TS Prayer Meeting 3

Praying is life's highest privilege! Why? Because it is prayer that allows us to draw near to the heart of God. In prayer we commune with our awesome heavenly Father. Prayer gives us access to the ear of God, enabling us to fulfill His purposes in the earth! And in prayer, He actually shares His deepest desires and purposes with us.

Alice Smith
Co-founder and Executive director of the U.S. PRAYER CENTER

This week as we pray, let’s learn to:
1) Bless the Lord - Acknowledge the goodness and greatness of God
2) Inspect the Walls - Allow the Lord to open our eyes to see the conditions of our lives
3) Claim His Promises - Rebuild the walls through His promises

Bless The Lord
Acknowledge the goodness and greatness of God
Declaration:
Declare and thank God for His goodness in our lives
Proclaim His goodness and greatness using Ps 103

Inspect the Walls
Allow the Lord to open our eyes to see the conditions of our lives
Listening & Intercession Time:
Let’s learn from Nehemiah, to inspect the walls of our lives, individually and corporately, and ask God for revelations over the areas of lives that are broken and destroyed.
As you seek the Lord for His revelation, jot down the points and start to ask God how to pray over these broken walls.

Nehemiah 2:11-13
Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls
11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.
13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal [a] Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.

Claim His Promises
Rebuild the walls through His promises
- Thank God that He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.(Ps 103: 9-10)

- Speak forth the promises of God over the areas of brokenness.
Isaiah 61:3
a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor


Ps Sook San

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Testimonies from Tribe Prayer Meeting

These are 2 testimonies from the prayer meeting on Sunday. I hope you are encouraged and blessed to continue to press on in your prayer life as you read them.

"I think it's a good thing to be praying. I felt the word yesterday for healing was timely too - both spiritual and physical. In fact, I was feeling a little flu-ish, but praise God the sickness was averted and I am perfectly healthy now. "

- Daniel Lee -

"When I just came to FCBC, I could not get used to the environment, especially the way of worshipping. I also struggled with Pastor Khong doing the magic shows. Some of the negative comments that I have have heard before also didn't help. These all caused me to not be able to trust what he preached.

Last week, during the first tribe prayer meeting, Esther prayed for me that God will open and soften my heart for the service later. I didn't expect that I amazingly found my barrier was gone and I would simple enjoy the worship. I felt the peace and all the uncomfortable feelings gone! Also, last Sunday, when Pastor Khong reported the success of the magic show at Chingay, I started to tear. I think God is using him to glorify God's name and I felt my bias suddenly going away. Instead, I was filled with love and respect for Ps Khong!

I know that these 2 changes did not come from myself but from God. It happened because I decided to release my burdens to Him. Praise God!"

- Grace -

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TS Tribe Prayer Meeting 2

Last week as Ps Melvyn preached on the Blood of Healing, I sensed that we need to speak forth the healing of God over our lives; especially in the area of our spiritual health and physical health. Let’s learn from Nehemiah, when he heard the conditions of Jerusalem, he prayed by :
Declaring the greatness of God, Confessing the sins of himself and his people, Receiving the promises of God. Let’s continue to speak forth the healing of God over our health: Spiritually and Physically as we go through the week.

Prayer Agenda:
1) Healing of Spiritual Health
2) Healing of Physical Health
3) Protection over our Spiritual Leaders

1. Healing of Spiritual Health : Personally & Corporately
Nehemiah 1
Prayer Guide:
1) Acknowledge the greatness of God (vs5-6)
2) Acknowledge and confess sins in our lives (vs 6-7)
- Personal
- Corporate
3) Receive the restoration of the Lord through His words (vs 9)

2. Healing of Physical Health:
Isaiah 53: 4
Prayer Guide: Pray for the physically sick among us
Tribe: Pray for Elise( Angela’s cell member) who has blood cancer and has undergone 3 rounds of chemotherapy. Speak forth strength and complete healing.
Family members: your family members who are ill.

