Scripture Memory: Praising God.
VERSE : Psalm 145:4 "One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts."

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O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness

5 November 2006
8.00 am Worship Service:
Quek Keng Khwang (Don't Back Down - Build Up)
10.45 am Worship Service:
Rev Charles Seet (Ephesus - The Loveless Church), Lord's Supper
6:00 pm Rehoboth Worship Service:
Rev Charles Seet (Rapture!)

12 November 2006
8.00 am Worship Service:
Rev Colin Wong (Don't Vacillate - Perpetuate), Lord's Supper
10.45 am Worship Service:
Eld Lim Teck Chye (Smyrna: The Persecuted Church)
6:00 pm Rehoboth Worship Service:
Dr Paul Choo (How Do You Watch?)

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Recently, I met a patient in the hospital who claimed to be a Christian and proudly told me where she worshipped. I listened to what she had to say. Then I asked her what had happened to her swollen leg. She was quick to answer me. She did not tell me why one of her legs was swollen but she said to me emphatically that she believed that she would walk again in a few days. I told her that it must be according to the will of the Lord. Instead of agreeing with me, she got a little emotional and said, "No. I will be healed according to the power of my words." Sensing her unwillingness to listen to what the Bible has to say about prayer, I left her alone.

My heart ached because she didn’t know even the basics of prayer. How sad to declare belief in a system, but reveal such ignorance of it! Then it hit me hard later that countless Christians are like this also – claiming to believe something they know little about. Wouldn’t it make the world wonder if they are really Christians or even make the people of the world question the validity of Christianity itself?

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? And He answered him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matthew 22:36, 37). Historically speaking, Christianity has been a thinking Faith. Unfortunately, many Christians today are content to love God with heart and soul, leaving their minds out of it. We should be concerned for the depth and details of our Christian Faith, desiring to love God with our minds, first and foremost. Loving God with our minds starts with learning the Theology of the Bible.

Some churches believe everything their pastors say. Many Christians seem to believe that as long as their pastors preach the "Word," the rest of them are safe from sinking into heresy. Is this what Lifers also believe? This is a blatant lie. Satan, who is the father of lies, uses this belief to prevent genuine Christians from seeking the Truth (Acts 17:11, 12). The heart of the matter is that each one of us is accountable for our own spiritual development. The best preacher or teacher in the Christian Church can’t protect us if we don’t arm ourselves with the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17).

When I was a younger Christian, the Bible was taught solidly in many evangelical churches. Compared to the past 32 years, few churches today really expound the inerrant, infallible Word of God. Their messages are shallow and non-expository and full of psychological innuendoes. The other day I was at a Christian Bookshop looking for some good books. I went away feeling that much contemporary writing accommodates Christianity to me and my world, applying the Word to my personal needs without first making sure I understand it. I am not saying that application is wrong. Application is essential, but it can be overemphasized if God’s people never learn the truth they should apply. A pastor rightly said, "We cannot live ‘Christianity’ without knowing Christianity, any more than we can build a bridge without knowing engineering. We can’t apply what we don’t know."

My dear reader, here is the fact of the matter. If you and I don’t learn the Theology of the Bible, we invite several catastrophic consequences. First, we leave ourselves exposed, vulnerable to attack by unbelievers or cults who want to win us to their pagan or cultic beliefs (Genesis 3:1). Second, we cannot defend our Faith against the philosophers of this age who are eager and ready to go to war against Christianity (Colossians 2:8). Third, we cannot adequately explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ to seekers who genuinely inquire about our Christian Faith (1 Peter 3:15).

Therefore, having the right knowledge of the Bible is important. Proverbs reminds us, "Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly" (Proverbs 13:16). Every sensible Christian acts with knowledge. And this knowledge is the fruit of studying the Theology of the Bible (Psalm 119:98-100).

Dear Lifer, if you and I don’t maintain a grasp on the foundational beliefs of the Bible, can we expect Christianity to withstand the onslaughts of this fallen world? In his book, "Love Your God with All Your Mind," J. P. Moreland asked a very pertinent question, "How can a person faithfully attend an evangelical church for decades and still know next to nothing about the teaching and history of Christianity?" This question bothers me and keeps me thinking. If you and I think it is only a small matter, please think again. Do you know that it only takes one generation of ignorance for truth to die? If you and I neglect Christian teaching, Christianity may be only a memory to our grandchildren?

