in case you're living in oblivion, our church has embarked on another church-wide series, 'Live like you were dying', inspired by the song(same title). like the 40 days of community series last year, our blog will serve the purposes of:

1. providing sermon notes for the extremely lazy/no-pen-on-sunday/whatever you call yourself.
2. being a resource of reference in future.

so here goes:

Introduction:
DEATH: it's not a question of if, but WHEN.
Scripture Reference: Eccelesiastes 8:8

1. Live with a sense of urgency
Scripture Reference: Romans 13: 11-12
*Paul is speaking with a sense of urgency! Time is running out!
-If you could know the exact day of your death, would you want to know it?
FACT: More than 80% of the people surveyed declined.
-Most people, chinese esp, do not wish to talk about DEATH.
-Are we living in denial? Not talking about death doesnt change the fact that we ARE going to die someday.
-SOMEDAY-syndrome: we often classify certain topics, i.e death, under 'SOMEDAY' thinking it won't happen.
-Fact is, it only takes one MAJOR event to alter the course of decisions we take.
*FRANTIC is NOT URGENCY!
QUESTION: Do we allow our past to hinder us from living like we were dying?
-We must always plan for the future!
Scripture Reference: Matthew 6: 27-30
-God wants us to live today to the fullest!
Scripture Reference: Psalms 118: 24

2. Live with a sense of eternity.
FACT: Today is not all there is!
Scripture Reference: Romans 13: 11-12
-Many of us hold the MISCONCEPTION that salvation is a ONE-TIME EVENT.
-The bible decribes salvation in the past,present and future tense!
-There is no chance after death!
*Funerals, if you realise, are not catered to the person lying in the coffin but rather the people around the coffin!
Scripture Reference: Hebrews 9:27

3. Live with a sense of priority
Scripture Reference: Romans 13: 12
-Take off your frantic pace of life!
-If we truly believe that we are dying, we would slow down to enjoy the things of life fully
-yet, it only takes a loved one to falls eriously ill for our priorities to change
Scripture Reference: Psalms 46:10

More about today, less about tomorrow
More about people, less about possessions

happy reading the book guys!
isaac

Making that lovely cup of Milo Godzilla involves many different but quick steps of firstly pouring the milo into the cup, adding ice, greedily piling on the milo powder and finally finishing the sinful drink with three scoops of vanilla ice-cream. there, served. sounds easy, looks easy and done easily.

in more ways than one, some of us started our 2010 in similiar fashion as to how Milo Godzilla is prepared: straightforward. it's same old, same old after all. continue with school, continue with army, continue with routine. New Year resolutions? throw that away. Never does work anyway. and so we continue to flow with the crowd, doing what people do just because it's easy. because it's straightforward.

just like a highway, we zoom past everything. if 'Stop. Record. Play' was any help, it simply fades in the distance, tickling only a fraction of our 'Christian Conscience'.

Paul (or Saul then) felt the same way back then. Acts 9 writes of his continued persecution of the early church. routine as it was for him, he even went to the high priest to gather a list of synagoues in preparation of rounding up the early believers(Acts 9: 1-2).

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Brewing teh-chino involves a delicate task of pulling boiled milk from one hot cup into another, ensuring that the froth forms, is thick and holds well, before infusing tea of a certain density and tannin so that it suspends beautifully in between. some summarise the tedious process as experience but i believe it's a myriad of important choices.

in more ways than one, the way some of us started our 2010 mirrors the delicate teh-chino brewing process: important choices. we have to make decisions on where we move on from here, changing the norm, challenging the status quo. we've got to change school, change from army to something else, change our lives.

we stand at crossroads, our minds poising over the choices at hand.

Abraham (then Abram) sympathizes in Genesis 12. He left his father's house to unknown land, unsure of what the road ahead might take him(Genesis 12:1).

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whether we are zooming on a highway or stuck at a crossroad, we've got to make a choice. Abraham stuck on to faith, allowing God to use him to birth Israel. Paul changed his heart went on to be arguably the most influential evangelist. we need to know where we stand and where we go on from here. what's the action plan, some ask. the answer lies in God. and in asking Him, we shall find.

So, whether it's teh-chino or milo godzilla you're craving for, it still leads that same little joy and contentment. and writing this makes me want both.

ASS040110
isaac

P.S enjoy both at jalan kayu. ask weilie for directions.