Inspiration doesn't always come when you need it.
(Same goes for uh.. toilets. Have you ever like drank too much Coke/iced lemon tea during a movie, then held it all in until the movie ended because you didn't wanna miss anything, then once you come out you start running to the cinema toilet, but oh crap it's closed, then you have to go down the escalator and find another toilet, all while holding that bursting feeling in?)
So anyways in wondering what to write, I looked back at the
blog posts dated around January 22nd 2009 and 2010, and guess what?
We went to the beach then.
...well that doesn't help here.
OKAY, PRAYER!
..was led by Ming Yen!
If you're reading this in the middle of a lazy afternoon or at night when you're dreading school the next day or in the morning cuz you ponteng-ed school...
...here's some stuff you can pray for!
1. Other youth meetings/groups in Penang and beyond.
2. Revo Wildfire Party at EPCC.
3. Youth service.
Group up!
And pray hard.
If you're reading this while drinking a huge pail of water, now's the time for you to take a...
...toilet break! Come back in 5 minutes and continue reading yeah.
*5 minutes pass*
*1 more minute passes because you had some difficulty flushing the toilet*
Okay, refreshed?!
Now that you've experienced what a toilet break feels like, you should be able to emphatise with the people below.
This is what happens during that 5-minute toilet break.
Your picture gets taken (unless, like the guy in the background, you grab a bag and shield yourself from the blazing tracer bullets coming out from the photographer's camera).
You could do some prep for your sermon later on your Macbook which makes you look cool. Or maybe you just talk to some friends.
Or you practise posing skills because you want to look cool without a Macbook.
Then of course you could obviously go to the toilet and... do whatever you do in the toilet. Sorry, no photos of that here yeah. xP
And the clock strikes 7.30p.m.! Cinderella still has another 4 and a half hours to dance with the prince, before deliberately leaving her glass slipper behind but making it look like an accident.
It's time to get up and sing praises to God:)
Time for some warm-ups first, led by coach worship leader Sharon Leow.
"Okaaaay kids, which one's your right arm??"
"Aaaand get into same-sex pairs and.......
.....touch the person's cheek."
(it's ok, i'm kinda confused too)
Ever I will sing
only You will I adore.
Glorify my Lord
only You will I serve.
For the world will fade away,
still my song to You remains
only You will I adore.
Will you love Him forever?
So after a terrific time of worship, it's announcements!
No more Rihanna this week, instead we have...
Amitabh Bachchan!
okay, if you don't know him, he's the father-in-law of Aishwarya Rai.
c'mon, surely you do know her... anyways.
Yup, here he is!
Also happens to be married to a really beautiful Bollywood star.
So what did we need to know last Saturday?
(Or, if you didn't come, what do you need to know right now?)
We prayed!
Kedua-dua ni orang rajin yg berjaya belajar hingga ke menara gading.
Keep Ming Yen and Louis in your prayers as they leave us for KL (sry, penang education not good enough) to further their studies!
And we also prayer for the fireBRANDS born in January! (good month to be born in, can start driving early, hahah)
So what other announcements were they listening to?
Okay, by now I figured you'd be bored of my monotonous writing so here's a VERY SPECIAL MESSAGE, straight from the ed himself!
*pump yourself up with anticipation right now!*
Remember guys this
Saturday 29th January we will not be meeting as usual but be going to EPCC for
See you there!
Sadly
youth service on the 5th February is also cancelled.
Causeeee its CHINESE NEW YEAR!!
So go spend time with your families, BE CAREFUL if you're playing firecrackers xP and Have a great new year.
*clap hands for the ed!*
Okay, it's back to me. Sorry.
One more announcement: Do set aside 10% of your angpow money and pass it to Eunice after CNY. We'll use it to bless the House of Hope kids (take them out to eat somewhere, hang out with em, stuff like that). It'll really touch their lives. It's highly encouraged :)
If you didn't know, fireBRANDS is now spending time with the HoH kids every week, led by Daniel Tan. Wanna help? Ask him for info=)
So after announcements it's time to invite an international speaker (for real this time, haha) to speak God's words to us, give it up for..
Pastor Tony Foster!
Time for you guys who came to refresh your memory on the message that night.
And for those who didn't, well read on! (don't stop here because you think that the 'sermon notes' part of the blog posts is boring okayy)
The preaching started off with INCREDIBLY STUPID THINGS.
Like uh convincing your brother to let you cut his foot. (Serious, I'm not joking here.)
Okay, anyways, Jacob! In English we'd call him Deceiver or Con Artist.
The main focus on Jacob that night was his reconciliation with Esau. (
Genesis 33)
So it looked like this:
J - Joseph, R - Rachel, L - Leah, orange - maidservants, blue and purple - children, green arrow shows that Jacob ran ahead.
In Gen 33:10,
But Jacob insisted, "No, if I have found favour with you, please accept this gift from me. And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God."
Esau hugged and kissed (xoxo) Jacob even though he hated Jacob for all the time after Jacob ran away from home. God changed Esau's heart.
Soo, how could a Godlike expression show up in a person's face?
Through love, acceptance and forgiveness.
We've all done things that have offended God (like how Jacob offended Esau by stealing his blessing), but there's something greater about the holiness of God than its purity - its mercy.
When we don't judge or evaluate people, and when we accept them instead of holding grudges, we become like Jesus - we display what a Christian is.
On what basis does God accept us?
It's not because of what we do, it's because He chooses us.
Don't let anybody put a condition on you to be accepted by God - it's life free from guilt and a performance mentality.
Jesus never wanted us to feel guilty because of the cross.
But, the gifts that we give Him are because of the gifts He gives us.
ONE THING TO REMEMBER:
There's nothing we can do to earn/deserve the love and acceptance of God.
So, don't say "If you really love God, you would..."
Human love is very conditional.
Give to Him what He doesn't have: your love back to Him.
...
Yup that's it.
But wait, THERE'S MORE!
Since service ended relatively early that night.
Here's some after-service activities.
Talking to Chan Rihanna before she leaves.
Doing the "oh, you wanna cari pasal with me?" look.
Or just talking on the phone because the people there aren't good enough (xP kiddingggggg!)
I hope you're encouraged and pumped up and looking forward to the next youth service (11 Feb).
Till then, see you at EPCC and Happy CNY!:)
