fireBRANDS - Irresistible Influence

gong xi, gong xi.

2012-01-25T20:05:00.010+08:00

Of firecrackers, delicious steamboats, yummy cookies, red lanterns and of course, red packetssss...

Here's another fireBRANDS youth service update just for YOU :)

As usual, we had prayer to kick start the service, led by Gary Lee.

Everyone was divided into groups of 3-5.

3 minutes break for those who need to drink water, go to the toilet, etc.

& then, it was worship time,

led by Le Roy and Eulene

Did you notice that there was

no ice breaker? :)

What is she holding in her hands??

What is that boy doing???

Whats going on??

Anyways, here's how the game rolls

Make sure your mouth is covered by that... er.. that tape,

arrange yourself and your friends in order according to their birthdays

without taking that tape off/using phone/etc

So you're in March?

there were two groups.

the oldies group and youngsters group

the youngsters group were first to finish but sadly...... they lost.

Gah.

Waiting for everyone to decide what forfeit to give to them.

Thats right!

Tulisan punggung!

After ice breaker, there were a few more announcements.

*inserts a picture of Le Roy doing announcements.

Then of course, it was time for sharing :)

the King Kong video.

Speaker of the night : Sharon Leow!

All the way from kay elle.

( Leow, elle, it rhymes yo)

Building the infrastructure of life. ( The three core foundations)

1.Superstructure

2.Structure

3.Substructure

Whats a Substructure?

Foundation that supports the Superstructure. A structure forming the foundation of a building or other construction

Many times, we are drawned to the APPEARANCE and not the FOUNDATION of the building

1. A devotional life

2. A clean life

3. A life of true worship.

1. David leading a devotional life

Psalms 119 : 15-16.

⁵ I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. ¹⁶ I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

" ... I meditate on Your precepts" - Ponder over correct knowledge

Ask ourselves constantly " What is being applied?" and "what goes into our heart?"

Remember, that one can read the word of God but miss the God of the word.

Therefore, put aside any distractions and take God's word on daily basis :)

"..delight in Your decree" - to enjoy His word (something which doesnt come naturally)

-Savor every verse, chapter, and book of the Bible.

Remember that the word is merely for our INFORMATION, but for TRANSFORMATION.

"... I will not neglect Your word" - Keep His words in our hearts.

2. Daniel leading a clean life

Daniel 1 : 8

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way

Defile - to soil/pollute. Making something unclean.

Why should we live a clean life? Simply because our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6 : 19-20.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Be careful where your body goes, what it does, what it ponders, and how it reacts.

Live a life that is clean so that it may glorify Him :)

3. The woman with the alabaster jar leading a life of true worship

True worship -

is humble,

glad,

doesnt put on a show itself,

isnt half hearted or forced,

waiting for God,

adoring God,

Remember, if you want the building to stay strong, you gotta make sure the foundation is strong as well.

Fruits ! :D

2012-01-17T15:24:00.016+08:00

Sorry for the late update people, this blog writer wasn't as free as he was but anyways.......

Hello again dear fireBRANDS blog readers :)

Here is and update of what happened at last week's youth service.

So before service starts, as usual there's pre-service prayer.

Led by Sarah Wong

Then time for, ice-breaker.

Led by Sharon Leow

This week's ice-breker is called, 2 Truths and 1 Lie. How does it go? Well its like Pass the Parcel but when the parcel reaches you ( in this case a pillow :D ) you have to stand and say 2 Truths and a Lie about yourself. Then everyone has to guess which is the lie.

After that, it was time for worship.

Then on wards towards the service and the speaker for that night was none other than...............

Joyce!! :)

Fruits of The Spirit

God sent the Holy Spirit to live with us.

Fruits of the Spirit:-
-Love -Patience -Kindness -Faithfulness -Self-control

-Joy -Peace -Goodness -Gentleness

Love

You don't have to like someone's actions to love them.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ 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.

Joy

Why do we eat, work, study and so on?? Cause we are looking for happiness. Joy in the Lord brings happiness.

Peace

Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. When we have the Holy Spirit, peace overflows in us. When we are at peace, we actually know and believe that God loves us. Peace is freedom from worries and anxiety.

John 14:27(NIV)

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Patience

Long suffering/endurance. God is serious about patience. The things we want, we cannot wait for it to happen. If we wait, we will get something better.

James 1:2-3 (NIV)

Trials and Temptations

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Kindness

A lot of time revenge is the one that motivates us to do something to people.

Hebrews 7:7 (NIV)

⁷ And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater.

Goodness

You only get to keep what you can give away. Its something that comes from the hear but the heart is the most deceitful of all.

Matthew 7:12 (NIV)

¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Faithfulness

God give us faith. We obey his law with the faith that we have but through the grace that He gives. Its IMPOSSIBLE to be faithful all the time to God. Because God's grace gives us the ability to obey the law.

Gentleness

Jesus was gentle and He was a man. To have a spirit of compassion cause sometimes the simple things are the most important ones.

Proverbs 15:4(NIV)

⁴ The soothing tongue is a tree of life,

but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

Self-control

A lot of people don't have self-control. Controlling your words, actions and thoughts. Temptation is not a sin, but to GIVE IN is a sin.

So, when you have all these fruits and you exercise it, you will get a reward.

Well that's all for today's update. See ya'll next time :)

The Price To Pay

2012-01-09T01:40:00.019+08:00

Hello, world! Smile 'cause here's a new post to occupy you for the next 2 minutes (or 20 seconds if you only browse through the photos; I hope you don't).

And so we begin a recap of fireBRANDS' youth service on the 7th of January, 2012. Our very first this year.

In preparation for our monumental (exceptionally great!) service we haveeeeeeee:

1. Chair-arranging

(that's Joyce doing work while Jesher looks on)

2. LCD-prepping

(LCD's like that behind-the-scenes service we sometimes take for granted, init?)

(init as in 'isn't it', not that program for Unix-based computer operating systems that spawns all other processes that we're all so familiar with)

3. Guitar-strumming cum singing

(that's why his shoes are in such a... jazzy (?) pose)

4. Hanging around

(If your powers of observation are anywhere near Sherlock Holmes's or Hercule Poirot's, you would've noticed that here's the same person as the LCD prepper just now)

6. Birds of a feather flocking together

(Converse)

(Heyyy, did you notice that number should've been 5?)

6. Sitting around

(in anticipation for...*)

*pre-service prayer!

Led by the wearer of this pair of tropical flip-flops.

So we hear what Eulene has to say, and...

...speak out what God wants us to say.

In groups, of course.

'Cause "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another," - Prov 27:17.

And to wrap it all up, a closing prayer by the facilitator herself.

Okay! So unless your observation powers are as bad as, uh, Patrick Star's, you probably would've noticed that all the photographs are centred on (anchored by?) shoes!

Why?

Just because I can.

But well if you don't like this kind of eccentricity then don't worry 'cause we're going back to relatively normal pictures next week.

Now that that's cleared up, moving on!

More people arrive...

...just in time for icebreaker!

And everyone sits in groups for the BOMB game!

Listening to explanations by the two icebreakeresses.

Ready or not?

All together now!

And to turn up the heat (slightly melted ice is easier to break, no?), the rule of standing up was introduced.

(explains why she's squatting)

With the carnage of broken ice still clearly felt, we welcome new faces to the fireBRANDS!

Hope to see you all again next week!

(and the week after, and after, and after, and after...)

Alright everyone, get up on your feet, butts off the floor; let's praise and worship God together!

