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Discipling generationstogether to love God& love PeopleMOUNT CARMELBIBLE-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH2 & 3 July 2022Rev Jabez Chia1 Thessalonians 3:1-8For int ernal c irc ulat ion onl yMount Carmel BP Church1
A few weeks ago, from 7–9 June, about140 children and 60 youth and adultsspent three mornings at ROAR, ourVacation Bible School event. Evenbefore it started, there was a sense ofexpectancy amongst the 89 parents inthe chat group. Their children wereexcited and looking forward to thethree-day camp. It was, for many of theprimary schoolers, their first in-personcamp in three years, and some of thelittle preschoolers, their first camp ever!For those of us preparing the activities,there was a sense of anticipation too, ofbringing the lessons from Exodus 1–12alive for the children.No one was disappointed. From the verystart, the children participated with suchenergy and enthusiasm that some oftheir parents were taken aback. Thesinging at worship was a sheer delightto behold. It was joyful, spontaneousand full of innocent fervour. Yes, therewere skits, videos and games to entertainas well, but they were all part of thelarger narrative for each day, pointingback to the Bible point. The Israelites areslaves in Egypt. Life is terribly unfair.But believe it or not, God is good. Thestory has not ended yet. Know that God2is in control, and He has a much biggerplan than our human mind can fathom.The plagues come. Life turns scarierfor the Israelites when the Pharaohadamantly refuses to let God’s peoplego. But God is still in control. And Hepromises that He will never leave usor forsake us. Finally, God showswho is really in charge. He gives theinstructions for the Passover, and all thefirst-born Israelites are saved from deathby the shedding of the blood of anunblemished lamb. God is great! IndeedHe has the perfect plan to save us.On the third day, the children re-enactedthe events of the Passover, paintingfaux door frames with “blood” andpartaking in a meal consisting of roastlamb, unleavened bread and bitterherbs. The preschoolers astoundedeveryone by finishing up every last scrapon their plates, including all the rawcoriander. Some even asked for more!The re-enactment drove home thesignificance of the Passover and at theend of the day, at the end of all the funand games, after the message wasgiven that in fact Jesus was thePassover lamb who takes away thesins of the world, 67 children indicatedMount Carmel BP Church
that they wanted Jesus to be their personalSaviour or to re-dedicate their lives to God.They comprised children from CarmelKids, Clementi Woods Kindergarten andtheir friends. While most are fromChristian homes, a number are not. Andjust before the whole event drew to aclose, the kids were treated to a “spotlight”video, featuring a montage of picturesfrom the last day’s activities. Instead offocusing on the pictures and looking outfor themselves in each passing photo, thekids broke out spontaneously in song,singing along to the soundtrack of thevideo and doing the actions. The songwas “I’m Trusting You”, the theme songof ROAR, with the refrain “God is good”.It was a rapturous culmination of athree-day mountain-top experience foreveryone, young and old.Kids went home that day with songs intheir hearts and on their lips. The parents’chat group was filled with messagesabout kids singing in the car, at mealtimes and in the bathroom. It was anexplosion of praise for God.What an awesome privilege it was to be apart of this. For all of us serving behind thescenes it was a humbling experience ofseeing how God took our five loaves andtwo fish and turned them into somethingimmeasurably more than we could ask orimagine. It was a mountain-top experience.Now, four weeks on, the holidays havecome to an end. The new school termhas resumed, as have routines for CCAs,Mount Carmel BP Churchtuition and enrichment. A parent askedif every weekend in church could be likeVBS. How we wish that mountain-topexperiences would last forever. Butthey do