Exodus 25:1-9 (KJV)
1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
3. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,

Matthew 1:18-25 (KJV)
18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
20. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church became a reality when the Registry of Societies gave the approval for its existence on 28 Jan 2014 by an email notification. The title of the email was “APPROVAL FOR REGISTRATION OF BLESSED HOPE BIBLE-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ROS 1112/2013”.

The email reads: “Please refer to your application to register Blessed Hope Bible Presbyterian Church under the Societies Act. The application has been approved-in-principle under the name of Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church and subjected to the acceptance of the Constitution, including amendments made by the Registry of Societies and payment of the prescribed fee of SGD$400.00.” The constitution was accepted and the prescribed fee of SGD$400 was paid at the ROS – counter 21, 6th floor, ICA Building, 10 Kallang Road at 12.34pm on 28 Jan 2014. The administration procedure was completed.

It was an answer to prayer. 24 September 2013 was the date we submitted our application. We waited upon the Lord in prayer for 127 days. The Lord is good. We give Him all praise and glory.

Exodus 19:1-8 (KJV)
1. In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
2. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
3. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

We thank God for Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Khoo who came to share the Word of God with us last Lord’s Day. He spoke from 2 Timothy 4:1-8 encouraging us to fight the good fight of faith, be a “salvation army” for the Lord in the last days. From Scripture, he showed us how we can do so by focusing on the preaching and teaching of God’s life-giving and life-transforming Word. He acknowledged that it is not easy to start a new witness, new outreach, a new church for the Lord. The preacher, the Elders and even the members must be prepared to suffer many hardships. He encouraged us to not despise the day of small beginning. Most importantly, we must make sure that the Lord is with us, that He is pleased with the reason why we start this outreach. When the Lord is with us, we will succeed. The Lord will receive all the praise and honour!

Thank God for bringing Rev. Dr. Tow Siang Hwa, our pastoral adviser, last Lord’s Day to administer the Lord’s Supper and minister God’s Word from Psalm 23.

His vivid description of walking through the valley of the shadow of death where dangers abound perhaps from wild predators or rough terrain brought much comfort to our hearts. Indeed, with the Lord as our Shepherd, we will fear no evil. He takes care of us in life’s valley to protect us from harm and danger.

Dr. Tow was unable to come in December 2013 due to a fall. Thank God for granting him recovery. Do continue to uphold Dr. Tow in prayer.

Exodus 18:13-27 (KJV)
13. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14. And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15. And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:

1 A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:1-2)

As we begin 2014, let us with thanksgiving recount God’s blessing upon us and forget not all that we have received from His good hand. The psalmist had much to thank God for. And he listed them one by one in this psalm. As we survey how God blessed the psalmist, we too, must echo that deep sense of gratitude in our own hearts. The psalmist reminded his own heart how easily he can become forgetful and be disconnected with the Giver of his benefits. Therefore, he commanded his own soul, to bless the LORD, to praise the LORD, to be thankful for all His care for him. May we at Blessed Hope do so too!

Exodus 18:1-12 (KJV)
1. When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt;
2. Then Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back,
3. And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: