VOL XXXXX NO. 40 ORDER OF SERVICE 9.00 am/11.00 am 01 October 2017 Worship Leader: Kenneth Lim Speaker: Rev Oh Boon Leong Prayer/Holy Communion: Rev Daniel Chua Scripture Readers: Chai Chor Tiang/Kim Kijin Silent Prayer & Meditation Prelude Call to Worship Opening Songs Holy Holy Holy In Your House Opening Prayer Gloria Patri Responsive Scripture Reading Ephesians 2:1-10 Worship in Songs Lord I Need You Nothing but the Blood By Faith Offertory & Thanksgiving Prayer Doxology Congregational Prayer & Announcements Scripture Text Romans 4:1-5 Message Sola Fide ( Faith Alone ) Holy Communion Only By His Grace - by Choir Closing Song Just As I Am Benediction Three-Fold Amen Worshippers are invited to come forward for personal prayers with elders/pastors in the front pew. (FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY) - 1 -
SOLA FIDE ("FAITH ALONE") Romans 4:1-5 Our church heritage: the 5 Solas of the Reformation The kind of people God justifies: I. Ungodly II. Unworthy Justification by faith alone - 2 -
PRAYER PAGE "This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. (Jeremiah 22:3) REGIONAL CONCERNS Bali, Indonesia: As Mount Agung continues to spew menacing smoke over the island of Bali, those on the ground fear volcanic eruption, which is most likely. More than 75,000 people have now been evacuated from the danger zone as strong tremors rumble underground. The seismic activity of Mount Agung is still high and its status remains at a dangerous level. Pray for safety and efficiency in the evacuation process and the health and accommodation of the evacuees. Pray for wisdom upon the Indonesian government to tackle the issues and mobilise necessary assistance to the evacuees. Migration Crisis in Europe: The European Union (EU) unveiled plans on 27 Sept to take at least 50,000 refugees directly from Africa, the Middle East and Turkey to discourage migrant boats from making the risky Mediterranean crossing. The proposal involves admitting refugees to European Union countries over the next two years under the bloc's resettlement programme. Pray for wisdom and compassion upon the EU Migration Commissioner and the respective governments as they handle the resettlement of refugees. CHURCH CONCERNS Pray for the various services this weekend (SES, Sun combined, MWS, Korean, SEMS) that worshippers will encounter God in spirit and in truth, and for everyone who serves in various roles to be filled with joy and commitment in their service. May the Holy Spirit work mightily in each of the worshipper s heart. Children Ministry: Children s Day special programme and celebration on Sat KidSparks (4.00 to 7.00 pm I AM Superhero ) and Sun School (9.00 am and 11.00 am A Miracle) 30 Sep and 1 Oct. Pray for children to have enjoyable time of learning Bible stories and truths, through various activities being facilitated. Pray for salvation of many in God s perfect timing. Pray for strength and teamwork amongst facilitators and co-workers as they serve the children and one another. Bible Camp (Kids-in-the-Book-Old Testament) on 22 Nov. Pray for good response to the ongoing registration till 31 Oct amongst the Primary 1-6 children. May children enjoy the learning adventure on the key words, events and actions, and books of the Old Testament to gain a big picture of the Old Testament. Pray for more co-workers to serve in various roles during the one-day camp. Jubilee Fund and West Coast RC event on 2 Oct: Pray for Dn Kelvin Teo and Jeffrey Wong as they coordinate and look into the final details of the event. Pray for our church members/worshippers who have signed up to be befrienders of the residents, that they will bear Christ-like testimony in word, thought and deed. Pray for smooth distribution of the NTUC vouchers to the residents @ Blk 608 West Coast Road. Pray for blessed time of interaction with the residents. Joint Oasis and CMfC Retreat (6-8 Oct): Pray for journey mercies, good time of learning, bonding and fellowship amongst participants. Pray for Ps David Wong as he prepares to speak on the topic Finishing Well. Pray for smooth running of each segment of the planned programme at the retreat. PERSONAL CONCERNS Pray for students in our midst who are taking PSLE, O Level and A Level this month and succeeding months, that they will have wisdom, strength, diligence of hearts and minds, as they prepare to sit in the exams. May they experience peace and confidence in God, choose to trust and obey Him in their daily lives. Pray for Carmelites and worshippers to be steadfast in their Christian faith, and consistent in their walk with God. May all exercise spiritual disciplines of prayer, worship, study and meditation on God s Word, fellowship, service, outreach, etc., and to grow in maturity in Christ. May all be the salt of the earth and light of the world and be a blessing to many wherever they are. Come, join our prayer warriors in Room #03-06 on Wednesday @ 7.45 pm! - 3 -
Being Authentic Being Authentic is a critical ingredient for meaningful human relations. It is also an essential characteristic when cultivated will elevate any dull relationship to a higher level of trust, purpose and enjoyment. From Scriptures, we can identify easily a number of relationships where the characters were pro-actively being authentic towards one another. David and Jonathan were best friends who protected each other and the friend s family. Paul and Timothy were prayerful and supportive towards each other as discipler and disciple respectively. Naomi and Ruth respectfully uphold each other s well-being during their seasons of loss as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Barnabas stood up for Paul (Saul) when others doubted and feared him. In the place of marriage, if you endeavor to be authentic towards your spouse, you will find yourself constantly updating your love map of your spouse. What does this love map mean? On the basic level of interaction, are you as aware of him/her as you were during courtship in terms of interests, likes and dislikes, worries, dreams etc? It is a mean feat to update yourself without planning in marriage time that weekly date. Without dating each other as husband and wife, one thing is guaranteed you are dating someone or something else. Do pursue that marriage time with a regular rhythm. You have to plan time to meet your loved one, the one you said the marriage vow to. No other human and no other activity deserves your eyes, your heart, your time and your presence. Since no marriages suddenly adopt a nasty swerve, turn sour and become fragmented, regular and intentional dating continually breathes life into a covenantal marriage. You refresh each other as husband and wife whenever you meet for a tête-à-tête. The BYSID course for pre-marital couples just ended yesterday with eleven couples in attendance. Some are getting married and some have not planned anything concrete. One of the topics we prepared them on is the Speaker-Listener Technique. It is somewhat difficult to grasp in theory, so we peppered the session with nuggets of time for practice. It is challenging because we are learning the technique for the first time. The couples may lack proper modelling in their growing years and have learned to talk and to listen without sufficient guidance and correction. Despite the challenge, if a couple is receptive and willing to learn and to practice, this technique props them up and empowers them to be authentic. Among the Family of God in the local church body, we sometimes address one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. These familiar words we refer to one another reflect the type of oneness we inherited from the Triune God who called us to be His own by the blood of Christ. While some of us may not place a high stake on church relationships, some of us do expect a certain degree of authenticity. - 4 -
Are you genuine in your concern when you asked someone you met along the corridor, How are you? Or are you asking that as a form of greeting not expecting the recipient to share with you more. If you are not authentic, the person picks it up immediately and may be turned off. Even a youth can tell whether a church leader is authentic or have genuinely truthfully forgotten her name during a brief conversation. So far we have organized three Feasts for the young adults. Carmelites who have indicated that they can mentor a young adult, host a YA CG in their home monthly or invite young adults for a meal are invited to the Feast too. The dynamics which the Carmelites brought to the Feast table were appreciated by the young adults. I believe this is a strong sign that there are people here who dare to be authentic and are willing to interact with young people. I pray that more young adults while desiring authentic relationships will also blend in with others to plant numerous saplings of godly friendships. What is a recommended antidote for loneliness? Authentic relationships among the Body of Christ. It starts with a willing heart, always. If you trade your authenticity for safety, you may experience the following: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, rage, blame, resentment and inexplicable grief. -- Brené Brown What stands in the way of being authentic? The ugly head of selfishness. It bears its skin of self-centredness in stumbling people and preventing them from being authentic. That is sin. When people hide behind a social status, an academic status or an economic status, they stop being authentic and are perceived to be fake. You may be successful in filtering people who pass through your life, and even keep them out of sight, but people being who they are, can sense who you really are on the inside. There are people among us who have gone through untold hurt and are in pain. For them, it is not merely convincing them with Scriptural verses about the value of living in the saved community with godly purposes. If Jesus be God and Saviour, then he is the One who came to heal the broken-hearted. While the fragmentation of a soul is not detected by our eyes but its manifestation hits you in the gut time and again. Do not despair. God s three-fold provision of Father s heart, Words of life and Community of Faith can and will restore you and enable you to walk in love and light. Whether intentional or not, if you happened to be a contributor to brokenness, either towards self or others, begin with a confession, I am sorry. Eventually it may lead to forgiveness and even I love you. Be of good courage, we are living in the realized truth of God who speaks with us out of an unconditional love! Ps Jabez - 5 -
