Will you wait?

Its SATURDAY again!

I know finals are really near or going on at the moment but still, it was good to see so many people taking time to come for youth service. Awesome.

Every time we wee Ming Yen its announcements, but that week she was leading pre-service prayer.

After praying for a few points, we did something different by going up to someone we did'nt really know and praying for them.

Prayer can change the lives.

Next was a time of worship.

After that,

We were asked to go and get to know someone we don't or did'nt that well. Stuff like age, school, hobbies, favourtie tv shows. Stuff like that.

A lesson to be learnt, when in doubt LAUGH and SMILE. ( it buys you time to think)

That night we watched a video. Instead of the usual sermon. It was mainly about boy girl relationships and how it connects with our relationship with God.

Not gonna elaborate on the whole video. Madness.

Anyway, the night did'nt end straight after the video.

We we're given first class 'dating' tips from our beloved leaders. No la. More like life lessons that should be kept in mind.



For the girls, You should always be strong enough to say NO to a guy. No matter how cute he is, if he's not from God, its a NO. Even if he carves your name on his freaking chest.

For the guys, But I think this applies to everyone,

Will you wait? And not flirt with every pretty girl/guy that walks by?

Will you trust? That God will give you the best and nothing but the best in all areas of your life?

And will you keep yourself pure? For that one person that God has for you?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Once again, another update for all you readers!

7.00- prayer led by Tania Loke Suat Mei, the president of BBC (big brains company)

prayer points for the night were : Junior Youth Retreat, Annual Youth Camp, and also FGA :)

p.s// PLS PASS UP YOUR JYR/AYC FORMS ASAP PEOPLE!

After that - a 5 minutes break for those who wanna pee/poo/lausai after the dinner they had.

it's ICE BREAKER!

king, queen, jack.

One super cool ice breaker that can help you gain some muscles!

*aren't the pictures awesome or what?!

Worship was led by Sharon. Once again, a back-to-basics worship but an incredible one.

And guess who we had as our speaker for the night!

.

.

.

.

.

Pastor Heok Cheow!

So what does fireBRANDS actually mean? Do we really know what it means as often as we use this word?

Firebrands : a bunch of youth who would not follow the status quo, who are super radical for Jesus and who hold on to truth even if it's not popular.

A torch (firebrand) in God's hands can make a huge difference.

A torch in the world's hands can also cause destruction.

Zechariah 3 - Joshua, the high priest, was clothed in filthy garments. But God still called him a 'firebrand', and then He cleansed Joshua.

Question is : what should we do as firebrands?

1. Grow spiritually- study the Word of God!

- takes time and effort.

- if you can read sejarah, bio, chemistry, physics - why not the Bible? :)

­- you can be as deep as you want to

- you don't read the Bible to feel good: it's spiritual survival!

2.Connect relationally.

- love God and be at peace with God

- it's not just emotional, it's a decision

- if you say you love God, but your heart doesn't mean it, it hurts God

-love one another with no ulterior motives

- prefer others better than ourselves

- good friendship watches out for and prays for each other.

in every relationship, you need to guard it, treasure it and give to it.

3. Serve strategically, not for attention.

-view our lifework as our vocation (calling/purpose)

education (our "favourite" topic)

- is important to prepare ourselves because if you got nothing to give to the world, why would they listen?

- serving God is completely related to what you choose to pursue in higher education

- go in studies where God wants you to be in.

- don't subscribe to the 'herd mentality'

- Do not blow up your chances of getting good results in school :)

Remember that through good results, you can glorify His name too!

And that's about it, folks.

For those who are reading this post and haven't been to any of our youth services, do join us this Saturday!

Father, we will lead them home.

I wish Blogger provided a less-cramped box for writing posts. Like really.

Okay, grouses aside, it's time for the opposite, because:

Youth service last saturday was phenomenal.

Wanna know why? Read on! (no this is not some sorta advert) (yes maybe i'm trying to make a joke... ahh just read lah.)

***

POP QUIZ 1: What happens at 7:30p.m.?
A. Service starts.
B. ohh i know this one, they mentioned it soo many times! TOILET BREAK =D
C. Floorball training.
D. I eat fish.

