Methodist Message: March 2013 Issue

Vol 115 No 3

March 2013

ISSN 0129-6868

MICA (P) 100/03/2012

See Back Page

Methodist Message wishes its readers a Blessed Easter

Alive, raised and seated with Christ

“BUT GOD, BEING RICH IN MERCY, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 2:4-6 (ESV).

Did you get that? We were raised up with Jesus and seated with Him in the heavenly places.

“God… made us alive with Christ” is our assurance of eternal life. However the significance of “God … raised us up with Him” is much more than just having eternal life.

What trips most Christians is thinking that this refers to the heaven we go to after we die. So we conceive this as something still in the distant future, as a reality that has not yet taken place.

Yet, look carefully at these Scriptural phrases. They are all in the past tense: “made alive”, “raised up with Him and seated us with Him in the Heavenly places”. This means that the moment we confess Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, these promises are ours to experience now in the “Heavenly places”, the world of spiritual realities.

Here on earth, where we live, we are aware of this world which our physical

bodies can see, touch and feel. But at the same time, we also exist in another world that is invisible. This “other world” is in a heavenly place, and it is as real to our spiritual senses as the visible world is to our physical senses.

These two worlds co-exist, and for those of us who are in Christ, we live in these two worlds.

Understanding this has tremendous implications in the way that we live our lives. First, we must look at life and the world differently now. Even as we enjoy the created physical world around us, we

should also open our spiritual eyes to see, and enjoy, the other realities.

What are some of these spiritual realities? “Love” is an example. There is physical love, often referred to in Greek as eros. This is the erotic kind that we see in Hollywood movies between a man and a woman who just met at a party and in the next few scenes are in bed having sex.

Then there is agape – a higher kind of love which the Bible talks about. This is a love that is demonstrated by the self-sacrificial love of the Son of God for the world.

It is these kinds of spiritual realities that we are to pursue, as Paul exhorts the Colossians to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1, ESV).

Another example of a spiritual reality is the presence of angels. These heavenly beings are there, when good things happen or when we seemingly escape potentially dangerous situations. Angels bring blessings to us, and they also guard us. Sometimes they are visible, other times not.

In this world of spiritual realities, Paul refers also to “rulers, authorities ... the cosmic powers over this present darkness ... the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, ESV). These are the “bad guys” compared to the angels who are the “good guys”.

In living in these two worlds, we also need to realise that the world of spiritual realities is far superior to our present physical one. We know that there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Heavenly eternal things will replace earthly material.

TheBishop’sEaster

MessageDR wee booN huP

bIShoP

“First, we must look at life and the world differently now. Even

as we enjoy the created physical world around us, we should also open our spiritual eyes to see,

and enjoy, the other realities.”

SEE SPIRITUAL REALITIES

www.methodistmessage.com

MeThoDIST MeSSAGe, MARCh 2013

2PReSIDeNT’S MeSSAGe

Says The

PresidentR. PRAbhu

ReVI OFTEN NOTICE two kinds of expressions in our churches. One is nostalgia for the past and the other is enthusiasm for the future. Nostalgia leads to weeping as we think of past glories. Enthusiasm always rejoices over the bright future.

We cannot brush aside either of these expressions. But we should be careful that these two expressions do not work against each other and hinder our progress.

The Lord moved the heart of King Cyrus of Persia to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. He challenged the Jews from various walks of life, gave them all the resources needed and sent them to rebuild the temple.

In that group there were those who had seen the glory of the temple in the past. There were also the youth who went with a dream for the future. In obedience to God, they revived their daily worship by rebuilding the altar. Before rebuilding the temple they offered burnt offerings daily (Ezra 3:2-3). Then they laid the foundation for the temple (Ezra 3:11).

Building the new temple gave

Joy and weeping in one voice Ezra 3:11-13

hope to the Jews. It was indeed a happy occasion to many of the Jews. But it was not going to be like the old magnificent temple, so some felt sad.

It was then we see these two kinds of expressions, “shouts of joy and the sound of weeping” (Ezra 3:13). Interestingly, they were combined – the past and the

present united to work for the future. The old and the young came together

to build the temple of the Lord. Feelings of nostalgia and enthusiasm agreed together to be one voice. That sound was heard far away. The enthusiastic shouts of praises were so exuberant and the loud sound of weeping mingled with the shouts of joy. People could not tell them apart.

We may belong to one of these two groups: nostalgic for the past or enthusiastic for the future. We need to remind ourselves that we have to move on towards a bright future. It is possible only when we join together to build for God’s glory. Our nostalgia or enthusiasm should not separate us; rather it should bind us together for a common cause.

Shouts of joy and the sound of weeping unite together as one dominant voice. To me, this is the unity of the church. Let people hear one voice from us and let it be heard from far away.

The Rev R. Prabhu is the President of Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference.

CONTACTS ~ For Group Bookings & Biblical Tours

Call Larry (96427307) or o�ce @ 67371811 Email : [email protected]

~ All tours will include airfare, 4 star hotel accommodation, land arrangements , meals, admission fees and English speaking guide service.~ Rates exclude airport taxes, tour guide tipping and personal travel insurance

~ ISRAEL10 DAYS FOOTSTEPS OF OUR LORD Every Sunday Guaranteed Departures Tour Highlights:· Caesarea · Capernaum · Tabgha · Church of Multiplication · Mount ofthe Beatitudes · Banias Spring and Waterfall · Golan Heights · Nazareth· Church of the annunciation · Old City of Jerusalem · Church of allNations · Mount Zion · Tomb of King David · Room of Last Supper

Fr S$ 3050

~ JORDAN10 DAYS JORDAN TOUCHGuaranteed Daily DeparturesTour Highlights:· Jarash · Ajloun · Um Oaia · Amman · Qasr Amra · Madaba · Karak · Petra · Sela · Wadi Rum · Dead Sea

Fr S$ 3198

Fr S$ 2080~ TURKEY10 DAYS CLASSICAL TURKEY TOUR Every Friday Guaranteed DeparturesTour Highlights:· Hippodrome · Blue Mosque · Topkapi Palace · Ataturk mausoleum· Anatolian Civilization Museum · Hot Air Ballooning (Optional)· Goreme Open Air Museum · Ozkonak Underground City

BUDGET TOUR PLANNERS PTE LTD 51 Cuppage Road, #06-17, Singapore 229469 TA2283

Weekly departurefrom 2 pax up available

“Our nostalgia or enthusiasm should not

separate us; rather it should bind us together for

a common cause.”

COMMON CAUSE


3SChooLS

MSM to launch new Certificate, hold third symposium

By Judith Mosomos

IS THERE A NEED to study worship? Why should worship leaders understand the importance of enriching or enhancing the worship life of the church? Can these be done?

The Methodist School of Music (MSM) will be addressing these questions and others in a new programme, the Certificate of Christian Worship (CCW), and the hosting of the third biennial Worship Symposium, both in June 2013.

The Certificate of Christian Worship

The CCW will be launched at the MSM on June 28, 2013, at 6 pm. It is a six-weekend programme designed for pastors, worship leaders, musicians and worshippers who wish to learn more about worship from a biblical, theological and historical perspective. The CCW programme is presented in six modules:

I Biblical and Theological Foundations of Christian Worship

II The SacramentsIII Scriptures in WorshipIV The Worship LeaderV Music in Worship VI Spiritual Formation in Worship

Each module is delivered over one weekend each month. Interested individuals may choose to complete the six modules or attend one module of his or her preference. Projects are also designed for participants to hone their skills in worship design, presenting Scriptures in worship, arts in worship, worship leading and music in worship.

It is an ideal programme for Christians to attend as a cell group or individually. Subject to certain attendance requirements, participants are awarded the school’s Certificate in Christian Worship at the end of the course.

Each weekend opens with a two-hour lecture on Friday evening. Saturday begins with morning worship and lectures, continues with class projects in the afternoon and ends with a practicum.

The faculty comprises experienced Methodist pastors (Bishop Dr Wee Boon Hup, the Rev Malcolm Tan, the Rev Tan-Yeo Lay Suan, and Pastor Raymond

Among the faculty for the Certificate of Christian Worship are Bishop Dr Wee Boon Hup, the Rev Malcolm Tan, the Rev Tan-Yeo Lay Suan and the Rev Dr Daniel Koh.

