Touch

God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale

Sep 2019 The beauty of God’s creation is beyond human comprehension. But with our senses, we can see, feel, smell, hear and even taste the goodness of nature—this what the Lord our Maker has given us to enjoy. How can we not sing about this gift? There are a few hymns about...

Managing our sexual desires

Sep 2019 Noting both the Old and New Testaments mention sexual sin, a client remarked, “Why is there so much sex in the Bible?” The Bible does talk about the dangers of sexual sin, sometimes mentioning it together with the command to be faithful to God. Both are a call to holiness....

Bukit Panjang Methodist Church: Giving Thanks

Sep 2019 The BPMC family with our special guest, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (second row, centre, in light blue) Our church began humbly with a small congregation that worshipped in a charcoal shop in Bukit Panjang. It has since grown to 1000 members, and the Bukit Panjang Methodist Church (BPMC) family has so...

Time Belongs to God & Other Poems

Aug 2019 In this delightful collection of poems, Leong Kwok Thye employs the basic devices of this literary genre—meter, rhyme scheme and imagery—to give eloquent voice to his deepest thoughts about God and the Christian life. The first impression that one gets from perusing the 22 poems in this collection is their...

Defending the helpless

Aug 2019 On 17 March, the Straits Times reported a 30 per cent increase in child abuse cases in 2018 over the year before. Almost one in five of the cases involved sexual abuse. More recently, the newspapers covered the trial of a retired principal accused of molesting several students. Although reports...

Through the Valley: The Art of Living and Leaving Well

Aug 2019 This book draws its title from the twenty-third Psalm: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”. It is no surprise then that this readable volume is about journeying through the valley to age well and die well. Dr William Wan is...

Blessed Jesus, at your word

Aug 2019 One of the prayers offered during worship is the prayer for illumination. It is a prayer for God’s Spirit to act through the reading and preaching of Scripture. It is offered both for the preacher and the congregation, and is either said or sung. One hymn in the United Methodist...

Agape comes of age

Aug 2019 Agape Methodist Church camp, 2019 This year, Agape Methodist Church (AgMC) turns 21, marking its coming of age since its first Sunday services in 1998. From inception to now being a congregation of more than 250 members and four weekly services—English, Mandarin, Youth and Children—the sense of the Lord’s faithfulness...

Your glory, Lord—the reason we serve!

Jul 2019 Hymnody is a rich and distinctive tradition of Methodism. Indeed, Methodism is memorably described as being “born in song”, as our expressions of faith are substantially captured in the thousands of hymns penned by the Wesley brothers. This hallowed tradition did not, however, come to an end with the final...

Right Direction + Slow Persistent Effort = Progress

Jul 2019 The other day, my client’s husband was taken aback when she said she was no longer sure that she wanted to give their marriage a second chance, as she doubted that he was really interested in rebuilding their marriage. He had agreed to counselling after being found out for infidelity....

Sembawang Tamil Methodist Church: Good stewards of God’s manifold grace (1 Peter 4:10)

Jul 2019 Minsu village ministry For more than 84 years, Sembawang Tamil Methodist Church (STMC) has been serving God and His people. Though instituted in 1934, the church has been working with the communities around Seletar Naval Base from as early as 1928. In 1940, a school building was erected at 150...

O Spirit of the Living God

Jun 2019 9 June 2019 is Pentecost Sunday, the 50th day of our Easter journey. It marks a new season—the Sundays after Pentecost. In his book Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church, Laurence Stookey explains that the “Day of Pentecost is about the church as the community of the Spirit, not merely...

Walking to reinvigorate marriage

Jun 2019 Over the last four years, around the middle of each year, around May and June, my wife and I have taken leave from work to do long walks together—about 20 kilometres a day over a six-day period. We are sedentary urbanites who rarely walk more than 3000 steps on an...

Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church: Recalling God’s grace and ready to set sail

Jun 2019 Fund-Raising Gala Dinner held at Fullerton Hotel on 3 May 2019 “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) Established in 1939, PLCMC is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2019. When measured against eternity, 80 years is insignificant. For...

Jesus: The Path to Human Flourishing

May 2019 Witnessing about Jesus to non-believers can be daunting. After all, one must be prepared to handle the barrage of questions that are sure to follow such an attempt. Even though Jesus Himself commanded us to spread the Gospel across the nations, there still exist ethnic, cultural and social boundaries that...

Still quarrelling? It is a good sign

May 2019 I opened the counselling session with one of my usual questions to the couple: “How have things been?” The wife did not answer first; she wanted to see how her husband would respond. He paused and thoughtfully said, “Overall, things are better. We are improving, but we are still quarrelling.”...

An Aldersgate Poem

May 2019 In the dark recesses of the soul, Questions emerged to haunt the restless mind. Fickle companions, The comforts of familiar religion; Their words unable to touch the deepest part of the heart. Habits of devotion Practised fervently In company, and in Solitude; The drive to be perfect, To win love...

Alleuia! Sing to Jesus

May 2019 Ascension Day is the 40th day of our Easter journey. It was the day when Jesus ascended to heaven before His disciples’ eyes on the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:1–12). Although it is an event not given as much attention as Christmas or Easter, it is one that is full...

Transformed by the love of Christ

May 2019 Boarders from Oldham Hall Barker Road Methodist Church (BRMC) is unique among churches in Singapore—it originated in a school music room, where 12 boys from The Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) started worshipping together regularly. This youth church, Barker Road Chapel, began to attract more students from ACS and within a year,...

Easter Alleluia

Apr 2019 Many of us would be in the midst of our Lenten journey for this year. This journey varies from one person to another, depending on the discipline each has chosen to practise. One thing remains the same: we are all moving in one direction, guided by the same faith and...

Broken marriage, not broken lives

Apr 2019 As a family and marital therapist, I sometimes feel discouraged when working with a client who has decided to end their marriage. Like most of my professional peers, I see myself as helping rebuild marriages, not powerlessly witnessing their breakups. There is many a counsellor who wonders if they could...

Ang Mo Kio TMC: A church renewed in His spirit

Apr 2019 The Fellowship of Indian Brothers. Ang Mo Kio Tamil Methodist Church (AMKTMC) is one of the eight local churches that constitute the Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC). Pioneering work in the Tamil community was started by Tamil Methodist Church (Short Street). In 1976, to meet the spiritual needs in the...

Sunday’s palms are Wednesday’s ashes

Mar 2019 Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on 6 March 2019. Counting 40 days, excluding Sundays, Lent will end on 20 April. In biblical terms, the number 40 connotes completion or fullness. Lent is a penitential season. It is a time to reflect and prepare our hearts as we remember Jesus’ Passion,...

There is someone out there who cares

Mar 2019 I once participated in a radio interview during which the presenter and I focused on the topic of emotional and psychological abuse by spouses. While some attention has been given to physical violence and laws exist to protect victims, there is so much more to be done for emotional and...

CHARIS MC: Building Together in Love 30 Years On

Mar 2019

In Spirit and in Truth: Thoughts on Worship

Feb 2019 “The focus of worship is God.” Bishop Emeritus Robert M. Solomon, the author of In Spirit and in Truth, takes pains to remind his readers, again and again, what the focus of worship should be, and what the modern worshipper has often forgotten— that “we should be careful that we...

Breaking old patterns

Feb 2019 People are creatures of habit. Some habits, such as a habit of saving, serve us well. Others, like broken records, churn out the same tunes with annoying repetition. Some interpersonal conflicts resemble broken records. Although we see the futility of engaging in them, we seem powerless to resist the urge...

Ang Mo Kio MC: A Methodist family after God’s heart

Feb 2019 Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church celebrated our 40th anniversary in 2018. To give thanks for God’s faithfulness, three songs were penned and subsequently recorded in our 40th anniversary DVD album.1 We also embarked on an ambitious virtual choir project. We challenged our congregation over a 4-month period to B.L.E.S.S.2 the...

God the Spirit, Guide and Guardian

Feb 2019 The season between Epiphany Sunday (6 Jan) and Ash Wednesday (6 March) is called “Ordinary Time”. The word “ordinary” connotes the ordinal numbers used to designate the Sundays: for example, first, second, third Sunday after Epiphany. The readings assigned at this time would include: the presentation of Jesus at the temple,...

What a Majestic and Loving God!

