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PHOSMay 2010

Phoswritten - φῶςdefinition - lightword origin from an obsolete phao (to shine or make manifest)

OPENING PRAYERThe Call to Prayer

When I was elected as Youth Prayer Coordinator in 2006, I really didnʼt know what prayer was supposed to be. My daily prayer life consisted of things like saying grace before meals and praying not to have nightmares before I sleep. I would occasionally pray really hard whenever the exams came around, or when I made a blunder on the chess board and hoped my opponent would not spot it. My mentality and attitude was something like: if things mess up at least I know it wasnʼt because I didnʼt pray!

So, curious to find out more about what prayer really was, I attended my first ever prayer meeting in church on Wednesday night. Though all the aunties and uncles there were friendly familiar faces like Aunty Wan Yee and Uncle Liang Hien, it was kinda awkward because this was the first time I would join them in prayer. Praying with them seemed a different

experience from normal chatting, as I sensed a deep passion and power that came with their words.

Fascinated, I decided to start praying “properly”. I wrote down whatever prayer items I could think of and started to commit them to God. For the first time, I found myself not praying selfishly for my own stuff only, but praying for other people and for the church. It was amazing how praying benefited my spiritual life and helped me to grow closer to God.

The marvelous thing about prayer is that you wonʼt know how good it is till you try. God desires that His children pray to Him as 2 Timothy 2:8 says, “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.”

I challenge you to start spending time in prayer today.

Schedule for May 2010

THE TEAM

Nat

Jeremy

Lydia

Constance

Natalie

Dorothy

9 MAY - OBEDIENCE IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE (UNCLE LIANG HIEN)

16 MAY - CHALLENGES TO OBEDIENCE (SMALL GROUP)

23 MAY - PERSECUTION (PRAYER)

30 MAY - OUTREACH ACTIVITY

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James 3:9-12

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

Some of us may feel that this verse doesnʼt apply to us because we donʼt use vulgarities in our conversations. However this verse is referring more than just vulgar or obscene language. Though as Christians we may not curse and swear, we may still use our mouths to do other things that displease God.

God wants our speech to be “full of grace” and “seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). However we sometimes speak to people in a rude manner, and we use our words to intentionally hurt the people that we talk to. When we are in a bad mood,

we feel that we are justified in shouting, yelling and talking bluntly to others. Some of us have no qualms about saying whatever we want even if it may offend or stumble a fellow brother or sister in Christ.

We are also guilty of gossiping, slandering and talking ill of others behind their backs. It is worrying to see that this is prevalent not only in our secular relationships, but amongst the community of believers as well. Some of us justify this as “harmless gossip”, not knowing that we are sowing seeds of discord and disunity within the church by engaging in it.

Let us change the way that we speak to one another, and the things that we speak to one another about. This may be difficult if we rely on our own strength, but if we rely on God, He will help us to overcome it.

Let our mouths be a source of encouragement to fellow Christians as we build up the body of Christ

WHEN THE MUSIC FADES

Taming the Tongue

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We spend hours each day conversing with our friends. During recess, after school, and often during class! On average, we probably spend at least 2 hours a day with our closest companions. Talking to them strengthens our friendship, and causes us to feel satisfied and connected.

In contrast, we usually spend far less time conversing with God. Sometimes, if we’re tired, we mumble a quick prayer for protection over ourselves and our families before sleeping. Our relationship with Him will quickly deteriorate the less we speak and listen to Him. Conversely, a prayerful life helps to keep us in tune with God’s will, and enables us to walk much closer to Him.

Praying pleases God. He enjoys conversing with His creation and hearing us praise and thank Him in our prayer. Through prayer, we can entrust our worries and burdens to Him, knowing that

He is sovereign and that He has a perfect plan for our future.

We can pray anytime during the day, and we should cultivate the habit of doing so. By dying on the cross for us, Jesus has given us the wonderful gift of a 24 hour connection to God. When we feel lonely and frustrated, we can pray for Him to give us His peace that surpasses all understanding. When we are joyful, we can share our joy with Him, and thank Him for the blessings in our lives.

Praying to God is similar to talking to our earthly parents. We should be respectful yet intimate. We can share whatever we want with God; the worries and fears that plague us as well as our gratitude for all that He has done in our lives. We can confess our sins to Him when we pray, trusting that He will forgive them and provide us

with the strength to overcome the temptations we face in life.

