Hollywood Sunday School??
Why Christians who love and honour God should not watch "The Passion" and "The Nativity Story". Click on link below:The Hollywood Jesus
The Pilgrim's Progress
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." - Hebrews 11:13
24 December 2006
The Hollywood Jesus
23 December 2006
The Glory of God in the Old and New Testament
This is the second camp thematic msg. click on the verses for links to the chapter of the Bible. :)------------------------------
The Old Testament
Exodus 33:21-23
Moses is one who is interested to know the glory of God. (How many Christians are interested nowadays?) Even though God has said that anyone who sees Him in His full glory will never stay alive, God condescended to the request of Moses and allowed him to see a small part of His glory.
Yes, our Lord is so merciful and He who is so high above often condescend to us-ward. Coming down in human form – Christ Jesus – is God’s greatest condescension. The Sinless died for the sinful, and Worthy for the unworthy.
Rev. Sin gave an anecdote of a little girl who, after hearing the story of Noah, raised to her aunt that she has never seen a rainbow before. The aunt, a member in Rev. Sin’s church, told her that she could pray and ask God to let her see. Even the aunt herself, after telling the niece that, doubted whether God will do that (in our words, it’s something too small for God to mind). But God did! God granted the little girl’s request; it rained on that day, and the girl saw a rainbow! Our God is such a gloriously merciful God, who hears us and answers our prayer according to His will – and He is willing even to condescend Himself!
Ezekiel 10:17, 18
Ezekiel 11:23-25
The glory of God departed because the children of Israel no longer care about the glory of God. They went into idolatry and worshipped idols of the gods of the other people around them.
God cannot tolerate a challenge to His glory. In fact, the heavy punishment was not death – it was to send them into captive for 70 years! Rev. Sin said that after this 70 years, even till now, Israel no longer dare to have idols. They may backslide as a Jew or whatever, but they no longer have idols.
Daniel 4:30-34
King Nebuchadnezzer wanted to rob God of His glory. To all the riches which He had acquired, he had attributed these to his own power. We know that God only prospered him, king of Babylon, so that the Israelites would be captured by him.
In this Bible passage, we see that God cut off the king’s words, and pronounced his kingdom away from him. After that, the king became mad and left the palace to live with the animals. Then finally after 7 years when he lifted his eyes to heaven (verse 34), that God gave him back his understanding, and he king praised God and acknowledge God.
Isaiah 6
In verse 1, it is recorded that when king Uzziah died, Isaiah looked up to the heavenly King. Sometimes only when something less worthy is taken away, that we would lift our eyes to God. Here Rev. Sin asked, “who are you looking at today?” Is it God? See Isaiah 45:22 “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else.”
“Rise up oh men of God, have done with lesser things” – hymn “Rise Up oh Men of God
Indeed, who should not look at things lesser than God. Wealth, health, academic, luxury – all these are nothing compared to God.
Recorded in Isaiah 6:5 is also the reaction one will have when one experience the glory of God. Too many writings and claims nowadays, especially from liberal churches, claim all sorts of reaction other than humility. Things like God embracing them, talking to them, giving them visions, etc. But when one sees the glory of God, it will become obvious to us that we are sinful creatures – saved only through Christ which we do not deserve at all! It’s like a dirty rag beside something so bleached and so white, it will seem even dirtier and every dirt is amplified!
Therefore, in the Old Testament, the glory of God is to do with that of humbling people. We are humbled when we see the glory of God.
The New Testament
Ephesians 1:18-23
Ephesians 3:16-21
In the New Testament, the glory of God has to do with knowing God – knowing who He is, and His power and greatness. Christ is also glorified through the gospel – when we tell of His great love and sacrifice for sinners, and through the church of His elect.
Colossians 3:22-24
And the application to us, to glorify God, is this: “And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” (verse 23). Do everything for the Lord! It is not to our parents, or to our own reputation, but unto the Lord!
Colossians 1:18
This verse shows why we should do all things for the Lord. Because “he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence.”
