Would like to share this video with you guys.. Take ur 6mins time off from your schedule to watch this meaningful clip..



hi all, it's time for ASS again! hoping this little thing goes a long way in your week!
since good friday is nearing, i thought the next two weeks we could focus on the last moments of our Lord Jesus Christ. The above video touched me vivdly, when i saw scenes from 'the passion of the Christ'. how Jesus suffered, mocked, whipped and died for us impacted me greatly. the song complements the scenes, as the words rang in my ears. take six mins off and watch this video. it has impacted desmond and i, and i'm sure it will impact you too.

After you're done watching the video, pray this prayer out loud:
Dear Jesus,
how wonderful, how beautiful are you Lord. You are my beautiful saviour. Freely you died on the cross for me, took the weight of sin from me and cleansed me. Thank you for all you have done on the cross for me.
Your servant, (your name)

Guys, let's do this together. It's Good Friday soon and let's not pass it by. Let's take the opportunity to thank the Lord for all He's done in our lives.

Sneak Peak on ASS next week: we'll be focusing on Matt 26-27.

have a great week ahead!
isaac & desmond.

no, you didn't read the heading wrongly. yes, it's defeating that ASS!



well, introducing:



Defeating That After-Sunday-Syndrome!



more often that not, we hear people sharing how they lead different lives for the first six days of the week and then on sunday they turn on that 'holy' mood when they come to church! well, DTASS serves to defeat that mentality! every monday, we will try to post stuff that we can all think, pray and meditate on for the whole week. kinda gives us a focus for the week thingy. stuff includes perhaps a story from the bible, a particular Jesus incident, a bibical character or a simple psalm.

here is this week's STUFF:

Story focus: The war between the Amalekites and Israel(Exodus 17: 8-16).

8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands." 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." 15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord. The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."

STUFF we can learn from this:

1. Like the lsraelites, we will always face trials and tribulations in our lives(v16).
-we are not spared from the downs of life

2. When we lift our hands to the Lord and tell Him the battle is His, we will have the advantage! (v11)
-we can tap on the example of Moses who lifted His hands to the Lord as a sign of surrender. It also meant that Moses was proclaiming victory in the name of the Lord.
-Similarly, when we proclaim victory in the name of the Lord, He will carry us through.

3. We are not alone in trials and tribulations! We need our friends and brothers to support us! (v12-13)
-Moses needed Aaron and Hur to support his arms when they grew tired. On the same note, we will grow tired and weary when we face our troubles.
-In times of need, we can rely on God and also our friends to lift and support us!

so, when you're facing something big this week, remember to lift your hands to the Lord and proclaim that the battle is His! It can be school work, deadlines, difficult people in our school/workplaces or simply fatigue, just surrender our situations to Him. Jesus will carry us through!

have an awesome week ahead! and by the way, the chalet(Houton D.WHOOTS) has been booked. YAHOO!

isaac

the holidays are here! for some of us that is :) well, i thought with this break, we all could do some reflections on what has happened so far in this year.

i think plenty could be learnt and applied in our lives this starting three months of 2009. for starters, we finished 40 full days of learning of the importance of community not too long ago. just yesterday, we appreciated God's faithfulness in sufferings.

well, for some of us, we are already feeling the pressure of school work, learning to adapt to new changes in our lives and some of us are uncertain of what lies ahead. some of us are in celebration of the result at old trafford, some in disbelief. haha

so why not let's take some time out to do some reflection. while i was doing my personal reflection, i realised i kept going to back to Daniel 6. after reading it, i made it the centre of my personal reflection.

here's part of Dan 6:

9 So King Darius put the decree in writing. 10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: "Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions' den?" The king answered, "The decree stands--in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed." 13 Then they said to the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day." 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. 15 Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, "Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed." 16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!" 17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed.
18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. 19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" 21 Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king." 23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

yes. God's not done with us when we get thrown into the lions' den. in fact, He's there with us when we face our fears, our trials and our sad moments.

so why not let's take some time out to do some reflection.

isaac

hi everyone, time for some prayer requests for this week! here we go:

prayer tip: This was what Ps. Stanley shared in one of the CPMs. Although some of us might not know what we are praying for or cannot visualise the results of our prayer, we should take the example of the early church. They were praying for Paul and Silas(Acts 16),who were both in jail, although they did not know what would happen next. Similarly, we should tap upon their strong faith that God would move despite not knowing the outcome.


1. Amos' mission trip: Pray for God to grant them favour with the schools they are visiting. Pray for a sucessful outreach to the school kids and that they will respond to their 'main event'. Pray that lives will be saved, and that many will be empowered to share Christ with their friends. Pray specifically for Amos, that he will be strong physically as well as spiritually.

2. Sam's KL trip: Pray for journey mercies to and fro, and for a fruitful trip up north.

3. Weilie's sister: Weilie's sister was recently admitted into SGH from an attack of pneumonia. Pray for complete healing and for good rest. Keep their family in prayer as well, that they may cast their worries and anxieties to the Lord.

4. Desmond's FYP: Des is starting his FYP tomorrrow(2nd March). Pray for wisdom, knowledge and strength as he goes through this long and laborious path. Pray for a co-operative team and for Des to work closely together with his team. Pray that Des will be a living testimony to his team and lead by example.

5. Prayer Mail: Take your time to browse through the prayer mail(which can be found in this week's bulletin). Commit to God the different prayer pointers listed. If you want the full version of the prayer mail, can approach me or Weilie. yup!


happy praying! have an awesome week ahead! :)

In Love,
Isaac