What do you think of Christmas?

Probably slightly similar to what Singaporeans/Asians think Christmas is...


That's Christmas! from andy pearce on Vimeo.

London Underground Station Supervisor

I met at Warwick Avenue tube station, which is near my host home in London, whom I've asked Cornhillers and some friends to pray for...remember Tim Pinn, the Station Supervisor? The ones who stand around at the tube gates where you tap your Oyster cards? The ones who open the bigger gates for those with big luggages and buggies/prams? The ones who help you to figure out the "complicated" tube map and also know the streets outside the tube at the back of their hand?

Recently, my host CH, had the opportunity to have lunch with him!! I was SO happy upon hearing that. CH got to know Tim better and plans to do a bible overview with him, something which is much needed, after the few chats with Tim on my way home or going off via Warwick Tube station. Appreciate your prayers for Tim.

Some friends wondered how this all happened. Well, when you're always passing the same place and always meet the same person, you're bound to (with curiosity) say abit more, aside from a nod and a smile. If you ever see Tim, you'll know what I mean. He's one of the rare Station Supervisors who smiles and I mean really smiles alot, and writes funny quotes on the white boards about the weather or something when all the tube stations are running without problems. Love reading his funny quotes.

It all started one Sunday, I was rushing to church and took the tube (normally I take the bus), and there he was on duty. Asked me where I was heading to, since it was a Sunday. I said I was going to church, then he said "oh, you're such a good person, going to church", which I responded "No, I'm not a good person, hence I need to go to church". Thereafter, he was puzzled and I had a chance to explain why its not about being good that you go to church.

Romans 3
10"None is righteous, no, not one;
11no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one."

Then I asked him a question as I've always been wanting to ask...whether he was a christian. He said his relationship with God is up and down. There are good days when he looks at the vast and beautiful creation/nature, then when he sees people suffering, he questions God why it has to be so and those are the bad days. In the subsequent chats on and off, we talked about the bible, life, people, a church he attended, christians who passed through Warwick Avenue tube station who talked to him, God's law, his holidays, etc. Amazing, now that I think about it, how God enabled me to meet Tim. Please pray for Tim and CH in the days to come. So many opportunities to share the gospel/good news with people around us when they want to hear!

so difficult to love and understand

one another...that's why Jesus asked his disciples and us, believers, to love one another. We really messed up our relationship with God and with each other, see Genesis.

We hurt each other with remarks, we don't hang around with people we don't like, we gossip, we don't want to even understand or get to know the people we don't like but confirm in our own mind that we know them thoroughly by comments through third parties and what we observe, we have no compassion for each other. And I'm guilty of it too. How could I?

The breakdown of relationships with each other, all because we don't know what our loving Creator God has done for us. Loving us when we're unlovable and when we have ignored/offended/hated him. Why are we like that?

Keep remembering Ephesians 6...
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

"Nothing is free in this world"

my colleague said recently...because we were talking about something in the news, I think. My instant reaction in my mind was "But, but...there is something free in this world!", then I wonder what they'll say.

Romans 5
15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Hmm, now how do I let him (and those around) know about this? Do I write an email and mention about it? I'm so not good in thinking on my feet and responding at that very instant. I ponder and think about the conversations and pray for more opportunities later on to tell them about Jesus. Will I be too late? Will they even want to hear and ask more out of curiosity?

Voicebox affected

Can't believe it! I've been sick for almost a month/4 weeks!! I've never been sick for so long. Sigh. Started with my usual inflammation of the tonsils, then dry cough, then lost of voice. ARGH!

Saw neighbour doc 3 times, and was on medical leave for 4 days in span of a month.

Want to catch up with people, yet I think I need to not talk for 3 days then voicebox will recover. Maybe I should do the stuff which singers do before their mega-concerts...ie, wrap their necks with scarf to keep it warm. Wonder if that will work?

So sad, realised that I need my voice to meet/catch up with people, get things done, solve computer problems at work, communicate what I want to order at the hawker centre, relate to loved ones, etc. There's only so much SMS or online chats can do and sometimes can be misunderstood. Makes me treasure the spoken word and also makes me realise how much I *do* talk. haha! Helps one to listen more, but it also restricts what you want to express because I've to rest my voice.

Wonder if I'll have a permanent hoarse voice from here onwards...hmm...

my teacher's coming to Singapore!!

