15 April 2018 Speaker Rev Daniel Chua

Transcription

1 15 April 2018 Speaker Rev Daniel Chua For internal circulation only 1

2 This editorial is a continuation from last week s How long is the loan period? 23 rd March 18 was a historical day for Mt Carmel, Laval of B4T and Ps Robert of EEC. On this day, we handed to Ps Robert $10,000 (about 10 million Kyat) for his EFY Project. This was followed by Dn Agus, Ps Robert and Laval Yau signing all the relevant loan agreement documents. We agreed to a loan period of 4 years. However, should the business achieve higher profit than expected, the loan repayment period can be shortened. Ps Robert is to make repayment on the loan every month. Each time we (the SEEDS Committee) visit Yangon, we will evaluate the progress of the loan repayment and provide him with business mentorship. What will happen to the loan when it is fully repaid? The most beautiful aspect of the loan under SEEDS/B4T is that it is not consumed and gone forever! Under this scheme, the loan can be recovered (through repayment) and recycled to another needy pastor. When Ps Robert has finally repaid the loan, Mt Carmel can do one of two things. We can recycle the loan to another pastor in Myanmar. Alternatively, we can recycle the loan to another pastor in another country. In this way, we can help to sustain pastors so that their needs are met and they can remain in the ministry. What is Ps Robert Rabie s church like? Ps Robert s church is Emmanuel Evangelical Church (EEC). It was established in December Initially, worship services were conducted at his home but as the number of worshippers grew, the church is now meeting in a rented one-half of a house within walking distance from Ps Robert s home. As EEC is located in a poor community, it faces many challenges. For example, many of its worshippers may not stay long in the community because they may have to move elsewhere to look for jobs. Nevertheless, the number of worshippers at EEC has been growing steadily. Currently, there are regular attendees. These are mostly children, youth and ladies. There are only a few adult men. EEC is an autonomous church. While some of its practices are not the same as Mt Carmel (for example, they practice baptism by immersion), such minor differences do not hinder our partnership. As it is still a new and young church, it needs help for its growth. Mt Carmel believes that EEC is the right church for future collaboration. What are some of Ps Robert s Ministries? EEC is a new church that is about 1.5 years old and Ps Robert is serving as the pastor. His main role is to organize the worship service each Sunday. He preaches on Sunday and once a month, Laval helps in the preaching as well. On Saturday, Ps Robert conducts discipleship classes to prepare leaders for outreach efforts, as well as the various ministries in the church. There are classes for children, youth and ladies. On special occasions like Christmas, Ps Robert reaches out to the community with the Gospel. Would the business take a lot of Ps Robert s time from his ministries? It is the aim of SEEDS that the loan recipient should have sufficient time for his church and ministry. One way to achieve this is for the social enterprise to employ people, so that the recipient would not have to undertake all aspects of managing and running the enterprise on his own. In the case of Ps Robert, it is fortunate 2

