Luke 2:11-12

In today's sermon, Brad spoke about living in the shadow of the manger. Now, when the
word “manger” comes up, perhaps some of you would think of Baby Jesus in the manger with
Mary and Joseph. It's certainly what comes to my mind. Brad then went on to talk about the manger as a symbol. Now, what we think of Christianity we often go straight to the Cross as a visual representation but what about the manger?

A manger is a trough that is used to store food for animals. This is what Jesus was cradled in, not the cots of the mothercare variety. What a sobering thought hey? The Son of God, not born in a 7*
private hospital but a stable, in a manger that probably smelt pretty bad.

It made me and pause and reflect on this Christmas season. Was it centred on remembering Christ and what He has done for me, or do I see it merely as a time to hit the shops and find the best bargain? Have I forgotten what Christmas is all about?

We were encouraged to reflect and respond in three ways. First, to live with a larger perspective.
Jesus wasn't born into privilege, and He doesn't work how we might want Him to work. It is important to look beyond ourselves and have a kingdom mindset.

Secondly, seeing the manger reminds us that God has come near, He draws us close enough to touch Him, to feel His presence, and even, at times, wound Him. He is not just a God who reigns over us but also a God who is WITH us. It's so good to hear that we can have a personal relationship with God and that He is not distant and unreachable.

Finally, the manger calls us to welcome a stranger. We need to come to a place of vulnerability and to open ourselves to others, even if it may be an inconvenience at times. It is not about feeling comfortable and staying without your clique. This applies in every setting, be it at home, school,university, in the workplace or during celebration on Sundays.

This final point really got me thinking about being a stranger. On Sundays, it is so easy to put on your best outfit, be on your best behaviour and make small talk with church folk who you don't know very well. For me, so much of it is on the surface. I realise that the reason why I put on “my best self” was out of fear that people won't like me. I would always strive for acceptance and a sense of belonging. What I didn't realise was that God has my DNA written in His hands and I'm not meant to be like Cindy or Sarah or Beth, I can only be Ching. So guys, be real! When I began to
peel back the layers formed to protect myself, I started to build real and genuine relationships and it really is such a blessing to have friends who have seen the best and worst parts of you.

Slightly on a tangent, but this is what I gained from the sermon!

Loveage,
Ching :)

Starting our new series on David, we first looked at Samuel 13:7-14.

In Samuel, Saul disobeyed the Lord's command out of fear. Despite being told to wait for Samuel for seven days, he takes it into his own hands trying to make things right by his own means. The consequence for Saul was to lose his Kingdom as he wasn't "after God's heart".

When have we acted out of fear? What does it mean to be after God's heart? To be after anyone's heart is to act in their best interest, not our own; to maintain a trusting relationship and to "please" them at all cost. I personally find it a struggle to help others when its not "convenient" or requires me to change my plans. Our lives are so structured, that when God intervenes, we become scared, helpless and frustrated. Do we trust God's plan for us, or do we take control and try to resolve our problems on our own? Whilst it may be easier to do the latter, it often ends in failure and we enter a situation worse than the one before.

But even David, a man after God's own heart, was not perfect. We must seek forgiveness when we fail and know that we can still live a life after God's heart even amidst our imperfections.

Three Action Points:

-Act in Faith Not Fear
-Repent and Seek Forgiveness when we fail
-Live to Pursue God's Heart

"Let's be the revolution that lives for holding nothing back"- After Your Heart, Phil Wickham

Thorn in my side

Galatians 6:14-15

I was listening to Bon Jovi's latest album and one song really struck me, it was one called Thorn In My Side. I thought to myself...ahhh biblical! But I could not be further from the truth. The song takes a very worldly view of things and to the average listener it wouldn't be a problem, perhaps even encouraging. The line that hit me the most was..."You can test my faith But you can't take my pride". Fitting quite well with this passage...pride, what we boast about. Today a lot of people say things like, keeping my pride, fight for pride, I will not lose my pride etc etc. Pride and face is such a massive thing but really, why? I mean, what have we actually done to be prideful about? What can we actually boast about? There is always someone stronger, someone smarter, someone taller, the list goes on.

