Monday, July 24, 2006
Our Love Affair with Jesus
Pastor Shufang Tribal Gathering - 24th July'06
Reporter: Sharon Thien
The gathering began with a powerful time of praise and worship, as we, led by Pastor Serene’s girls, sang love songs to Jesus.
Thereafter, Pastor Shufang gave a positive report of the Shanghai Summer Camp, speaking of how the Shanghainese were touched as the team loved and served them.
This followed with Pastor Serene’s debut sharing of: Our Love Affair with Jesus. She shared that the message had been on her heart for a long time and of her difficulties in finding an anchoring verse for the message. The message was a reflection of her heart’s cry and desire to realign our hearts back to the Lord.
“We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)
Tenderly but pointedly, Pastor Serene realigned us back to the crux of Christian faith.
Pastor Serene explained that according to the Oxford Dictionary love affair means a relationship between two lovers and here, the two lovers refers to Jesus and I.
Our Love Affair with Jesus involves:
1) Passion – The Motivation to Keep Going
2) Purpose – To Please the Lord
3) Prayer – To Live a Life Worthy of God
How Do We See Love?
Pastor Serene described that love usually begins with infatuation which goes through a process of testing and is finally sealed with a commitment called marriage. She compared the impermanence of marriage with the permanence of a relationship with God: In a marriage, the marriage vows will cease upon the death(s) of either/ both, whereas our relationship with God lasts for eternity.
Guard Your Heart
1. Double-Mindedness (with at least two purposes)
v Resulting from unfaithfulness (Matt 6:24, 1 Jn 2:15,16)
2. Disappointment
v Resulting from wrong expectation and image of God
v God is not a wet blanket or spoilsport
v (Refer to Rom 8:32, 35 and 2 Tim 4:7)
Pastor Serene challenged us to think about what it would take for us to choose to forfeit our relationship with God: “What are you asking for? Can you trust the Lord that He will give you the best? What price will you give Jesus up for? (Judas gave Him up for 30 pieces of silver.)
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Purpose - To Please the Lord
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom 12:2)
Pastor Serene asked us to examine ourselves: Is my life pleasing to the Lord? And to ask God: Are You pleased with me? (Heb 11:6)
Prayer - To Live a life worthy of God
“Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” (Rom 8:8)
“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10)
Pastor Serene then led us into a time of ministry and many came forth to receive prayer.
Insights
Pey Rou shared that she had a good experience of leading the worship as a vocalist. The thing from the message that struck her most was this: What price will you give Jesus up for? She affirmed that one day the test will come. She was also reminded to stay as a family. She prayed for someone during the ministry time and reflected that the things that could be done for the person were beyond her and she simply left the work to God.
Reporter: Sharon Thien
The gathering began with a powerful time of praise and worship, as we, led by Pastor Serene’s girls, sang love songs to Jesus.
Thereafter, Pastor Shufang gave a positive report of the Shanghai Summer Camp, speaking of how the Shanghainese were touched as the team loved and served them.
This followed with Pastor Serene’s debut sharing of: Our Love Affair with Jesus. She shared that the message had been on her heart for a long time and of her difficulties in finding an anchoring verse for the message. The message was a reflection of her heart’s cry and desire to realign our hearts back to the Lord.
“We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)
Tenderly but pointedly, Pastor Serene realigned us back to the crux of Christian faith.
Pastor Serene explained that according to the Oxford Dictionary love affair means a relationship between two lovers and here, the two lovers refers to Jesus and I.
Our Love Affair with Jesus involves:
1) Passion – The Motivation to Keep Going
2) Purpose – To Please the Lord
3) Prayer – To Live a Life Worthy of God
How Do We See Love?
Pastor Serene described that love usually begins with infatuation which goes through a process of testing and is finally sealed with a commitment called marriage. She compared the impermanence of marriage with the permanence of a relationship with God: In a marriage, the marriage vows will cease upon the death(s) of either/ both, whereas our relationship with God lasts for eternity.
Guard Your Heart
1. Double-Mindedness (with at least two purposes)
v Resulting from unfaithfulness (Matt 6:24, 1 Jn 2:15,16)
2. Disappointment
v Resulting from wrong expectation and image of God
v God is not a wet blanket or spoilsport
v (Refer to Rom 8:32, 35 and 2 Tim 4:7)
Pastor Serene challenged us to think about what it would take for us to choose to forfeit our relationship with God: “What are you asking for? Can you trust the Lord that He will give you the best? What price will you give Jesus up for? (Judas gave Him up for 30 pieces of silver.)
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Purpose - To Please the Lord
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom 12:2)
Pastor Serene asked us to examine ourselves: Is my life pleasing to the Lord? And to ask God: Are You pleased with me? (Heb 11:6)
Prayer - To Live a life worthy of God
“Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” (Rom 8:8)
“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10)
Pastor Serene then led us into a time of ministry and many came forth to receive prayer.
Insights
Pey Rou shared that she had a good experience of leading the worship as a vocalist. The thing from the message that struck her most was this: What price will you give Jesus up for? She affirmed that one day the test will come. She was also reminded to stay as a family. She prayed for someone during the ministry time and reflected that the things that could be done for the person were beyond her and she simply left the work to God.
// posted by The Correspondent @ 9:50 AM 