Yippee!! My teacher, CA, will be coming to Singapore!! I'm SO excited!!!

Sat 18 Oct, 9am - 12.30pm at Singapore Bible College
"Married for God"...uncovering God's purpose for your marriage.
Click here for details and you can read a snippet of his book of the same name "Married for God" from here.

His wife will be giving a talk to women on "Being God's women in God's world" at my place on Sat 18 Oct, 2.30-4pm (8 Oct 08: time changed). So, if you're interested, insert a comment in this blog entry and I'll contact you.

CA will also be giving talks here as well....

Tue-Wed, 21-22Oct, 7-10pm at Orchard Road Presbyterian Church
"Grappling with God: Expositions from Job"
Click here for details and you can read a snippet of his book on Job "Out of the Storm" from here.

what's a gobbet?

"what have you been doing in the past year?"
"what certificate did you get?"
"you're not working for church?"

Many questions were asked. To some, I got excited telling them what I'd learnt and one led to another, and thought it's good to share the preparation work/where I begin when I receive a passage to lead bible study or to give a talk . It has affected my reading and you'll start to observe and hopefully listen carefully to God's word, with your mind blown away, going away repenting/rejoicing/thanking. Alot of hard work!! And lots of prayer!!

LOOK AT VARIOUS VERSIONS of the passage…

NIV (gives thought for thought words)

New Living Translation (gives sense for sense words)

ESV (is word for word)

CONTENT

What type of literature is it: parable, narrative, letter?

What’s passage about? Is there a clear argument, structure or theme?

What’s emphasized or repeated?

What are the difficulties – thing you don’t understand, or need to check?

What are the surprises – things you didn’t expect?

CONTEXT

Where does it come in the immediate context? How is it linked to what comes immediately before and after it?

Where does it come in the book as a whole?

Where does it fit in the bigger Bible storyline?

PURPOSE

Why did the author write this passage to these people?

Why did he say this, and not something else?

Why did he say this here, in this part of his letter or book?

FOR EPISTLES…

What are the ISSUES?

Any FACTS/ENCOURAGEMENTS?

Any OBLIGATIONS (to) ACTIONS?

BIG IDEA (form a sentence of 10 words or less)

This is the tough bit, as you'll keep thinking what the Big Idea is of the passage. By this time, you would have memorised the whole passage and thinking about it day and night, teaching yourself, struggling with your sin, asking God to help you with your stubborn heart, your dense mind.

AIM (to teach)

TEACHING POINTS (from passage which can become talk outline)

Dear friends, hope the above helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Gobbet - In Cornhill, that means a chunk of a passage given to us to work on. It's not a full blown talk, but a passage to work on

so many plans...

starting work

tomorrow....time sure flies!

At this time last year, I was depending on the Lord for his providence financially and as I settled down in London, trying to know where things were, how things worked and getting my bearings. And I was so thankful to the Lord for the host family, Hawthornes.

Now, I'm back to the same company, same job with the same team-mate I'd worked with, and I'm again amazed and thankful to the Lord for what he has provided yet again.

Prayer point: that God won't let my heart wander and like Ezra "set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel" (Ezra 7:10).

I'm SO thankful for Jesus and what he has done for us! Still awed by what Jesus has done on the cross to restore us our dignity of being made in God's image.

What's Singapore like?

Many overseas friends have asked me...

Click here as I found a website of photos taken by people who have visited Singapore. Good perspective from their end.

Back home

...it has been around a week since being home. In 10 months, Singapore has changed in many ways. Have to adjust to new buildings, road divertions, latest happenings like the museum festival, etc.

Aside from feeling like an oddball once again, ie, a local yet not local cos I enjoy angmoh/foreign things like picnic in parks, walking, showing foreigners the local stuff, etc. I'm definitely more sensitive to things around unlike before...

• Went to Bugis to activate my mobile, and was struck by how materialistic Singapore is, especially the change in the layout of the shopping centre at basement of Bugis with all the advertisements and signs say it all. Marketing certainly shows what entices and attracts the society/culture


• There are alot of cars in Singapore, went to Singapore General Hospital for mum's accupuncture appointment and all the carparks from Carpark A to I were full around 10.45am


• Prices of food have increased in air-conditioned food courts. Not possible to find $3 meals.