21 December 2006
Christmas morning - Gospel Service 2006
"Eh...what is 'gospel' ah?"Haha heard this alot of times already.
"Gospel" means "good news". Christians use this word to refer to the good news of salvation for all sinners.
"Huh? Who sinner? Why need to save them?"
Let's start from the beginning: There is this higher power that created the world, and of course, human beings. Adam first, then Eve. And the world was perfect. Was. Until Eve decided to disobey God and so does Adam, and then - ta da! - now human beings lie and cheat and hit people without having to learn these things. This is because it is the sin of Adam and Eve which had been passed onto us. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God", the Bible says.
Sinners...of course have to be punished mah. And in the case of God - who is really really wonderfully and totally holy - sin is and cannot be tolerated. In fact, like how we would throw away defected works, sinners are going to go to hell! And the Bible says it is a place with eternal fire which cannot be quenched, darkness, and worms eating us.
But God does not "throw away" all of us. He loved the world which He had created so much He decided to choose some to be saved from hell.
So the good news is that we sinners have the opportunity to return to God! To be in heaven with God instead of hell after we die! And when we are alive to have the hope in God, and to know that God is with you and loves you and keeps you in His protection all the way!
So what is this good news? Who or what will save sinners? Can we save ourselves?
The Gospel Service on Christmas morning is to address this, and to proclaim the gospel to you if you are not saved yet.
Christ Grace Church will be conducting this gospel service. It is at Geylang Lor 27A, near Aljunied MRT. Drop me a tag if you wanna go!
=)
19 December 2006
The Glory of God in His Creation
This is the first of the series of messages from the camp which I will be posting.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Glory of God in Creation – Rev Jack Sin
Introduction to “The Glory of God”
During the Reformation, Protestant doctrine of Christianity was summarized to be surrounding this 5 tenets:
- Sola Scriptura ( authority only from God’s word)
- Sola fide (only saved by faith)
- Sola Gracias (only through the grace of God)
- Solus Christus (only by Christ; not the pope, not the priest)
- Soli Deo Gloria (to God only be the glory)
The glory of God is beyond description of words. The only simplified word to define that may be “greatness”, but it is still limited. No words can seem to describe fully and quantify the glory of God. But we can see God’s glory in certain areas. This sermon talked about God’s glory in creation.
Glorify God and to Enjoy Him Forever
The chief end of man, is to “glorify God and to enjoy Him forever”. In order for that, John the Baptist gave the right instruction: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). In everything that we do, especially in those things that the Bible does not have a direct answer to, the questions to ask are these:
- Is it a stumbling block?
- Is it edifying?
- Does this glorify God?
To “glorify”
It means: to venerate God, set God in the highest, to declare, to give praise to God. It has to be noted that we cannot add to God’s glory, for God’s glory does not depend on us. He is infinitely glorious already.
In Revelation 4:11, it says that “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” This shows that God is in the centre of His creation, and all things are created for His glory. Even in our sickness, and anything that we think it is “bad” to have happened to us, God is still glorified. 1 reason being that He is already infinitely glorious and all things happened under His providence. Another reason being that in “bad things”, God can be using it to show His power. John 11:4 – “When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” Lazarus’ sickness was used by Christ to show His power by the miracle of bringing Lazuras to life again. Personally, I have experienced my own failure in my O Level Prelims that was used by God to reveal His grace and mercy towards me.
“Enjoy God”
It means to have a deep profound sense of great pleasure in the presence of God (reading Bible, prayer, fellowship etc).
Things Not to Glorify In
In Jeremiah 9:23-24 – “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise [man] glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty [man] glory in his might, let not the rich [man] glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I [am] the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these [things] I delight, saith the LORD.”
Here it mentioned things that we should not glorify in: wisdom (academic achievements, special talents etc), might (power etc), and riches. There is only ONE thing that we can glorify in, which is in God, the knowledge of God, our salvation, etc. Reverend Jack Sin even mentioned that when we thank someone or for something, always attribute it to God (“thank God for this person / this pastor...”)
