The City SG Podcast

“In contrast to our culture’s view of freedom as liberation from constraints, biblical freedom is obtaining God’s supernatural power to overcome our desires for self-gratification and fulfill our deepest desire for love.” - @andrejosiah Pastor Andre kicked off a new sermon series, The Freedom You Long For, with a sharing on life by the Spirit. Through Jesus’ victory over death, He purchased our liberty to choose between freedom and the yoke of slavery. Freedom is thus how we ought to live in light of the resurrection, where we choose, with God’s help, a life free from sin and one that embraces the right desires that God has for our lives. May we desire to live befitting of the freedom that Jesus has purchased for us at a great price - by turning away from sin and its temptations with the help of the Holy Spirit.

“One of the great strategies of the enemy is to take the promises of God designed to set us free, and through the worship of self, turn them into shackles that exhaust and bind us.” - @andrew_gardener Pastor Andrew ministered at our service today and shared a sobering word on Falling Into Forgetfulness, and how idolatry has made its way into our individual lives and as the body of Christ. Sharing from Exodus 32, and how the Israelites created an idol to worship in their impatience to hear from God, Pastor Andrew asked us to similarly consider the times we’ve turned away from the intangible things of God to embrace what is tangible, due to our lack of understanding of what God is doing in and amongst us. As we enter Holy Week, may this be our reminder to yield to God, surrender the areas of idolatry in our lives, and to be open to God’s move as the bride that He is returning for.

"Sometimes Jesus just needs us to go, pray and trust. Jesus will do the rest." - @dpma Derek Ma challenged us by sharing his testimony of what God has done in his life over the years through the story of Ananias in Acts 9 He expounds from the view of Ananias, who might not have understood God’s assignment initially, but acted in faith and trusted in God command and was used as an instrument in Saul’s conversion. May we all enter our week learning to trust in God and availing ourselves as instruments of God!

“Obedience is not just one aspect of a believer’s life. It is the central guiding principle that shapes our identity, purpose and relationship with God.” - @chrisvonne Christine shared on The Priority Of Obedience, gleaning from the lives of Saul and Abraham, one whose selective obedience ultimately led to his demise, and another who demonstrated wholehearted obedience, without question, despite the personal sacrifice he was called to make. Complete obedience to God may seem like the antithesis to today’s prevailing culture that champions self determination and personal freedom. Within this tension, Christine encouraged us to rediscover the importance of complete obedience to God as a response to His love, a pathway to our freedom and fulfilment, and ultimately, to be His counter-cultural witnesses here on earth. May we desire to walk in a deeper level of wholehearted surrender and obedience to God, and take heart that we can ultimately do so by leaning on His empowerment and grace as we continue to walk with Him.

The brokenness we see in our world today has a common root system, and that is the wickedness of the human heart. Sin does not just have a personal effect; it has a corporate effect and ripples out through the land. Do we carry in our hearts a sense of responsibility for the brokenness in our world? - @andrejosiah Pastor Andre continued our Vision Series with a sharing from Ezekiel 22 - in a time of great spiritual decline, God sought for a man to stand in the gap as an advocate for the land—but He found no one. As we reflect on the state of our world and church today, are we similarly missing God’s call? In modelling after Jesus, our perfect advocate, the church can live out the calling of God to to stand in the gap for the brokeness of our world. As we reflect on God’s word today, may we resist indifference and rekindle our heart’s desire for God and the outpouring of His spirit.

“In a world devoid of absolute moral truths, we, as Christians, assert that the gospel embodies the utmost truth—that life in its fullness can only be found in Jesus and His kingdom. Any other attempt to find life is destined to fail.” - @andrejosiah Pst Andre continued our Vision Series, with a sharing on Recovering Gospel Urgency. While many Christians today struggle with embracing evangelism, with some deeming it unacceptable to share the gospel with others, Pst Andre called for us to reflect on how we define the gospel and if this aligns with the gospel that Jesus called us to believe in. Specifically, the good news that God, in His great love for us, has rescued us from sin, death and hell, through the works of Jesus on our behalf, with the ultimate aim of establishing His kingdom through His people and in the power of the Holy Spirit. May we desire to say Yes to God’s call of evangelism by first rediscovering the good news of the gospel in our own lives, with trust that God is able to work through our acts of obedience, no matter how small they may be.