– Methodist School of Music picture.

Fong), lecturers from Trinity Theological College or TTC (the Rev Dr Maggie Low, the Rev Dr Jeffrey Truscott, the Rev Dr Lim Teck Peng, Dr Daniel Koh and TTC guest lecturer Dr Frank Senn), and TTC/MSM graduates of the Masters in Theological Studies in Worship and Liturgy/Church Music (Mr Cham Kum Soon, Ms Quek Li Huan, Mr Yeo Teck Beng and the Rev Lee Meng Cham). Together they bring a variety of experience and knowledge from various denominational backgrounds.

The CCW seeks to provide a resource and foster an environment where both worship leaders and congregation members can connect, discuss, learn, renew and deepen their understanding of worship. Characteristically practical, each module culminates with a practical model to help you lead in worship at home, in a cell group or in a church setting.

The Worship SymposiumThe MSM will also hold its third

Worship Symposium from June 3 to 5, 2013. This is a biennial gathering of pastors, worship leaders, musicians and the laity from various denominations, backgrounds and traditions in Asia to discuss and share their resources in the areas of church music and creative arts in worship. It will be held in the MSM and TTC campuses.

At the Worship Symposium there is an opportunity to grow your skills, be enriched and understand the meaning of “Worship in Spirit and in Truth”. This is the theme that will be addressed in two plenary sessions by Dr Lester Ruth from Duke Divinity School and the Institute of Worship Studies: “Worship in Truth” and “Worship in Spirit”. Dr Ruth will also

present a plenary session on “Enriching Worship Regardless of Style”.

Two other plenary sessions will be presented by Dr Constance Cherry, a director of worship and music as well as a Methodist pastor and a professor at The Robert E. Webber Institute of Worship. These sessions will focus on “The ‘New Blended’: What it is and what it isn’t” and “Worship Windows: Encountering God Through Song”.

All the five plenary sessions have simultaneous translations in Chinese.

The Worship Symposium 2013 also offers workshops in skill training which include the following:

• Band Arrangement• Keyboard Improvisation• Live Sound Reinforcement• Vocal Coaching• Designing Worship Services• Handbells in Worship• Guitar in Worship• Nurturing Good Values in Children• The Art of Piano Accompaniment• The Worship Leader• Choral Rehearsal Techniques

Interest-specific workshops will be presented in the afternoon: “The Worship Leader and the Band” by the Rev Lee Meng Cham, “Worship and Mission” by the Rev George Martzen, “Can’t Anything Good Come Out of Asia” by Dr I-to Loh, “Perhaps Contemporary Is Not That Contemporary” in two parts by Dr Ruth and “Children’s Choir in Worship” by Ms Mary Gan. Workshops in Chinese are also offered.

For details of these programs, please visit our website www.msmusic.edu.sg or call us at 6767-5258.


44 You & YouR FAMILY

SOME GOOD IDEAS and insights have a way of randomly coming to us. Just like the one I had last week whilst having a meeting with a few social workers and counsellors.

When asked for a suggestion to help each of them advance their professional development, I suggested that they each take one case and write a detailed analysis of what they did that they thought was helpful. While they were at it, I further suggested they might try to get it publicised so that others may get a better understanding of their work and know what help is available.

A staff member sitting next to me said gravely that it might not be a good idea. He cautioned against raising the public’s expectation. He pointed out that they were already busy and more calls for help would only mean that staff will have difficulties coping.

I found myself responding almost immediately and with a voice and a passion that I was not even aware of. I replied saying that I wanted to see queues forming outside the Family Service Centres. Even if workers have to work longer hours to meet the increased demand, that would not be a bad thing. I felt that with the increased demand, we should be banging on the doors of resource-holders and policy-makers to say we need to do more and have the means to do so.

Our response should not be to offer help and assistance in secret lest other needy individuals should get to know about it and ask for the same. It should be to almost shout, from the rooftops, that help is available.

Sadly, I know that this response is not an isolated one. The irony is that it was also made with sincerity and the desire to do his job professionally. This is when it hit me. In our effort to be professional, we can come across as being less humane.

In our effort to be rational with our charity and to serve the “really needy” as opposed to those who wish to take advantage of our compassion, we become less spontaneous in our giving. We spend more time deliberating on the worthiness of the recipient and expend more energy “gate-keeping” than allowing the needy freer access to assistance.

Now I am aware that some readers may find these words too harsh and feel that it may not apply to everyone. But how many of us, myself included, eye suspiciously the person selling tissue paper moving from table to table in the hawker centre? How many of us hope that she will change course and not come our way?

We try to justify our unwillingness to help by mentally debating whether she is really poor and needy, or perhaps that by our not giving, we are discouraging this type of subsistence and she can be spurred on to be more self-reliant.

For many, our hesitation to help has been fuelled by several ideas that have become our society’s bedrock of beliefs and values. We all accept the value of meritocracy and many of us are living proof that it works. A close cousin to this value is the value of self-reliance and being a productive and contributing member of the community. These values are all good ones but should be tempered with the realisation that not all can “fish for themselves”.

What does the Bible have to say about doing good? In Luke 19:2-9, the account of the penitent acts of the tax collector Zacchaeus illustrates how helping others flows from a realisation that we have been a recipient of grace. Though we may not have cheated or swindled others, all of us like Zacchaeus are unworthy to receive God’s grace and acceptance. Should we not also give freely as we have freely received?

Matthew 25:35-46 reminds us that every act of charity to the needy is an act done directly to God. This does not mean that God is in need of our good works but that as everyone is created in His image, we dishonour His image when we ignore the needs of others.

Finally, in Matthew 6:1-4 we are told that good works should be done in a way that does not attract attention to the doer. Doing good works should never be about self-glorification.

So let us do good works with diligence and humility, and let us never shy away from loudly proclaiming that it is for all to receive, the worthy as well as the unworthy.

Doing good: the loud and the soft styleBy Benny Bong

ALL METHODISTS ARE INVITED to gather and celebrate God’s grace in the annual Aldersgate Hymn Festival at Paya Lebar Methodist Church on May 26, 2013 (Sunday). The theme for this year’s festival is “Called Together By His Grace”.

The festival will illustrate the teaching of Charles Wesley on grace, based on Laurence Hull Stookey’s essay “Charles Wesley, Mentor and Contributor to Liturgical Renewal”. The essay was published in Charles Wesley: Poet and Theologian, edited by S.T. Kimbrough, Jr.

Hymns by Charles Wesley, hymns from The United Methodist Hymnal, and choral anthems will be presented. Musical instruments to be featured include the organ, piano, a brass

quartet, a timpani, and handbells. The festival seeks to bring together the three Annual

Conferences in The Methodist Church in Singapore – the Chinese Annual Conference, Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference, and Trinity Annual Conference – and encourage the participation of the wider Methodist community.

All interested choristers are welcome to sing in the festival. Rehearsals will be held at the Sophia Blackmore Hall in the Methodist Centre at Barker Road on Tuesdays, beginning March 5, 2013 (Tuesday) at 7.30 pm.

To register as a chorister, call Ms Alpia Carolasan or Ms Margaret Mok at 6767-5258.

Methodists called together by God’s grace: Aldersgate Hymn Festival 2013

hoMe


55

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.” Luke 9:23-24 (NKJV)

THESE VERSES STRIKE AT the very core of our need for control and self-preservation. But Jesus is unambiguous – the cost of “discipleship” is the cost of our very lives and we are called to absolute and complete surrender.

Surrender is not optionalMany Christians may feel that surrender and discipleship

are reserved for the more “spiritual”, the more “radical” type of Christians, as if to say that the majority of Christians need not be disciples.

What results is a two-tier Christianity – the “normal” class and the optional “disciple” class. When Dietrich Bonhoeffer said “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ”, what he meant was that Christianity without discipleship wasn’t really true Christianity at all. If Bonhoeffer is right, then there is no “normal” class. Because that “normal” class may not represent true Christianity at all.

Jesus Christ has laid it out very clearly in Luke 9 above. Also in Luke 14:27, He says: “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” (NKJV) Andrew Murray writes that we need to understand that “bearing the cross does not refer to the trials we call crosses, but to the daily giving up of life, of dying to self, which must mark us as much as it did the Lord Jesus”. Surrender, discipleship and being a Christian are hence inextricably linked and are inseparable.

Is our Church today filled with Christians who are not disciples? Have we become so comfortable in our lives, that we cannot entertain the thought of “surrendering”?

Perhaps as a Church, we are guilty of perpetuating this. We preach cheap and easy grace, and offer the message of salvation as “free”, without any need for commitment. An altar call is made, hands are raised, the Sinner’s Prayer is said, and the person walks away without ever surrendering his life.

The words of the Great Commission are to “make disciples” and not simply get converts. Conversion without surrender, religion without discipleship – this is not the mark of a true Christian.

Spiritual growth through surrenderIt is only in a surrendered heart that the grace of God can

find fertile soil. God’s grace cannot operate in a heart that is not surrendered; God cannot give us more when we refuse to let go of the things we hold on to.

It is only when we surrender our rights, our ambition, our reputation, our need for control and our fears, that God can give us more of Himself in return. Jesus says in John 12:24 that “unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain”. (NKJV)

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18 – “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (NKJV) It is the Holy Spirit therefore that is

responsible for our spiritual growth. But we also need to cooperate in this process. As Paul writes

in Philippians 2:12-13, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (NKJV) God works in us, but we have to “work” it out.

What therefore is the “work” we have to do? Think of ourselves as plants. A plant needs sunlight to grow. Likewise, to grow spiritually, we need to place ourselves in the right position to receive the “sunlight” of His grace. But if we choose to remain in the shadow of darkness, we will not grow. It is only through “surrendering” that we can place ourselves in the position to receive His grace.

Surrender is not a one-time act but a daily process, a daily discipline. Christ tells us to “take up our cross daily” because He knows that the “old nature” in us will fight hard to regain what we have surrendered. In a moment of a spiritual or emotional high during camps or altar calls, many may surrender their lives to Christ – but when they awake the next day, they take back all they have surrendered.

It is therefore only through this daily discipline of self-denial, of constant surrender, that the Spirit of Christ can begin to live out His divine life in us and through us, triggering a deep work of inner transformation into His likeness.

Actualisation through surrenderAll of us search for meaning and purpose. According to

Abraham Maslow’s theory on the hierarchy of needs, the need for “actualisation” – or the need to find ourselves, to fulfil our highest potential – is seen as the highest of human needs.

We study, we work, and we plan, all in the name of progress. As we progress, we begin to think we are reaching this “actualisation”. And yet, when we reach the top, we find there is nothing there. Our achievements ring hollow and our material possessions fail to satisfy. We become restless and discontent, and nothing in this world is able to provide us the answer.

Jesus says in Luke 9:24 – “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.” (NKJV) This is the great paradox of life. If we try to actualise ourselves, we will never achieve it. It is only in surrendering to God our own search for actualisation, that we can find the life that He has created us for, life in its true abundance.

This is because we were never made to live for ourselves. St Augustine wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You.”

It is only when we come to the foot of the cross, lay down our crowns to Him as He sits upon the throne, and together with the multitudes in heaven, bow before the Lamb, to whom all blessing and glory and honour and power belong, that we can truly become that which we were created to be – creature standing before his Creator, man before God.

At the end of the day, it is in surrender that we find God, and find ourselves, and it is in dying that we gain life, and are actualised in Him.

Adriel Loh is an Associate Lay Leader of Wesley Methodist Church.

hoMe

SURRENDERThe heart of true Christianity

By Adriel Loh


6hoMe

We revive our popular feature, “A Page From The Past”, with a selection of short items that give a glimpse of Methodist outreach work in Singapore 100 years ago, especially in schools, medical work and “new work”, which today would be considered missions and evangelism. These excerpts were drawn from an article in The Malaysia Message (the predecessor of Methodist Message) which summarised the report written by the Rev A. J. Amery, Superintendent of the Singapore District, during the February 1913 session of the Malaysian Annual Conference.

Methodist outreach 100 years agoCompiled by Grace Toh

SCHOOLSAnglo-Chinese School. Mr Mansell reports:–“The Anglo-

Chinese School has had another successful year. Both enrolment and attendance have increased during the year, with the greatest proportional increase in the higher standards.

“The largest Seventh Standard in the history of the school was presented last November with satisfactory results. In spite of the fact that no boys were entered for the Preliminary Examination, the school sent in more boys for the Cambridge Locals than ever before; the results are not yet known, but a good report is expected.”

Oldham Hall. Mr Wells reports: “During the year there has been an average of a little over seventy boys in the Hall, and at the recent inspection only two of these failed to pass their examinations. In the Fourth Standard ten boys were presented, all passed, and seven with clear passes; in the Seventh Standard five boys were presented, and four got clear passes.

Spiritually we believe many of the boys have come out into a larger life; at the student meetings held by Dr Mott, twelve of the boys pledged themselves to read the New Testament and pray daily, and to follow its teaching as far as their reason and conscience told them it was true.”

Short Street School. This school has maintained its numbers and efficiency. Miss Sutton ceased her connection with it at the Christmas holidays. Since that time Miss Bennett and Miss Atkins have taken care of it, and already proved themselves worthy successors.

Fairfield School, Neil Road. The new building is now completed and will be occupied after the school holidays. Means must be devised to relieve it of a very embarrassing debt. The School is in the very capable hands of the Misses Olson, and continues to increase in numbers and efficiency.

WOMEN’S WORKMiss Blackmore reports that the religious life of the girls is on the

up-grade, and the scholarship improving, whilst more is being done for self-support. The girls are taught in the home up to Standard. A few girls from outside also attend these classes, the teachers being young Tamil women who have grown up in the home.

Systematic house to house visitation has been done with good results by Miss Pettersen and Miss Fox, and during the earlier months of the year, previous to her marriage, by Mrs Handy.

A monthly meeting on moonlight nights especially for Chinese women has been frequently well attended.

Bible Women’s Training School. Miss Jackson has had a very arduous year’s work, with results fair, but far from satisfying. For several months it was not possible to find suitable quarters for this work, but the women are now very comfortably cared for in the home of Miss Jackson.

MEDICAL WORKA new appointment named Medical Evangelistic work was

made this last year, which has proved a very wise one; hundreds of visits have been paid, much sickness, distress and poverty relieved, and doubtless in many critical cases the lives of mother and child have been saved by timely scientific and loving treatment.

No work gives entrance to the homes and the hearts of the people to the extent this does, and whatever else the Conference does not do, it must arrange for this new branch of our work in this city to be well organised and supported.

NEW WORKA Japanese service is regularly held every Sunday evening in the

home of Dr K. Tsutada, who was educated in the Singapore Anglo-Chinese School. The attendance has been from 12 to 20. His sister, Mrs Tsutada, has deposited $4,000 with trustees for the erection of a Japanese church in Singapore, when such is thought to be needed.

Dr Tsutada suggests that the Japan Methodist Church might be asked to consider this as foreign mission work of their church, and send a preacher, who, he says, could easily be supported locally.

Sarawak, Borneo. Mr Hoover reports: “The work in Borneo is continually growing and the future is assured. The gain in church membership has not been large, but we have doubled our probationers, and next year we hope that most of these will be in full connection. The gain in new people from China has not been as large as in former years, because of the scarcity of rice, but we are promised big things for next year. Rubber and pepper gardens are doing well, and the rice mill has had a record year.

“Mr and Mrs Davis joined us after Conference last year. They have their own house, about ten miles below Sibu on the Rejang river. They have to do a whole year’s work this year. The Government has given them 250 acres to put their energy to work on. The industrial school building is under way, and ought to be finished sometime during the year.

“The Hinghua colony arrived in May. It was located on the Igam river, just on the boundary of the Foochow colony. They went to work with a will and in less than three months were selling vegetables in the bazaar. Their rice is now almost ready to harvest, and it is a fine crop. They will have enough to feed ten times their number. Many relations and friends promise to join them during the year. A colony self-supporting in ten months must be a record. Mr Davis spent much time with them, which accounts for much of the speed they got on.

“Bishop Bashford transferred to me one of the best men in the Hinghwa Conference and we are hoping to do great things with him.

