25th Oct Sermon Discussion - "Can God Depend on You?"

Announcements:

Before we discuss about the Sermon today, we have an announcement to make: Camp Transformers – An Exciting growth camp for all teens in FCBC aged 12-16, including the Gkidz P6s moving into YouthNet… Dates: 18-20 Dec (Fri – Sun); Fees: $40

Activity 1: Movie Talk

Starter Questions: Who has watched the movie: “Transformers II: Revenge of the Fallen”? How do you find the movie? Are there any truths worth remembering about the movie? (Allow the teens to answer and talk about the movie themselves…)

Leaders’ personal wrap up:
I remember it was so touching when the movie ended with Optimus Prime thanking the boy for saving his life, Sam replied, “Thank you for believing in me…”

· Is this not the same for many of us… We rise up to be used by God because we were encouraged along the way by someone who believed in us… gave us the chance to serve the Lord… Just like Optimus Prime can depend on a ordinary child like Sam, we too want to be those whom God can depend on!

The Question of Today’s Message is: Can God Depend on You?
(Message by Pastor Dishan Wickramaratne)

Summary of Ps Dishan’s Message:

1. God is looking for people whom He can use… God looks at the heart… God is asking, “Who can I depend on?”; “Who can I trust?” (1 Samuel 16:7)

2. An example of someone that God uses greatly is one of Jesus’ 12, Andrew, better known as, Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew is a simple & quiet person that the Lord could trust, that the Lord can depend on. Andrew was one of the first who knew Jesus, the first to say that Jesus was the Messiah. Although Andrew was not well known, Andrew was faithful in bringing people to Jesus. It was Andrew who brought Peter to Jesus. (John 1:40-42a)

3. In the story of Jesus feeding the 5000, it was Andrew who spoke up positively when the rest of the 12 disciples were negative. It was Andrew who spoke up about the young boy who had 5 loaves & 2 fishes. Many of us remember that Jesus fed the 5000, remember the boy who had the 5 loaves & 2 fishes. Very few people took note that it was Andrew who brought the boy to Jesus. (John 6:5-9)

Today’s message is about God wanting to use us for His Purpose… God is NOT asking us to DIE for Him… God is asking us to LIVE for Him… God builds His Kingdom with faithful people who are willing to bring their friends to Jesus… Are you willing to SHINE for Jesus in your lives and introduce Jesus to your friends by bringing them to church or evangelistic events so that they can know Jesus?

Activity 2: Discussion & Praying for Friends

During the Teens Camp, “Camp Transformers”, there will be an Evangelistic Event where we can invite our friends to attend, on the 2nd Day of the Camp (19th Dec 2009), from 1pm to 7pm.

Discuss as a cell how can we facilitate the bringing of our friends for this Evangelistic Event on 19th Dec. Then pray for the friends by name…

Invitation cards will be given out to the cell members on the following week cell mtg on 1st Nov…

Conclusion:

Do NOT belittle what God can do through YOU!!! Let us rise up and be someone that Jesus can depend on! Dear friends, what are we going to do for our God? Can God depend on us? Let’s Pray together…

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18th Oct Sermon Discussion - "Recovering From a Fall"

Sermon Scripture Reference: 1 CHRONICLES 21-22:1

1st Activity: (Game)

Let’s start today’s Word Discussion with a Simple Activity:

Step 1: Ask for a “brave” volunteer from your cell group. If yours is a mixed gender cell, only a guy can volunteer.

Step 2: The volunteer stands in a circle formed by the other cell members. The cell members should stand closely together and all have both hands open to the person in the middle but not touching him/her.

Step 3: At the count of 1,2,3, the person in the middle locks his/her legs and arms by the side and starts falling in any direction her/she wants without moving legs at anytime (like a doll). The cell members forming the circle ensure the person is within the circle and does not fall down at any time.

Step 4: Keep going for about a minute and try with one or two more volunteers if time permits.

