The Word on Worship Order of Worship Volume 26, Issue 9 28 April 2013 Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Scripture Memorisation Daily Duties of Christians 1 Thessalonians 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Call to Worship Dn Lok Kwok Wah Hymn 45: We Gather Together* Invocation & Gloria Patri* Responsive Scripture Reading* Acts 1 Hymn 362: Did You Think to Pray Collection of Offerings Doxology & Prayer* Hymn 244: Fill Me Now Children s Sermon & Scripture Memorisation Intercessory Prayer Eld Mah Chin Kwang Sermon Pr Kelvin Lim One Accord in Prayer (Acts 1:14) Hymn 364: Tis the Blessed Hour of Prayer* Closing Prayer & Threefold Amen* * Congregation Standing
Lord s Day, April 28 Lord s Day, May 5 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 Winnie Yap Jenn Lee Cayson Chok, Chan Tuck Whye Worship Leader: Dn Lok Kwok Wah Preacher: Pr Kelvin Lim Musicians: Chu Seong Yeng, Dorcas Koshy Ushers: Maverick, Edwin, John, Theodore, Randy, Jason Greeter: Mong Jee Pawa AV Ministry: Crew No. 1 Flowers: Lee Kim Lei Refreshments: Diana Chan, Davina Lim, Joanna Lim Junior Worship: Sarah Yong (Jasmine Tan), Donald dela Cruz (Esther Quek), Low Boon Siang Worship Leader: Preacher: Musician: Usher: Refreshments: Venue: English Speaker: Dialect Speaker: Donald dela Cruz Donald dela Cruz Chloe Pawa Anthony Evangelista Vicky Amor Cancelled in view of evangelism 41 Toa Payoh Rise Dn Francis Lee Eld Alan Choy Worship Leader: Preacher: Musician: Flowers: Refreshments: Ushers: Gan Chin Hwi Pr Daniel Lim Carmen Wong Ivy Seah Gan Sheu Hoong Sam Cheah, Leow Beng Wee Worship Leader: Eld Alan Choy Preacher: Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy Musicians: Chloe Pawa, Eunice Choy Ushers: Maverick, Stephen, Kee How, Kwan Teng, David Tan, Jerah Greeter: Diana Chan AV Ministry: Crew No. 2 Flowers: Zuo Bai Ye Refreshments: Catherine Choy, Mabel Lim, Fidelia Mah Junior Worship: Pr Kelvin Lim (Sally Lum), Stefanie Wong (Sarah Yap), Stephen Yap Worship Leader: Preacher: Musician: Usher: Refreshments: Song Leader: Nursery-P2: P3-P6: Pr Dennis Kabingue Pr Dennis Kabingue Dorcas Koshy Donald dela Cruz Daryl Kabingue Melissa Mah Pastor Koshy Samuel Yong Venue: 487 Bedok South Ave 2 English Speaker: Edwin Quek Dialect Speaker: Stephen Yap 2
28 April 2013 The Holy Trinity Prabhudas Koshy The doctrine of the Trinity, which declares that God is Triune, is fundamental to the Christian faith. We must believe this grand doctrine because it is clearly taught in the Scriptures. But it is a doctrine that defies human logic. It is beyond man s ability to fathom and explain. Why is this doctrine so incomprehensible? God is infinite, and hence He is beyond human reasoning. We can know Him only because He has revealed Himself to us by His Word. Whatever He has revealed concerning Himself in His Word must be received by faith and with humility. For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). to define and defend the divine mystery that is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Very early in the church history, the truth of the Trinity has been studied and affirmed. Trinity was the designation for the uniquely Christian monotheistic understanding of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as tri-unity. The church fathers vehemently defended the Trinity against those who denied it with their heretical teachings. In AD 325, a church council that met in Nicaea (now Iznik in Turkey) affirmed this eternal truth concerning God and it has been known as the Nicene Creed. pastoral exhortation The word Trinity is derived from the Latin word Trinitas, meaning threeness. It is not found in the Bible but has been historically used by theologians Our Westminster Confession of Faith defines the Trinity thus: In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons, of one substance, power and 3
pastoral exhortation eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son (Chapter 2, paragraph 3). Truths affirmed by the Doctrine of the Trinity There is only one true God, who must be worshipped and loved exclusively. The doctrine of the Trinity does not teach tri-theism but monotheism. The Scriptures firmly declare in Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Our Lord Jesus also reaffirmed this truth in Mark 12:29-30. The essential oneness of God is taught by the biblical statement: The Lord is one. The Hebrew word for one (echad) denotes compound unity or united one. Here, both the uniqueness of God and the unity of God are underscored. God is a unity of three divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. God is one in essence and three in person. Christians are monotheistic in their theology The LORD he is God; there is none else beside him (Deuteronomy 4:35; cf. Isaiah 44:6, 8; 45:5-6). All three Persons are coequal and coeternal. God eternally exists as three Persons, and each Person is fully God. They are equal in authority, power, glory and all the divine attributes. None is lesser than the other; they are coequal and coeternal, each partaking of the full divine essence. Jesus words I and my Father are one (John 10:30) clearly give evidence that they are equal in essence and authority. The Baptism formula ( in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost Matthew 28:19), which mentions the Holy Spirit along with the Father and the Son, testifies to their equal divine authority. Moreover, 4
