What We Did.

First off, photography credits to the DSLR-wielding fireBRAND, James =)

Now, get ready for what went on behind the two white doors, in Sanctuary 2, FGA Centre from 6p.m. till 9:30p.m. on the 17th of October, 2009.

6:00-:30p.m., BIBLE class!

Roughly 30 fireBRANDS were made students once again (on a public holiday!) and studied Psalm 70 (go look that up in your Bible).

Like last week, also a psalm written by someone (David) under attack, this time more on telling God how you feel when you're under attack.

And yup, without fail, Gary's famous wiseman words were again quoted: "When we're happy, we don't praise God. When we're sad, we also don't praise God."

This time Bible class was meaningful-ised with Daniel (the mahaguru) sharing his own personal testimonies of his experience before coming to where he is now.

Like Pastor Victor said, he's an inspiring guy!

Okay, 6:30-7:00p.m., dinner!

Uh, no photos on that, even photographers need breaks.

7:00-:25p.m., preservice prayer =)

And those few photos, I think, are enough to convey how downright VITAL preservice prayer is to the fireBRANDS.

Though, prayer is a thing of the spirit, something cameras can't capture.

And while that was going on down here on earth, can you imagine what more in heaven?

7:25-:30p.m., toilet break!

No need photos...

7:30-:50p.m., icebreaker.

A form of warm-ups in youth. No five rounds round the court here..

Eulene the icebreaker (not orchestra) conductress.

Listening.

Everyone was divided into two groups (seniors/juniors), lights were switched off, and now you have the fireBRANDS groping around in the dark, searching for jigsaw puzzle pieces, the only source of illumination being their handphone lights, and..

...the occasional flashes of light from the camera, to take photos such as this.

And when you finally find a puzzle piece, it's exhilaration all over!

Subsequently the seniors won (if they didn't it'd be kinda embarrasing lol) so the juniors were subjected to a cruel, ego-shattering punishment:

butt-writing!

7:50-8:20p.m., praise & worship.

Warmed-up after the icebreaker, now ready to settle down and give Him the true worship He seeks and deserves.

The worship team, and Pastor Victor saying a few words to the fireBRANDS.

When no one's left behind the seats, when everyone's up there worshipping the Lord of Lords.

And while worship was going on, here we have the LCD-boy-behind-the-scenes: Daniel Derek!

8:20-:35p.m., announcements.

With Ming Yen away in KL, her shoes (okay, heels actually) were stepped into by none other than..

..InDY!

And, one of the most important announcements that night:

..you've seen it after you stepped into the sanctuary..

..and here it is on the LCD.

Indy (announcing in a Ming Yen-style tone):

YOUTH CAMP IS COMING!!!

So yeah, SIGN UP! Forms are now available! For more info pls call Pastor Victor at 016-4113325 :)

8:35-9:30p.m., the preaching of the Word.

The bulk of the night!

Featuring not one, but TWO speakers! (call it a Double Whammy!)

First up to take the pulpit, Indy invited the first speaker up:

...himself! xP

The admittedly-nervous-yet-summoning-all-the-confidence-he-had 15-year-old proved that he has guts, but more importantly spoke on Matthew 9:9-13.

In that passage, Jesus was dining with Matthew (tax-collecter-turned-disciple) and family. Soon enough, the Pharisees kutuk-ed him for eating with 'sinners'.

Indy's sharing focused on the last two verses, consisting of Jesus's apt reply to the Pharisees' remarks.

And from here there were three points:

1. Healthy people don't need a doctor. Sick people do.

- People who can see should lead the blind people because the blind people don't know that there's a Doctor, or a medicine.

2. "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."

- Practical is better than theory!

3. "I have come to get sinners to follow Me."

- Imagine a swimming pool. Christians can swim, but others can't. And so God came to save the drowning, like a lifeguard.

Indy concluded with something Jesus said in that passage: "I have not come to get those who THINK they are right with God."

Do you THINK you're right with God?

After which, the 2nd speaker came up, together with his lovely helper to do the LCD for him.

Leroy Tan!

And he shared on something very crucial for every Christian out there:

Spiritual Growth.

Cuz you see, spiritual babies are helpless, but God wants us to GROW.

That said, in order to grow, you must:

1. DECIDE to grow.

2. make EFFORT to grow.

3. PERSIST in growing.

After elaborating on each point, Leroy gave an example.

His love story.

And while we were all paying the utmost attention to Leroy's every word, regaling how his love life came to where it is now..

..is she blushing?

But no, he didn't just share that for entertainment's sake (but it makes better substance than Miss Swift's song), cuz throughout his relationship he had to decide, make an effort, and persist in it. And the most important thing is, he knows she's the one he's gonna marry :)

Okay, back to the topic.

WHY GROW?

- we are created by God

- we are chosen by God

And so he digressed a little to MISSIONS.

Mission is introducing people to God. It's that simple!

God gave us the task of making others His friends too.

So, the people around us are our assignments from God (Eze 3:18), and we must quickly carry out our tasks assigned to us (John 9:4).

And so while we still have time, we can make the difference if we choose to do so.