Trend for Friday, Saturday and Sunday
A few showers clearing Friday, fine Saturday, Sunday.
We are all praying hard that it won't rain this Saturday so that we might have an opportunity to preach the gospel to the teenagers. Of course, if it does rain, we know it's all within God's control and He will choose to call His elect in some other way.
<< Pray that there will be no rain this Saturday. But even if there's rain, pray that they will still come to the FATE the following week and be challenged by the message of the gospel. >>
While chatting with Greggles on ICQ the other night, I had an interesting thought about prayer & worrying. Seeing this blog is all about prayer, I thought it'd be most appropriate to post it here. See if you can follow my scattered thoughts...
Biblical Truth
As Christians, we are to trust in God's sovereignty and not worry (Mt 6:25).
Application
Therefore, instead of worrying, we are to pray (Phil 4:6).
So...
- When we are not worried about something, do we not need to pray for that then? (eg. I'm not worried about passing my exam, so I don't pray about it)
- Therefore, is prayer merely a coping mechanism? (ie we only pray for things that we are worried about and feel that is out of our control)
- Or is prayer the flip-side of worry? That is, is it because we pray that causes us to not worry? (eg. I pray about passing my exam, and so now I'm not worried)
Thoughts anyone?
I have some of my own answers already, but I'd be interested to hear what others have to say.
There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
Had a MASSIVE leaders' luncheon/meeting for RICE on Saturday. It was great to see almost 100 leaders from Chinese youth groups all over Sydney gather together in one body and one Spirit for the gospel. We heard about the vision/goal of RICE and how it all started last year. We spent some time mingling, eating together and working together in our Fete and Fate groups.
We also ran through the songs for the Fate night. Somehow, I landed the job of coordinating the music for this whole thing. But I have a awesome team to of musicians to work with. I don't know much about music but the fascinating thing about Christian ministry is that we see the different parts of the body exercising their gifts to build each other up. So even though I felt completely lost with the musical side of things, I was in awe at the unity in our group that developed in such a short time! We had our first and only music practice last Wednesday and we rocked!!! I almost feel guilty 'cause people might think that I'm responsible for how great it's turned out, but it's really all God's work. My youth group kids will be in shock when they see me as part of this team of amazing musicians!
<< Praise God for the unity and partnership in the gospel that was shared by all on Saturday. Please pray for all the many organisational things that needs to be done that those who are in charge can get it sorted out. Pray for James Fong who will be explaining the gospel on the night of the Fate. Pray also that it won't rain for the Fete so that the kids can have a chance to meet other Christians and to raise interest in coming to the Fate.
Thank God also for the great team of musicians and everyone's willingness to sacrifice pre-planned events to come and practice. Pray that the music will assist in helping people to be open to hearing the message of the gospel and that the songs themselves will also testify to the work of Jesus on the cross. >>
And I'm involved in all of these in some shape or form!! It's sounds bad enough just reading it. I was hoping to send my 2nd newsletter mid May, but that's gonna have to be postphoned.
<< Pray for me as another busy term begins. All rather exciting ministries, but pray that I can continue to spend quality time with God and to be people focused. >>
Admist all this though, it's good to hear of how God has been working in the lives of other Christians and using them to glorify His name. Last Saturday, I went to an info dinner for Saltlight Productions. To quote from their website: "saltlight productions exists to proclaim clearly and faithfully the gospel of Jesus Christ. We do this so that people are challenged to respond to its truth and come to personally know God." And their first project is a CD called This Way Up. This will be "an affordable CD that Christians could use to share the gospel with their friends using the familiar and appealing language of music." You really have to check out their website for more details.
After a simple meal of pasta, salad and garlic bread, we heard from some of the people involved and explained the songs on the CD and how they contribute to explaining the gospel. We heard 2 sample tracks live from the songwriters and then ended off by praying in pairs.
All in all a very exciting evening!! And they're having another info dinner tonight. If this sounds good to you too, then please consider supporting them as brothers and sisters in Christ.
<< Please pray for this new ministry venture - that they may be able to write songs that clearly and faithfully present the gospel. That they can juggle all the logistics of produce a professional CD. Pray that other Christians will be considering how they can support them in prayer, with time and with money. But ultimately, pray that Saltlight Productions will be able to challenge non-Christians to accept Jesus as their Saviour and Lord. >>
"...there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10)
Today 2 people in the english congregration got baptised!! Yay!! It was great to see them declare their love for the Lord Jesus - something which was already evident in their lives, but now publicly acknowledge. One of them is Dennis Chan, whom some of you have met. A frequent visitor to this blog and one of my closer friends at Rockdale. He has been a constant source of encouragement to me despite his youthfulness. In fact, he made me cry (!!! :o ) when I heard his testimony a year ago. Dennis often has to put up with my whinging and moaning about life and church as he drives me home each week late at night. But nevertheless, he always makes the looong trips for me. What a servant heart!
The other person who got baptised was Cindy Tan. Being a girl, I haven't had as much chance to get to know her and meet up with her. But I had already been rather impressed with her Christian life in the early stages of my acquaintance with the church. Early last year in TG, we had a program called "Guardian Angels" where everyone had a mysterious guardian angel in the youth group who would make/buy them something as an encouragement. Cindy was my guardian angel (unknown to me at the time, of course) and she sent me a series of emails (which I have still kept) and eventually gave me a cross-shaped bookmark with Proverbs 3:5-6 written on it. In the subsequent 12 months, I have seen her quietly and faithfully persevering as a Christian and serving as a TG leader. Her steadfast faith and uncompromising godliness sets her apart as a committed Christian amongst many of the other girls in the youth group.
If only we had more Christians like that around!
<< Rejoice together with me and with the host of angels in heaven over the baptism of Dennis and Cindy. As they continue on their journey along this narrow path, pray that they may be ever so focused on their Guide and Shepherd, walking together with the numerous brothers and sisters around them, until they see Christ face to face. >>
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