here is e main outline of today's xmas service e sermon.. it's on 'When life gets out of control'

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know I am God
Being still means to cease, to let go. To be rested in God
1. Have a humble posture in life
Illusion of control: thinking that we can control the way things are and our life.
We are not in control, God is. Letting go and letting God take charge and our hearts will stop churning out of fear, insecurity, anger, resentment, etc and will be still.
Surrender is giving in to God, not giving up.
Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God

4 things to manage (Enough is enough)
- E xpectations
not having unrealistic expectations. Being faithful to what God has called us to
- N eeds
we are people of simple needs
- A nger
don’t get angry with God, God is not at fault, our sins are!
- F ocus
what is my belief system?

2. Have a higher purpose for life
God’s agenda is for the world (His redemptive purpose)
When life spins out of control, keep your vision
God will fulfill His purposes. We just need to be FAITHFUL
Don’t fret over the small things in life. Catch hold of the larger picture.
God is with us.

Labels: sermons

it's a long day.. haha.. n i m pretty tired at e end n was dozing off during e bus ride home..

went to woodlands centre for xmas service today..
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life.

God alone can meet e deepest need in us..
e need for salvation .. only He can redeem us from our sins.. even e deepest need to be loved.. only He can meet that deepest need.. with His unconditional love and everlasting love. Love that no human love can come close to. Love tt is perfect. Just as e heart is created by Him, only He can fills tt void in it.

God alone can make e greatest change in us.
He is able to transform us beyond wat we can imagined.. even a person who seems impossible to change.. even e hardest hard, can b melt by Him.. even a bad habit tt sticks w us for almost half of our life, He can change..

hmm.. went to causeway pt to shop awhile at e popular.. disappointed.. haha.. nt many things tt i wan.. n stuff r quite messy at e pop kids area.. haha.. so i ended nt spending my 2nd 20% voucher there.. will spend it at jp pop tml.. haha.. den head over to ps to meet cy n dan.. haha.. left ps round 6pm.. wanted to buy light cheesecake from breadtalk.. it has been sometym since i bought from breadtalk.. i think last tym was b4 sch starts.. 1 sem le.. haha.. n i wanted to try e mcflurry mudpie.. but in e end, i didnt manage to do both.. haha.. mac was too crowded.. no place.. n long queue.. so we ended up eating at ice monster.. e durian n mango thingy is nice! durian taste awesome! haha.. den cheesecake. cos i was carrying stuff.. n it's a bit heavy, reckon i wun buy it.. in case i dun get a seat on e bus n it's a long way back.. haha.. think i'll get one to eat b4 sem 2 start.. haha.. ok.. srsly, i feel like pampering myself w food.. :(

took a nap after dinner.. quite tired.. was hving a slight slight headache on e way back.. but e clouds were pretty today!! too bad didnt get to take it though i hv my cam w me. :( haha..

ok.. i think i m getting a bit inefficient in doing stuffs.. hai.. guess cos my attention is diversified in many areas.. 4 main areas i'll say.. n i m getting slow in getting some stuff done.. hai.. perhaps nt so much interest or committeement? i dunno.. anyway, diversification of attention may jus b an excuses.. ah.. wateva.. quick get things done..

Labels: sermons

went for service jus now.. today's topic was God's words are His bond.

Pastor Ann talked bout promises.. many a times, words are cheap and people make empty promises. Some promises were made rashly without really thinking of committing to see it thru.. they are just plain words.. y hv words become cheap? w/o value? it's kind of sad, yea? people can promise u many things, but how many promises are fulfilled? few.. there r so many empty promises.. tt sometimes, we jus lose confident in promises.. we may even nt take people's promises for real.. cos we noe tt humans tend to make empty promises or promises tt they cnt keep.. but tis shld nt b e way.. promises r meant to b kept.. nt broken... these r some thots tt came to my mind during e sermon.. n tis is the conclusion i hv: 'don't make a promise if you cannot fulfil it. If u make a promise, be committed to c it thru'.

it's a reminder to me not to anyhow make promises to ppl.. big or small.. n to fulfil those promises tt i made.. others may nt fulfil their promises.. but i cnt dun fulfil mine.. at times, people may forget the promises they made.. so if i ever made any promise to u, n it seems like i forgot bout it, pls remind me..

i give thanks tt our God is a promise-keeper, faithful to His promises, never-changing and doesn't take back what He promised us.

some words may seems insignificant.. or we say certain words w/o much thot.. but some words actually have a lot of meaning behind it.. i was reflecting on e promises i made to God.. some verbalised.. some not, but implied.. n it dawns on me tt from the time i became a christian, it was actually a 'promise' or a committement to follow Jesus for the rest of my life. and i questioned myself.. wat does e word 'follow' means? many sentences can just come out naturally.. when one is a christian for some tym, some words or phrases r like e 'standard' phrases or ans.. but wat does these sentences n words actually mean? in life, when one say words like 'it's ok'.. is it really ok w u? or u jus say it in reply.. w/o meaning it.. when one say 'sorry'.. is it really meant? when one say 'i love you'.. wat does love means to tt person? just feeling? or just a phrase tt does nt mean much, tt is used frequently? though some words said may nt b promises.. but do we mean wat we say? once we promise smth.. e word 'promise' may nt b used.. but saying things like.. 'i'll do this n tt for you'.. r actually 'promises'.. though they may nt b big or significant ones.. but once said.. do keep ur word. so we shld all b careful w wat we say n promise..

haha.. a bit solemn? lol. k. tym to get back to my bks.. still at mas 801.. after tt i hv chapterSSS of readings to b done for psycho quiz. haha..

i wan to buy guitar.. shall go search 4 it during e recess wk. but lazy to go many shops search.. hope to b able to find one tt i like.. too bad i missed e guitar fair in sch last wk..

