27th Sept Sermon Discussion - "This Day We FIGHT!"

Scripture Reference: 2 Kings 13:14-20

Jehoash is a King of Israel of the Northern Kingdom during the last days of Elisha. When Elisha was very sick, King Jehoash came to Elisha, crying for help. From the story of King Jehoash, we can imagine that King Jehoash was not very hopeful that he will be able to defeat the enemies of Israel… There seemed to be a Passive Spirit…

The Question in today’s Message: How can we Break Free from the Passive Spirit?

1. We are Positioned for God’s Promises - Anointed for Victory
The Question we need to first ask ourselves is do we believe that God has blessed us with His Victory?
As October approaches, it also means that we are nearer to all our Final Year Exams, do we believe that God has blessed us with Victory in our Studies?
Let’s share with everyone, how well do you think you are doing in your revision? How well do you think you will do in this coming exam?


2. We are to Possess the Promises – Fight from Victory
As much as God wants to bless us, we need to recognize it is about 100% God & 100% Man… God wants to help us, but the question is do we want to help ourselves? God will not just ZAP us and give us good results like that… God wants us to grow in diligence, faithfulness… We need to work hard, then we can be good at it… Every promise of God needs to be followed through.

3 possible reasons that caused us to be Passive: Discourage; Wearing Down; & Fear
- In real life, are there things that are happening around us to make us feel Discouraged?
- Are there things in our lives that caused us to have a feeling of “Wearing Down”? What are they?
- Are there things that we are afraid of?

Optional Activity: Let’s play a game, it is called, Piggy Back – Dog & Bone!
Same as Dog & Bone, but 2 persons combined into one number, one be the horse, one be the person to grab the bone… Only the person on top can grab the bone & the person on top cannot touch the ground with his or her feet… (Please note that the pair in the Piggy Back should be of the same gender…)
Debrief for the Game: Is it tough? Did some just give up? Then sure lose, right? Remember this: Whenever we give up, we will sure Lose!


3. We need to have Passion for the Promiser – Persevere for Victory
When we have PASSION, we will be able to Persevere & be an Overcomer
Last but not least, remember that we need to depend on God… Let’s not be like the kings of Israel, depend on so many other things but not totally depend on God…
Let’s go into a time of prayer and ask God to bless us with Victory… Let’s hold hands in a circle and pray together… (Click here to read full post)

20th Sept Sermon Discussion - "How to Face Life Challenges"

Activity: Praise-Connectors Challenge

Instructions:
i. Divide the cell into 2-3 groups. Draw lots to decide which group will go first
ii. Cell leader start with a praise song ‘This is the day’
iii. Where ever the leader ends at, the first group is to connect with another praise song that starts with the same word that leader ends at.
iv. The next group will continue with another song with the word that the previous group stops.

For example:
Leader start with ‘This is the day, This is the day, That the Lord has made, That the Lord has made. We will rejoice, we will rejoice….

Group 1 starts with ‘Rejoice, Rejoice, Christ is in you..'
Group 2 starts with ‘You are You are crowned with many crowns, And rule all things in righteousness’ .... Etc

This continues until the winner merges or 10 min, whichever come first.

1. Rate the difficulty you face in connecting the praise songs.
1 = very easy 5 = difficult for some song 10 = very difficult
Praise comes easy for some and may be very difficult for others. When we face challenges, we may take things into our own hands and try to overcome the challenge with our methods. Just like Leah. Let’s read Gen 29:32-35 to understand more.

2. Read Gen 29:32-35. What was the turning point for Leah?
‘This time, I will praise the Lord’. When we face challenges, the turning point comes when we begin to praise God.

3. The divine order is praise comes first. Looking at the different challenges that you face, how can praise bring a turning point?

Challenges:
- Exams
- Friendship problems, such as misunderstanding, conflicts
- Family problems such as not enough money, quarrels,

Praise often brings a turning point because –
1. Praise protects the dream and the dreamer
2. Praise protects you when you are vulnerable (Gen44:14-18)
3. Praise put pressure on the problem (Gen45:1,2)
4. Praise was chosen by God to welcome a new day (Num2:3)
5. Praise says you expect to win
6. Praise declares your destiny is in good hands
7. Praise is the cure for discouragement and depression
8. Praise releases the power of God

4. When Ps Ashley faced the problem of losing hair, he chose to praise God each time he was discouraged. What challenge are you facing now? What will you do to bring a turning point in your life?