It was kinda different that day (night?), with just an acoustic guitar; no full band. Songs weren't really planned out either.

Sometimes different is good, and this was definitely a sometime.

"No matter what price I pay,

I choose to give this life away."

Do you really mean 'no matter what'?

Do you know what it means to actually give your life away?

So that's how the next part of service connects.

From Pr Cowan, we've God's message for the night:

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

it's not easy.

How do you become a disciple?

The decision to follow Jesus Christ is the beginning of a Christian fellowship.

(and if you went for AYC '11, you'd know the 5 marks of a disciple that Pr Palan spoke on: supreme love for Christ, a cross: live like a dead person, a tower: consider the value of a good finish, a war: surrender to the stronger king, salt: stay pure to preserve goodness)

In every testimony, the process is never easy.

Like how delivery (of a baby, not of your mail) is a painful experience.

But there is joy!

Like how a baby having toes like peanuts is a source of joy.

CoD = quite tough.

(that meant Cost of Discipleship btw. not some videogame you're thinking of xP)

Discipleship is NOT...

...easy. It's not a bed of roses.

...a way of constant success and prosperity.

...a use of spare free time.

...just going to church.

...a compromise.

...an excuse of doing whatever you like.

So what IS discipleship?!

1. Cross-bearing

i.e. suffering, humiliation.

*all passages quoted in NIV

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. - Matt 16:24

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. - Matt 10:38

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - Gal 2:20

2. Self-denial

3. Leaving everything

You cannot have anything that's more important to you than God.

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14:26

Take note: In Jewish culture it's very important to honour your father and mother.

Also, 'does not hate' means to put Christ first before your family. Pls don't misinterpret:)

In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. - Luke 14:33

4. Abiding in His words and teaching

You cannot have anything that's more important to you than God.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. - John 8:31

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. - John 15:7

NOT just the 2nd part of the verse!

5. Fruitfulness

i.e. not barren

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. - John 15:8

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Gal 5:22-23

Some guy sitting on a chair even though he's not wearing a skirt.

When God gives us a test and we fail, we have to re-sit, regardless of age.

(like driving test, or BM in SPM)

Like how in bodybuilding, you tear muscle sometimes to rebuild it stronger, so God has to tear us to rebuild us stronger.

So, think. What's something God wants you to change?

Maybe it's your communication with your parents.

Or it could be submission to authority (not just someone you like but even submitting to people you dislike).

Choose to be a disciple, but make sure you know the price to pay.

Happy Ending 2011!

2012-01-02T21:04:00.014+08:00

Happy New Year fireBRANDS!

Hope all of you had an awesome new year!

Youth Service went on as usual with something special

Comfy chairs and pillows... mmm...

You know what this place needs?

A fireplace.

We had a prayer ...

...and a short Praise & Worship session before we kick

started the event

Ice-Breakers!!!!

The two 'test dummies' (left & rigt) beside Brian (middle)

So what's the game you're asking?

Ping Pong Piang.

Ken-Jeen : You're supposed to say pong!

Reuben made a mistake :P

OH NO!

The forfeitures (and one of them isn't happy ;) )

Heads and shoulders..

..knees and toes, knees and toes, knees and toes..

So, after the forfeit came the second game!

Rock, Paper, Scissors!

but with a twist, every time you win. You evolve and every time you lose

you devolve

Egg => Chick => Chicken => Superman!

Those who were Chicks and Eggs were forfeited :P

The Chicken Dance!

Well, after the awesome ice-breakers.

We had an awesome duet performance by

Le Roy & Eulene!!

Woots!

They performed;

A Thousand Years/Twenty-Four

Here's the video link if you guys wanna watch it :)

Its awesome;

A Thousand Years/Twenty-Four Cover by Le Roy & Eulene

After that superb performance, we had testimony time

A time where anyone could come up and share what

God had done in their lives in 2011

We had a mystery testimony, this guy wanted to remain

anonymous so we don't know who it is.

Vaughn

Tsu Sheng

'Brad Pitt' Yee Tien Kit

Jonathan Choong

Megarueben

and Le Roy :)

we then prayed for Zephaniah who is now in NS

Please do keep him in your prayers!

We then had a great time of fellowship and a lot of photos were taken

plus finger foods :D Yum.

Well, that concludes fireBRANDS 2011 New Year's Eve Youth Service!!!

Hope everyone had fun!

Happy Ending 2011 (because Happy New Year is too mainstream :P)

and Happy Schooling!!

Camp-lag

2011-12-25T23:01:00.008+08:00

"I miss camp so much and my heart, heart, heart is so camp-lagged."

It's the night after camp, it's Christmas eve, and what do we do?

We BAR-BE-CUE.

(it rhymes bytheway)

Okay then, pictures!

10x the barbecuing power you get at those Korean-style bbq places.

Playing with other ppl's kid.

Hot coals + raw food = barbecued food.

Worker 1: Sashi.

Worker 2: Zeph. (check out his pro skills, one hand tongs, one hand light)

Good food, ALL courtesy of Pr Cowan!

Smoky!

Worker 3: Julian.

Sashi at work.

Win Liang:)

Deswyn and Simon.

Long lost Aussie dude.

Yvonne with her Santa hat.

And HI Karin!

..another photo of the food.

Sad cause she had to leave early.

Oh yeah we had satay too. It was gooood.

Jonathan eating.
(sorry for the very uncreative captions.)

...think up your own explanation caption for this one.

Golden sticks of joy.

What happens when you don't use flash.

And when you do:)

So yeah, it was a night of food and food and talk. And see-saws and swings and slides.

Just the light-and-easy rest needed after an extremely awesome AYC.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who contributed in any way to our Annual Youth Camp 2011.

And also to Pr Cowan for preparing lots of food for that night. his expertise xP

Also a little apology for the lack of updates here. It's like y'know how newspapers take break for public holidays? We take break for AYC. sama konsep=)

Have a great new year, everyone!

Have fun going back to school, to most of you. Make the most of whatever year(s) you have left in school. Irresistible influence:)

Life :D

2011-12-12T18:07:00.020+08:00

Hello and welcome back to another edition of the firBRANDS blog :)

So without further due, here's what happened last week.

Pre-service prayer.
Prayer points :

-youth camp

-Christmas

-service for that night

And next, you guessed it...........ICE-BREAKER!! :D

Here's how we broke the ice. Every get into groups. At least 5 people each and discuss what you all have in common. You know what you all have in common You're reading this post right now. Haha

After another successful breaking of the ice, its time for worship. And what can be better than feeling God's presence?

And here is Tania telling the chapters of the Bible that you should study for the upcoming youth camp. At this moment I can only remember one which is Genesis. Oh and if there are any girls who are interested in joining floor-ball, go and talk to Tania :)

And that night we had Andrew sharing about our Purpose in Life.

So for those who feel that you were an accident or something, here is something that will brighten your day and bring out the sunshine in you. As said by Andrew "You were that one cell that made it all the way and become what you are today". Well something like that :D

Purpose in Life

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God created you, you are not an accident and you have a purpose in life.

1. Your purpose in life is to know/get close to God 2. You are created to glorify God's name

-How to do things through Jesus

John 14:6 (NIV)

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

2. You are created to glorify God's name 3. You are created to praise and worship God

Isaiah 43:6-7 (NIV)

⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring my sons from afar

and my daughters from the ends of the earth—

⁷ everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.”

3. You are created to praise and worship God

Psalm 86:9 (NIV)

⁹ All the nations you have made

will come and worship before you, Lord;

they will bring glory to your name.