• There're alot of conveniences here, like you just have to walk 5-10mins and you'll reach places you can get stuff done. Having walked so much in UK, walking here made me aware of the conveniences. Strangely, maybe now I'm walking at a slower pace, I don't perspire as much as I did before I left. And the trusty umbrella is well needed, so I don't bother if some think it's really "aunty" (local term associated to being old) to carry one


• Bus drivers here are kind and I truly appreciate them. They see you running and they wait for you. There was even a bus which was full and the bus driver stopped for me to get on, but I dared not because it was full to the brim, though I could have squeezed myself in, but I didn't. In UK, the bus driver wouldn't even open the front door if it's full (capacity restriction/safety law)


• Have to get used to air-con. From leaving an air-conditioned building, getting out to the humidity and heat, then into an air-conditioned bus, only to drop off into the humidity and heat, and walk to another bus stop and get onto another air-conditioned bus. Have to positioned myself in the bus to not sit under the strong blow of the small air-conditioned pipes/holes, or keep adjusting those small pipes/holes to get less of the strong air-con wind. Need to keep a cardigan in my bag now


• Really miss the variety of food! Have to limit myself to eating 1 favourite dish during each meal time, less my tummy grows in size again! haha!


• Familiarity of understanding all the dialects around me


• Being able to call older folks/workers aunty and uncle, though they aren't related to me in any way (in UK, aunty and uncle means they are your relatives). Also the strong understatement that older folks are wise, have all the answers and they will gladly tell you the answer. If they don't know or have question, it shows their inability and they'll lose face infront of a younger person...never knew it was that strong before.


• Trying to fight off conformity and not be so sensitive that people are looking at me


• Was amazing meeting ex-colleagues from Finland who were here on business trip, and hearing all the familiar names of other ex-colleagues. Also visiting the office and seeing all the familiar faces!


• A trait of kay-poh-ness (inquisitiveness) amongst people here, wanting to know what were my plans from here onwards and knowing that I'm trying to find a job, their minds start rolling on how they could help and whom they know. It's really all about networks, an asian thing


• When I took the MRT trains, I noticed the large space between the 2 opposite rows of seats. I remembered in London's tube trains, the standing space inbetween opposite rows of seats were really small/tight, only 1 person can fit inbetween


• Segregation of society between the english-speaking and chinese-speaking is very wide though both look chinese by skin color. The acceptance of each other isn't there. It shows in their dressing and their body language of the great divide. You'll see it in the bus.


• There are lustful old men here just as they are lustful youths in UK who eyeball girls


• Alot of girls follow latest fashions and currently it's off-shoulder tops/dresses


• Asians are really small in size! I towered over some
  
• We're a sensing culture. I hardly bummed straight into a person whilst walking unlike in London.
  
• Busy-ness with time flying fast here, you get sucked into it and before you know it, the important things like reading God's word has been replaced by tasks or TV drama serials
  
• Seems like everywhere in the crowd, whether its downtown or where your flat is, there're foreign workers and space-wise, it's getting packed. London's Oxford St is busy, but once you go to the outskirts, it's less busy. Friend told me that Singapore govertment plans to increase population by 6 million! *jaw drop*


• Alot of drinks are sweet here, like teh peng (tea with milk), can drinks, fruit juice, etc. Think I only drank tea without sugar or water in UK, and the occasional Bulmer's cider =P


• Not many wide open parks accessible by walking. Labrador Park which is one of my favourite because it's near the sea, you'll have to drive there, as it's a long long walk from the main road


• I don't get many hugs here. Only if I see a really close friend, I'll dare to give a big hug. Otherwise even if I see friends whom I've known for more than 2 years, it'll just be a wave of "hi" standing right infront of the person


• Conclude...Singapore is a truly modern city which pampers its citizens alot! Its citizens are truly materially rich, seeing from the food restaurants.

The challenge now is how to see our society from the gospel mindset, how has the world been brought into the church? I wonder what are the possible/common worldviews amongst Singaporeans...