not. And they are not meantto. From Moses on Mt Sinai to Peter,James and John at the Transfiguration,mountain-top experiences give us aglimpse of the eternal glory we will oneday enjoy to the full, and prepare usfor the plains and valleys that permeateour mundane everyday lives.So from time to time, God leads usup to the top of the mountain througha variety of experiences that refreshand inspire us. And they need notnecessarily be emotionally-chargedinstances. One could come during atime for prayer and reflection at achurch camp, another at a rousingrendition of a worship song, and yetanother through the pages of yourdevotional text for the day or a simpleanswered prayer. God reveals Himselfto encourage our hearts and strengthenus to for the journey ahead. And thisis true for all of us, young and old, asfollowers of Jesus.It is a tough lesson for kids tounderstand though. Naturally, theywould wish for every day to be amountain-top day. We pray however,that they will learn, as Quek Tze Mingreminded us in his sermon a few weeksago: Everything will be good — in theend. That mountain-top experiencewill be an everyday experience — inthe end — with Christ, our hope in lifeand death.Chai Chor Tiang3
WORLD Pray for God’s intervention and restoration of peace to Ukraine, aid for the people/refugees,and wisdom for the government. Pray for God’s help to the UK’s government as it grapples with inflation, strikes and politicalturmoil. Pray for world leaders to have wisdom and courage to lead as economies go into highinflation and possible recession. Pray for wisdom and courage for the 4G government as they lead Singapore through theuncertainties ahead, such as the US-China conflict, inflation, the impending recession, etc.CHURCHBPCIS Retreat, 4–5 July 2022: A total of 11 Carmel pastoral staff and leaders will beattending the retreat at Changi Cove. Pray for a refreshing time in body, soul and spirit aswe meet with fellow shepherds of BPCIS churches.Carmel Renewal Learning Groups (LG): LGs will resume their fellowship in July. Prayfor God to impress on each one that He desires us to Abide with Him — that being withHim and being with the LG are equal parts of abiding in Him. Ask God to grant a desire toconnect with Him and each other, for a deepening of sharing and experience of Jesus.Standing Committee and Mission Board: Pray that God will direct Elder Kelvin and theStanding Committee with regards to His desire for Carmel in the areas of hiring, finances andother ministry matters as they meet on 9 July. Please ask God to grant clear discernmentto the Mission Board regarding Jason Leong’s role in the Overseas Missions Ministry onthat same day when they meet with him.Youth Sunday, 10 July: Pray for physical and spiritual protection over Janelle and familyas she prepares to preach on Youth Sunday weekend. Pray too for: physical and spiritual protection over all youths serving on Youth Sunday weekend: theDiscipleship committee, worship, AV, announcement, prayer and usher teams, and thescripture reader. unity and alignment with God among leaders in the Youth Ministry. open hearts to listen to God as the Youth team serves, leads, and preaches at servicesthat weekend.CONCERNSBy God’s grace, Tan Beng Kuan’s blood test is normal except for the cancer marker. Shewill need a few more chemo sessions. Her next blood test and CT scan will be in late July.Give thanks that the new drug is working very well for Lim Guek Eng. She does not needthe portable oxygen concentrator anymore so she is more mobile and able to eat well.COUNTRIES —CambodiaAndaut Village Church (Ps Sokkha): Pray for the marriage seminar for church leadersand pastors on how to have a strong Christian family. Pray that they will grow to love andserve each other more and be a good witness to the community. Ask the Holy Spirit toempower the team who is sharing the gospel to Tmor Somleang village.Ps Yew On and Chen Chen (OMF): Pray for wisdom for Chern Chern to do her Coachingand Mentoring course assignments. Thank God for lessons learnt and the opportunity tohave practical sessions with several people. Please pray for good health and protectionfor their daughter-in-law who is in her 5th month of pregnancy.HYBRID PRAYER MEETING: Come let us PRAY for our Church and each other, Community& Countries on Wed evening at 7.45pm! Eld Kelvin Teo will lead us to pray either onZoom (ID: 918 1010 9528 Passcode: prayer2022) or in person at ACE Room. See you!POIP - Pray Online or In Person4Attendance24 Jun (P&P): 5729 Jun: 25Mount Carmel BP Church