Jokes aside (i know, as if there were any in the first place xP), it was time to get back-to-the-basics (a monthly practice) and strip everything down.

Simplistic was the way to go and so there were no chairs. Everyone sat down in a circle amoeboid shape in the sanctuary.

Simplistic was the way to go and so it was a keyboard, a worship leader (who was James that night) and two backups (who were Sharon and Yan).

But first Pr Victor started the night off by reading a passage from Malachi, about how the people offered blemished sacrifices to God and how it parallels with the way we worship God today.

well amoeboid enough, with some pseudopodia extending out here and there..

Hearts prepared and it was time to worship God through song.


Worship. What can I say?

It was indescribable. Because I really can't put words to it that would do justice.


Come and experience it with God for yourself, why don't you?


***

POP QUIZ 2: Apakah antara isu yang diutarakan semasa 'announcements' dibuat pada hari Sabtu yang lepas?
I Kem Belia Tahunan 2010
II Cara membuat kek coklat
III Orang baru yang datang pada malam tersebut
IV Saya tak kisah-ibbean
A. I, II dan III sahaja.
B. I, II dan IV sahaja.
C. I, III dan IV sahaja.
D. II, III dan IV sahaja.

No that's not preaching, it's announcements. haha.

Okay, firstly, t-shirt sizes for AYC were read out (in numbers) for guys and girls. So y'all know how big and how small XS and XL actually are. Sorry I didn't take them down, if you wanna know and you didn't come on Saturday, ask pastor:)

PLEASE PASS UP YOUR AYC FORMS IMMEDIATELY! (money can be handed in later)

Nextt, Pirates of the I-Don't-Care-ibbean!
How wacky is that?!
Produced by our very own FGA Mighty Warriors, you are encouraged to go! It's on the 30th of November, further details can be gotten from your respective zone.

And newcomers! Really a blessing to have new people each week, so among those we met last Saturday was:

Aun Wei, invited by Vern Ern.

And not forgetting, we prayed for the fireBRANDS taking PMR:

andd what's awesome is that they still came for youth service that night! DO continue to pray for them throughout this week and till PMR ends, then you can pray for the SPM-ers and STPM-ers instead. haha.

***

POP QUIZ 3: Okay, what's next?
A. Siesta.
B. Sermon.
C. Supper.
D. ...Paintball!



He preached on one thing, and it was definitely the word of God for fireBRANDS on that night:

MISSIONS

When Christians today befriend the wealth, comfort and security of the world, that's when missions becomes a forgotten mandate.

What's missions? It comes from the Latin word meaning send/sending.

In John 17:14-18 (NLT), here's what Jesus says:

¹⁴ I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵ I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. ¹⁶ They do not belong to this world any more than I do. ¹⁷ Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. ¹⁸ Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.

We're called to be the light of the world, not part of the world.


But, today's expectations of the world are:
1. Career/Education comes first. (don't take this out of context: you must still study hard, but God must always come first and your career/education can then be used to help in missions)
2. Success financially and with possessions.
3. A big retirement plan.

Why is it so hard to mobilize people for missions?
We live in an individualistic world.

Though, what does a man profit if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?

Those who do the will of God will be saved.

If you lose your dreams and follow the will of God, you will find life.
It does not mean that you can't like fulfill your childhood dream of bungee-jumping. It means, sure, go ahead and have fun, but just make sure you carry out God's will for your life. Don't ever forget it.

You are made for the will of God and for nothing else.

Missions is a commission. (Matt 28:18-20 - the great commission)
A commission is an authoritative order and so is missions, if God is the authority of your life and if you confess that Jesus is Lord.

When Jesus said, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations...", the word 'nations' comes from the Greek word 'ethno', meaning ethnic group (Hokkien, Cantonese, etc.). And so there are still 6000+ unreached people groups in the world today.


Find God's will for your life, and do it with all your heart.
So, if God calls you to be an engineer, then do it with all your heart!

