Mount Carmel BP Church 1
For internal c irculat ion only
29 August 2021
Bringing
Generations Together To Love God
& Love People MOUNT CARMEL BIBLE-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Rev Daniel Chua 2 Chronicles 20
2 Mount Carmel BP Church
Urgent and Important: Nehemiah 1: 2-3: DO NOW
Nehemiah held an important position in
the court of a secular King. The People
of God had been exiled and the walls of
Jerusalem were in ruins. Hanani came
with certain men and Nehemiah seized
the opportunity to enquire about the
condition of the exiles and Jerusalem.
When it was urgent and important,
Nehemiah seized the opportunity and
acted. It might be a long while before
Nehemiah had another chance to make
such discrete enquiries. Thus, this was a
matter of urgency. It concerned the People
of God and the City of Jerusalem which
was important. Nehemiah acted without
hesitation. If we are indecisive people it
means that we do not know what is
important or we do not know how to
recognise a divine opportunity. We will
need to focus on developing ourselves
in these two areas.
Not Urgent but Important: Nehemiah 1:1 and Nehemiah 2:1: DECIDE AND PLAN
Neh 1:1 took place in the month of
Chislev and Neh 2:1 took place in the
month of Nisan. The difference is
about four months. From the latter half
of chapter 1, we can see Nehemiah
acknowledging the sins of the people of
God and prayerfully waiting for a good
opportunity to bring up the sensitive
It is easy to separate the secular and sacred. Let’s use a well-known secular
time-management framework intersects with the Book of Nehemiah.
Eisenhower Matrix
Mount Carmel BP Church 3
Ps Ng Liang Wei
matter of Jerusalem’s ruins to the King.
It was four months before Nehemiah
acted. Jerusalem’s ruins was a matter of
great importance and Nehemiah bathed
it in prayer and prayerfully watched for
an opportunity. Christians need to
decide and discern what is important and
prayerfully plan out the implementation.
Not Important and Not Urgent: Nehemiah 6:1-4: DELETE
As they were building the wall, the
project had its enemies and they invited
Nehemiah for a meeting. Verse 2 states
that Nehemiah knew that harm was
coming and he chose not to meet
them at all.
Once we sense that the situation is not
going to be helpful for the condition of
our souls, we should delete it. Over the
years, when I was working in the
emerging markets, there are just
some people who are intentionally or
unintentionally hoping that I will be
drawn to ungodly behaviour. The
solution is not to engage at all. Their
goal was harm and any proposed
collaboration was simply in a direction
that was against God. This is not to
say that we need to avoid everyone
who is not a believer. In fact, anyone
who has done enough business will
tell you Christians can often behave
worse. The important thing is to
choose people who desire to move in
the correct trend and direction. One of
my ex-bosses was not a Christian but
he was a patriot and wanted to do
good for his country. So while I did not
align with every one of his personal
decisions, I was overall pleased to
help him in his endeavours but with clear
communication that I would recuse/
excuse myself in decisions that I deem
incompatible with my faith e.g. organising
and participating in prosperity blessing
festivals.
Not Important but Urgent: DELEGATE
These are tasks that are no longer
important because we may no longer
be the best person to do it. Neh. 7:1,
Nehemiah set up the doors despite the
intimidation of people like Tobiah. His
example showed everyone that he was
not intimidated. Thereafter, he delegated
the task of security to his brother as it
was no longer possible that Nehemiah
was the one doing everything. The
security of the wall was too important
for Nehemiah to keep to himself. The
necessity for his continual involvement
had ended, and he needed to delegate
this task as security remained an
urgent matter.
Conclusion
Prayerfully consider how we can
integrate our lives well for God’s
Kingdom. There is no need for secular
and sacred divide. I have used the
above model to serve in both secular
and Christian organisations personally.
Hope it helps you to maximise your time
or inspire you to pull two disparate
worlds together for the Lord in your
own way as He leads.
