Are You In A RELATIONSHIP?

Hey, welcome back to fireBRANDS blog again. Want to know what happened in youth service last week? If yes, don't stop. All you just need to do is to scroll down. Easy.

Back to the topic.Service was different last Saturday. There was no pre-service prayer.We started at 7:30, everyone was eager for what was installed from Sarah Khoo for ice-breakers! 

The game is to find people. HOW?

Well, each person is required to take a piece of paper and a pencil.We need to find people based on the questions.

For example: Who never sleeps in class?

: Isaac Huang

We need the person to write his/her name on our paper.

(you get it ,do you?) 

We had a few winners. Don't worry,no forfeit for losers.

After ice breaker,we had worship led by Leroy and his team.We sing praises to God and allow His fire to burn our hearts.

After worship,we had a very special speaker for the night.Who can it be? *jeng jeng jeng*
Our speaker of the night is: Gabriel Ch'ng ! A.K.A. "Eulene's brother in-law"

 What was his message about?

Boy.. Girl.. Relationship...

Eulene: Oh,I get it now!

Could you be in a relationship?(No/Yes/Maybe?)

Consider This

1. Get your act right with God.

• What is our No.1 priority?

• Colossians(3:1-4) 
• Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

2. Seek God first

•  
 2nd Timothy (2:22)

• Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love 

and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

• Call upon the lord and pray to Him

How?

• Serve God with whole hearted devotion and with a willing mind.

• Keep your tongue from evil.

• Forsake evil ways

• Have clean hands and pure hearts

• Doing what's right

• Humble

3. Enjoy your youth

• Ecclesiastes(11:9-10)

• You who are young, be happy while you are young,

    
                                       and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
                                                              Follow the ways of your heart
    
                                                               and whatever your eyes see,
                                                        but know that for all these things
    

                                                          God will bring you into judgment. 
 
                                                      So then, banish anxiety from your heart
    

and cast off the troubles of your body

for youth and vigor are meaningless.

4. Allow yourself to grow in maturity

• !st Corinthians(13:4-8)

• Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

5. Responsibilities/ Priorities

• What are your priorities?

• God,church,family school social,personal goals

6. Avoid Temptations

• Hebrews (13:4)

• Marriage should be honored by all, 
and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

7. Equally Yoked

• 2nd Corinthians(6:14)

• Do not be yoked together 
with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

What if I'm in a relationship right now?

• It doesnt have to be a secret!

• Tell your parents,friends,pastor.

What if I'm not in a relationship right now?

• Seek God,don't be envious,don't rush to it,take this time to know more about yourself.

•  Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues,they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

After Gabriel shared, Leroy added a few more things and concluded youth service.

Leroy : " Well, I think this wraps up our youth service.There's youth next week,same time ,same place.Be here next week."

This ends the blog for the 26/05.See you soon in the next post. Bye!

Hearts

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Welcome
Welcome who?
Welcome to the fireBRANDS blog once again!! :P

The night started off officially with :-

Nicholas leading us in a time of prayer where we are to split in groups of three. 

Why prayer? A certain William Cowper says that "Satan trembles when he sees the weakest Christian on his knees." :)

And of course, a meet-and-greet within the 5 minutes given before icebreaker. 

Welcome back, Denise Tan!! :D

Isaac rapping.

OKAY, time to get those creaky bones and cramped up muscles for some hard work of ice breaking.

The number game was played, but with a slight change to the rules.
We were all forced requested to squat/sit in groups. In that group, without any form of communication, we have to say the our name while standing up. Anyone caught standing up simultaneously will result in the group having to start all over again. Last person gets the forfeit :D

Yang dah kena last sekali. 

Kena hukuman tarian belly. (Belly dancing)

Not forgetting the reason why we're at Sanctuary 2 every saturday evening, its time for praise and worship to the One that deserves all of it. 

Sharing on the Word of God is next and Sarah Khoo was up with her PA, Kelly.