If ever we feel as though we don’t know what to pray, we can trust that the Holy Spirit within us will help and guide us. As Romans 8:26-27 says: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

PRAYER

"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the

greater work."  Oswald Chambers.

"A sinning man stops praying, a praying man stops sinning" Leonard Ravenhill

"A life growing in its purity and devotion

will be a more prayerful life."  

E. M. Bounds

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We can pray in any position. Some of my friends pray on their knees. The discomfort they feel helps prevent their thoughts from wandering, allowing them to focus more on God. Others pray lying down on their beds. It is far more comfortable (although the temptation to fall asleep is stronger!). Others do so while standing or sitting. Any position is fine, as long as our hearts yearn to speak with God and listen to Him while we pray.

I would like to share with you another mode of prayer that I’ve read about. It’s called “arrow prayer”, because it is short, sharp, and to the point. They usually last no longer than 10 seconds, and we should pray them often as we go about our daily lives. For example, before I wrote this article, I prayed to God for wisdom, clarity of thought, and for my essay to glorify His kingdom in a small way. Saying grace before meals is another example of an arrow

prayer. Arrow prayers allow us to be more sensitive to God’s prompting throughout the day, and help to remind us that our future is in His hands, and that we must trust in His guidance.

Praying to God in an environment of peace and quiet is also beneficial. We should set aside a period of time each day for God, whether in the morning, afternoon or evening. We use this time to read His word and reflect on it, and communicate with God. We tell Him our problems and thanksgiving. Then, as in any conversation, we listen to what He has to say. Prayer is two-way communication; we talk to God, and listen while He talks to us. We can hear his voice through the bible (It’s called His Word for a reason!), or through the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit, and sometimes through the

people and circumstances in our lives.

Prayer is a wonderful gift that Jesus gave us when He died on the cross. His death tore the veil separating us from God, allowing us to converse freely with Him. We should treasure this privilege, and never take it for granted. Praying is an integral part of our Christian life, and it is through prayer that we can grow to be more like Christ.

~~

PRAYER

"Faith in a prayer-hearing God will

make a prayer-loving Christian."

Andrew Murray

"Seven days without prayer makes one

weak."  

Allen E. Vartlett

"Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater

still."

E.M. Bounds

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TORCHBEARER HISTORY

What was the youth ministry like before the Torchbearers were created?

Jialing: When I first joined the youth, it was called "Project Knits & Knots". I don't know why it was called that except that it was something like we are all knitted and tied up together (aka united). The youth fellowship starting at 8:30am in the morning where everyone came for breakfast and then went up to the choir room (last time no such thing as Youth room or Oikos room) and we worship (sat around in a circle with someone playing the guitar), pray, and break into groups for bible study or have fellowship activities like stupid games - I mean stupid as in take sweets out of flour with your mouth, do jumping jacks, and other games I don't remember. I guess the fun was more due the people than the activity so it didn't really matter.

Andrew: What I remember was going for the camps, playing lots of games and learning more about God. It was a fun time growing up. I'm not exactly sure when the Youth became the Torchbearers, but I think it was when I joined in secondary school.

Liz: I think my age group was part of the pre-Torchbearers for like a year before this name came about. I know we as a group were pretty excited to join the youth group (kinda like graduation from pri sch. haha). I think partly cos a few of us had older brothers and sisters already in youth, or had frequent contact with older ones.

But I do remember we were a fellowship, very informal setting and yes we used to meet in the choir room. There weren't that many of us, so we fit nicely into a big circle around the choir room. Haha. I remember meeting on Sunday afternoons, with short session

So how exactly did the Torchbearers come about?

WHY DID WE DECIDE TO

CALL OURSELVES THE

TORCHBEARERS?

HOW WAS IT LIKE

BEING A TORCHBEARER

BACK THEN?

WHAT COOL STUFF DID

WE DO?

PHOS CAUGHT UP WITH OUR “FOUNDING BROTHERS & SISTERS” JIALING, ANDREW & LIZ TO FIND OUT MORE...

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of singing, then usually some activity, whether a serious Christian talk led by the then young adults like Yvonne and Evelyn, or fun and games. Camps were once a year too, we did pretty much the same stuff as now but on a smaller scale and not so high tech. hah. I think we would have scavenger hunt trail around singapore. Kind of like an Amazing Race...

Why did you choose the name Torchbearers?