Psalm 86:12 (NIV)

¹² I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;

I will glorify your name forever.

4.You are created to grow fruit of the spirit/to grow in character

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

5. You are created to spread the Gospel

-to tell others about Jesus' love

Psalm 96:3 (NIV)

³ Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

6.You are created to use the talents God gave you/develop your gifts

Romans 12:8 (NIV)

⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

In short life is:

-overcome jealousy and bitterness

-and adventure -overcome jealousy and bitterness

1 Corinthians 12:22-28 (NIV)

²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸ And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.

So do not downplay the value of what you do cause, what counts is that you are faithful .

Matthew 25:14-30 (NIV)

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,^[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

202nd post!! :D

2011-12-07T21:00:00.013+08:00

Oh give me a home,
Where fireBRANDS roam,
Where the fun and the madness play,

Where silence is heard, a discouraging word......
WELCOME TO THE WEEKLY FIREBRANDS BLOG YO!! =D

Before darkness covered Penang Island and, (not much difference in Sanctuary 2, cos the lights are on)
Before service began,
Pre-service prayer; try to attend if can,
Led by Sarah Wong, we prayed for those still taking SPM,
And youth camp, not forgetting STPM.

So the ice took too long to melt, and Nicole decided that enough was enough. ICEBREAKER TIME!! Cool with that? :P

Here's how we broke the ice that day. 2 groups, guys and girls, seperated by a white cloth. Each group sends one person out to sit behind the cloth. The person has to say the NAME and AGE of the person in front of them when the cloth drops. Winner goes back to his/her group, and the loser switches to be on the winner's side.

That chaotic moment when your brain knows who it is in front of you but forgets the name and age
That awkward moment when you absolutely have no idea who it is and you stare and smile.
That moment of feeling great when you know that person but they don't know you.

That moment when a 2 on 2 round is going on and its louder than your average kopitiam.
And the ice was successfully broken. Connecting and getting to know people feels great. But what can be greater when connecting with God? What can be better than drawing close to our Father? Worship time. Or, icebreaker with God if you prefer. :)
And then comes the highlight of youth service, preaching/speaking.
Uncle Heok Hooi was there to shed some light on handling one of the most dreaded feeling. He stressed about managing stress.
Being stressed.. Is it a sin? Definitely not.
Everyone, at some point of their lives, goes through stress.. Even Jesus went through stress.

-Good stress, which is at medium level;
Enables concentration
Increases performance

-while bad stress, which is at excessive levels, leads to;
Loss of motivation
Reduces effectiveness

While we can't eliminate stress, we can learn to manage it by knowing the causes of stress.

Maintaining stress levels means you have to:
1. Share the problem with someone you know
2. Pick an activity that suits you
3. Change your diet, which means, switch to fruits and vegetables, drinking more water and avoid the bad stuff..
4. Have enough sleep, and if possible, get a power nap during the day.
5. Have realistic expectations
6. Maintain sense of humour
7. Don't keep it all in or you might explode. Share with a friend or family member
8. Don't try to control events or people.
9. Manage your time wisely
and 10. Enjoy music. :)

Phillipians 4: 6-8
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Oh, and reminder for those who haven't handed in their youth camp forms. The closing date is on the 11th of December, which is on a Sunday. If you can't pay the fees yet, it doesn't matter. You can pay later but the forms are needed first. Have a nice day :)

JYR 2011!!

2011-11-30T18:11:00.003+08:00

Hello everybody!!

Here's a JYR 2011 update. Woohoo!! :D

The two ladies welcoming the participants.

Right after everyone had arrived and registered, time to head on to the classroom.

Then Pastor Cowan explaining the rules and regulations .

And now time for ice-breakers!! Whee!!!

Which was led by these two young men. Brian and Isaac.

Here is some of the fun and chaos that happened.

After the ice-breaker, participants went back down to have tea break. Which was............

Banana cake and 100 Plus!! :D

When the banana cake and 100 Plus were all gone, participants got ready for games!

Day 1 games

There are two stations for the first day games.

First was bombers.

Where basically you have to run from one point to another without getting hit by sponges from the opposing team.

The second was minefield.

Where you have to go through a minefield without stepping on a mine or else BOOM!!!

Day 1 Night Session

Worship was lead by Samantha. Unfortunately we don't have a picture but anyways moving on.

Lesson 1: Adolescence

Which was taught by Joyce! :)

And next on the agenda was a group discussion. Where the participants ask fellow camp staff on things they have questions about (mostly about adolescence)

And after a long walk down,

It was time for pillow talk and supper.

Day 2 Physical Jerk

Which was led by..........

Brian Bian! :)

Doing the Banana Dance to get everyone awake.

And running. To get the blood circulating :D

So after all the sweating, it was time for breakfast!!!

And what could be better than.......

Roti Canai :D

Day 2: Morning session

Pastor Cowan sharing about the four temperaments.

And then it was time for Bible Quiz!! :D

Day 2: Games (Station games+Manhunt)

Station 1: Fireman's relay

Station 2 : Charades

Station 3: Fear Factor, More

Station 4: Hanging Apples

Treasure hunt

For those who don't know what manhunt is, here is how is goes. Basically you have to find a treasure but, to find the treasure, you have to find the clues with descriptions of certain camp staff. But you have to do a forfeit before getting the next clue.

With the games done, it was time for dinner and dinner for that night was, barbecue!! Yum!

Day 2: Night Session

Nicole sharing about BGR.

Day 3: Physical Jerk

Led by

Natasha Gregory

And also your own style of the Banana Dance :D

Then it was that time of the day again. Breakfast!!

Tuna sandwich! :D

Day 3: Morning Session

Pastor Heok Cheow shared for our last session.

After Pastor Heok Cheow finished sharing, its time for............................PRIZE GIVING!!

Best Female Camper: Yvonne

Best Male Camper: Simon

Best Group Leader: Sherryl

JYR 2011 :D

And for those of you who missed this years JYR, don't miss out on next years :D It is an experience to be remembered.

200TH POST!

2011-11-28T20:39:00.017+08:00

Sooo guess what?!

This is www.firebrands-irri.blogspot.com's two-hundredth post!

(Well according to blogger. You can go ahead and count if you want but I wouldn't bother.)

This calls for a round of applause!

*resounding claps*

And to celebrate, we're gonna have a round of champagne for everyone!

*even louder claps*

Plus, we're gonna be like Oprah and give all of you free cars!

*screams and shouts and cheers and tears*

...no, not really. Cause most of you are prolly underaged for alcohol consumption, and we're not that rich.

See if we were that financially rich (like Oprah rich), we wouldn't really have to have fundraisers for our Annual Youth Camp 2011.

Which we will be having!

This Sunday (3rd Dec - wow, december already?! - 2011), youth camp fundraising is at central zone, right after Sunday service.

Next Sunday (10th Dec), it'll be at north zone.

If you're a fireBRAND who's coming to help out, wear the INFLUENZA shirt; but if you don't have that then any other camp t-shirt is fine.

If you're not, then please do come and support us!

...

Okay that was probably the longest post introduction we've had for quite a while.

Right then, back to.. youth service on the 26th of November.

Kicked off with prayer at 7.15p.m. led by our faithful prayer coordinator week-by-week, Sarah Wong.

This time round, a few leaders of fireBRANDS formed a hexagon. (USA has the Pentagon, we got the hexagon xP)

More people came around them.

And collectively, we formed a snowflake:) partly due to Christmas coming round the corner!

