Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
Sanford Bennett (1836-98), a music teacher and instrumentalist, owned a drugstore in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. His friend, Joseph Webster, who had frequent bouts of depression, would often come to the store. Together they would compose songs that helped Webster come out of his melancholy.
(1) What is Saving Faith? (Part 2)
The Westminster Confession of Faith, the best summary of the Christian faith in the English language states:
By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein; [e] and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, [f] trembling at the threatenings, [g] and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come. [h] But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace. [i]
What is Saving Faith?
The Westminster Confession of Faith, the best summary of the Christian faith in the English language states:
The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, [a] is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, [b] and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word, [c] by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened. [d]
[a] Hebrews 10:39 “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”
[b] 2 Corinthians 4:13 “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”
Ephesians 1:17-19 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.”
Forbearing and Forgiving One Another
Colossians 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
The ability to forgive others, the capacity to exercise tolerance and patience toward others who have done us wrong, the Apostle Paul tells us, must be the trait of a true Christian.
The reality in today’s sin-stricken world is that people seek vengeance, retaliation, as an expression of the right to personal freedom, as a show of backbone and strength. Human wrath seems to be the way to resolve conflicts. Might is right. This is so evident in the international realm, in the national realm, in the home.
(1) The Fragility of Life
James 4:13-16 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
1) How Great Thou Art
– Inspired by a Thunder and Lightning Storm
Carl Boberg, a Swedish pastor, editor of a Christian newspaper, and member of the Swedish Parliament was suddenly caught in a midday thunderstorm in 1886 while visiting a beautiful part of the coast of Sweden. The rolling thunder and flashing lightning filled him with awe.
Following the violent storm, Boberg was inspired by the calm water, clear, brilliant sunlight and sweet songs of the birds. The experience caused him to fall on his knees in humble adoration of his mighty God. He penned his exaltation in a poem that later was translated into German and then from that into Russian.
Thoughts on Prayer
Prayer is the worship of our Almighty God. Totally depraved men are given the privilege of access, not by their righteousness, but by the imputed righteousness of Christ.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:25, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”
It is a privilege given only to the redeemed of God, to those whom Christ has purchased by His once-for-all completed work on the cross at Calvary.
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
Galatians 4:6 “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
Family Bible Camp 2016
Thank God for gathering 80 campers for BHBPC’s 3rd Family Bible Camp from 15 -18 June 2016 at Swissôtel the Stamford in Singapore.
The theme of our camp is “The Christian Home”. The family unit is the basic nucleus of the church family. Spiritually healthy families will make a healthy church family ready to advance God’s kingdom as we see the day of the Lord’s Second Coming fast approaching.
(1) Our Closet Prayer Life
Matthew 6:6 “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
(2) When Ye Fast
Matthew 6:16-18 “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”
Blessed Assurance
– The Most Cherished Hope
At the age of eighty Fanny Crosby moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, to live with her sister. There she increasingly thought of heaven and the blessings the Lord had in store for her. She anticipated for the first time having sight and expressed her most cherished hope in the confident refrain of one of her last hymns:
Some day this earthly house will fall,
And I no more as now shall see,
But this I know, my All in all,
Has now a place in heaven for me.
And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story, saved by grace.