Embark on a journey of impacting the lives of the next generation for Jesus Christ! Children are leaders of tomorrow! They will chart the future of Singapore and the nations beyond! Serve God and His kingdom purpose and work! Come and join us in 2018! - 6 -
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Our Holy Communion is open to all who have confessed Jesus in baptism. If you are visiting and are regularly partaking Communion in the church where you come from, you are welcome to join us. We are in need of volunteers to be ushers for 9.00am service. You can either come in as a Care Group or form a group of 8. Please contact Lai San @6779-5077 or email laisan@carmel.sg if you are interested or have any query. LG Architects has been appointed to build 2 new lifts next to the existing lift. New toilets & elderly friendly toilets will be added to the existing toilets. These two projects will begin in Sep 2017 and end by 31 Oct 2018. Please note that heavy construction work will take place during the school holidays in Dec 2017, Mar, June & Sep 2018. No work will be carried out on Public Hols, Sats & Suns. Parts of the Fellowship Hall will be boarded up for safety reasons. More details will be released before construction begins. - 8 -
NEXT SUNDAY MINISTRY INVOLVEMENT MINISTRY INVOLVEMENT 8 OCTOBER 2017 1ST Service 2nd Service Ushers Clementi Woods CG West Bay CG Refreshment Worship Leader Congregational Prayer Musicians Shalom CG Benedict Leow Rev Oh Boon Leong Week 2 Band Welcome Corner Tan Mun Kiat Dn Jonathan Lum/Sunny Yap Scripture Readers Karen Er Tan Gek Kee AVA Crew Peh Chee Siong/Peter Go/Sam Kong Choy John Tan/Francis Tay Please make all cheques, including those for the Development Fund, payable to Mount Carmel BP Church Ltd (exact 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 is not tax deductible. We all shouldn t try to do the same work. Rather, each of us should pay attention to our own responsibilities. Otherwise, we cannot be of one mind and one heart. We must allow the works to be varied so that each of us can remain with what God has entrusted to us. We should simply do the work at hand. Martin Luther, Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional - 9 -
Dear guests, we trust that you have a meaningful time of worship. We invite you to join us for Welcome Tea in the Fellowship Hall. TODAY Rhoda - Combined Service Hope Sanctuary 9.00 am/11.00 am Youth - Combined Service Hope Sanctuary 9.00 am/11.00 am Mandarin Service Chapel 10.45 am Remnant Korean Service Chapel 2.30 pm SEMS Service Sanctuary 7.45 pm Ushers: Youth/West Coast CG Refreshments: Ayer Rajah CG AVA: Yu Ta Wen/Lee Sin Yee/Chan Wen Hui/Christie Phua Welcome Corner: Tan Choon Kiat/Sim Chui Hoong/Joyce Lin Librarians: Library Closed Thanksgiving Flowers: Sunny & Doris Yap Jason Lim & Yvonne Toh Hoong & Hung Hiang THIS WEEK Wednesday, 4 October 7.45 pm Chairperson/Devotion: Rev Jabez Chia Thursday, 5 October: No Thursday Men s Group (TMG) NEXT SUNDAY 8 O 8 OCTOBER,, 2017, 2017 English Services Hope Sanctuary 9.00 am/11.00 am Speaker: Rev Peter Teo - Solus Christus Mandarin Service Chapel 10.45 am Rhoda Fellowship ACE Room 11.00 am Worship Leader: Miriem Speaker: Ps Assoc Ang Lee Luang Topic: Our God Who Provides Youth Service Chapel 12.15 pm Ps Asst Marianne Wong - Solus Christus ACE Room: Prayer Meeting Thursday 8.00 pm Hope Sanctuary: Choir Practice Saturday, 7 October 5.30 pm Chapel: SES Worship Leader: Andrew Tan Congregational Prayer: Tan Thien Choon Speaker: Rev Peter Teo - Solus Christus Remnant Korean Service Chapel 2.30 pm SEMS Service Sanctuary 7.45 pm PASTORAL TEAM Senior Pastor Rev Oh Boon Leong boonleong@carmel.sg Missions & Strategic Planning Rev Peter Teo peterteo@carmel.sg Ladies, ConnexUs & Rhoda Ps. Assoc. Ang Lee Luang leeluang@carmel.sg Children Ps Asst Margaret Ong margaret@carmel.sg Youth & Family Rev Jabez Chia jabez@carmel.sg Young Adult & Youth Ps Asst Marianne Wong marianne@carmel.sg Pastor-at-Large Rev Daniel Chua daniel@carmel.sg SEMS Ps Asst Joyce Goh joycegoh@carmel.sg Mandarin Service Rev Goh Ngiam Heng ngiamheng@carmel.sg Rev Ng Eng Chye engchye@carmel.sg Remnant Korean Service Rev Ezra Jang ezrajang@gmail.com BOARD OF ELDERS Eld Bruce Lockhart (BOE Chairman) hisbl@nus.edu.sg Rev Oh Boon Leong (Session Moderator) Eld Yeo Siew Yam ysywpl@gmail.com Eld Ho Peng Kee pengkeeho@gmail.com Rev Peter Teo Rev Jabez Chia - 10 -