| Life B-P Church Weekly - 7 October 2007
Scripture Memory: Help from God.
VERSE : 1 Corinthians 10:13 "
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God
is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are
able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye
may be able to bear it."
* * *
O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness
7 October 2007
8.00 am Worship Service:
Eld Chin Hoong Chor (Secure Living)
10.45 am Worship Service:
Rev Colin Wong (Living in Christ), Lord's Supper
6:00 pm Rehoboth Evening Service:
Mark Chen (Instructions on How To Find Rest)
14 October 2007
8.00 am Worship Service:
Rev Colin Wong (Preservation of Unity), Lord's Supper
10.45 am Worship Service:
Eld Chin Hoong Chor (Secure Living)
6:00 pm Rehoboth Evening Service:
Rev Dr Jack Sin (A Biblical Perspective of Fasting)
* * *
Beulah Project Ground-Breaking Service
We praise and thank the Lord for giving us wonderful
weather last Lord’s Day so that we can conduct the Ground-Breaking
Service successfully. The Lord is good and greatly to be praised. This
is an epochal event in the history of Life Bible-Presbyterian Church. On
this day, we commence the building phase of the Beulah Project. The Lord
sent a good number of members and well-wishers to come and rejoice and
witness this blessed event. "Then the people rejoiced, for they
offered willingly, because with perfect [loyal] heart they
offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with
great joy." (1 Chron. 29:9) As the building work progresses, please
continue to pray and bring your offerings to honour God in this building
project. Let the Lord refresh our soul to give cheerfully and
worshipfully. May the Lord bless the builders and all involved with
safety, good health and strength. Let the name of our Lord be glorified!
Amen.
—Elder Sherman Ong
Chairman, Beulah Project Committee
My dear Reader,
I BELIEVE IN CREATION
A Christian scholar who held the Bible to be
literally true was once accosted by a scientist who said, "According to
the Bible the earth was made five thousand years ago. But we have
discovered bones that point to life on earth a million years ago." …[The
pat answer came]: "When God created earth five thousand years ago, he
deliberately put those bones in to test our faith and see if we would
believe his Word rather than scientific evidence" (Anthony De
Mello, S. J. The Song of the Bird: Bones to test our Faith. Anand:
Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, 1989, pp 48-49)
If you were that Christian scholar, how would you
respond to the question put forth by his opponent? My guess is that many
of us may not be able to come out with a convincing answer. I must say
that this is a very difficult question to tackle. It involves science
and most of us are not trained in this field and therefore, are
incompetent to answer the question.
However, if we were to consider the omnipotence of
God, then it is not really too hard for us to believe His ability to do
whatever pleases Him. The prophet Isaiah said, "For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8, 9). Is there
anything God cannot do? Is there anything too hard for Him? (Jeremiah
32:17) No. There is absolutely nothing impossible with God (Luke 1:37;
Zechariah 8:6; Romans 4:21).
Therefore, I think the Christian scholar has given an
adequate response to the above question – "When God created earth five
thousand years ago, he deliberately put those bones in to test our faith
and see if we would believe his Word rather than scientific evidence."
My dear Lifer, I am not so concerned how clever you
are to answer difficult scientific questions, but how firm your faith is
in this God who spoke and the world came into being. You may not
understand all the nitty-gritty details of science. But the most
important thing is that you believe what the Bible says and that settles
it.
Simplicity of the Statement
The Bible begins with a simple statement: "In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth." This statement is
found in the first book of the first verse of the Bible called Genesis.
The verse explains the beginning of the universe. It portrays God as the
Founder and Creator of all life.
The statement is not only a declaration of divine
truth, but a repudiation of human error. It denies all the principal
false philosophies which scientists and those in other fields of study
have propounded.
Implications of the Statement
Genesis 1:1 speaks voluminous truths. The phrase
"In the beginning God…." implies the following denials:
1. It denies Atheism with its teaching of no
God.
2. It denies Polytheism with its teaching of
many gods.
3. It denies Fatalism with its teaching of
chance.
4. It denies Evolution with its teaching of
infinite becoming.
5. It denies Pantheism which makes God and the
universe identical.
6. It denies Materialism which asserts the
eternity of matter.
The statement also implies the following truths:
1. God is in control of everything. The creation
must be in subjection to the Creator (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16, 17;
1 Peter 3:22).
2. There are no other gods before Him (Isaiah
40:18; 45:21, 21; Psalm 77:13).
