A Word on Worship. Order of Worship. Scripture Memorisation

Transcription

1 A Word on Worship Order of Worship Volume 29, IssuE OCT 2016 Worship arises from hearts that contemplate God and His glory. 1 Chronicles 16:10-11 exhorts us, Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. Each time when we draw unto Him in worship, we must grow in affection towards Him and His greatness and goodness. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD (Psalm 105:3). Scripture Memorisation Doers of Evil Warned Psalm 34:16 The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Call to Worship Hymn 25: The Lord Is King!* Dn Francis Lee Invocation & Gloria Patri* Responsive Scripture Reading* Isaiah 58:1-14 Hymn 358: What a Friend We Have in Jesus Collection of Offerings Doxology & Prayer* Hymn 380: Close to Thee Scripture Memorisation Pastoral Prayer Sermon Pastor Prabhudas Koshy Christ, the Lord of Sabbath Matthew 12:1-14 Hymn 70: Jesus, I Am Resting* Benediction & Threefold Amen* * Congregation Standing

2 duty roster Today, 9 October 2016 Next Lord s Day, 16 October am CHURCH CHOIR & CHILDREN S CHOIR CHURCH CHOIR & CHILDREN S CHOIR 10.30am 1.30pm 3.30pm CHINESE SERVICE ENGLISH SERVICE FILIPINO SERVICE LIONS HOME MALAYALAM FELLOWSHIP Musician: Flowers: Refreshments Ushers: Musicians: Ushers: Greeter: AV Ministry: Flowers: Refreshments: Junior Worship: Musician: Usher: Refreshments: Venue: English Speaker: Dialect Speaker: Gan Chin Hwi Pr Daniel Lim Dyllis Teo Lee Kim Lei Jenn Lee Robert Ooi & Lawrence Ng Dn Francis Lee Pastor Koshy Sarah Lee, Eunice Choy Samuel Yong, Andrew Teong Gerry Lee, Amoz Choy Ho Kee How, Linus Kok Diana Chan Crew No. 2 Nancy Lau Stella Tan, Nancy Lau Edeliza Ballega, Cecilia Siah Pr Kelvin Lim, (Juvy Lynn) Aileen Tan, (Chloe Pawa) Samuel Yong Norefel Resuma Pr Dennis Kabingue Chloe Pawa Jomart Tindaan Joy Del Rosario 9 Bishan Street 13 Elder Mah Chin Kwang Pr Jeremiah Sim MALAYALAM FELLOWSHIP Musician: Flowers: Refreshments Ushers: Musicians: Ushers: Greeter: AV Ministry: Flowers: Refreshments: Junior Worship: Musician: Usher: Refreshments: Venue: English Speaker: Dialect Speaker: Elder Alan Choy Pr Daniel Lim Gan Sze Huey Tay Soo Thian Maggie Ho Cayson Chok & Jonah So Dn Low Boon Siang Pastor Koshy Dorcas Koshy, Ellyzabeth Cornelius Koshy, Edwin Quek Jason Low, Low Chip Hung Marcus Lim, John Peh Sally Lum Crew No. 3 Carolyn Koshy Yeo Geok Hien, Chairine Chayadi Jolyne Cho, Lena Chan Elder Mah Chin Kwang, (Lok Qian Hui) Pawa Mong Jee, (Priscilla Toon) Dn Lok Kwok Wah Eric Delina Pr Dennis Kabingue Duaine Kabingue Anthony Evangelista Daryl Kabingue 487 Bedok South Ave 2 Arvind Pawa Pr Kelvin Lim 2

3 9 October 2016 Christians Mutual Communication Prabhudas Koshy God s people are not expected to live an isolated life. They are expected to live in mutual fellowship. The Word of God encourages them not to shun one another, but to readily and regularly communicate with one another. Being stirred in the heart by the Holy Spirit, they crave for mutual society. Furthermore, they don t hanker after the company of ungodly people with whom they have little in common. In Psalm 66:16, a child of God says to his fellow saints, Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. The audience that a child of God would seek are those who fear God. What would be the subject of conversation when God s people meet? The social talk of His people should always focus on the goodness, mercies, righteousness and truth of God that they have come to know and experience. It is the solemn duty of God s people to communicate to one another the blessings which God has conferred upon them. They call out to others, saying, Come and hear I will declare what he hath done for my soul. Lovers of God are willing witnesses of God s greatness and graciousness. There is no need to coerce them to tell of His wonderful works. They volunteer their confession of God. Out of the abundance of the heart, their mouth declares His goodness towards them. Pastoral Exhortation 3

4 Pastoral Exhortation The godly ones are anxious to convey their spiritual experiences to others. They are eager to rehearse the Lord s goodness and truth to all those who are desirous to hear them. They are least interested in frivolous conversations of fiction, scandals, gossips, etc. They take notice of God s wondrous truths and deeds, and relate them carefully and joyfully to their fellow believers. We must be not only ready witnesses but also ready hearers of the testimonies of God s people. When others tell us of what the Lord has done for them, we must hear and give glory to God. Listening to accounts of grateful children of God will increase our faith and devotion. Such testimonies are also worthy of imitation. We should never conceal from other brethren the goodness and truth of the Lord that have been manifested to us. Let no shyness or timidity hinder us. If you cannot delightfully talk of God s saving grace and His bountiful mercies, how can you hope to enjoy them all through hereafter? Has God done something good to your soul? Then give thanks to God. Come prepared to give a short testimony (of no more than 3-5 minutes) at the Tuesday night prayer meeting. Let me know by noon on Tuesday (by or SMS or WhatsApp) if you would like to testify of His goodness, so that an opportunity may be arranged that night when we gather for prayer. Urgent Call for Prayer! Pray for the protection of our Ethiopian missionaries, brethren, churches and GBI. Rev Ephrem says, Dear Rev Koshy, Greetings in Christ s name. There has been unrest in our locality. Pray for us, please. Yours, Ephrem. 4

5 Testimony of Trials Nguyen Trang Thanh (Misty) The Lord has graciously saved me and brought me to Gethsemane to worship and serve Him in Feb I would like to share the following testimony in the wake of my recent trials of life: We all have different tolerance levels to pain and suffering. What is most uncomfortable or intolerable to one, may be just a cup of tea to another or vice versa. For the last two months, the Lord sent two visitors. The first one came in the form of a series of physical sicknesses. One after another came vomiting, high fever, infection, constant fatigue day and night (both at home and at work), whether awake or asleep. I dread to be so tired and sick all day, so I prayed that they would all go away soon, but they didn t. Nevertheless, I thank God for being given several days of MC, which not only helped me to have physical rest, but also time for reading. Through this experience, I have also learned to be more appreciative of His goodness when my health was restored. Like David s testimony in Psalm 41:3, The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness, I also became confident that God will heal me. The reason why those physical sicknesses so severely impacted me is because for the last 8 years of my stay in Singapore, I never became so sick until the point I needed assistance and visit from my friends. I even cried out loud like a child in front of the doctor. Nonetheless, the Lord has taught me many things, including certain impressive insights about the hospital system here in Singapore. The second visitor whom the Lord sent was my emotional sickness. I must say that this was not a new visitor - rather it has been overstaying for a few years and would not leave me alone. Though I prayed daily for it to go away, it wouldn t. Soon I learned that my prayer was wrong. Such trials and temptations are not always meant to vanish quickly. Instead of it going away, I must flee from it to the Lord. Now I understand David s prayer in Psalm Testimony 5

6 Testimony 143:9, Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. Those two visitors conspired to produce tears! In the past, tears were only shed on my bed, in the quietness of the night. Nowadays, they can come even early in the morning. Tears roll down my face when I am typing s, when I am on the move (in bus, MRT, car), when I talk to friends, etc. This made me all the more cherish the promise of Revelation 21:4 - And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. I used to focus on the words no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither pain, and frequently prayed for my departure from this miserable world, the earlier the better. That prayer was out of a selfish heart, and not because I loved to be in Christ s presence. However, this present experience of tears taught me to pray with a new desire for His eternally joyful presence in heaven. So, I have learned to value the tears, for they caused me to yearn for the presence of Christ and heaven. Please do not find it strange and laughable that I say that I treasure tears, sorrows, sufferings, and pain. Haven t we Christians all known this truth in the Word of God? Consider the following verses: How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality (2 Corinthians 8:2). That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7). Beloved, think it is not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange things happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy (1 Peter 4:12-13). I believe that though Christians should not be actively seeking for troubles and pain, neither should they, like the rest of the world, deliberately avoid tears and sorrows. Sorrow is better than 6