Prayed for:

the (then, but now no longer!:D) SPMers,

the leaders of fireBRANDS,

Annual Youth Camp 2011,

and of course, youth service that night.

Next up, icebreaker!

Facilitated by Eulene, we played everyone's 'favourite' game that we all 'look forward' to (except whoever happens to be sitting next to Beverly xP).

This is a traditional game, passed down from generation to generation in fireBRANDS since the time of (sorry for making him sound old - well not forgotten at least) Daniel Teoh.

It's...

...the SLAPPING game!

It's a fast-paced, action(and reaction!)-based game, where you sit, legs crossed, hands up, adrenaline coursing through your veins, ears alert to the next number called out, heart racing and mind focussed.

In short, it's good fun!

But there's a twist, the wind blows! And here's everyone getting up:

(some faster than others).

Settle into new positions and again! Back to the action.

Which also basically explains the next two photos:

All good things must come to an end, but joyfully so when there are better things in store!

Such is the case when icebreaker gave way to praise and worship led by Yan-Y.

And believe me when I say that it was a blast!

Whether you're on a slightly more elevated platform (stage, in other words)...

...or you're in the crowd, the fireBRANDS united to give praise to Him who's worthy of it.

And our desire is that God would see that it was good.

Moving on, it's message time! By our current and truly awesome leader, Leroy!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."-Romans 8:28 (NIV)

⁵ I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,

- Isaiah 45:5 (NIV)

That 2nd verse, (the one in chunky letters) was to King Cyrus, a mighty emperor, great conqueror & planner, and proactive leader. It shows that behind his conquest God has a greater purpose.

Likewise, behind all our clever planning, God has a greater plan for us.

KEY SENTENCE YOU SHOULD REMEMBER:

"Sometimes God has to allow our plans to be broken so that we, with Him, can build bigger and better ones."

We see this through the story of Joseph! (around Genesis 37-41)

When he slept and got the two dreams (Gen 37:5-11) of his brothers and then his father, mother and brothers bowing down to him, he probably thought, "Maybe God'll make me a great farmer" or in today's term's, "my school's head prefect."

BUT God had a bigger plan!

After he got thrown into a cistern and subsequently sold to the Midianites by his brothers, well to him, his plans were coming apart. Next, the Midianites didn't even want him and sold him to Potiphar instead.

But Joseph, young, strapping and handsome man he was, was the target of seduction from Potiphar's wife, horny woman she was.

To keep the ~~shory stort~~ story short, Joseph landed in jail but then was brought all the way up to 2nd-in-command of Egypt, 2nd only to Pharoah, cause he could interpret Pharoah's dreams.

So the point?

Joseph thought, okay, my father, mother and brothers'll bow down to me. Wow.

But God's plan? The WHOLE of Egypt bowing down to Joseph. FUYOHHHH!

Sometimes our plans are just too small and God has to break our 'clever' planning to give us the best.

Prayer :)

2011-11-21T16:01:00.023+08:00

Welcome back to another issue of Irresistible Influence (Also known
as fireBRANDS!!)

Well, service started with a prayer session.
We prayed for the SPM and STPM and go-ers and for the person
in front of us in a
train like way
*Choo-Choo!*

Amazing things happen when you pray!
You'll find out soon :)

Well, after prayer. Toilet Break for those people whom nature has called
(Get it?)

^ Tsk tsk. Spying on someone I suppose? ^

Ok! It's out tradition to welcome new-comers to our
Youth Service, so go to them and give them a warm welcome :D

Well, its time for..............
ICEBREAKER!
Well, since they couldn't think of any games to play. They decided
to have 3 games!!

Sword Drill was one of them !!
(Preparation for Youth Camp!)

Well, those who had lost the previous game had to do a
forfeit.
What you ask?
The Banana Dance!!!

After ice-breakers was worship.
Notice anyone different?
Yes? No? No? Yes?

Well! It's time for Announcements!
Well, what do we have here.
A RevoGarden shirt!
Well, as you all know St. Xavier's Institution has finished their RevoGarden Project this March
Now they're in the process of maintaining it, the CF Committe
have decided to lower the price from RM 25 to RM7.
So grab your RevoGarden Shirts now!
Find Isaac or Ken-Jeen for this :)

Now its time for the sermon!
Btw, This is Leroy's way of saying
"Are you ready to rumble!!"
just joking.

Well, tonight we have Sarah Khoo! As our speaker who
had no title (in word form) for her message tonight :)

What she preached about: Prayer :)

Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 6:7-8 (NIV)

⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6:6(NIV)

⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Romans 2:12-13(NIV)

¹² All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³ For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

1 Peter 4:12-13 (NIV)

Suffering for Being a Christian

¹² Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

John 16:33(NIV)

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

In short. Worry, Stop, Pray!!!

Well thats all for today. Peace out! :D

Heloooooo......FIREBRANDS!

2011-11-14T16:10:00.010+08:00

Youth service on the 12th of November..... Newcomers!!! The whole firebrands gave a warm welcome..."Hello....nice to see you.."(something like that..)

And then the moment you've all been waiting for...*jeng jeng jeng* ICEBREAKER led by Tania... All of us are required to pass a drawing to the person in front of you. Each person shall copy the drawing....

Selepas itu, it's worship time.... led by Joyce Lim. We sing praises to the Lord.. .allowing the Holy Spirit to flow through us... glorifying His name.

And then, we had new video clips for firebrands AYC 2011!*Cheers*Attention to the ones that haven't sign up yet, please do..... bring your friends along too..Ahem...ok..back to story...

We then prayed for the ones taking their SPM and STPM..Prayed that God will be with them throughout the exam...giving them knowledge to answer the questions. :)

We had Pastor Heok Cheow to be speaker for the night.

The Message:-

Psalms:(32:9)-Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.

Senseless horse are like people impatient and doing something ahead of God while a donkey are like people who are passive.
Don't be like senseless horse and donkey but run with discipline horses,as a team.
Romans (8:37)-No, despite all these things,overwhelming victory is ours through Christ,who loved us.
Become God's winner

Who are YOU???

A victim person - sees that it's all fate... nothing could have been changed
A maintenance mode of thinking - not concern about the future
Someday mode of thinking- do not attempt to do it ...but just by words
Only if mode of thinking- comparing with others

Interesting facts....

According to the principle of aerodynamics,bumblebees cant fly...but they don't care ..but just fly. (they're too fat and heavy...sorry bumblebees...)

Question....

Do I really believe that what I believe is really real? Think about that :)

"Do i believe what is what!!!???? don't worry..you'll catch up!

See you in the next blog!

PS from the Ed: Congrats to all you SPMers who just finished BM! No more bringing KOMSAS books to church -.- hope y'all'll hit the cepumas with your results!

The Church

2011-11-08T13:37:00.019+08:00

Welcome fireBRANDS blog readers. Here's another update of what happened at last week's youth service.

As usual, service starts with prayers.

Led by Sarah Wong

Prayer points:

-Speaker for that night Pastor Cowan

- Those about to take exams (SPM)

- Worship team for that night

Next, it was time to break some ice.

This time by Joyce Lim :)

What was the ice-breaker about??

Get a pair of shoes that aren't yours, and return them to its rightful owner.

Sound simple? Well thats up to you too decide.

After the ice-breaker, it was time for worship.

Speaker of the night:

Pastor Cowan. Woohoo!! :D

His message: The Church

In Greek the word church is ekklesia which means to gather.