Glory of God in His Creations
We should not even glorify the creation of God, for all things are created to glorify God. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. [There is] no speech nor language, [where] their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,” – Psalms 19:1-4. Here Rev Sin reminded us that this is why New Age movements and Green Movements are wrong. They glorify nature (“Mother Earth”). (Of course, it is not that we should not take care of the earth.) It is also said in Luke 19:40 that even stones cry out and praise God if men fail to do so.
In Psalms 8, David ascribed glory to God and His name when he praised God for His wonderful creations. Here we see that even the name of the Lord is glorified. This is why we cannot and must not take the name of God in vain. Christians should be people who will think upon His name often, as Malachi 3:16 says. (“Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard [it], and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.”)
Because God’s creation shew forth His glory, when sin came into the world, the Bible says that “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” (Romans 8:22)
We are His Creation
We, man, are also God’s creation, and we are created to glorify Him. After Adam’s sin, man is no longer giving God the glory and glorifying God anymore. But Christians, we whom are saved and the truth is revealed to us, ought to glorify God like all other creations. This is said in Matthew 5:16 – “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Conclusion
The glory of God can be seen in His creation – sky, seas, mountains, trees, flowers, birds, insects etc. But we must always give glory to God, the Creator, and not the creation.
Personal reflection:
I’m someone who loves nature, especially the vast sky and big mountains and great seas. The next morning after this sermon, we have our morning jog and devotion at changi beach. It was a wonderful reflection time, as I watch the sky turn from morning darkness to light and see the sunlight fill the sky. Even though Singapore sea is ugly, the very formation of it and the vastness amazes me. If anyone realize, God takes the word “fool” seriously. (Matt 5:22 – “but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”) Yet God Himself would use the word “fool” on people who deny the existence of God. This show the extent of sin and depravity and stupidity a person is when he/she can look at all these wonderful creation and nature but would rather believe that they are formed without a Maker, but out of chaos. “Fool” is indeed such a right word to use. Even the pagans would attribute all these complex wonders to a higher power.
So indeed, how wonderful and glorious God is!
Church camp 2006
Church camp this year was very rushed. It was just Friday to Sunday night. Speaker was also rushing all the time; after the messages he had to go off already. This year I could not stay overnight on the last night too. Usually this would be a night of staying up and talking to other sisters staying overnight with me - to catch up, to...erm..."gossip", etc. This year, though, we could not.However, God has granted His servant Reverend Jack Sin wonderful messages to speak to us. The theme is "To God be the Glory". He spoke on God's glory in His creation, in the Old Testament and New Testament, in His Son, in His believers, and in glory land. All these spoke of a wonderful and glorious God whom saved us and whom we believe in. The glory of God - the greatness / majesty / wonder of God, is a series of wonderful messages which reminded me how much I owe to my God. He who is so glorious and so holy, should condescend to save sinners like us. More - He should choose me as a soul to be saved! My late grandmother was pious, but misled. If she had been saved, her faithfulness and zeal for God would have been much better than I. But God chose me! He pulled me out of the fire for His own glory's sake. But what haveI given back to Him...? It is awfully humbling...to know that God is glorious, and to see this little bits of glory which He has revealed to us in His word.
Chosen not for good in me,
Wakened up from wrath to flee,
Hidden in the Savior’s side,
By the Spirit sanctified,
Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,
By my love, how much I owe.
Even on earth, as through a glass
Darkly, let Thy glory pass,
Make forgiveness feel so sweet,
Make Thy Spirit’s help so meet,
Even on earth, Lord, make me know
Something of how much I owe.
04 December 2006
Exam is over!!
YUP! It's over. But i'm still apprehensive about my southeast asia...hai...But anyway, i've rented 4 movies to watch. I didn't plan what movies, but after I picked them and paid for them, I took them out and realized this:
3 out of the four have the male and female lead hugging/facing each other. The last one, "War of the World", actually has Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning together at the original cover which the shopkeeper took off. It looks like this:
haha. so by right, all 4 would have - by no planning whatsoever - have the male and female lead hugging / facing / cowering together. Poster designers should find better ways to portray their actors.