Articles
MWTM Week 4: Mission Not Impossible
By Cheryl Mah We live in a world filled with plenty of needy people looking for answers, and Jesus is the answer to everything mankind needs. He offers love, joy, peace, rest, protection, guidance, wisdom, mercy, forgiveness and most of all, everlasting life (which is to know God; John 17:3). However, these lost sheep will never know who the Good Shepherd is unless someone tells them about Him. Thus, those of us who have received salvation each have a duty…
MWTM Week 3: In Union with Christ
By Cheryl Mah The essence of being a Christian is to worship God. As Jesus explains, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24). This means we must not only be sincere in worshipping Him, but that our worship must be rooted in Scriptural revelation, for all Scriptures is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). To truly say we are one with Christ we must take steps to cultivate that relationship. 1. Purging sin…
MWTM Week 2: Rewiring Ourselves
By Cheryl Mah As humans, we have the tendency to put ourselves first before others, and very often, before God. Indeed, social and consumer culture has twisted our understanding of what we want versus what we need. Nowadays, everything is deemed “expendable”. We are encouraged to consume something for as long as it makes us happy – and if we are not, move on. Naturally, many of us have succumbed to this consumer mindset even in church… “I don’t like…
MWTM Week 1: Master on a Mission
By Cheryl Mah As we begin, take some time to answer this question truthfully: Who is your master? Have you – knowingly or unknowingly – allowed greed, pride, lust (i.e. sin), money, work or even family to be your master? Or will you choose God to be your master? If you think about it, your honest answer to this question is the one that ultimately directs and rules your life. Who or what are you allowing to rule your life?…
What’s Luck Got to Do With It?
By Cheryl Mah The Lunar New Year celebration is usually loaded with Chinese traditions and culture. Truthfully, I have never understood or participated in the superstitions tagged to the festival. Although I grew up in a Christian family, I would frequently hear things like “it is bad luck to sweep the floor on Lunar New Year because we will sweep all the good luck away”, being requested not to dress in black because “it’s bad luck” and being told I…
Who Says My Testimony Is Boring?
By Cheryl Mah Our stories of faith, or testimonies, tell of the ways we came to be saved by Christ. While many people choose salvation in their adulthood, there are also plenty of others who were raised as Christians from a young age. In this regard, there seems to be two groups of Christians – those who are merely ‘saved’ and those who are gloriously ‘saved’ from a life of depravity. For someone who grew up in a family of…
Trusting God In Difficult Times
By Cheryl Mah A person is described as having “the patience of Job” when exhibiting an immense and unyielding degree of patience and endurance in the face of overwhelming suffering and difficulties. This idiomatic expression originated from the Bible and is referred to in James 5:11 (KJV): “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”…
Worship Is A Two-Way Street
By Cheryl Mah Before the birth of my elder child and even while she was still very young, I dreaded going to church for onsite services. Between the lack of sleep (due to staying out till the wee hours of the morning pre-motherhood and then suffering disturbed sleep during early motherhood) and laziness, I disliked having my Sundays to be utilised for anything other than catching up on sleep. Back then, there were no pre-recorded or livestream services, so when…
God’s Call To Gather Pt 3: Fear God Above All
By Rev Anthony Lee While Covid-19 pandemic has changed the ways we practiced our faith for a season, we need to recognise that the current circumstances are not the same as in 2020. Consider the following: High rate of vaccination in Singapore Most of us in Singapore are vaccinated, and this includes an increasing number of children. Therefore, the fear that gripped us all in back in 2020 should no longer be the dominant narrative. Even if a new deadlier…
God’s Call To Gather Pt 2: Christianity is a Communal Faith
By Rev Anthony Lee Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt in order to worship God. Egypt represents the world we live in; entering the Promised Land represents leaving the world behind to worship God in Church. If we merely worship online, at our convenience, we are not truly “leaving” the world behind. Thus, there is great spiritual significance in our physical gathering for worship. Every time we gather as God’s people, it is a prophetic and spiritual…
God’s Call To Gather Pt 1: Obedience and Honour
By Rev Anthony Lee The start of the Covid pandemic more than two years ago has propelled the need for online worship. Online worship arose as a concession for people to continue worshipping on Sundays despite the Covid situation. It was never meant for the purpose of convenience (or worse, consumption), and should be seen as a last resort rather than the default option. While online worship at home has been necessary, over time, there has been unseen and untold…
The Gift of God’s Grace
By Rev Anthony Lee and Cheryl Mah When we are asked to describe the nature of our Lord, the word “grace” often comes to mind. In the past, I understood the word “grace” vaguely, but at the same time its actual meaning used to be mystifying to me. The questions that ran through my mind were always the same: “Is grace and mercy the same thing?” “Can the words “grace” and “mercy” be used interchangeably?” “Is there a difference between…
How Can We Evangelise During a Pandemic?
