C-ing Christ
Sunday, October 29, 2006
ANNOUNCEMENT: 31 oct CG halloween session!hey pple,
hope you've been experiencing many blessings from God this wk =)
anw as u know, our nxt cg is on 31 oct...also known as halloween!
i'm proposing that for a fun funky cg session (like all our other fun funky sessions), we can have a special halloween session!
*i give credit where it's due: the following was inspired by a conversation with a fren =) + God's inspiration...then ta-da! Read on!
What to do
Come as one biblical character!
- dun need to dress up! (but u definitely can if u want!)
- BUT bring one thing that is symbolic of the character which you will explain at the end of the guessing session
Program
Time: after culture nite OR our usual 10pm slot
-icebreaker: hasikin (can do charades or any other brilliant fun ideas)
-worship: marc
-Who am i (guessing of biblical characters) basically pple will ask u yes-no questions so do enuf research abt the person! time limit of abt 2mins of q&a per character. at the end of 2 mins, u will give a short intro abt the character
some guidelines for ur short intro: book the character appears in (can be multiple bks), what the person did that is significant in the bible, plus any other fun facts!
Prizes to be won!
#For the most symbolic thing
#Best character intro
#For the hardest character to guess
#For the person who guesses the most characters correctly
#Best dress up (actually if u dress up, u confirm get a prize)
this session will also be cg open house! Invite pple to come for this event! there wun be any heavy duty bible teachings, jus getting to know abt the characters in the bible. there'll be fun n games n worship n of course makan!
so spread the news! invite ur frens! from other blocks also can! but pls tell me in advance so i know how much food to buy. if u invite christians, can ask them to join in by coming as one character, non-christians can also try. help them with the characters, but no pressure ok?
pray for this event!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
ANNOUNCEMENTPrayer Watch
Time: 0730
Date: 26 October, tomorrow la
Venue: C blk rooftop, outside gym (if it rains)
Come to offer our day to the Lord
and also pray for our hall ministry.
If anyone has problems waking up
tell me or cherlyn and we will give u all
a wake up call. :)
Come come come...
Monday, October 23, 2006
ANNOUNCEMENThey pple,
cg on 24 oct is still on! it'll be jus a time of worship and sharing n of course makan!! mmm those who are coming jus bring some food to contribute k. i'm thinking of another ice-cream party =)
cg will be from 10-11 at the rooftop.
in case of rain, gather outside cherlyn's rm c615 =) i'll think of somewhere to go to.
those who are coming can tag or msn me...thanks!
hope u all are having a great wk!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Hey CG people,In light of the current 'atrocities' commited during Pink & Blue, I've got this suggestion for a game that we should play in the aftermath of Pink & Blue, which is basically the antithesis of what Pink & Blue stands for. It's also a good chance for those of us who sabotaged other people (especially CG mates!) to kiss and make up (not to be taken literally), and do good turns instead.
However, I didn't come up with this game all on my own. Rather, I remembered reading this story from the book "Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul" during the term break, and this particular story stood out in my mind because of how touching it was. I'll try to rewrite the story in my own words, which is probably not as moving as reading it directly from the book, but after reading it you all should be able to understand how the game works (hopefully!).
There was once this family, which consisted of four members. A dad, a mum, and a set of boy-girl twins around 8 years old. Sadly, the two twins in the family were always squabbling with each other, calling each other nasty names, and doing bad things such as stealing and destroying stuff belonging to the other. At times, the quarrels and fights would tend to go overboard and the twins would say nasty things to each other that they would tend to regret later. However, this habit of quarreling never stopped, even though their parents attempted many methods to reconcile them. Yet, mother always believed that deep down inside, both of them actually loved each other.
As it was nearing Christmas, the quarrels tended to escalate, as each was arguing over who was better and deserved better presents. Mum was at a loss, because she wanted a harmonious atmosphere in order to celebrate Christmas, instead of the constant sounds of shouting and screaming which she heard everyday. At her wits end, she finally remembered this game which her grandmother used to play when she was young. It was called "Fill the crib of baby Jesus". The aim of the game was to fill this crib by Christmas night so that baby Jesus would have a place to sleep when he was born. However, in order to fill the crib, the participants would have to use straws to make the bed for baby Jesus. Yet, in order to place straws in the crib, each person would have to unconspiciously do a good deed for another family member.
So, one night, around a month before Christmas, mum gathered the entire family together and explained the rules of the game to them. She then wrote the names of each family member on separate pieces of paper and placed them into a pot, and each family member then drew the name of a person which they would do good deeds to, for the entire week.
