Hey guys, It is ASS time!! Let me share with u this very interesting topic.. "How GREAT is our God?" Sorry, it might be a long post... But it is definitely worth ur time... hahaha..

Before i begin, let me share with you on how or what bring me to this topic...

When i was in sec 4, my sitting desk panther and i used to chat alot and this conversation lead me to that topic... Here is goes..

My friend: "Hey, God created the sky right?"

Me: "Ya..."

My friend: "God created the land?"

Me: "Ya..."

My friend: "God created seas?"

Me: "Hmm... Ya.."

My friend: "God created the earth right?"

Me: "Yea.. of coz man.. That's waht the bible says.. haha.."

My friend: "So why did God create the other planets in the universe when the earth itself
alone is just enough for us to live??"

Me: "Hahahahaha, i really have no idea at all..."

In the end, it got me into deep thinking abt wat my friend asked... What he said make sense...Why are there other planets and somemore, they are unsuitable for us to live.. Is there a purpose for it?? I couldnt find the answer and i went to ask my sister about it.. She was unsure about it as well.. We forget abt it until, few months later, my sister showed me that 40-mins long sermon video, Indescribable by Louie Giglio.. and told me tat this sermon IS the answers to that question that my friend mentioned.. Honestly, I was reluctant to watch the sermon but in the end, i watched it..

And, it was mind-blowing as what he mentioned at the start of the sermon!! Let me summarise for you..

Yes, we all know that God created the heaven and earth, but we didnt really think more about it.. And there is more to it..

1) The primary purpose of the universe is to show off his splendor and majesty.(the answer to wat my friend and i were looking for..) Psalm 19:1 say "The heaven declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

2) As the bible say, "When God say, let there be light.." If you think about it, just a word, 'Light' tat came from his mouth, He formed the sun which is so many times bigger than the earth(we all know that..) lighting up the whole universe which consist of galaxies after galaxies! Can you imagine how great and how amazing is our God?? hahaha

3) Stars that were all over the universe... If a person were to count the numbers of stars, it will take about 2500 YEARS to count the number of stars in the milky galaxy... But for God, He knows them one by one and called them each by NAMES!

4) Significance.. How small we are and how BIG God is. The galaxies and the universe is so big and everything was created by Him and for Him as well... And, we are so small, living in the earth, among the galaxies.. And yet, He is living in our hearts here.. No matter how small we are or how far are we from Him and how big is He, He is able to be close to us and also to fit in us.. Colossians 1:15-16 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."

5) Lastly, at the center of this galaxy is a black hole which the hubble telescope took a picture of.. And, it is really amazing.. Is like, of all shape or watever.. It is a shape of CROSS!! The entire universe displays God's fingerprint and this is just one example...the cross of Jesus was on the mind of God even as he was creating the universe. check the picture below!


And, there was another short sermon after this.. Again, same speaker as well.. This time, he shared another amazing fact about our body... Laminin.

For those who doesnt know wat is laminin, To put it simply, every living creature has laminin inside of them...the purpose of laminin is that it basically keeps our bodies from falling apart. It holds us together as one united whole. In other words, It is vital to making sure overal body structures hold together.
The laminin protein is made up of three polypeptide chains - α, β and γ, giving it a total of six "ends", accounting for a lot of its flexibility in connecting various molecules. - Wiki


Check out the picture below to see the structure of the laminin when all 3 polypetide chains were together together....
Wow... Another cross shape.. Before i end this post, let me share with u last verse..
Colossians 1:17 says "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

As you can see, God leave His trademark everywhere... Even in the universe as well as in our body!! This is clearly shown how amazing and GREAT is our God.. Remember, we are serving a BIG(not in physical) God!!! Hopefully, this post is interesting and then, we will continue to serve our God and admire His creations, always and everywhere.. Haha..

Desmond

Hey guys! A little update on whats up for our community project. If you guys remember, we've just finished our 40 Days of Community bible study series. And its a good time to practise and test out what we've learnt, and also have fun in the process of carrying out this project! :D

The main organisation we've approached so far, is Covenant Family Service Center. Basically what it does is that it serves residents in the area (in the case of Covenant it would be Hougang) facing a range of problems, ranging from financial, martial, parenting and educational. Most families face a few of these issues at the same time because the nature of their struggles is very much interlinked. Hence the FSC uses a few schemes to help them like the School Pocket Money Fund and GIFTS(Gearing Individuals and Families Towards Self-Reliance)

Well, so much for the FSC, so where are we to step in?Basically our role can be separated into 2 areas:

1. Ad- hoc Events/ Projects
Covenant usually holds some projects that require volunteers. For example,
a. Family Day on Jun 13
The center is holding a Family Day event on Jun 13, 8am to 12 pm. Requiring volunteers to help them set up game booths. Purpose is to build family togetherness as they will invite the needy families to join them in this event. They will need about 4-5 volunteers a booth to plan the games to involve the whole or large part of the family, also to man the stalls and host the games. Logistics will be provided by the center.

