Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Definition: A day every week, which is set aside for special purposes, during which we cease ourselves from earthly work, in order to rest, and to devote ourselves to spiritual pursuits, which followers of Christ now observe on Sundays.
exodus 20:8-11, leviticus 23:3
Question for you: How are your sundays spent??
For those of you still i school, are your sundays THE day for you to complete your unfinished business and mug for tests on monday? For those already working, are sundays just a day for you to sleep and recharge after a super long week? or is it an ideal day to spend with your family?
What is Sabbath to you?
In the time of Jesus Christ, the Pharisees were very particular about people observing Sabbath. They were so meticulous that they went out of their way to define WORK. They came out with tonnes of rules such as
. you are not allowed to lift anything that weighs more than 1/2 a fig. that'll be considered WORKING
. you are however allowed to carry your child but if he/she is carrying somethings, you are considered WORKNG too
. (the most ridiculous) you are not allowed to spit in front of you because after you speed on the ground, you'll walk forward and you may step on the spit. As water touches the soil + the movement of your feet, you will seem to be like PLOUGHING the ground which = to WORK = NOT ALLOWED
In recent years, there was a minister from Scotland, a faithful believer. He goes church every single sunday. One sunday in winter, the lake outside his house was frozen. He thought, wouldn't it be faster if he just ice skate to church. Therefore, he put on his skates and left for church. However, this has caused a big hu-ha among the church community. Some viewed the doing as plainly having fun and the others as an alternative route to church. the argument flew in the air for quite some time and they have decided to ask the minister to answer this question, to judge if he is guilty or innocent of not obliging to the rules of Sabbath (rest day spent with God, not supposed to be fun)
What do you think the determining question was?
DID HE HAVE FUN OR NOT?
quoted from Pastor Brian Post
Many a times, we are caught up with the earthly concepts and understanding of the term Sabbath, that we forget about the most important - What is Sabbath in God's context?
When God created the universe, he worked for 6 days and rested on the 7th. When he made the earth, floral and fauna, the Lord remembered the importance of resting and created the four seasons. Spring and Summer are for the ploughing of soil for the farmers and the bearing of fruits for the plants. Autumn and Winter are the resting periods, when the plants just sleep through. deuteronomy 5:14
The Lord also view Sabbath as the day for all believers to be refocused on God once more. Seeking Him at his feet, instead of being caught with all the things of this World. luke 10:39-44
Ultimately, Sabbath being the Lord's holy day is a reward. This is when we will find joy as we ride on the height of the land and feast on the inheritance of our Jacob. isaiah 58:13-14
Let us then be reminded that we should recapture Sabbath in order to gain Rest, be Refocused and be Rewarded.
amen.
2:15 AM
Monday, January 14, 2008
amen.
1:38 PM
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Greetings from Switzerland + Happy New Year to all of you! =)
A new year brings about many new beginnings and experiences
As I depart from my warm and cosy home to the icy cold, wintery Switzerland
There are plenty of thoughts running through my mind
Though there are many old faces that I already met in SIM
It's a totally new environment that I have to adapt to, apart from the climate
In addition, there are so many classmates and from so many different countries
(being an International School)
With those concerns aside, as a 'little girl', I'm ultra excited about school *grin*
BUT
This entry's not about Joanna's 1st day at school is abt what I was reminded of...
As there are a number of students who have yet to return from their in-training,
Current in-take who are in school has the priviledge of helping them with their duties (meal / house-keeping)
MEAL DUTIES
to assist in the dining room, with the food and clearing up after meals
HOUSE-KEEPING DUTIES
as obvious as it is written, it simply is clearing up someone elses rubbish (literally)
guess what?
Joanna got rostered for HOUSE-KEEPING DUTIES **argh!!!!!!!!!!**
The duty is 2 days x a week and for 1 month (8 x)
Each duty day, 2 sessions - 12.30PM & 7.30PM
However, the duty is tedious
1) clearing of ash bins
2) picking up trash & cigarettes' butt
3) cleaning tables in the recreational area
4) clearing ash tray in the smoking room
5) vacuuming classrooms in the evening & arranging the furniture
it's like super horrible and the cold winter is not helping
as I gotta walk outside the school compound (the circumference) to pick the butts
Nevertheless, as much as I hate the job like how strongly I feel that only smokers should be scheduled for this task, I am reminded of Jesus' humility and literally being a servant to others. God sent his son Jesus to be a servant to man though he could have been the King of mankind. He humbled himself, and did all that was commanded to him in obedience to God. He as the son of God even acted as a servant to his disciples when he washed their feet.
Many times, being on stage gives us the limelight and the wanting of outshining our team-mates. As a band, be reminded that we are 1 body, and as written in Romans 12, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." You are equally important. Learn to listen out to each other, do not let the "showing-off" of your skills be a hinderence to the band and to the worshippers. Ultimately, we are doing all as a service to God, proclaiming our love for Him, declaring it with the wonderful gifts that he has given to us.
Entering into this new year, let us be constantly reminded of Christ's character, his humility and servanthood spirit. Wishing all of you a blessed new year. Stay close to the Lord, I'm sure it's going to be an exciting year for you as it is for me in our spiritual journey!
Love
amen.