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13th Sept Sermon Discussion - "Staying Fresh for God"

Scripture Reference: Daniel 6

A) Warming Up

Share ONE new thing that your members may not know about you. It can be an embarrassing moment, a peculiar habit, a past experience, a place you have visited and so on. Share something that is new to your cell group.

Leader's conclusion: There is always something new or fresh we can know about each other. The same goes with our relationship with God. However, for any relationship to stay fresh, it takes time, effort and desire to grow in the relationship.

B) Listening Room

Read Daniel 6:10 to the cell and share that what kept Daniel fresh through the 60 years of serving a total of 4 pagan kings and being a man of faith and integrity was his daily time with God.

1. Read the following Bible passages three times. Use either

(i) A Bible passage from http://english.duranno.com/livinglife or

(ii) Daniel 6

2. Pause and listen to God and then take the time to write a note FROM God to yourself.

3. After that, pause again, read through what the Lord has spoken to you and write your response to God.

4. Share with each other what you hear God say to you and your response to Him. Pray for each other.

C) Application

Commit to doing Quiet Time regularly as a church. Go to the website http://english.duranno.com/livinglife to read the daily devotions and spend time with the Lord.

The Lord feeds the spiritually hungry Matt 5:6. Some of you may even want to take the challenge to read the Word before food when you start your day. Choose to hunger for the Word of God today.

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Elevate: Vision Chart

Watch out for the next session of Elevate: Vision Chart. Check out the promo video - Chart Toppers!

ELEVATE TV #02: Chart Toppers from Elevate TV on Vimeo.

Sat 19.09.2009
7.30 - 10pm
TOUCHCENTRE
4th Floor - TC Chapel
3 Marine Parade Central

To RSVP: facebook.com/event.php?eid=129081604430&ref=nf

This week's guests:

Sim Yihui was the co-leader of the Singapore Women's Everest Team that reached Everest Peak on 20 and 22 May this year. She will be sharing her experiences, her struggles and what it took to conquer the big mountain.

Isaiah Pang, our very own Youthnet songwriter who composed "Jesus Died for Me" will be sharing his thoughts on the unexpected success and popularity of his song and giving tips on how to get started if you want to write songs too!

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6th Sept Sermon Discussion - "Dark & Stormy Night"

Scripture Reference: Matt 14:22-32

A) Warming up – When you can’t see, you hear (Animal Sound)

Time: 10 mins
Logistics: Blind fold & small pieces of paper
Objective: Members are blindfolded & have to make an animal sound & find the other persons(s) of the same animal sound. They must continue to make the sound until leader says stop.
Animal sound: Dog-woof / Pig-oink / Duck-quack / cow-moo / sheep -meh / cat –meow

Direction
1. Write at least 2 animals & their sound on the small piece of paper & let the group pick up the paper to know what animal sound they are making
2. Arrange everyone, blind folded in different places in the room (ensure there is no obstacles in the room)
3. At the shout of “start”, everyone will have to make their own sound & find each other
4. They must continue making the animal sound until leader shouts stop.

Leader’s conclusion:
When we cannot see, we need to depend on other senses - hearing - to find our friends. We all need to take the little step (no matter how scary it is to walk when blinded) forward to find our friends.

B) Discussion

1. Recap from Sermon: How do we tide through the storms of lives?
a. Recognizing God’s voice-it brings security
b. Responding to God’s voice- it brings salvation

2. What are the characteristics of God’s voice
a. It’s a voice of comfort, I can count on it
b. It’s a voice of communion, I can come to Him
c. It’s a voice of compassion, I can cling to him

3. Why do we need to discern God’s voice during storms of our lives
a. We hear other voices
i. Voice from our logical mind – this brings doubt
ii. Voice from our flesh – this brings self pity
iii. Voice from the evil one – this brings self condemnation

b. We can be led away from God when we respond to other voices than God’s voice

4. How do we discern God’s voice during storms of our lives
a. Draw near to God (James 4:8)
b. Test the voice with the bible (1 Thess 5:19)

C) Application

1. God promised to save us when we honestly call to God, humbly step out in faith & humbly cry out to Him in our storms of lives. We can have peace when God is in the same boat as us. We can smile during stormy times because God is in our vessel. Let us affirm this truth with this song “With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm”
2. Are you right now in a middle of a storm? Let’s split up into smaller groups to share & pray for each other.

