Sermon Notes: February 2014

Friday, February 28, 2014

MJC5 Matt 11-13

Filled with parables

The precious invitation from Jesus

Come to me

All you who are weary and burdened

And I will give you rest .

Many times I am weary

Often I feel I carry a heavy burden

Jesus invites

Come to me

I will give you rest

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Listening to audio bible
Could imagine being at the sermon on the mount.
Listening to Jesus teach.

Its not so much about me.
Is about him.

His paradoxical nature.
Turning man's rules upside down
In this sermon Jesus reveals His nature to us.
We see many facets of his personality.
I too, like the crowd
am amazed.
Do I want to be Sandy or Rocky?

Monday, February 24, 2014

MJC Memory Verse2

This is a visual aid for memory verse for the second week MJC, theme: Servant King

Jesus teaching so often inverts the common fleshly view
His teaching is radical
His teaching is outrageous.

His teaching is upside down!

Jesus compares the desire to be great and first to the attitude of being servant and slave

Think of these four key words
"great servant first slave"
to help you remember

MJC Day2 Matt Ch3-4

OBSERVATIONs

Holy Spirit played a strong part in this passage

Jesus travelled

He went to meet people at their point of need.

He engaged in a wholistic ministry.

APPLY:

Jesus engaged in wholistic ministry with power of Holy Spirit (not depending his own strength)

DO: likewise!

Sunday, February 23, 2014

MJC day one reading: ROAD

Above is my overall planning

Reading and listening today and jotting down what gets my attention .

I really appreciate listening to the audio; Bible.Is, NIV, dramatized version:

I listened though the passage three times

then again, taking brief sketch notes

then going though the ROAD cycle
READ
OBSERVE
APPLY
DO

Finally it was the name of Jesus that got my attention

(for you, each choir member will probably have a different passage speaking to you).

I pondered , thinking that Mary would have called Jesus her son in Aramaic , Jeshua which is "The Lord Saves" (Jeshua / Joshua).

The proper name Jesus /ˈdʒiːzəs/ used in the English language originates from the Latin form Iesu of the Greek name Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous), a rendition of the Hebrew Yeshua (ישוע), also having the variants Joshua or Jeshua.

Application: identify different names/attributes of Jesus in the passage

Do: Adoration and praise!

doxology!

Worship Jesus for who he is

(and for what he has done for me)

20130223 MJC1 Identity

Parable of the pit!

Wesley Methodist Church Singapore

Bible text: Matthew 3:13-17

The identity of Jesus

MJC1 Meeting Jesus in the Zhisorls Campaign week one.

Rev Dr Kow Shih Ming.

Overview of your role for MJC

READ the allocated daily bible passage: Ususally 2-3 chapters a day.

Don't try to study every detail.

Rather, listen to and hear what is Gid saying to you through that passage.

Use the ROAD strategy.

Read

Observe

Apply

Hear what is saying to you today.

Participate in your MJC small group

Prepare

Memorize the memory verses

A) for the whole campaign

B) for the week

As you read God's Word through the gospels, pray that the seeds will fall on good soil and take root and yield a great crop 100 fold.

IDENTITY OF JESUS

Why was Jesus baptised?

His baptism was recorded in the three synoptic gospels

and was alluded to in John's gospel.

John the Baptist preached repentance and his babptism was for repentance and forgiveness of sins.

Yest Jesus was without sin.

Matt 3:15"It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness"

Is 58: the suffering servant numbered with the transgressors

By being baptised, Jesus identified with sinners

The dove was the the sacrificial animal for poor people.

As the dove descended on esus, Jesus identifies wit the lowly, the sinner, the tax collector the prostitute, the marginalised.

IS THERE DARKENESS IN YOUR OWN SOUL?

Jesus says "I am standing with you in this.", for those who need to be cleansed.

The Good News
However low you are in the pit
Jesus is with you.

“The Parable of the Pit,” (from John Maxwell)

A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out.
A subjective person came along and said, “I feel for you down there.”
An objective person came along and said, “It’s logical that someone would fall down into that pit.”
A Pharisee said, “Only bad people fall into a pit.”
Confucius said, “If you would have listened to me you wouldn’t be in that pit.”
Buddha said, “Your pit is only a state of mind.”
A realist said, “Now that’s a pit!”
A scientist calculated the pressure necessary, pounds and square inches, to get him out of the pit.
A geologist told him to appreciate and study the rock strata in the pit
An evolutionist said, “You will die in the pit so you can’t produce any more pit-falling offspring.”
The country inspector said, “Did you have a permit to dig that pit?”
A professor gave him a lecture on the elementary principles of the pit.
A self-pitying person said, “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my pit!”
An optimist said, “Things could get worse.”
A pessimist said, “Things are going to get worse.”
But Jesus saw the man in the pit, took him by the hand, and lifted him out.

[This passage is one of the earliest mention of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit together from which we get the doctrine of the trinity]

From Matthew 3:17 we get a powerful message
And a voice from heaven said,"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased".

