Pentecost & How much?

Pentecost comes from the Greek word "pentekoste" which means "50th". It refers to the Jewish Feast of Weeks, which Greek-speaking Jews called the Day of Pentecost (Acts 21:1). Pentecost also commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and the followers of Jesus (Acts 2). The liturgical colour is red which symbolises the fire of the Holy Spirit and the blood of the martyrs which the seed of the Church.

Today's sermon is entitled "How much?" by Rev Melvin Huang. I record some of my thoughts based on the sermon below.

A question was asked if one who goes kayaking would put one foot in one kayak and the other foot in another. Of course not, right? Who in the right mind would?

But do you know that as Christians, we do? We have one foot in God's Kingdom and one foot in the world, and we end up being tossed about. And if we are "double-minded and unstable in every way", we "must not expect to receive anything from the Lord" (James 1:6-8).

God has a rightful place in our heart and life. Do we surrender all that we have to Him? Our family, our work, our finances, our leisure, even our food? If we seek first God's Kingdom, all the other parts will fall in place.

Where is my treasure? (Matthew 6:21)

Do I press on to the goal, forgetting what lies behind? (Phil 3:13-14)

Do I surrender ALL THAT I HAVE? (Matthew 13:44-46)

If God is not the Lord of all,
He is not the Lord at all

Hymn of Dedication - The Kingdom of God
(lyrics written by Rev Melvin Huang, sung to the tune of Foundation, UMH 529)

The Kingdom of God is why Jesus was sent
The gospel for all who in Jesus believe
It's living and knowing God, Father and Son
Be born from above and God's Kingdom receive

Live His life in this age and the age to come
Righteousness, peace, joy in the Spirit of God
Choose God as your treasure, His Kingdom seek first
Your heart sure will follow, be right with the Lord

Whatever you treasure your heart there will be
So seek first God's Kingdom, His righteousness, too
Like field hidden treasure, will cost all you have
But all in God's Kingdom are added to you

Phoebe turns 5!

The little girl has turned 5 - she is really adorable and is sometimes rather cheeky.

Pictured here is her choice of a 3D mermaid birthday cake and her K1 friends at her birthday party.

Public Service Walk - Southern Ridges

Synthia initiated joining the Public Service Walk and a few of us were game for it. Finally, Katherine, Jean, Vivienne, Synthia and I made it for the walk.

We started out at the Marang Trail near Vivocity at 730am and made our way up the 24-storey gradual elevation before reaching the top for an awesome view at Mt Faber, near the Jewel Box. we went on the Forest Walk and the Henderson Waves and ended up at Hort Park.

The whole walk was awesome and wholesome. Good for body and soul.... :)

Much Ado about Nothing

Went to Fort Canning and watch SRT's remake of Much Ado about Nothing with Adrian Pang as Benedick.

Had a lovely time with old friends, Siew Lian and Hwee Lian, as we picnicked under the open skies and caught up with one another.

Mothers' Day in church

Corporate Prayer for Mothers
For our mothers who have given us life and love, that we may show them reverence and love, we pray to the Lord...

For mothers who have lost a child through death, that their faith may give them hope, and their family and friends support and console them, we pray to the Lord...

For women, though without children of their own, who like mothers have nurtured and cared for us, we pray to the Lord...

For mothers, who have been unable to be a source of strength, who have not responded to their children and have not sustained their families, we pray to the Lord...

Loving God, as a mother gives life and nourishment to her children, so You watch over Your Church. Bless these women, that their faith and love shine forth. Grant that we, their sons and daughters, may honour them always with a spirit of profound respect.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Example of a mother in the Bible: Jochebed (Exodus 6:20)
"And when she could hide him no longer she took for him a basket made of bulrushes, and daubed it with bitumen and pitch; and she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds at the river's brink. And his sister stood at a distance, to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her maidens walked beside the river; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to fetch it. When she opened it she saw the child; and lo, the babe was crying. She took pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children. ... And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son; and she named him Moses, for she said, "Because I drew him out of the water." (Exodus 2:3-6,10 RSV)

My learning points
1. It was a difficult and challenging situation with the Pharoah wanting to kill all male Hebrew infants. But what was Jochebed's response? She entrusted God despite the situation with her child in a water-tight basket on a river.

2. And God honoured Jochebed and showed that He is in charge. He allowed the Pharoah's daughter to find the child and adopt him and in addition, allowed Jochebed to be appointed as the nurse for the child. God gave Jochebed more than what she had asked for as she entrusted the situation to God.

3. What was Jochebed's response when God gave her three children to nurture? She taught them well - to fear and honour God and her children, Moses, Miriam and Aaron, grew up to honour God and to serve Him mightily. Moses brought the Israelites out from Egypt and received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai, Aaron was appointed High Priest and Miriam, a prophetess.

4. My key learning point - What is my response when put in a difficult situation? Do I trust in God or depend on myself? Also, when given people to nurture, do I teach them well in the ways of the Lord? What is the legacy I'm leaving behind?

An excerpt of the lyrics from the hymn "Find Us Faithful" sums up my thoughts ...
May those who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprint that we leave lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey

Help me, Lord....

OCP to PKH Cambodia 19 - 26 Apr

My task was to facilitate the learning experience of 14 students at Project Khmer Hope in Cambodia on an Overseas Community Project trip. Their main task was to teach English and to organise a Games Day for the Cambodian youths.

I thank God that the students were responsible and executed their tasks well. The Cambodian youths enjoyed their lessons and the games and the interaction with the Singaporeans.

The Singaporean youths on the other hand had plenty to learn from the Cambodians.

This OCP trip was both memorable and an experience of a lifetime for all of us. In the beginning, some of us did not know one another, then towards the middle of the trip, we slowly warmed up to everyone, and towards the end, as we had all been through thick and thin together for the past 8 days, it felt as if we had known one another for a long time.

During these 8 days, we have not only made new TP friends, but new Cambodian friends as well. The Cambodian students and staff treated us like their own family and friends. We were overwhelmed with the hospitality everyone showered on us with over there.

We went to Cambodia, hoping to bring fun and joy to the students, but they brought more enjoyment and tears of joy to us instead. We went to Cambodia, supposedly to teach and pass knowledge to the students, but we learnt more from them instead.


"The most important thing that I learnt would have to be not to take anything for granted. The students that we befriended at PKH made do with so few luxuries of the modern world." - Rachelle"

The most significant moment for me on the trip was the video presentation as I was very touched looking at the photos we had taken with the students and how well we interacted with them. I learnt that we must cherish the family ties, friendship that I have and always remember how fortunate I am in Singapore." - Melissa

"OCP Cambodia really left a great impression of community service for me. At first, I thought I will suffer in the horrible conditions in Cambodia, but in the end, it turned out otherwise. After this trip, I learnt that community service might be something I want to do next time." - Phyllis

"After this trip, I learnt to treasure the things around me and it also made me feel that community service can be meaningful and fun. I plan to do community service if I have the free time in future." - Hong Soon

I am glad to be able to serve Cambodia in this manner on my 4th trip there.