3. God is a redeeming God. He brought the cosmos
out of chaos, turned darkness into light, made divisions between
them, and transformed cursing into blessing (Genesis 1:1-19).
Practicality of the Statement
Our God is the sovereign God of creation. He is our
supreme God. Everything that exists must be under His control. Unlike
the gods of the pagans which are made of silver and gold by the hands of
men, the God of the Bible is the Founder and Creator of the whole
universe and every living being. Man-made gods have mouths, but they
cannot speak, eyes have they but they cannot see. They have ears but
they cannot hear, noses have they, but they have no sense of smell at
all. The have hands but they have no feeling, and feet have they but
they are not able to take a single step (Psalm 115:4-7). But the God of
the Christian is different. He is a God who speaks and listens and
answers prayers (Jeremiah 33:3).
Our God is a God who loves and cares for His creation
(Psalm 104). He knows the needs of man (Genesis 2:18-23). He beautified
His creation in order to cater to the needs of man. Jesus said that He
gives rain and sunshine to the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew
5:45). How can anyone reject such a God?
Our God is a God who orders His creation. He created
the whole universe from nothing. There was no preexisting substance from
which He created the heaven and the earth. He created the planet earth
before He created man to reside in it. There is order in the creation.
Having learned so much about this God of gods, what
is your response to His creation? Look at yourselves. You are the apex
of His creation. May the words of the Psalmist provoke you to give
praise to your Creator!
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth
right well" (Psalm 139:14). —CW
Creation Poem
Day one brought heaven earth and light.
It must have been so very bright!
Day two God made the clear blue sky.
A place for many birds to fly.
Day three brought land apart from seas.
With all the plants, grass and trees.
Day four shone forth moon, stars and sun.
The work of God was not yet done.
Day five we see the fish and birds.
God did all of this with just His words.
Day six God formed all beasts and man
To finish His creation plan.
Day seven was especially blessed,
A day for worship and for rest.
(Unknown)
* * *
Dear Pastors, Session & Brethren of Life BP Church
Ebenezer BP Church, Melbourne wishes to thank you for
your gracious greetings and gifts to us on our 8th Anniversary and
Dedication of the Church. We are blessed with the message brought by Eld
Sherman Ong at our Seminar on "The Church and Her Infallible Word". We
thank Dn L.S. Pang for remembering us with a gift together with an
anonymous giver.
We want mother Church to know the contributions made
by Lifers in Ebenezer. Eng Lin and May are responsible for initiating
our Teens’ Fellowship and leading them at our Winter Camp last July.
They also helped in a discussion on courtship for the youths. Nathaniel
and Deborah are also active in the University Bible study. The Heah
family goes regularly to conduct Sunday worship for the residents of
Strabane Nursing Home. Hannah Wong, Heidi Ho and William Ong assist in
our City Gospel Fellowship which meets on Tuesday night for Bible Study
and Worship on Sunday afternoon. We will not forget the visit by Mark
and Huimin in a week of instruction to our youths and preaching in
September.
We seek for your prayers for the continued growth of
the Church and gospel outreach.
Truly in His Eternal Love
Dr Patrick Tan
on behalf of Ebenezer BPC
* * *
GOD’S OUTLAW
A DVD Screening to commemorate the
490th Anniversary of the 16th Century Protestant
Reformation
Saturday, 27 October 07.
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Life B-P Church Sanctuary
Please invite your friends to come!
* * *
57th Anniversary Thanksgiving & Baptismal Service
Lord’s Day, 21 October 2007, 9.30 am.
Fellowship Lunch after Service
(Offerings to defray the cost of the lunch are
welcome.)
* * *
1) Wednesday Night Bible Class. New
Testament Survey by Rev Charles Seet. 7.30 - 9.30 pm, Chinese
Service Hall.
2) Scripture Memory Verse Review No. 3:
Please submit the written review exercise by 14 Oct. Review No. 1
and 2 are also available for those who missed them. Obtainable at the
front counter. In order to encourage more participation in the memory
verse review exercises, the qualifying percentage to receive a
certificate will be reduced from now on from 90% to 70%.
3) Library Opening Hours: 2nd and 4th Sundays
of the month, 7.30am to 7.55am. Every Sunday, 12:15 - 12:45 pm. There
are about 3,000 Christian books for all ages!
Preaching appointment: Rev Seet in Batam.
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