3. Spiritual Leadership

- Ps Khong & Ps Nina

- Ps Eugene & Ps Julie

- Ps Timothy & Ps Sook San

- Your G12 leaders
As we lift up the prayer; ask God for His protection over our leaders as our battle is not against flesh & blood (Eph 6:12)

- Against the scheme of the evil one; against discouragement

- Pray for success- "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding (Neh 2:20)

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Prayer on Bended Knees

For those of you who were at our first prayer meeting of the year, we hope that you had a great time connecting with God and interceding for yourself. As we start the week, we want to encourage you to continue to take time praying for yourself. This is not a self-centred attitude of asking God for "me, me, me!" but a realisation that we desperately need God and desire to get right with Him.

You might find it useful to use Psalm 63 to guide you in your time of prayer as we did on Sunday morning. Below are the same prayer prompters we used on Sunday. Have a blessed week committing yourself unto the Lord. :)

Prayer on Bended Knees
(Our Personal Posture before the Lord)

Let’s spend the first portion of the time to seek Him. Let this be the time that we will learn to find:

-Reconciliation and forgiveness of sins through Jesus, the High Priest.
-Restoration of relationship with Him
-Revelation of God in our lives to know Him.

You can use the following as a guide:

-Find a place for yourself, away from pp that you will be tempted to talk to.
-Read and meditate through Psalm 63
-As you read, begin to use the psalm as a prayer before God. You can personalize the psalm i.e. use your own words

Eg:
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
even in this time where my family are in chaos; my studies are not doing well...

- Ask God to reveal the conditions of our hearts as we pray

- Pray for these areas of our lives:

1. In Repentance- of sins; asking for forgiveness (*Repentance does not stop at feeling sorry for the act; but a commitment to TURN 180° away from it.)
2. In Restoration- of relationship with God; claiming His promises of love
3. In Revelation- of knowing who God Really is in our lives; living a life according to His pleasure

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Sunday Prayer Meetings

Starting this Sunday, for two months, we will be gathering as a tribe to pray on Sunday mornings before service. In our time together praying and seeking the Lord, we sense the Lord leading us to anchor in prayer and knowing the word as we begin the new year. Psalm 127 reminds us that "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." Let's be committed to seek God first instead of busying ourselves with many things to do.

For this season we want be praying according to these 2 focuses:

1) To present ourselves to the Lord as the living sacrifices (Seeking God)
2) To hear and lift up the house of God in prayer (Intercede for our shepherds and sheep)

Dates: Feb 1, 8, 15, 22 | Mar 1, 8, 15, 22
Time: 8.30am-9.30am
Venue: Expo Hall 9 outside Gkids P1/P2 Classrooms (along the same row as the cafe vendors)
Who should come: TS tribe members and leaders who want & need to pray

John 10:14
"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me."

Will this be a seat of comfort, or a prayer stool to the Lord?

See you this Sunday!

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A New Beginning

It has been a while since we have gathered as a tribe. Mark the 23rd of November down in your calendars because it is going to be significant as a new beginning for all of us. By now, most of you would have heard from your leaders regarding some of the changes in the tribe. We will be making some important announcements this tribe meeting and taking time to pray too. So make an extra effort to be there. Spread the word around!

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Jadon arrived

In June, we had another newborn in our tribe. Jadon - Say Pin and Cindy's second child arrived into our world and I think he is one good looker! Well, i never got down to posting up his photos, so here they are. As I revisited Jadon's photos, I couldn't help but be reminded about the new life that we have in Christ. May you blessed as you reflect about what God is doing in your life anew.

Joshua Teo

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The coming of Hannah

It's always a miraculous moment witnessing a child come into this world. At exactly 7.50am on Sunday morning, beautiful Hannah was born in great health to Evan and Mabel. In Evan's words, "She's a spunky baby!" I had the privilege of visiting them in the evening yesterday and was glad to see Mabel in great spirits and Evan, a beaming new father. May God's hand be upon this precious child that she may grow to fulfill her full destiny in Christ. Oh yeah... and according to Evan, she has Mabel's nose and lips. And her beautiful head of hair? Well, it could only be Evan's! Enjoy the pics and let's celebrate together with this family!

