Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Don't Forget The Lyrics - YCKC Edition
Last Sunday, 20th July, for the first time in Singapore, the popular gameshow Don't Forget The Lyrics was played in Singapore at Yio Chu Kang Chapel Capernaum Room, by the YCKC youths! Everyone was divided into 5 groups and each group sent a representative per round to play to 5 categories of Christian melodies: Hymns, Sunday School, Retro, Greatest Hits, & Songs You Can Jump To.
The energy was rocketing; voices were soaring; the tension was high... We belched out tunes that ranged from popular contemporary songs like Chris Tomlin's How Great is Our God to all-time favourites like One Way, reminiscence-inducing Jesus Loves Me This I Know to power-packed hymns like How Great Thou Art and even uber-retro songs like Jehovah Jireh.
Everyone from recent graduates of Sunday school, to old folks like Wayne had their bit of fun recalling lyrics and singing (often out of key) to the amazing band consisting of Amy, John, Nick, Ern and Kevin that played every single song live! Marcus, being the game master, carried the whole show with his electric energy and sugary (for lack of better word, needed an 's' word) singing.
All in all, everyone had a good time playing along, singing along to the tunes and remembering lyrics to the very songs that we sing almost every Sunday. One important thing I took away from that Sunday's activity was how all of us Christians were a family in Christ, and even simple things like Praise & Worship songs are but some of the common threads that bind us together.
In a superficial way, it forms a part of our identity. On a deeper level, I am reminded how we are a family in Christ, worshiping God in unity through songs (amongst other ways) because of our single faith in Him, because we have been blessed and chosen by Him to be His children, to so freely go to church on Sundays to sing songs of praise and worship to our Lord.
And when the session ended, I felt gleeful and warm; it felt like we just had a family bonding time - in the form of a gameshow. And I know that the cheer, smiles and joy that resounded in each one of us was also pleasing to God, because in our doing (perhaps unknowingly), we had glorified God for His grace to us, in choosing us, sustaining us, and blessing us as a family so richly.
All glory to God!
Ronald
Thursday, July 24, 2008
[What's Up This Week] Video: That The World May Know
'That the world may know', a video by Focus on the Family is a visual tool to bring us on a tour to the famous Holy Land, Bible lands and historic sites, led by Dr. Ray Vander Laan who is a historian and a great teacher.
In this session we are going to have Ray who would help us revisit the theme of 'WHO IS GOD' on Mt. Carmel. That is where God answered Elijah's prayer and threw fire down upon a sacrifice and 'defeated' the Baal prophets in 1 Kings 18:21! Further, Ray will bring us through some familiar characters that we have been studying about, such as Solomon, Ahab, Joshua and Elijah.
Be prepared to watch how we can learn the the important lesson of recognizing God for who He is and become like an Elijah of our world today!
Scheduled for 27 July 2008 Youth Service
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
[Living Word] Love of God - Part 6
Wrath is defined by the Oxford American Dictionary as extreme anger. In the Bible, ‘wrath’ is exemplified as God’s righteous anger. The anecdote above illustrates rather clearly something I believe most of us can understand or relate to; that is, because we love someone, we expect certain standards from him or her, that when they fail our expectations, we not only become disappointed, but also, angry. Did you think God had a very ‘cool’ persona? Did you think Jesus was a very ‘cool’ guy? You’re very wrong. He’s probably one of the most emotional persons in the Bible***. [Click here to read on.]
Thursday, July 17, 2008
[Living Word] Love of God - Part 5
“ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ”In the previous chapter, I have covered what it means by God’s love, which I believe have also effectively touched the first three points I mentioned in Chapter 3, i.e., God’s intra-trinitarian love, sacrificial love and providential love. We now arrive at the fourth point, one that is highly contentious and hence the cause of divide amongst Christians since the Reformation – God’s love for His elect. This chapter must be seen in light of God’s sovereignty and His love; so do not restrict your focus as you continue reading, but more importantly, do keep an open mind and a Spirit-led heart to seek out answers and it may just benefit you.
