True Jesus Church, 17D Adam Road, Singapore February 2013 Issue 21

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1 True Jesus Church, 17D Adam Road, Singapore February 2013 Issue 21 Love Grows Here ADAM Road CHURCH NEWS Personal Bible-Reading Programme T his year, the theme of the personal Biblereading programme is to spend A Month With, and there will be different sub-themes from the Books of Wisdom, the Sayings of Jesus, to the Oral Prophets, etc. For the month of February, it will be on Prophet Isaiah, followed by the Letters of Paul in March. Brother (Bro) Koh Lim Soon, father of Bro Sebastian Koh, suffered from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and was warded at Changi General hospital (CGH) on 21 October He was continually moved between the intensive care unit (ICU) and high dependency ward, and respiratory assistance and tube feeding were required. We thank God that Brother Koh's health has improved greatly and he was discharged from the hospital on 30 Jan Let s pray that he can join us for Sabbath worship in the church soon. Bro Oei Poh Siang, father of Deaconess (Dns) Dorcas Oei, was diagnosed with colon cancer 2 years ago, after which he underwent an operation as well as chemotherapy. He was admitted to TTSH late October last year for another surgery to remove a blockage in the small intestines. We thank God that Bro Oei has recovered and was discharged from hospital in December Now, he is able to attend Sabbath as well as Evergreen fellowship services. There is also an accompanying online blog, A devotional will be posted daily based on the passage of the day, and we as readers can post our reflections after reading each passage. Happy reading, and have a fruitful time sharing and reflecting on the Word of God! Updates on elderly and ill brethren Sister (Sis) Ang Kim Seng was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) since mid- September Recently she was transferred to Ren Ci Hospital for physiotherapy. However, she was back in TTSH for further treatment because of an infection. Thank God, she was discharged on 23 January. Let us continue to intercede for her that she can come back to church to worship the One True God, our Saviour Jesus Christ, together with us. Inside this issue: REU Orientation Day 2 New Bundles of Joy Let s Welcome... 4 God s Marvelous Grace Special points of interest: Let s pray for the elderly brethren updates are on page 1. Who are back in Singapore for their year-end holidays? See page 4. Read about God s grace upon Evergreens Bro Chua & Sis Yeo, and how they decided to get baptised on page

2 True Jesus Church, 17D Adam Road, Singapore February 2013 Issue 21 Religious Education Unit (REU) Orientation Day 2013 Graduating Batch The Adam Road Church REU Orientation Day was held on 12 January This year, we have 3 graduates from the Intermediate Youth (IY) class. They are Bro Jason Tham Wei Ming, Sis Rachel Goh and Sis Amanda Low Yan Ting. On behalf of the graduates, Sis Rachel gave a speech of appreciation and shared the experiences she had whilst she was a student in the REU system. She also quoted one of the teachers as an encouragement to the rest of the students, that is, It is hoped that 30 years down the road, we will still be worshipping God together. Introduction of Advance Junior Class We thank God that there are a total of over 50 students who will be attending the upper classes in Junior Youth (JY) and IY. To better cater for the needs and to improve the engagement between teachers and students, the REU of Adam Road Church has decided to form the Advance Junior class. This class caters to students who are 15 and 16 years old (Upper Secondary students). With this class, the JY class will cater to 13- and 14-year-olds (Lower Secondary students), while the IY class will be for 17- and 18- year-olds (Tertiary students). In addition, special efforts have also been made to deploy younger teachers in the upper classes. Due to classroom space constraints, the Advance Junior class will make use of the mingling corner outside the library as their classroom. With this, the mingling corner will not be accessible to members during the Sabbath afternoon service. Sending of Teachers We also thank God that this year we have two trainee teachers (Bro John Yu and Bro Kenneth Lo) who have completed the Teacher s Training Course conducted by the Singapore Coordination Board (SCB) and three new teachers (Sis Jean Tan, Sis Tao Ke Jia and Sis Shi Sang) appointed to the service. An introduction of the respective class teachers, trainees and helpers was made. Following that, the congregation prayed together for the sending of the teachers. All the teachers were requested to pray at the front of the church hall for the laying on of hands from the deacons and preachers. Finally, all students and teachers proceeded to their respective classes for registration and administrative matters. 2

3 True Jesus Church, 17D Adam Road, Singapore February 2013 Issue 21 New Bundles of Joy Name: Su Mu Qing Father: Bro Michael Su Mother: Sis Daisy Zhong DOB: 01 January 2013 Name: Melody Yip Gender: Female Father: Bro Stefan Yip Mother: Sis Pauline Liang DOB: 30 October 2012 Name: Yee Hao Jie Father: Bro Yee Ching Khai Mother: Sis Loo Sy Hoi DOB: 01 November 2012 Name: Ethan Shim Yu Heng Father: Bro Sam Shim Chee Heong Mother: Sis Claudette Chong DOB: 26 November 2012 Name: Lucas Chong Father: Bro Chong Xin Yi Mother: Shirley Lye DOB: 15 January