Heart. A drawing that has a symmetrical shape. An organ made up of cardiac muscles that is designed solely for pumping blood and keeping an organism alive. A liver, if translated literally in Bahasa Melayu.
Nah, she didn't talk about any of the above. At least not the physical heart we know of, but the heart that controls the thoughts and actions in our daily lives.

Keeping our hearts right with God is the right thing to do in a world that is filled with wrongs. (Proverbs 4:23)

-First, in doing so, we need to always make sure that humility is in our hearts.
It is humility that brings us a step nearer to God. The opposite just does the opposite. Pride, in fact, builds walls between us and God. Know how much that would hurt Him?
Rejects shouldn't be stepped on for who they are. Because at the end of the day, they're not going to to be any different from you.
Be humble. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%205:4-5&version=NIV

-Do take care of your emotional health.
Its always easier nowadays for people to get depressed. For an avid gamer, going home only to find that his/her whole game is restarted/deleted can even make one depressed. That's just an example though. We tend to focus more on the circumstances of bad happenings and not on God. Its like listening to a sad song and making things worse after something bad has happened. Time to be still and find rest and healing. Look to God. He knows best. Matthew 5:4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

-Access to God.
Well, God's hands are always reaching out for you. Its only by your will, faith and actions that you'll reach our yours to grab His. It depends on you.

-Reconciliation
Reconciling with someone after a bad encounter with them requires forgiveness and like the first point, humility. If anything is blocking your heart from getting to know God, its that bitterness in your heart. And I doubt anybody likes how bitter tastes like. Bitter tastes bitter. Throw it away. You have the power to do so.

-Thanksgiving
Through the difficulties we face in life, Satan can determine our breaking point. And Satan, being Satan, will do anything to make sure you reach it. Friends and family are the people we constantly surround ourselves with and they are there for a reason besides being great company. They watch out for each other. Be thankful for everyone in your life.

A Day of Obedience

* Note, before you read this post. Please do know that the name of the recipient and sender are fictional characters [not-real :P]

**Also, we apologize for no pictures. We wanted to do something new!

Dear Beethoven Wong, 

It has been awhile since I wrote a letter to you. Let me tell you what happened last Saturday when I attended the fireBRANDS Youth Service.

Well, it all started with an ice-breaker!! Oh how I love games. We played 3 games altogether! Wow! The first game was something similar to Penguin where we had to make sure the people in the middle did not sit down in the vacant seats. Then we played a game where we had to untangle our hands to form a big circle. We, the guys were so close on winning, but we gave up and cheated (in a way) ha ha! But in return, we had to do a forfeit. Lastly, we played a game where we placed the right of our shoe into a spot. Then all of us rushed to grab a shoe and then find the owner of the shoe. In the end, we formed circles and we then prayed for the person on our left.

After so much fun, we went for worship. It was led by Samantha. After worship, Brian and Natasha shared for their first time!! What did they talk about? Well, they talked about Obedience. First I will share on Brian's part.

Well, according to the Holy Bible, disobedience is failing to follow God's law. A great example is Adam's disobedience when he ate of the Apple. Disobedience also has it's consequences, this can be proved in Judges 2 : 6-23. Well, look on the bright side. There are also solutions and prevention to it. It's obedience! Like obeying and doing what your mom has told you to do. But bare in mind, even though a person might return to God after disobedience, the damage has already been done.

Well, that is all for Brian's part, now unto Natasha's part! Did you know the Biblical word for 'obey' comes from the Greek word 'hapakou'. There are three points of obedience in the Christian life. First of all it's listening to God's Command (John 10:27). Secondly, it's receptivity it's our 'Obedience of Faith', our receptivity of His activity plus, he is the dynamic of His own demands. Thirdly, God gave us the liberty as humans to have the free will whether we want to obey or not.