4 Mount Carmel BP Church
Next Wednesday (1 Sept), 7.45 pm Chairperson & Devotion: Ps Jabez Chia
PWYA—Pray Where You Are
Attendance: (Friday, 20 Aug): 52 (Missions Fest) (Wednesday, 25 Aug): 24
PRAYING FOR THE NATIONS Creative Access Nation — Ps Andrew Thank God for His protection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pray for God’s continual
protection on His church as there are not enough vaccines for ordinary folks. Because of on-and-off lockdowns, travel is restricted. Pastors are busier with preaching
and ministering online. Worship Services are also held online, while other provinces allow in-person worship. Pray for effective on-line ministry and for the spiritual lives of the members.
Pray for the leadership to have the vision & direction from God during this time
India Rev. S. Eman Kumar - Mt.Carmel, Chennai. Pray for religious freedom as there is rising opposition against Gospel work and churches. Chennai is in lockdown again. All church activities have moved online. Many members
returned to their native places because of loss of jobs. No offering collected due to pandemic; pray that God provide for our needs to run the Church and, also to help affected members.
Ps Boipu Serto - Manipur Baptist Convention (MBC), Manipur For God’s guidance and mercy for all 29 Associations under MBC and good health of
the MBC Cabinet and staff. Already lost about 30 pastors to COVID-19. Pray for oneness of mind as we discern the needs of our community at the upcoming
Mission Church Leaders Consultation. For Institute of Community Transformation (ICT) training for missionaries, we need discernment to impact our society with positive changes, post COVID.
Pastor Ayo Zimik - University Evangelical Fellowship (UEF), Delhi. Though we encountered more ministry obstacles in the last one and a half years, we
recognise God’s gracious hand was lifting and leading us during this difficult time. Both my wife and I suffered a severe COVID-19 infections but have since recovered.
It is frustrating to continue this virtual fellowship. Church fellowship is not meant to be this way. We still face an uncertain future. My three children continue their schooling online. It often creates very challenging parenting situations. Please pray for parental patience and discernment in this area.
Myanmar That God will touch the heart, mind and soul of Sr. General Ming Aung Hlaing to have
compassion for his people & for a political solution to be reached through UN or ASEAN or whatever means to prevent a civil war.
Pray that the church will remain free, since the military are pro-Buddhist. May churches not be discouraged or go into hiding due to danger. Instead, pray that the church will be bold and learn to adapt to new ways of doing ministry and pray that pastors will be supportive of one another as they face isolation & depression.
Serving In Mission (SIM East Asia) — Rev Toh See Kiat For the Covid situation in Canada, that the "fourth wave" of the Delta variant will not be
fierce, that the government can keep it well managed so as to enable it to continue opening its borders on 7 Sep as planned, for international travellers and missionaries like us.
That Dorothy and I will be able to return to the mission field in September to bring God's Word and salvation to those who are lost and without hope and comfort to the flock we have left behind.
Mount Carmel BP Church 5
5 Sept Rev Oh Boon Leong Return To The Lord 2 Chron 30:1-9
12 Sept Rev Ng Liang Wei Spiritual Renewal Under Josiah
2 Chron 34-35
19 Sept Rev Jabez Chia Spiritual Renewal Under Nehemiah
Nehemiah 8
26 Sept Rev Oh Boon Leong Spiritual Renewal Under Peter
Acts 2
ANNOUNCEMENTS/UPDATES
Ps Peter Teo will be on Sabbatical leave from 1 September till 30 November 2021.
Registration for 2021 Christmas Baptism, Transfer of Membership & Reaffirmation of Faith is open now. The 1st interview will be held on 12 September 2021. Classes will commence on 19 September 2021.
Candidates who have been worshipping with us regularly for at least 6 months, may register with Weyen at Church office
([email protected]; 92977214). Closing date for registration is 29 August 2021.
