The Word on Worship Order of Worship Volume 25, Issue 47 20 January 2013 Psalm 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. Scripture Memorisation Christ s Second Coming Acts 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Call to Worship Dn Kelvin Lim * Hymn 8: Holy, Holy, Holy * Invocation & Gloria Patri * Responsive Scripture Reading Exodus 20:1-17 Hymn 44: We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer Collection of Offerings * Doxology & Prayer Hymn 409: Take Time to Be Holy Children s Sermon & Scripture Memorisation Pastoral Prayer Sermon Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy Sexual Purity 1 Thessalonians 4:1-4 * Hymn 401: Yield Not to Temptation * Benediction & Threefold Amen * Congregation Standing
Lord s Day, January 20 Lord s Day, January 27 9.00 10.00 am CHURCH CHOIR & CHILDREN S CHOIR CHURCH CHOIR & CHILDREN S CHOIR MALAYALAM FELLOWSHIP MALAYALAM FELLOWSHIP duty roster 10.30 am 1.30 pm 3.30 pm CHINESE SERVICE ENGLISH SERVICE FILIPINO SERVICE GCM LIONS HOME Worship Leader: Preacher: Musician: Flowers: Refreshments: Ushers: Gan Chin Hwi Pr Daniel Lim Eunice Choy Ivy Seah Katherine Peh Sam Cheah & Leow Beng Wee Worship Leader: Dn Kelvin Lim Preacher: Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy Musicians: Chu Seong Yeng & Sarah Lee Ushers: Maverick, Edwin, Andy, Theodore, Randy & Jason Greeter: Violet Quek AV Ministry: Crew No. 3 Flowers: Lee Kim Lei Refreshments: Catherine Choy, Mabel Lim & Fidelia Mah Junior Worship: Lee Kim Lei (Sally Lum), Gina Sim (Jasmine Low), Dn Arvind Pawa Worship Leader: Preacher: Musician: Usher: Refreshments: Josias Pawa Norefel Resuma Roscelle Lim Song Leader: Samuel Yong Nursery-P2: Kamala P3-P6: Andy Lee Venue: 487 Bedok South Ave 2 English Speaker: Eld Mah Chin Kwang Dialect Speaker: Pr Kelvin Lim Worship Leader: Preacher: Musician: Flowers: Refreshments: Ushers: Pr Daniel Lim Pr Daniel Lim Sarah Yap Roscelle Lim Ivy Seah Robert Ooi & Johnny Lim Worship Leader: Dn Arvind Pawa Preacher: Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy Musicians: Carmen Wong & Eunice Choy Ushers: Jeremiah, Stephen, John, Tuck Whye, David Tan & Jerah Greeter: Aileen Tan AV Ministry: Crew No. 1 Flowers: Zuo Bai Ye Refreshments: Cecilia Siah, Davina Lim & Joanna Lim Junior Worship: Sarah Yong (Fidelia Mah), Winnie Yap (Chloe Pawa), Worship Leader: Preacher: Musician: Usher: Refreshments: Venue: English Speaker: Dialect Speaker: Chu Seong Yeng Julius Del Rosario Daryl Kabingue Cancelled in view of evangelism 41 Toa Payoh Rise Bro Edwin Quek Pr Jeremiah Sim 2
20 January 2013 He Leads, We Follow Prabhudas Koshy Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. Why can we trust Him to lead? Isaiah 48:17 We can trust Him absolutely, firstly, because He is our Redeemer. Take note that He introduces Himself to us, with all His authority and truthfulness ( Thus saith the LORD ) as thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. He thinks of Himself as our Redeemer. When He declares Himself as our Redeemer, He also reminds us that He is the Holy One of Israel. On several occasions, in the book of Isaiah, the Lord was pleased to fraternise with Israel, His people, as their Redeemer. His reiteration that He is their Redeemer actually portrays His eternal love and care for them. In Deuteronomy 7:8, He said, But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. There, He plainly talked about the reason behind Him being their Redeemer, which is, His love for them and His faithfulness concerning His promises to keep them as His own people. This truth is again seen in Isaiah s prophecy For he said, Surely they are my people... In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old (Isaiah 63:8-9). Being their Redeemer, He felt their pain when they were afflicted; so His presence abode with them to deliver them and He carried them all the way. The more we think of our Lord as our Redeemer, the greater the assurance that He is leading us day by day, moment by moment. His redemptive love will not allow us to perish; but will gently lead us all the way till all is accomplished according to His glorious plan. The Redeemer s promise is And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you (Isaiah 46:4). The second reason why we can trust Him to lead us is that He is our God. Consider what the Lord declared I pastoral exhortation 3