Cornhill days coming to an end...

yesterday, we (2nd years and full-timers) spent praying from 1.30pm - 4.30pm with a tea break in-between. 6 people went up to share their prayer points on summer plans, short term plans and long term plans. After that in groups of 6 we prayed for those 6. Next 6 went up to share and we pray for them, until all 50-60 persons have shared. It was amazing! Exhausted and SO dependent on our great God in all that we do! Thankfulness to him and awareness of our weaknesses and how the devil can use it to steer us away and bring us down! Yet, God's work to bring all under Christ will continue, all to be made Christ-like. Such an assurance.

Going to miss my Cornhill days, the brothers and sisters whom I've learnt much from, who have impacted and challenged my life in various ways, the humility of the teachers before the Lord as they taught us, etc...especially the Lord humbling me and teaching me great truths about himself to me, how great is our God!

CA shared this verse with us which is really poinant for me! Reality of the world we live in, while we wait for Jesus' return...

1 Peter 5:8-9
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

God has been SO kind...

He has been SO kind to the Hawthornes, giving them the gift of life in a baby girl (Rebekah Gillian-Mei Hawthorne) just born this morning! The anticipation of waiting, wondering each night if maybe baby will be delivered tonight. She's been so active in her mummy's tummy that I thought maybe baby could be a boy, though deep inside I was praying, asking God to grant them a baby girl, then realising that I should just thank Him for giving them a healthy child whether boy or girl. But, I am content with whatever the Lord gives, truly content and very thankful to Him.

Her brothers were also excited, got them presents to congratulate them - Joshua being the older brother of 2, and Reuben becoming a big brother for the first time. It's so wonderful that they're brothers of a little sister!! During lunchbreak (between church and bible study), couldn't help it but as I tried to find lunch for myself, I ended up chancing upon charity shops opened on Sun, and found really nice girlie clothes for Rebekah. =) After bible study, went straight to hospital because doctor still wasn't there to discharge Helen, to accompany boys back home. She has jaundice, so mum & child staying in hospital tonight. Need to pray for speedy recovery for both mum & child.

I am SO happy for them! I've learnt so much from them (some theories were confirmed, some had to be re-learned) about pregnancy, delivery of child, bringing up children and now, how to care for the little one and how amazing it is how the child's body grows/reacts. Random fact: Did you know the initial poos by baby for the first week looks like black liquid tar? Also that the layer of skin round her is not washed off? It's rubbed into her skin cos it's natural moisturiser?

Lots to learn and rely on the Lord for his breath of life breathed into Rebekah.

Matt Redman's song sung at church this morn put a smile on my face just thinking about all that the Lord has blessed me with in the past year, especially my host family which includes being able to experience the joy of a newborn child:

Jesus Christ, I think upon your sacrifice
you became nothing, poured out to death.
Many times I've wondered at your gift of life,
and I'm in that place once again,
I'm in that place once again.

And once again I look upon
the cross where you died.
I'm humbled by your mercy
and I'm broken inside.
Once again I thank you,
once again I pour out my life

Now you are exalted to the highest place,
King of the heavens,
where one day I'll bow
but for now I marvel at this saving grace,
and I'm full of praise once again,
I'm full of praise once again.

And once again I look upon
the cross where you died.
I'm humbled by your mercy
and I'm broken inside.
Once again I thank you,
once again I pour out my life.

Prayer point: that Rebekah one day comes to personally accepting the Lord Jesus as her parents have and will teach her about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Ephesians 6:4
"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

And like Timothy learning from his grandma & mum, Rebekah will learn from her parents in the same way...and all through faith/believing in Christ Jesus! That Rebekah's heart will one day believe and with her mouth she confesses and is saved!
2 Timothy 3:14
"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. "

camomile

is my all-time favourite tea....because I read somewhere that it relaxes and calms. And when I first drank it, I really had a good sleep!

And when my host, CH, asks if I want anything to drink as he goes and makes himself his english decaf tea, at one stage, I kept asking for camomile tea. Such that he came up with a joke dedicated to me! haha! It goes something like this...

"What do you get when you put a tea bag on a camel and it walks a mile?"

"Camomile tea!" hahahahha!!! I love my brother CH! =)

I've also been switching to crysanthemum tea and he's been twitching his brains to come up with another joke but it hasn't been as punchy as the one above...til the next original CH joke...

God's gracious work in my Cornhill school-mate Noble

See here:
http://www.transformed.org.uk/lives/noble-roberts/

Went with Noble and another Cornhill school-mate, Akshai, to the "Transformed" meeting, which was at Brixton. Brixton area at night was an eye-opener for me.