What we can do is boast in the Cross. It isn't something that we have done or we have achieved but we are definitely part of it! Through the Cross we have new life and through the Cross we become more than conquerors. It was never about ticking the boxes, following the Law but it is about change, it is about new creation. Without the Cross, what we believe in is nothing, it would be the same as every other religion out there because there would be no change. We would still be trying in our own strength, boasting in what we have done, boasting in our pride. That thorn in your side...it's to tell you that God is in control, that it is God who will get you through and it is God who has done it.

~Sck

P.S. If you are reading this, post a comment :)

Reaper

Galatians 6:7-10

You reap what you sow. It isn't about yourself, about following the rules but it is about love. It isn't about ticking the boxes, being able to follow certain rules but it is about love. Sow to please the Spirit: love one another.

Sounds simple right? Loving others is always easier said than done. We are taught to love others as we love ourselves, but how do we do that? I always struggle with loving others, I have zeal for the Word but a lot of the time I find that too much of that means I fail to love others. Without love, anything is pointless. It's always really hard to see how much you love yourself, perhaps we should try a little exercise. Just take one day and focus on how many times you forgive yourself and remember what it is for. Then, see if you would have forgiven someone else if they did those particular things, or whether it would have annoyed you.

Let's all try to sow love everywhere, I am sure it will be a wonderful sight when the fruit appears.

~Sck

Bearing one and other's burden

Galatians 6:1-5

At some point of our lives, we all carry some kind of burden and how we handle it is a life long lesson to learn.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Being able to bear burden is a skill but to be able to share other's burden is a gift. Some people are better at carrying the bricks than others, but each one of us CAN bear burdens and at some degree carry each other's burden. However,as it says in the scripture, you need to be spiritual, which I believe link to the spiritual fruit in the passage before : love, patience , self control in particular. Only when we bare these spiritual fruit we would be able to bear one and other's burden. Often we miss out the middle part, forgetting to restore the person gently , meaning doing this with love and care. We often sing and pray for leaving the burden at God's feet, but the journey of carrying this burden to God's feet is not easy. Listen to the need of others is a way to carry this burden with them (not for them tho, we all need to carry our own burden ultimately). If no one has asked you to pray for them, ask the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will lead you to pray for the right person.

Love

1 John 4:12-17, 19

Winnie (speaker) mentioned love is not simply acting nice towards other people; it is something that is a lot deeper and requires commitment. To genuinely love everyone around me and care for them from my heart is something that I often find challenging. It is not because I dislike them or anything (I am very nice), but because love itself takes a lot of effort and commitment, and I don’t think I can ever be close to love like God without relying on His love. And this is part of the reason why the line ‘Show me how to love like you have loved me’ from the song ‘Hosanna’ touches me every time I sing it.

‘We love because he first loved us’
Winnie also mentioned in order to experience God’s love we need to first believe that God loves us, which I think is true to some extend. But I also believe God works in many ways and that his love is powerful enough to overwhelm even an unbeliever’s heart, and to bring a lost soul back to him. I believe his love surpasses our faith.

The pursuit of happyness

Galatians 4:17-20

What do you have zeal for? What do you pursue?

In the passage, Paul speaks of zeal, a deep passion in pursuit of something. Often we are told that if we long for something with a passion it is right and therefore we should go for it. That if it feels right then it IS right and that it is good. In the file the pursuit of happyness (good film btw) the main character strives and strives for one thing...money. He works hard and from nothing, he gains everything. In every trial, every time he falls down, he gets back up and continues forward. In the end he gets the money and he declares himself as happy. It seems simple enough, that money was his happiness, but I think there's a deeper longing. Throughout the film he is with his son and he does not let go of that. Even though his son hinders his pursuit of money, they are almost always together. I would say his happiness comes from finally being able to live a life with his son without being burdened by their needs...this is merely fulfilled by money.

As we all know money can be good and can also be very destructive. What we all long for is rooted in God, this is the way we were created, it is in our nature to long for God. Our zeal must be for God, our pursuit must be for Him because that is what we were created for. Money can be lost and stolen, if we place our trust in money or anything else that we may strive after, it will, at some point disappoint. But if we strive for God, He is faithful, He will always be there to meet your every need. When all is said and done, nothing matters except our relationship with God because only He is eternal.

~Sck