pastoral exhortation am the LORD thy God. The Lord graciously redeems us to be His people and then declares Himself to be our God. Later, in chapter 44, the Lord says, Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God (v. 6). He is the only God, the Almighty, and the Creator! By virtue of His redemption, He becomes our God now and forever. As our God, He is our King and the Lord of hosts. He is our commander-in-chief! He walks before us and leads us through every battle of life; and because He is leading us, we have no cause for worry or fear. We can certainly say, For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand (Psalm 95:7). For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death (Psalm 48:14). What great honour has the Lord bestowed upon us when He declared with great delight that He is our God! If the mighty Lord has undertaken upon Himself to be our God, we can have all confidence that He will never fail in leading us lest His power and faithfulness prove to be frail and insincere. He is God, and He shall neither be weak nor unfaithful to lead us all the way. How does He lead us? The Lord has promised to lead us by His instructions. He said, I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit. God leads His people by teaching. He never leads His people without imparting to them His truth and wisdom. Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like Him? (Job 36:22). God takes great glory in teaching His people that they may progress according to His will. Jesus reiterated this truth, It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me (John 6:45). God is greatly pleased to lead us by teaching us. When adverse and trying circumstances come our way, the Lord is still teaching and leading us. Consider Psalm 94:12-15, Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law; that thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it. Afflictions will be used of the Lord to teach us greater things about Him out of His Law. As we yield to His Spirit and the Word, we will be led to greater spiritual enlightenment and experiences. The words of the Lord in Isaiah 48:17 show us two ways in which He leads His people. He leads us, firstly, by His instructions, and secondly, by His guidance. The Lord also promised to lead us by His guidance. He said about Himself at the end of Isaiah 48:17 that He is a God which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest 4
go. The grammatical and etymological aspects of the Hebrew word for leadeth (Hiphil, Imperfect, Participle) suggest that God will cause His people to go forward continually. His providence will make sure that the people whom He has redeemed and taught by His Word will walk continually in the way that He has planned for them. The Lord says to His people in Isaiah 43:15-16, I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters... The Lord also said at the beginning of Isaiah chapter 43, But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee (vv. 1-2). What benefit will we have if we follow Him? The Lord has promised that He will teach us to profit. Following the Lord according to His instructions is greatly profitable. The prophet Samuel warned the people that there is no profit in turning away from the Lord, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; and turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain (1 Samuel 12:20-21). But, our text says, if we will follow the Lord, He will cause us to profit. Who can imagine the great blessings He can shower us with? The Scriptures say that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us (Ephesians 3:20). Isaiah 64:4 says, For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. In apostle Paul s language, this truth is, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Corinthians 2:9). Gethsemaneans, God is still leading us, let us follow Him. Circumstances may change, but our God and His good plans concerning us will neither change nor fail. So let us follow Him with greater expectations of greater blessings in the work of the Gospel. I am greatly delighted that the Lord is still with us by providing us with a venue to worship in this location. Our need for more space is acute. So we must pray for God s provision to acquire a larger space for our increasing ministries. I call on the church to pray for and work towards a Building Fund of five million dollars by 2015. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 23:1). pastoral exhortation 5
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS The Descendants of Abraham Kelvin Lim junior worshipper s page Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 25:8-9). Genesis, chapter twenty-five gives us a list of Abraham s descendants. Abraham remarried after the death of Sarah, his wife. He married Keturah and had six children with her. To these children, Abraham gave gifts and sent them to live far away from Isaac, his beloved son and heir. After that, he gave all that he had to Isaac (Genesis 25:1-5). Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years, and died in a good old age. When Abraham died, his sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried him. The LORD was good to Abraham and fulfilled all that He promised to do in his lifetime. Abram was seventy-five when the LORD called him to leave his country, his relatives and his father s house, to serve Him. At that time, he was already married to Sarah and they did not have any children because Sarah was barren. But the LORD promised to make of him a great nation (Genesis 12:1-2; 17:15-16) through the birth of a son by Sarah. Later on, the LORD affirmed His promise concerning a great number of descendants by changing Abram s name to Abraham which means father of many nations (Genesis 17:5-7). The LORD also promised to make his descendants as many as the number of stars in the heaven, and as the sand that is upon the seashore (Genesis 22:17). The Bible also tells us that Ishmael had twelve sons and they were princes according to their nations (Genesis 25:12-16). Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. From these two came forth two nations, the Edomites and the Israelites respectively (Genesis 25:23). My young reader, the LORD was faithful in keeping His promises to Abraham. You can read through Genesis, chapter twenty-five to see the list of Abraham s descendants. The LORD is a covenantkeeping God! Remember, the LORD our God is faithful and true to His Word! 6
COLLECTIONS LORD S DAY on 13 JAN 2013 General Offering 7,705.00 Tithes 6,466.65 Dennis Kabingue 95.00 Eric Delina 95.00 Roscelle Lim 200.00 Daryl Kabingue 200.00 Jasmine Lim 200.00 Annie Ho 200.00 Angeline Wong 200.00 NON-SUNDAY GIFTS General Fund 2,000.00 Ethiopia Building Fund 500.00 Ethiopia Van Fund 500.00 TGCM (local) 21.00; 350.00 Special funds ETHIOPIA VAN FUND Total as of 13 Jan 2013 28,475.90 Gethsemane adults fellowship Date & Time: 26 Jan 2013 @ 3.30 pm. Venue: Home of Dn & Mrs Francis Lee 35 Moonbeam Terrace Speaker: Pastor Koshy Topic: Book Study of Philippians Chairman: Dn Francis Lee Transport from Buona Vista MRT station @ 3.15 pm. There will be a song practice for the Silver Jubilee presentation. Dinner will be provided. 25th Anniversary events In thanksgiving to God for 25 years of ministry, we have the following events held over 5 Saturdays in March 2013: 1. Gospel Rally (2 Mar); 2. Public Lecture I (9 Mar); 3. Public Lecture II (16 Mar); 4. Public Lecture III (23 Mar) Our 5th event, Thanksgiving Service & Dinner will be held on Sat, 30 Mar 2013, at The Regent Singapore. All worshippers are encouraged to invite their relatives and friends to rejoice with us. Please avail yourself of the invitation leaflets and sign up at the reception. The cost per person is $95. Kindly make your payment to Bro Low Boon Siang or Bro Aron Ong by 3 Mar 2013. Sunday Morning Prayer Calling all members and friends to gather for prayer every Lord s Day at 9.15 am in view of our 25th Anniversary events. Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:6 Dinner Booking is First Come, First Served! HURRY! announcements 7
announcements Gospel Rally Topic: The Gospel of Jesus Christ Preacher: Rev Dr Paul Ferguson Interpreter: Pr Kelvin Wong (Mandarin) Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 Time: 8.00 pm 9.30 pm Venue: Level 5 Auditorium, SingPost Centre Admission is free. Pamphlets are available at the reception table. Please take them and invite your friends, relatives and loved ones to come and listen to the Gospel. Refreshments will be served after the meeting. combined fellowship outing Preacher: Pastor Koshy Chairman: Elder Ng Poh Kok A GCM, GAF, GYAF and GYF combined outing will be held on Sat, 2 Feb 2013, at Bishan Park from 3.30 pm 6.00 pm. Transport from Bishan MRT station @ 3.15 pm. church photo-taking A group photo of members and worshippers will be taken next Lord s Day (27 Jan) immediately after the worship service. Please stay back in the auditorium for the photo-taking. Post-Worship Activities Please stay back after worship to join us for: Refreshment & Fellowship 12.30 pm 1.30 pm Adults & Youths Bible Study 1.30 pm 3.00 pm 8 Children s Bible Study 1.30 pm 3.00 pm Weekday Activities Tuesday Prayer Gathering 8.00 pm Wednesday Lunch Hour Bible Study 1.15 pm Thursday Seniors Ministry 11.00 am Friday Morning Prayer 6.45 am 7.30 am Sunday fellowship Lunch A reminder to those who wish to have fellowship lunch in February to place your order and make an advance payment to Sis Aileen Tan. Time & Place of Worship 10.30 am Level 5 Auditorium Singapore Post Centre 10 Eunos Road 8, Singapore 408600 (next to Paya Lebar MRT station) Prayer Hotline 8138 8139 SMS your prayer item Our Office 510 Geylang Road, #02-06 Singapore 389466 Tel: 6741 1910 Fax: 6741 1016 Our Websites gethsemanebpc.com biblewitness.com Our Pastor Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy Mobile: 9001 1119 Email: pastor.gbpc@gmail.com Our Session Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy Elder Mah Chin Kwang Elder Alan Choy Deacon Arvind Pawa Deacon Daniel Lim Deacon Lok Kwok Wah Deacon Kelvin Lim Deacon Francis Lee