ANNOUNCEMENTS/UPDATESThe Holy Communion is open to all who have confessed Jesus in baptism. If youare regularly partaking Communion in the church where you come from, you arewelcome to join us.Congratulations to Tzehowe Lee and Natalia Yeo on the birth of a baby boy, ElijahLee WeiEn on Saturday, 25 June 2022.Janelle Ong joins our pastoral team as Ministry Staff Worker for the Youth Ministry.Janelle is a second-generation Carmelite and Christian. She came to truly knowthe Lord and re-dedicated her life to Him during a revival night service when shewas 18. After graduating from NUS with a degree in Sociology, Janelle worked inthe private sector in Marketing and Communications for five years before startingher own business in events. It was during this time when she heard the call fromGod to serve him full-time in the pastoral ministry. Janelle is currently finishingher final semester at Singapore Bible College and will graduate with a Master ofDivinity in May 2023. She is married to Andrew Ong and they have a son, Callen.BPCIS RETREAT, 4-5 JULY. 70 participants will gather at Changi Cove for ourannual Pastors & Leaders Retreat, our first overnight Retreat after two yearssince 2019. Our theme is “Strengthening Our Churches” with speaker PastorDenesh of The Crossing Church. Please keep us in prayer.BPCIS WEBSITE. Please read latest story “Embracing Loss and Grief” at bpcis.org.sg.What happens when loss hits, not once, not twice, but thrice within a year? RevDr Peter Teo and his wife Terrie share how God took them through the journeyof grief.9 & 10JulyJanelle Ong16 & 17JulyEld Bruce Lockhart Love & Strength in Tough Times 1 Thess 3:9-1323 & 24JulyRev Ng Liang WeiLiving to Please God1 Thess 4:1-1230 & 31JulyRev David WongThe Coming of the Lord1 Thess 4:13-18Mount Carmel BP ChurchRaising the Next GenerationProverbs 22:65
317432Chinese9076ServiceSaturday Youth Service-Rhoda13SEMS (wechat)44E-GivingYou may give your tithes and offering via:1) PayNow (only for offering).UEN No.: 198202752EGEN (If asked for billing ref, enter “NA”)2) Bank TransferOCBC Account No.: 552-051880-001Payee: Mount Carmel BP Church Ltd(Please state which Fund you’re giving to: General offering/pledge, GeneralMissions Fund, Community Fund, Carmel Relief Fund, Development Fund)6Mount Carmel BP Church
1 Thessalonians 3:1-8Faith that endures is fuelled by “Serving Together, Standing Firm, SharingGood News”1. Serve Together – vv. 2 & 72. Stand Firm – vv. 3 & 8, Ephesians 6:13-14a, 2 Timothy 1:83. Share Good News – v.6Mount Carmel BP Church7
Welcome!A warm welcome to allnewcomers and visitors withus today. We hope that youwill have a meaningful timeof worship together.Worship LeaderEld Albunus NgSpeakerRev Jabez ChiaCongregational PrayerEld Ho Peng KeeCome Thou Fount of Every BlessingHoly CommunionRev Peter TeoGloria PatriScripture ReaderAnne HwarngPsalm 16Thanksgiving FlowersSiew Lay Eng & Soh Kwee ChengGreat is Thy FaithfulnessGoodness of GodDoxology1 Thessalonians 3:1-8For a digital copy of this bulletin:Real Faith EnduresThere is a Higher loads/2022/07/Weekly070322.pdfFor recordings of past sermons,visit www.carmel.sgTo install myCarmel app, visithttps://church.carmel.sg/myCarmel8Three-Fold AmenTo access the worship service livestream:https://carmel.sg/liveMount Carmel BP Church
Mount Carmel BP Church1
Chinese 90 76 Saturday Youth Service - Rhoda 13 SEMS (wechat) 44 E-Giving You may give your tithes and offering via: 1) PayNow (only for offering). UEN No.: 198202752EGEN (If asked for billing ref, enter "NA") 2) Bank Transfer OCBC Account No.: 552-051880-001 Payee: Mount Carmel BP Church Ltd