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30th August Sermon Discussion - "How to Run a Fishy Business"

Scripture Reference: Luke 5:1-11

1. Prepare a piece of paper and pen for each member. Get them to compete by writing down as many different types of fish that they know of / have eaten before. Whoever manages to come up with the longest list within 2 minutes wins.

2. Read Luke 5:1-11. There are 3 key elements that we need to become effective Fishers of Men. What are they? Which of the 3 elements do you need to have more of in your own life?

3. Name 2 of your closest friends in school. If you had a chance to talk to them about God, what do you hope to say to them? Pray and ask God for opportunities and for courage in each other for this week to talk to our friends.

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Listening to God's Voice

As I watched how the other brothers and sisters in Christ serve God through various platforms, i couldn't help but wonder where i stood in queue on this "waiting list" that i subjected myself to. "Are you good enough?", "Maybe it was something you have done?", "Remember the last time you served half-heartedly?" were familiar questions that kept coming back to me. Honestly, those were questions that i didn't know how to answer and it lingered on in my head. I was spiritually, physically and mentally worn out. Everytime these questions came back, i would redirect them to God and try to listen for an inner audible voice. Though i knew that God can speak to us through anything, i was stubborn and insistent and told God that i will only be convinced if i can actually hear his voice. And so, i waited for weeks, if not months and surrendered to the fact that God doesn't want me to hear the ugly truth.

So it happened. God spoke to me a few months later.

The young adult cell sat down after sunday service for cell group and the one question that Adrian Yang ( Young Adult Cell Leader) asked was "What do you think is God's purpose in your life?". As i hear the other brothers responding to this question one at a time, i became nervous because i obviously didn't know how to answer that question. Personally, i always felt that giving out model answers are a waste of time. No sincerity and unauthentic. So i asked for a skip to buy time. I expected the cell to come back to me after the last guy has shared but they had forgotten about it and carried on with the Word. So i thought to myself again "Wah, since they forgot about it, then i don't need to think about it lor". After cell, we were heading off for lunch and i wanted to share with Adrian how i felt in the past months. Somehow, i ended up telling him this: "God is keeping me here in this cell to develop patience, build character and prepare me for something big that is coming ahead". You know, i was shocked. All these while i have never thought of anything like that but after having said that, i felt peace and joy in my heart. I immediately acknowledged that spontaneous thought as God's voice.

A few weeks later....

My cell leader, Guang Han, rang me up and asked if i was willing to take up role of anchoring Touch Young Arrows. Though i was kinda excited that there was an opening for me to serve, i was willing but yet reluctant. Reluctant because i felt that i wasn't the right person for the job, it was not exciting enough and i knew that i had to die to self if i were to be involved in anything in regards to Touch Young Arrows (travelling distance, lesser time to sleep etc.) I hesitated over the phone and Guang Han eventually told me to pray about it and give him an answer the following day. After we ended the conversation, i was anxious because i felt that i had too little time to ponder. I sat down on my couch and started to pray immediately. I prayed hard and really asked God to give me a sign. The harder i prayed the more i felt that this was a test from the Lord. A test of the readiness of my heart to serve.

I came up with excuses for myself and bargained with God that i know this was a test blabla and haha. I guess i didn't receive any signs from God because of the way i prayed and so i stopped praying. While i was spending time with God again that very night, the question Guang Han posed to me came back to me and there was a built up of anxiety. "Time is running out Lord ! Give me an answer please!" was the first thing i asked of the Lord. At this point of time, i dropped all opposing thoughts and started to be objective about my prayer. I was really desperate when every minute went by with no signs showing. I eventually fell asleep praying.