Feb 2019 The heavens Lord, declare your glory; The earth proclaims your majesty! We marvel at your wondrous grace, For an insignificant human race. You form us from dust of earth, You give us life, you give us breath, You make us your children, Little lower than beings in heaven. You protect...

We Three Kings of the Orient Are

Jan 2019 The 12 days of Christmas end on 6 Jan, the feast of Epiphany. Epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning “manifestation or appearance”, and is associated with the visit of the Magi to Jesus in the manger when they presented Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. We Three Kings...

Contradictions or Truths

Jan 2019 “But I am happy,” he said clearly and defiantly, his rigid posture and furrowed eyebrows betraying tension. Upon revealing his conviction that his wife of almost 20 years did not love him or perhaps had never loved him at all, Peter asserted he was still “happy”. Often, we think of...

STILLING THE STORM

Jan 2019 In the fiefdoms of water the minions of oceans, rivers, lakes and wells await the behests Of the overlords of weather and of change. There are fearsome waters that can tower over a shore and ravage a land; there are waters that bring life to thirsting soil; there are waters...

I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light

Dec 2018 Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. This is the Memorial acclamation professed when celebrating Holy Communion. It is also what we proclaim at Easter. But what about Advent? “Advent” means “arrival” or “coming”, usually for which we prepare and wait. During the Christmas season, we busy...

Christian cheer

Dec 2018 The Christmas season draws out a mix of emotions. Many families celebrate Christmas with feasting and merrymaking. Others dread the rush to buy the obligatory presents. Still others may feel sad if Christmas is associated with loss or loneliness. For those who are struggling with the pain of loss or...

TWELVE

Dec 2018 Not yet a teenager but holding a pride of scholars, Pharisees and Sadducees spellbound in the temple in Jerusalem—men of letters and good standing who prized their scholarship above all. How could he at twelve engage them, greybeards admired for erudition, in learned discourse bringing profundity, knowledge and insight into...

Bedok Preaching Point: Doing the Lord’s work in Bedok and Tampines

Dec 2018 In 2005, Seletar Tamil Methodist Church moved to a new place of worship, St George’s Chapel, in Changi. It was around this time that then Bishop Dr Robert Solomon encouraged us to plant a preaching point in Bedok as there was no Tamil ministry in the area. He also connected...

The Adventures of Bramlee Bears Series

Dec 2018 Storytellers have long used anthropomorphic animals as characters in morality tales. Anthropomorphising helps children to identify with what they are reading on a metaphorical level, encourages imagination, and interweaves morals into fantastical plotlines that might not otherwise make sense if the characters were human. And of course, bears are cute....

Charis MC: A church after God’s heart

Nov 2018 Charis Methodist Church began as the English congregation of Geylang Chinese Methodist Church in the 1970s. After much prayer and deliberation with the mother church, Charis MC was born on 1 Jan 1989, with the Rev Dr David Wu as the Pastor-in-Charge. In 1993, Charis MC got its own “home”...

Different, not deviant

Nov 2018 Of late, diversity has been a buzzword and is often seen as desirable. We see diversity in families too. Within a family, there might be grandparents who belong to the Pioneer Generation, parents who are Baby Boomers, and children who are Generation X or Y. Some family members might be...

 Twelve WHYs of worship

Nov 2018 While liturgical worship received a boost from interdenominational exchanges during the late 20th century, another shift in worship culture occurred in the opposite direction. The modern “seeker-friendly”, “contemporary” movements downplay the former’s more formal structured style, prolong singing and ministry time, and give prominence to the congregation’s “felt needs”. The...

Crown Him with many crowns

Nov 2018 The liturgical calendar comes to a close with “Christ the King Sunday” on 25 Nov 2018. Another cycle begins with the season of Advent, starting on 2 Dec 2018. “Crown Him with Many Crowns” is an appropriate hymn for Advent. The word “crown” acknowledges Christ as King. However, this hymn depicts His kingship as different from one who has subjects to order around. By His life and teachings, Jesus imparted lessons of selflessness and obedience to God. His journey on earth led Him to the cross. His death as a sacrificial...

God is here

Oct 2018 “God is Here” was written by the Rev Fred Pratt Green (1903–2000), who is considered one of the best hymn writers of the 20th century. A poet and prolific writer, he started writing hymns after he turned 60. In 1978, the University United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas, requested from...

Seeking God

Oct 2018 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord… He will abundantly pardon… “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways...

Cairnhill MC: Families, healing and missions

Oct 2018 The seed that was to be Cairnhill Methodist Church was sown on 23 Jan 1994, at the Centennial Thanksgiving Service of Kampong Kapor Methodist Church (KKMC). KKMC members were challenged to leave the comfort of their pews and share their faith by planting new preaching points with a view to...

Rituals and Routines

Oct 2018 She caught me right after service and confronted me with what seemed more like a statement than a question: “You crossed yourself. Are you Catholic?” I had made the sign of the cross during the service, not expecting anyone to notice. I had first learnt to do it when training...

Telugu MC: Reaching Telugu friends in Singapore for Christ

Sep 2018 Telugu Methodist Church (Singapore) celebrated its 10th anniversary in July 2018. We give thanks to God for His faithfulness during our amazing journey. The pioneering ministry among Telugu-speaking friends in Singapore officially began in April 2000 at the Tamil Methodist Church on Short Street. The Rev R. Prabhu and the...

Our footprints

Sep 2018 The flight was unusually turbulent, with the seatbelt sign flashing frequently and the pilot urging everyone to stay seated. Due, perhaps, to having watched too many documentaries on air crash investigations, I imagined the plane’s wings being ripped off from all the shaking, bringing imminent death. I began to wonder:...

Good News for Bruised Reeds: Walking with Same-Sex Attracted Friends

Sep 2018 Good News for Bruised Reeds derives its title from Isaiah 42:3—“a bruised reed he will not break”. It seeks to encourage friends and family of those with same-sex attraction (SSA) who are seeking God and have likely faced more prejudice and rejection—and burdens of guilt—than most. At the same time,...

God is our refuge

Sep 2018 “Saranam” means refuge. It comes from Sanskrit, an ancient language that is no longer spoken, but from which many words in India are derived.1 It is a word that expresses a deep reverence for God—God is our refuge. “Saranam, Saranam” is one of the Asian hymns found in The United...

What Seniors Can Do

Sep 2018 Getting on in years? That’s true! Just eat and sleep? That won’t do! Leave the house, go for a walk, Look for friends for tea and talk. Go for what you can afford So long as you don’t go overboard. Not to your liking? Let things be! Keep your cool,...

Telok Ayer CMC: A spiritual home and lighthouse

Aug 2018 Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church (TACMC) was established in 1889 by the pioneer missionary Dr Benjamin West to reach out to Chinese immigrants. The church started out in a rented shophouse and later moved to a zinc hut. In 1918, Swan & Maclaren, the architecture firm responsible for landmarks such...

When the will to go on is lost

Aug 2018 Within the same week in the past month, the media reported the separate suicides of two well-known personalities—Kate Spade, a fashion designer, and Anthony Bourdain, a celebrity chef. The tragedy of suicide leaves behind many loved ones and friends in confusion and distress. Experts estimate that for every self-inflicted death,...

Giving back to the Lord

Aug 2018 The phrase “giving back” is often used by individuals, institutions or companies to express gratitude for support that they have received, by contributing their money or time to the less fortunate. But how do we give back to God, the Giver of life and Provider of all our needs? Specifically,...

The Covenant

Aug 2018 His Word, verse and hymns of praise, Bear testament to God and his godliness Our souls rest on the peace He brings Christ has risen and Christ has come Oh how sweet the surrender, how light the yoke Come into the garden, his heavenly kingdom For those whom the Spirit...

Confronting Your Anxiety: A Biblical Response to Overcoming Fear and Worry

Aug 2018 All of us experience anxiety, feel worried or lose sleep at one time or another. Scripture exhorts the Christian not to give in to fear and Jesus tells us plainly not to worry. Yet for many of life’s uncertainties, our pain and limited control over outcomes lead to emotional, spiritual...

Lord, Grant Me A Simple Faith

Jul 2018 Lord, grant me a simple faith Unfettered by my wandr’ing mind A faith that shines with burning light That men, through me, might You they find Lord, grant me a simple faith That stands against my questioning soul To heal the brokenness inside So I might once more be made...

Good salt

Jul 2018 While holidaying in Strunjen, Slovenia, I saw salt pans where salt has been extracted for seven centuries. In its heyday, demand was so high that the sea salt was called ‘white gold’. I could not help but think that salt is now so widely available that we take it for...