There was soon a very noticeable change in the condition of the household. Toys that were usually left scattered on the floor were soon cleared immediately, mum's dishes would be washed when she took her after-dinner nap, dad's gardening duties would also be completed before he came back from work. The mood in the household went from quarrelsome and noisy to peaceful and joyous. This situation went on for three weeks. However, mum noticed something which disturbed her. She observed that her son always had this disgruntled look after the drawing of the names, but she never mentioned it to anyone else but dad. She deferred asking her son the reason as well, preferring to let him deal with his problems by himself.
Yet, something unexpected happened on the final week before Christmas. During the drawing of names for that final week, her son broke down uncontrollably after drawing his designated name from the pot. He was sobbing and eventually ran out of the house, and ended up sitting on the doorstep of the house opposite, leaving the rest of his family in shock. Mum immediately restrained dad from running out after him, and went herself to speak to her son.
When she got to him, he was shivering from the cold outside. However, even though mum tried persuading him to go back inside where it was warmer, he refused to budge. When asked why he refused to go back, her son simply answered,
"Mum, I'm going to be the cause of our family not being able to complete the crib, and baby Jesus won't be able to get a place to sleep when He comes."
"Why is that so?" mum asked.
Still sobbing, he told her that he had, for the past three weeks, drawn his twin sister's name each and every time. This week, he was hoping to get another name other than hers, but he drew her name again for the fourth week. He said,
"Mum, I'm finding it hard to do things for her, because I hate her so much! The other day, she wrecked by toy train set, but I just forced a smile and told her to forget about it. Yet inside I was seething and wanted to just smack her. I don't think I can take it anymore, doing nice things for her when she doesn't even treat me well! I hate her from the bottom of my heart!"
"Then why did you do those nice things for her during the past period of three weeks?" mum queried.
"I did them for baby Jesus, because I love Him! Not for my sister! I hate her, I hate her, I hate her! But now, because I'm unable to do anymore good things for her, we won't be able to complete baby Jesus' crib before Christmas, so I'd rather sit out here and freeze."
Yet, instead of recoiling at that statement by her son and reprimanding him, mum just offered to exchange her name with his so that he could do good deeds for dad instead. Smiling, she led him back home.
In that week, the good deeds continued, and soon the house was prepped and ready to celebrate the birth of Christ. The crib was filling up faster than the past three weeks as tasks around the house seemed to be completed without any procrastination. Mum and dad were sure that they would all be able to full the crib by Christmas eve.
On the night of Christmas eve itself, after the children went to bed, mum went to check on the crib. She realised that there was only one more straw left which would fill the crib. Mum then went to tuck in her daughter, which would be the good deed that allowed her to place the final straw in the crib. However, when she went into her daughter's room, she saw, to her utter amazement, that her child had already been tucked into bed and a glass of milk and cookies were set by her bedside. Even more surprising, she recognised that the cup which contained the milk belonged to her son. She immediately realised that it was her son whom had tucked his sister into bed that night. After all that he had said to her on that day when he ran out of the house, she was glad that he did not really mean it after all, and that deep down from the bottom of his heart, he really did love his sister. It was the best Christmas gift that mum had ever received, and silently she thanked God.
So guys, did you like the story? I know that rephrasing the story and taking out the names makes it sound a bit impersonal (like telling from a third person perspective), but I wanted to convey the meaning of this game to you all. Anyway, I'd like to hear responses from the rest of the CG on whether we are willing to play this game, starting from the end of Pink & Blue right up until the end of the semester. If possible, we could play it up until Christmas, if many of you all are still around in hall during the December period.
With regards to the game, I'm suggesting the following rule changes from those in the story:
1. We can do good deeds for ANYONE at all, instead of drawing names every week. However try to do a good deed for everyone, instead of just focusing on a particular person(s).
2. In the story, after doing a good deed, the person who did the deed could place a straw in the crib. I'm suggesting that the person who was on the receiving end place the straw instead. This is because what we might constitute as a good deed might not be perceived in the same way by the person whom we did the deed to.
3. Instead of using straw (in the story they used real straw, e.g. hay), we can use drinking straws.
Feel free to suggest anymore rules if you all feel like it!
I'll also be willing to find a box that can act as the crib, or if anyone has anything suitable which can be a crib for baby Jesus, perhaps can share it? Haha.
Yups, that all folks! Please reply on whether you all wanna play this game for the rest of the semester. If there's a favourable response, we'll try to start it right away. Since Christmas is approaching, it's time to get into the spirit, and I think there's no better way than doing good deed for others. Lets all hope that we can make a bed for baby Jesus!