Labels: sermons

haha.. k.. today is the 31st church anniversary for the church i m currently attending.. invited a few friends for the event at suntec.. haha.. n jy n dan turned up today.. haha.. really happy tt they can turn up.. haha.. even if jus one turn up, i'll b happy le.. though they r non-believers, yet they r still willing to come..thanks alot!.. though tis morning it was raining... nice weather to slp in.. n 10am at suntec means u guys hv to wake up early on sun too.. thanks for coming.. n dan, thanks for cabbing down.. really happy.. haha.. n i m glad tt u guys enjoyed urself tis morning.. haha.. it's really nice n sweet of u guys n to hear tt u did nt regret coming.. haha.. n noe wat? u guys coming actually was a gd companion to me! haha.. oops.. if nt hor, i'll b like a lost person in e huge place.. haha.. i only noe 2 of e songs.. haha.. sang 'Complete' again.. haha.. e lyrics was in one of my previous post.. haha.. nice song.. haha.. if u hv tym, n wanna noe e lyrics, can go find.. if nt, youtube it.. haha.

but there's smth i need to clear.. smth heard today during e service.. it may sounds misleading... n many ppl perceive it wrongly.. so i think i wanna clear it here.. when one ask God for physical healing for illness, it's not 100% guarantee tt u will b healed even if u accept Christ. n nt bcos God dun hv e power to heal u or dun wan to heal u.. it's jus tt He has His own plans for His glory. He listens to prayer.. but e ans to e prayer may b yes, no or wait. so i dun really like it when ppl jus emphasize on them coming to accept Christ and their illness r healed.. yup, it's true.. n God can heal, cos He's God n He is in control.. but it's misleading at times.. ppl may b misleaded n approach God bcos they wan to b healed physically, n when they dun, they'll doubt e existence n trueness of God. ya.. tt's all i wanna clear.. haha..

i like e guitar performance by Benny Prasad. it's v cool.. how did he play his guitar in tt way? makes me wanna touch my guitar again.. but nope.. i did nt get e chance to do it today.. mayb some other days bah.. my passion in it is fading.. cos of stagnation in skills n limited songs tt i can play.. hai.. hope one day, i can learn it proper.. ya.. i like e sharing by professer freddy n datuk edward ong n benny prasad.. benny's teacher told him tt no one is useless.. cos even if u r useless, u can still b used as a negative example.. lol! teachers, pls dun say these of ur students in future.. but i mus say tt e teacher is quite creative to think of saying things in such a way.. haha..

after service, met lyn n christel.. haha.. had lunch den went mac.. left soon after cos i need to go home to rush tut.. i hv 2 tut tml n i still haven complete e work.. lol.. haha.. tis weekend i hv nt done much studies.. :( haha.. so i m back in my hostel now.. cos i need to do my work.. i cant concentrate at home.. cos my parents r watching e tv.. n trying to converse w me.. haha.. mum was sweet.. haha.. cook dinner.. w soup.. haha.. she seldom make soup on sundays in e past.. haha.. it has been bout 2 wks since i ate her cooking.. haha.. n she 'forced' me to eat e honeydew she bought.. haha.. she made barley for me too.. n a bottle to bring back to hostel.. yum.. haha.. barley is nice.. haha.. homemade one.. haha..

waited v long for bus at my home there to go to boon lay.. den e bus was so packed.. hai.. den after tt, realised there was another bus behind mine.. haha.. which is quite empty.. haha.. reached back hostel.. found a lizard shit on e floor.. zzz. haha.. told it nt to anyhow shit le.. haha.. mus toilet train it.. lol.. i m mad le.. haha..

i m oso thankful for God's grace n mercy for me.. haha.. for helping me keep a friendship.. :)

anyway, here is smth tt i came up w ytd.. but didnt blog it ytd.. haha..

Friendships
Friendships are like gems
Close friends are like precious gems
They are rare and hard to find
You're blessed if you found one

Sometimes the gem may be scratched
These scratches are caused by many things
Words said and unsaid
Actions done and undone

Often, these scratches are not on purpose
But scratches can never be removed
Scratches are like scars that stay
and the gem is no longer perfect

Will you still want this gem?
Will you leave this gem in search of another 'perfect' one?
A perfectionist will not keep an imperfect gem
The scratches have made it ugly

But i'll still want this gem
Cause it's hard to come by
Cause it's a gem that is dug out with sweat and tears
Cause relationships can never be perfect

Sometimes, it's these scratches
that make the gem more priceless
That give it a new meaning
That makes it a stronger gem

It's not easy to keep a gem by our side
If not handled with care, it will be lost
Treasure your gems and keep them safe
Don't regret after losing it


btw, i realise tt it's quite sweet.. how we treasure some relationships.. sometimes, when we r bored after eating n start 'playing' w food, forming words.. wat we write out is wat it's in our mind.. it's nice to noe tt others hv Barker in mind too.. :) wanted to upload a pic of it.. but dunno y cnt upload here.. haha... n i m happy cos i noe at least 4 ppl from barker r using e wallpaper tt i made.. haha.. :)

ok.. tym to go rush my 2 tut.. haha..

Labels: friendships, sermons