Debrief for the Game: How does this activity tie in with the sermon we just heard today?

• Sermon is about falling back into the merciful hands of God.
• Humility needed to depend on others’ help not to fall.
• We are sometimes not in complete control although we think we are.

Today’s Message:

How then can we recover from a fall or a failure? We need to know the two characteristics of God.

1. FLEE FROM THE HOLD OF SATAN – GOD HATES THE SIN OF PRIDE
2. FALL INTO THE HAND OF GOD – GOD HEARS THE POOR IN SPIRIT


1. Flee from the hold of Satan - God hates the sin of Pride

a. According to Ps Melvyn’s sermon, was taking a census (counting of number of troops) wrong? Why then was God angry with King David for doing so?

Answer: The reason King David ordered the census because he wanted to know for his own pride how big and powerful his army was.

2nd Activity: (Deeper into the Word)

b. Pick a few teens to read the following verses using their Bibles:

• Proverbs 6:16-19 - There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

• Proverbs 8:13 - To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

• Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

• James 4:6 - But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Ask the teens to share what they think “pride” is and why it displeases God.

Answers: What is pride? It is self importance and self reliance versus depending on God for guidance and blessing.

Pride is the very sin that Satan has committed that caused Satan (also known as Lucifer) to be cast down from heaven. In fact, pride is the very nature of Satan. Pride opens the door wide for Satan to attack us! It attacked David and cause him to think that Israel’s success depended upon the strength of Israel’s army.

2. Fall into the hand of God – God Hears the Poor in Spirit

King’s David prideful action brought grave consequences; let’s learn how he recovered from this fall. Let’s read three verses from 1 Chronicles together:

1 Chron 21:8 - Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."

1 Chron 21:13 - David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men

1 Chron 21:17 - David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people."

Learning points:

1. The turning point of this episode came when David realized his great sin and realized he has nothing if not for the blessing of God in his life. Twice, he confessed and repented of his great sin. He became poor in spirit – apart from God he is nothing and has nothing. He recognized that he needs to fall completely into the hand of God once again.

2. It was really a divine step that the angel of the Lord stood at the threshing floor of Araunah (a place in Jerusalem) when God, filled with His heart of compassion – stopped the killing. The threshing floor is a place of where what is precious is separated from what is perish – what is treasure is separated from what is trash.

3. God wants to remove what is useless from our lives so that He can bring out what is precious. In spite of the pain of the sin, David was being constantly changed to be a man after God’s own heart. Out of the gross sins of David came the most beautiful thing – the location for the building of the Temple of God!

4. God’s grace and mercy for us is paid by Jesus on the cross. Jesus set the example for us by humbling Himself to go to the cross. The cross gives us a fresh start from our prideful fall.

3rd Activity: (Doers of the Word)

1. Share one area of pride God convicted your heart about today.
Examples: performance in school, good looks, success, family, wealth.

2. Ask your friend to pray for you to help you surrender that area of pride to the Lord today. Pray for God’s grace.

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4th Oct Sermon Discussion - "The Place to Be!"

1st ACTIVITY: (Game)

Let’s start today’s Word Discussion with a Simple Activity:
Let’s play a game, called, PESI-COLA: ONE; TWO; THREE!
The game is simple:

Step 1 – Have everyone hold hands & form a circle.

Step 2 – Let go of your hands, and as you shout out, “PESI-COLA: ONE; TWO; THREE! ,” move backwards 3 steps to make the circle bigger.

Step 3 – One by One, take turn to use your foot to touch anyone’s foot or leg. By so doing, the person being touched will be eliminated & out of the game!
(Please note that every one can only do this in one move & he or she must not jump a few steps… Please REMEMBER to be gentle & do not injured someone by kicking him or her too hard…)

Step 4 – Those who are out keep cheering those who are still “Alive” and see who is the last man or woman Standing WITHOUT being touched by anyone…

Debrief for the Game: What do you think is the moral of this game?
☺ Just to have fun? Of course… Anything else? Anyone can come up with a reason to link back to today’s message?
☺ Correct!