Covenant Community MC: Knowing God deeply and making Him widely known

Jul 2018 A year after Methodist Girls’ School (MGS) moved from Mount Sophia to Blackmore Drive in 1992, the Principal, Mrs Anna Tham, invited The Methodist Church in Singapore to start a preaching point there. Pastors and members from Barker Road Methodist Church and Wesley Methodist Church began to work together to...

Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go

Jul 2018 ‘Before Work’ was the title of this six-stanza hymn when it was first published in 1749 in Hymns and Sacred Poems. In 1989, it was included in The United Methodist Hymnal (UMH) under the title ‘Forth in thy Name’. In this hymn, Charles Wesley encourages us to work with delight...

Being the Antioch of Asia?

Jun 2018 It has been reported that Singapore was bestowed the mantle of being the “Antioch of Asia” by the late Billy Graham, 40 years ago during his crusade held in Singapore. A decade later in 1988, Patrick Johnstone, a well-known researcher in his book The Church Is Bigger Than You Think,...

Prayers that define us

Jun 2018 Do you have a favourite prayer, one you often say or which resonates with you? One popular prayer is the Serenity Prayer (attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr). A widely-used, abbreviated version is: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can,...

Near to the heart of God

Jun 2018 June is a month of school holidays. Family travels, children’s enrichment classes, church camps, retreats, and many other activities are possible options to pause from one’s daily routine. But beyond merely pausing, drawing near to God requires intentionality and conscious choice. ‘Near to the Heart of God’ is a hymn...

PPTMC: Towards a century in the Lord’s service

Jun 2018 “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31, NIV) We praise and thank God for His faithfulness and favour upon Pasir Panjang Tamil Methodist...

Casting The Net On The Other Side

Jun 2018 What does he know, this carpenter, of habitat and fish think, of the movement and congregation of shoals, to tell us, schooled in line, tackle and nets, and in the pathways of fish in the sea-lanes below the waves, To tell us, bone-weary from a night of trawling in vain,...

The Spirit Song

May 2018 ‘As the Wind Song Through the Trees’ is a collaboration between Dr Lim Swee Hong (Singapore) and Ms Shirley Murray (New Zealand). Dr Lim is the Director of the Master of Sacred Music programme at Emmanuel College in Toronto. Shirley is a distinguished hymn writer whose works address issues of...

Kum Yan MC: 100 Years in Thanks

May 2018 This year, 2018, marks a significant milestone for Kum Yan Methodist Church (KYMC) as we celebrate the church’s centennial. Our tagline – “感恩百年，百年感恩” (100 years of Thanksgiving) – gives glory to God for His faithfulness. The centennial was celebrated joyously on 4 Mar 2018 with a thanksgiving service and dinner,...

What Shall I Offer To The Lord?

May 2018 How shall I come before the Lord, Bow down before the exalted God? Will a perfect prescribed sacrifice Offered on the altar suffice? Will sacrifices in abundance, Offered without repentance? Will the gift of my firstborn alone, My life transform, my sin atone? You have shown, Lord, what is right...

Unity – The key to family life

May 2018 Every semester, I ask my counselling students to reflect on how their family has influenced their development. On average, one out of every three has stories of family strife. Some come from families where there is parent-child conflict. Others experience sibling rivalry. Parental favouritism may come into play too. Conflicts...

More than we can imagine

Apr 2018 There is much that can be said about how music can influence our lives, that it can be deeply uplifting, poignant and more importantly, utterly personal. Thus, when a young Bart Millard wrote I Can Only Imagine following his father’s death from cancer in 1999, he meant it as an...

The day Death died

Apr 2018 On the first Easter morning, Jesus tasted death for us and triumphed over it. Paul said, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54b-55) Jesus Christ, the “risen conquering Son”, has granted us victory over the grave...

Resurrection

Apr 2018 One glorious morning when the popinjays of twilight were thrilling the eastern skies and lilacs and lilies were in full blossom in the garden where they had laid the body of Jesus bruised, broken, nail-pierced, dead beyond a doubt sealed in by a giant boulder in a sepulchre and watched...

Hope and faith : are we believers?

Apr 2018 In the work I do, the word ‘hope’ seems a little out of place. As a family and marital therapist, I use psychology as a frame of reference for understanding my clients and guiding me on how best to assist them. Psychology, a science that seeks to study human behaviour,...

Trinity MC: Where disciples make disciples

Apr 2018 Trinity Methodist Church (TMC) is a family church established by a group of young couples when they saw the need for a Methodist church in the Serangoon Gardens area. They organised worship services and Sunday School classes in five homes, leading to TMC’s inception in 1956. 62 years on, TMC...

Toa Payoh Tamil MC: Growing ‘Agents of Transformation’

Mar 2018 To know Toa Payoh Tamil Methodist Church (TPTMC) is to know love, joy, and hospitality. One might say that we are well-known amongst the Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC) churches for our homely and welcoming character. With our modest and close-knit congregation, TPTMC has come to be a small but...

Amidst the Waves

Mar 2018 I felt it ere I saw it come; A gradual dip, a sinking slump – Then towering up before my eyes, Tall tidal waves of tasks arise! I row and row, to no avail, For here they come! And lo, I flail: Pulled under, tossed up, gasping air, My heart...

It was for me

Mar 2018 It has been said that there is no greater education than matriculating through the ‘University of Hard Knocks’. But nobody welcomes suffering or pain – whether physical, mental, emotional, or psychological – with open arms. We try to avoid it if we can. However, whether by accident or inevitability, when...

On Wings of Eagles: Eric Liddell’s ‘second wind’

Mar 2018 Last seen as a reformed Roman legionnaire who encountered Jesus in Risen (2016), Joseph Fiennes is back for yet another faith-based outing as famed Olympian and Christian missionary Eric Liddell – the very same athlete who was the focus of the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire. The film On Wings...

Making tough choices

Mar 2018 Recently, I have been reminded of how difficult it is to love and accept others unconditionally. Realistically, there may be only a handful of individuals whom we can claim to accept in spite of their failings. Even then, we may find our patience tested to the limits when these few...

Hakka MC: Holding fast to God’s unique calling

Feb 2018 From the early days of ministry among the Chinese immigrants in Singapore since 1885, the locus of the work, particularly among the Hokkien people, was around Telok Ayer Street. This led to the construction of the first Chinese Methodist Church there. Further inroads to the Chinese community were also established...

Love of a lifetime: Two crucial factors

Feb 2018 Recently, I have been reminded of how difficult it is to love and accept others unconditionally. Realistically, there may be only a handful of individuals whom we can claim to accept in spite of their failings. Even then, we may find our patience tested to the limits when these few...

Unmasked: Being authentic about sexuality

Feb 2018 “Sexuality is the area in which we have the most difficulty in being honest. We fear facing parts of ourselves and exposing things about ourselves that feel shameful. But we need to come clean about our sexual struggles and failures.” So writes Ben K. C. Lee, author of Unmasked, thus...

On Ash Wednesday

Feb 2018 Ash Wednesday – what calls the soul to church When songs and stained glass cede to silence and grey? When music is solemn and slow as a dirge, Why go then to church, on Ash Wednesday? What thought bears the soul to encounter this night When Easter victorious seems eons...

A hymn ringing in my ears

Feb 2018 Like any other Sunday morning, I awoke as usual at 6.30 a.m. on 3 Dec 2017, to get ready for worship. What was unusual about that morning, however, was a tune that was ringing in my ears. It was a familiar tune from a hymn that I loved to sing...

A precious name

Jan 2018 The eighth day after Christmas, 1 Jan, was formerly observed as The Circumcision of Jesus with its focus on the ceremonial rite in Judaism.1 Recorded in Luke 2:21, this observance is celebrated under various names such as the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus in the Episcopal calendar; as the...

The Lord Breathed and Man Became a Living Being

Jan 2018 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27) Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a...

‘Killing them’ with love?

Dec 2017 I recently found myself drawn into a conversation between two ladies with contrasting views on parenting. One woman was worried that her daughter was “too good” for her own good. She was genuinely concerned about whether her 17-year-old daughter was sufficiently exposed to “the real world”. Her daughter would be...