“The Amoys in the bazaar have at last made a break. This is a result of Mrs Hoover’s visiting. This work promises well for the coming year.” – MM Feb-Mar 1913, p. 54-55, edited.


7hoMe

Fifty years ago, Mr Ted C. Miles, an unordained lay worker in Bentong Methodist English School in Kuala Lumpur, penned these short poems about the Crucifixion from various perspectives.

They were published in the April 1963 issue of Methodist Message.

Thoughts On The CrucifixionBy Ted C. Miles

MaryTHE ROSE THAT THRILLS the sense of one who findsNo truth; the gently blowing leaves which sayReality is that which somehow bindsUs to created images of day,Are answers to those unsuspecting drumsOf loneliness that beat out rhythms feared.Is understanding but a shade that comesWith night, when sun and day have disappeared?Regret can have no place, though love is gone,For there is memory to bring the lightIn darkness. There is hope, and much is wonBy words once spoken in despair and night.And this I cry in all humility:“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”

JohnI first remember seeing you, alone –Alone and weeping. Why? Was it some deedOr word of mine that grieved you? Had I knownThat when I smile, you smile; that when I needAn understanding heart, you need one too;Had I but realised my tears are drawnFrom other eyes than mine; and when from youI go, a part of you has also gone –Then I’d be worthy, Mother, of your love,Of all your tears and smiles and quiet dreams,Of all your heart has beckoned from above.If I had known. Yes, in my heart it seemsThat I’d deserve the sacred trust, so boldIn words so sweet: “Thy Mother, John, behold.”

The ThiefI looked into the eyes of God and sawThere pain and grief and somehow questioningAs if he must have wondered at the lawThat made us suffer this while others sing.I thought his eyes were closed and did not seeThe little things of earth. Could I forgetHe made this life? He watches, cares for me?Could I not see in pard’ning eyes, regret?I pray I’ll see a light of faith revealedIn those kind eyes. I pray I’ll find the love –The challenge fired with promise that’s concealedWith simple understanding. Then, above,I’ll search, and pray he’ll look into my eyesAnd make me worthy of “…in paradise”.

PeterI took the cross and wove a dream of hope –Oh, more than that, I wove a faith intoA robe divine, whose threads of trust now copeWith all of life’s distresses. I once knewMy Lord; I knew him as a friend but fledIn fear when his own friendship seemed a thingOf danger. Then I heard a sound when redOf dawn appeared, a cry of beckoning,And then I pleaded, “Lord, forgive, forgive;I left you in your need, and now I knowThat you will always be with me and liveWith me.” I’ll take my cloak of love and goTo do his work. – But always when I’ve wornThat robe, I’ll think, “…the cross I should have borne”.

ThomasIf I could see a heart and touch a mind;If I could hear a soul converse with soul;If I could live a dream; if I could findA satisfaction in a quiet stroll,With memory and expectation fastWithin my being; and if I could storeA treasure-house of hopes; and then at lastDiscover him whom Christian saints adore –I think I’d find an answer to the questI’ve made so long. I think I’d find a wayTo make more beautiful – and even blest –This same existence. No. I but betrayMyself to think I could be satisfiedUntil I’ve felt the prints and wounded side.

Mary MagdaleneThe song I sing was born among the trees.I heard it first one cloudy afternoonWhen green and blue and black and grey – all theseWere holding loud communion. Then I soonPerceived a sound that only Heart can hear,A voice that only Heart can speak. I singThat song to you and pray your heart an earShall be, that you may know the love I bring.I look at earth and trees and sky and seeA Presence beautiful; I look, and knowA song is being sung eternityCan never silence. Love begins to grow,For I can look at you and see a partOf me I think I hear and know your heart.


8 MISSIoNS8

The Methodist Missions Society’s church-planting work in Nepal

Methodist Church in Nepal grows through discipleship

By Gopal Sebastian

Nepali pastors undergoing training to build disciple-making churches, and to train other pastors themselves.

– Methodist Missions Society picture.

A medical mission team providing much-needed basic health care to Nepali villagers.

– Methodist Missions Society picture.

SOMEONE ONCE ASKED ME: “How do you describe the ministry in Nepal?”

Thinking carefully and trying to encapsulate our work in a reply, I asked, “How much time do you have?”

“5 minutes”, he replied.“I’ll try to make it short and concise”, I answered.Here are my thoughts on our ministry in Nepal.

Called to redeem Nepal for Jesus ChristThe Methodist Church in Nepal’s (MCN) vision is

“Redeeming Nepal for Jesus Christ”. This is manifested by our mission to plant Great Commission (GC) churches in all 75 districts in Nepal.

“What is a Great Commission church?”It is a disciple-making church that would fulfil the Great

Commission in “making disciples of all nations”. The result of this is that the church is involved in planting Christian communities within their area – within the district, or within a 10-kilometre radius.

“How do you progress toward this vision?”We do it in two major ways. The first is that our churches

in the MCN are to be GC churches. The churches are to be healthy in helping their believers be disciples of Christ. These churches will plant other preaching points that will soon grow to be churches.

The second way is that our pastors in the MCN are involved in training and equipping other pastors across any denomination to grow their churches to be a GC church. These trained pastors will then be required to train other pastors to do so as well.

“What have been the fruits thus far?”What we have seen over the last eight years is that our

ministry had grown from two Methodist churches to our current

four Methodist churches and nine preaching points. They cover three out of five regions in Nepal and six districts.

Some of our preaching points have been planted by our second-generation churches. We pray that this multiplication process will continue to cover all five regions in Nepal and subsequently to the various zones and districts.

In the area of equipping, we are currently training 15 national pastors. These 15 pastors are now training 50 other pastors and leaders, across three training centres in three districts, in their second-generation training.

“How can Singapore churches be involved in this exciting journey?”

Involvement is indeed a journey. The Methodist churches in Singapore can be a part of this church-planting movement through their partnership with us in our district work. Churches can come alongside us in our district work in supporting the preaching points being planted over the years.

Short-term mission teams such as medical teams, children ministry teams or youth teams sent out by churches to support our district or regional work act as catalysts for us in the field. They open pathways and avenues for our local pastors and church leaders to enter these unreached areas with the gospel.

For example, medical teams help to soften the ground by providing immediate health care in these places, where basic health care is hard to find.

Another area of involvement is in helping the Methodist Missions Society in its fund-raising efforts. Funds for programs and infrastructure are much needed to facilitate the church-planting effort in Nepal. One of the major funds needed would be for the building of the Methodist Centre in Nepal.

Gopal Sebastian is a missionary and the Deputy Country Director of Nepal in the Methodist Missions Society.


9

The Rev Gary Mason, minister at the East Belfast Mission, standing in front of a militaristic mural which

is being painted over with an image that celebrates local culture and

achievements. – UMNS file photo (2003) by

Kathleen LaCamera.

9

NEW YORK – Last November, Irish Methodists opened an impressive community centre in the neighbourhood where they have worked for years through the East Belfast Mission to bridge the divide between Catholics and Protestants.

Over December and January, as new tensions have developed over a decision by the Belfast City Council, violent protests by Protestant loyalists have come close to the new Skainos Center on Lower Newtownards Road. So, the Rev Gary Mason and the East Belfast Mission are using the space to bring the community together.

During a Jan 17 news conference, church, community and paramilitary leaders joined in issuing a statement supporting peaceful legal protests, but calling for an end to the “pointless violence, fear and wanton destruction being caused by a few”.

“The primary plea today is that we’re asking that the violence within East Belfast comes to an end,” the Rev Mason said. “It’s not serving this community, it’s demoralising this community, it’s creating unemployment, so the violence must stop and that’s the key message we want to get out.”

“We who live, work or have a vested interest in East Belfast may have our differences of opinions about many matters, but we are UNITED in our determination to stop this community from suffering further,” concluded the statement, which was being distributed in leaflet form.

“At the moment, there is a hope the violence will end,” the Rev Mason told United Methodist News Service in a telephone interview before the news conference. “The protests, I imagine, will continue for a while.”

Long after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which he describes as a detailed document of “incredible compromise,” the journey toward peace in Northern Ireland continues to be a protracted experience.

