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.

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!

In the matter of soul winning, our Lord sets the example par excellence. Jesus came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (Matt. 9:13). The Pharisees laughed Him to scorn but Jesus continued the work that His Father entrusted to Him. How did Jesus accomplish this work? We can glean from Matt. 9:35-38: it is hard work (v35), it is heart work (v36) and it is Holy Spirit-led work (v37-38).

Thank God for our first Christmas Praise Service. It was also our first bilingual service. Preacher Kelvin Wong was at hand for Mandarin translation. Elder Paul Tsao was our worship leader, leading us to sing Christmas carols with Mrs. Siow playing the organ. The Christmas message was entitled “Unto You a Saviour is Born” taken from Luke 2:1-20 rehearsing how our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ entered human history more than 2000 years ago. Thank God for the opportunity to preach the gospel especially to friends and loved ones still outside God’s kingdom. Sister Jane and Sister Rose contributed and prepared refreshments for our fellowship after our praise service. Thank God for a blessed time of Christian fellowship with friends and loved ones.

At Christmas, we remember the birth of Jesus Christ – the Son of God. Jesus Christ is the most important person in human history. We divide our calendar by Him – B.C. Before Christ, and A.D. Anno Domini, the year of the Lord. In creation, man was made in God’s image, but in the incarnation, we see God made in man’s image. Jesus is fully man and yet fully God in one Person, the only mediator between God and man. His mission was to reconcile sinful men to the Thrice Holy God.

The call for Christians to live holy lives is a warning to awake Christians who are entangled with sin. These are words spoken with great urgency for the wellbeing of souls in the face of God’s judgment. Habitual sinning dulls spiritual senses, grieving the Holy Spirit in the believer’s heart.

“Be ye separate” is the command given to unrepentant Christians, indulging in sinful lifestyles, to quit sinning. Without having to go to the specifics, it suffices to sound the warning so that readers may take time for self-reflection.

Lot’s wife had her heart completely swayed, immersed and mesmerized by the attractions of the worldly life in Sodom and Gomorrah that she did not escape God’s judgment. Genesis 19:24-26 described for us the last moments of Lot’s wife, “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

Jesus Christ entered human history in the fullness of time, born of a virgin – the seed of a woman (Gen. 3:15). The seed of man is tainted with the curse of sin. The curse of sin, the Bible tells us, is death. Death is the greatest impasse for mankind. Man is born to die. None can escape. Ten out of ten die. But for the Christian, we are born-again to live forever more. When a Christian dies, the Bible says, he is asleep. One day, when Christ returns, he will awake again! Every Lord’s Day, when we come for worship, Christians rekindle the hope of eternal life in our hearts!

The Lord gathered 130 souls in Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Fellowship’s Inaugural Service. Dr. SH Tow’s encouragement for our group was that a choir of 7-8 might be assembled to praise God’s Name. The newly assembled Blessed Hope choir of nine – Victor Wong, Rita, Penny, Rose, Megan, Mrs Siow, Jane Tan, Eunice, Nicholas Wong – with Lois Lek accompanying on the piano, sang the hymn, “Yesterday, Today and Forever” to the glory of Jesus’s Name. They rehearsed at the home of our sister Rita with the careful instruction of Mrs. Siow. Indeed, we experience God’s blessing as we praise His Name.