By Cheryl Mah Throughout history, there have been many missionaries who have taken up the colossal assignment of going out into the world to spread the Word of God. Paul the Apostle was one great example. (To evangelise means to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with someone else) However, most of us would consider The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:8) a somewhat impossible and unachievable task. If quitting our day jobs or leaving our loved ones behind while globetrotting to evangelise…
How Much Does God Love Us?
By Cheryl Mah As a mother of two, I always tell my children that I love them very much. When my almost five-year-old daughter tells me she loves me back, I’ll often ask her “How much?” “Very, very (x10) much”, she’ll reply. It certainly feels wonderful to be loved so much by this little being, but somehow, I get the sense that our human ability to love is limited and finite (even though we want to think it can be…
Book of Ruth (Part 4): Seeds of Blessings
By Cheryl Mah Read: Ruth Chapter 4 & Watch “Restored From Shame” sermon In the previous chapter, Naomi had sent Ruth to Boaz with the intention of soliciting a marriage proposal from him. While he was flattered by Ruth’s attention, Boaz was honest and informed her that there was another closer kinsman-redeemer who could marry her too. However, if the man did not want to, then Boaz would do the honourable thing by taking Ruth as his wife. Naomi’s road…
Book of Ruth (Part 3): A Heart of Courage
By Cheryl Mah Read: Ruth Chapter 3 & Watch “Questionable Actions? Can or Cannot?” sermon Back in Ruth Chapter 2, we learned about the Moabite widow Ruth’s encounter with Boaz – a wealthy man of God – when she gleaned in his field. Ruth was humble and respectful towards Boaz, and in return, he treated her with exceeding kindness. Later, Ruth learned from her mother-in-law Naomi that Boaz was their kinsman-redeemer (a male relative who, according to various laws of…
Book of Ruth (Part 2): The Fruits of Kindness
By Cheryl Mah Read: Ruth Chapter 2 & Watch: “Pass It On” sermon Ruth Chapter 2 brings about a special union. The chapter begins with the introduction to a man named Boaz who was a relative of Naomi’s late husband Elimelech; he was also a man of God and a man of great wealth. In this story, Ruth is led by God to glean in Boaz’s field, and God’s providence and grace is seen through the kindness of Boaz. Ruth…
Book of Ruth (Part 1): A Tale Of Extraordinary Love
By Cheryl Mah Read: Ruth Chapter 1 & Watch: “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Love” sermon Possibly one of the most well-known women in the Bible, most of us are familiar with Ruth as the dutiful daughter-in-law of Naomi. Although it is one of the shortest books of the Bible at only four chapters long, the book of Ruth tells a heart-warming story of love, devotion, and redemption. Ruth & Naomi’s story The story takes place during the time of the judges,…
Week 6: Possessing A Heart For Others
By Cheryl Mah The word “hospitality” comes from two Greek words: philos which means “friend” and xenos which means “stranger”. Put together, the word is “philoxenos” which literally means “loving the stranger” or to be “generous to guests”. Scripture calls on us to show the love of God to others (Romans 12:13) and we are required to do so. As Christians, we are instructed to not only be hospitable to friends and family, but also to strangers, outsiders, and even…
Week 5: Growing In Christian Community
By Cheryl Mah Jesus commanded us to “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). As Scripture points out – we were created in God’s image to reflect our Maker, by caring for others. To truly love God and our neighbour, we should focus on fostering healthy relationships in all these arenas of life: 1.Be A Good Steward The word “steward” is rooted from the Ancient Greek word “oikonomos”, which translates into “household manager”. A Biblical steward is trusted to care…
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