It also has four specific characteristics such as:
-call out from among others

-gather together for a specific purpose

-maintained distinct functions

-operate independently

Purposes of the Church

1. The ministry of God is worship

Colossians 3:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Ephesians 1:12(NIV)

¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 5:15-20 (NIV)

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. The Ministry to Believers:NURTURE

Colossians 1:28-29(NIV)

²⁸ He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

Ephesians 4:11-13(NIV)

¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

3. Ministry to the world: Evangelism and Mercy

Ephesians 1:22-23 (NIV)

²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Adventreasure!

2011-11-07T14:07:00.006+08:00

Pertama sekali, minta maaf, banyak-banyak maaf sebab lambat sangat post nih.

That aside..

We had a totally gobsmackeringly doodlediddlelee great theme night on the 29th of October.

And to smacker your gobs and to diddlelee your doodles, and in keeping with the theme of the night...

...you're invited to EXPLORE beyond this blog and click here to see photos and photos of the night!

The album's a work in progress so be patient but enjoy the photos that're already up. Like, comment, make it your profile picture, help tag your friends (highly recommended activity if you're bored stiff or wanna be philanthropic).

THANKS for stopping by here!

And so this post isn't all words, and to give you a foretaste of the album and a sense of the kemeriahan of the night:

it's youth service time!

2011-10-24T16:27:00.011+08:00

Hello again! :)

Here's a short and simple update for all you readers.

service kicked off with prayer led by Sarah Wong.

praying for those who are sitting for important exams.

And also worship team for that night itself.

Time to break the ice! This time, it was Justin Loh's job :)

thats the "okay I hope all of you had fun, now I'll pass the time to Eulene for worship" pose

" We say yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord"

Joyce Lim with our weekly announcements :)

(Worship team members who haven't paid their fees, please do pay by the end of this month.)

TQ.

*coughs. Okay, back to business.

THATS RIGHT!

Theme Night is this coming Saturday, people :)

Theme : ADVENTREASURE! (say wow!)

DONT BE LATE, 7 PM!

Speaker of the night : Pastor Cowan Yuen!

Yes, he shared about Psalms 139 :)

¹ You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalms 139.

God is everywhere, wherever you are, there He is :)

God knows everything about you, yes YOU. (Even that lil white lie you told your mom yesterday :O)

After that, Pastor Cowan shared about his testimony.

Summary : in whatever you do in life, whether big or small, always PRAY first. Simply because, He knows best.

Worship

2011-10-18T21:31:00.015+08:00

5
4
3
2
1
WELCOME TO THE fireBRANDS BLOG!!!! The only place where we post the things that we have been doing in fireBRANDS! (duh)

Alleft (Alright, get the joke?), as usual, when the alarm rings at 7 pm (ahh, how nice if during weekdays, it would be the same eh?), everyone gathers round sanctuary 2 for prayer..

Q: So, what happens next?
A: Something. :P

Exactly! Something happens, but to be more specific, its time to go break some ice....

This time, Ben is the one making sure that the ice is broken

Well, this form of icebreaker we played, for years, it has been a great game.. Commoners, knights, armies, and even kings play this game.
Scissors....... Paper...... Stone! :P

Instead of playing it with our hands, we have to be the object itself.. get it?
If you picked stone, you kinda have to curl yourself up.. something like that...

ps:nicole wanted to vain so much, "pressure" me to take. lol!

It goes down to two pairs.....
And then, one pair left...
And, then Janice wins. Well, someone has to lose, Ivan... :P
Punishment : Penulisan Punggung... Or, Butt Writing if you prefer English

Okay, with no ice left to break, its time for the next session....
Time for wor-- preaching...
This week, we had a switch.. :D

Eulene, speaker of the week

Who can guess the title of what she talked about wins..
Okay fine, y'all cheated.. Its about Worship..

So, worship is important to everyone right?
What is worship to you?

"Communicating with God"
"Act of praise and to worship God"
"Giving praise"
were some of the answers... (which is true)
but now, let's summon the Oxford Dictionary and get a clearer definition about it
Mr. Oxford here says:
"To give praise or respect to God/a god", and "To love or respect a person or thing greatly"

And now, the question..
Who do you think we worship? God :)

If so, is God :
- What you think is most precious?
- What you make sacrifices for?
- What draws your warmest love?

Worship doesn't happen because of the songs we sing. It happens when we make God the SINGLE, MOST SIGNIFICANT thing in our existence.

When we worship, we worship in spirit and truth.. John 4:23-24 says that

"But, how do I worship in spirit?"
Good question..

1. Be converted
2. Be clean
3. Be consecrated
4. Be connected

How do you know if your worship is biblical?
-Examine the message
-Examine yourself (what is the motive of your worship?)

After that, we have.... yes, worship! :)

Awesomeness! :D

2011-10-11T17:03:00.012+08:00

Hello again dear readers of the fireBRANDS blog :)
Here is an update of what happened at youth last week.

As usual pre-service started with prayers.

Prayer points: -Those taking exams or going to (SPM, STPM)

- The worship team

- The speaker for that night

And then something new. No toilet breaks. Yes people toilets are a thing of the past (haha kidding). So if you got to go unfortunately you got to hold it in.

Next was ICE-BREAKER! Woohoo!

Its boys VS girls. Aim of the game, stare at the opposing team and whoever laughs first loses . Winner stays unless its a draw. P.S you can make the other person laugh as long as you don't :)

First up brother vs sister.

And girls got first blood

Onwards to the next match.

As you can see by the pictures, this one went on for quite a while and

due to its length, it ended with a draw.

Next was Ben and Shiau Ting.

Shiau Ting won and Ben wanted a rematch.

And then it was Shaun's turn.

And I think we all know who won this one. ;)

And the next two matches were won by the boys.
Thanks to Nehemiah.

And it doesn't stop there. Next was Pastor Victor and Joyce.

Even though Joyce was smiling (but she wasn't laughing) she won the match.

After that, it was Eulene against Gary.

And Gary has a few tricks up his sleeves

And it worked!

And for the final match it was a double duel.

The boys won the first half. Now it was time for the second.

And it was very interesting.

Even though Sasi had tricks up his sleeves it was not helping him out.
So this match ended with a draw.

After the ice-breaker it was time for worship.

Then onwards towards the sermon and that night we had a special speaker.

Julian! :D

Julian is involved in Project Dance. Project Dance is a movement of dancers seeking to positively impact culture through artistic integrity.

He shared about how dancing can be a form of worship. There are two categories of dance. One is dance for participation and the other dance for presentation.

Dancing for participation:

- called social dance

-does not need spectators

-includes forms of religious dancing, work dances, recreational, and social dancing

Dancing for presentation:

-needs an audience

-preformed in theaters, royal courts, and temples

-requires specialized training and can be difficult to master

So if a church should start a dancing group, it should be based on dancing for participation

Can anybody dance??

Yes anybody can. No matter how young or old they are, or how physically fit. People in wheelchairs can spin and move in the time of music, while those who are immobile can move their hands or heads. Even deaf people can dance by feeling the vibrations of music and respond.

Well that is all for todays post. See you all next time :)

Read this!

2011-10-04T11:57:00.008+08:00

Pre-service prayer was led by Sarah Wong:

And we split into groups to pray for:

- each other, whatever the need is

- whoever's taking exams =O

Enjoy the pictures people:D

Then icebreaker:

By our fun-loving, everyone's favourite icebreaker expert. xP

Helped by Julia Tan (who took the photos for this post, by the way!).

So icebreaker involved sitting in groups and talking:D

Talking about what, I hear you ask?

Talking about cutting up Nicole Tan's dog to eat.

