Church News (Page 41)

By Not Known It is a common sight in church to see people diligently attending the Sunday worship service, praying, giving tithe and offering, and even actively serving in a ministry or ministries. Do all these please God? Yes, if all these are carried out with the right motive in the heart and with God as the main focus, rather than carried out as empty formalities or…

By Not Known No doubt you have heard the expression “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”  The origins of this idiom is unclear, and seems to date back centuries, such as ancient writers Ennius, “A sure friend is known in unsure times,” and Euripides, “It is in trouble’s hour that the good must clearly show their friendship; though prosperity by itself in every case…

By Not Known “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” Gen 1:31 Human being is the apex of God’s creation of the world. He is created in the image of God. God highly values them. That is why God counted it very good after man and woman were created.  Furthermore, God…

By Not Known Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God (Ex 34:14). How well do you know God? How many of His great names have you experienced in your life? The Bible lists numerous examples of people who have given God names as a result of their encounter with Him.  Hagar called God The God who sees when the angel of the Lord…

By Not Known You might not have heard of this dreaded illness, uppgivenhetssyndrom.  It affects solely young refugees in Sweden where youths were suddenly seized by it and go into a coma-like state.  As one medical professional had described it, a Snow White syndrome.  How even healthy academic high-achievers may suddenly go into a coma-state baffle medical…

By Not Known No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves.  It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. (Ps 75:6-7) Generally, it is easy for us to be empathetic towards those who are in a miserable or unfortunate state. We want to support and help them while thanking God that we are not in the situation they are in. On…

By Not Known Today’s passage begins, “Hear my prayer, Lord …” How often have we uttered a cry for help to the Lord, perhaps in our times of trials, temptations or trouble? The spiritual discipline of prayer is sometimes an illusive concept – yes, generally, we are discipled and taught that prayer is essentially talking to God, but more often or not, prayer can…

By Not Known We have been examining the theme of worship for the past two Sundays. What do you think is the outcome?  Does it increase our desire to be involved in His service?  The following story illustrates the essence of serving our God (Bits & Pieces, June 24, 1993, pp. 20-21): “When Rosina Hernandez was in college, she once attended a rock concert at…

By Not Known As we continue our exploration on the worship theme in this month’s sermon series, it is helpful for us to understand the basic fundamentals for worship.  So often, churches had been embroiled in what was called the worship war, each dwelling on the merits of the form of worship that they claim to be the most appropriate and meaningful.  Others have…