Fairfield MC: Magnifying, multiplying, and ministering

Dec 2017 In 2018, Fairfield Methodist Church (FFMC) will be celebrating our 70th Anniversary. Pioneering work initiated by the late Rev and Mrs Herbert F. Kuehn in 1938 led to the planting of FFMC. Consequently, the Fairfield congregation was constituted as a Local Conference on 1 Feb 1948 with 20 members. The...

Come, O Lord Jesus

Dec 2017 We are in the season of Advent again. Coming from the Latin word Adventus, advent means “coming” or “arrival”. It is the time of the Christian Year when the church prepares for the celebration of our Lord’s birth, beginning four Sundays before Christmas Day. 1 From the time of the...

Christmas Thoughts

Dec 2017 I shall think, then, of a silent night when a star shone a wondrous light To us unknown was born a Child that God and man may reconcile This whole angelic gospel went forth to lowly men who found its worth The glorious news to us it brought a hope...

What is a home?

Nov 2017 The phrase “Many are houseless, not homeless” stuck in my mind after meeting the Director of an organisation providing services for women in one of San Francisco’s counties. She had said this in response to my observation of there being many homeless people in the city. This image ended up...

Seletar Tamil MC: Growing, preaching, and transforming lives

Nov 2017 Being established for 82 years, Seletar Tamil Methodist Church (SELTMC) has a rich history. It was established in 1935 by the Rev Subramanian, the Rev S. M. Thevathasam, and the Rev Pakianathan. The first worship venue of the church was at Seletar Airbase, hence its name. After the British withdrew...

Forgiven

Nov 2017 Driven by desperation for the healing touch of Jesus for their mutual friend pinioned perniciously by paralysis, and caring little for the august assembly of pharisees and teachers of the law from every quarter of the land, who had gathered to see this spectacle, this man of miracles, they sought...

Following Jesus’ call

Nov 2017 There was a joke shared among the young people in church some years back, starting with a question: “What brand of shampoo did Jesus use?” The answer was, “Follow Me.” While we may be tickled by the answer, Simon Peter and Andrew were not smiling when Jesus issued the call...

Singing through the storms of life

Nov 2017 Have you ever wondered whether the hymns that we sing Sunday after Sunday have any real-world relevance for our lives? Or has it ever crossed your mind that the big, heavy hymnal you see in the wooden pews could help us to grow in our faith, just as a good...

You are worth more than many sparrows

Oct 2017 Have you ever felt that your world is caving in on you and the things that matter in your life (e.g. career, family, ministry) are not working out? It gets so bad you start to feel discouraged and wonder if God even cares. You may even wonder, “Does God really...

Bukit Panjang MC: Taking root, bearing fruit

Oct 2017 In September 1936, renowned Chinese Christian evangelist, John Sung, conducted a gospel rally in Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church while passing through Singapore. A youth named Lim Kim Seng was converted during the rally. He began to proclaim Christ, and started a congregation in a charcoal shop in Bukit Panjang....

Celebrating life’s milestones

Oct 2017 Not long ago, I arrived at a chronological milestone. My family surprised me with a gathering to celebrate the occasion. During the event, it seemed like I received as much attention and congratulations as someone who had just finished a marathon. What did I do to deserve such attention? That...

Split

Oct 2017 Named after the broom that in summer turns golden and gilds the land with the texture of opulence and the aroma of romance stirring the springs of love. Here cherries and grapes of refined flavour relished by all fruit lovers flourish abundantly. Yet chronicled in the folios of Roman times...

Starved of affection

Sep 2017 The United Nations estimated that as of 2016, there are 795 million people facing hunger in the world. This fact is hard to comprehend, and even harder to accept in a world which has the capacity of producing enough food to feed itself and where food waste is a growing...

My life is not my own

Sep 2017 “What’s in it for me? It’s my life. It’s my ministry. These are my talents. That’s my money to spend the way I want.” Have we entertained these thoughts? As Christians, we can sometimes lose our bearings in our walk with God and start asking, “What is God going to...

The Prodigal Son

Sep 2017 How flippantly in the wild mustang years of his youth he demanded his inheritance from the wise patriarch of the family; and then chose to lead a life, unrestrained and borderless in the glitzy lights of the metropolis, in roistering taverns, in high-stake gambling dens, and in the pleasurable arms...

Kampong Kapor MC: ‘In and Involved’ in our community

Sep 2017 Kampong Kapor Methodist Church (KKMC), the fourth-oldest Methodist church in Singapore, was founded on 25 Jan 1894 by the Rev William Shellabear and Miss Sophia Blackmore. It held worship services conducted in the Peranakan-Malay language at a building at 155 Middle Road. The church, which moved to 1 Kampong Kapor...

What if “This is it?”

Aug 2017 "It's the journey, not the destination." I have had this statement addressed to me time and time again. Recently, a fellow walker said this when he noticed how eager I was to start hiking again after a brief rest. I admit I can be very focused on getting to my...

A Touch Of Love

Aug 2017 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made...

A cup of water holds God’s fresh grace

Aug 2017 “A large city is a place where people are lonely. This loneliness is not the result of an absence of people; rather, it is due to a lack of genuine caring relationships.”1 This was the observation of an American philosopher and naturalist of the 19th century, Henry David Thoreau. We...

Sembawang Tamil MC: Bringing care and transformation to the community

Aug 2017 We continue our series of profiling local churches from our three Annual Conferences of The Methodist Church in Singapore. As we come to have a better understanding of each other’s history and ministry, we may discover more opportunities to forge cross-church partnerships and collaborations. Sembawang Tamil Methodist Church (STMC) was...

A practical guide to ‘workshipping’

Aug 2017 “The reality, as Mark Greene has said, is that 98 per cent of people in church will spend 95 per cent of their time outside of church, and their pastors should be thinking more creatively about equipping them for those mission fields.” (Preface to Workship) There is growing awareness among...

How churches and missions agencies can work together

Jul 2017 The Church has had a long history of missions - starting from the book of Acts where Paul and Barnabas started the first missionary band to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, to the Monastic movement in the 5th century, the Moravian Missions in 1732, and to the modern missions...

Paya Lebar Chinese MC: A close-knit family church

Jul 2017 The humble beginnings of Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church (PLCMC) can be traced back to amongst the remote attap villages located at Hougang in 1937. Today, 80 years on, God has blessed PLCMC with eight congregations across four languages (Mandarin, Hokkien, English, and Teochew). The church currently has a worship...

Contrasts

Jul 2017 That is why I can reminisce on my past, not being ashamed or guilty, but in quiet humility and understanding the process of maturity; because only when I see the contrast I understand the transforming nature of Christ no matter how far I had run and fallen, He redeems. ...

Be serious but not anxious

Jul 2017 It would be fair to say that most of us want to be good at what we do. The employee handing in a report he had been slaving over for days and nights will wait anxiously for his boss' response. A young child who brings a new "toy" he has...

Let’s join God’s rescue mission

Jul 2017 A visit to the New York City’s Bowery Mission one night in 1869 provided Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) with the inspiration for one of her finest hymns. The Bowery Mission is a rescue mission that in the present day still provides food, medical services, and employment assistance to the working poor...

The Living Word

Jun 2017 The glamour of new messiahs enunciating words that give flesh and form to tenets framed by master-spirits – words compacted with designer genes to awaken and impassion the gullible who form the coterie of believers, capturing the headlines of tabloids and media, have currency and season; their tenure is ephemeral...

Listening to the Spirit’s prompting

Jun 2017 An article entitled ‘Learning by Listening’ from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire (USA)1, wrote: “You can learn a lot through listening. In college, it will be a prime source of information. Unfortunately, people do not instinctively listen well.” It is quite true that we are by nature not good...

Paya Lebar MC: Blessing the nations and the community

Jun 2017 Paya Lebar Methodist Church (PLMC) was established on 10 July 1932, and currently has more than 2,800 members. As God’s family, many of our church members meet regularly in cell groups to study His Word, minister to and pray for one another. The vision that God has given to us...

Blood is thicker than water, but bile is bitter

Jun 2017 An exercise I always set for my students learning about Family Therapy is for them to write an essay about themselves and their family. I will get them to draw their family tree and to subsequently infer how their parents, grandparents, and events from their formative years may have shaped...

Amazing love! How can it be?

May 2017 “I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoiced in hope of loving Christ… I saw that by faith I stood; by the continual support of faith, which kept me from falling, though of myself I am ever sinking into sin. I went to bed still sensible of my...