Noble's using my bible, you know!! My bible's on youtube! haha! Last minute, he borrowed it. Wise man! And he said my bible is a Cornhill bible cos it's ESV. Haha!

It was truly encouraging to see him planning to read scripture (Ephesians 2:1-10) then share his testimony. And how his aim in sharing his testimony is to share Christ. It'll be SO evident and result in people praising God for his work in us, wanting God's work in their lives as well, since the different methods in which God has caused us to turn to him in repentance will be different for everyone, and the method won't apply to everyone. BUT, sharing Christ will impact the hearers (!!)...something I learnt during mission week when I shared my testimony about how Jesus became bigger and bigger in my life, which is all of God's grace and mercy towards me. A sharing of testimony where your hearers wonder and want to know who Jesus is, and not where your hearers just go away saying "Oh, that was an amazing testimony" and that's all there is.

God knows the problem with us - it's our hearts. No matter how anyone tells me what to do and gives me instructions, if I don't want to do it, nothing can be done. Even if I do it, it may be for a little while and I stop doing it. Or I totally rebel against God. A change of heart is needed. PRAISE the Lord for Jesus!!

Jeremiah 31:33
"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."

Belief in God versus science...

(A pic in Bournemouth when I went rockpooling with the Hawthornes. Amazing coastline! I was in awe...)

the start of my final term...studying Genesis! And here's the Genesis Controversy!

3 reasons to be concern about the debate (ie, belief in God versus science)...

1. Don't reject evolution, but argue from science point of view (ie, if you think that you evolved from an ape, then is it your mom or dad's side?)
   
   
2. Huge amount of hostility and opposition from Christians that this is key to whether you're a Christian or not BUT this is NOT the gospel
   
   
3. The lost in wonder/power/majesty of our Creator God is replaced by argumentativeness
   

Here's a good song which teacher SA played for us to listen (note the lyrics):
Song..."It all begins and ends with you (God, center of the universe)"

Verse 1
In the beginning
Before You set the world in motion
Uncreated God eternal

Radiant beauty
Infinite, the God head three in one
Perfect Father, Spirit, Savior

Chorus:
And it all begins and ends with You
It all begins and ends with You
The first the last the center of it all
And in You all things are held together
The sun the moon the stars the heavens
Creator God, the center of it all

Verse 2
All of the Universe explodes in song before designer King
Valley shaper, mountain maker
The stars sing out, they can't contain the praises of their God
Earth creator, heaven shaker

Bridge:
Beginning of it all
The reason for it all
The centre of it all

a debater worth listening to

check these out...
Jay Smith
pfanderfilms

"a love for the lost, do I have?"
all I can say is that I'm inspired and pushed to find out more...going back to the text!

I'm hoping to not go to heaven

...heaven is like a stopover, the final destination is the new heaven & new earth. Offering hope, not offering heaven. Therefore, "I'll go straight into the new creation!"....this was what we had to think through during doctrine session on Resurrection by CA. Sort of shocked our systems when he said "I'm hoping to not go to heaven". =)

It's strange, but the session confirmed some stuff I was thinking about before...about how the new heaven & new earth coming down out of heaven.

Act I (God creates it)
- there was harmony of Heaven & Earth
- God created, everything was good
- governed by human beings, delegated to Adam & Eve
- but it doesn't last long in the bible

Act II (Devil messes it up)
- schism between Heaven & Earth
- instead of harmony, separation of Heaven & Earth, everything divided
- Heaven = God's space, not location, it's above our space / distinct from our space
- Earth = our space

How do we know there's an Act III?
Not that we'll be air-lifted to heaven, but this place will be transformed, radical change.
If it's "beam me up to heaven", it'll suggests immorality & irresponsibility, because there's no need to do anything while we're here.
But, if it's a new creation, suggests more engagement, responsibility & morality, because everything done is in view / looking to new creation.

Act III (God remakes it)
- reunion of Heaven & Earth: continuity and discontinuity

1. It is the same Creation
2. Heaven and Earth are reunited at the Cross
3. It is ruled by Christ's people
4. It is purged of all rebellion
5. It is deeply transformed

"Going to heaven" avoid it >> "Going to new creation"

It's not me & my destiny, but it's all about God & his purposes & his glory

Romans 8
18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Blown away...

by what was taught in the past 2 days. I'll try to give a snippet and hopefully through my limited expression and notes in point form in the english language, my dear friends at home will be able to know what I've been learning...