6 Mount Carmel BP Church
ATTENDANCE
Service Livestream In-Person
Views Service
English 1037 40
Chinese 105 50
Saturday Youth Service - 40
Rhoda 25
SEMS (wechat) 64
Mount Carmel BP Church 7
2 Chronicles 20:1-30
Two key lessons from Asa's renewal
1. A renewal can begin as man's initiative ,but revival is the work of God
2. A renewal can lead to a full-fledged revival, but there is no guarantee
this will also be so
Two key lessons from Jehoshaphat's renewal
1. Renewal can impact not only our church, but even beyond our walls
2. It takes a team of godly leaders to launch a renewal, not just the passion
of the Senior Pastor
Two key questions
1. Do you hunger for a season of renewal in Carmel?
2. Will you join our leaders to pray passionately for it to happen?
8 Mount Carmel BP Church
Worship Leader Chew Leong Ho Speaker Rev Daniel Chua Congregational Prayer Rev Jabez Chia Scripture Reader Cynthia Wee
Behold Our God
Gloria Patri
Acts 16:16-28
Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me
能不能 /一生爱祢
Doxology
2 Chronicles 20:1-30
Spiritual Renewal Under Jehoshaphat
Almost Home
Three-Fold Amen
For a digital copy of this bulletin:
http://www.carmel.sg/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Weekly-082921.pdf
For recordings of past sermons, visit www.carmel.sg
To install myCarmel app, visit https://church.carmel.sg/myCarmel
Welcome! A warm welcome to all newcomers and visitors with us today. We hope that you will have a meaningful time of worship this morning.
To access the worship service livestream:
https://carmel.sg/live
Mount Carmel BP Church 1
2 Mount Carmel BP Church
Mount Carmel BP Church 3
Mount Carmel BP Church 5
29 Aug 2021
10TH ANNIVERSARY. In October, i t w i l l b e 1 0 y e a rs s in c e th e P re s b y te ry was inaugurated with four Bible-Presbyterian churches. Today, that number has doubled to eight, with BPCIS (Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore) officially registered in 2018. A 10th anniversary leaflet is being prepared in e-copy and will be available on BPCIS website. WEBSITE. Launched on Good Friday this year, it has run several life stories, the latest being “A Pastor in Every Generation” following the ordination of Rev Vernon Quek. A recent report shows 272 visitors and 546 pages viewed. Feel free to visit us at bpcis.org.sg. PASTORS & LEADERS RETREAT. Thankfully, with COVID restrictionseased, we held an in-person Retreat in July for 48 participants at Mount Carmel BPC. Coffee breaks and lunch took place when we left 2 by 2 to nearby eating places. Dr Robert Solomon spoke on the spirituality of sharing resources, pointing us to the Trinity as a model of love among Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One participant commented, “Few speakers can draw out the Scripture with such historical, contextual and cultural insights. Dr Solomon was able to relate the beauty of sharing resources to our Triune God for which we celebrate and give thanks.” “MINGLE” INITIATIVE. A platform for singles from 25 years upwards to meet and mingle was recently launched, attracting 68 sign-ups (32% male, 68% female). Two events had been
held with one more to complete present cycle. If interested, you can check it out on BPCIS website. NO-FAULT DIVORCE. Wecommissioned BGST (Biblical Graduate School of Theology) to study the issue from the theological, legal and pastoral angles. We are looking at the first draft and hope to share our findings soon. The No-Fault Divorce is being proposed by the government to lessen the negative impact of divorce on the couple and their children. It erases the current distinction between an offending part and the offended party. ANNUAL PRESBYTERY MEETING. On Saturday, 25 Sep, BP pastors and elders will meet to hear reports, approve budget and elect new office-bearers for the next 2-year term. Others will join for the second part when guest speaker, Rev Keith Lai, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church will address us on the church scene in Singapore amidst the on-going pandemic. TRIBUTE. Finally, we give thanks to God for the life of Elder Quek Swee Peng of Zion Serangoon BPC who went home to the Lord on 20 August. He hosted the first consultations of BP pastors and elders at Tanglin Club in 2010 which led to the formation of the Presbytery. He supported the birth and growth BPCIS with his encouragement and prayers.
Pastor David Wong, General Secretary, BPCIS
Mount Carmel BP Church 5