The Dec 3, 2012 decision by the Belfast City Council to fly the “Union Jack” flag of the United Kingdom only on designated days rather than every

Methodists join others in call to end violence in East Belfast

By Linda Bloom

day outraged some loyalists who, the Rev Mason said, already “felt there had been too many investigations into their community”.

As he pointed out during a 2011 visit to the New York City offices of the United Methodist Church Board of Global Ministries, the key elements to the conflict resolution necessary to heal East Belfast are “compromise, flexibility, understanding” and “real, hard, meaningful conversations”.

That has been the work of East Belfast Mission since it was founded in 1985 through a local Methodist church to work on economic development in the Newtownards Road, Ballymacarrett district. The mission has received significant financial support from United Methodists over the years. A missionary couple, Allison and Britt Gilmore, is assigned now to East Belfast by the Board of Global Ministries.

The Skainos Centre, named from an ancient Greek word meaning “tent”, reflects the fact that the building shelters the mission’s wide variety of programmes and services, including a worship space, childcare and eldercare, arts programs, college classrooms, a café and a vertical garden.

The Rev Mason, whose parsonage is a mile away, calls it “an urban village in the inner city,” with some 150 people, including the homeless, actually living on site.

As he told Irish television in November last year, the Skainos Centre is “a tangible sign that there is a dividend of the peace process for this area”.

Mr Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister, praised the church’s commitment at the centre’s

official opening on Nov 23, 2012. “We have people here, from the Methodist church, who clearly recognise the importance of inclusion and of reaching out and of creating very, very important shared spaces for the entire community,” he told UTV.

During the weeks of protests, Irish Methodists have been “reaching out” to others to find a way to address the violence sparked by the flag issue. “It’s shown that the church, in difficult situations, can step up to the mark,” the Rev Mason said.

On Jan 16, East Belfast Mission hosted a meeting of church and community leaders with Ms Theresa Villiers, Northern Ireland’s Secretary of State.

The statement those leaders crafted recognised the right to protest but not violently, the Rev Mason said during the news conference the next afternoon.

In a Jan 15 blog post, the Gilmores said they had been checking on those connected to the East Belfast Mission and congregation who live in the areas affected by the protests.

They asked for prayers for protection for those residents, for meaningful dialogue within the community, and for young people, some as young as 10, caught up in the disturbances.

“In many ways, they do not understand the complexity of the issues or the consequences of their actions, but are captive to the circumstances and emotions of these moments,” the missionary couple wrote. – United Methodist News Service.

Linda Bloom is a United Methodist News Service multimedia reporter based in New York.

woRLD MeThoDISMwoRLD MeThoDISM

1010MeThoDIST MeSSAGe MARCh 2013

CeNTReSPReAD

Easter means Christ is alive in us

…What next?By Pearl Lee n Methodist Welfare Services pictures

This is one of the many families supported by Methodist Welfare Services through its Walk With The Poor programme.

EASTER REMINDS US that Christ died and then rose again, to save us from condemnation and to guarantee us a place in heaven. That part is easy to internalise – after all, that is why it is called the Good News of the Gospel.

The harder and perhaps less sustainable part is how we live out the risen Christ in us. The pertinent question here might well be: What would a walking, talking and breathing Christ do through us?

A Living Christ is found in His living Word“He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.

Is that not what it means to know me?” Jeremiah 22:16Our Lord’s ministry on earth was entirely people-oriented,

in particular to the poor and needy. He walked with, talked to, comforted and healed those in need.

There are many opportunities we have as Christians to focus on people who need comfort and help. At Methodist Welfare Services (MWS), we run 14 centres and outreach services which in Christ’s name, render help to those in need.

We list here some of the more urgent areas where we need volunteers to work together with us in service to others.

He asked the little children to come to Him“So Jesus called the children over to Him and said, ‘Let the children come to me! Don’t try to stop them. People who are like these children belong to God’s kingdom.’ ” Luke 18:16 (CEV)

This is a familiar verse and here, when Jesus talked about God’s Kingdom, He specifically referred to children. A child’s faith is simple and his or her trust in parents is uncompromising.

It is no wonder that we so prayerfully take care of our children’s development; spiritual, physical, social and emotional, in addition to their achievements in school. We want to equip them with every skill that they may need to thrive and be of good purpose when they become adults. Proverbs 22:6 says “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.”

Not all children, however, are fortunate enough to receive such care and nurturing. Their families may be dysfunctional or they may have learning and behavioural problems.

Robert* was eight years old when he attended D’Joy Student Care Centre, an outreach of Methodist Welfare Services. One day, while eating porridge, he threw a tantrum that lasted for three whole hours. He did not like the porridge, but unlike other children of his age, he could only vent his frustrations in this manner. As he has Asperger’s Syndrome, he could not express his feelings appropriately.

Our teachers at D’Joy Student Care Centre take care of many children like Robert who need extra care and specialist attention.

Do you have a heart for children with mild learning and behavioral difficulties?We have an urgent need for dedicated volunteers who have skills in teaching and handling children who are in need of that little bit more love and attention.If you feel that you can serve in this area, please contact: Ms Cheryl Goh at 6478-4716

Children at D’Joy Student Care Centre, which provides them with care and nurturing for holistic development.

11MeThoDIST MeSSAGe MARCh 2013

CeNTReSPReAD

Easter means Christ is alive in us

…What next?By Pearl Lee n Methodist Welfare Services pictures

He had great compassion for the poor and needy“Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor

wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Isaiah 58:7

Madam Soh* is a widow and she works part-time as a hawker assistant, earning about $500 a month. With two school-going children, it is a real struggle for her to provide for her family. Her home is a sparsely-furnished three-room flat and their meals are often plain noodles and fried eggs.

Gloria*, a Methodist befriender with the MWS Walk With The Poor programme has been visiting Madam Soh for the past two years, presenting her monthly with a cheque for $100 from the programme, and engaging in conversations with her, journeying with her through ups and downs.

Gloria shared: “I remember about a year ago when Madam Soh’s health took a bad turn. She was depressed, could not work and her elderly husband was also getting frail. One day I received a call from her to say that her husband had been hospitalised. I could hear the panic in her voice. So I went to visit her at the hospital. I could not do much but I knew that she was glad that I was there.”

Madam Soh’s husband died a week or so later. Gloria continued to befriend Madam Soh, assisting whenever she could, even helping her daughter to apply for a Bursary Award and giving her supermarket vouchers to supplement the household groceries.

Gloria said: “Sometimes during a very busy period at work or with my own family, I don’t feel like I have the energy to visit Madam Soh.

“But I will always remember what Jesus said in the book of Matthew and somehow I will always make my way to her house,” she added with a smile.

Do you have a heart for families struggling with financial difficulties?We have an urgent need for dedicated volunteers who are willing to visit a family once a month to befriend them.If you feel that you can serve in this area, please contact: Ms Angeline Kwa at 6478-4711 or [email protected]

He provided comfort to the sick and suffering“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 (NKJV)

Mr Wong*, in his sixties, was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year. His wife who is also not in the best of health is his only care-giver at home. Our doctors and nurses from Agape Methodist Hospice (AMH) Homecare visit him at home to provide medical care, manage his pain and give support to his wife. Patients like Mr Wong who suffer from a terminal illness need befrienders to provide comfort and encouragement as they near life’s end.

Every few months, Mr Wong needs to go to the hospital for his check-up. Due to their work commitments, his children are not able to accompany him.

Ms Edlin Hu, Medical Social Worker at AMH, said: “Mr Wong can only speak and understand Mandarin, so if there is someone who can accompany him in a taxi, translate for him, makes sure he gets to the right clinic for his check-up and then takes him back home, it would be such a great help.” She added: “There was once when he did not collect his medication because he couldn’t understand the counter staff!”

Do you have a heart for those suffering from terminal illneses? We have an urgent need for dedicated volunteers who are willing to accompany patients for hospital visits.If you feel that you can serve in this area, please contact: Ms Edlin Hu at 6478-4725

This Easter, besides giving thanks for Jesus’ sacrifice and then His triumph over death, why not let Him walk, talk and touch through you?

We can always trust that whatever we do in His name, we will not be doing it in vain.

“God is not unjust: He will not forget your work and the love you have shown HIM as you have helped His people and continue to help them.” Hebrews 6:10.

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of our beneficiaries and befrienders.