7 laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth, so says wise Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7:3-4. Of course, we should not focus on tears and sorrows, in contradiction to the divine command to Rejoice in the Lord alway (Philippians 4:4a). During my sickness, brothers and sisters in Christ and my close friends visited to encourage me, and I feel thankful and unworthy of such care and love. I consider friends and fellow Christians as channels of blessings and means of God s love towards me. However, unless and until my God has privately, personally, secretly and uniquely visited me, I will not feel satisfied even if the person I like most in this world visits me. One sentence from Spurgeon that I remember always is: God created trials so that we may feel them. Unfelt trials are not trials after all. Therefore, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I beseech you not to be embarrassed or troubled about your tears, sorrows and pain. Cry when your trials are felt, but do not forget God s statutes. Smile and praise Him as soon His comfort and presence is experienced. God be with all of us as we go through all the trials of our lives. Gethsemane Defenders Ministry Battle for the Bible This month, Gethsemane Defenders Ministry will be holding two lectures (23 & 30 October) in conjunction with this year s Reformation Sunday. Reformed and Presbyterian churches traditionally observe Reformation Sunday on the last Sunday of October, marking Martin Luther s nailing of his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. The 16 th century Reformation was indeed a battle for the Bible, and one of its battle cries was Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone). Knowing the history of the church will enable us to be informed and better equipped Christians for the spiritual battles of our time. So please plan to attend. 23 rd October (1.30pm 3.30pm) 16th Century Battle for the Bible by Andrew Koh 30 th October (1.30pm 3.30pm) 21st Century Battle for the Bible by Prabhudas Koshy Testimony 7

8 junior worshipper s text page Good Fruit or Evil Fruit Matthew 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Illustration by Melissa Neo Jesus had warned His disciples that false prophets or false teachers would come to lead them away from the LORD and His truth. They are very dangerous people who care not for the spiritual safety of God s people. They come to church to take advantage of people for their own gain. Such false teachers cannot be easily identified because they pretend to be true believers. Jesus pointed out that they would come to you in sheep s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves (v. 15). They would act as innocent, gentle, harmless and nice people. But they are deceptive and extremely treacherous. They are ferocious like the wolves. So Jesus teaches us how to recognise them so that we may avoid them and escape their destructive actions. The Lord Jesus says that they are like a bad tree, which cannot produce good fruits. In other words, by their teachings and actions, we can distinguish whether they are false teachers. We must not believe every person who comes in Jesus name. We must observe whether that person s teachings and actions are in obedience to God s Word. If we find that his words and actions contradict the Bible, we must quickly avoid such a person. Prabhudas Koshy 8

