(1) Thanksgiving and Rejoicing

Psalm 118:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.

We remember God’s goodness and His grace as we commemorate Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church’s (BHBPC) First Anniversary.

The psalmist says in Psalm 100:4 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

This is a picture of worship in ancient Israel. The people of God would enter the gates of Jerusalem and into the temple to present thanksgiving offerings.

Let the Lower Lights Be Burning – From the Story of a Shipwreck

Dwight L. Moody, famed evangelist of the last century, often told the moving story of a ship nearing the Cleveland harbour during a violet storm on Lake Erie. The waves rolled like mountains and not a star was to be seen, a boat, rocking and plunging, near the Cleveland harbour.

(1) Joy to the World

Christmas is the highest point of human history because it marks the fulfilment of God’s plan to save mankind from the curse of sin. Our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ alone can save us from our sins.

At our Christmas Praise Service, we rehearsed the great joy of our Saviour’s birth. The joy of Christmas begins with the joy of salvation. May we be strengthened to go out to share the good news to a dying world.

(2) Remembering God’s Goodness in 2014

(1) Whence Cometh Your Help? Part 3

Psalm 121:5-6 “The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.”

God is our omnipresent, omnipotent Protector. What a comforting thought. The word “shade” is the word for “shadow”. Shadows are never an image of sinister darkness in the Bible. Rather, in the heat of Palestine, shadows are pre-eminently an image of protection or refuge provided by the LORD.

Whence Cometh Your Help? Part 2

Psalm 121:3-4 “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”

Verses 3-4 teach us that God is our faithful protector. We can safely rely upon Him. Proverbs 3:23, “Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.” When we trust the LORD with all our hearts, His wisdom guides our footsteps. He is our valiant watchman.

1) I Need Thee Every Hour

Annie S. Hawks (1835-1919) was led to pen the words of the hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour.” She recorded the following:

“One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became filled with the sense of nearness to the Master, and I began to wonder how anyone could ever live without Him, either in joy or pain. Then the words were ushered into my mind and these thoughts took full possession of me.”

Not until sixteen years later, with the death of her husband, did the full impact of those words ministered to her own heart. She then wrote:

“I did not understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of humanity. It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in the words which I had been permitted to give to others in my hour of sweet serenity and peace.”

Blessed Hope Visitation Ministry

Our Lord Jesus, at the end of the Olivet Discourse, gave His assessment of true believers in Matthew 25:35-36, “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” The Apostle James also mentioned visitation in his epistle, highlighting in particular the visitation of widows and orphans in their affliction: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).

Acceptance of the Call to be Pastor

On 9 November 2014, members of Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church (BHBPC) gathered for a congregational meeting after worship service, to call Preacher Lek Aik Wee as the Pastor of BHBPC, in accordance with the terms set forth in the Bible-Presbyterian Form of Government chapter XIV item 1-7.