“The message of Jesus is not to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses; rather, it is in your weakness that God’s strength is made perfect within you.“ - @andrejosiah We started on our Vision Series, with an overarching theme of A Holy Discontent, challenging us to confront the shallowness of our spiritual discontent in a culture that craves immediacy and the temporary. Ps. Andre spoke on the very heart of discipleship today, which is to take our spiritual formation seriously. A dangerous fallacy in our approach to life with God occurs when we believe that being strong in one area will somehow compensate for weakness in another, but God wants us be like Christ in all aspects of our lives. Let us take some time to reflect on this question: “Where am I unlike Jesus?”Our formation must address the areas where we are not formed in Christ. We pray that we will approach our spiritual growth with intention, taking active steps to be molded into the image of Christ and live out our faith daily.

“The call to live into a more mature and resilient discipleship is in the wilderness where God longs to lead us to experiences that bring revelation and intimacy which is just not possible any other way.” - @janicechinchern Janice brought a sermon titled “In the Wilderness” where she taught from Mark 1 and Luke 4. Using Jesus’ example of testings yet deep reliance on God’s provision and mercies, how Jesus retreated to solitude repeatedly to seek God’s face in His time of ministry, he modelled for us a life of not resisting that seemingly desolate place. She invited us to abide in the place of wilderness, where silence is the ultimate furnace of transformation, allowing God to cut through the noise of our lives and lead us gently to a place where we can heal in greater depths, where in His presence our joy is found. The question for us to reflect on this week is “What is God speaking to you about?”. As we contemplate and reflect on our wilderness, may we remain in that place with Him, inclining our ears towards His voice and abiding with greater surrender and trust.

“As we approach the end times, God wants us to reconnect with two realities - the gospel of the Kingdom proclaimed to all nations, and Israel embracing Jesus as their Messiah.’ - @jasonchua.sg Jason’s sermon on The Antioch Community expounds on God’s desire for His people to be a royal priesthood unto Him, that we may be a sign of His glory and dominion here on earth as we await His return. As we continue to walk with God in these tumultuous times, may we remember to live in sobriety, and with intentionality to behold God and know the desires of His heart.

“Between wasting our gifts and burning ourselves out, Jesus calls us to a more excellent way: a joyful life of service fuelled by His abundant love” - @timothyshaun This morning, Tim brought us a sermon titled “A More Excellent Way”, where he spoke on how we can best steward the gifts of the Spirit that we’ve been given by God to serve others. He reminded us that serving & loving the body of Christ come hand in hand - when we abide in and are filled with God’s love for us and for His Church, the overflow of that love looks like serving His people. To serve is to love; and to love is to serve. As we continue on this journey of spiritual formation, we pray that we will mature both in love and service, where the spiritual gifts that God has given us are neither wasted, nor will we feel burnt out serving the body of Christ.

“A large part of our discipleship rests on fending off cynicism and pursuing wonder; keeping our hearts anchored in hope, joy, and faith in God despite life’s setbacks.“ - @andrejosiah Pst Andre shared about Small Beginnings at our first service of 2024, where we celebrated a new milestone in our journey as a church family with our official move to Nexus. Sharing from the life of Caleb, and his different response, in contrast to the doubt, despair and contempt that others had for God’s promised land, Pst Andre reminded us that God often chooses the small, weak, and unseen for His purposes. Insignificant as they may appear to us, they often are how God shows His power and goodness in our lives. As we enter into a new week, may we think about how we may see as God sees, and how we may rejoice in the small beginnings that He wants to use in our lives. Be blessed!