Joshua Teo

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Happy Birthday Pastor Seng Lee

12 June 1966 has always been remembered as the day a great fire broke out in Singapore. There was great heat felt and some even said they saw sparks and fireworks. 42 years later, that fire burns with still greater intensity and has even started off smaller fires in many other areas of the land. Firefighters say it is a miracle and a work of God. I couldn't agree more. Happy Birthday Pastor Seng Lee! Keep burning passionately for God for many more years to come!

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Congratulations Tim & Cindy!

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Photos from Baptism Service 22 Feb 08

Baptism is always a special and significant time for those involved. It represents the sealing of a commitment to follow Jesus no matter how challenging the journey. Last month, one from our own tribe, Rachel who is under Peiyi, took that step of faith! Her parents, our dear pastors, Ps SL and Josephine put together a surprise to make this a truly memorable experience for her. May this be the start of an incredible journey for you, Rachel! Indeed, something NEW has begun!

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An Adventure of Love

The 14th of February might be a special day for some. It is most well known to be Valentine's Day, a day where many people take special effort to surprise and celebrate that special person in their life. It was no different for me. There was a special person who meant a great deal to me and I was really excited to plan something extraordinary for her. My adventure of love begins after the break... [+]

Relax lar, the person is none other than Pastor Jo! (Now what were you thinking!) Pastor Jo's birthday is on 14 Feb too and on the eve of her birthday, some of the SJ24 gathered at Youth Office to give her a surprise!

We snuck into a room at Youth Office without Ps Jo knowing. The ladies were having G12 meeting with pastor that night.


As their G12 meeting was going to start soon, the ladies has to take their leave or arouse suspicion. We switched off the lights and took our places. On the way out, Angela said, "30 sec!" and we started to wait in the dark.


3 min passed and nothing happened, so we decided to do a little more decorating.


We heard a sound and thought someone was coming. We all frozed in action.


False alarm. Phew! Ok, back to work.


Haw Ling is now an expert at hanging stuff, even in the dark.
Hwee Khoon, must make sure he helps you hang the curtains ok!!! Ha ha.


Putting the finishing touches on the deco.


Test-lighting the candles and trying not to burn them off before Ps Jo came.


SURPRISE! Our lady of the day arrives in pretty pink!


And the crowd goes wild! Amos does a special performance while the rest of the brothers try to avoid getting hit.


Obviously it sends everyone in stitches.


The singing starts. Angela leads the choir.


Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday to you!


Happy Birthday to Pastor Jo......... (with resounding low bass from Say Pin) Happy Birthday to you!


Blowing off the candles, with a little help from our resident expert candle blower.


Popping the champagne! I almost got hit by the cork. Almost lah. Pastor was aiming for me! Ha ha.


These presents are but a token expression of our heartfelt love and appreciation for you, pastor!


Cheers to the spiritual mother in our lives! May you live to every God-ordained day and grow to be very close to His heart!


Sorry, children cannot drink. Smiling is ok though. ;)


Praying for pastor. Would you pause here for a minute and bless her too? Yes, now.:)


Take another minute to pray for Pastor Seng Lee too and their whole family...


Megan with a great sweet smile. Preciousness!


Bonus pic of the day! Our resident wine guzzling SUPERSTAR!
(Remember the Mt K Pics?)

Joshua Teo

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Happy Birthday Shujia!

Two weeks ago, we celebrated Shujia's birthday after G12 meeting. I had the wonderful priviledge of planning her mini-celebration with a budget of $30. Here's how it went. Heh. [+]

Mini-birthday cake with candle and lighter - $5.00


Printing of 4R-size photos of Shujia from my candid shots collection - $10. (We took turns affirming and blessing Shujia using the photos.)


Swenson's voucher to enjoy a proper birthday cake at her own time - $10.


A photo book (also our birthday card) which contains Psalms 61-66 (of which Shujia did the reading guide) - $0.


Playmobil set describing the story of Psalm 23 and also the parable of the vine and the branches - $15.


