26 Mar 2010, Friday CG

Before going to CG
On Friday, before I knock off from work to go for CG gathering, I had a bad head ache. Then Sister A called and offered to buy dinner for me. Initially I declined as I intended to have my diet dinner. After I hang the phone, I realized I had to pick up a cake before 7pm, the shop closing time. I will be making a detour if I go for my diet dinner. As I had such a bad head ache, I don't think I can make it to walk the extra distance for dinner. So I called Sister A to help to buy dinner. She graciously agreed. God is truly a good God. Whether the issue is big or small, He will always bring people to help us in time of need.

In CG place
In the CG gathering place, we had a great time of sharing our lives together.

Sister J gave away her wrong size jean that she brought online. Younger brother M gave away a big T-shirt that his boss gave to him to a brother.

CG started
During CG time, Sister L update us about our Ms Zone Mentor delivery of her new born baby boy. On Thursday night, a group of us visit her after she delivered her baby safely. Initially, when the baby is 31 weeks in her womb, the feeding tube was stuck. So the baby did not have enough food and is under weight. We prayed and the baby weight increased. Then there are concerns that baby need to come out early due to the mother’s condition. Eventually, the baby was born at week 37, which is consider full term. And the baby weight 2.8kg, which is in the healthy range. Our God is indeed a good God who answers prayers. Issues in life is an opportunity for us to trust God and increase our faith in our mighty God. John 16:33

We shared our PDA opportunities. And also pray for our FRANS. Sister A shared her encounter with her niece. Sister L shared God goodness with her colleague.

In our "getting to know you" introduction, we are to introduce how many siblings we have, and the position that we are in. We found out that in our midst, we have 4 guys that are the youngest in their families, 4 oldest sisters, 3 middle child and a only son.

WORD - Post-Sermon Study of Revelation 1:4-8
1. Study opener – Share about someone whom you admire. What is it about him/her that inspires you?

Elder Sister G admires her grandfather for his 10 good characters. One of them is leadership. Another is self-control. He had diabetes in age 80 and he had good control of his diet. He died at the age of 97. Wah! He lived a long life. He even wrote a book to express his love for his wife. He is cool.

Sister L admires John the Baptist on his focus in pointing others to Jesus.

Sister S admires a Christian sister unwavering faith in God in spite of difficult situations in her life. That sister was a very gentle lady. At age 30, she was diagnosed with nose cancer. At the same year, her mother died. When she got cancer, she resigned to treat her cancer. The cancer treatment caused her to become physically weak. After the treatment, she went to do charity work. She spent her last 10 year sharing Christ with others. Faithfully bringing people to church despite of her health. She died of flu bug due to weak health. During her 3 days wake, many people attended her funeral. Many shared their testimonies about her. It was obvious that she was well love.

For myself, I admire Pastor Edmund Chan, our senior pastor. Recently I listen to his sermon that he preached in 1997 on the Sermon on the Mount series. Back then, he was about 38 years old. He explained the word of God clearly, practically and profoundly. He is faithful and consistent in his calling.

2. Look at verse 5a. Talk about one description of Jesus (faithful witness, firstborn from the dead, ruler of the kings on earth) that is personally meaningful for you.

Revelation 1:5a "and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth."

Brother M shared "the firstborn from the dead" is meaningful to him. He read to us some verses in Romans 6. He especially highlight the following verses:
"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection." (Romans 6:4-5).

"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:11).

3. Verses 5b-6 reveals two things that Jesus did for you, out of love. What are they & their significance for our lives?

Revelation 1:5b-6 “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”

A priest is to serve God. We are co-heirs with Jesus. Sister A shared that a priestly responsibility is to reconcile people to God.

Sister AM shared that 5 to 6 earthquakes had happened in this year. It is aptly on having sermons on Revelation. End time is really coming. Recently Her associate shared with her on the Discovery history channel talked about Moses parted the Red Sea. She shared to him that Bible is not just a history book, it also predicted what is going to happened in future. Refer to Matthew 24.

In our prayer time, we update one another of our prayer needs. And also not forgetting to pray for our FRANS.

Celebrate birthday
At supper time, they celebrated my birthday. I brought a Fruits Crêpe cake from GLACE that is located in Icon Village in Tanjong Pagar. The norm is the CG will buy a cake for the birthday boy or girl. But this cake is so good that I wanted to share the good news with them. Many tried and find it special. Their cake is good because they make it fresh and with good ingredients. Similarly, Jesus is like the cake, you must come and taste it. Then you can declare “The Lord is good.”

Last CG gathering in Cementi
This is the last time that we use Sister J’s place for CG gathering. Thank you Sister J for your hospitality. Hebrews 6:10

We end our gathering by taking some group photos in the place.