“The joy that God calls us to is one that is bold and courageous - one that is able to look at death and suffering as temporary.” - @timothyshaun Tim concluded our Advent series, Rumours of God, with a sermon on Joy. A condition of the heart and a posture of the soul, Tim shared about how the eternal joy that we have because of the good news of the gospel: Jesus’ birth, and the promise of His second coming. Even in the midst of sorrow and disappointments that we navigate in this life, may we seek to cultivate the fruit of Joy through drawing from God’s presence, plugging into community and embracing the discipline of celebration.

“Hope is the confident expectation of good based on the person and promises of God.” - @andrejosiah Ps Andre continued our Advent series, Rumours of God, with a sermon on Hope. Sharing from Luke 1:5-7 and the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah who waited in long-suffering, resilience and obedience for a child, Pst Andre shared about the disappointment and unfulfilled longings we experience on this side of eternity, and how this can become our meeting point with Jesus when we bring our desires and longings to Him. In our waiting, will we be righteous and holy, or will our hearts be bitter and lead us to sin? And if our desires are not fulfilled, will we still trust in God? Even in the face of disappointment, may we remember that God is faithful, and remembers every prayer we utter. We can have a defiant and unwavering hope in Him.

“Seeking to act in our own time, rather than waiting on God’s, doesn’t accelerate the work of God in our lives; it corrupts it. Rather than seizing our destiny, we sabotage it.” - @andrejosiah Pst Andre kicked off our Advent series today with examining the contrasting responses of Joseph and Herod to the impending birth of Jesus. He invited us to reflect and ask ourselves: how do we respond to uncertainties in our lives? Do we gravitate toward seeking control like Herod did, or do we submit our outcomes to God, and to His will, like Joseph? In disruption, we learn that we are not in control of our lives, but that we can relinquish this burden to God who gives us peace as we surrender and trust in Christ, our true King. As we journey toward Christmas, may we prayerfully reflect on areas in our lives where we can enter greater surrender to Jesus through acts of obedience and trust.

“The most criticized aspect of Jesus’ ministry was who he ate with. He often shared meals with tax collectors and prostitutes, individuals considered the most reprehensible in society.” - @andrejosiah This morning, Ps. Andre shared about how Jesus has modelled a radical culture of hospitality, and challenges us to allow the Gospel to reconfigure our perception differently. By allowing the Word to work within us, we can reprogramme and reshape how we perceive others so that we can view the least of us as genuinely lost, separated from God and in need of Him. We hope this inspires #thecityfam to think about hospitality and people in a deeper light.

“Being saturated in the Word, and being led by the Spirit, are large parts of, and critical to growing, as disciples of Jesus.” - Jonathan Tong In week 3 of our Resilient Discipleship sermon series, Jonathan taught about the importance of being led by the Spirit and living that out daily in our lives is first and foremost rooted in the Word of God and how that is a critical aspect in forging a godly perspective towards money, sex and power. May we be encouraged that the Spirit indwelling within us enables us to cease labouring in our human effort and propels us to live for His glory with grace.

“The identifying mark of a resilient disciple is to have love for one another. How can we be offended with others if we have love?” - David Tan In week 2 of our sermon series on being Resilient Disciples, David brought us a word on being unoffendable, speaking from Matthew 18:15-17, and Galatians 5:16-17. In life, there are many opportunities for us to be offended, but David reminded us that when people offend others intentionally, it’s because they feel hurt. In those situations, as disciples of God, our response shouldn’t be to be hurt by the person causing offence, but to hurt for them, knowing and seeing the hurt that the person carries. Scripture also tells us that receiving offence is inevitable in life. However, to be offended is a choice that we make. May we instead make the decision to live our lives fixing our eyes on what is unseen and on Jesus, to remain unoffended and live with eternity and love for one another in mind.

“In the midst of the unresolved tensions in our lives, God invites us into deeper relationship and reliance on Him.” - @xianyi Kicking off our latest sermon series, Resilient Discipleship: following Jesus in Modern Babylon, Xianyi shared about how we can learn from the example of Jesus, to lean on God even as we live in the tension between representing God and His kingdom well in the present reality while awaiting God’s promised future. Our points of questioning can be avenues for us to seek God and grow deeper in our relationship with Him. Just as Jesus looked to the Father and did as the Father did, may we desire to hear His voice and do His will even as we are in the world, but not of it.

“The appropriate response to God’s revelation of His Son, His plan and purposes is a response from His church & His people to be missional.” - @timothyshaun In this sermon teaching, Tim spoke on what it means to be missional as individuals, and collectively as a church. As God’s people, we not only have the privilege of receiving revelation of God’s will and plans for the Earth, He also invites us to partner with Him to do His work - that is our mission. As we mature and grow in revelation, we gain further understanding of how to live for Jesus in our world. We pray that we would be a people that are not just content on being with Jesus and becoming like Jesus, but that the revelation we receive from God will create a response in us to do the works of Jesus in our city, to give our lives for the desires of God’s heart and be part of His story.

“We are to be anchoring our lives on the revelation of the mystery of godliness, as that gives us the strength and the ability to withstand what’s coming: the mystery of ungodliness.” - @andoryuutam Andrew wrapped up our 3-week series on the book of Daniel by expounding on Daniel 8 to 12. He expounded on the Abomination of Desolation, and provided more detail on the mystery of godliness in contrast with the mystery of lawlessness because at the end of the age, we would need to make a choice between either serving the Son of Man as king, or his alternative, the Antichrist. In Daniel 9 and 10, we are told how we are to respond - to intercede and come into agreement with God’s will. When we intercede, we drive the divine timeline by releasing angelic activity. We pray that as we have gone through the book of Daniel over the past 3 weeks, that it has helped to shed more light and bring more understanding on the topic of the end time church. May we remain faithful in worship, anchored on the hope of the eternal kingdom.

“Isa 63:9 tells us the Lord is afflicted when his people are suffering. He also chose to identify with our suffering in the most tangible way - by bearing our judgement on the cross. But why does he allow us to suffer in this age? Suffering purifies our heart in order for Jesus to be our great reward. It is God’s way to mature love that makes us compatible to rule with Him for eternity..” - @andoryuutam Andrew dived into the Gospel of the Kingdom in week two of The Daniel Series today, putting in perspective the present conflict in the Middle East and the church’s response that is found in Daniel 7 where signs of the end of age and eternal kingdom are revealed. It points to the Lord’s leadership in bringing salvation through perfect judgement and prepares the church to be a compatible bride for His Son. In the midst of uncertain times, may we be people whose hearts long for and gaze fixed on the day of the triumph return of Jesus where our eternal hope is found.

“The most valuable thing we can give to God isn’t our ability to influence culture, but it is our worship and devotion.” - @andoryuutam Andrew kicked off week one of The Daniel Series, with a sharing on the early chapters of the book of Daniel, and what it means for us as believers to emulate Daniel’s faithfulness in worship and prayer amid testings of offence, comfort and persecution that we face in our world today. Our worship and devotion is the ultimate prize to God, and one that we sustain with the revelation of His affection for us. May we stay faithful in developing a rhythm of devotion in our daily lives, as we anchor our hope on His eternal kingdom.

“Whatever has your attention, not only possesses your mind, but will also possess your heart” - @andrejosiah Ps. Andre spoke on the very timely subject of attention, in particular highlighting how it’s getting increasingly harder to be present in the moment with ourselves, with others, and with God. Ps. Andre reminded us once again that prayer, at its root, is simply paying attention to God. But when we’re so easily distracted by the things around us and our thoughts drift, even spending time with God is difficult, and that distraction can lead to disillusionment and disobedience. Let us thus pay attention to what we pay attention to, and be conscious of taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ - when we’re able to be fully present with God, it leads to adoration and ultimately a deeper spiritual relationship with Him.

