A Place of Discovery

HAVE SALT IN YOURSELVES Mark 9:41-50 . ““For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭9:49-50‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ . SALT in Jesus’ time was used for: preservative, an antiseptic, disinfectant, a fire catalyst, fertiliser, to add flavour to food, etc. . Salt as a fire catalyst was used to keep the fire burning. The challenge is how can we keep the fire burning without, we, being burnt out and lost our saltiness! And how can we remain salty to function as antiseptic or adding flavour to food? To promote peaace and to transform the society? . We can’t give what we don’t have. And we can’t give more than what we have! We can only give what we have!   . Was this how John Wesley felt before his heart warming experience on 24 May 1738? Tasteless? Powerless? No fire? . May you do your work in us L...

DRAWING LARGER CIRCLES “‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said. ‘For no-one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭9:38-40‬ ‭NIV "He drew a circle that shut me out — Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in." Markham Prof Habibie, Indonesia 3rd President, said our problem now is, “identity politics”. People are drawing circles to exclude each others. The disciples seemed to have a very small circle that only recognised certain badges and banners. Circles that can contain only a small number of people. When I first visited Scotland, it took a bit effort to find the house I’d be staying in Edinburgh. I stopped at a shop to ask for direction, and the owner was a Pakistani Muslim. He was very friendly. When h...

BIBLE, THE WAY TO HEAVEN (2 Timothy 3:10-17—Preacher: Ps Paw Liang) I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me that book of God. Let me be homo unius libri – a man of one book . (John Wesley’s Prayer) What does the Bible mean to you? False teachings was one of the issues faced by the early church. Paul reminds us, the Bible is the way to heaven, the way of God, the way of life. We need to be rooted in the Bible firmly. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible should be the foundation of our life and ministry. in discerning the teachings in our time and in setting direction for our church. The Methodist Quadrilateral do not have equal weigh. Rather, Tradition, Reason, and Experience should...

IN THE  POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: INCLUDING THE OUTSIDERS (Acts 10:44-47—Preacher: Ps Paw Liang) The Trinity are independent and interdependent. Each Person has their own distinct roles and characteristics. In this text, the Holy spirit is God, just like the Father and the Son. And He is free. The Holy Spirit is free to come and to go whenever and however he pleases. He is free to give gifts or withhold gifts, to regenerate and convict and baptize and seal and fill and comfort and counsel whenever he wills according to his own infinite wisdom (Heb 2:4; 1 Cor 12:11) Is there any correlation between the way Peter preached and the coming of the Holy Spirit in power? The general misunderstanding is certain pastors will have the power to call down the Holy Spirit. Jesus told us, the Holy Spirit comes to teach us all things and will remind us of Jesus. Holy Spirit helps to make Jesus real to us. When Peter preached about Jesus, Holy Spirit comes to convict, to reg...

IN THE  POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: THE KINGDOM EXPANDED (Acts 8:26-40—Preacher: Ps Paw Liang) Following Jesus’ Footsteps Discipleship is not what we do  in the church on Sunday but  how we live our life everyday. How do we walk like Jesus walked. Amongst the disciple, Philip was the strategic and calculative one. When Jesus asked to feed the 5000, very quick Philip challe nged Him, “ eight months wages wouldn’t be enough to buy bread for each one to have a bite ! (John 6:7).  When Jesus was telling them about his relationship and the Father, Philip asked,  “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. ” Listening and Leading by the Holy Spirit. There is a significant change after the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in Pentecost Day. He was willing to listen and to be guided by the Holy Spirit.    It’s not that we shouldn’t plan, but we shouldn’t constraint God works with our planning. God’s can a...

IN THE NAME OF JESUS: SALVATION COMES (Acts 4:5-12 — Ps Paw Liang) How do you know that you’re saved? Who is Jesus to you? A Theologian who was converted from other religion told about his conversion story. Each time he visited graveyards, he was intrigued by the words on gravestone. The Moslem writes, “ semoga amal dan ibadah diterima di sisi Allah ” (may the good works and service (worship) be accepted at the side of God. Whereas Christians’ write, “ Telah kembali ke rumah Bapa di sorga ” (Has returned to the Father’s home in heaven). One will depend if your charity will be enough to gain heaven. But the other one has the assurance they will be accepted at the Father’s home. There is an assurance in Jesus' name! Jesus Christ of Nazareth is fully human and fully God. The name of Jesus comes with power: it’s not enough to believe, we need to claim and live on that power as what John and Peter did. The power of Jesus enabled them to do what Jesus has done—to heal ...

THE PRAYER OF THE HELPLESS Psalm 86 “Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭86:1-3, 11, 17‬ ‭NIV David sounds desperate and helpless, to the point of giving up. He realises that he is poor and needy. He is helpless. He doesn’t surrender to his enemies (pressures of life), he turns to God for help. Although God seems to be slow in answering his prayer! Yet David affirms himself, God has helped and comforted him in the past. God’s faithfulness never fails. He will continue to trust in God. His faith in the mighty and living God outweighs the oppressive harsh realities...