These words were first given by the apostle Paul to the believers at Corinth (1 Corinthians 15:58). But what made this exhortation so impactful on them was not the prospect of being paid according to the work they did. If these words had been spoken to a company of hired workers or employees, they would only have drawn the expected retort, "What’s in it for us? How much will we be paid to always abound in the work?"

The impact of the exhortation is found at the beginning of the verse – "Therefore, my beloved brethren…" By using this mode of address, Paul establishes the basis of his exhortation on the close relationship that they share with him and with one another. His readers will understand that it is right and good to always abound in the work because it is done by family members for a family. It is not work done to earn a living, for that is driven primarily by monetary incentives. It is work that is motivated by love for the Lord’s family. Why do fathers and mothers work hard for their family? Not because they expect to be paid or praised for it but because their greatest joy is to see the family grow and prosper.

Let this be your primary motivation to serve the Lord’s people in His church: You love your beloved brethren in God’s family and you therefore long to see them growing and prospering spiritually. One hymn-writer expressed this ardent desire as follows:

I love Thy Church, O God!

Her walls before Thee stand,

Dear as the apple of Thine eye,

And graven on Thy hand.

For her my tears shall fall;

For her my prayers ascend;

To her my cares and toils be giv’n,

Till toils and cares shall end.

All 28 members of the newly elected Session of our church received this same exhortation at the beginning of their 1-day retreat last Monday. And having prayerfully discerned the vision, mission and objectives that the Lord has for the church, we who serve in the Session are resolved to be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our labour is not in vain in the Lord. Please keep your church leaders in prayer.

We thank the Lord for the past weekend which saw the evangelistic efforts of various Lifers. The Youth Gospel Rally on 17 May was attended by over 100 people with about 10 newcomers, of whom half were non-Christians brought by friends from the LTF and YF. The YF chairman reports: "Thank God that the message by John MacArthur both presented the Gospel clearly and was also challenging for believers to make sure that Christ is not only Saviour, but Lord and master of our lives."

On the evening of that same day, a group of 6 went to Orchard Road to sow the Gospel seed. Of the 14 people they shared their faith with one was convicted to pray the sinner’s prayer. Two who were doing street evangelism for the first time testified that they were surprised at the willingness of the people they met to talk about religion/Christianity. It was a good reminder that we should seize every opportunity to share Christ with others.

The next day, the Kota Tinggi team conducted an Evangelistic Outreach with the help of brethren from Sengkang NBC. Thank God that the combined group of 12 adults and 2 children managed to reach the KTSS premises on time despite a massive jam at the Woodlands checkpoint. Of the 45 children who came, 5 were newcomers who had never heard the Gospel. According to the report from the team, "It was apparent that the children could comprehend the Gospel story as they could give very clear answers to the questions when quizzed. When asked who received Christ as their Lord and Saviour, almost 2/3 of the children raised their hands. Praise the Lord!"

While children were hearing the Gospel at Kota Tinggi, residents who live at the Gilstead Road area near to our church were receiving Gospel tracts and Gospel Sunday invitations through their mailboxes. This was the result of 1½ hours of work by 8 brethren from our Men’s Fellowship. May the Lord give the increase!

This week will see yet another opportunity for the work of soul-saving: The Vacation Bible School that will be held in our church compound from Wednesday to Friday. At last Tuesday’s prayer meeting brother Keng Khwang shared that the registration of 223 students (N2 to P3) exceeded his expectations and that the Lord has provided sufficient teaching staff for them.

A quarter of the children who registered for VBS were the result of on-line publicity in our church website. This demonstrates the effectiveness of using the Internet for the Lord’s work. While 81 Lifers will be labouring for 3 mornings in teaching and providing logistic support, you can labour in prayer that the VBS lessons on the theme "The King and I" will bring many hearts to repentance, to faith in Christ and to have their hope in heaven.

Here is the latest report from Rev Andrew Kam, our missionary in Yangon: "Greetings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ! I have been away from home these days visiting the members’ homes in the morning and back in the evening. Now we are doing the rebuilding work of the three members’ houses which were destroyed during the cyclone. It is very difficult to find metal roofing sheets and we have bought used ones. We are about to finish two houses. We also bought some rice and blankets for them….The electric supply is not restored in my area yet. We still use the generator to pump the water and use battery for the lights. By the grace of God all is going well with us now. Thanks for your prayers for us. We could have Sunday worship service at the Church and the evangelism on Saturday is running well as before.