- Ephesians 1:4-6
This particular chapter is also especially messy due to its perplexing and gargantuan nature. I have however tried my best to structure it into 6 essential questions covering the following issues... [Click here to continue reading]
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
[Living Word] Love of God - Part 4
" The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. ”The idea of a father-son relationship is depicted in many points in the Bible. It is interesting to note that the first time such mention surfaced in biblical history is in 2 Samuel 7:14-16, when God told King David through the prophet Nathan about His own plans for building a temple for God... [Read the rest of it]
– John 3:35
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Wednesday, July 9, 2008
[Living Word] Love of God - Part 3
The love of God is indeed greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. Yet, because He loves us so much He has sent His Word down to earth that we, in spite of how fallen we are, may have a chance to know Him and to seek Him. From Scripture, we can see many examples of God’s love.... [Click here to read the rest]
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Youth's skit on Christian family life..
Yesterday’s main service had the Youth kickstarting YCKC’s family month with a witty, relevant skit on Christian family life. The skit featured two Christian families and revolved around Michelle and Michael Tan(Olivia and Clement) spending some time at Ben Lee’s(David Chu) house while their parents go on a short holiday. Basically, over the course of them staying over, the Tan kids see how unloving Ben’s parents are with each other, and how how both parents’ relation ship with God (or lack thereof) affect their marriage and Ben’s growth emotionally and spiritually.
The plot utilizes a very basic set of family stereotypes (Godly parents with kids who seem to pray incessantly, ungodly couple always in conflict at the expense of the long-suffering only-child) to show how the two families make vastly different choices with regards to God and each other.
It is probably this use of these well-known stereotypes that allowed the audience to instantly connect and relate to the characters presented- they know what each character represents and what he’s going to do. This doesn’t make the skit less pertinent; in fact, it forces us to come face to face with ourselves- I’m sure every family has elements of both ‘Tan’ and ‘Lee’ families. Of course, many families may not be as devout as the Tans (Daryl & Charmaine) or brimming with distrust like the Lees. However, because we can relate to the characters, what is right and wrong should be very clear to us and serve as examples we should avoid or work towards.
The scenes last Sunday, thankfully, were a mix of light-hearted and intense moments. There were a few funny moments like Mrs. Lee’s (Cat Chong) jab at Mr. Lee’s (Jeremy) choice of TV programme (Victoria’s Secret?? My idea, heh), and her sardonic punch line after he tries to defend his show(Yes, ABSOLUTELY intellectual!). Also memorable was the scene with the Tan kids and Ben (David Chu) playing video games got the audience cackling with laughter at the realism of it all.
This may sound like a separate note altogether, but when humor is used illustrate a point or teach us a biblical lesson- I thank God.
Also, towards the end where Mr. and Mrs. Lee have a huge argument, the kids huddle together and pray after Mrs. Lee storms out of the scene. It was intense, loud, even jarring. But seeing the kids praying was reminiscent of real-life moments where we are pushed to a corner with our problems and struggles till we cry out to the Lord with the very basic of faith, child-like faith.
I remember another youth skit I saw many years back, also focusing on family. That skit was so packed with intense arguments that I could barely make out what the skit was trying to say. It felt like a Die Hard double-bill. This skit, however, wasn’t like that at all. It was clear and clean and said what it had to say. It was NOT like that from the beginning, I assure you. Many couldn’t remember their lines; David Chu and Clement didn’t enunciate their words or project their voice, to name a few obstacles. To God be the glory, then, that the result was such so true and resounding.
If you’re wondering why I didn’t quote scripture, I’m leaving that to Ronald ☺
See ya’ll.
-David.
p.s. the skit was written and directed by ethel & ronald, with God's guidance.
The plot utilizes a very basic set of family stereotypes (Godly parents with kids who seem to pray incessantly, ungodly couple always in conflict at the expense of the long-suffering only-child) to show how the two families make vastly different choices with regards to God and each other.