Acts 1:6-8
⁶ So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

⁷ He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

'Witnesses' there basically meant martyrs when Jesus was saying it. Martyrs are people who die for their belief/religion, and in this case they're people who die for the sake of the Gospel.

All the disciples were martyred, except two: Judas who hang himself and John who lived to a ripe, old age.

Here's a question: If you know that in 10 years' time you'll die for the name 'Christian', would you still follow Him?

Missions is eternal significance.

In Acts 20:24, Paul says:

²⁴ But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

So, if there's one thing to take away from the night's sharing, it's definitely:

Remember the will of God for your life and do it.

"We must quickly carry out the task assigned us by the One who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work." - Jesus, in John 9:4

Mission week.

Worship.

Slightly different arrangement.

The alert l.c.d. and sound people. Good job.

Announcements by Sharon Leow.

Ok since its missions week, we managed to get a lady who's whole heart is in mission work.

Em

You can tell what she spoke about was interesting with faces like these.

Notice : The Nikon is on study leave. So right, its gonna be normal human standard photos until further notice.

The evening started with pre-service prayer.

Upcoming events :

Junior Youth Retreat.

- 22nd -24th November.
- Malaysian Baptist Theological Seminary. ( Batu Ferringhi)


-For more enquiries you can ask Sarah Wong or Lester Wan.

Pastor is BACK after 1 month in India!!

Aunty Rama telling us more about their trip.

After not hearing his voice for so long, The man. Pastor Victor.

That night was more of an introduction or preview if you wanna call it that to this new series of lessons from the bible.

The main point of this is to ensure that we all have firm foundations in terms bible knowledge to be effective in God's kingdom.


And that was basically the bulk of the night.

Thks for reading!

There's a fire on the Penang Bridge!

Don't worry it was just a small incident considering the bridge is the only piece of land connecting us to the mainland. xP

Anyways, despite that youth service carried on as usual that night.

Prayer.

Worship was lead by our very veteran fireBrand Nehemiah.

Ok here's a question.

Whats the first thing that comes to mind when you see this face?

..... ..... ......

Yes you've guessed it. BIRTHDAYS

This time its for all the people born in September.

Blessed birthday! To all of you.

So who was the speaker that night?

Actually it was supposed to be Eunice Lee but she got caught in the jam on the brigde. Which meant that, she could not make it. Down.

So she asked someone to share the message she had prepared.

The fortunate Tania Loke.

She enligtened us about the thing that most of us take for granted, that book we carry around all the time.


What makes the bible so different?

1. It is our spiritual food.

²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

1 Peter 2 : 2

2. It is powerfull.

You cannot love Jesus without loving the bible.

God will always teach us and guide us but we ourselves must be ready to receive.



How should we read the bible?

Some things not to do :

1. Don't start at the beginning
2. Don't read it like a novel.
3. Don't treat it like a dictionary. Which means like only when you need something from it you go and read.

Some things to do :

1. Pray before you read. Expectation is powerful.
2. Learn something from the background of what you are reading.
3. Meditate on the bits that strike you.
4. Use a good modern translation.
5. Make notes.

¹ My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,

² turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,

³ and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,

⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,

⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2 : 1-5

The more you read the bible the more you'll understand the author.

Living Long

THE HOLIDAYS HAVE STARTED!! For most schools its just a week and a few days but I've got 2 full weeks. Yea I'm rubbing it in.

Pre-service prayer.

Worship that night was lead by Ming Yen and her team

One of the biggest events on the fireBrands calendar is coming. YOUTH CAMP 2010!



Forms are out so please get them and go. You will not regret it.


Now for our super yeng speaker of the night, Pastor Pragas. He likes wearing jackets which keep him warm and make him look cool.. ... ... at the SAME TIME. We should all get one.

His message was 3 Keys to longevity.

1st key : Be righteous.
- We are righteous not because of our work but because of God.

2nd Key : Be planted in the house of the Lord.
- When you are planted, you will grow.

3rd Key : Be fruitful.

- When people see us they must see the good fruit in us.

The night ended with a time a time of ministry and fellowship.

Enjoy your holidays.. .. while it last. And remember to read your bible and pray everyday people.