Indeed some of the children of the members suffer from cholera and I have to give them some money for their hospitalisation. I will let you know when all the preparation work and the rebuilding work is over. I am so busy nowadays. Please do pray for me." (Note: If you wish to send funds for the relief of cyclone victims in Myanmar please designate it for "Myanmar Cyclone Relief")

While we remember the quake victims in China, let us also pray for the mission team that left yesterday to teach courses at a Bible college and a Bible school. Pray that the week-long ministry of Dn John Ching and two other Lifers will bring much needed comfort and strength to our brethren in China.

There is still much work to be done for the Lord in missions. The fields are white unto harvest but the labourers are still few. One of the labourers who has been abounding in the work of the Lord in Cambodia for over 10 years is Rev David Koo. He and his family will be joining us at our church camp at Awana next month. May they be encouraged and refreshed through the warm fellowship of many Lifers! Do remember the rest of our missionaries as well: Rev Moses Hahn (Cambodia), Rev Nirand and Jess Lim-Tamee (Thailand), Chan Pui Meng and June Tan (Kenya), Roska and Yusniar (Indonesia).

The Lord sometimes uses the stories of the lives of missionaries to challenge His people to a greater involvement in missions. One story describes how a young missionary from Wales brought a copy of John’s Gospel to a tribe of head-hunters in northeast India in 1910. This not only brought about the conversion of the Hmar tribe but also resulted in the dedicating of a son to do the work of translating the entire Bible into their language. This true story which is entitled "Beyond the Next Mountain" will be screened in our church sanctuary on Saturday, 21st June in conjunction with the 18th anniversary of our Missionary Fellowship.

One effective way of learning the Word of God is through Bible study tours. Last Friday, a team of 25 Lifers left for Istanbul to begin a 12-day Bible study tour of Turkey led by brother Mark Chen. Do pray for journeying mercies, good health, safety, fellowship and spiritual edification throughout the trip, as the participants visit the 7 churches mentioned in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Tarsus which is the birthplace of the apostle Paul, and Antioch which was an important hub for the spread of Christianity in the first century. The team will be back in Singapore at 3:30 pm on 3rd June, DV.

This year’s Church Camp (9-13 June, Awana Resort) provides another opportunity for spiritual growth. We expect to fill up registration for all 150 rooms by today. Let all of us who have registered for the camp prepare our hearts for a time of spiritual blessing through the 7 messages by Professor William Harding on the theme, "Living Like Citizens of Heaven on Earth."

The Wednesday Night Bible Class by brother Ho Chee Lai on "Cults and Charismatism" will come to an end this week. The attendance for the 9-week course has been about 25 to 35. The next course, which will start on 2nd July will be the first of a 4-part survey of the Old Testament. It is designed to help participants acquire a thorough grasp of each book. The sessions in Part 1 will develop familiarity with the theme and contents of the first 10 books (Genesis to 2 Samuel) with an understanding of the events in Old Testament history and their significance. Please sign up soon to make use of the opportunity to build yourself up on your most holy faith (Jude 20). May we all keep abounding in the work of the Lord! —Pastor

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1) YF Retreat 2008, "To Gather". Date: 6-7Jun 08. Theme: Fellowship. Venue: New Life BP Church. Speaker: Dr Khoo Hock Seng. Registration fee: S$10. Register now! Drop the form in the box at the front entrance or register online at http://www.lifeyf.org/retreat2008. Forms available at the front entrance. Registration closes TODAY. Contact: Jonathon Khoo (91025650).

2) Life B-P Church Camp: TODAY is the closing date for registration. Lifers who would like to contribute offerings to help to defray the camp expenses are encouraged to designate the offering "For Church Camp 2008."

Camp Fees: Full payment must be made latest by TODAY. Cheques should be crossed and made payable to "Life B-P Church" or Life Bible-Presbyterian Church", with your name indicated on the reverse of the cheque. For cash payment, please bring exact amount of cash.

Please collect your Camp T-shirts on Sunday, 1 Jun 08.

Camp Briefing on Tuesday, 3 Jun 08, 7.00 pm, Chinese Service Hall.

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Saturday, 21 June 08. 7-9 pm

Life B-P Church Sanctuary

In conjunction with the Missionary Fellowship’s 18th Thanksgiving Anniversary. Please invite your friends to come!