It is probably this use of these well-known stereotypes that allowed the audience to instantly connect and relate to the characters presented- they know what each character represents and what he’s going to do. This doesn’t make the skit less pertinent; in fact, it forces us to come face to face with ourselves- I’m sure every family has elements of both ‘Tan’ and ‘Lee’ families. Of course, many families may not be as devout as the Tans (Daryl & Charmaine) or brimming with distrust like the Lees. However, because we can relate to the characters, what is right and wrong should be very clear to us and serve as examples we should avoid or work towards.
The scenes last Sunday, thankfully, were a mix of light-hearted and intense moments. There were a few funny moments like Mrs. Lee’s (Cat Chong) jab at Mr. Lee’s (Jeremy) choice of TV programme (Victoria’s Secret?? My idea, heh), and her sardonic punch line after he tries to defend his show(Yes, ABSOLUTELY intellectual!). Also memorable was the scene with the Tan kids and Ben (David Chu) playing video games got the audience cackling with laughter at the realism of it all.
This may sound like a separate note altogether, but when humor is used illustrate a point or teach us a biblical lesson- I thank God.
Also, towards the end where Mr. and Mrs. Lee have a huge argument, the kids huddle together and pray after Mrs. Lee storms out of the scene. It was intense, loud, even jarring. But seeing the kids praying was reminiscent of real-life moments where we are pushed to a corner with our problems and struggles till we cry out to the Lord with the very basic of faith, child-like faith.
I remember another youth skit I saw many years back, also focusing on family. That skit was so packed with intense arguments that I could barely make out what the skit was trying to say. It felt like a Die Hard double-bill. This skit, however, wasn’t like that at all. It was clear and clean and said what it had to say. It was NOT like that from the beginning, I assure you. Many couldn’t remember their lines; David Chu and Clement didn’t enunciate their words or project their voice, to name a few obstacles. To God be the glory, then, that the result was such so true and resounding.
If you’re wondering why I didn’t quote scripture, I’m leaving that to Ronald ☺
See ya’ll.
-David.
p.s. the skit was written and directed by ethel & ronald, with God's guidance.
New Song**
Ready Now
Desperation Band
This is a video of the new song we sang during youth today. Hope it inspires everyone to take that step forward for God, to tell Him we're ready and for Him to take control of our lives. Enjoy! =)
-Kwek
Desperation Band
This is a video of the new song we sang during youth today. Hope it inspires everyone to take that step forward for God, to tell Him we're ready and for Him to take control of our lives. Enjoy! =)
-Kwek
Captains ball 29th Jun
I'm sure everyone is pretty excited to read about what happened last week at church....especially after seeing all the wonderful pictures, and reading all the wonderful captions ( except the armpit hair one which i assure you will be removed shortly). So im gona try my very best to share with all u guys what happened for captains ball on sunday =)
Most of us started gathering at 2.30pm...some of the youths had skit practice so we waited for them, plus most people were pretty tired from the AMAZING RACE earlier in the morning. To be entirely honest, i was afraid no one would turn up because of the exhausting and demanding activity in the morn...plus when i went down to e basement, all i saw were the sec 4 girls amongst others (deborah, audrey, benita, elaine, edna....etc etc...sorry i cant rem). But thanks to God's grace, people started pouring in...and i mean...pouring. for the record, we had 23 people that day...MOST EVER in YCKC history. Even new people showed up...brothers darren and brandon brought their friend zach(or zack)...wilson who recently joined our youth also came down looking ready to game...Kevin also joined us for a 2nd week in a row ( coming back from an ankle injury...woohoo!). It's really God's grace that so many people joined us that day...and man did we have alot of fun. We split up into 4 teams...with nick, nigel, ern and kevin as leaders. Being the sporting people they are(haha!)...they split up the teams evenly and we were good to go.