Titus by Stuart Allen

1Paul,

a servant of God

and an apostle of Jesus Christ,

for the sake of the faith of God’s elect

and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,

2 in hope of eternal life,

which God,

who never lies,

promised before the ages began

3and at the proper time manifested in his word

through the preaching

with which I have been entrusted

by the command of God our Savior;

- Why do you think Paul wrote such a detailed introduction to his letter to Titus? What is the main point he is making here?
- The colors match and you can see what's sandwiched stands out...
- Eternal life is at stake!
- The reason behind Paul's calling >> the future hope
- Pursuit of greater good in future, hence present denial

Tuesday Gobbets on Mark (Intro to Mark) by Robin Sydseff
- Learn Mark off by heart, know the rhythm of it, so when you're on tube/mrt, you'll be thinking/pondering over it
- The Gospel books, not just evangelistic tools for non-Christians, also written for Christians (training/discipleship)
- Challenges
(i) Familiarity, most often congregation switches off, people won't be able to tell difference between Mark & John, only that it is about Jesus, the Gospels are the least understood
(ii) Getting a line on the different Gospels - John (evangelism...signs, discourses), Luke (assurance to Theophilus, tonic to the Christian soul), Mark (Messianic secret, centurion's statement is high point "You are the Christ" 15:29, and training)
(iii) Constructing a coherent series - summary titles in bibles have no coherence to the book/rhythm
(iv) Teaching the Gospels to Christians - as well as to non-Christians
(v) Tough literary genre - parables, narratives, discourses, prophesy, miracles....need to switch gears and get the rhythm right
- 4:38 Mark's unique...disciple's fear mentioned. How many times we say "God doesn't care". Reality is sometimes that it's not calmed...got to address it
- 4:39 Jesus saying "Be still!", in Greek is term associated with exorcising, thus we see the waves in a different light, one associated with evil, since you only exorcise evil. Application: Jesus' inactivity doesn't mean he doesn't care!
- Power of nature meets power of God. Storm which could have killed them, the fishermen knew that since all experienced fishermen would have known what kind of storm they could steer away from.
- Don't forget Mark's key contribution! Get back into text!

Doctrine by Tim McMahon
Developing and Teaching Doctrine
- What's doctrine? categories, articulate, how the bits come together
- A human activity with a Divine purpose
(a) Constant reformation...never going to be able to sum up, constantly reviewing
(b) Bible vs Gospel...knowledge of Bible and knowledge of God...heart relationship base on content, can have knowledge but no heart, knowledge which affects life compared to just facts >> anyone can immediately pick out the difference
- our framework needs to be changed by the Word
- The Purpose of studying doctrine.
(a) To inform how we worship God....people's doctrine of God determines how they engage/relate to him (it), consider Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaeo-Christian
(b) To inform our understanding of Blibical texts (a recursive relationship with doctrine - one changes the other)...strangely for a person who has an abusive father, still have an innate understanding of what an unabusive father is like...all due to us being made in the image of God
(c) To inform our gospel preaching (largely doctrinal in evangelical circles recently)
(d) To inform how we live

Trinity
- The nature of God....a philosophical matter?
- Propositional statements about God...look at "God is light", you won't think much about it, but read up 1 John 1:5-7; 2:9-11; 2:18-19...."God is light" is in the relational context, fellowship, loving others
- Don't need exhaustive to have complete knowledge of God. Eg, marriage relationship, will we ever know spouse completely? No. Does it stop us from wanting to know more? No. What God has revealed enables us to have a deep, profound relationship with him.
- Teaching Trinity...recognise the limitations of models to explain Trinity, failure of physical/mathematical models but the relational model of marriage works. Pictures of liquid/ice/steam or egg/yolk/white, all fail because it's not relational. Need relational terms like marriage to describe the unity in Trinity or family terms. Eg, insult wife, husband insulted, or children praised, father is happy but is not in the limelight though he is the one who has brought them up.
Problem comes when equality comes into picture, but equality is not blibical. There's submission and authority, but people have problems with those words in the 21st century, the inadequacy of language. Read Bible, read with picture of Trinity, us being brought into the Trinity relationship which is one of joy and agreement with one another. Amazing!
- Next week is Christology, SO exciting!!!