9 Collections LORD S DAY on 2 October 2016 Tithes: 4, Offerings: 10, Bldg Fund (Project): 1,900.00; 1,000.00; ; ; Designated Gifts: Bible Witness 5,000.00; 1,000.00; ; TGCM (local) ; ; ; ; Missionary Conference (2017) ; GBPC (Ethiopia) ; ; Ephrem (Ethiopia) ; Daniel Lim ; Sujith Samuel ; ; 50.00; Ajay Daram ; NON-SUNDAY GIFT TGCM (local): ; Bldg Fund (Project): SPECIAL FUND UPDATE (as of 2 October 2016) Building Fund (Project): $2,051, Give generously towards our Church Building Fund. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God Deuteronomy 26:10 Pastoral Visitation PASIR RIS EAST REGION Date: 14th Oct 2016, 8.00pm Venue: Home of Mr & Mrs Stephen Yap Blk 220 Pasir Ris St 21, # Singapore Gethsemane LADIES Fellowship Intriguing Lessons from Letters Written to the Church in Ephesus Speaker: Pr Daniel Lim Chairperson: Sis Gina Sim Date & Time: Sat, 15 Oct, pm Venue: Home of Sis Gladys Ratnam Block 155 Simei Road, # Singapore Transport available from Simei MRT station at 2.40pm. Pls contact Sis Annie 9987 Children aged 4-12 will have concurrent GCM Programme. Gethsemane Youth Fellowship Topic: Book Study of 2 John Speaker: Pastor Koshy Chairman: Bro Zacharias Tan Date & Time: Sat, 15 Oct 2016 Choir Practice: 2.00pm pm Bible Study: 3.45pm pm Venue: Home of Mr & Mrs Gan Chin Hwi Blk 609 Elias Road, # Singapore GYAF Retreat Dead Yet Speaketh Speaker: Rev Quek Suan Yew Date & Time: Sat, 29 Oct 2016, 10.00am-5.00pm Venue: City Beach Resort 8 Port Road, Singapore Pick-up time at Labrador Park MRT station at 9.30am Note: Sign up early at the reception table or online registration to facilitate the planning of the event. BPCWA Young Adults Summer Camp 2016 Bible-Presbyterian Church of Western Australia, Perth, invites young adults of Gethsemane Forsaken Living Waters Jeremiah 2:12-13 Speakers: Rev Joseph Poon & Pr Joshua Yong Date: 27 Nov - 1 Dec 2016 Camp fee: A$ Register now at bpcwa.org.au/campregister Registration closes on Sunday, 23rd October For more information, visit: bpcwa.org.au/summercamp If you have any questions, please contact: bpcwa.summercamp@gmail.com announcements

10 announcements GETHSEMANE CHILDREN S MINISTRY Daily Vacation Bible School Date: 7th-8th December 2016 Time: 9.30am-3.30pm Venue: Changi Seafront Chalet C Aloha Changi Registration form is available at the reception table or our church website. For any enquiry, please contact Pr Kelvin Christmas Gospel Concert 24th December 2016 Saturday, 7.30pm-9.30pm Agape Concert Hall Paya Lebar Methodist Girls School (Secondary) 296 Lorong Ah Soo, Singapore Only less than 10 tickets remain. Those who have taken tickets for friends who declined their invitation, are advised to return their tickets to Dn Lok Kwok Wah. This would enable others to participate. Missionary Conference 2017 Date: 5-9 June 2017 (Monday-Friday) Venue: Hilton Kuching Camp Fees (excluding airfare): Single $500/camper Twin-sharing $360/camper Triple-sharing $360/camper Child (4-11) $135 (with bed) Child (4-11) $75 (without bed) Child (below 4) Free (without bed) Participants are advised to book plane tickets on their own as soon as possible. Post-Worship Activities Please stay back after worship to join us for: Refreshments & Fellowship 12.30pm 1.30pm Bible Study (Adults, Youths & Children) 1.30pm 3.00pm Weekly Activities Tuesday Campus Bible Study 1.30pm NAFA Tuesday Night Bible Study & Prayer L5 Auditorium, SingPost Centre Wednesday Lunch Hour Bible Study Bible Witness Bookroom Wednesday Night GBI-Online 7.45pm TGCM Thursday Seniors Ministry 11.00am (Please contact Pr Jeremiah Sim) Friday Morning Prayer 7.45am Church Resource Centre Friday Campus Bible Study 11.00am SUTD Sunday Lions Home Ministry For enquiry, contact Pr Jeremiah Sim For more information, please call the church office at Bible Witness Magazine 10 Bible Witness Web Radio Church Weekly Time & Place of Worship 10.30am Level 5 Auditorium Singapore Post Centre 10 Eunos Road 8 Singapore (next to Paya Lebar MRT station) Prayer Hotline SMS or WhatsApp your prayer item Our Office 510 Geylang Road, #02-06 Singapore Tel: Fax: Our Websites gethsemanebpc.com biblewitness.com Our Pastor Pastor Prabhudas Koshy Mobile: pastor.gbpc@gmail.com Our Session Pastor Prabhudas Koshy Elder Mah Chin Kwang Elder Alan Choy Elder Ng Poh Kok Deacon Daniel Lim Deacon Lok Kwok Wah Deacon Kelvin Lim Deacon Francis Lee Deacon Low Boon Siang