posted by egghead @ 1:13 AM
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This week for YF, we were able to have a 2 day retreat on my favourite topic… BGR! :) that was immensely fun because we had Chien Chong come to speak to us about two aspects on BGR; ‘Purity’ and ‘Faithfulness’. I tell you, the things he said aren’t really new to most of us, but the way he brought it across, wow… Let’s just say that he really knows how to connect with youth and get us laughing and engaging with him. :) The point was that, the truths he told us about how we should keep purity and be faithful, really hit home because of the way he brought it across and the techniques he used to make us remember the points. Even now, I still remember how he described Ruth as a big muscular woman instead of a ‘qian jing xiao jie’ because of the way she was described as having to carry heavy loads. It was such a uproar when he even joked with the fact that she could be some body builder and not some girl with ‘hello kitty’ face. When he spoke about how we might be afraid we won’t be picked up as a boyfriend or girlfriend, he also used the imagery of a book left on a bookshelf.
However, since we were of the Y generation, he said that we’re more like ‘a website that hasn’t been visited’ or ‘a file that hasn’t been downloaded’. Frankly, that comparison really cracked me up and you could just hear the whole crowd laughing in agreement.

The point of the matter was that the sessions with Chien Chong were fantastic and really meaningful because it gave us all thoughts to ponder upon for discussion the next day. Which brings me to the next day, after a good rest overnight, we woke early at head to the beach. To the beach can! It was so nice having QT with nature around you. We were given material that was gender specific which really helped us to focus our thoughts and commit certain stuff in prayer to Him. I really enjoyed the fact that we could just spend quiet moments with God and some annoying sandflies and seagulls. :)

Coming back to church, we were able to have gender specific discussions and touch on many interesting topics within our discussion groups. After we were able to share with our brothers/sisters, we came together as a whole group and shared our findings. The girls even had a whole list of questions for the guys that they came up with during their discussions. As a guy, I was thinking to myself how come they spent all their time coming up with questions for us?!?! They were supposed to be discussing the topics! Haha. But it was still fun hearing from them and trying to answer their questions as best we could.

To summarize it all, the retreat was a really fun time, though short, that helped us to reaffirm our stand on purity and faithfulness; to hear from an appealing speaker about the topic we all love [mind the pun]. Who knows? We might just have a follow up YF on BGR since most felt we didn’t have enough time but for now, I can’t wait for next week’s YF! Cycling to East Coast Park plus a picnic! See ya guys all there!

posted by Joel / Rui @ 9:40 AM
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Jonathan Fuller- Poverty

Have you ever come across a beggar?

Have you faced the dilemma on whether to give him some money or just walk away? Have you EVEN experience was it is like to be poor?

We were privileged to have Jon speak on this subject-POVERTY, which we often take for granted.

Personally, I was very inspired and encouraged by Jon’s ministry- the way God worked through his life in living with the poor Muslim community in The Philippines, and currently also coaching a group of missionaries back in Singapore.

I was really
fascinated that there were SO MANY verses of what the Bible has to say on poverty. Thank God that the verses were shared among a few groups! (We really had a whole long list of themJ).

Especially for my group, we tried to come up with catchy and interesting phrases so that it would help us remember the Bible verse application better.

Joela(s) (both zhang and lam), debbie , rach and a few girls were quite good at it! Here are some:

• Do not be the cause of your poverty (Proverbs 10:4)
• We stand the same under God and we stand under the same God. (Proverbs 22.2)

We also had more applications from the other groups J

• Do not despise the unfortunate (Zech 7:10)
• Do not let material possession get between you and God (Matt 26:6-13)
• Be contented in any and every circumstances (Philippians 4:11-12)

Jon also used a movie to emphasize a point that we can lead a fulfilled and happy life even if we are poor. Just like the main character and his friend did- singing praises and thanksgiving to God along the streets etc.

Finally, the main thing which I took back from the session was the right way to deal with a beggar- asking God what He wants to do for the beggar. Pray! There is a perfect example in the Bible, illustrating what Peter and John did outside the temple for a man who was lame since birth. (Acts 3)

So I thank God once again for yet another great opportunity to learn more about His word and His people.

Blogged by Celia

posted by Joel / Rui @ 10:59 PM
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Previously on sue per he rows

posted by ich @ 12:44 AM
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