Here were the line-ups:
Team A: Nick, Kwek, Zack(Rookie), Gracia, Deborah,Cheryl
Team B:Kevin, Brandon, David Chu(Rookie), Amanda,Benita, Syl, John Tham
Team C: Ern, Geri, Elaine, Clement, Daryl
Team D: Nigel, Darren, Wilson, Edna(MIP=Most improved player), Rachel Lam(Rookie), Ethel
And with that, the battle for middle earth ensued...Nono, of course not, just a fierce battle ensued. Not before we stood in a circle and prayed for God to watch over our safety, and for us to play like true sportsmen and sportswomen =) Team A was owning in the beginning(haha....) with Nick's ferocious blocking...Gracia was intercepting balls as if she could bend time and space...Deborah and Cheryl were making space and making opponents run...and Kwek was doing was doing what he does best...Run' N Gun' =p. Over time, teams stepped up their game...Team B had Kevin moving like he never got injured, Syl was being a nuisance to opponents by scoring at will, David Chu was catching for Team B and he did really well considering its his first time. Team C led by the veteran Ernest Hu Yi Ren, YCKC's no 2, was making a good run by bringing his 'A' game and blocking well...and Geri was literally running all over the place, Elaine was holding the team's defence well with her good court vision, Daryl(aka Magnetic Hands) was weaving his magic as usual, grabbing goals from impossible angles....too bad we changed the ball, if not im pretty sure he could have caught more(phew) Clement showed his attacking prowess by scoring a few shots of his own. Team D pretty much lost most of their games...but they played with an excellent team spirit and never die attitude, nice. Nigel was keeping the team in the game with top notch blocking and Ethel was leading Team D's attack with her pin point passing.
I guess that down-side to sunday would be that, Rachel Lam injured her ankle. The perpetrator/accused is sorry and guility. Let's all pray for her speedy recovery =)
After the grp stage, everyone was pretty much exhausted and we decided to have a MASS GAME. with teams 1 and 4 pairing up and teams 2 n 3 pairing up. I can't describe much about this game cuz it was seriously chaotic(picture 23 people 1 ball....go figure). But all i know was that, it was still alot of fun..haha. in the end teams 2 and 3 emerged champion...congrats! and that was it for a truly tiring sunday, where im sure everyone had alot of fun, and had a good sweat in the process. Keep it up guys, even though i wrote a whole lot up there about how everyone played well, it really doesn't matter how well u play...I'm really encouraged by everyone's participation, your ethusiasm in inviting people and your admirable sportsmanship =)
With that said, we're gona be taking a break this sunday 6 jul and we'll resume next sunday. In the meanwhile, stay safe and we'll hit the basement again soon. All For His Glory.
-kwek
Saturday, July 5, 2008
[Living Word] Love of God - Part 2
It is a strange world to be ‘in love’ now – there is such a wide buffet of interpretations of love available for your palate. Tune in to Class 95 FM and you will hear but a few opinions on what love is: “love is about giving your heart away”, “love is about being blind to the other person’s faults”, “love is…” etc. Similarly, our comprehension of God’s love has also been corrupted by the plethora of deviant ideas of love... [Click here to read the rest]
Thursday, July 3, 2008
[Living Word] Love of God - Part 1
"God is love" - 1 John 4:8
Sounds good, doesn't it? This is what the God of Jesus Christ, of Israel, of Abraham, of Moses, of Noah, of David, the Lion of Judah is explicitly stated in the Word to be - love.
The problem is that in our post-modern world today, we have varying notions of "love". That in itself is not a problem: the real problem is that God's love is the Original Love, the intended absolute example of love, while we... [Click here to read the rest]
Sounds good, doesn't it? This is what the God of Jesus Christ, of Israel, of Abraham, of Moses, of Noah, of David, the Lion of Judah is explicitly stated in the Word to be - love.
The problem is that in our post-modern world today, we have varying notions of "love". That in itself is not a problem: the real problem is that God's love is the Original Love, the intended absolute example of love, while we... [Click here to read the rest]
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