Pearl Lee is the Group Director, Communications and Fund Raising, of Methodist Welfare Services.

A staff member (right) from Agape Methodist Hospice Homecare

visiting a patient at home.


12

12weLFARe SeRVICeS

FROM LAST DECEMBER to January this year, 707 students from primary schools, secondary schools and junior colleges received the Methodist Welfare Services (MWS) Bursary for 2013.

Started in 1987, the MWS Bursary was set up to ensure that the recipients do not miss out on education because of their family’s financial constraints. The annual bursary programme gives each recipient’s family a sum of money to help them cope with school expenses to ensure that the students can carry on studying. It is meant to subsidise their textbooks, uniforms and daily expenses.

Under the MWS Bursary programme, primary school students receive $300, secondary school students $400, and junior college students $600.

Methodists collaborate to bless the recipientsThe various churches continued to partner MWS to present

the bursaries to the recipients. This year, 20 Methodist churches participated in the bursary programme.

One church went the extra mile. Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church (TACMC) made door-to-door visits to give out the bursaries. Ms Emily Aw, a befriender with the Walk with the Poor programme, was one of the nine who volunteered to go on the visits.

The door-to-door visits allowed the volunteers to get to know the recipients better, and engage them more personally.

Ms Aw saw their need through the visits. Many of the families she visited stayed in one-room flats and had very simple homes.

“They have no furniture, beds or tables. They just sit and eat on the floor,” she said.

Ms Aw was Chairman of the Committee of Social Concerns in TACMC for six years before stepping down recently. She said that the recipients and their families were very happy and grateful to receive the bursary. Many of them are single-parent families which struggle to make sure there is food on the table and that the children are supervised.

“They really need a lot of help,” said Ms Aw.At Daybreak Family Service Centre, a simple ceremony was

held. Engineer Dr Lee Bee Wah, a Member of Parliament for the Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (Nee Soon South), presented the bursaries to the recipients.

In a brief speech, Dr Lee said she is appreciative of the education that helped her be successful, and hoped that likewise, the bursaries would help the recipients.

Hundreds of students benefit each yearLast year, more than 1,600 students applied for the 2013

MWS Bursary through the churches and family service centres. In all, $240,000 was given out to the bursary recipients this year.

In 2012, bursaries totalling almost $150,000 were awarded to 427 students from families in the “Walk with the Poor” programme. The “Walk with the Poor” programme is an outreach programme of MWS, continuing from the MCS 125 community outreach project, combining financial assistance with befriending and tuition.

MWS Bursary Awards help 700 students

By Chuang Bing Han

The MWS Bursaries were presented to the recipients through the churches and family service centres which participated in the programme.

The year before, 859 students from low-income families received bursaries worth almost $300,000.

Chuang Bing Han is the Web Editor of Methodist Welfare Services.

Methodist Welfare Services thanks the following Methodist churches for participating in the 2013 MWS Bursary Programme:• Aldersgate Methodist Church• Ang Mo Kio Chinese Methodist Church• Bedok Methodist Church• Changi Methodist Church• Charis Methodist Church• Christ Methodist Church• Kampong Kapor Methodist Church• Holland Village Methodist Church• Geylang Chinese Methodist Church• Grace Methodist Church• Living Hope Methodist Church• Methodist Church of the Incarnation• Pasir Panjang Tamil Methodist Church• Pentecost Methodist Church• Sembawang Tamil Methodist Church• Telok Ayer Methodist Church• Toa Payoh Methodist Church• Toa Payoh Chinese Methodist Church• Trinity Methodist Church• Yishun Methodist Mission

Engineer Dr Lee Bee Wah, a Member of Parliament for the Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (Nee Soon South),

sharing her comments before she presented the bursaries to the recipients at Daybreak Family Service Centre. – MWS picture.

13

1313FAITh oF ouR FATheRS


ONE OF THE MOST FEROCIOUS and enduring theological debates within Protestant theology in general and Reformed theology in particular is between the Calvinists and the Arminians. The latter group is named after the controversial Dutch Reformed theologian, Jacob (James) Arminius, who achieved notoriety for his critique of John Calvin’s doctrine of predestination.

At the height of the controversy, violent riots broke out in Leiden – where Arminius was university professor – and spread to many provinces of the Netherlands. When he died in 1609, at only 49 years of age, Arminius was still locked in controversy over his criticisms of Calvinism, and waiting for the General Synod to be convened so that he could defend his views.

In 1833, the Methodist author Moses Stuart wrote that Arminius’ resolve to teach only what he perceived to be the clear biblical doctrine was evident up to the very end: “In his last will, made on his death bed, he solemnly testifies that he had, with simplicity and sincerity of heart, endeavoured to discover the truth by searching the Scriptures; and that he had never preached or taught anything, which he did not believe to be contained in them.”

Before examining the issues that led Arminius to diverge from the teachings of Calvin, it is important to stress the common ground that the two theologians share.

Calvin, and the Reformed theology that developed after him, stressed the glory of God, not only as a great theological theme but also as the goal of all creation. For Calvin and his theological disciples, the true purpose of human beings is to glorify God. This is eloquently and memorably expressed in the famous words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. To the question “What is the chief end of man?” the Catechism replies: “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

That Arminius was in total agreement with this fundamental assertion is

JAMES ARMINIUS (1560-1609)

His teachings on predestination shaped Methodist theology

By Roland Chia

evidenced in his second oration where he wrote: “In this act of the mind and the will – in seeing a present God, in loving Him, and therefore in the enjoyment of Him – the salvation of man and his perfect happiness consist.” Thus, the goal of human existence for Arminius is found in God alone. “What can be more equitable”, he wrote, “than that all things should be referred to Him from whom they have derived their origin.”

Like Calvin and the other reformers, Arminius also emphasised the sovereignty of God and the significance of His grace, without which there can be no salvation. The difference between them has to do with how both the sovereignty and grace of God are understood, and the implications these different conceptions had on their understanding of human salvation.

Calvin’s concept of divine sovereignty and grace has led him to envision a double predestination. In his celebrated Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin famously presented the doctrine of double predestination in this way: “We call predestination God’s eternal decree, by which he determined with himself what he willed to become of each man. For all are not created in equal condition; rather, eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others.” Calvin did not believe that God predestines on the basis of his foreknowledge of human response to grace but by divine decree or sheer fiat, based entirely on His sovereign will.

The facT ThaT arminius strenuously opposed Calvin’s account of predestination does not imply that the Dutch theologian rejected the doctrine altogether, as his opponents charged. In his letter addressed to Hippolytus A. Collibus, Arminius defined predestination as “an eternal and gracious decree of God in Christ, by which He determines to justify and adopt believers, and to endow them with life eternal, but to condemn unbelievers, and impertinent persons”. The similarities between this definition and the one forwarded by Calvin are evident.

What Arminius found difficult to accept in Calvin’s teaching on predestination was its inherent determinism, which affords little or no place at all for human free will. Reflecting on the ramifications of this approach, Arminius concluded that Calvinism in fact invariably implied, even if it did not explicitly teach, that God had decreed the fall of human beings. The idea that God decreed the primordial fall and the salvation and damnation of human beings, according to Arminius, “cannot … be established by any word of God”.

Thus, together with the Calvinists and all the major theologians of the Christian tradition, Arminius maintained that the eternal God has decreed “to save and damn certain persons”. But in contradistinction to the Calvinists, Arminius insisted that God’s decree “has its foundation in the foreknowledge of God, by which he knew from all eternity those individuals who would, through His preventing [prevenient] grace, believe, and, through His subsequent grace would persevere … [God] likewise knew those who would not believe and persevere”.

The difference between Calvin and Arminius, as already pointed out earlier, is that the former maintains that God’s decree is based on His sovereign will regardless of human response, while the latter holds that divine predestination is based on God’s foreknowledge. Arminius’ teaching on predestination is broadly in concert with the teachings of the fathers of the early church (Irenaeus, Athanasius, Tertullian, etc), the early Augustine, the Eastern Orthodox Church and some versions of Roman Catholic theology. The predestinarian doctrine of the Dutch Reformed theologian, with its equal emphasis on divine sovereignty and human free will and responsibility, has also shaped the theology of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.


