Scripture Memory: Confession to God.
VERSE : 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

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O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness

7 January 2007
8.00 am Worship Service:
Rev Colin Wong (Waiting Upon The Lord)
10.45 am Worship Service:
Rev Charles Seet (Waiting Upon The Lord), Lord's Supper
6:00 pm Rehoboth Evening Service:
Mark Chen (Looks Like A Glut This Season!)

14 January 2007
8.00 am Worship Service:
Rev Colin Wong (An Ascription of Praise to the Triune God), Lord's Supper
10.45 am Worship Service:
Eld Khoo Peng Kiat (Confessing Our Sins)
6:00 pm Rehoboth Evening Service:
Mark Chen (The Secret to Spiritual Viticulture)

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2007 is already here! Have you done your personal reflection yet? Have you reflected and thought about what the past year has brought and what the New Year could bring? If you have not, why don’t you go to a park or somewhere conducive to take stock of your priorities, values, pursuits or goals in life?

Generally speaking, most of us look at the New Year as a fresh beginning or as an opportunity to start things all over again such as parenting, being a better spouse, losing more weight, developing different priorities, ministries or anything that we would like to change. So, we hear a lot about New Year resolutions – resolutions which are usually broken in a matter of days, weeks or months. That is why so many people are very pessimistic about the whole issue of making resolutions, and that is rightly so because so many good intentions are followed by a history of past failures. However, our past failures, disappointments and mistakes should not deter us from making God-honoring resolutions. We must, like Paul, forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead. We must press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13, 14).

A Christian steward is one who receives God’s gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends them in a responsible and accountable manner, shares them in justice and love with others, and returns them with increase to the Lord (Matthew 25:14-30). He recognizes God as the source of everything. He also knows that he will be held accountable to God for the stewardship of his time, talents and treasures.

Every Christian is a gifted Christian. God has gifted us in a variety of ways. He gives us spiritual gifts for the common good of the church (1 Corinthians 12:11, 7). Therefore, you and I are to discover them and develop them to their full potential and use them well to serve others to build up the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16).

There are at least four measurements of good stewardship – Gratitude, Responsibility, Generosity and Accountability. With regard to gratitude, ask yourselves, "Do I give of my talent while I credit God for making me talented?" With regard to responsibility, ask yourselves, "Am I wisely responsible with my time?" With regard to generosity, ask yourselves, "Am I ungrudgingly generous with my treasure?" and with regard to accountability, ask yourselves, "Am I accountable in stewardship of the ministry that God has entrusted me?"

Each of us is responsible for the way we live our lives and how we respond to the circumstances of life – good or bad. At the end of the day, we have to give an account to God for all that we say or do on earth (Matthew 12:36, 37; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15). God is just. He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34).

Each of us has exactly the same number of hours available in each day. Therefore, making good use of our time requires keeping our priorities right. Since each day is only a 24-hour day (no more and no less), we must learn to say "yes" to one thing and "no" to another graciously. We need to decide what is important and what is not important and what is urgent and what is not urgent. In short, we need to prioritize lest we let time slip by quickly. Paul reminds us to make the best use of our time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16).

A simple but profound way to be a good steward of God’s gift of time is to cultivate a good prayer life. Some of us may feel that we don’t have the means to contribute to the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But little do we realize that the greatest contribution to the proliferation of the eternal and glorious Gospel is by means of prayer. We can call upon God anywhere and everywhere at any time. We can pray for the world’s political situation, the unsaved people in the community or the pressing needs of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Each and every one of us is gifted with at least one spiritual gift. Therefore, we do not need to excel at something to be talented. Instead, you need to ask yourselves, "How will I use my spiritual gift(s) to serve in the Body of Christ? How can I use them to build up the Kingdom of God?" We are God’s hands and feet, eyes and ears, mind and heart in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12).

Everything comes from God, and that includes wealth and the ability to get more wealth. Moses warned Israel not to forget that it was God who gave them the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). Money itself is not evil, but the love of it is (1 Timothy 6:10). Whatever wealth God has blessed us with, we are not to become haughty nor set our hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). Proverbs reminds us that money has wings – "Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven" (Proverbs 23:5). Do not be like the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21 who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction (Psalm 52:7). Whatever our plan is, make sure that God is part of it (James 4:13-15). Our God wants us to be good stewards of the manifold blessings which He has bestowed upon us (Luke 19:12-26).

There are numerous hindrances to stewardship as a way of life. Here are some common ones Christians face when it comes to stewardship of time, money, talents and gifts:

1. The fear that if they share their time with others, they won’t have enough to do what they want to do. According to Paul’s teaching, such an attitude is a selfish one. He said in Philippians 2:4, "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."

2. The fear that if they give their money away, they won’t have enough to buy what they want for their loved ones or themselves. Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).

3. The fear that if they offer their talents, they won’t be good enough to meet the people’s expectations. Paul said in Colossians 3:23, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."

The problem with us today is that our consumer-driven society has made us believe that we will never have "enough." We will always have to buy more, do more and be more. But Christian stewardship is counter-cultural. In fact, it has been called the "antidote to materialism." We Christians believe that God has given each of us "enough," for our heavenly Father knows that we have need of all these things (Matthew 6:32). The testimony of King David was powerful. He said, "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (Psalm 37:25). God was His faithful provider in all his life. Jesus said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). Our God wants us to know what is the right thing to do when it comes to food, clothing and shelter. He wants us to seek Him and His Kingdom first, and then "all these things" (i.e. material things) "shall be added unto you." Do you believe this?

Dear Lifer, may I strongly encourage you to strive to be a better steward for Jesus Christ in the New Year. Seek every opportunity to serve the Lord fervently (Romans 12:11; Galatians 6:10). Make stewardship a way of life. Amen. —CW

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1) Sunday Lunch Fellowship: Lunch Coupons for the Sunday Lunch on 21 Jan will be on sale today at $2.50 a packet (beef hor fun, mixed vegetable rice and curry chicken rice with potato and finger food).

2) Catechism Class for Easter 2007 baptism begins next Lord’s Day with Rev Colin Wong at Chinese Svc Hall, 9.30 am. Those seeking baptism, reaffirmation of faith and transfer of membership must attend the Catechism Class.

3) Wednesday Night Bible Class. Study of the Epistles of John by Rev Colin Wong. 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm, at the Chinese Service Hall. If you are interested to attend the class but were not able to attend the first class last Wednesday, you can still join the class this Wednesday (10 Jan).

4) Scripture Memory Review No. 4: Please submit the written review exercise by 14 Jan. Review No. 1, 2 and 3 sheets are also available for those who missed them. Obtainable at the front counter.

5) DVD Screening: Sat, 3 Feb in the Church Sanctuary, 7-9 pm. "Exodus Revealed - Search for the Red Sea Crossing." Please invite your friends to come!

6) Scripture Memory Verses 2007 - "O For a Closer Walk with God": Memory verse booklets are available at the front counter. Free Audio CD recordings of the verses will be given upon request.

7) Life B-P Church Calendar 2007: Members who wish to have additional calendars as gifts for their friends and loved ones may request for up to 3 additional ones from the deacons.

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!

Preaching appointments: Rev Seet at Macedonia BPC, 2pm and JB Sunset Gospel Hour, 6pm.