Jurong Tamil MC: Faithfully building our community

May 2017 Jurong Tamil Methodist Church (JTMC) celebrates our 40th anniversary this year. Established in 1977, the church started with 20 members gathering at the home of the late C. D. Pandian, who was Pastor then, in the Taman Jurong area. We moved to Jurong Christian Church (Lutheran) at the beginning of...

The message and the messenger

May 2017 In days of old, when messages were carried by persons rather than transmitted through mass media or the Internet, there was a common understanding that one should refrain from “killing the messenger”, especially when the message was unwelcome. These days, a common response to unwelcome news would be to categorise...

The Flame That Wouldn’t Quit

May 2017 It started shy – a gentle flame That almost blushed to burn; Then steadily it grew and grew – To stretch, it seemed to yearn. But as the hours flickered by It waned to a soft glow; And as I lingered close, I thought: “Quite soon now, it must go.”...

Changi MC: Small church, big dreams

Apr 2017

Changi Methodist Church (CMC) was established as a local conference in 1979 with about 50 members at Kampong Chai Chee led by the late Rev Lee Chin Ming. Its pioneers were a passionate team of youths from Geylang Chinese Methodist Church. CMC started with just one worship service conducted…

Come, let us worship God our King!

Apr 2017

“Worship celebrates God’s great acts of salvation. During worship, God communicates to the worshipers His salvation and healing, to which the people respond with faith, praise, prayer, thanksgiving, and a life of service in the world,” said the late Dr Robert E. Webber , an American theologian known for…

Easter Dawn

Apr 2017

At the end of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, there is a Glory brighter than ten thousand suns that I can only see in reflection. It is a Glory that transcends Earth and Heaven, Illuminating every corner of my consciousness for it is the primal light of…

What type of listener are you?

Apr 2017

The irate husband looked in disbelief at his wife and said with a hint of frustration: “We had to come for counselling to say this?” He was responding to what he just heard from his wife, wondering why she could not have told it to him earlier in private. After…

Let us all stand up for Jesus

Mar 2017

“I must tell my Master’s errand, and I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God’s message,” said the 29-year-old Episcopalian clergyman, the Rev Dudley Tyng, who was known as a bold and…

Bedok MC: A church, a community, a movement

Mar 2017

Bedok Methodist Church (BMC) celebrated 70 years of God’s faithfulness last year. Throughout its history, God has been at the heart of the church’s central narrative, shaping a church, a community and a movement. God builds a church BMC began as a little house church in 1946 when 12 members…

God’s cure for the cares of your soul

Mar 2017

Anxious for Nothing God’s Cure for the Cares of Your Soul by John MacArthur, Jr. Published by David C. Cook Late last year, I experienced bouts of anxiety over the smallest matters. Did I lock the door when I left the house? Did I send a confidential work email to…

Healing

Mar 2017 There is healing in total darkness when the garish light of public life strains the retina of insight and the glare of the noonday sun of harsh reality overwhelms, when acrid light casts a jaundiced hue on every dainty glen and lush bower that should bring delight; when light choked...

Through grit, the way forward

Mar 2017

An article in the papers caught my eye some weeks ago. It was interesting because it seemed to say something different about marriage – something that, intuitively, I agreed with. Much of what is written about marriage these days is geared towards helping readers improve it and make it “great”….

Small deeds with great love

Feb 2017 As we were about to end our tea conversation, my friend made an unexpected proposal. She had clearly thought about it for some time and felt the need to broach it carefully. She paused, cleared her throat and asked me not to take what she was about to say in...

Tamil MC at Short Street: A legacy of looking to the future

Feb 2017 Tamil Methodist Church (Short Street) will celebrate its 130th anniversary on 28 Sep 2017. This church holds several distinctions: Not only is it the second Methodist church and the original home of Methodist Girls’ School, which began with nine young Indian girls, it is also Singapore’s oldest Tamil Methodist church,...

Let us keep the ‘lower lights’ burning

Feb 2017 How many of us, after listening to a sermon during church service, are inspired to pen our thoughts through a poem or a song? The 19th century hymn, ‘Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy’, was written by gospel songwriter Philip P. Bliss (1838-1876), who was impressed by an illustration the American...

The Journey Of Life

Feb 2017 We journey through the unknown, To a home we have yet to own; A wonderful home in eternity, Promised by the Lord Almighty. It is a challenging journey, Often through hostile territory; But God will be with us all the way; If we obey Him night and day. When the...

Our everlasting God

Jan 2017 “I have now entered upon a new year, little knowing what it shall bring forth. A great burden is laid upon me; perplexity and difficulty lie before me, but I hope God will carry me through.”[1] This is an excerpt from the memoirs of the late Rev Theophilus Lindsey, when...

Faith

Jan 2017 Faith is the firstfruit of trust conceived in the matrix from the seed of enduring Truth and time-tried Knowledge. Faith is a blind man leaping from an inferno into waiting arms below. Faith is a sightless bat negotiating pillars from heard echoes reverberating from hard surfaces. Faith...

It’s all about our (self) image

Jan 2017 A new neighbour moved into a unit a couple of doors from my office a few weeks ago, specialising in aesthetics. A team of clinical-looking staff dressed in white coats soon appeared, and so did a steady stream of clients. I suspect that behind its pristine doors, staff would be...

Be born in us today

Dec 2016 “Learn and understand the life of Jesus by walking where he walked. When you have seen where Jesus ministered, you will never read your Bible the same way again!” This is one of the many catchphrases in publicity brochures for Holy Land tour packages. I personally have not been to...

Turning regrets to plans

Dec 2016 By the time this article is read, the year 2016 would be nearing its end. What has this year been like for you? Was it much like previous years or did it hold some surprises? Is its passing felt with regrets, relief or a sense of quiet satisfaction? The passing...

Joy

Dec 2016 We will encounter foes, Life will have its woes, But God will help us to survive; Better still, He will give us life. He will heal and He will save, He will lift us from the grave. Weeping may last through the night, Joy comes with the Eternal Light....

Foochow MC: 119 years of blessing the community

Dec 2016 Foochow Methodist Church (FMC) celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2017. It has its roots during the time when many Foochow- and Hock Chia-speaking worshippers longed for a pastor who could speak and preach to them in Foochow, and God answered their prayers. Officially inaugurated in mid-December 1897, FMC became the...

Asking the right questions

Nov 2016 The enquirer stated in her email that she was looking for a counsellor who was experienced and competent, as her husband could be a “difficult man”. I guess she meant he was not convinced that he had problems or needed anyone’s help to change. I have had a number of...

Joseph

Nov 2016 Young Joseph drunk with the champagne of the stars that with the sun and moon did obeisance to him before the congregation of celestial lights, blurted out too early the secret message entrusted to him to the hostile ears of brethren seething to see him in the rainbow coat bestowed...

I know I am safe

Nov 2016

On 28 Aug 2016, the Ministry of Health and the National Environment Agency confirmed several cases of locally-transmitted Zika virus infection, and thus officially announced the Zika outbreak in Singapore. Many were fearful, especially pregnant mothers, of being infected by the mild disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquito. As I…

Prepare to launch your teen into adulthood

Nov 2016 “Is my child ready for the real world?” This has to be one of the greatest concerns of any parent with a teenager on the cusp of adulthood. Parenting is challenging work – perhaps more so now than ever before as values, ideals and beliefs that we hold as absolute...

Aldersgate MC – A heart encounter placed in the ‘brain’ of Singapore

Nov 2016 Aldersgate Methodist Church (AMC) is located at Dover Road, a place which has a high number of educational institutions, and enterprises which are cutting-edge, forward-orientated and leadership-developing, poised to have significant impact on future generations locally and internationally. We are strategically placed at the “brain” of Singapore. Our name – Aldersgate...

ETAC: Seeking to fellowship in Punggol

Oct 2016 It all started a few years ago, when our pastor, the Rev R. Prabhu (right) of Ang Mo Kio Tamil Methodist Church (AMKTMC) and current President of Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC), was visiting some places in Punggol. He realised there was no Tamil church in that area that could...

What Shall I Offer To The Lord?

Oct 2016 How shall I come before the Lord, Bow down before the exalted God? Will a perfect prescribed sacrifice Offered on the altar suffice? Will sacrifices in abundance, Offered without repentance? Will the gift of my firstborn alone, My life transform, my sin atone? You have shown, Lord, what is right...