I woke up in the middle of the night because i felt that i had the urge to pee. As i lazed a for awhile on my bed, i heard a voice telling me: "Wake up from your slumber". I thought it was my imagination or God telling me to visit the washroom if not i'll wet my bed. Normally, If i were to get up in the middle of sleep, the first thing i would do is to look at my handphone to check for miss calls or incoming messages. But this time, it was different. Another voice came into my head telling me to "Stand up and walk". I went straight for the lights and my eyes fixed itself on the bible lying on the side of my bed. I suddenly lost the urge to pee and i kinda knew God wants me to wait upon his Word. So i took the bible and placed my thumb on the side of the bible. I told God to bring me to the right page and i randomly flipped open the bible. To my surprise, i found myself staring at the very first page of the book of Proverbs and the settings of the book. The words that caught my eye on the very first page were "Although they are not meant to teach doctrine, a person who follows their advice will walk closely with God. The word "proverb" comes from a Hebrew word that means to "rule or govern", and these sayings, reminders, and admonitions provide profound advice for governing our lives". As i read through the book of proverbs, many of the verses hit me right on the nail and i knew that i have been foolish in my ways for a long time. There was also a thought in my head that kept telling me that i was the Chosen One. Even though i was convicted then, i wanted to make sure that it was from God. The next morning, i called Guang Han to share with him what happened the night before and agreed to take on the role in TYA.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been having heart palpitations after meals for awhile now. It got worse by every passing day so i decided to visit the hospital in hope of getting a referral to see a specialist. So on the night before my first official day at Touch Young Arrows, the symptoms came back after supper with the brothers and they insisted that i see a doctor immediately. So off i went to the hospital and the doctors told me my condition was serious and i had to be warded. I argued with them that i had something important in the morning but they rejected my appeal. As i lay on the hospital bed the next morning, i apologised to God for trying to be a smart aleck and coming to the hospital. I was lonely for awhile and had one-way conversations with God. I felt that he wasn't there at all, or he didn't forgive my heroic act of getting myself warded. I was quite upset and indulged in self-pity. I asked myself if i had heard the wrong Voice to be involved in Young Arrows.

I'm actually quite a stubborn person and I told God that he can speak to me through the nurses or patients. (Something Real-Time and convincing, In-my-face kind). Not only did i get a nil return from God, to be honest i did not even feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. I thought that whatever bit of God's anointing in me has left. I felt like i was nothing. So there i was, all on my own except for the SMSes that kept coming in. I remembered reading every single SMS that came in a dozen times or more but to me, they were just normal SMSes. I dozed off due to boredom and right after i woke up, a light-hearted familiar spontaneous thought came to my head, telling me to read through the SMSes that were sent earlier. This time when i read the messages, i noticed that in almost every single message, the words "God is with you", "Holy Spirit is with you", "You are not alone" were present. I couldn't help but thought about my baptism name, Emmanuel, which carries the same meaning. I felt the presence of God in the room and i started to think about my baptism, which eventually brought me back to Spiritual Warfare i encountered right after i decided to get baptised. I knew Spiritual Warfare is present every minute, every second but it totally slipped my mind when i harboured thoughts about God or the HS leaving me. God also revealed to me that i have to learn to be extra sensitive to his Words and messages that can come from anything; be it text, objects or people.

I give Thanks to God for everything all that has happened and i know the voice of God will never fail me.

Amen.

Written by Dan Emmanuel Hum Gao Ming
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ELEVATE

ELEVATE TV #01: Chair from Elevate TV on Vimeo.

What is ELEVATE?

Elevate is all about giving new things a go. It’s a bottom up movement that pretty much takes shape from how YOU decide it should be. It’s about new platforms and new expressions. You’ve got a gift? Talents? Or a voice that speaks about the problems your generation faces. We want that. Contribute. Let it come out, on canvas, film, song, administration, set design, music/instruments, preaching. There’s so much more to church then just doing it.

Relevance is our motto. Our main audience is you. Let’s enjoy real community. So do rock up, for some food, fellowship, music and word. It’s all good news. Bring your mates, your besties and Elevate your Christian experience to a whole new level.

Next ELEVATE meeting: 19 September 2009 (Friday) @ TOUCH Chapel

Check out the ELEVATE blog @ http://elevatehigher.blogspot.com or follow them on Facebook today!

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Baptism Testimony - "A Journey of Faith in Him"

I came from a non-Christian family. When I was born, I don’t stay with my parents. I stayed with my auntie and her family. I stayed with them for 12 years. I only went back to stay with my parents as I was progressing to secondary school. Before then, I only went back to my own home during the weekends. I know as a fact that my parents were busy working as I was growing up and they had no time to take care of me. That was why I don’t feel my parents’ love throughout the first 12 years of my life. I always listened to my aunt and did whatever she asked me to do. I was a staunch Buddhist when I was young; I was very passionate about my Buddhist faith.