The look of surprise and appreciation on Shujia's face? - PRICELESS. ;)
If you bothered to do you math rightly, you would realise that I overshot the budget by $10. Ha ha. But seriously, with all the fun and enjoyment I had preparing, who's complaining? Enjoy the rest of the photos!

Bonus photo! - Our resident dragonboat hunk catching a late dinner! :)

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A Bang of a CNY Lunch

Full Screen Slide Show

The SJ24 gathered at Pastor SL's house last Saturday for our yearly reunion lunch. It has become tradition that every year during Chinese New Year, we will gather to eat popiah at pastor's house. As always, we had a great time of fellowshipping with each other and enjoying the good food. What made it all the more special was the presence of old/ new friends among us. Ha ha. Take a look at the photos, you will understand. It is during occasions like this, that it really hits me how much of a family we have grown to become. [+]

I still remember the first few years when we were became SJ24. As we often met at pastor's place, I always remember the scene of opening the front door to enter the house. Over the years, I could see a change in my feelings and emotions as I walked through the door. In the initial years, it was very much one of apprehension. Sometimes, the thoughts in my mind would go like this, "Wah, today has been a really long day, now got to make small talk some more. I think I will stick close to Evan..." Over the years, it was not uncommon to feel tired and distracted after coming from school. Sometimes, the thoughts in my head would go, "Hmm.. I wonder what time we will finish today. I wonder who is here today..." Many times, I would walk through the door quietly, feeling a little out of place, especially when there are already many people at the dinner table. It's not so much that I did not feel welcomed, rather, seeing so many people suddenly just made me want to shy away for a while.

Last Saturday was a fresh experience for me. I came with my brother (one of our new friends, go figure. ha ha). It was his first time there, so I had to show him the way (Brother - "Oh, you mean not taking the lift ah?") We had not met at pastor's place in a while, and it felt like I was coming home as I directed him up the stairs. As I opened the door, the familiar chorus of 'Hello! Come in!" greeted me. The lunch table was packed. It was a familiar scene and I was totally comfortable. I felt totally at ease. I wanted to see my spiritual family and to spend time with them. It wasn't an obligation to be there. I didn't have to put on any masks. I could be who I was and I knew that I was accepted.

I realise of course, not everyone feels the same way as I do. You might feel differently about your open cell or G12 group whenever you gather. Perhaps, you are thinking, we are different because we are SJ24. We know how to support and encourage each other. Well, I can tell you we only GREW to become that way because we decided we wanted that and we still are growing. There is no perfect family. But over the years, I have learnt that it starts with you taking ownership of your own family. Don't wait for others to be a blessing to you. Start by being a blessing to those around you. Take time to ask about each other sincerely, not just in a "Hi-bye" manner. Surprise one another with something special whether it's their birthday or not. Inspire each other towards love and good deeds.

And learn to do all these in your own physical family too.

I believe CNY is a time to remember the goodness of God in our families. I pray as you do that, that God will give you a greater capacity to love your family (physical and spiritual) in this year of sabbath. Enjoy the photos. :)


Joshua Teo

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Celebrating CNY the Sabbath Way!

A BLESSED CHINESE NEW YEAR
to all of you in SJ Network/Tribe. May you have a fruitful time building relationships and mending nets as you go about your CNY visitations!

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Photos from SLTC Camp 2007

Ok, so this has been a long time coming. I've just got around to editing the photos a little and posting them up for you. I hope this brings back memories not only of the fun and fellowship you had, but also of how you have responded to God to live a biblical live. Enjoy. :)

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Tell The World

"Hi, Blessed Christmas! Our Saviour is born!" Doesn't that sound familar?
Tell The World! Tell The World! Tell The World! Tell The World! Tell The World!

Yes, by now this should have brought back many memories... The cluster event which was held at TCT (Bukit Merah). What a cozy Christmas Celebration it was! Fantastic!

Here's a round up of our time together!

Games


Caroling and Worship


We watched a clip on "What Christmas Means For Us?" Something that the whole cluster had put effort into making and Issac beautifully complied it.

