINALS!!!

We're on to the finals!!!
Read more about the match here...

Singapore Polo team in FINALS!!

加油 Pastor！

Just did a quick calculation after Singapore's lost to Malaysia (in polo) today.

Malaysia's Goal Difference is +33
Singapore's Goal Difference is +1.5 with one match in hand

The weird thing is that I do not see Pastor Khong's name in any of the Singapore's match reports. Let's continue to pray for him...and the team and that the team will win whenever he plays!

Yay! Go Team Singapore! Go Go Ps Khong!

Keep pastor in prayer!

Singapore's Polo team made it to the next round!! This is exciting.. May it indeed be a Year of Victory!!

Hannah Tan Jing En...

More pictures of Hannah!!! Managed to capture one of her precious smiles.. Check out her dimples!!! She was sleeping most of the time though.. but that's what babies are supposed to do.. SLEEP!!!

FS looks kinda tired.. pray for strength as she nurses herself and Hannah.. :-)

Let's welcome a new addition to the family!!

Ms Hannah Tan Jing En
Safely entered this world on 5 December 2007 @ Mt Alvernia Hospital
Weighs 3.85 kg

Congrats to Seth and FS!!! Let's keep them all in prayer! For protection over the family. For strength and wisdom for the new parents!

More pictures tomorrow!! :-)

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/

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?

want to go China?

want to go China 2008? Sign up now!

God is.....

Compassionate
Persistent
A God Of Second Chance
A Miracle Performer
Commander
Powerful
Disciplinarian
Teacher
Healer
Environmentalist
Giver & Taker Of Life
Love

Source: Funny Pictures (2003)

Book of Jonah

(Permission of use obtained from author)

No time to read the book of Jonah?
Need some pictorial help in visualising the story of Jonah?
Click on the picture to read the Jonah comics!

The Steward Exercise

We have an ultra-interesting application this week, I want to invite all of you to join in! And in case those who were at processing thought I wasn't serious about it...well, this entry shows that I am, so, please do homework hor! Here goes...

Consciously note your week's expenditure for 8 Oct-13 Oct.

While doing this exercise, remember that we're assuming that this is a typical week. So don't try to deliberately curb your spending. If you are giving tithe this week, divide your tithe amount by 4 and add on to your week's total expenditure.

After you have done your recordings of expenditure at the end of Sat, observe from your spendings the following:
1. Are you content with what you have? (i.e. are you content with what you've spent on...or do you want more?)
2. Do you give to God first?
3. What are the things we spend on?
4. Do you give to the poor?

We are to be good stewards!

3-Step Bible Study Process

(Taken from "Living by the Book" by Howard G. Hendricks & William D. Hendricks)

(1) Observation: What do I see? (TSLA)
a. Terms: key words (e.g. "but")
b. Structure: grammatical (e.g. what is the Subject/Object), literary (e.g. cause &
effect, question & answer)
c. Literary form (e.g. poetry, epistle, narrative)
d. Atmosphere: setting, author’s feelings

(2) Interpretation: What does it mean?
a. Questions: keep asking
b. Answers: find answers from observation process
c. Integration: put answers together into a meaningful whole

(Tip: The longer time you spend on making observations, the shorter time you take to interpret the passage and the more accurate your interpretation.)

(3) Application: How does it work?
a. For me: personal application for credibility & authority before you teach the Word
b. For others: for effective ministry