家庭营 2010 - Part 2

One of the key activities over the Family Camp was a series of teachings on 内在生命 by Pastor Ivan. And in the spirit of the Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matt 13:44) we can see how precious are these teachings as discovered by brother Simon ;)

The workshop styled lessons are very pragmatic, teaching the participants how to overcome some "works of the flesh" in order to lead a more effective life for the glory of God.

One such example was "Self-Esteem"  ;)

A note:  In many circles, self-esteem has become more of a narcissistic, lover-of-self (2Tim 3:2) promotion as taught by many prosperity gospel televangelists. It has resulted in making many churches "man-centered" rather than "God-centered" since they don't look to Christ and His cross as the source to liberate them from guilt & condemnation, rather, they deem self-help psychology as a better solution.

But praise God pastor Ivan didn't go down that path but rather admonished the church to look unto Jesus who has redeemed us through His death on the cross that we might receive the adoption as sons! Thus, today when we boast about our freedom - freedom from "low-self-esteem" - we will boast the way Apostle Paul boasted:

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14)

One of my favourite lessons was on - Redeeming the Times.

Using Parable of the 10 Minas (Luke 19:11-27) as the foundation, pastor Ivan taught on the importance & urgency of Christians in being occupied doing the Lord's work.

Like the dear sister in the photo above, we know Jesus Christ is coming back soon. Many of us are awaiting eagerly for His return. We look and look everyday. But unfortunately we don't know the exact day nor the hour of our Lord's return.

So meantime, what lessons can we draw from the Parable of the 10 Minas? Let's take a look... and I will use the basket of bananas as the minas the Master had given us prior to His departure :)

Some are of the Martha type - they worry too much...

Some are the "bo-bian" (reluctant) type - they need to be pushed, kicked in order to move... all the while complaining & murmuring...

Some are the joker type -  monkeying around with the Minas bananas... instead of redeeming the time they waste time... ;)

But the worst is the selfish type -  they ate all the bananas for themselves!  :(

So how should we serve instead? Like this - with a WILLING & SMILY heart that shows on the face... because it is such a privilege to be a servant of God Almighty!

We serve with a HUMBLE heart... knowing it is the LORD who gives grace & empowers us to serve!

We sincerely want to thank Pastor Ivan and his beloved wife for their time & love in coming to serve at our church. We pray also that we may see them soon.

Last but not least, I heard some are already signing up for 2011 家庭营...  :)