Deuteronomy by Christopher Ash
Deuteronomy 4:21-31 why religion is wrong (why grace works)
v21 angry theme...Lord angry with Moses
v24 God is a consuming fire [good healthy jealousy, all or nothing God]
(1) consumes & burns up those not loyal to him (DANGER)
(2) if we're loyal, enemies will be consumed (SAFETY)

A. Idolatry scatters the Church (v21-28)
v25 I create the god I'm worshipping....projection of me
Theological: If 2 individuals create god, bound to be scattering, conflict, etc
B. Grace gathers the Church (or God gathers the Church by his word of grace) (v29-31)
v29 from there = place of scattering/from exile/from place where taste bitter fruit of suffering
v30 will return = repent
Theological ques: How does Moses know that some of them will repent/turn back?
Ans: because God swore the promise to Abraham so they will return. Gospel of grace Moses preached.

- land = rest
- what does it mean to "take the land"? Believe in the promise/faith. Unbelief hence didn't enter the land. We're not in the rest now.
- Deut = about faith, not legalism. Believe and hence live out your loyalty to God.

Conclusion: Post-modern doesn't care about church scattering, but mention family breakdowns, disharmony, they'll understand. And when they see changed lives, they'll be amazed.

Changed lives, changed hearts are all God's work! We couldn't do it even if we tried really hard. God's grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. Let's consider what they means in each of our lives...
Titus 2: 11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Still not snowing...

but it did frost in the early part of Dec as shown above.

There was also mist on Christmas eve, to my surprise.

Review of 1st term at Cornhill

With the 1^st years, we went through…..

2 Timothy (Christopher Ash)

Bible Basics (Stuart Allen)

session 1: The Law

session 2: The Former Prophets

session 3: The Latter Prophets

session 4: The Writings

session 5: The Gospels

session 6: The Acts and Letters

Principles of Expository Preaching (David Jackman)

What kind of book is the Bible? (Nigel Styles)

Ministry Topics: (Christopher Ash)

- Who decides what the Bible means?

- Why do Christians meet?

- What kind of leadership do churches need?

- The blessings of Expository Ministry, “The Whole Counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) Planning Bible Teaching Programmes, Study Resources for Bible Teaching, Putting the talk together, Getting the talk across

- Christmas Speaking Opportunities

Pastoral Topics: women and men in Christian service (Christopher Ash & Carrie Saddom)

Gobbet Groups: 1 Tim, Luke, Acts, Deut, Malachi (Stuart Allen)

Exodus (David Jackman)

Pastoral Topics: Thinking Blibically about Christian meetings & buildings (Mark Ashton)

Carol Services (Christopher Ash)

Pastoral Topics: Contemporary Culture ‘Where in the World Are We?’ (Mark Maynell)

With the 2^nd years, we went through….

Romans 1-5 (Christopher Ash)

Principles of Exposition – Epistles (David Jackman)

Principles of Exposition – Gospels (David Jackman)

Principles of Exposition – Prophesy (David Jackman)

Malachi (Lee Gatiss)

Revelation (John Richardson)

Women’s Stream….

Recovering Blibical womanhood (Carrie Saddom)

Godly Women, Godly Beauty, Godly Speech, Godly in Good Deeds (Caroline West)

Blibical Womanhood at Work, ‘Careering out of control’ The pressures on working women today (Carrie Saddom)

Training women to serve, Encouraging Women into ‘Full-time’ Ministry (Jane Leggett)

Women in cross cultural mission (Genevieve Jennings)

Teaching children & all ages (Caroline West)

Model Expository Talk (Jane Leggett)

Evangelism with women, Evangelism strategy and programme, Teaching Women (Lizzy Smallwood & Daphne)

Model all age talk (Caroline West)

Ministry to married women (Tricia Marnham)

Leading Bible Studies (Annabel Heywood)

God’s sovereignty when things go wrong, God’s sovereignty and human responsibility (Carrie Saddom)

Issues women face, addressing pastoral issues (Caroline West)

Ministering to Singles, Single in ministry (Jane Leggett)

How did God us these women in their situations? (Carolyn Ash)