14


15PoeMS

RETURNING TO HIS HOME COUNTRY Singapore in 2010 after seven years abroad, Mr Kevin Foo encountered an apparently different society. Ungracious acts seemed more marked and prevalent, which concerned him enough to write and publish a book promoting graciousness.

Have We Lost It? Gracious Living is a collection of 70 examples of how we can live graciously among others – an important aspect of life in space-constrained and multi-storied Singapore. Choice of living space is not discriminated, as the book carries examples from both apartment living (whether in a Housing Development Board flat or a private condominium) and living on landed property.

Behaviours are listed in three categories: Sounds, Sights and Smells. Mr Foo explained: “These are common ways in which we interact with others – the three main senses that we use each day.” This focus on a person’s senses helps the reader place themselves in the shoes of people who experience ungracious acts.

There is also a section on “general good living”, which covers public behaviours such as conducting Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions in a considerate manner, or keeping to the side on an escalator to allow others to pass.

The book uses simple, direct language and each example is accompanied by an illustration, making it bite-sized and readable. My favourite reminder

is the very last one in the book, which encourages solving disputes through amicable discussion rather than reacting with frustration – a response that we often neglect in the heat of the moment.

Mr Foo, a first-time author, is a marketing consultant to an asset management company in Singapore. A Methodist, he grew up and served in Barker Road Methodist Church. His intent in writing the book was not for legacy or publicity, but rather letting God use him through it for the welfare of society.

Gracious Living has received endorsement by the Singapore Kindness Movement, and about 5,000 copies have been sold to date. His book has also received support from Methodist Girls’ School and the Anglo-Chinese Schools – particularly meaningful for him as an old ACS boy. The book has even been included in the Primary Five character-building curriculum at Anglo-Chinese School (Junior).

It is available at major bookstores such as Kinokuniya and Popular for $15.90 (inclusive of GST), and at The Kindness Gallery on Hill Street for $12.

Mr Foo plans to continue writing a self-funded series on the theme of graciousness, with a book on “gracious and responsible driving” due for release this year.

Grace Toh is the Assistant Editor of Methodist Message.

A Methodist’s passion for

gracious livingBy Grace Toh

Lazarus RisingBy Oliver Seet

“TOO LATE, MY LORD, TOO LATE! Had you but earlier come.My brother has lain incarceratedin the cold sullen cave of deaththese last four days:his body spiritless,devoured by worms of decadence.Too late, my Lord, too late!

“O Lazaruswe weep for you,plucked in the flowerof your youth.We grieve dear brotherthat you have left us desolate.How shall we be consoled?Where were you Lordas he lay dying?”

Looking onthe Master weepsto feel their weight of grief,the fatal rending of spirit from flesh.But standing at the opened sepulchre,the Master, in a voice that resonateswith that of the Father of all creation,Jesus, the Lord of Life,who alone holdsthe keys of Death and Hades,summons Lazarus forthfrom the murky depth.At first a stirring, a slidingand a creeping …- sounds terrifyingin the compelling silence,then to incredulous eyes,Lazarus swathed appears.

“Who is this man that can restorelife to decaying flesh?Is He God indeed in mortal flesh?”

(John 11:1-46)

Dr Oliver Seet is a member of Wesley Methodist Church and a Board Director of the Metropolitan YMCA.

Lazarus RisingBy Oliver Seet

Have We Lost It? Gracious LivingAuthor: Kevin Foo Publisher: Kevin Foo and Associates154 pages$15.90 (incl. GST) at major bookstores

booKS


16


17hYMNS & SoNGS

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

When I survey the wondrous crossOn which the Prince of glory died,My richest gain I count but loss,And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,Save in the death of Christ my God!All the vain things that charm me most,I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,Sorrow and love flow mingled down!Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,That were a present far too small;Love so amazing, so divine,Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Contemplating the wondrous CrossBy Judith Mosomos

PUBLISHED IN Hymns and Spiritual Songs in 1707, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” now appears in more than 20 hymnals. It is known to be the most popular among the many hymns that Isaac Watts has written (among them also are “Joy to the World” and “O God Our Help in Ages Past”). It is also considered to be a hymn that stands out among the many English hymns.

Watts wrote five stanzas for this hymn using Galatians 6:14 as his Scripture reference: “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (NRSV) This was evident in the fourth stanza which was omitted in 1757:

His dying crimson, like a robe,Spreads o’er His body on the tree;Then am I dead to all the globe,And all the globe is dead to me.

There are two tunes that are commonly used for this hymn: HAMBURG and ROCKINGHAM.

These tunes are both in the United Methodist Hymnal (298 and 299). Another suggested tune is O WALY WALY (The Gift of Love). For contemporary praise and worship teams, Chris Tomlin has an arrangement of this hymn using the tune HAMBURG with a chorus that he composed (http://youtu.be/ylihJUH0gP4).

This hymn was written for communion. However, in most hymnals it falls under the category of “Lent” or “Passion and Death” where the hymn allows us to focus on the love of God towards us, manifested in Christ’s death and resurrection.

Watts’s poetry is so profound that it allows us to reflect on the Gospel story. However, the final stanza may not be easy to sing as it urges us to respond on a deeper level with “my soul, my life, my all”.


18eCuMeNISM

Global call for justice to forge Church unity

Leaders from various church traditions participating in An Ecumenical Service in the Wesleyan Tradition, held at the Barker

Road Methodist Church sanctuary. – BRMC picture.

TWO HUNDRED WORSHIPPERS FROM DIFFERENT CHURCH TRADITIONS gathered on Jan 24, 2013, at Barker Road Methodist Church (BRMC) to join the global “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” celebrations.

Bishop Dr Wee Boon Hup was the speaker at this Ecumenical Service in the Wesleyan Tradition. His address was based on the theme “What Does God Require of Us?” (Micah 6:6-8), developed for the Week’s celebrations by an ecumenical group gathered by the Student Christian Movement in India with a particular focus on justice as being integral to the unity we seek. In India, this focus drew from Indian churches’ experience of disunity in the realities of casteism.

The service is traditionally celebrated from Jan 18 to 25 in the northern hemisphere, and at Pentecost in the southern hemisphere. Since 1968, the liturgical and biblical material for the annual Week of Prayer has been jointly published by the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Faith and Order Commission, and by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity of the Roman Catholic Church.

At BRMC, the service was attended by the Methodist bishop and pastors, the Rev Nick Singh from the Lutheran Church of our Redeemer, the Rev Shibu Varghese from Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Father Philip Heng from the Catholic Church of St Ignatius, Father John Derrick from the Church of St Mary of the Angels, the Rev Joshua Sudharam from St John’s-St Margaret’s Anglican Church, the Rev Chan Mei Ming from Leng Kwang Baptist Church, the Rev Dr Rodney Woo from the International Baptist Church of Singapore, and Lieutenant Anthony Yong from The Salvation Army.

In his address, Bishop Dr Wee touched on three key points. Firstly, acting justly means doing the right thing. The concept of “efficiency” or the smooth running of an organisation was contrasted with the concept of “effectiveness”, which pays attention to whether the right things are being done. Both are expected of us, as we represent Christ in the world and are committed to a certain level of excellence, but doing the right things should be of greater concern to us.

He said: “Once we know what is the right thing to do, then and only then do we pay attention seriously to how to do the right things right.”

His second point, therefore, was that loving mercy means doing the right thing in the right way. This means having a commitment and faithfulness that spring from a heart of love, seeking the best of the other person, often at a cost to ourselves. He asked: “Where can one find that indomitable spirit to love mercy that way?”

In his third and final point – walking humbly with our God means doing the right thing in the right way by following the right Person – the Bishop said if we are going to know what is the right thing to do, then we must know the One who knows how to set things right.

“To walk humbly with our God is to live a life of submissive fellowship with Him. It is one where we are attentive to what He has to say. It is like the dutiful servant waiting at the Master’s feet listening to every word coming out of His mouth, and then

scurrying out to do just he has heard from the Master.”“We would save ourselves a lot of useless pain in our lives,

if we pay attention to the voice of God and then just follow that voice in obedience. It does not mean that following that voice will not bring us into situations where we will experience pain, but when we do, we know that there is a purpose in that suffering.”