Paul s well-known benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:14 includes the Holy Spirit as the object of our worship The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. The Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Ghost is God! All three Persons are distinct, but not separate. There are three distinct Persons in the Godhead. It means that the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. But the great mystery of the Trinity is that though the three Persons are distinct, they are not separate, but one in their essential being. The divine essence is not divided among the three Persons. Furthermore, the designations the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost do not indicate inferiority among them but their eternal relationship within the Godhead. The three Persons are distinguished by certain personal distinctions: the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, and the Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. The three Persons of the Trinity do not act independently of one another. This was a constant theme of Jesus in rebuffing the charges of the Jews. Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise (John 5:19; cf. John 8:28; 12:49; 14:10). Conclusion Trinity is triunity! This is one of the great mysteries of faith, and as such, it is far beyond our human comprehension. The Trinity must be acknowledged as a biblical doctrine. The clearest of all Scriptural passages on the Trinity is 1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.,,, pastoral exhortation 5
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Jacob s Prayer Kelvin Lim junior worshipper s page Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude (Genesis 32:11-12). The above-mentioned passage is a portion of Jacob s prayer. Let us learn what caused Jacob to pray to the LORD and draw a lesson from this prayer. Jacob returned home in obedience to God s instruction. The LORD protected him from the harm that his uncle, Laban, had intended. After the incident with his uncle, Jacob continued his journey homeward with much assurance that God was with him. This truth was further affirmed when the angels of God met him along the way, and he called that place Mahanaim (Genesis 32:1-2). At this point, you may recall that Jacob left his home many years ago because his brother, Esau, was very angry with him, and even had the desire to kill him (Genesis 27:41). Thus, Jacob sent messengers to Esau with the hint that gifts are on the way in the hope of having a peaceful reconciliation. However, when the messengers came back from their meeting with Esau, they told Jacob that Esau was on the way to meet him with four hundred men. This news made Jacob very scared and caused him to turn to the LORD in prayer! Though Jacob was greatly afraid, yet his prayer was one of faith rather than fear! Jacob believed that God would be faithful to His Word. In his prayer, he held on to the words God had spoken to him twice. The first time was God s instruction for him to return home and the second was God s promise to give him numberless descendants (Genesis 32:9 & 12). My young reader, if there is one important lesson we can learn from Jacob s prayer, it would be this: prayer ought to be made in faith and in accordance with God s revealed will. In other words, it must be based on faith and God s Word. For example, when you are afraid to tell your non-christian friends about the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, you can pray in this manner, LORD, give me the courage to tell my friends about your love for them as the Bible says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Therefore, when we pray to the LORD, our prayers must always be offered in faith and according to what God has said in His Word. 6
COLLECTIONS LORD S DAY on 21 APR 2013 Tithes 4,470.00 Offering 5,230.65; RM100.00 Pastor Koshy 100.00 Dominino dela Cruz Jr. 200.00 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 Special FUNDS ETHIOPIA VAN FUND Total as of 21 Apr 2013 35,842.90 Gethsemane Youth FellowshiP Topic: Depravity of Man Speaker: Pr Jeremiah Sim Chairperson: Josias Pawa Date: Sat, 4 May 2013 Time: 4-6 pm Venue: Home of Eld & Mrs Alan Choy Blk 782, #11-586, Pasir Ris St 71 Singapore 510782 Camp Topic: Soul Winners for Christ Speaker: Pastor Koshy Dates: Mon-Thur, 17-20 June 2013 Venue: National Service Resort & Country Club Fee: $30/person Love gifts are welcome to help defray the cost of the camp. Gethsemane Young Adults fellowship Retreat Topic: Biblical Prophecies & Present-day Israel Speaker: Rev Stephen Khoo Dates: Thur evening-sat morning, 23-25 May 2013 (24 May falls on a public holiday) Venue: Aloha Changi Keep these dates free! Evangelism There will be an evangelism session today. Please meet Dn Arvind Pawa at the foyer at 1.30pm for a briefing. announcements 7
announcements Daily vacation bible school (DVBS) Dates: Thur-Fri, 13-14 June 2013 Venue: Aloha Changi, Changi Cottage Volunteers needed for: Craft (see Melissa Mah) Singspiration (see Choy Luan Kheng) Transport (see Karen Quek) Refreshment (see Kamala) Games (see Neo Kian Seng) Logistics (see Pr Kelvin Lim) Sunday lunch fellowship Those who would like to order packet lunch for the month of May, kindly make an advance payment to Sis Aileen Tan. Post-Worship Activities Please stay back after worship to join us for: Refreshment & Fellowship 12.30 pm 1.30 pm Adults & Youths Bible Study Cancelled Children s Bible Study Cancelled Weekday Activities Tuesday Prayer Gathering 8.00 pm Wednesday Lunch Hour Bible Study 1.15 pm Bible Witness Magazine Thursday Seniors Ministry 11.00 am Friday Morning Prayer 6.45 am 7.30 am Bible Witness Web Radio Church Weekly 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 8