During my primary school days, whenever I did not do my homework, my mum would be called to school to meet my teacher. Despite the many tuitions that I had, I did not do well in my studies and my grades were lousy. That had made me felt that I was very useless. Others could do so well but not me. I always envied people who were so smart.

When I was young, I hope that I can become a Christian because I want to get married in a church. I also don’t know why I have such thoughts.

When I was 17 yrs old and studying in Nitec, I became a Christian. My best friend brought me to her auntie’s church. Two ladies prayed for me and I felt something in my heart and I started crying. I felt His unconditional love. That day, I invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come into my heart to be my Saviour and Lord of my life.

After becoming a believer for about a year, I began to understand what it meant that God has His plan for me. For 2 years, I tried to apply for a place in the poly but my application was rejected. When I was rejected by the poly, I went into slight depression for a few months. Many people kept encouraging me and prayed for me. But I refused to listen to them. I just kept applying to the poly but in the end, all doors were closed to me. I believed that God has a reason for not allowing me to get into the poly at that time. So I decided to apply for Higher Nitec instead.

During my 2 years in Higher Nitec, I studied very hard and always prayed and sought God for wisdom in my studies. I always prayed and asked God to show me a physical rainbow as a sign of His faithfulness, something I don’t usually see often. God showed it to me in many different ways. I thanked God for blessing me with miraculous results in my studies. I scored straight As throughout my studies. Although teachers set high expectations on me and I also gave myself high standards to attain, I always tell myself that I can do it, that I must persevere, that I must have faith in myself and in God. Not only did I do well in my academic studies, I also participated in quite a few competitions for my school. In most of the competitions, I would emerge as champion and this would always surprise my project group. I always do things with faith in God no matter what the outcome would be.

I went to Taiwan for a competition last year and our group won a few awards. God really blessed me throughout my journey in ITE. At the end of my ITE journey, I was awarded a silver course medal. I was the top student of my cohort. I was accorded the Tay Eng Soon scholarship. I was also the outstanding student in my school.

Currently, I am studying in Nanyang Polytechnic. I went directly into the second year of my course.

I always trust GOD that He has a plan for me and knows my future. My journey with God is all about FAITH in HIM.

by Elizabeth Joy Lee Kia Suang from Ps Lee Lai Fun's Tribe
(Testimony dated 28th August 2009)
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A teacher's labour behind the scene....

During Secondary 2, my Math grade was abysmal from the start, and was nearly streamed into a more inferior class, making learning challenging.

During the holidays, I received a call from the Math Head of Department (HOD), offering me to be streamed into a better class which has Additional Math. This was done on one condition, which I was to be able to pass the subject by Year 3 in order to keep it. My parents and I consented to this request. She became the Math teacher for my classes.

Although our class was known to be the “Math Class” (because it consisted of A Math, E Math and Principles of Accounting), our grades did not reflect that reputation well. Keeping that in mind, our Math teacher took great efforts to improve our grades. This included: sourcing for various school assessment papers, burning those in a disc for our own convenience, held intensive remedial classes during the June and December holidays.

At times I feel regretful that my own class (including myself) was unable to fully grasp her hard work and sometimes even portray it in ungrateful insinuation.

My ‘O’ Levels came and went. I fared pretty well in my grades and this was especially so for my Math; an A1 for E Math and A2 for A Math! Today, I stand as a graduate from Singapore Polytechnic with a diploma in Tourism and Resort Management; one of the more difficult courses to apply because of its huge popularity and aggregate requirements.

I shudder every time I remember my Secondary 2 holidays. If she never believed and gave that opportunity to me, I would not be standing as who I am today.

This story is to let known that a teacher’s perseverance and conviction to their students can impact their lives permanently. Teachers, do your best by showing the appropriate love and concern for your students, for even a student with delinquent tendency like me can be touched. As teachers, you are not only sculpting grades but lives as well! Have pride in what you do, for your students see that in you.

This dedication goes out to Ms Rahma, who is none other than the Math teacher mentioned above. Happy Teacher’s Day Ms Rahma! May the future generation of teachers emulate what you have done for your students!

Written by Wesker Tay, 20 years old
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