As human, Jesus lived by the obedience of faith he listened to God even though he went through trials, hardships, suffering he continued to listen to God unto His death on the cross. What are the rewards of obedience? God will bless you continuously! (Genisis 22:17-18)

Well, this concludes what happened on Saturday! I hope you enjoyed reading this. I will write to you soon!

God Bless!

Sincerely, 

Mozart Wong

Hope you enjoyed the post!! Have a great week ahead!! 

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear

Several years ago, a well-known television circus developed an act involving Bengal tigers. The act was performed live before a large audience. One night, the tiger trainer went into the cage with several tigers, and the door was routinely locked behind him. Spotlights flooded the cage, and television cameras moved in close, so the audience could see every detail as he skilfully put the tigers through their paces.

In the middle of the performance, the worst happened: the lights went out. For nearly thirty long seconds, the trainer was locked in with the tigers in the darkness. With their superb night vision, the tigers could see him, but he could not see them. Still, he survived. When the lights came back on, he calmly finished his performance.

When the trainer was asked how he felt, he admitted to feeling chilling fear at first; but then he said, he realized that even though he couldn't see the big cats, they didn't know he couldn't see them. He said, "I just kept cracking my whip and talking to them until the lights came on. They never knew I couldn't see them as well as they could see me."

Keep talking back to the tigers of fear that seem to be stalking you. They will obey your voice of faith!

"Even though I walk through the darkest valley,I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." - Psalm 23:4

rEVOLution @ PISA 2012

5th May 2012

Dear Diary, 

It's been a really really exciting week,

7 days of torture, 7 days of patience

And my friends, all talking 'bout it,

It's on a Saturday and it starts at 6 in the evening

La la la, what is it?

La la la . . . Find out here :)

Yep, its REVO@PISA I'm singing about!! So here's what happened. Forgive the long post, but a short summary JUST WON'T DO for this event. :) Besides, why give a short summary of what happened last saturday when it is held in a STADIUM?

Alright, the first 2 photos have already shown you how the stadium is set up, and believe me when I say its awe-zum! So here's the programme that's been lined up in store for all rEVOLutioners :
It started with a countdown which I couldn't resist doing here.
5
.
.
4
.
.
3
.
.
2
.
.
1
.
0.5
.

Yes, thank you screen! WELCOME TO REVO PARTY!!
And the stadium officially comes to life with :-

1) Lightbulb Productions (The dance ministry of Acts Church) showing what they've got dancing for God.
2) A 2-song performance by Kelvyn Yeang and the band, in which only the instruments were involved.
3) A dance performance by the Rock Dancers of Rock Church.
4) Another dance performance by the EPCC dance performers.
If the 4 performances didn't appeal to anyone, veryfunnystoplying :P

But the fun's only just begun, and it was time for worship. Believe it or not, a 3,500-strong crowd in a stadium, in a time of worship and praise to the One and Only that made this event happen. Matthew 18:20 says, "For where two or three people gather in my name, there I am with them". What more if a 3,500-strong crowd in a stadium?

Pastor Kenneth Chin was up next for a special sermon filled to the brim with jokes as well as meaning. Yes, "jokes to the brim with meaning". Done processing what I just said? Good. Moving on!

"Orphans".
That was what his sermon was revolving on. Do take a minute and think on what it means.

Done?
John 14:15-17.
Christians we may be, but there are times when we are "orphaned". To church we go, but there are times when we can't feel anything and we walk out at the end feeling lost. And here's a secret all of you should know, and that is, although Jesus has ascended to heaven 2000 years ago, He has sent a helper down with one task. The Holy Spirit, that we shall no longer be "lost" and "orphaned".

Do continue reading on.

Remembered the times when you just feel like an incomplete puzzle? A missing piece somewhere. Something that wasn't right. Well, we all do. And the missing piece is the fact that we do not have a relationship with the Helper.
Acts 1:8 tells us all that when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we will receive power. Power thats not for our own greed, not for our own desires. But a power that aids us in fulfilling The Great Commission.