Really.

Getting to know each other a tiny bit better.

Right then, everyone get up!

...which proved to be a long and arduous process.

And it was time to just say HI THERE! to first-timers at fireBRANDS' youth service.

Because fireBRANDS IS growing! Praise God for that:)

Fellowship gives people smiley faces:)

Introductions done, now introducing..

the worship team for the night! Led by Yan-Y.

And it was a cracking good time just lifting God up in our praises.

Announcements time!

First up, next week's (8.10.11) youth service is gonna be a special one (okay all of them are special actually) cause Mr Julian's coming!

Who's Mr Julian?

He's a dancer for God:) and he MIGHT be giving us a mini-workshop or something like that so come wearing stuff you can actually move around in. eg. not miniskirts.

Cause performing arts is one of the spheres that the church needs to extend its influence and glorify God in; instead of just shying away from it.

And another really really really important announcement:

YOUTH CAMP FORMS ARE OUT!

They come in blue

so why don't you

go ahead; get one now!
from Sharon Lee (and not Leow).

Sign up immediately, don't delay;

RM250, per person, five days...

...it's more than worth it!

And please your form, submit

before eleventh December -

but the earlier the better.

Youth camp's gonna be awesome,

more so than a... possum.

Marilah kita bersama-sama

pergilah ke Kem Belia!

Lokasinya kat Hotel Amanpura,

pengkhutbahnya Pr. Palan dan isterinya Surya.

Didn't that just brighten up the whole blog post?:D

Theme for this year's camp is SQUARE ONE. Basically means coming back to the fundamentals of Christian life.

Err moving on.

We had a familiar face for sermon-time. This is the 3rd time he's delivering God's word straight into our hearts and he does a darn well good job on it!

It's none other than....

Andy Stanley

on the LCD.

Today he talked on another overarching truth of the Christian life. This will change the way you interact.

Ready for it?

Here goes:

"Everybody you lay your eyes on..... is somebody for whom Christ died."

We're surrounded by people of immeasurable value!

Econs 101: The value of a thing is determined by how much it'll bring.

So we've a tendency to treat people based on what they're valued to us, not their value to God.

Also, you value the people you value, value. It's natural.

But think about this, everyone around us is of immeasurable value to the One we value.

But our value system is not the same as God's - that's why we should meditate on His word.

Check out 1 John 4:9-11.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

God says, love one another as I have loved you. If I love them, you can (and not only can, but) ought to love them.

This belief will change the decisions you make when interacting people, and will ultimately change the outcome.

Questions to think about: (and for the benefit of those who didn't copy them down on saturday)

1. Have you ever noticed someone treating you based on the value you represented to him or her? How did that make you feel?

2. Have you ever changed your opinion about someone based upon his or her connection to someone else?

3. If we value God , how should we see people in light of the fact God thinks everyone is precious? Give examples.

4. What are the potential consequences if you forget to view the people around you the way God views them?

5. Of all the people God loves, who is the most difficult for you to value?

6. How should your treatment of him or her change as a result of this message?

Army of Ordinary People

2011-09-27T21:16:00.007+08:00

HELLO earthlings.

So last Saturday night went on as usual. We started off the night with pre-service prayer lead by Sarah.

*insert picture of Sarah Wong because I forgot to snap a shot of her

After our 5 minute toilet break, we moved on to ICE-BREAKER.

Tania lead the ice-breaker.

FOLLOW THE LEADER.

well, sort of.

The game in twenty words or less,

Everyone in the group mimics the leader and 1-2 person/people try to guess who the leader is.

Next was worship and we had yet another bunch of new people in the worship team.

Ivan was on electric guitar.

Faith was singing.

Worship was lead by Le Roy.

Newcomers.

Greeting newcomers. Guess this tradition made its way to firebrands from the main service.

Pastor Heok Cheow.

Pastor Heok Cheow spoke that night and he talked about how God could use ordinary people like us to do His will. He talked about the history of firebrands and how firebrands came about and all that.

A few key points to note:

Every generation God uses stands on the generation before it as their foundation.
When your heart is open to God, God will use you.
God is using young people and He is looking for availability.
God is looking for open hearts, not superstars.

Judges 15:4-5.

So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.

Those torches = firebrands and firebrands has the potential to ignite a bigger flame.

decisions, decisions.

2011-09-20T17:36:00.007+08:00

Another fireBRANDS youth service update just for youuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

Yes, YOU :)

Started off with prayer led by Ms Sarah Wong.

Everyone was divided to groups of four/five.

Right after that, 5 minutes for everyone to pee/poop/drink water/chitchat/camwhore/etc.

and of course its.....

PEMECAH AIS!

(ice breaker)

and because Tania Loke didnt exactly prepare/thought of a proper ice breaker, she came up with a LAME game for all of us.

Stand on one foot......

and turn around.

*awkward silence.

and suddenly a bright lightbulb appeared right next to Pastor Victor's head as he had another (better) idea.

ARM WRESTLING!

Selepas itu, time for some praise & worship, led by Eulene and her team.

Samantha Tan :)

our new firebrands worship team member.

A short time for some announcements

(yes, we somehow, still managed to listen though we dont look like we are in this picture xP)

Without wasting any time, it was time for the second episode of BREAKAWAY.

belief -> decision -> outcome.

God wants us to breakaway, to no longer conform to the patterns of this world.

The way for you to have a different outcome is to retool, renovate your thoughts.

Why? because our belief system is our operating system...

Which impacts impacts ALL of our outcomes.

Basic truth : God knows whats best for you.

Have we ever been so certain that the decision made was the right decision and suddenly it didnt work out? and we look back, thanking that it didnt happen?

Many times, there's a BIG gap between the decision made and the outcome experienced.

He not only knows whats best for you, He ALWAYS knows whats best for you =)

Proverbs 3 : 5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

- dont trust your heart, trust your Lord WITH your heart.

And lean not on your own understanding,

-Gods command triumphs your knowledge/reasonings, even if you can come up with a 4987498543875 reasons for the decision you made.

In all of your way, acknowledge him.

-Bring your trends,thoughts, patterns in submission to Him

and He will make your path straight.

If we truly acknowledge Him and to know that truly He knows whats best for us,

chances are that our greatest regret... could have been avoided :)

Because when we trust on our own heart and start to lean on our own understanding, then the outcome is gonna be predictable.

Discussion time, led by Le Roy :)

Questions.

1. Has your heart ever mislead you into any bad situation?

2. What role did your emotions play in that decision?

3. Looking back on your life, are there any decisions you are glad you did not make?

4.Describe a time when you chose God's reasoning over your own.

5.Do you agree that God always knows whats best for you? Why or why not?

6. In what areas of life, is it most difficult to choose God's reasoning over your own?

7. In what area is it easiest?

8.What decisions can you make right now regarding God's reasoning to lead a breakaway life?

Remember, the right outcome comes from the right belief.

Doesnt it look like he's asking "wasn't the video an awesome video?" xP

Stay tuned for our next update, readers!

See you again this Saturday, same time, same place.

Jonah

2011-09-15T14:42:00.004+08:00

Hey there! Welcome back to the fireBRANDS blog. :)

Here's what happened during last weeks service.

As usual service started with a prayer

After prayer there was a toilet break for those who needed to use the loo.
Then ICE BREAKER!!!

Haha and yes it involves Samurai's

Rules: Use your hand as a sword and slash it towards any random victim while saying war cries(don't really hit your victim by the way) and the victim has too lift his sword (hands) and block the 2 people next to him who will be trying to kill him. :D

Well after the ice-breaker, it was time for worship.