Regards,
Julian
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
CG 10 OctBefore CG
Waiting for CG to start... 
Julian is sleepy...
1. Ice Breaker
Thanks marc for the alphabet song game...guess it wasn't easy to memorise alphabets...ha. Those who did got the alphabets wrong had to sing the whole song in alphabets
Our enthusiastic forfeiters!2. Worship
Thanks to Yiling and Daniel for that wonderful time of worship! Yup praising God shld always be this fun!
3. John Study 2
Who is Jesus?
Take note of the symbolic language in the bible.
- Imagery used is steeped in the Jewish traditions found in the Old Testament
- All the imagery/symbols all pt to what Jesus was going to do Jesus was a fulfillment of the OT
- Common theme running throughout the bible studies: bringing the focus back to God, drawing you back to Him – this is a common msg in the bible also
Have any of you been baptized? Why did you choose to be baptized?
- cleansing from sins – mirror what was happening spiritually
- declaration of faith
- in OT, ritual purification for the priests
- for the Gentiles who wanted to become Jews
Why Be Immersed?
To the ancient Jew, the mikveh was a process of spiritual purification and cleansing, especially in relation to the various types of Turmah or ritual defilement when the Temple was in use. Although God has not revealed all the meaning of the mikveh, it is obvious because of the amount of space given to it in Scripture, and the effort of Jesus to fulfill it, the command is of utmost importance. All commands of the Lord fall into three categories:
1. Mishpatim: judgments The moral or ethical laws that are necessary for man to live in harmony
2. Edos: witnesses; The rituals and festivals which reawaken us to important religious truths such as Sabbath, holidays, the Tefillin and the Mezuzah that remind us of God's presence.
3. Chukim: decrees; no explicit reason given for their existence except for Israel's identification as God's chosen people to the other nations (Deuteronomy 4:6). Among the decrees of this group are the dietary laws as well as ritual immersion.
How Immersion Was Done
Jewish baptism has never been taken lightly, but in ancient times immersion was to be performed in the presence of witnesses
The baptismal water (Mikveh) in rabbinic literature was referred to as the womb of the world, and as a convert came out of the water it was considered a new birth separating him from the pagan world. As the convert came out of these waters his status was changed and he was referred to as "a little child just born" or "a child of one day" (Yeb. 22a; 48b; 97b). We see the New Testament using similar Jewish terms as "born anew," "new creation," and "born from above."
Water and Blood Both Illustrate God's Cleansing In Judaism
Both water and blood are used constantly in the Torah and the New Testament as the two main agents to illustrate God's cleansing. [last wk talked a little abt the redemptive power of blood ie Passover] The Jews believe that uncleanness is not physical, but rather a spiritual condition as related in Leviticus 11:44 where it states by wrong actions one can make the "soul unclean." Therefore, the purification through ritual immersion, as commanded in Scripture is basically involved with the soul, rather than the body. Note how both water and blood are cited in Scripture: (1) Blood is used in cleansing in relation to the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12). (2) Blood is used in cleansing in relation to the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). (3) Blood is used in cleansing in relation to the Feast Offerings (Leviticus 23). (4) Blood is used in cleansing in relation to the five Levitical Offerings (Leviticus 1-7). (5) Blood is used in cleansing in relation to the atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17:11-14).
(2) Water is used in cleansing in relation to the consecration to priestly ministry (Leviticus 8:6). (3) Water is used in cleansing in relation to the cleansing of the leper (Leviticus 14:1-8).
>> READ VERSES
Exploring the Authority of Jesus
1.
Why disciples’ ask this qn
- jealousy (most probable) cos of John’s subsequent reply
- issue of authority: Jesus was baptized by John >>WHY DID JESUS NEED TO BE BAPTIZED IF HE WAS WITHOUT SIN?
The reasons Jesus was baptized was:
a.) to “fulfill all righteousness”
b.) to set us an example that we should follow
c.) to reveal Himself as to belonging to God and being the Christ
JOHN VS JESUS
- sent b4 the Christ
- friend of the bridegroom
>> Jewish Tradition: fren meant to help bridegroom prepare everything so that everything goes smoothly. The bridegroom is the pt of the fren’s preparation, if he is not there, there will be no pt
- John = OT, age of law; Jesus = NT, age of grace
3.
