Dear Brethren and Friends,

The True Meaning of Christmas

The remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ is the sole reason for Christians to observe Christmas. The world has its own secular definition of Christmas. Just because the world has got it wrong does not mean that Christians cannot remember it in the right manner. The Christian understanding of the true meaning of Christmas is directly opposed to a worldly celebration of food, fun and parties.

To the humble shepherds watching their flock by night in ancient Palestine, a joyous and significant announcement was made to them by the angel at the first Christmas night. “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10). There were basically three emotions at the first Christmas.

The first was Fear (Luke 2:10). The angels said “Fear not” because Christ the Saviour was born. The meaning of Christmas is victory over fear of death and bondage of sin that has plagued sinful man since the fall of Adam. Fear is a terror to many. Our Lord Jesus Christ has come to conquer this dreadful enemy.

The second was Joy (Luke 2:10). The true blessing to mankind is the promise of everlasting joy. This is not hollow, hopeless, empty and superficial laughter but a profound and permanent deep-seated joy from within our hearts because of what Christ has done for us Calvary’s cross. The shepherds rejoiced and went to tell others. They had a strong reason to respond that way because Christ the Saviour had come to this world to save them from their sins.

The third was Peace (Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill to men”). We live in a world that is plagued by wars and unrest. Sin has caused conflicts between nations, friends and also within ourselves. There is no peace with all of man’s best efforts combined. Only Christ, our Prince of Peace can save us from the war with sin. He came to redeem and reconcile us back to God, to once again experience the peace of God and the peace with God. Christ is our only Hope. He is our Saviour and Deliverer from all our woes and sorrows and the wrath of the righteous and just God.
May you have the true Christmas joy and peace and without the fear of death in your heart through the Lord Jesus Christ!

Today is the last Sunday in 2010

Do you realize we have entered the last Sunday for this year 2010? I can still vividly recall how the year started in January and wonder what will happen in this year in my life. Alas, how time flies and we are coming to the last week of this year. Surely, we have experienced both joy and sorrow, success and failure, comfort and pain in this year. Let us be thankful to God for this year. His goodness and mercy have always followed us all our lives and preserve our step even in this year 2010.

One important question we must ask ourselves as we come to the end of 2010 is whether we have any regrets or things left undone? I hope our regrets are not another year of wasted time and spiritual backsliding. How long more do we have before we are awakened to slumber no more and show our love and gratefulness to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? How about our effort for souls that are left undone in this year? Have we failed to reach out to our loved ones the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Will there be another year for them or another opportunity? Let us not delay any longer and go forth with courage and zeal to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must discharge our Gospel debt now and not hope that there will be another new year to do it.

May the Lord Jesus Christ grant us grace that each new year is sweeter than the year before as we put Him first always and seek first His Kingdom.

Elder John Leong

Testimonies

I have been an ancestor worshipper and pray to the Goddess of Mercy for over 50 years.  I have 5 children and some of them are Buddhist and some of them are Christian.

I have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ many times but I did not make any decision to be a Christian. Around the middle of this year, the good news of what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross and how He shed His blood for me so that all my sins are washed away was shared with me again and I accepted the free gift of salvation offered to me. I now have this assurance that I will be in heaven when I leave this world. I thank God for his grace and mercy and I now want to know more of Jesus and to pray to Him daily so that I can live a good Christian life in the remaining years of my life.

God has promised us in His words in John 3:16 which says…     ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life..’

Praise God that He has chosen me!

Madam Lee Yoke Sim

I had the privilege of growing up in a Christian home, and was baptised when I was two. Although I accepted Christ as my personal Saviour at an early age, my attendance in church was not consistent. Back then, my parents and I did not see the importance of going to church regularly. There were periods of great passion and fervour, and others when I fell and wandered away from God. One of the primary reasons was that I placed worldly ambitions far more important than the things of heaven.

I had been church hopping since I came to Singapore in 1999. A friend brought me to Sunset Gospel Hour in Calvary Pandan. Later on, I attended the youth fellowship. At times, I also attended my Kim Tian Christian Church with my friend. In 2002, I received adult baptism.

In 2003, I attended Calvary Pandan more regularly as it was nearer to where I stayed. There, I made new friends through the time spent in serving together in the tracting ministry and Young Adult Fellowship. I am especially gratefully to Elder and Mrs. Chew for their guidance to ever thankful that God has brought me there. Thank God also for leading me to serve in mission trips.

2004 came, and brother Alan Tan invited my to join the members of Tabernacle BP Church for Christmas caroling. I could feel the warmth from the members here. In January 2005, I had the opportunity to help by playing the piano at the English Congregation. After the service, I could feel something in my heart. Was it God’s will for me to attend Tabernacle BP Church? Back then, my answer was a “no” as this church is too far away for me.

In 2007, once again I had the opportunity to attend Tabernacle BP Church and I started to see more and more clearly that God is leading me to this church. I believe it was not by accident that I came but it was God’s appointment. I am thankful to God for His grace and mercies for also providing Caleb to be my spouse and that we can worship together in a church where God’s Word is faithfully preached. I really thank the Lord for bringing me out of my spiritual slumber and placing me in Tabernacle BP Church to grow. All praise and glory be unto Him!

‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose’ (Rom 8:28).

Ruth Yee-Lee Cik Han

This is written by Pastor Douglas Ho:
The testimony of Mr. Charlie Chong Kim Fah and his wife, Lilian Lim Ah Huay.

On the 14th of December, I visited with Mr and Mrs. Chong to make up the remaining two lessons of Basic Bible Course. We prayed together and we had a time of sharing and below is an excerpt to be presented to you as they prepare for Holy Baptism in obedience to the commandment of God.

According to Mr. and Mrs. Chong, when a person is blind to the truth, as they formally were, they would seek something visible to worship. Before they came to the truth of the Bible, they believed that idols or ancestors were not just objects of wood or photographs but behind such are spirits and persons. They were completely unaware of what the Bible had to say about the abomination of idolatry and what the Lord Jesus says that God seeks true worshippers to worship Him and God being a Spirit must be worshipped in spirit and in truth.

Thank the Lord that Mr. and Mrs. Chong came out of the bondage of idolatry because of the Word of God that was shared to them. It sets them free. They are grateful to the Lord for brother Boon How, their nephew, who came to visit them and to invite them to Tabernacle BP Church. Thank the Lord for sister Miriam’s words of encouragement and prayers for them. It was Rev Ronny Khoo’s sharing in Hokkien from Psalm 115:5-7 which helped them understand that idols are but the works of men’s hands.- ‘They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.’

They prayed the sinner’s prayer with Rev. Ronny Khoo on the 26th of September and on 27th of September 2010, the idols that were once in their possession were broken down and made unfit for worship and all accessories connected to idol worshipping were removed too.

Today, Mr. and Mrs. Chong worship in our Church regularly and we can see the change in them that are evidences of God’s saving grace in their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Chong made the right choice not to hang on to the idols and they have learnt to love the true God who gave His life for them.