Dear Saints,

1. MONTH-END FRIDAY PRAYER SERVICE
Date: 25 Jan Friday night at 8pm Auditorium.

2. MANDARIN SERVICES
Mandarin Services are held on 1st & 3rd Sunday mornings.
Date: 3 Feb (1st Sun) at 10am to 11am Tweenies room.

3. FISHERS OF MEN PRAYER MEETING
Fishers of Men’s First meeting will fall on last Sunday of each month.
Date: 27 Jan Sun morn from 930am to 1030am Tweenies room.

4. ALABASTER GATHERINGS
Alabaster will gather on the First Friday night of each month.
Date: 1st Feb Friday night at 8pm.
Venue: Cynthia’s place at Blk 102 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 #03-1427.

5. IMAGE BEARERS/ GAP BRIDGERS/ ATHLETICS IN CHRIST
Below are the programmes for February’s Sunday meetings at 3pm Church office
except for 10 Feb.
3rd Feb - Combined Prayer (Special Valentine Edition)
10 Feb - Home visitations
17 Feb - Combined Bible study topic on Giving & Tithing by Terence Leong
24 Feb - Each ministry has own programme.

6. ADVANCED DIP/ DIPLOMA IN COUNSELLING
ACN will start 2 modules - Marriage & Family Counselling and Group Counselling
on 29 Jan (Tues) & 31 Jan (Thurs) respectively.
Time: 7pm to 10pm at Church office.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.” - Matthew 6:33

Matthew 6:33 is one of my favourite scriptures from the bible. It speaks of so much promise for the believer whose faith lies in Jesus and it serves as a powerful reminder for me to draw close to Jesus whenever I am busy. It also reminds me that apart from Jesus I would be reduced to nothing. Without Jesus, I would not have found favour in people.

King David is known as the man after God’s own heart. He had lived faithfully acknowledging the Lord in all of his accomplishments. In all battles that he fought, he gave God praise. He had found favour in God simply because he is after God’s own heart, but not just because of his works alone. The bible shows us many instances of how David found favour in people to succeed as a result of having found favour in God. The following scriptures are but a few:

“So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he (Saul) loved him greatly, and he (David) became his armour-bearer.” -1 Samuel 16:21

“So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.” -1 Samuel 18:5

“Yet a man has risen to pursue you (David) and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling.” -1 Samuel 25:29

When David was anointed by the prophet Samuel to be King over Israel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward. So shall it be for you, that God’s favour will follow you to your workplace, school and family from the very day when you commit yourself to Him. Seek God first and His righteousness (be consecrated and live a holy life) and all other things will be added to you. Broken relationships will be restored. Financial burdens will become stepping-stones to strengthen your resolve. Good breaks will come your way. Jesus can make all these happen, so seek Him first before everything else!

The evening service for today (Sunday) will be held at pastor’s home.

Pastor Bobby Mathew Mathews home address:

Blk 102, Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, #03-1427

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:6

“Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
1 Peter 2:1-3

The 19th century Christian author Edward McKendree Bounds describes desire as follows: “Desire is not merely a simple wish; it is a deep seated craving; an intense longing for attainment. In the realm of spiritual affairs, it is an important adjunct to prayer. So important it is that one might say, almost, that desire is an absolute essential of prayer. Desire precedes prayer, accompanies it, and is followed by it. Desire goes before prayer, and by it, created and intensified.”

Everyone has a motive when he prays and as such prayer is driven by the desire for things to happen. We cry out to God when we want good grades. We get down on our knees when we want a loved one healed. We raise our hands in worship when we want to express our longing and love for our God. We pray because we want.

However strong our desire for heavenly things may be, we must also be vigilant to defend this holy desire because Satan seeks different means to quench the flames of our desire for Jesus. He sets other worldly pursuits before your eyes and shows you their glamour. Gradually, he draws you further away from Jesus. Things may seem fine at first but you soon find yourself trapped in a quagmire of spiritual opposition whenever you try to read the bible, pray or attend church. This is richly illustrated in the skit that the Alive Community Church mission team performed in the Philippines. Initially, the female lead has an intimate relationship with the Lord; she drank deeply from fresh springs, cast her innocent eyes on the magnificence of the sky and danced with the Lord. But temptations crept in to steal her away from her First Love: false intimacy with a boyfriend, vanity, drunkenness, and love for money, mutilation and suicide. Then she cried out, the desire for the Lord surged within her and she dashed to Him. The vile spirits opposed her, but the Lord saved her nevertheless. With one strong move, He shoved all of them away.

God will come to you because you desire Him. He holds you strong while you are praying and gives you joy when you worship Him. He desires a close relationship. Such a desire had driven Him to the cross to shed His blood for the atonement of your sins and beat the devil out of your life. Remember His desire for you; meditate on it and always pray for a desire to pray, love and seek Him. Such a desire can only be given by God alone.

Dear Saints,

1. MANDARIN SERVICE
Mandarin Services are held on 1st & 3rd Sunday mornings.
Date: 20 January (3rd Sunday) at 10 am to 11 am Tweenies room.

2. FISHERS OF MEN PRAYER MEETING
Fishers of Men first meeting will fall on last Sunday of the month
Date of first meeting: 27 Jan from 930 am to 1030 am Tweenies room.

3. ALABASTER GATHERINGS
Alabaster meeting is held on the first Friday of each month.
Date of first meeting will fall on 1st Feb 2008.
Venue: Cynthia’s place at Blk 102 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 #03-1427

4. MONTH-END FRIDAY PRAYER SERVICE
Date: 25 January Friday night at 8 pm Auditorium.

5. SERVICE WITH JASON SICSCOE

Bro. Jason Sicscoe from the U.S. will be coming to Singapore and preaching in Tabernacle of Joy services on

Monday Evening 7:30pm (21st Jan),
Tuesday Evening 7:30pm (22nd Jan)

Blessings,
Mei Cheng