4. Jesus increase, we decrease: we can only do this if we understand that our work is not for ourselves but for God; clear of what is the focus of our lives
5. v31 WHO IS TALKING HERE
- Est the authority of Jesus ur response can have a redemptive element
- Mediator must be qualified
- Authority more for the Jews, and for Gentiles to cont believing
- john the evangelist taking over from where john the Baptist has left off
- use john the Baptist testimony john the Baptist was well respected by the Jews. If pple like John was used to pt to the Messiah, why are u not believing in Him?
- But in today’s context u can’t say John Baptist says this then u believe – then who is the credible source?
- YOUSELVES!!
- Need to have personal testimony
- If you were to call to say who Jesus is, what wld you say
4. Makan!
Thanks to Yiling & Esther who brought us yummilicious ice-cream mooncakes!
Marc thinks the ribbon on the pig mooncake can be eaten T_T
Deborah is thankful for 2 hands cos that means she can hold on to more food! :)
C blk brothers & sisters in Christ!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Announcement!Fellowship Teaching 3
Topic: Reaching out to people who are different
Speaker: Mr. Ajit Hazra, SW Pacific Regional Coordinator for The Leoprosy Mission Corporation.
Venue: LT 17 @ Bizad
Time: 1800
Date 17 Oct 2006 (Tues)
Bizad LT 17 le....so near.
Pop by for FT ya?
It's a really enriching time of listeining to the speaker share and u also
can see and get to know the VCF body better and VCF's ministry as a whole.
Do come ya?
Friday, October 06, 2006
ANNOUNCEMENT: Screening of Pastor Prince's SermonHey pple,
I was very touched and inspired and entertained by Pastor Prince's sermon last sunday on divine strength and i hope to share the sermon with all of you. I assure you that not only will you be highly entertained but most importantly of all have a more in depth knowledge of the Word of God. He is going to explore Psalm 103 in the sermon.
I am thinking of screening the sermon on one night..thinking of this sunday night. are any of you interested?
Venue: Lounge?
Time: 10pm?
suggestions?
Please tag on the tagboard!
thanks!
cherlyn
Thursday, October 05, 2006
The Heart of Worship
1. Ice Breaker
Thanks liwei for the very exciting bumbum scissors-paper-stone game. Basically 2 teams will start at either end of the bench then slide towards the other end. When they meet, they must do scissors paper stone. Well Team 2 won...which proves that...we are great at scissors paper stone! =)
oh yea...this game is so fun!!
The Winning Team! L to R: Dan, Josh, Shiyun, Julian, Esther, Cherlyn
The other team L TO R: Hanrong, Marc, Lingxin, Wenhao, Eunice, Deborah, Liwei
2. Singing to the Lord
Thanks esther and her 'childhood friend' Eunice for leading worship. Heh. Learnt a very nice malay worship song. Yup we should sing it more often so that we can familiarize ourselves with the song!
3. CG Affairs
Anntic Camp 11-16 Dec: Sign up with Liwei or me
Personal testimony: it was this camp that God revealed himself to me again and the camp was what led me to be cgl this yr. This camp is really POWERFUL. Wanna experience God? This is a great opportunity not to be missed!!
Evangelism Workshop 14 Oct: Want to know how to share the gospel with your friends? Come on down to this workshop!
Pledge cards: those want a pledge card OR took a pledge card and haven returned me, pls come by my room (Yiling, Esther, Lester)
Survey: those who did the survey but have not returned to me, pls return asap!
4. Bible Study
John Study 1: True Worship
# Explore the theme of worship today
# Key to worship is idea of God's temple
- WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN U THINK OF PHRASE GOD'S TEMPLE? God's presence, peaceful, Sacred/Hallowed/Holy, place where you get closer to God, ourselves, a place for praise and worship, to feel God's love, to go to when you are helpless
John study 1 (John 2:12-22) is to explore what Jesus did at God's temple, the significance of what he did esp why John put this right at the start of the gospel
Context: Passover feast
WHAT WAS THE PT OF PASSOVER FEAST?
Exodus12:13-14 "The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting ordinance."- Feast was to rem the Lord's grace & love
- Pilgrims come, sacrifice to the Lord, existence of stores that sell the animals, more convenient for the pple
>> 1.
#What was happening in the temple courts (v14)
#Jesus response (v15-16)
KEY OF THIS STUDY IS TO UNDERSTAND JESUS' RESPONSE: WHAT WAS IT THAT UPSET JESUS? WHY?
- Exploitation, profit making (but not the main pt)
- SUGGEST: what upset Jesus most was the kind of worship they were giving to God. Just buy the animals. Worship of God reduce to mere transactions
>>romans 2:17-29
29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.
