Congratulations!

Adrian!

Celine!

We would like to congratulate Adrian and Celine for their brave effort yesterday. There were no experienced pianists during Sunday Worship. After a few songs sung without the piano, Adrian and Celine then stepped up and went to the piano to play for the remaining Worship. We, as the Church, are very proud of you two for what you've done and do hope that both of you will continue pleasing God by serving Him. Well done!

Cry, all ye experienced pianists,
for ye apprentices have all grown up!

Pray!

Please do pray for Qi and Yik How, and Andy who will be taking their SPM and STPM respectively. Same goes to Jessica, Daniel, Hwei and other University students in their exams. They've just finished their first week of exam, so pray for continued strength from the Lord and a good mind to be able to sit for the remaining papers. Pray also for good health for the whole month of exam.

Pray for Simon. He applied for internship in 8TV and also NTV7. The slots for internship are few, so pray that he may get a place in either one of those TV stations, and if not, God will guide him to another place for the internship.

Pray for Sally, Adrian, and Kenneth who are involved in the MMU Christmas play. They look tired so pray for strength as well and not losing sight of the goal of preaching God's love to their non-Christian friends.

Pray for the Christmas event in our church. Pray for Juliana as the organiser that she may not leave out any detail and be able to direct the play in the best possible manner. Lastly, pray that God may be with us all, for anything without His consent is useless. For teachers and students, enjoy your holidays and spend them wisely. Whee!

Xtraordinary Youth!

That was the topic for the Youth yesterday. It was taken by Joshua Liang of Focus on the Family. He told us not to despise our youth and that we can still do many things in spite of our age. He gave 6 steps to being Xtraordinary:

1. Strive for Excellence
To do our very best as if doing it for the Lord. Colossians 3:23

2. Helping Others
He gave a story about Zack Hunter, who was 12 years old when he launched Loose Change to Loosen Chains in a bid to raise awareness and funds to end slavery.

3. In-Depth Friendships
To put simply, he quoted Anon, "I went out to find a friend; but found no one. I went out to be a friend; and there were friends everywhere." To find a friend that you can really trust and connect well, you have to be that friend first.

4. Never Give Up
Many famous and successful people in the past have failed before becoming who they were known to be. A fine example would be Peter the apostle, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Edison. If you've never failed, that means you've never lived.

5. Encounters that are Intentional
To deliberately be with Jesus and feel Him in spite of the busyness of the world. True spirituality isn't about retreating from the world to find Jesus, but finding Him in the world.

6. Seize every Opportunity
He shared with us the Latin word Carpe Diem. It means seizing every opportunity and Ephesians 5:16 bears the meaning. Carpe Diem by itself is not enough, as you need Coram Deo too. Together, Carpe Diem Coram Deo means seizing every opportunity in God's presence.

With these 6 steps, he or she S.H.I.N.E.S for God.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Are we committed?