Hold on to the unchanging love of God

Oct 2016 At the age of 15, George Matheson (1842-1906) was told by doctors that his shadowy eyesight would soon become total blindness. However, that setback did not stop the teenager from enrolling in the University of Glasgow, Scotland, in 1857 where he graduated with a Master of Arts with first-class honours in 1862. Matheson eventually...

A time to ‘Man Up!’

Oct 2016 As a Family and Marital Therapist, I have learnt not to assume when couples come for marital counselling that they naturally want to save their marriage. Even so, when I posed to a husband the question of what he wanted from counselling, I found his answer somewhat confusing – he...

The Living Word

Sep 2016 The glamour of new messiahs enunciating words that give flesh and form to tenets framed by master-spirits – words compacted with designer genes to awaken and impassion the gullible who form the coterie of believers, capturing the headlines of tabloids and media, have currency and season; their tenure is ephemeral...

FAQ ON FAMILY

Sep 2016 Focus on the Family Singapore answers frequently-asked questions in their database. Q: How do I initiate reconciliation with my teen after an argument – while maintaining my authority at home? A: For parents to successfully work things out with their teen, they need to deal with conflict as teammates. When...

Pilgrims on a quest

Sep 2016 A word we do not often use to describe ourselves is that of being a pilgrim. This may be because the notion of being a pilgrim is rather foreign to many of us. It describes a person on a quest, usually a spiritual one. Whilst on this quest or search,...

Come just as you are

Sep 2016 “If God loved me, He would not have treated me this way.” This was one of her typical emotional outbursts when Charlotte Elliot (1789-1871) vented her frustrations, condemning God for His cruelty to her.1 At the age of 33, when Charlotte should have been enjoying life as a portrait artist...

AMK CMC: Partnering to bless the AMK community

Sep 2016 Ang Mo Kio Chinese Methodist Church (AMKCMC) had its humble beginnings in 1978 when a team of about 30 leaders and members from Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church came to Ang Mo Kio new town to evangelise and plant a new church. Fellowship meetings and worship services were held in...

Ways to engage your teen on heart and hard matters

Aug 2016 Good communication is vital during conflict. When we asked 5,000 adults what they wished their parents had done differently during times of conflict, they gave these three responses most often: They wished their parents had listened more. They wished they could have talked about feelings more. They wished they had...

Wherever You Go: A Conversation About Life, Faith and Courage

Aug 2016 Wherever You Go A Conversation About Life, Faith and Courage by Hannah Lau Published by Graceworks Available at SKS Books, retails at $22 When a vision of God first captures us, we are often caught up in excitement, confident that the journey ahead will be filled with wonder and...

LWMC – The church with an inter-generational focus

Aug 2016 Living Waters Methodist Church (LWMC) was planted on Easter Sunday, 12 April 1998 as a preaching point at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) by Barker Road Methodist Church, in partnership with Wesley Methodist Church and Aldersgate Methodist Church. The common vision was to establish a vibrant peaching point that would minister to...

Lessons along The Way

Aug 2016 My wife and I recently took a holiday unlike any other we ever had. For 10 days, we walked along an ancient pilgrimage route ending at Santiago, Spain, to a church where, as tradition has it, the bones of the Apostle James were laid to rest. Not being the outdoor...

David and Goliath

Aug 2016 With faith in El Shaddai that could move mountains, this rubicund teenager fresh from the boondocks of Israel who had spent his youth tending his father’s flocks and writing and singing psalms with his shepherd’s harp to glorify his God, stepped forth into the battlefield unarmed, against the deadliest champion...

Stop wandering and come to the Fount

Aug 2016 As a dissolute youth coming from a poor family, and who was apprenticed as a boy to a London hairdresser after his father’s death, Robert Robinson (1735-1790) had an unpromising beginning to life.1 Without a father to guide him, Robinson mixed with a notorious group of hoodlums and led a...

Ignorance or arrogance?

Jul 2016 The field of counselling suffers from an acute lack of locally-written material, so when asked to review Kirby Chua’s book The Bible’s Secrets to Counselling, I jumped at the chance. Kirby’s book makes an interesting read. Well-informed in various counselling models and theories, he discusses the practice of counselling not...

Righteous boasting in the cross of Christ

Jul 2016 We don’t usually link hymn-writers to politicians. As such, it is hard to believe that the author of the hymn ‘In the Cross of Christ I Glory’ was written by a Member of Parliament of Great Britain and a governor of Hong Kong. Knighted by Queen Victoria in 1854, Sir...

Arrows On Target

Jul 2016 Unless God builds the family All effort is futility. Children are a gift from God, They are our reward. Like arrows in a quiver, Will our children deliver? Are they on target? Will we live to regret? Train a child the way to go, They will surely follow; If we...

ETAC: Touching and transforming lives of migrant workers

Jul 2016 The recent trend towards ministry among migrant workers began over two decades ago. Telugu Methodist Church (Singapore) is the fruit of ministry among migrant workers by Tamil Methodist Church, Short Street. Since then, it has been serving the migrant community at various dormitories. It is God’s love that compels us...

FAQ ON FAMILY

Jun 2016 Focus on the Family Singapore answers frequently-asked questions from their database. Q: My teen is quiet by nature. She recently expressed her concern that she isn’t part of the “in” crowd in school and started obsessing over her popularity. How do I reassure her? A: At this age, adolescents face...

Who do you go to bed with each night?

Jun 2016 The late Anthony Yeo, often acknowledged as the Father of Counselling inSingapore, once gave this advice: the television (TV) should be banished from the bedroom. He felt its presence would put an end to conversations in the bedroom, not to mention other more intimate couple interactions. Instead of following his...

God Is Our Refuge

Jun 2016 The Most High God is our shelter; From fear, harm and danger; In the shadow of the Almighty, There is comfort and security. The Lord saves those unaware, From the evil trapper’s snare. His truth is guarantee, Of their absolute security. Multitudes will fall by the way, But all who...

Singing in suffering

Jun 2016 “Why should this happen to me, of all people, why me Lord, why?” This is a very natural response for someone who has met with a terrible tragedy and is experiencing a time of great sorrow. This was the reaction of Elizabeth P. Prentiss when she and her husband, the...

Geylang Chinese Methodist Church

Jun 2016 Geylang Chinese Methodist Church (GCMC) was started in 1905 with four members and 14 seekers, and began its first church service in 1914 at its first purchased site at the junction of Aljunied and Geylang Road. There were members from four local conferences –Christ MC, Pentecost MC, Changi MC and...

Adoption: What Joseph of Nazereth Can Teach Us About This Countercultural Choice

Jun 2016 My husband and I adopted all four of our children. Our family’ s racial profile checks off almost every “ affirmative action” category. We have so many gene pools under one roof that we perplex even ourselves. Daily I homeschool one child with right-brain learning strengths and another with left-brain...

God Speaks

May 2016 Not in clouds mantled with thunder, nor in a fire-laced storm; Not in the rising cobra poise of a tsunami, nor in the swooping menace of a typhoon heading for landfall; Not in elected houses of governance nor in institutions of man; But in the stillness, in the pith of...

The ascended triumphant King

May 2016 Besides Ash Wednesday, I think Ascension Day is the next most uneventful day in many churches of the Methodist tradition. Year in, year out, Ascension Day –which occurs 40 days after Easter Sunday, and hence is always a Thursday – comes and goes quietly with no one in the congregation...

Driven by our desire

May 2016 YouTube was all abuzz when an American actor declared that he had a “dirty little secret”: for some time, he had battled with an addiction to pornography. This started a flurry of postings and debate online. There were those who praised him for “coming out”and, through his brave admission, showing...

Pentecost MC: The Name, the Word, the Lease

May 2016 Pentecost Methodist Church (Trinity Annual Conference) 4 Pasir Ris Drive 6, Singapore 519420 Sunday Services: 7.45 a.m. Peranakan/Indonesian Service 9 a.m., 11 a.m. English Service 11 a.m. Mandarin Service Contact:www.pmc.org.sg, pentecost@pmc.org.sg or 6584-0297 It is not uncommon for someone to ask me, “Pastor, isn’t the name of your church a...

Unequal wealth, unequal giving

Apr 2016 I have never been one for figures. In school, Mathematics was one subject I never could get my head around despite my best efforts. I put it down to being born without a “chip” found in most brains. However, I do not think that I am alone in having difficulty...