- You can only touch your Neighbour!
- You can only touch the one that is next to you, or surrounding you…

Introduction to Today’s Message:

- To Love God is to Love Your Neighbour; It is the SAME!
- To Love Your Neighbour is the Place to Be.

The Question of Today’s Message is:
How can I be a Good Neighbour?

1. When we Accept our Place in God’s Plan

Acts 2:26 says … God determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

- The Activity that we just went through is to show us how important it is for us to appreciate the place that God has placed us in…
- We are God’s channel, God’s Ambassador to TOUCH someone… who is your Neighbour… who is NEXT to you…
- We can only be a Good Neighbour when we acknowledge that it is God who set the EXACT PLACE that we should live in…
- Then we can actively seek God’s Plans for us at the Place where we are in, be it our home, our school or our cell…

2. When we Align God’s Plan in our Place

Acts 2:27 says … God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though he is not far from each one of us.

This is God’s Plan:
- God wants to touch everyone! How can He do that?
- And He wants to do it THROUGH YOU!
- This is so that when you begin to TOUCH someone with God’s Love, that someone will SEEK GOD, REACH OUT to God, & FIND GOD!!!

In today’s sermon, Pastor Eugene shared with us 3 Steps of how we can help our Nieghbours Seek God, Reach Out to Him & Find Him…

Step 1: Be a Bridge of Blessing (Make a Difference)
Step 2: Be a Channel of Care (Meet the Needs of your Neighbours)
Step 3: Be a Deliverer of Destiny (Manifest the Savior)

2nd ACTIVITY: (Discussion)

Let’s Discuss how can we Practically do these 3 Steps in our Lives?

- Have Everyone share… This has to be personal…
- Only YOU can TOUCH your Neighbour!!!

3. When we Act in Faith & Believe God for Transformation

Jesus responds to FAITH & not just to Needs. Let your LIGHT Shine!!!

Some say, now is EXAM Time, why are we asking you to be a blessing to someone? At this time, like all other students, should we not JUST FOCUS in our EXAMS instead of being distracted by matters not concerning ourselves?

I want to tell you, “It is precisely that it is during this EXAM Time that we need to move out & be a blessing to our Neighbours… ” In times like this, when all our “Neighbours” are anxious about their exams, this is the best time for us to move in FAITH & be a Blessing to our Neighbours! Do something simple, don’t have to spend too much time… Just say a word of encouragement to some one; or pray for someone…

Let’s group into groups of 2 or 3 to pray for One Another… that we will Make a Difference & Meet Someone Needs so that the LIGHT of Christ will SHINE THROUGH US!!!

Do you accept your place in God’s Plan? Can you appreciate the place that God has placed you? Will you choose to be use by Him to bless someone?

All of us need to go through a JOURNEY of FINDING God’s Destiny for ourselves… We want to know God’s Plans for our lives… And the JOURNEY starts with where we are… NOT somewhere else… It is in the place that we are in, where everything is the same, the people are the same, during very ordinary moments, in the simple ways, that we begin to SEEK GOD… and as we REACH OUT to Him, we FIND HIM…

God place us where we are is so that WE WOULD:

• SEEK HIM
• REACH OUT TO HIM
• FIND HIM

Questions for Sharing:

Let’s share with one another, how we feel about the place where we are in?
- Are we happy with where we are?
- Are we happy with the Family that we are in?
- Are we happy with the School that we are studying in?
- Are we happy with the Church that we are in?
- Are we happy with the Cell Group that we are in?

Let’s share with One Another why are we Happy?
- Or why are we NOT? What can we do about it?
- Do you BELIEVE that God has a Plan for you at where you are?
- Do we want to seek the Lord & find out what His Plans are for you?

If you want, all you have to do is to SEEK HIM & REACH OUT to Him… The Lord says that you will sure FIND HIM! (Click here to read full post)