Before I go on, Nicholas is back from Cambodia!!! Woohooo!!

He shared about what he did during Cambodia

One of the awesome things he did was meet a person who raised the dead.

How awesome is that.

Then we watched an amazing video by Daniel Tan, also on Cambodia - this one he made for World Outreach.

And what's super is that our very own fireBRANDS are indeed reaching the nations=)

Okay onwards to the next session and the speaker for the night...

Tan Le Roy!!!

What did he share about??

The Book Of Jonah (Chapter 1)

- Well God asked Jonah was asked to preach to the people of Nineveh.
-The reason why God wanted him to preach there is to show that the Lord loves them.

- Instead Jonah disobeyed and instead of preaching he ran in the opposite direction.

-And as he was running away a terrible storm happened.
-The sailors panicked and after a while found out that Jonah was the reason of the storm.
- They through him of board and the storm calmed and God send a big fish to swallow him.
-And the sailors accepted Christ.

So what can we learn from this??
Even through our mistakes, God can still bring good out of it.

And F.Y.I it was a big fish that swallowed Jonah. Not a whale.

Well thats all for today's blog. See you all next week. :D

Breakaway

2011-09-04T13:47:00.017+08:00

Heyyy!! Welcome back to another edition of the fireBRANDS Blog!
Well, the service started with a prayer

by Gary of course.

So, the prayer points were

For the people from The PLAN '11. That they would have a safe journey back home
fireBRANDS Annual Youth Camp '11
The Worship
The Sermon

After that, we formed a large circle and we prayed for the person on
our right. That we'll find our purpose in life in God's will.

After prayer, (and the toilet break) we had ice breakers! (as KL people call it, Jell Time!)
It was the watermelon game.
Yummy.

The rules were. You had to pass the 'watermelon' to the person next to you and making the
sound of eating watermelons.

First victim.

Benjamin has a funny way of eating his watermelons
Woosh!

So its punishment time~!

...the so called 'punishment'. Moving your hips in a circle.

After that fun time of ice breakers. It was time for worship
Led by Eulene Ooi.

Jonathan Choong. 15. Guitar

Joshua Tan. 14. Drummer. Single (According to Sharon).

Eulene introducing the new worship team people

Heyy there! Welcome to fireBRANDS

Well, before the next session. We prayed for a special person that night
None other then Samantha Tan, she's one of the new worship team members
By the way, she's doing Guitar and Vocals!

On to the next session. A video, titled Breakaway by Andy Stanley
(In case you don't know who he is, he is a good friend of Chris Tomlin.)

Part 1 of 6 : A Way Out

When you were a child what did you want to be when you grow up?

We all want to be unique in our own ways. So how do we break out of
the pack?
By running a way from it?

Modern culture suggests that we do so.

"If you run away from your past you wasting years of your life and complicating
it and breaking hearts in the process."

We have to get sync'd with Our Creator because He created us.

The three main points

| Belief | Decisions | Outcome |

We belief that we can change our outcome.
Changing decisions doesn't affect outcomes!

If you want to change the outcome. You must rethink what you believed in
Ask yourself this

Where am I believing wrong

------
Be transformed by the renewing of the mind. By thinking
and believing differently.

There's is no such thing as a clean renovation (totally true, here's a
picture to prove it)

Renovations always take longer than they say.
But, renovations can have a spectacular outcome.

Amazing isn't it?

Renovating out beliefs is by taking out the old stuff and putting in the new stuff.

----

When you're transformed, then you will be able to
recognize God's will for you.

The way you look at the world will effect your decisions and ultimately your outcome.

---
We have to thank out parents because they gave us the belief (or Operating System)
that set us to make right decisions.

Bible: The book of Truth.

Question: What are the deeply held beliefs that led you to make the decisions
that brought you to this place?

Remember, its all about renovating the old to get the new.

----

After the video, it was Discussion Time by Sharon Leow.
Questions

What were your dreams during childhood?
What are some of the most significant decision that have affected the outcome?
If so, what were the deeply held beliefs for the decision?
When have you attempted to run away from the outcomes from the decision and what was the result?
If you could change one outcome. What would it be?
What beliefs do you need to reexamine in order to break away from this area?

---
Well, that's all for this weeks post. Have great week and God Bless!

Father Heart of God

2011-08-28T21:18:00.017+08:00

Gimme an "S", and an "A", what's next?? "T" u-r-d-a-y, ok, its saturday! Ever wonder why people say T.G.I.F? Cause the next day is a saturday! ok nevermind, let's move on.

Hickory Dickory Dock, the mouse ran up the clock, the clock struck seven, we start prayer, hickory dickory dock. Well, forgive me if I missed out any verses or something. So yeah, we started the saturday night with pre-service prayer. Do come, it's 7pm every saturday!:D

And as usual, after prayer, the Rehat Tandas(Google gave me this translation)... Or, if you prefer English, Toilet Break. :) have a break, have a .... never mind...

So, what do you think happens after Rehat Tandas and before Worship?
_________________________________________.

(3 marks)

IT'S ICEBREAKER LA! haiyo... :P
Title: Never Have I Ever

Rules: Everyone sits in a circle. One person has to stand in the middle and say "Never have I ever (what the person never did before, e.g, wore high heels). For those who HAVE worn high heels before, they have to get up, and find a different space to sit. The last person standing will have to do same thing. And it goes on and on.

Of course, there has to be a person standing when the time is up, and it seems like Andrew is 'it'.
well, he has to be "punished". so, enjoy( If it's the right word to say) :P

Time for Praise and Worship.

And, Pastor is up for announcements.
-Logos Hope is already open to everyone. For those who are 12 years of age and below, it's free. 13 and above, its RM1.00 per person.
Next! We have the speaker for the night, Pastor Heok Cheow!
Title: Father's Heart Of God.
It started off with a few questions.
-Who is God to you?
-Why do you call God, Father/God?
Take a few moments and think about these 2 questions first.

Many times, when we call God, we call Him as someone who is "awesome, great, powerful, etc." But what does it mean? Is it just an adjective, or do you really mean it?

-For most of us, we call God only in times of need. For example, when we are in trouble.
-By doing so, we are in fact, "limiting God". He is more than that. He is more than 'someone we call when in need'. HE IS GOD/FATHER.
-"Father" doesn't mean the earthly fathers we have. No way He is gonna be compared to any earthly father here. I mean, He CREATED HEAVEN and EARTH!

Choices, choices. Coffee or Tea? Shoes or barefoot?
-How our life turns out to be, it is because of the choices we make. Not His. He gave us the freedom to make choices in life. And by choices, it isn't just Coffee or Tea. It's whether to Obey or Disobey.
-Think. Before making a choice, think. Will the choices you make fit into God's plan for you? And how?
-The choices we make are in a way 'selfish' because it is our choice. It is what we want.

"God, where are You when I need You?"
-It's not that God chose not to accept us. Which father in their right mind would not accept their own kid? Its because we refuse to accept ourselves first. Think again.
-The Heart of the Father never changes.
-He will discipline us if the need arises. (jika kita telah membuat mistakes lo)
-3Fs. Forgives, Forgives, and Forgives. That's what God would do. :)

Ey Stawr-ee

2011-08-21T18:03:00.010+08:00

Okay first up, a kind notice: I don't know how many of you noticed a certain post (well I didn't, haha) cause it was drafted early on but posted late so it ended up below lots of other posts...