Raising an emotionally-secure teenager

Apr 2016 Parenting a teenager in today’s world can be a challenging prospect. According to experts, teenagers today feel more stressed, overwhelmed and generally face greater emotional difficulties than before. Teenagers with a positive sense of personal worth are more likely to overcome the emotional minefields that they have to navigate through....

Outreach at Teck Whye: A ministry of grace

Apr 2016 The Teck Whye outreach ministry is first and foremost a ministry of grace. Why do I say that? It has all the same struggles, disappointments, heartaches and sorrows that are common to us all. We get it wrong often. We are weak in many areas. At times we see people...

Jesus and His Family: Portraits from the Bible

Apr 2016 Bishop Emeritus Dr Robert Solomon has written a timely and insightful book with implications for personal piety and family relations. Based on accounts in the Bible and some outside sources, which he weighs and sometimes rejects, he presents interesting insights into Jesus’ birth and boyhood. Here and there are interesting puzzles:...

The fresh Breath of God

Apr 2016 Following the Easter Sunday celebration, the church enters into the Easter Season or the Great Fifty Days. The Scripture lessons in the lectionary for the Sundays that follow reveal the accounts of Jesus’ appearance during the 40 days between His resurrection and His ascension, and a further 10 days of...

Peace

Apr 2016 We long for abiding peace, For trouble and fear to cease; But are helpless against strife, That engulf and stifle life. Jesus lived with persecution; Yet in the face of crucifixion From which He had no release, He promised us peace. It was for us He had to die; The...

The Young Messiah: A compelling tale

Mar 2016 “He’s not just a child.” This line, spoken by one of the characters in the upcoming film The Young Messiah, aptly summarises the impetus behind the film as well as its attraction for viewers, and ultimately speaks to the mystery that lingers beyond the ending credits. The Young Messiah...

Focus on the Family Singapore answers frequently-asked questions from their database.

Mar 2016 Q: What can we do as parents to help our teenager remain sexually pure? A: Children should be introduced to age-appropriate sex education and the purpose of marriage while they’re still young. Start by creating an environment where your child feels comfortable and safe to talk about his or her...

Ecce Homo

Mar 2016 Looking down He saw a mass on the hill of skulls. He saw the crowd whom He led to life now goading Him to death. He saw the clacking dice of the soldiers vultures squabbling for the prize. He saw the seeking sheep who were lost spirits...

Spending Lent at the foot of Jesus’ Cross

Mar 2016 Picture by Photosebia/Bigstock.com We are now in the season of Lent, and our thoughts should be focused on the sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes referred to as “the Fast” or as “the Forty”, the season of Lent can be a time for restitution and restoration.1 Sad...

Queenstown Chinese MC : Making disciples, transforming lives

Mar 2016 An indication of a closely knit body of Christ is found in Queenstown Chinese Methodist Church (QCMC) and Faith Methodist Church (FMC), which counts among them members from the same families. They go way back to the 1960s when the Methodist Church initiated the ‘Queenstown Methodist Church Pioneer Work’ project,...

Focused attention

Mar 2016 These days, with so many things demanding our attention and energy, giving our focused attention to what we are doing is often a challenge. We seem to be torn in so many directions that being able to multi-task is one of the prerequisites for life today. Yet can we really...

Gethsemane

Feb 2016 In golden youth when seems the earth A Summer-land of singing mirth, When souls are glad and hearts are light, And not a shadow lurks in sight, We do not know it, but there lies Somewhere veiled under evening skies A garden which we all must see – The garden...

Beholding the Glory of the Son of God

Feb 2016 Transfiguration Sunday (7 Feb 2016) is the last Sunday of Epiphany, which is the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, andmarks the beginning of the Lenten journey.1 Though not universally observed, the Roman Catholics retain this day on its original date of 6 August. The Protestant Church, however, moved the commemoration from...

Wesley Methodist Church: Growing, building and impacting

Feb 2016 At the Atrium of Wesley Methodist Church (Wesley) stand two boardswith numerous colourful paper hearts. Displaying handwritten reflections on Scripture, these paper hearts are part of a new year-long Bible Reading Drive where more than 2,600 Wesleyans committed to read the Bible daily in 2016. The Bible Reading Drive follows...

Guiding your teen to manage dating and relationships

Feb 2016 As your child reaches the teenage years, he or she will naturally start being interested in the opposite sex.Do not panic! This is a natural phase of growing up. It is important that as parents, you approach your teen with an attitude of seeking to understand, guide and support them,...

Standing the test of time

Feb 2016 Two postings in the newspaper’s ‘Obituaries’ section caught my eye the other day. The first was for a woman in her 90s. It carried a list of her clan of 35 family members, nine of whom were great-grandchildren. Some may view this with a sense of satisfaction on her behalf...

Jesus came to identify with us

Jan 2016 Epiphany is celebrated on 6 Jan, 12 days after Christmas Day. It is a great day of joyous celebration for all Christians as the church observes the manifestation of God’s Word made flesh, made known to all nations and people. For the Western churches, 6 Jan has come to be...

Abraham

Jan 2016 Such matchless faith to abandon all – affluence, estates and patriarchal standing, in Ur of the Chaldees, to respond to the call of the Divine to leave for an unnamed destination in the desert lands beyond! Rising above the tide of opposition from family, friends and community who questioned...

Possessions and Obsessions

Jan 2016 Our devices now allow us to stay connected 24/7, so we take our work into our bedrooms and even on holidays, such that it affects our work-life balance. Yet, are our devices to blame? I am on my fifth day of being without a possession which has not left my...

Ministry at Bedok Preaching Point

Dec 2015 In addition to profiling local churches from our three Annual Conferences of The Methodist Church in Singapore, we also begin profiling ministries. As we come to have a better understanding of each other’s history and ministry, we may discover more opportunities to forge cross-church partnerships and collaborations. Seletar Tamil Methodist...

The Star of Bethlehem

Dec 2015 The Star of Bethlehem Striding into Jerusalem on camel back three seers, of royal lineage, steeped in the language of the stars, and of their encoded messages, who were startled one evening to see in the prime quarter of a galaxy, a new star, a diadem of purest light outshining...

Celebrate the season of joyful expectation

Dec 2015 The season of Advent is upon us once again as the church welcomes the start of the Liturgical Year. Spanning four Sundays before Christmas, Advent, which means “arrival” or “coming”, remembers the first arrival and the wait for the second coming of the Messiah who will come again to judge and...

Numbering our days

Dec 2015 At our lives’ end, how will we account for the time given to us? The Psalmist reminds us to number our days, “that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”. By the time you read this edition of Methodist Message, some of you would be winding down your work...

Fetal Encounter

Nov 2015 John, the harbinger, leapt in his mother’s womb, sensing the presence of the nascent Christ: Such amazing fetal sentience, Spirit-sprung, transcending possibility, confirmed the immaculate conception: giving promise of the unfolding of the divine plan to bring salvation to fallen man. Luke 1:39-45 Dr Oliver Seet is...

Sing a song for God’s saints

Nov 2015 For All the Saints (The United Methodist Hymnal, #711) For all the saints, who from their labours rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed, thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia, Alleluia! Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might; thou Lord, their captain...

GMC: Growing from grace to grace

Nov 2015 Church history is the record of God's gracious, wonderful and mighty deeds, showing how by His Spirit and Word He rules His Church and conquers the world. Nils Forsander The Beginnings of Grace The genesis of GMC was marked by a few distinctive features in the worship service of Telok...

Tips for helping teenagers remain close to the family

Nov 2015 God places every single one of us in families because He knows we desire connection, a sense of belonging, and people with whom we can journey through life. How do we as parents communicate to our teens that ultimately, family is of utmost importance, no matter what happens? Build...

The curious connections of life

Nov 2015 Sometimes the most insightful discoveries come at the most unexpected times. Like what happened as I was doing my weekly ironing recently. I had been puzzling over a counselling session the day before. The couple in their late thirties looked comfortable with each other. They exchanged warm smiles throughout...

The Word Of God

Oct 2015 The Word Of God Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11 (NKJV) Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your...

Blowing the ram’s horn in the year of jubilee

Oct 2015 Writing this article, I was reminiscing about the grand celebration of our nation’s 50th National Day. I give thanks to God for guiding and preserving this tiny nation, which appears as a little red dot in the world map, for 50 years of independence. Everywhere in Singapore, the SG50 logo that...