Bishop Dr Wee concluded by noting that we should reverse the order found in Micah: First, to walk humbly with our God so that we can hear Him clearly; secondly, to carry with us a heart of covenantal love, learnt through walking with God; and thirdly, having done so we will find that we are doing the just and right things, ready to give mercy to people who need it.

The service, conducted in the Wesleyan style, had a balanced evangelical and social emphasis. Apart from the liturgical readings and intercessory prayers, time was also given for four testimonies to be shared, that all churches present would be reminded of their call to minister to others as “one body”.

Ms Nelly Yang from the Catholic Church of St Ignatius and Dr Yeap Min Li from The Bible Church shared their testimonies of how the Alpha course helped them in their understanding of Christianity. Ms Cherry Koh shared how BRMC’s Ministry to Positive People (people living with HIV) was a blessing to her and how God had helped her cope with her condition. Ms May Oon, a volunteer, also testified about how God led her to work with Positive People.

Global celebrations for the Week of PrayerCanon John Gibaut, director of the World Council of

Churches Commission on Faith and Order, preached at the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity celebration at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan 21.

He said that through the preparatory resource, young people of the Student Christian Movement in India “named where Christian disunity hurts the most in India today: casteism. Casteism is an issue that divides Indian churches from each other, but also Christians within churches.”

The students from India, said Canon Gibaut, have named “casteism not only as a theological issue, but as an ecclesiological one. For within the Christian community it contradicts the


MM QuIZ19

BIBLE QUIZ NO. 162Name: _______________________________________________ Age: _________Address: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Tel: (Residence) ____________________Church ____________________________________________________________

Five of these questions test your reading of this issue’s articles, and the other five are based on Bible knowledge. Happy reading!

MM QUIZ No.162

Cartoonist: Dan Pegoda

CHRISTIANITY TODAY INTERNATIONAL. Used with permission.

The MM Quiz is open to those 21 years and under.The first two all-correct entries opened will win a $20 voucher each from Baptist Book Store. The names of the winners and the answers to MM Quiz No. 162 will be published in the next issue of Methodist Message.Entries close on March 10, 2013. Mail us your entries now!

ANSWERS TO MMQUIZ 161: 1. People; 2. 15; 3. 800; 4. Leopard; 5. 46; 6. knee; 7. liar; 8. voice/mouth; 9. scattered; 10. reap.

THE WINNERSThere was only one winner in last month’s MM Quiz No. 161. She is Vania Jessy Chan Wei Wen.

1. What is the title of the article which talks about true Christianity? _____________.

2. Which biblical character was mentioned in Mr Benny Bong’s article? _____________.

3. In what year was the East Belfast Mission founded? ________.

4. Which stanza was omitted from the hymn “When I Survey The Wondrous Cross”? ___________________.

5. How many national pastors are being trained by the Methodist Church in Nepal? _____________.

6. In Ecclesiastes 3, what has God put into men’s hearts? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

7. According to Matthew, Jesus told the Pharisees that “what God has joined together, let no one _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _”.

8. David declared in Psalm 143 that no one living is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ before God.

9. In Peter’s first letter, he wrote to the elders exhorting them to watch over God’s flock in their care, not because they must but because they were _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

10. God gave Paul the task of preaching to the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

biblical vision of what it means to be Church, and oneness with one another in Christ that Paul proclaims to the Galatians.”

The introductory text for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2013 states: “The search for visible unity cannot be disassociated from the dismantling of casteism and the lifting up of contributions to unity by the poorest of the poor.”

The Rev Dr Peniel Rajkumar from India, a newly appointed WCC programme executive for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation said that “the theme of this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity challenges us to rethink Christian discipleship in terms of ‘being shaped by God’s presence with’ and ‘as following God’s engagement in’ the most unexpected agents and aspects of human life.”

Before joining the WCC, the Rev Rajkumar had helped draft preparatory resources for the Week of Prayer.

He added: “The theme has the potential to draw together churches to celebrate Christian unity in a manner which extends the idea of Christian unity to embrace the idea of God’s radical hospitality, and thereby redefine it along the lines of justice, kindness and humility into prophetic solidarity.

“The theme ‘What does God require of us?’ challenges us as Christians and churches across the world to follow the ‘God of life’, into the paths of justice and peace by committing ourselves to the cause of justice, while communicating kindness and cultivating humility.”

Churches together in Britain and Ireland celebrated this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity considering the theme a call for churches to “respond to the obligations to act justly in the world”. Partnering with the charity Christian Aid, they put the theme in relation to Christian Aid’s global work on poverty and advocacy for justice.

Churches in Jerusalem also held ecumenical celebrations throughout the Week of Prayer. One such service was at the Anglican Cathedral of St George the Martyr in Jerusalem. The service titled “Walking in Conversation” was based on the road to Emmaus story from Luke 24. The Anglican Bishop Suheil Dawani led the prayers.

This year’s theme of walking humbly with God and responding to the call to justice was also welcomed by churches and Christians engaged in the worldwide Micah Challenge.

Methodist Message is the official monthly publication of The Methodist Church in Singapore. Published material does not necessarily reflect the official view of The Methodist Church. All Scripture quoted is based on the New International Version, unless otherwise stated.

Editorial BoardAdviser and Publisher: Bishop Dr Wee Boon Hup, Chairman, Council on Communications: Editor: Ms Christina Stanley Assistant Editor: Ms Grace Toh

Our address: Methodist Message • 70 Barker Road Singapore 309936 • Tel: 6478-4786 • Fax: 6478-4794 • Email: [email protected] website: www.methodistmessage.com • Website: www.methodist.org.sg

METHODIST MESSAGE, MARCH 2013

BACK PAGE20

From Page One

Living out our ‘resurrected life’With the resurrection of Jesus,

the victorious eternal possessions in the heavenly places are now ours. These “possessions” are powerful and superior to those that are temporal. We must learn to identify them, and know what they are. Read our Bibles with this perspective in mind, because it pays to be familiar with what these are, as this is the first step to living victoriously here on earth.

Next we need to apply this knowledge. And to do that, we are required to exercise faith, hope and love, another set of spiritual realities that Paul writes “last forever” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

For example, on the topic of love, Jesus made it clear that we are to love our enemies. Now, what if someone treats us as his enemies? Even then we do not respond as people do in this temporal world. Here they would exact revenge, “an eye for an eye”.

But as people who inhabit the other better world, we inject its reality here by acting the way Jesus instructs: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44, NKJV).

Paul has an additional dimension when he said:

Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed

him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap

coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but

overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:20-21, NKJV)

These are habits that are not natural in this world. To practice them calls for an out-of-this-world lifestyle. But when we

do, we are living out our resurrected life.For the next few weeks, we will be

in the season of Easter. It is the season to celebrate resurrection.

It is through the resurrection of Christ that we have secured victory. Yet while our position in the “heavenly places” is that of being more than a

“Yet while our position in the “heavenly places” is that of being

more than a conqueror, our challenge is still in the temporal physical world. It is natural for us to respond to the immediate physical sensory environment

simply because we have not trained our “spiritual senses” to

respond as victors.”

TRAIN OUR SENSES

conqueror (Romans 8:37), our challenge is still in the temporal physical world. It is natural for us to respond to the immediate physical sensory environment simply because we have not trained our “spiritual senses” to respond as victors.

The writer of Hebrews rebuked his hearers for being dulled. There were a lot more insights regarding what Christ had already achieved for them that he had wanted to share with them, but he felt that they were not ready to receive the teaching being still immature. “But” he wrote, “solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14, EsV)

To be able to celebrate and live the resurrected victorious life more would require us to train our powers of discernment to distinguish between the good that our risen Lord has won for us, and the evil that would seek to deny us the joy. The first lesson on the curriculum is to know where we stand.

Imagine standing on a peak with the two guides who have brought you up there. As you survey the sight around, one guide describes the wonders of the scenery. When you ask questions about what you see, the other guide answers and explains everything to you.

The Bible is our Guide when we stand in the heavenly places.

As we read our Bibles and delve deep into understanding God’s Word, the privileged position on which we stand in Christ will come into sharper focus. On aspects that may not be clear to us, the Holy spirit will explain and help us in our understanding.

Now, carry on with the next lesson.

Methodist Message: March 2013 Issue

Documents

Transcript of Methodist Message: March 2013 Issue