3 that his father and one of his brothers live in the Chin State, where most of the operations are located. As such, together with some employees, they will be managing the day-to-day operations such as purchasing the EFY in its wet form, drying the EFY and arranging for transport to Mandalay, where the product is sold. There are a maximum of three selling cycles in a year, and of each three-month cycle, the drying of the EFY takes about two months. There is no harvest from July to September (due to the monsoon season), so there would not be much activity during this period. Ps Robert s involvement occurs during the purchasing and selling stages of the cycle, when he negotiates prices with the traders. Since the negotiation of prices is not expected to take up too much time, he would have enough time for his ministry. How will Mt Carmel partner with Ps Robert and EEC? During our recent trip, we have formalized the loan for Ps Robert s social enterprise. On Sunday 25 th March 18, we also discussed how to formalize the church-to-church partnership between Mt Carmel and EEC.We shared that Mt Carmel s Overseas Missions Ministry is guided by some principles when partnering with a new church in the missions field. One of these key principles is self-sustainability. This means Ps Robert will have to teach the believers at EEC to adopt a policy to ensure the church can survive and thrive in the long term without foreign aid. Meanwhile, Mt Carmel can help to equip the believers with skills that will enable them to run the ministries in the church. We can conduct discipleship classes or train up their Sunday School teachers. Ps Robert is currently working alone without a team. We will work with him to train up a cohort of leaders (like a Church Council) and teach them the principles of governing a church. Another of our key principles for partnership is multiplication. This means that the believers in EEC must learn the skill of evangelizing to the lost. Multiplication can also take place when Mt Carmel helps EEC to reach out to other villages. What kind of Kingdom Impact can take place through this partnership? One aspect of B4T that most impressed us is their strategy of Kingdom Impact in four areas of economic, social, spiritual and environmental transformation. Mt Carmel s SEEDS Ministry would like to adopt this concept of societal transformation. In other words, our strategy should not merely be to convert non-believers but also to seek to enhance their livelihood and well-being. For three years, Mt Carmel s Annual Missions Festivals ( ) have been themed: Blessed To Be A Blessing. God has blessed Mt Carmel with peace and prosperity. In return, we should use our wealth wisely to bless unreached people groups so that lives may improve in every aspect. By partnering with Laval and Ps Robert, we gain entry into one community (Shwe Pyi Thar) in one nation (Myanmar). By giving out a loan, we can make an economic impact by providing employment to a few people. Their standard of living will improve slowly. Ps Robert will become self-sustainable. In future, he may be able to support his children s university education. Furthermore, we will teach him and the leaders to grow spiritually. Each time we visit them, we will build up their skills to improve the quality of ministries in EEC. In turn, we hope the congregation will catch the vision to evangelize to the lost and make disciples of new converts. When the church grows numerically and spiritually, we hope they will become self-sustainable, take the initiative to transform their own society and take care of their own environment. In the long term, we pray they will make a Kingdom Impact in their own society and nation. We trust this short editorial will excite you about the potential and possibility of SEEDS. If you have any questions or need any information, please kindly write to Dn Agus at agus.sinai@gmail.com or call him at Dn Agus Djunaedi and Ps Peter Teo 3

4 REGIONAL CONCERNS XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia (4 to 15 April): Pray for the safety and security of more than 6,600 athletes and officials from 71 participating nations. Pray for camaraderie among participants as the international multi-sport event concludes today. CHURCH CONCERNS WHOLE LIFE INVENTORY (WLI): Praise God that 509 (72.7%) Carmelites have responded to the WLI. Focus on the Family requires 70% as a good representation of the church. The results of the data will be presented to Session on 24 May (Thu). Pray that at least half the Session members will be able to attend. Pray for our leaders to discern God's will regarding the future direction for Carmel@60. CHILDREN MINISTRY: KidSparks Thank God for the 15 parent/guardian-child pairs who registered for the Bonding and Fun Afternoon on 19 May. Pray for Cindy Tan and Melissa Choo as they lead the team of participants in activities. Vacation Bible School, ONE WAY - Thank God for 58 registrations to-date. Pray for more unchurched children to attend. Pray for co-workers (youths and adults) as they start planning and preparing for this event. OMM: Pray for Mt Carmel-Novaliches : Ps Peter and Dn Kim Peng s visit (21 to 25 April) for the Board of Trustees Meeting and Leaders' Retreat; God s guidance upon Ps Fitz Garlitos and May in their pastoral ministry; Flor to be blessed with good sabbatical rest and renewal of body, mind and spirit for her next phase of ministry. Sarah Siew (theological grant student): That she will learn well from her intensive preaching course, as part of her Master of Divinity course at Evangelical Theological College of Asia. Mt Carmel-Pontianak: Ps Yee Xian and the Men s Fellowship to be held in Desa Kapur on 19 April; 2 to 3 men from Desa Kapur area to attend; that the men will be "fishers of men." Robert and Lisa MacEwen (USA): Wisdom and strength in their ministry to reach out to professors at George Mason University (GMU); God will draw the many visiting scholars to Himself; for daughter Lydia to grow in her faith. PERSONAL CONCERNS Pray for those who are unwell or in pain in body, mind or spirit, that they will experience God s grace, peace, healing. Pray for recuperation from the medical/surgical procedures. Pray for caregivers, e.g. spouses, parents, siblings, to have strength and grace in their roles. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16 Come, join our prayer warriors in Room #03-06 on Wednesday, 7.45pm! Next Wednesday (18 April) Chairperson/Devotion: Eld Ho Peng Kee 4

5 ANNOUNCEMENTS/UPDATES This exercise is for all members, friends and visitors. If you are not a member, please mark Regular Worshipper if you have been worshipping regularly with us for more than 6 months, and Guest if you have been with us for less than 6 months. Please note that shared bikes are not allowed to park inside the CBC premises and along West Coast Road, just outside the CBC Centre. The bikes are to be parked in designated parking lots allocated by the Service Provider and/or Government after use. Thank you for your kind attention and cooperation. Sincere condolences to Victor Kang and Lee Choon. Lee Choon s mother passed away peacefully on Sunday, 8 April Date Speakers Topic Text 22 Apr Rev Tan Soo Inn The Transfiguration Luke 9: Apr Rev Oh Boon Leong Strong Faith in Turbulent Times: Habakkuk - When Faith is Tested Hab 1: May Rev Daniel Chua God s Answers to Our Questions Hab 1: May Rev Peter Teo Making Wise Choices Hab 2:6-20 5

6 NEXT SUNDAY 22 April 2018 MINISTRY INVOLVEMENT 1ST SERVICE MINISTRY INVOLVEMENT 2ND SERVICE Ushers Suyen & friends Grace CG Refreshment Worship Leader Congregational Prayer Musicians Bt Batok CG Dn Adrian Wong Rev Oh Boon Leong Week 4 Band Welcome Corner Tan Choon Kiat Dn Jonathan Lum/Sunny Yap Scripture Readers Cynthia Wee Goh Swee Hong AVA Crew Timothy Chiam/Fiona Chee Daryl Tan/Loh Kum Hoe Please make all cheques, including those for the Development Fund, payable to Mount Carmel BP Church Ltd (payee name must be stated on the cheque). Please note that NO receipts will be issued for cheques received by the Church below $5,000 except upon request. All Offerings and Pledges to Mount Carmel BP Church Ltd are not tax-deductible. 6

7 Philippians 4:10-23 # 1: On one hand, true contentment does not need to cost very much (Re: It can be derived from bonds with special friends as we unite for the gospel) # 2: On the other hand, true contentment can be very 'costly' (Re: We must fully trust in God to provide in all situations, be it in plenty or in want) # 3: True contentment comes when we receive credits into our eternal account! (Re: This is over and above the joy of helping others) 7

8 W elc o m e! A warm welcome to all newcomers and visitors with us today. We hope that you will have a meaningful time of worship this morning. Do join us for tea at the fellowship hall after the service Worship Leader Chew Leong Ho/ Aaron Chong Speaker Rev Daniel Chua Prayer Rev Peter Teo Scripture Readers Chai Chor Tiang Tan Gek Kee Ushers Clementi Woods CG D Vine CG Refreshment Shalom CG AVA Michael Teo Alan Tan Low Ek Yong Tan Chay Hoon Andrew Ong Thanksgiving Flowers Sing Chin & Daniel Teh Edward Koh Alex & Susan For a digital copy of this bulletin: How Great is Our God Gloria Patri Psalm 34 Let Us Exalt His Name Together I Need Thee Every Hour The Lord s My Shepherd (Psalm 23) I Know Who Holds Tomorrow Christ is Enough SEMS ministry video Doxology Philippians 4:10-23 The Secret of True Contentment Thanks to God wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ Weekly pdf For recording of past sermons, visit Three-Fold Amen Worshippers are invited to come forward to the front pew for personal prayer with our elders/pastors. 8