An old Chinese proverb says, "One generation plants the trees and another gets the shade." Our generation lives in the shade of many trees that were planted by our ancestors. Similarly, in spiritual terms, we derive shade from our parents’ and grandparents’ ethical standards, their perceptions of right and wrong, their sense of moral duty, and above all, their spiritual commitment (if they ever have one). Their ideas determined the kind of civilization we inherited from them, and our generation’s ideas will likewise shape tomorrow’s culture for our children. So what kind of trees are we planting in order to provide sufficient shade for our children and grandchildren?

We parents have a God-given responsibility. Our Christian duty is to teach our children and grandchildren the Theology of the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). We must not think that this is the responsibility of the pastor or Sunday school teacher. The command is given to us parents. Parents are called not only to uphold them in fervent prayer daily, but also to instruct them the Theology of the Bible faithfully. With the many setbacks King Solomon had, he wrote, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6; 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15, 16). That should be the aspiration of every Christian parent! That should be the way – the Bible way, to provide shade for our children and grandchildren!

Let me conclude this article by sharing with you a true story of a former seminary professor. He wrote: I need constant reminders that in a fallen, unstable world, only God’s Word endures. God recently reminded me of that when my wife Tracy and I learned that she has ovarian cancer with a 50-50 chance of even being alive in five years. Isaiah was right: "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). If she and I don’t know the truth of the Rock upon which we stand, we’d better learn now!

Our family faces anew the sobering question of the reality of our faith. Will it sustain us as we ponder the possibility of Tracy going to heaven earlier than we expected? She may still live to be ninety, but we know in a new way that anticipated longevity can vanish in one doctor’s visit. Our faith will have little chance of doing its job if we’re ignorant of its content. When the pressures of life explode into catastrophe, will our faith fail us? It surely will if we don’t know it.

Will our faith fail us? Start becoming a thinking Christian. Start reading your Bible faithfully. Start studying the Holy Scripture diligently. Start reading good Christian books. I was involved in teaching the Theology of the Bible in some third world countries. These poor brethren came from all parts of the countries. Some of them had to travel a couple of days to the meeting place. As I taught them and interacted with them, I discovered that even with their limited opportunity for theological training, they were far more theologically aware than the average Singaporean Christian.

We are living in a post-modern world. Relativism rules! There is no such thing as Absolutism now. Nothing is absolute. What shall we do? We need to do a better job of preparing our church young people for the intellectual and spiritual battles ahead. Let us work together to fight this battle. We have a common enemy – Relativism.

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1) Sunday Lunch Fellowship: Lunch Coupons for the Sunday Lunch on 19 Nov 06 will be on sale today at $2.50 a packet (hor fun, vegetable rice and nasi lemak).

2) Photos on Anniversary: Those who wish to obtain photographs taken by the official photographer may order a photo CD ($1.00) from brother Earl Poon, 9021-3113.

3) Gospel Tract for the Elderly - "God’s Love Never Grows Old": 300 copies in English and 300 copies in Chinese are available at the front counter.

4) Lively Teens Fellowship Camp (ages 12-17). Theme: Living The Faith- A Study on the Book of James. Speaker: Rev Philip Heng. Dates: 11-14 Dec 2006. Venue: Aloha Loyang Resort. Please email livelyteens@hotmail.com for more information.

5) Youth Camp Dec 2006 (Ages 16-24). Theme: The Complete Christian - Accountability Towards God and Man. Speaker: Rev Okman Ki. Dates: 18-22 Dec 2006. Venue: Galilee BP Church. Contact Daniel Wong, 93897007 or Lianne Cheong,96846824.

6) Church Camp 2007. 11-14 June in Batam. Speaker: Pastor David Yan from New Zealand.

7) Family Worship 2007. Those who wish to open their homes for family worship from Jan to Nov 2007, on the 4th Friday of the month, kindly contact Rev Wong at cwong at lifebpc dot com or 6256-4312.

8) The Library: Lifers are encouraged to visit the Library which is open every Sunday, 12:15 - 12:45 pm. There are about 3,000 Christian books for all ages!

9) Our condolences to Lucy Koh and family on the homegoing of her mother, Ong Beng Choo (89 yrs) on 30 Oct.

10) Congratulations to Mrs Annette-Kunst Teh on the gift of a baby girl on 30 Oct.

Preaching appointments: Rev Wong in Batam.

on Saturday, 2 Dec 06; 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm; Life B-P Church Sanctuary

Are you a good person? Almost everyone think they are good...but only by their own standards. How does one know if he is really good enough to go to heaven? Watch this video to find out how people fare when they take the Good Test...it may help you to know how well you will do in it.