Reliving 14.8.10

Take muscular, hefty and strapping, and put them in a much leaner context and you get: tonight's speaker!

(Three 'and's in the opening sentence. This cannot be good.)

But to save this post from The Unappealing Land where all less-than-readable posts go, chronologically is the way we'll flow:)

..


Dinner for many at the it-never-gets-old coffeeshop opposite before preservice prayer.

A little past 7 p.m., (fireBRANDS, seriously, do make it a point to join in on this) the congregation gathered around the piano and prayed for a few points. Among them: Daniel Tan who's still in India, Pr Victor & Aunty Rama who're gonna leave for India and be there for a month, service that night, and the speaker.






Moving on, it was time for youths to go to the toilet. It's optional btw, whether you wanna go or not.


So next up, worship led by Sharon Leow, backed up by the ever-awesome fireBRANDS' worship team! But y'know what, it's not about them and it's not about us either. God is what this time is all about.

So if it looks like this from upstage, makes you wonder how it looks like from up there..

Hands lifted high;


whether you're in the crowd or on the stage.


This..


..is how we worship through song.

That was great.

Followed quickly by announcements that were babbled out by (surprise, surprise..):

Joyce Lim!

Longgg list of things to herald that night.

First up Sarah Khoo was invited, and when you see Sarah's face you see BIRTHDAYS. It was like 2-in-1 instant coffee mix that night: July and August babies, one shot!

Praying for the celebraters (yeh that is a word).
They were then sent off back to their seats (on the floor that night) with sweets.

Secondly, huddle-style again, sending off Pr Victor and Aunty Rama with a host of prayers to uphold them as they leave for India. (And will be back in a month, right?)



Thirdly (this sounds like a recipe book), something really touching and heartwarming. Really. It was moving, it was teary-eyed.
Dedicated to someone special and more-than-deserving of the honour. Not a fireBRAND yet will always be a fireBRAND.
Coach Jason Chan, we appreciate you. Alot.

Gary Lee, fBFC's manager-and-coach giving the appreciation speech.

Pr Victor then presented him with an angpow, a small repayment for all that he's sacrificed for fireBRANDS Floorball Club to build it to what it is today.

I know you read the announcements in less than 1 minute but on that night it was almost 10 times longer okayy.

And finally the highlight of a night, what a happy coincidence to have two floorball giants amongst us (I mean besides the ones in fBFC).

Floorball coach & pioneer, church-planter, pastor, mentor, dad, husband and above all, follower of Christ:

..he's no stranger to us..

..Pastor Edward Lim!
His smile here turns lean-and-mean into lean-and-Colgatey-clean.

Having gotten to know Pr Victor more through a trip they made down to KL recently (ok, add 'friend' to the list up there), the title of his message was, befittingly for the fireBRANDS:

Becoming A Victor

*fuyoh.

Secara ringkasnya, inti pati khutbahnya:


ONE: It is not about the crown.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians about athletes in a race. All of them run, but only one will win. They do it for a perishable crown, but we run this race for one that will not fade away.

Sorta like the leaf-crown Paul was talking about: will rot.

Anyways, like Peter says, when Christ comes, we will receive a crown that will never fade away.

SO, what is it really about then?

1. Process that trains us. Like how athletes undergo strict training.
2. Purpose/Focus. Paul knew what he was doing.
3. Preparations/Discipline.

Nien Zhi listening and taking notes. People, do try taking notes. It keeps you awake (not that you'll need that when someone like Pr Ed is speaking though) and helps you understand and remember more.

TWO: There will be challenges and challengers.

David and Goliath. Okay, okay, I know you know the story in-and-out, you even memorised how tall Goliath was, your Sunday school teachers spent hours' worth of lessons drilling it into your head, about how a small shepherd boy menumpaskan a big bad big Philistine bully....

....but, oh boy, wait till you hear Pr Edward's rendition! paraphrasing is the new thing.

A note: David was NOT small. The Bible says that he could actually wear Saul's armour and walk around in it. Saul, the fella who was a head above everyone else in Israel (until Goliath came along and prolly like burst his bubble hahah). But David didn't wear the armour because he wasn't used to it.

Challenges will come. Sometimes the people who're closest to us are the ones who will come and question, "Are you sure this is what God wants you to do?"

David decided to take the position of a soldier (that time, joining the army was mandatory only to men above 20 years of age). Sometimes we will have to cross the boundary and do something totally radical and different.

David decided to use the sling that God has been training him with since he was a shepherd boy. He believed God was training him.

Army: sword, spear, javelin
David: sling, stone, God

Midway through the sermon.

THREE: We are more than conquerors.

In Paul's letter to the Romans, he writes that all things work together for good to those who love God. If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Gideon. No that photo below is not Gideon (yeah he does look mighty doesn't he)..

So Pr Ed again paraphrased his way through what happened many, many centuries ago to Gideon.

Gideon was a coward. God called him 'mighty warrior'.
David was a nobody. God called him 'king'.
God calls you by future tense!

That time, the Israelites were hiding in caves whereas the Midianites and Amalekites dominated the land. The Bible said they numbered 'as numerous as locusts'. Ok, locusts. What's the big deal? I can count houseflies, aren't houseflies like locusts?

Behold, a swarm of locusts! The Midianites were as uncountable as that.

Gideon gathered an army of 30,000. God cut that down to 10,000. And cut it down again to....

..300 (Israelites, not Spartans).

Why?

If 10,000 beat innumberable foes, they would be considered conquerors.

But, when 300 beat the Midianites, they were more than conquerors.

It's the presence of God in you, with you that makes you more than a conqueror.



So the message concluded with an illustration.

Iron Man, the Marvel superhero in his self-fashioned red-and-yellow suit of armour.
His electromagnetic chestpiece was originally meant to save his life (to stop a piece of shrapnel embedded in his chest from reaching his heart), not to give him superpowers.
Likewise, God's original purpose was to save us.

Service ended with a time of worship and ministry.