BRMC: Started by faith, motivated by love

Oct 2015 At 4 p.m. on a Whit Sunday (otherwise known as Pentecost Sunday), ten schoolboys met in an old, dusty and dilapidated music room in a hostel. That was how Barker Road Methodist Church (BRMC) started on 20 May 1956. The odds were stacked against them. These were young boys meeting...

To solve or resolve

Oct 2015 A renowned couple therapist once stated that most problems faced by couples are not resolvable. This was baffling, given that it was said by someone whose career was in helping couples with their problems. Was this a statement of resignation, which came after years of facing the stark reality of seeing...

Teaching teens how to renew their minds

Sep 2015 The world is full of counterfeit truth claims, but you can teach your teen to renew his or her mind and live according to God’s reality as the Bible defines it. When the mind is renewed, God’s will and reality become clearer. Here is how you can guide your teen...

Conflict and reconciliation

Sep 2015 The week’s news is sadly all too familiar. Suicide bombings killing dozens, hate crimes targeting places of worship and an attack on a tourist site – mass murders, all in the name of ethnic or religious cleansing. By their frequency, these horrendous acts have reached a point of banality and...

Gideon

Sep 2015 Was it mockery, a diatribe against his timorousness, brought on by Israel’s descent into the maelstrom of despondency, as scavenger tribes plundered the fruit of its labour, powerless to resist their savagery and greed. How effete to beat out wheat secretively in a wine press hidden in a cave! ...

Making the most of our time

Sep 2015 Take Time to Be Holy (The United Methodist Hymnal, #395) Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord; abide in him always, and feed on his word. Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak, forgetting in nothing his blessing to seek. Take time...

You and Me Forever: Marriage in light of eternity by Francis Chan and Lisa Chan

Aug 2015 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5 This is more than a book on marriage; it is a book for everyone....

Facing the uncertainty of tomorrow

Aug 2015 No one can be absolutely certain of what tomorrow will bring. We presume that tomorrow, we will still be alive, and our expectations and plans will come to pass without difficulty. When we make a trip, we assume that the car will start, the MRT train will not break down,...

BPMC: A growing church maintaining its kampong spirit

Aug 2015 “….take root below and bear fruit above.” Isaiah 37:31 Our beginning In September 1936, renowned Chinese Christian evangelist John Sung, while passing through Singapore, conducted a gospel rally in Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church. There, a youth named Lim Kim Seng was converted, began to proclaim Christ, and started a congregation...

Living in communities

Aug 2015 However, churches do not serve only as ‘petrol stations’ or entertainment hubs where we go to fill up or be uplifted. They are also places of mutual ministry. A recent conversation over lunch with a colleague led to the topic of which church we were attending. My colleague sheepishly confessed that she...

Into The Lord’s Harvest

Aug 2015 Into The Lord’s Harvest Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38 (NKJV) For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”… And...

The Son of Solomon

Jul 2015 The Son of Solomon I do not truly grieve for him, my father, the great King, whom the world revered for his unsurpassed wisdom and untold riches; for his Palace – the House of the Forest of Lebanon with its forty-five pillars of cedar embellished with five hundred gold shields...

Remembering what God has done

Jul 2015 Count Your Blessings (Baptist Hymnal 1991, #644) When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by...

AMKMC: Growing and serving in Ang Mo Kio

Jul 2015 Saying the Filipino pledge together during International Day Celebration. From a rented semi-detached house at Mayflower Rise and an average attendance of 35 persons in 1977, Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church (AMKMC) has come a long way as the first church building project undertaken by the General Conference of The Methodist...

Teens and their faith

Jul 2015 Be a parent who sticks with your son or daughter no matter what they’re going through. Remind them that you love him or her regardless of whether things are good or bad. As a parent, you’ve invested your life in your child. You brought them to church, taught them everything you know...

The journey of a thousand steps

Jul 2015 What is your reaction when a wedding invitation arrives in your mailbox? Some see it as a chore to have to dress up to the nines or to give ‘ang pows’ that draw various hues of responses – red faces from the disappointed wedding couple when the “token” amount is...

Boundless Love

Jun 2015 Boundless Love Why God became a Man by Robert M. Solomon Published by ARMOUR Publishing Pte Ltd, 160 pages Available at: Armour Publishing’s showroom (1003 Bukit Merah Central #02-07 S159836, opening hours from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), or via delivery from www.armourpublishing.com, or at Wesley...

Wisdom

Jun 2015 Wisdom “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 (NKJV) “Now this is the commandment… that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments…” Deuteronomy 6:1-2 (NKJV) If...

What lights you up?

Jun 2015 Lightning rods or conductors don’t often draw our attention. They sit on top of every building and even on some trees marked for preservation at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. They are a protective device that seeks to channel the huge heat and electrical energy surge of a lightning strike to...

The unchanging truth of the triune God

Jun 2015 The doctrine of the Trinity, deeply entrenched in Church tradition and staunchly embraced by the likes of Gregory of Nyssa, St. Augustine, Jonathan Edwards, and even John Wesley, was a much-debated topic between Trinitarian and Unitarians through the centuries. Hymn-writers through the ages had played their parts in educating...

Peter Reminisces

May 2015 I was not ready then to die for Him, my Lord, despite my oaths of allegiance and declarations of His divinity, that fateful evening at the garden when even the olive trees were bent over with grief as their Creator agonised with drops of blood falling from His brow, pleading...

Be inspired by the Holy Spirit

May 2015 Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire (UMH 651) Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire, and lighten with celestial fire; thou the anointing Spirit art, who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart. Thy blessed unction from above is comfort, life, and fire of love; enable with perpetual light the dullness of our...

HingHwa MC: A lighthouse guiding people to Christ

May 2015 HingHwa Methodist Church (HMC) is 104 years old this year. HMC was founded by the Rev Dr Brewster and the Rev Lee Tiong Swee in 1911 with 13 members, and worship services were held in a rented room at Middle Road. It was only in 1950 that we constructed our...

The gift that gives

May 2015 “Will you tell us about (the importance of) forgiveness?” This request came from the Head of an agency where I was conducting some training on ‘Recovery from Infidelity’. This question might not seem odd to a lay person in counselling or to someone coming from a religious background. However, to talk about...

How to pass along the value of marriage to your children

May 2015 Healthy marriages are foundational for a thriving society. But our children don’t necessarily hear that message in the media, learn it at school or even receive teaching about this at church. Many young people are being challenged and are forming ideas about marriage that are contrary to God’s initial design....

There Is Life After Death

Apr 2015 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed… For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible… “Death is swallowed up in victory.”… But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ....

Walking on with Christ through Easter

Apr 2015 Camina, Pueblo De Dios (Walk On, O People of God) Refrain: Walk on, O People of God; walk on, O people of God! A new law, God’s new alliance, all creation is reborn. Walk on, O people of God; walk on, O people of God! Look on Calvary’s summit;...

Toa Payoh MC: Planted to reach Toa Payoh

Apr 2015 Toa Payoh Methodist Church (TPMC) was birthed when Wesley Methodist Church and St Andrew’s Cathedral came together for a combined missions outreach project in 1968. We started off as a free clinic at Block 109, Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, providing opportunities to share the Gospel with those who came seeking...

What do you reach for?

Apr 2015 What do you reach out for when you feel trapped in a corner, besieged by life’s stressors? Where do you turn to and who do you go to? Some unfortunately turn to alcohol. Some others have come to rely on medication to cool their emotions and nerves. My...

Gethsemane

Mar 2015 Gnarled and weighed down with age, the olive trees, deep-rooted in mothering soil had witnessed the soul-wrenching struggle that fateful night when the Lord of all Creation made flesh agonised over the magnitude of the cost of redeeming the creatures fashioned in His Father’s image. It wasn’t the humiliation, scourge,...

REACH OUT

You can help Break the Poverty Cycle

Sep 2019 We are often told that poor people are poor because they make bad decisions. But have you ever thought that perhaps they make bad decisions because they are poor? An NUS study of families on an MWS-initiated debt relief programme called GOOD (Getting Out of Debt) showed that the mental...

Bringing a taste of Singapore to Laos

Sep 2019 Sharing love the Singapore way—through food! On 6 June 2019, a group of 15 church members and friends aged between 44 and 81 left Singapore on a mission to Vientiane to help at the Singapore Fair at Singapore Mission School (SMS). At SMS, we had the opportunity to watch its...