6:37 AM
Thursday, September 13, 2007
hello everyone! It's been a long time since i blogged anywhere. be honoured, be very honoured therefore that i am choosing our CAM blog to post my first post since i don't know when!
i've been to batam for the YMLC - which you guys must absolutely attend when you're old enough ok? It has been an awesome time of getting to know others and just worshiping and learning about God.
At the YMLC, i saw an advert for "Trackers 08" that had the song "Dare You To Move" by Switchfoot. Being the kiasu person that I am, i checked up on the band first to make sure they weren't some highly questionable band. Was pleasantly surprised to found out they are brothers in the faith! Anyway, for all its worth, I'm going to post the lyrics of the song, before I challenge you people from the Creative Arts Ministry! Apologies to the Trackers 07 team, i'm gonna "borrow" your challenge ok!
Dare You To Move - SwitchfootWelcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next?
What happens next?
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before
Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself
Lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before------------------Okay here it goes. How many of you desire to see Frontliners be a place where the people are constantly in worship of the ever living God?If that is the case, then in Your lives, I dare you to live a life worthy of your calling! I dare you to come on sundays ready to worship Him for all He is. And as the people watch you for an example, whether in your lives, or on stage, or off it, I DARE YOU TO MOVE FOR HIM.
Let us as a ministry begin to live out our calling as His instruments! Cut out the mediocrity and compromise in our lives, and worship Him fully and completely, in word, thought and action. Guys, i am not scolding you but I want to encourage you to move for Him and in Him. You'll find that life has a greater purpose and meaning than the endless strife we live by.
Today, you have been dared to move.
Will you?
amen.
12:31 PM
Monday, September 3, 2007
amen.
12:29 AM
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
amen.
12:00 AM
Monday, June 25, 2007
Don't know how to pray, don't remember how to pray or don't know what to pray? This is very normal and in most cases compounded by the pain your feeling. Prayer is simply a communication tool we use to speak to God it is addressing God in word or thought.
If you can think it, feel it, utter it, cry it, yell it or moan it...it's a form of prayer. Sometimes we hurt so bad we don't know what to pray or how to pray it, in these cases it's best to just say it the way you feel it or allow your soul to do the talking for you. One required element for prayer is to get to know The One who gives our prayers credibility. Jesus Christ.
Say a short prayer to the Lord today. Remeber, He's always there.
amen.
12:55 PM
2 practices and 3 services later, Youth Emphasis Sunday came to a close. Kudos to the music team, the dancers and the drama team! (of course the ushers too) We were all really tired come evening, but as we prayed and closed, there was undeniably a sense of joy and excitement of the things to come in Frontliners!
soundcheck/techcheck early in the morning!
N at - catching a snooze before 5pm service.
The band + singers + J udy! (sans J oanna and R upen) all looking spiffy in their blazers! 
I didn't get many photos though ><>
Come Holy SpiritFall in this place
I need more and more of you
Fill me again with the power of your Spirit
Lord, I'm crying out for more and more of You.Cliched as this may sound, it is not the end, but just the beginning of things to come. What you witnessed at CAM retreat and Youth Emphasis Sunday is but the tip of the iceberg. Let us wait on the Lord and continue to expect more and more of Him!
amen.
10:47 AM
Thursday, June 21, 2007
We have just concluded our CAM retreat, and I'm sure for those who did turn up it was a good and refreshing time of fellowship and worship! More updates and information shall be put on this site and sent to your emails at a later date, for right now we are in the midst of preparation for an upcoming event!
This Sunday (24 June 2007) is Youth Emphasis Sunday! So the different ministries in Frontliners would be leading all three services. You would see Touche ushering, the music wing of CAM leading worship, the drama wing putting up their skit, the dancers dancing, and, of course, Judy preaching! We had our rehearsal on Wednesday and we're really excited! Here're some photos from rehearsal:
The cute backup vocalists! (minus uh, whoever's behind the camera HAHA!)
G lenn, J oanna & R upen!
The band (J oanne's hiding behind the piano!)
Don't they look like, I dunno, the Beatles? Or some cool band, with their longish hair and cool looks. Check out the look on J ake's face.
The band!S ophie, J oanne, D aniel, J asper, J ake (0_-), and A driel!
The Drama people rehearsing for their skit!
J on Pang seems to be in constant motion...
Ah finally a shot where everyone is nice and still (hence unblurred).L-R: K evin (you see that blob of orange? Yes, that's K evin.), J on Pang, J asmine, G uo Nian & S hermaine (obscured by bright orange file)
Alrightyos guys, one more thing, do keep the entire programme in prayer. Truly we labour in vain if we did this merely by our own strength; we want to seek God's direction and flow with the Spirit. Pray that all those involved have all the right motivations, and that God would grant us clean hands and pure hearts. Pray for unity, in spirit, of all the ministries and individuals as well. Pray also for J udy, who will be preaching sermon, that God would anoint her, and also for N at, who will be leading worship. Finally, pray for everything to go smoothly, not so that we can haolian, but so that God will be glorified and magnified, for He deserves all praise, and all who are present will declare that Jesus Christ is LORD!!
Note, there's no Frontliners this Sunday, so don't head to ROL, but do go for service! See you there!
amen.
5:56 PM
Monday, June 18, 2007
amen.
5:47 PM