Jialing: Everyone thought of some names and then some people voted for the one they liked best (I don't remember if this was done in the committee or the whole fellowship or both.) I don't remember the other entries of suggested names. I think the name came from a mix of different images - bearing the torch (like the olympic torch), running the race, and being the light of the world. There should also be a bible reference but I don't remember what it was - even though I was the one who came up with the name. :P I remember designing the youth notice board the first time the Torchbearer name was introduced. The "T" from Torch was a picture of a torch and the "B" for Bear was a picture of a (guess what?) bear. The committee had a member who was solely in charge of taking care of people

and making everyone feel at home, like sending birthday cards, or organizing monthly birthday celebrations, etc. This person was called the “Carebear” after the "Torchbearer" name came about.

How was youth ministry like in the first few years of the Torchbearers?

Andrew: During the first few years, the Torchbearers met in room 12, or what is known as the choir room now, on sunday mornings. We would sing songs, play games together. It would also be followed by some words of encouragement from the older youth or youth advisor person and sunday school. Sometime later as we increased in size, we started to worship downstairs outside the multipurpose hall. Then we got the youth room. We started to worship there. Then the ideaof having a youth service surfaced and we progressed to become a youth service.

Jialing: It was a fellowship held on Sunday mornings before main service... but the timing changed. Sometimes there was early morning breakfast. We had a few picnics. Our bible study were thin navigators books. We had youth camps in church - and when the Oikos room was built, the boys would play soccer there at night. Every stayover always had an adult who would try to sleep while youths played soccer,

“... the name (Torchbearer) came from a mix of different images - bearing the torch, running the race, and being the light of the world.”

EARLY DAYS

POSING IN FRONT OF A TREE

YOUTH SUNDAY IN THE SANCTUARY

MEETING IN THE OLD YOUTH ROOM

PLAYING NEAR THE CHURCH BANANA TREE

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talked, or played cards till we fell asleep. The adult was also in charge or dealing with parents and policemen. Urm... the parents would want to make sure their kid was really in church or know why they should let their kid hang out in church instead of study at home and the police would come just to check if everything's ok. (The police thought it's weird that the church lights are on and people monkeying around in the middle of the night).

Somehow we grew and moved up to Oikos room. Church gave us a Youth room to hang out after youth service (so we can wait there for our parents instead of hanging around orchard road [no nov sq then], fellowship, and feel at home in church)

But I knew the committee would always have a stayover meeting once a year to plan for the next years program. Very fun - brainstorming ideas together and then plotting everything out on church calendar, also distributing roles - like who is in charge of what and holds what position. And we also plan the first day of the year program. Where the committee presented themselves and the theme for the year with a skit, puppet show, etc and welcomed the sec 1s.

Oh, I remember how potential leaders were identified: at youth camp people who seem to have potential for leadership would be made the group leader (the assistant group leader would be a proven leader to support and guide). If they did well, then chances were, they would be nominated by the committee for a committee position the next year. They usually did well...

Liz: Since there weren't that many of us in youth group (maybe 20 plus or 30 max?), serving in the youth started early for us. I think i started serving on the youth comm in Sec 3 and did things like Treasurer and Secretary. Haha. The roles were much simpler then. Not so much reporting involved. HAHA. Our committees were also small, like 5 people. Haha. The setting was really informal. Don't think we had proper cell groups, and Sunday School wasn't really integrated together with youth ministry either. I think everyone did their part to help out cos we weren't very big in number.

 We started having youth service sometime in 2000 i think. But our service started out in the Youth Room. When the youth room started, it was just 2 rooms that had the wall knocked down to form 1 big room. So every sunday we'd line up the chairs (the

old brown ones). Worship was just one leader and a keyboard/guitar/both. Simple affair. haha. Speakers were usually the Sunday School teachers taking turns. I kinda remember having youth activities too. I think they were after service. But i can't fully remember the details. I think we'd have mini competitions among the different Sunday School classes. Not so much Bible quiz, but random games i guess. haha. We'd participate in the church camp and for a few years, we had our own youth programme while the adults had their theme talks. But we would join for camp night i think.

How have you seen the youth ministry change/develop from when it started out till now?

Jialing: I was there before there was a youth room... or novena sq... Now I feel as if I'm saying "I was there since dinosaurs roamed our church"

I think the games and activities got cooler and cooler. So many changes... I dunno where to start.Choir room -> youth room -> Oikos roomSmall group bs alternate weeks/months --> sunday school --> study whole bible in 7 years sun schoolPicnic and bowling --> Buffets and lan gamingLess than 30 people --> less than 20 people --> more than 50 people every week8:30am --> 9:30am -->10.45am

Liz: I think since the youth service was started, we've definitely grown in numbers and it is truly by God's grace. We've also taken on more structure and we have so many different ministries for the youths to get involved in.Haha i think our format has changed slightly too. We used to play a lot outdoors. =) and definitely very different technology. Haha. It's definitely very different from say 1997. Different meetings times, different way of reaching out to the youths.