Here's a truth many people know, but don't realise. God gave us not a spirit of fear. You think He'd want us to live our lives cowering away at "The Boogeyman"? Nah-uh. And that was the other reason why the Holy Spirit was sent to us. To help us in any way possible. There is nothing, NOTHING, that the Holy Spirit can't do.

Habits, addiction. It is a human's self-righteousness that says "I can break these bondages myself. I am able. I get myself in, I get myself out". But what if we can't? God wants us to know that only the perfect can perfect the imperfect. And its only through God that we're set free from our habits.

"When God delivers, He delivers." Remember that.

"We're all orphans, living on our own strength, and feelings, often forgetting our promises to God. Feelings should follow faith, not the deeds of this world."

The sermon ended with the opening of the altar for those who have made a decision to join the family of God, for those in need of healing and also for those who wished to rededicate their lives once again.
And the numbers wasn't small. It just goes to show that our God, our Father, is an awesome God :)

Of course, it hasn't ended. The stadium witnessed the symbolic act of the handing over of the torch from EPCC to Acts Church to organise the next REVO meeting, which is the Re:Union 2012 (31st of May till 2nd of June. Admission is RM 50)

Before it officially ended, there was a special performance by Juwita Suwito, who performed 2 songs as it comes to a close :)

Have a great week ahead and God bless you.

BLOOM where you're PLANTED

Welcome back to FireBRANDS blog again!

Grab your pop corns and enjoy reading what happened last week. 

Sit back and spot out the hidden faces of yours.

                                       Service started as usual with prayer led by our very own Sarah Khoo.
                                                                  Prayer points are:-
                                                                -  The worship team
                                                                - Speaker for the night
                                                                - Government of Malaysia

                                                          Prayer starts with groups of four.

                                                  After that,we have 2 minutes of toilet break.

                                                       Time to welcome the new comers!

                                                                        Another one!

                                          We had worship later on led by Leroy and Samantha.
                                                     Leroy's rule: Stay inside the four pillars!
                                                    We open our hearts as God minister to us.  

                                                              Next,we had some announcements.
                                                    Ken-Jeen talked about the Revo garden shirts.
                                                        Notice: Sizes are from XL to XXXL only.

                                                We also had a winner for the 'Draw My Thing
                                                                          "competition.
                                                             The winner goes to our Julia Tan!

One more thing,there will be no youth service next week as everyone is going to REVO @ PISA. Be there at six. Plus, the Media Team is looking for new photographers! If anyone is interested, you can contact Isaac.
Be fast! Positions are LIMITED.

                                                Later on,we had a very special speaker for the night
                                                             who is *jeng jeng jeng* Israel !

                                          Interesting fact : He is a youth pastor at Philippines.

                                                                   Aww..look at them..

                                                          So what did Israel talked about?

                                           BLOOM where you're PLANTED.

            1. God wants us to bloom wherever He puts us.

2. Psalms (37:23-25)

-The God directs the steps of the godly.He delights in every detail of their lives.

Though they stumble,they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.

Once I was young and now I am old. Yet i have never seen the godly abandoned or their  children begging for bread.

The godly always give generous loans to others,and their children are a blessing.

3. A lot of people are discouraged and negative because they don't like where they are at.

-School

-Looks

-Parents

4. God wants you to enjoy who you are and where you are at.

God isn't interested in your looks,but is interested in changing your hearts rather than your circumstances.

Sow a SEED for God

How to sow a seed from God?

a) Always put a smile on your face

b)Be good to people even though they act rude to you

c)Be grateful in anything in live

5. When you bloom where you are planted,it means that you are sowing a seed from God.

6. God wants you to enjoy whatever position you're in right now.

7. We can do all things through Christ that stands against us.

Interesting Points: 1. This is where God has place me right now, I will be happy wherever He puts me.

2. Quit fighting to go somewhere else. Be the best you can be where you are.Bloom where you're planted at.

This concludes the service for the 28.04.2012. Stay tuned for more posts coming out next week. See you and God bless!