Jesus challenging the trad way of worship: He was here to usher in a new order. He represented the new covenant God wants to make with men
Understanding Jesus response & the Jews response
2. What is normal reaction to Jesus-type of action?
- think the person is crazy
3. Jews' reaction
- Jews' reaction: v18 suggest that they felt what Jesus did was not wrong?
- Asking for a miraculous sign showed that they thought that they were dealing with a heaven sent prophet
Destruction and Raising of the Temple
- Symbolic of Jesus' death and resurrection
- 5. WHY DOES JESUS LINK THE TEMPLE TO HIS BODY
- Importance of temple = presence of God: Jesus saying that He is the embodiment of the presence of God>> WHAT IS SO GOOD ABT THIS? NOW THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF GOD’S AMAZING GRACE!
- now God's presence is no longer merely a physical position, but personified in Jesus
- nothing constrains the God's presence – mobility >> Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.–Matt. 18:20
- TO PONDER: has it become so easy that we take it for granted?
Why this incident is at the start of John
- Jesus sought to remind the Jews the meaning of true worship
- Ushering a new form of worship: BRINGING THE FOCUS BACK TO GOD!
Application
Living a life of worship
http://www.fellowshipnet.com/trueworship.html
Worship is not music. Worship is not a song. Our worship is our lives presented to our God as living sacrifices each day that we have breath upon the earth and for all eternity. God is Spirit and we must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. We are spirit beings created by God to worship Him. We worship Him in and by His Spirit within us. All that we do is worship unto our God. It is not just a song that pleases God, but our lives lived wholly unto Him which brings Him joy.
http://www.gotquestions.org/true-worship.html
"Going through the motions" out of obligation is unpleasing to God, and is done completely in vain. He can see through all the hypocrisy, and he hates this. He demonstrates this in Amos 5:21-24 as he talks about coming judgment. An example is the story of Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve. They both brought gift offerings to the Lord, but he was only pleased with Abel's. Cain brought the gift out of obligation; Abel brought his finest lambs from his flock. He brought out of faith and admiration for God.
>> If you feel like you are just going through the motions when u go to church, take a step back and think of what you're doing. Mabbe you wanna not go to church and take that time to spend a one-on-one with God, and really open your heart to Him. But dun take the step back and stop going to church! Fellowship with other Christians is also key to your spiritual growth. That's why we have cg! =)
TO THINK ABT DURING THE WK:
WHAT IS IT ABT CHRISTIANITY THAT ATTRACTS YOU?
IS IT THE PERSON JESUS?
IS IT THE GREAT MUSIC?
IS IT THE PPLE IN CHURCH?
IS IT THE SERMONS THAT MAKE SENSE?
HIS WORK ON THE CROSS FOR YOU?
ARE YOU GG TO CHURCH FOR THE RIGHT REASON? OR IS IT JUST A RITUAL?
5. Makan Time!
Our coloured tongues from the colour-changing twisties! (L TO R: Cherlyn, Marc, Deborah, Julian)
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Announcements:Evangelism Enrichment Course
14th October 2006
9am - 5pm
Aldersgate Methodist Church (ermm Fairfield Methodish Sec School)
Program:
0915-0945 Worship
09445-1200 Workshop 1 (topic- apologetics questions)
1200-1300 Munch
1300-1500 Workshop 2 (topic- Giving a gospel presentation tt is clear and comprehensive
1500- 1630 Workshop 3 (topic- follow-up)
1630- 1700 Dismissal
Anntic Camp 06!!
11th - 16th of December 06
Golden Sands Resort, Port Dickson
Price: $145
Combined camp with VCF and NTU CF yea....
Invited Speakers: Dr Loo and Mr Patrick Fung
Personally from last year's anntic camp.
I learnt alot but also had a lot of time to absorb and reflect on
wat was being taught. And I guess most importantly I got to know
alot of pple from the VCF who have been instrumental to my growth
ever since Anntic camp.
So I encourage everyone who will be free to go down for the camp!
Prayer Gathering on THurs 730am at C blk rooftop.
Pray for KR. If you cannot be there. Remember the
time and join in prayer wherever u r.
We believe in the power of prayer!
Tts all.
Liwei
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Subomm Meeting at C blk lge tomorrow.Tomorrow we will be having our KRCF subcomm in our very own lounge!
Wat is subcomm? Subcomm is a like a bible study prior to the block CG where
the CG leaders and interested pple can gather to bible study and discuss abt stuff relating to
VCF or CG. Anyone interested pls inform Cherlyn or Liwei(me)
[btw this does not replace cg hor!]
Thanx!!!