WOW! After I’ve reviewed what I’ve learnt, it’s a lot! Some may have doubt it since it’s a non-certificated course. But a lot of my school-mates will testify that it’s a really intensive course and stress at times, as our 5min gobbet, 7min exposition & 20min talks are like our exam dates. And the preparation for each will be 2.5hrs, 3.5hrs and 10hrs respectively. And besides that, you’ll need to spread out those hours, because it’s unlikely you’ll be able to think of the big idea (ie, forming 1 sentence of 10 or less words) in a day from the passage you’re studying. You’ll need to ponder and I struggle a lot with my sin and my background spectacles I read it with, keeping in mind that there’s the impact of the letter at those ancient times, and aim to handle God’s word aright and teach it correctly, especially teaching it to myself and often my mind gets blown by the treasures found and how it all clicks together. 5min gobbet’s audience is a mix group of 12, 7min exposition’s audience is the whole class of 50, 20min talk’s audience is 3 women school-mates. Every session there’s at least 1 teacher around supervising.

I get feedback from teachers and also fellow school-mates who assess what I’ve said based on context, content and whether teaching points came from the passage. I get encouragements too to trust in the Holy Spirit to do the work in men’s hearts and just keep praying.

Aside from that, there's the weekly homework to do. For example, this morning we can be given homework to read the 10 plagues in Exodus tonight, and the next morning we have to discuss about it. Phew! Keeps you on your toes and doing the work is really beneficial, because it helps the discussions we have with each other. Of course, there'll be some of us who can't get homework done because we're busy with ministry/church matters. How good it is to be able to spur each other on and sharpen each other.

Did I mention how humble my teachers are? They are all grasping God’s grace and teach with such quiet confidence, holding out God’s word for us to understand and heed, to follow our Lord Jesus for the rest of our lives till He returns! And they allow others to challenge them, to sharpen each other and they are always learning, knowing that though they may teach currently what it means at 45 years old, God may correct them when they’re 70 years old and they’ll accept that it’ll happen, not thinking they know it all and close their ears. You can see God’s work in them, for they couldn’t be the person they are if not for God working in each of their lives, turning them from darkness into the light of the kingdom of His son.

Sure am looking forward to my 2^nd term!! There’s mission trip to get more exposure as we go away separate ways to help various churches around London. Hoping to get to know my school-mates better too. In total, we have 21 countries represented. I’m the only Singaporean. Other Asians include Koreans, China,….Pakistan and Uzbekistan aren’t Asian, right? There are 2 english girls, one can speak better mandarin than me, and another can speak fluent Japanese, and both plan to return to China & Japan to continue with their mission work which they left for awhile to be equipped for further work there. So encouraging! Praying that there’ll be more Asians equipped in wanting to handle God’s word aright.

Know that I promised some of you that I’ll update my blog with what I’ve learnt weekly (at least I thought I’ll try), but the time went by so fast, that alas, like some of you told me already, it’s good enough if I’m able to do it monthly =) Shall try updating monthly…

So precious is God's family...

just like our own family whether married or single. Singles do still have family which seems to be lost in conversations sometimes =) So nice to hear "how's your mom?".

Being in God's family, being able to pray for each other though physically distant from each other and our Almighty God hears us no matter where we are. That strangers can think of each other and ask God to protect them, to build them up in a Christ-like manner, and when we meet, we're like brothers and sisters cos we believe in Christ who saved us. This must sound strange to a non-believer. And the individual who's prayed for is supported by prayer and knows it, and strives onwards, trusting in God who gives us life and sustains us, and knows our every need and provides us with all we need, not want, according to His good purposes, working it all in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amazing how God designed our relationships!

Thank you to all who heard about my mom and prayed for her & me during this time. As her shingles attacked her brain nerves, it might be that she'll have to learn to cope with constant pain for the long term, though thankfully her sharp pains aren't happening every second. She's also thankful that God had mercy on her and she's learning to trust Him.

THANK YOU to all who helped me to look out and look after her, amidst your own family responsibilities (like coping with a 6 month old baby) or illness!! It really means alot to me! Showed me visually and practically what being in God's family means, sharing and bearing each other's burdens, going out of the way when we're able to, only because you all know how God demonstrated his love to you through Christ dying on your behalf, on the cross.

May we all consider how we live our lives daily, to number our days aright because we know what is at the end (Jesus' return!).