4 February 2013 True Jesus Church, 17D Adam Road, Singapore Issue 21 Let s welcome... We welcome home Bro Lai Wye Keong and Sis Ada Wong, together with their 3C daughters Chloe, Claire and Cali. Bro Wye Keong was posted to work in Malta for 6.5 years, and is now back in Singapore for good. Thank God for His grace! (Footnote: Malta was the island that Paul escaped to after the shipwreck in Acts ) Bro Chong Fang Long and family returned from Christchurch for their summer break this year, especially to visit his parents. With more than a month of holidays (13 December-23 January), Bro Fang Long also brought his family to Langkawi and Penang for a short holiday. May the Lord shower His grace upon them as they return to New Zealand to start the year. Sis Lisa Leong, currently residing in California, returned to Singapore for a winter break. She also visited Sydney together with her parents and twin sister, Sis Rina Leong. Thank God, our seminarian, Bro Shim Pau Fah is back in Singapore for a few weeks. During his attachment to Adam Road church from 21 to 31 January, he made pastoral visits to members, and led the worship service on 30 January. Let us continue to pray for him, as he continues with his 2nd year of studies in Taiwan. Bro James Davidson, from Sydney Church, will be with us for a month for his internship with General Electric. Bro James will be staying in Telok Blangah, and hopes to participate in Youth Fellowship activities in Singapore. L-R: Bro Jonathan, Bro Yun Feng, Bro James Bro Jonathan Lee is also back in Singapore from Perth Australia for a 3-months Summer break. 4

5 February 2013 True Jesus Church, 17D Adam Road, Singapore Issue 21 God Bestowed His Marvelous Grace Upon Us Bro Chua Pho Hiang In Jesus name, I bear testimony for Him. I would like to share how the grace of God came upon me and my wife. Although I grew up in a family with Chinese traditional beliefs, I was an atheist, without a commitment to any religion. Whenever it came to the festival days, I would just be doing the rituals like everyone else, realising I do not really understand what was behind them. After getting married and having my own family, my only ambition was to earn money to support the needs of my family. When my children were married and I retired from work, I began to ponder what life was really about. In 2002, my wife and I attended the matrimony of my nephew, Bro Shee Tse Koon (now Dn Philip Shee) and his beloved wife, Sis Hsieh En Hsin. When I first stepped into the church, I was touched by the love and concern shown to the couple by everyone involved, from the ministers to the brethren. From then on, some of the church ministers and brothers encouraged us to attend services, and even fetched us from our home to church. I would attend Sabbath and evangelistic services occasionally, and after some time, I felt peaceful in my heart. Around March 2003, I attended the Evergreen Evangelistic Service in Telok Kurau with my wife. I remembered Dn Jason Hsieh asking me if I would like to go forward to pray for the Holy Spirit. I replied immediately, Of course I would. Why else would I believe in Jesus? As I knelt down to pray in the name of Jesus and said Hallelujah, a minister came to lay hands on me. I began to feel warmth within me and I started to speak in an unknown tongue. I received the Holy Spirit! When God chooses one to be His child, who can resist Him? Thank God for his marvelous grace! My immediate intention, after receiving the Holy Spirit, was to undergo water baptism for the forgiveness of my sins, but my wife was not prepared to make that commitment. So I decided to wait patiently for the Lord to work. On 3 April 2003, during the second prayer of the Saturday morning service, my wife and I were praying on opposite sides of the church hall. During the prayer, I was moved to tears and in the spirit knew that my wife also received the Holy Spirit, just like me. When the prayer ended, I immediately approached her about baptism and she readily agreed. As you can see, this positive reply was in sharp contrast to her earlier response. Thank God, my wife and I decided to be baptised together with another of our friend, Sis Jessica Chua. Before baptism, I suffered from a lack of appetite, and felt a burden in my digestive system. On the day of baptism, when I came up out of the water, I felt that burden removed from within me. Since then, my appetite has very much improved. After baptism, the next step is to start serving God in church. And this will always be my attitude towards the in church: Even though my name is not on the duty roster, I will still do whatever needs to be done. It is my wish that all our brethren will take the initiative to help out in whatever is available for us to do. Now my hope is that my three daughters will also receive the grace of God. May all glory be given to the True God in heaven. Hallelujah, Amen. China Brethren Fellowship The China Brethren Fellowship had a year-end BBQ at East Coast Park on 30 December The purpose of this fellowship is to, firstly, review the year of 2012 and look forward to the new year, and secondly, to send off four sisters, namely Ou Ling Ying, Yao Bi Xia, Zhang Juan and Li Qian, all of whom would be returning to China. Thank God, there was a total of 24 brethren who participated in the fellowship. Although there was a slight drizzle, the programme went on smoothly by the grace of God. May God continue to guide the four sisters as well as the growth of the China Brethren Fellowship here in Singapore. 5

6 True Jesus Church, 17D Adam Road, Singapore February 2013 Issue 21 February 10 Chinese New Year Thanksgiving Service 23 Annual General Meeting Check out Sister Lee Sew Chan s video testimony on youtube Video link: Or perform search on youtube for Sew Chan March 17 Evergreen Telok Kurau Intermediate Youth Camp 31 Combined Youth Service Notice of Annual General Meeting: The Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the year 2013 will be on Saturday, 23 Feb. Please pray that the Lord will guide us as we conduct this meeting in His name. Your attendance and participation in the event is appreciated. Green Fingers Gardening in Adam Road Church There is a mini-revival of the gardening team. The core team has already set up a gardening shed, where the tools and fertilisers will be kept. They will also carry out maintenance on the water-dripping system and the upkeep of the accessories. The team is now recruiting members who will share the responsibility of watering and pruning the plants around the compound as well as the clearing of leaves and weeds. If you would like to volunteer your services, please approach Brother Michael Chin. Young or old, everyone is welcome to help keep the church clean and green! A r t i c l e s & T e s t i m o n i e s W a n t e d! Please to: LoveGrowsHere@gmail.com We re on the Web! Please check out our previous issues here: adamroad/ Let all that you do be done with love (1 Corinthians 16:14). 6