REMEMBER HOLY WEEK

Today is Palm Sunday. Jesus rode into Jerusalem 2000 years ago not on a stallion but on a donkey, meek and humble to face the cross. The King of the Jews was going to suffer and die for the sins of His people. The Jews laid palm branches on the road to welcome Him, and cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” (Matt 21:9). They called out to the Son of David to save them. In their mind, they thought that Jesus was going to overthrow the Roman government to save them from Roman dominion and oppression. Well, Jesus was going to save but not in the way they expected. The victory that Jesus would gain was not through the sword but through the cross. Not by shedding the blood of others in battle, but His very own on the cross. In Him “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph 1:7).

 

Jesus was crucified on a Friday. He spent six hours on the cross (from 9 am to 3 pm). On the cruel cross, He demonstrated His great love for His people. The very people who put Him on the cross, who shouted “Crucify him, crucify him” (Luke 23:21), were the very people He had come to save. On the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). O, the wonderful grace and mercies of God! To commemorate this day, we will meet this Good Friday night (8 pm) to remember the Lord’s good work for us and to worship Him who is our Saviour and our King. Holy Communion will be served.

Sunday which is the Lord’s Day is a day of great victory. Jesus conquered death when He rose from the dead. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15:55-57). As usual we will commemorate Easter Sunday by worshipping the Lord out in the open early in the morning (7 am). We shall rejoice in the Lord and have fellowship with one another over breakfast right after the service at Labrador Park. Wake up early and come with your chairs and mats. JK

FOR GOD’S GRACE TO SERVE HIM

Testimony of Chan Kay Heem (7 April 2014)

I was born into a family where my parents practiced ancestral worship. I remember our house having an ancestral tablet and a tablet to the ‘kitchen god’. As children, we were made to offer joss sticks on certain occasions like lunar New Year and Qing Ming festival.

I attended the Anglo-Chinese School which is a Methodist mission school. I first heard about Christ at the age of seven but did not bother much about Him. In fact, I was rather anti-Christian in secondary school, so much so that I would ridicule my friends who tried to witness to me. In my sinful pride, I chose to trust in my own ‘goodness’, strength and intelligence. At the age of 16 (Secondary 4), some classmates were passing cartoon tracts around the class and I got to read them between lessons. The more I read, the more uncomfortable I felt, but the more compelled I felt to continue to read them. Verses in the tracts that spoke to me were Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away”; Romans 3:10, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one”; Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”; and Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

These verses continued to resound in my mind and grip my heart long after reading them. I could find no peace. I felt convicted of my sin and my end in hell if I continued in my rebellion against God. It continued to haunt me until I prayed to receive Christ as my Savior at the end of that same year. Due to strong parental objections, I only started attending church upon reaching adulthood and got baptized in Life BPC. On recommendation from my church friends, I started reading the Bible regularly, the Westminster Shorter Catechism and other Christian literature on my own and grew in the understanding of the faith.

While in Life BPC, I graduated, got married and started a family. I was still pretty much a ‘pew-warmer’ with no involvement in any fellowship group or ministry. The turning point was when Life BPC forced the resignation of her founding pastor, the late Rev Dr Timothy Tow. My wife and I were shocked at events before and after the resignation, particularly at what happened during the ACM. After trying to find out more from both sides, we felt convinced and left Life BPC to join True Life BPC.

My family settled in fairly quickly in True Life. As the church was still very new then, I noticed there were a few areas I could help and I started to volunteer in my small area as photographer and PA crew member for True Life BPC and FEBC. This was in understanding that we are all part of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:11-26) and that we should make use of our gifts and talents that God has given each of us to build up the Church, of which we are all members.

On the invitation of some members, my family started to attend the Family Bible Fellowship for the past few years where we got to learn more of God’s Word and have fellowship and encourage each other from Scripture, especially brethren facing similar challenges in the family (Heb 10:24, 25). Being the current FBF coordinator, my assistant and I plan and coordinate the activities of the fellowship in consultation with the other members. As the Lord leads, I also try to exhort, warn and encourage the group.

My family’s involvement in the different church ministries did not leave us any poorer, but instead, (with God’s grace and mercy) it has helped us grow closer and more grounded in the faith. I would like to encourage all members to seek to serve in a ministry and join a fellowship group for mutual edification to the glory of God. Let us all endeavor to be profitable servants of the Lord (Matt 25:14-29) and pray for God’s grace and strength so we can continue to serve Him with clean hands and pure hearts all our days.

[Ed: Dr Chan Kay Heem will be standing for election as deacon at the ACM on 27 April 2014. He is married to Sok Sin, and they have three children, Joshua, Joel, and Anne.]

FEBC ALUMNI WRITE

From Bomet, Africa

Dear Dr. Khoo

Greetings to you and FEBC in Christ Jesus our Lord. We are thankful to hear what the Lord has done both in the Church and in the College. We always remember you in our prayers that the Lord of glory may prosper in your service for Him. We pray for God’s protection and provisions for His work there. May the Lord grant FEBC great success that many of His laborers may be equipped for His great harvest in this last days. Keep up your good fight of faith it is not in vain. May God bless you.

The Kalenjin Bible Translation Project is going on well. We have done more than half of the New Testament. We covet your earnest prayers that we may give our people a complete and trustworthy Bible as translated from the Textus Receptus. We thank God for the open door through the Trinitarian Bible Society. Pray for this too. Thanks.

Jonathan Langat

1 April 2014

From Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Dear Dr. Jeffrey Khoo,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I praise the Lord for His grace and mercy upon our life and ministry in Vietnam.

First of all, I thank God for what He has done among our brethren in Vietnam. I also thank FEBC for training us faithfully for the Kingdom of God in our country. By His grace, Saigon Presbyterian Bible School (SPBS), after eight years of modular training, in September 2013, started full-time resident Bible training. It is located at Peace Presbyterian Church where I am serving (2 hours’ drive from HCMC).

With the co-labour of brother Ngoc Chan who is faithfully serving as a lecturer with us since his coming back from FEBC. Besides the 50 modular students, we now have 15 full-time students (4 years BTh). It is not easy, as I am serving the Lord in this ministry, my heart is for FEBC and my beloved lecturers in FEBC more and more.

Brother Hieu is serving as an assistant pastor with Rev. Khai at Hope Presbyterian Church in HCMC and he also participates by teaching in the Bible School.

I am thankful to the Lord and FEBC for training us. As the result, we are together with the same mind and same stand to serve the Lord in our country, and I still remember your words to me, “You are the best missionary to your country”. The Lord is using us to build up the Christian faith which is based on the inspired, infallible and preserved Word of God. Thank God for your faithfulness in teaching His Word.

Secondly, thank you for allowing me to be proofreader for Hieu’s translation. I am thankful to the Lord for this privilege to check a translation from English to Vietnamese. By God’s grace and wisdom, Hieu has done a wonderful work on the book Theology for Every Christian: A Systematic Theology in the Reformed and Premilliennial Tradition of J Oliver Buswell by Timothy Tow and Jeffrey Khoo. Rev. Khai and I have read through and edited Hieu’s translation. I would like to verify that the book has been translated faithfully and accurately by Hieu Nguyen for reading and study to get the true understanding of Reformed Systematic Theology. May the Lord use this translation for many other Vietnamese Bible students to learn and teach the truth of His Word.

Regards,

Your student,

Bao An

1 April 2014