How have you seen God at work in the Torchbearers?

Jialing: We grew a lot in terms of numbers. And I notice a pattern - at the end of every church camp, organizers would admit that it was by God's grace that everything turned out the way it did. God also gave us a lot of adult support from supervision, bible teaching, advising, donations, and permission to do stuff (this is very important you know!).

Liz: I think it is definitely God's grace that we've seen so many transitions from a small informal group to what we are today. Every change we've had has definitely grown us spiritually. Those who have been involved in the youth ministry have all experienced God's grace and blessings as we've planned events throughout the years, however young and inexperienced we were.

Andrew: The youth ministry has changed and grown a lot since I've taken over and left. I can see that the youth are getting serious about God, serious about serving Him. Loving each other and growing together. It really encourages me to see how much the youth have grown. There is a realness about you guys that is precious. Looking back, I can see how the Lord has brought the youth through many changes, and how it is relevant to the youth of its time. And how God is faithful in keeping His sheep safe. Through the many talks, programs, events, games, ups and downs, the youth of HMC are still standing tall and shining for God. Perhaps even brighter than before which is really wonderful. Keep up the good work, fight the good fight and finish the race. =)

Thanks to all our “jie jies” and “kor kors” for paving the way for us. May we as Torchbearers continue to shine brightly for Christ and pass on the legacy to the next generation!

“KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT AND FINISH THE RACE.” =)

“I THINK EVERYONE DID THEIR PART TO HELP OUT COS WE WEREN’T VERY BIG IN NUMBER.”

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“REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH”

(CLOCKWISE STARTING FROM THE LEFT): MELVIN FEEDING NAT SOME DISGUSTING STUFF AS A FORFEIT; PLAYING HUMAN CANOE DURING WATER GAMES AT YOUTH CAMP 2001; A COLLAPSED HUMAN PYRAMID; A VERY YOUNG KAIGE EAGERLY AWAITING HIS FIRST ABSEILING EXPERIENCE; THE GIRLS CELL GROUP MEETING IN THE WEDDING ROOM

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Testimony of Healing

Rugby to me has always been more than just a game. It was a passion that occupied most of my life from Sec 1 to Sec 4. The greatest honour for me was to represent my school and I felt great pride donning my school jersey at every game.

However at the end of Sec 4, I had a concussion and was sent to NUH for a CT scan. The scan revealed that I had an arachnoid cyst at the back of my head. The doctors said that I could never play rugby ever again.

I was devastated. I became angry and depressed as I refused to accept the reality of the situation.

But somehow, I was persuaded to attend the youth camp in Austin Hills. At the camp, I slowly began to realise that life is much more than just playing rugby. I realised that so much of my time was spent in rugby that I didn’t serve in church, I didn’t read my bible or pray enough. I began to turn to God and rededicate my life to Him.

In the ensuing years, I started to get involved in church, serving God enthusiastically in any way that I could. I was determined to make up for lost time, and really give my everything for Him.

However, I still went back to school regularly to coach my juniors. Everytime I watched them play, I still felt a cringe in my heart, wishing that somehow I could play just one more time. But I knew that this was impossible as the doctor said the only way to remove the cyst was to drill a hole

through my skull. Yikes! I prayed with all my heart that God would heal me, and I went for one more scan just before I enlisted into army in 2008, but the results showed that the cyst was still there.

So I was kinda resigned to my “fate” that maybe it’s not God’s will to heal me. During the One Christmas event in Dec 2009, I went forward for the healing altar call, but didn’t really expect much to happen.

In February 2010, I went for another scan just before I got out of army. I wasn’t really expecting much, but still prayed that I might be healed and play again. On 5 March 2010, I went with my dad to see the doctor at SGH. She said that the scans showed that there was no more signs of an arachnoid cyst in my brain! She let us see the scan on her computer monitor, and indeed there was no more cyst! My dad sent the medical report to his neurologist (brain doctor) friend for his opinion on what could have happened, and his friend concluded that it could only have been a miracle as arachnoid cysts don’t just disappear like that!

