Sunday, August 26, 2007
6:42 PM
Hi all!
Below are some points raised in cell today; do take time to read through and think over it.
it is my prayer that our sharing will continue to strengthen and edify each other as we continue to journey through the book of Phillipians together.
Questions:
Knowing that suffering is temporal, how do we respond to them?
- Need to realize our own perspective on pain, how do we view it?
- We ought to see that suffering works to expand our capacity and stretches our growth
- Being positive, praying and continually trusting in God's deliverance are some ways we can respond in light of suffering.
- In our context sometimes however, it is hard for us to speak of suffering especially through the eyes of Paul since most of us do not face any explicit form of persecution. What we can relate to however, might be of pain and disappointment. In these times, it is important for us to perhaps discover certain areas of our spiritual lives that may be incomplete/imperfect and grow from there.
- Col 1:10
What have you learnt from today's lesson to be applied in your life? (on Philippians 1)
- Mel: (v9) learning to love with wisdom and not be too practical
- Sam: (v6) the need for continuous giving
- Rachel: (v21) aligning our hearts' desires with Christ to share His truth with those around us
- Ivan: (v27) realizing that our conduct and lifestyle are the most powerful witness to this faith we share and ensuring therefore that we lead our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel.
Questions to sit upon in preparation for Phil2:1-8 which we will cover next Sunday:
- What does "Christ made Himself nothing" means? (Phil 2:7)
- What does "to consider others better than yourself" means? (Phil 2:3)
- What is true humility?
Do think about these questions as you go along your study of this book. May we all continue to hunger for more of the Word and its truth in our lives. Have a most blessed week ahead!
In His love
Rachel
"The paradox of prayer is that it asks for a serious effort while it can only be received as a gift. We cannot plan, organize or manipulate God; but without a careful discipline, we cannot receive him either." - Henri J.M. Nouwen
+ AMEN
Friday, August 03, 2007
5:01 PM
Hi guys and girls,
some updates for this coming Sunday.
Cell will go on as per normal! The 'soldiers' programme will only kick in from next month onwards.
So far the people who are interested are:
1. Victoria
2. Patricia
3. Felicia
4. Eugene
5. Marcus
6. Jonathan
7. Samuel
Any others who are interested please let us know!
We want this to be entirely voluntary and for those who are willing, also pledge a commitment to this.
So for this Sunday, we will continue our discussion on Philippians 1:12-20.
Just a brief recap:
Main points to be learned:
Boldness in breaking new ground: Verse 14
- We can learn from Paul's example, that because he was bold enough to be used of God to go into Rome and to spread the Gospel message there, he broke new ground, and because of his example, spurred others into action.
- His action, gave impetus to the inaction of others, that they too gained courage to preach the Gospel.
Principled self-denial anchored in joy for the spread of the Gospel: Verse 15-18
- Tie-in self-denial to joy to spread of Gospel
- A self-less attitude and a conscious decision to place Christ as our top priority and the furtherance of His Kingdom.
- When Paul was perhaps criticized, when his imprisonment was taken advantage of by other preachers, who supposedly had the same mission of spreading the Gospel, Paul responds in joy.
- Not because he had no emotions, undoubtedly he must have felt hurt because he was still very human, but he consciously chose to put his emotions aside to consider the full value of his circumstances and what had resulted because of his imprisonment.
- A conscious decision to rejoice => verse 18
- Joy => an enduring attitude/ perspective because of an unchanging Basis, Christ Jesus.
- My joy in Christ Jesus is because He is my Redeemer, and because of what He has done for me, I have an eternal hope in heaven, and by extension, what matters in life today must be viewed in the light of eternity => the spread of the Gospel both pleases Him and is of direct relevance to eternity.
- Application: Should we suffer for the sake of the Gospel, this is a good example to bear in mind, and joy in Christ gives us strength to carry on; focus on Christ is key to continued self-denial.
We have questions that need to be answered so please do prepare them!
Questions:
What is "new ground" in your life?
How do you share boldly? How do you grow in boldness?
How is self-denial relevant to you in your sharing of the Gospel?
So we look forward to a fruitful time of sharing this coming Sunday, See ya all at the 9 am service!
God bless!
Ivan
+ AMEN