...click here for the post on the mission trip to Phang Nga. Kalau belum baca lagi.

So then, back to business.

I know you can't wait to read the rest of this post (or skim through the photos, which nullifies all the effort put into writing=/) so c'mon, what're you waiting for?

. . .

Prologue

Behind every great man is a greater woman, they say.
('they' being female chauvinists, of course. Well there're plenty of great men who don't have a lady support.)

Behind every youth service, is pre-service prayer.
('Before' would be more correct, actually. But well it wouldn't sound as cool.)

Led by Sarah Wong, we joined in hands and in prayer for Penang, Malaysia.

Joining hands with not only each other but with God.

. . .

Chapter 1

Announcements were announced at the commencement of the just-commenced youth service.
(How redundantly superfluous.)
(And yet again.)

Ah yes, before that, a more pressing matter:

That of the reparation of fuzzy-sounding microphones.
Then was a good time to feel the absence of Mr Reliable Soundtechnician, ~~Lemon-flavoured Chocolate~~ Nehemiah.
Now would be a good time to thank the unsung tech crew of fireBRANDS.

Right then, there was one main announcement (okay I admit I forgot the rest, if any).

"How many of you are planning to visit Logos Hope?"

Superstar Virgo, this is not.
World's largest floating bookfair, this is. And it's currently docked right here at our very own Swettenham Pier.
Opens to public on the 29th of August. Admission fee is only RM 1. If you're not interested in books (how could you?!) well then go to check out the ship, haha.

. . .

Chapter 2

Refreshment time, and if it means Sprite with ice to you, then well you're not far off.

Icebreaker! led by Miss Chew.

The faces of people listening to instructions.
And by the way, that's Sasi:)

You know it's a good icebreaker when there're smiles and laughter;

and when it isn't only the players who're laughing;

and when self-humiliation is good fun for everyone.

. . .

Chapter 3

Surprise, surprise, cause it's more announcements!

Just one actually.

Introducing, the new worship team members! (still on probation)
Joshua Tan, Jonathan Choong, Brian Bian Paul, Ivan Loh, Faith Kung and Samantha Tan.

Praying for them, led by the worship director herself, Eulene Ooi.

. . .

Chapter 4

Praise and worship!

The photos can't tell the whole story of Chapter 4, but words can't really either.

. . .

Chapter 5

The brilliant lady at the pulpit (boom stand, actually) has got 5 letters in her first name.

J-O-Y-C-E.

Time to open up your Bible, notebook and ears; and hear what God has to say.

"hear what God has to say" was exactly what the message was about that night.

Hearing God's Voice

It's basic!

"Sheep follow the Shepherd, not the alpha-sheep."

Take a look at Jeremiah 9:23-24 (The Message).
God's Message:

"Don't let the wise brag of their wisdom.
Don't let heroes brag of their exploits.
Don't let the rich brag of their riches.
If you brag, brag of this and this only:
That you understand and know me.
I'm God, and I act in loyal love.
I do what's right and set things right and fair,
and delight in those who do the same things.
These are my trademarks."
God's Decree.

Why Understand Him?
There're a lot of people who don't want to talk to God cause they don't want Him to ask them to do something they don't want to do. So true.
So, why?
So we know the leader of our lives.
The Shepherd knows where we're going, the alpha-sheep doesn't.
The Shepherd knows the whole big picture, the alpha-sheep just brings us from here to there.

Why know Him?
So that we can reveal Him to others.
We should be hungry for Him as we want others to be hungry for Him.

What does He sound like?
Check out 1 Kings 19:11-13.
¹¹ Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
¹³ So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Point being, God wasn't in the loudness, scariness or the heat of the moment.
God doesn't shout, He whispers.
Why? Cause:
1. those who are really listening will hear.
2. He doesn't want to throw pearls to pigs.
3. He wants to bring us closer - intimacy.

Meet our entertaining, informative speaker.

How would He speak?
"Religion makes us proud. It says we don't need relationships, just rules." 'Relationship' is spelt 'T-I-M-E'.
Well, firstly, God can speak to us when we read the Bible.
Also through prayer. A six-step guide on praying:
1. Come close to God.
2. Cleanse your heart.
3. Silence the Enemy.
4. Put down own thoughts.
5. Listen to God.
6. Wait on Him.
Next, visions. And through people, even those you don't like.
Songs: whether worship songs or secular music.
Through nature too. Or audible voice.
Dreams, circumstances and emotions; but be careful in interpreting.
Above all, compare everything against the Bible.
Caution: Negative voices don't come from God.

What does it involve?
Waiting, of course.
Waiting:
1. allows God time to change you.
2. says that He's God and you're not.
3. allows Him to test your heart so you'll do His will and not yours.
4. prepares you for His next step.
5. lets Him set up the stage.
6. teaches you absolute dependence on Him.

What happens next?
We obey.
James 1:22-25 (The Message) reads:
^22-24Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.²⁵But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
Just like Samuel as a boy at the temple in 1 Sam 3, or Moses (Deut 34:10-12 says "there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses) who obeyed while the Israelites were afraid.
Jeremiah's ministry was to people who he knew wouldn't listen to him (Jere 7:27). Yet, he obeyed.

How to apply?
The message ended with a short time for ourselves to just sit in God's presence and listen to Him.
But it shouldn't stop there, are you still applying it today?

Speaker who did a great job:)

. . .

Epilogue

Service ended with a prayer by Pr Victor, then it's time to stack up chairs, fellowship, perhaps supper for some, and look forward to the next fireBRANDS' youth service.

And look forward to the next blog post.

Back-to-Basics Night

2011-08-10T16:14:00.017+08:00

Hey there all you fireBRANDS blog readers and followers, here is another update on what happened last Saturday at youth service.

As usual, we started of with prayers.

Then it was time for ice-breaking. Woohoo!!!!

And this is the man who led the ice-breaker. :D

Objective = Guys copy girls, Girls copy guys.

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what happened, but you had to be there in person to understand what they were doing at the time. Haha

Anyways enjoy. :)

Here's Ivy and Eulene giving it their best shot

Sharon giving it a try.

Not sure who Nehemiah is trying to impersonate.

Just so you know, she's not whacking her

head in frustration.

Shaun going for another try.

For the last two impersonations, Pastor Victor and Gary will be up for it.

Why don't you guys try guessing who they were impersonating. Hehe :D

After that it was time for worship and tonight was back to basics night.

Next, time for service but first Daniel is back!!

And here he is showing what he did on his mission trip to Cambodia.

Basically what he did there was filming what the World Outreach team did at Cambodia.

And now the speaker for that night, Pastor Victor. :D

What he preached about was the groups of people in this world. Which are the Evolutionist, Creationist and Theistic.

For Evolutionist/Darwinism they believe that:

-God is only a delusion made by man

-He does not exist, is a fairytale

-Science speak louder and clearer

-Seeing is believing, therefore there is no God

For Creationist/Creationism they believe that:

-God is real and we see His fingerprints in nature

-Similar encounters and appearance of God, Satan, demons and angles and different places and times

-Science only explains how the universe function but not its purpose

-Science studies the created, not the Creator

And finally the Theistic evolution which believes that:

-There is only one God who is completely separated from living things

-Evolution is a tool used by God. Who is both the first cause and the immanent upholder of the universe

Then, we had a little debate. The boys will be the Evolutionist while girls will be the Creationist.

The Evolutionist getting some points to debate.

The Creationist with their first point.

After all that debating, guess who won.

The Creationist!! Wheee!!!

Well thats all for this update. See you next week. :D