Three main points
A) This is my son
The Son
the only begotten son.
This statement was for us, addressed to us.
It was telling us that Jesus is the son of God

Mark 1:11 records
And a voice came from heaven,"You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased".
This was an affirmation from God to Jesus.

B) Whom I love.
God loves Jesus (just because God chooses to love his son)

C) "with whom I am well pleased."
I (God) delight in him
I (God) am delighted with Jesus.

And God who loves his son, loves us so much that he sacrifices his son for us.

Jesus is secure in his identity as God's son.

What about you?
Is your identity shaken by over demanding father?
achievments never enough?
sexually abused when young?
low self esteem?
still trying to delight your long dead father?

Are you caught up in the rat race?
yet still filled with low self esteem?

God says to you
You are my son
you are my daughter
I love you
I am delighted in you.

This is possible because of God's grace.
God said this to Jesus before his ministry
(Jesus had not begun any good works)
God decided to love Jesus.

And also you..
There is nothing you need to do or can do to earn God's love.
Just accept that Jesus paid the price.

YET, for many of us these facts remain only as head knowledge
They do not transform into heart knowledge.

The life we lead does not tally.

As a child of God (not a slave)
there is open channels for conversation: Prayer.
Tell God what goes on in your life.

Galatians 4:7 No longer a slave but a son. Now an heir.

Yet we live mundane lives with our ownpower
Lacking God's power.

We can live a life of adventure
Experience out of this world peace.
The reality of God.
Giants fall down before your very eyes.

The Holy Spirit dewlls in you nce you are baptised.

How to tap this power?
By surrender.
Relationships
life partner
hildren
lifestyle
how you view yourself.

Is this are guarded?
your 'god'
blocked off to Jesus: you wont let him go there?

Do you need a fresh impartation of the Spirit?
Not living tothe full reality of being a Child of God?

CEASE STRIVING
Just know that God loes you just as you are.

Are you living out your heritage as God's son, God's daughter?

Pehaps some area of your life are locked to God.
Give him the key today.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE
As I listened to the sermn today, the main take home message for me was this:

God was giving me a personal affirmation through Matthew 3:17.

God says to me:
You Su Min are my son whom I love.
With you Su Min, I am well pleased.

God chooses to have a personal intimate family relationship with me. He decides that I am his son.

God chooses to love me just as I am.
There is nothing I can do to make God love me more.
There is nothing I can do to make God love me less.

God the Creator is pleased with me the created,
specifically, uniquely me, Su Min.
He enjoys me.
he is happy with me.
I bring him joy.

What a God!

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Jesus and the meaning of life

Blessed to have our TRAC president Rev Dr Gordon Wong preach today, being our church 129 Anniversary.

Jesus and the meaning of life -

aka What reason do you have for waking up each morning?

The Bible text was Matt 22:34-40

Sermon illustration

Mother and son

M: Get up son it's time to go to school

S: I won't get up

M: Give me 2 reasons why not

S: 1 all the students hate me

2 all the teachers hate me

M: Get up son it's time to go to school

S: I won't get up

Give me 2 reasons why I should

M: 1 you are no longer a baby you are 40 years old

2 you are the school principal

Indeed why do you wake up each morning?

What is the purpose of your life?

The Pharasees came to test Jesus.

It was widely recognized that the 10 commandments had been expanded to 619 rules and regulations.

Their question to Jesus was a standard.

Topic for debate : they wanted to see how he would respond,

Four part evaluation

1) Jesus acknowledged the importance of the question

2) He agreed with sages and saints, past and present

3) His answer starts with love for God

4) Jesus immediately explains how to love God with the second commandment.

1) Jesus acknowledged the importance of the question

2) He agreed with sages and saints, past and present

3) His answer starts with love for God

But this may seem so abstract: how do we love God?

4) Jesus immediately explains how to love God with the second commandment.

Hunter Patch Adams

(There was a movie made of his life)

Nerdy kid

Disillusioned

Attempted suicide 3 times

placed in psychiatric hospital

Surrounded by others who had lost the will to wake up

Hunter found the will to live

His purpose in life

To bring love and laughter- a smile to those in hospital

This gave him a purpose in life

Completed medical school

Founded the Gehundiet Istitute

A funny looking building free medical care infused with fun.

Humanitarian clowning trips

You may not be able to clown but

All of us

One way or another

Has the ability

To bring love and care to someone

somewhere.

Wesley Methodist Church Singapore mission statement

We at Wesley Methodist Church seek to glorify God in Jesuus Christ,

by loving him, by loving one another, and by living our neighbors as ourselves.

In closing,

Think of some one today for whom you can pray for,

to bring to The Lord eventually.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Missional Christian

MIC Men in Christ monthly lunchtime meeting

Friday 14 February 2014

Henry Tan: Being a Missional Christian

We began with a time of worship

Singing and inviting Spirit of God to come upon us.

And pass it on

The accountant bean counting background of the speaker showed as he rattled of numbers and statistics related to the Missional/ non Missional behavior of surveyed believers.

Being Missional is a mindset and desire: attitude