b.Needs Assessment Survey
This is a collaboration with an RC to find out how residents are coping after the recent economic crisis. Will extend from May to June, and take place on Monday nights. Volunteers are needed to give out the surveys and hence will need to attend a training session.

c.Workshops
There are 2 kinds of workshops that volunteers can help out in. One would be the volunteers draw up the cirriculum themselves, and carry out the workshop to teenagers/ children. Another would be that the cirriculum is already set, volunteers would just carry out the workshop. Workshops are designed to teach lifeskills (e.g time management, computer skills, etc)

2. Long Term Volunteering
This would be open to those who are interested and also have the time to commit.

1. Tuition Program
Thurs, 745 - 930pm. For Pri Sch Eng, Maths, Sci. Providing free tuition to the needy students whose families are clients of the center.

2. Reading Program
Sat Mornings. To help children who are slow in learning in their reading abilities.

Alright, this is basically the needs of the center laid out here. We've not confirmed yet which activity/activities we're going to take part in, will most probably confirm again next cell group. Do keep our project and also our CG in prayer, that we'll learn wonderful things as we minister to those in need! :D

alrighty, time for ASS! hope everyone had an awesome weekend..i sure did! thank God for all the salvations on friday and sunday.i'm sure there were many others saved in other churches! let's continue to pray that more will come to know the Lord..

(WARNING:longer post than usual.)

this week in ASS, we touch on the topic of SIN. it's a morbid topic, esp after Good Friday and Easter Sunday have passed. but seeking the Lord last night, i was convicted to share this. tapping on the mood of sin-salvation we all have now, i thought we could let this be the centre of our week. :)

Ever asked yourself these questions:
-Since holiness is so basic to the Christian life, why am i not experiencing it more daily in my life?
-Why do so many christains feel constantly defeated in their struggle with sin?
-Why does the Church of Jesus Christ so often seem to be more conformed to the world around it than to God?

More often than not, we find that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered. We are more concerned about our own 'victory' over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God. Sometimes, we cannot tolerate failure in our struggle with sin chiefly because we are success-orientated, not because we know it is offensive to God.

God wants us to walk in OBEDIENCE ----- NOT victory. Obedience is orientated toward God; victory is orientated toward self.
This is not to say that God doesn't want us to experience victory, but rather emphasize that victory is a by-product of obedience. As we concentrate on living an obedient, holy life, we will certainly experience the joy of victory over sin.

(adapted from the book, The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges)

have an awesome week ahead! let's defeat that After-Sunday-Syndrome!
isaac

in this week's ASS, we'll be focusing on Matthew 26-27 A.K.A the last hours of christ..for lengthy post purposes, i will not copy and paste the entire passage here.so please dont be a bum and go read! hahaha!

i believe many see the last few hours of Jesus as a pivotal point in the Christain faith simply because Jesus finished what he intended to do here on earth. It not only reminds us of His love for us, but also exemplifies the greatest sacrifice made in history.

so let's approach this week's topic with humble and meek hearts. to cast away our pride, to say we can't do anything without Him and acknowledge Him as our Lord and Saviour. let's be helpless before the Lord.

i often tell myself to remember this certain story i heard at one of the YF camps. it goes like this:

There was a lady who had sinned against the Lord. She committed adultery against her husband and told plenty of lies to cover the wrongful act. She was unrepentful till one day, the message of forgiveness the pastor shared convicted her to the altar.

She knelt at the altar trembling with fear, stricken with guilt. She plucked up her courage and prayed a simple prayer:

"Dear God, i know what i did those years back was wrong. i shouldn't have done that wrongful act. It's okay if You don't forgive me. I just wanted to let You know i'm sorry."

and God replied,

"What act those years ago? I can't remember."


isaac

time for the not-so-often updates!

1. Church Camp registration is now open. Those interested can submit their registrations to the info booth on sundays or via the internet on our church webby.
More details in the bulletins!

2. Boyzone Chalet is CONFIRMED!
Date: 19-21 June 2008
Venue: Changi Aloha Chalets;Houton D bunglow
Expect a time of fun and wonderful fellowship! Theme for the chalet isn't up yet though.
Desmond and Aaron are in-charge of the schedule and how we spend our time there.do approach them if you want to be help out in a certain area.approach them or they will ARROW! :)

3. Movie time! shall we watch a movie this friday? $8 per pax. plenty of i-want-to-see-this-and-that-too movies.

4. And oso not forgettin to keep Matthew(7th April), Kenneth and Joel(11th April) in prayers as they go into police academy and army respectively... Hahaha...

isaac & desmond