Followed by a Christmas message by Ps Seng Lee. I was touched by his testimony and I believe many were too. We ended off blessing our friends by praying for them. A simple gesture of Love. We need to receive His Love before we can Tell the world of His Love and I saw that happening today.


But of course, last but not least some More Celebration and Food. Yea, Tell the World Jesus lives..... That was the only thing that was stuck on my mind the whole night through.


Program ICs: Eunice & Joshua Teo
Program Coordinator: Narash & Yong hua
Emcees: Clarence and Felicia
Photographer: Jeffery Wee

Special thanks to all those who made this possible!

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Merry Christmas

Thank God for SMART KIDS and 11th GB Company who organized the Christmas Party on 22 Dec 07. It was a great party, thank you for the effort and time put in.

My students, Daniel and Tuck Ming, came for the party. Syh leong, Bernard and I have been meeting up with them for the past 5 weeks, as part of our SLTC project. They had a good time there and the group sang them birhtday songs as both of them are December babies. I believed that it was the first time that they had celebrated their birthdays in a group setting. When we were singing the carolling songs as the story of the birth of Jesus was narrated, I could see Tuck Ming was following the lyrics quite closely though he could not read most of the words in the song sheet. [...]

Jonathan, followed by Wen Yen shared their testimonies. When the altar call was given, in my heart, I felt that my boys might not understand what was being said as they are special needs pupils and needed more time to process the information. I was praying for their salvations. After the sinners' prayer, Jonathon got the guests to raise their hands if they wanted to accept Christ in their hearts. I saw Tuck Ming's hand, again in my heart, I was thinking - did he really understand what he was doing? Jonathon asked them to stand up for their decisions. This time, I knew Tuck Ming knew what he was doing and what he really wanted for this Christmas, as he stood up almost immediately

During the consolidation, I asked him - did he know what he was doing just now? He said with the simple faith, 'invite Jesus into my heart'. When I asked him - Where is Jesus now? He said with confidence, 'in my heart'. I had the priviledge to share John 3:16 to Tuck Ming. With the Holy Spirit at work, he understood everything that I had shared with him. I knew he understood as he would always seek for clarification when in doubt I then asked him for his felt needs. He wanted me to pray for his spine to be straightened. He had a crooked backbone and had to make an expensive braces to wear . His mum had bought for him last month. I asked him why he was not wearing today, he said that it was warm to wear around, but he would wear it at home.

I laid hand on his back (spine) prayed for God to do a miracle to straighten his back so that he would not need to wear the hot and uncomfortable braces anymore. I prayed that in his next checkup, he would know the miracle of God - his back would be straightened.

I was prompted to pray for the Father's love for Tuck Ming (FYI - Tuck Ming had lost his dad in his primary sch yrs, dad died of cancer, mum had to work to support 4 children, he is the youngest, the only special needs child at home).

As I prayed for the Father's love for him, he teared, I teared too, I felt our Heavenly Father loves him very, very much that He embraces Tuck Ming in his loving arms. I prayed that he would have this relationship with this Heavenly Father and he would not be alone even when he goes back to an empty home every day (Mum works at a coffeeshop to carry dishes from 10am to 10pm everyday, both elder brother and sister schooling, Tuck Ming was always home alone). I prayed that he will know that Jesus is always with him and he can talk to him everyday.

Tuck Ming was one of the boys whom I blessed during the 100k blessings. I prayed with him to get a job and God blessed him with MacDonald job a few months ago. It was not easy for him to get a job as he had speech problem. To be able to clear the interview was indeed a great hurdle, it really needed a miracle to get through the interview. Next, was the job probation, he is a skinny, far underweight for his age and height (undernourished - given $5 for 3 meals per day), he would have problem with energy level and stamina too. After the many prayers for him, God bless him with the job; and now he has received the BEST gift of all; Jesus!

Praise GOD! All glory, all honour and all blessings belong to GOD,
AMEN!

Sally Eng
Sook San's subtribe

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