I am still coming to grips with this miraculous healing in my life. (You mean I can play rugby again? Someone please slap me, I must be dreaming! THANK YOU GOD!!!) I frankly don’t have an affirmative clue what “triggered off” my healing. But what I am sure of is that I worship a God who is alive and is still healing people today. Now I am able to play rugby again thanks to His healing touch.

God is real, and it’s my prayer that you may experience his realness in your life as well.

2005 Medical ReportSO

LET

S PR

AY.

Pray for the Torchbearers!!

->> Exams are coming up really soon!! [Mid-years for Sec and JC, final years for Uni.]

->> Lets remember our brothers in the army! [Tek, Yanhan, John, Yui Wing, Jim,

->> May God take care of those studying overseas! [Jeanette, Angie, Tiffany, Melvin, Zhiwei, Ian]

Pray for Hakka!->> church camp on the 6th to 9th of June!

->> our dearest pastors: Rev Chin and Rev Daniel, and all the church leaders!

How can we pray? [just a guide]

[1] Quieten down your heart [2] Worship God for who He is

[3] Thank God for what He has done in your life[4] Confess any sins that you may have committed against God and ask for his forgiveness [5] Pray for the needs of other people and intercede for those who have yet to know Jesus [6] Pray for yourself, that you might become more and more like Christ everyday [7] Commit your day ahead to God ♥

2010 Medical Report

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Minghui

Q1. Hi Minghui, how old are you and where are you studying?I just turned 22 this April and I'm studying in Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) under the University of London (UOL) currently doing my Econs and Finance degree.

Q2. Think not many of the Torchbearers know you, would you like to tell them how you came to join us? (can give your testimony about how you came to know Christ)Actually I've been exposed to God since secondary school, but didn't really have the chance to get to know HIM better. Kai Yang brought me to many of HMC's events and one day my elder brother just left a daily bread on my bed with a post it asking me to read it.. And I somehow felt like I needed to know God and so had a long talk with Kai Yang about Christ. I started praying and God showed me how real he was and here I am (:

Q3. So what difference has it made having Jesus in your life?My perception of life have since changed since I accepted Christ as my Saviour and Lord, I no longer seek for worldly things.. I see how sometimes my friends would be so caught up with what kind of jobs, whether its pay is enough or even what's the next designer bag they would want to own and start thinking to myself.. "I used to be like that". There's no end to chasing all these. Not only so, I feel that Jesus helped me to become a more patient person and more forgiving too.

Q4. What are your impressions of the Torchbearers?

I was very glad to have met the Torchbearers, cos everyone is awesome! Also, the Torchbearers are really friendly(:

Q5. Understand that you’re part of a really cool cell, wanna tell us more about that?Yes, I love my cell. They're a group of really fun people. They do not know this, but I've told some of my other friends how nice my cell group people are.They are always ready to answer my questions about life or give me advice about how I should go about doing certain things that I'm not too sure of. It's weird at first to have people who are like strangers to you care genuinely for you. Because I seldom meet people like that in the past.

Q6. So how do you think the Torchbearers can benefit from being in a cell?Learning in a group is rather beneficial, as your friends in cell will help you to grow. I feel that friends in cell will be there to "watch out for you". They make sure that you're not falling behind and help you with your walk with God, like reminding you to do your daily devotion..  Anyway, reading the bible and studying the bible alone is definitely not as fun(:

Q7. So what do you hope that God will do in your life for 2010?I hope that I can be a better person and be a living testimony for God. I also hope that God will give me the courage to talk to my friends about Him.

Thanks Minghui, may God use you mightily to tell others about Jesus!

The PHOS team caught up with Chua Minghui to find out how shegot to know Jesus and a “special” group of people

PHOSNEW

SLE

TTER

May

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May 2010

THE L

IGHT

ER SI

DE

QUIZ1. How many Torchbearers are in

BB?2. What school is Michael in?3. When does Jim ORD (get out

of army)?4. What subjects did Lydia take

for A Levels?5. What sport does Josephine

play?

1. Psalm 51:17 says that a _ _ _ _ _ _ spirit and a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ heart, God will not despise

2. Hebrews 5:10 says that Jesus is a high priest in the order of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

3. Psalm 139:14 says that we are _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and wonderfully made

4. Ephesians 4:26 tells us not to let the _ _ _ go down on our anger

5. Proverbs 3:34 says God opposes the _ _ _ _ _ but gives grace to the _ _ _ _ _ _

Answers to:

96734513

prayerdinator@gmail.com

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