“Jesus opened a door for Philadelphia because their steadfast faith was significant. His authority gave them access and confidence to persevere in the work of the gospel.” - @janicechinchern Pst Janice concluded our sermon series, Let Them Hear with a sharing on Jesus’ letter to the church of Philadelphia, whom He commended for keeping the faith, witnessed in their obedience, courage and perseverance amid the tribulations and trials they faced. Yet, Pst Janice encouraged us that persevering in our faith is not something we need to labour into with our own strength or stamina, but the result of God’s faithfulness in keeping and holding us as His people. With a hope that overwhelms our trials, we can be assured of God’s protection through adversity and remain confident in His eternal reward. We hope you were blessed by the word, and the exhortation from Jesus to remain steadfast in Him, the hope of our salvation.

“Laodicea saw themselves as rich, but were actually spiritually poor. This is in contrast to Smyrna where they were poor, but spiritually rich. The Laodicean church suffered from self-sufficiency, and were deluded in thinking they had it all.” - @janicechinchern Ps. Janice continued our sermon series, Let Them Hear, with a study on Jesus letter to the church of Laodicea, a church that although was prosperous and rich, was spiritually poor and unaware of their poverty. May our response be to live dependent on God for sustenance and righteousness, so that we do not become ineffective, but effective witnesses for Him; putting our hope and trust not in money, enjoyment of the world or creature comforts but to live in dependency of God.

“Is a good reputation enough to compensate for a compromised heart? You can have all the external measurements of life, and yet be spiritually dead within.” - @andrejosiah Pst Andre continued our sermon series, Let Them Hear, and shared from Jesus’ letter to the church of Sardis in Revelation 3. In understanding the characteristics of death, according to Jesus - hypocrisy, rebellion, and legalism - we are given a sobering reminder that God looks beyond the outside appearance of performative works, but at our hearts; as He desires a people that are spiritually alive in Him. Yet, as with the church of Sardis, death is not without hope, if we repent, and endeavour to finish our race well. May we heed the words of Jesus, and desire to come back to a place of deep intimacy with Him, as we embrace His call to live for Him and His purposes in our world.

“The Church in Smyrna is commended for staying faithful in sacrificial witness despite facing poverty, slander and persecution. We too are called to live costly lives for Jesus, unafraid of suffering even unto death.” - @timothyshaun Tim continued our sermon series, Let Them Hear, with a study on Jesus’ letter to the Church of Smyrna, a vision of a spiritually mature community that chose poverty, even death, to follow Jesus. May our response be to strengthen each other in God through prayer, and bear each others burdens as a community. In our individual lives, may we prayerfully examine our lifestyles, decisions and relationships for areas that we can deepen our devotion, express our faith, and ultimately, desire to live lives of consequence for Jesus.

“Jesus calls us to live in overcoming faith that is holy, humble and hopeful amidst the pressures we face to compromise, for He is the ultimate authority who provides for and preserves us to the end.” - @janicechinchern In week 4 of our sermon series Let Them Hear, we take a look at the letter John the Apostle wrote to the church in Pergamum. Ps. Janice shares how the call to the Pergamum church was ultimately a call to render themselves fully to God, to be loyal to Him and His Kingdom instead of living a life of duplicity of held beliefs and lifestyles. Where does your allegiance lie? Are we holding fast to our faith, while holding on to the things of this world at the same time? May we repent for the small, subtle concessions we’ve allowed to creep in, and reorientate our lives to centre around God first and foremost.

“The wrath of God is not to be dismissed or diminished; it embodies one of the purest forms of God's love: discipline. God's wrath is His love in action against sin.” - @andrejosiah Ps Andre continues his sharing on the church of Thyatira, and how they faced the wrath of God as a result of their lifestyle and embrace of worldly compromise. Yet, God’s wrath is borne from a place of zealous love for us, and desire to purify His church, by destroying anything that hinders this purity in our lives. The only response to God’s zealous love for us is a life of wholehearted consecration. By consciously rejecting worldliness, breaking off the fear of confrontation and ceasing our delay of repentance, may we rediscover Jesus in His fullness, and follow Him well by His grace.

“God calls us to holiness not harlotry, spiritual purity not spiritual prostitution, fidelity not adultery, devotion not duplicity. He calls us to follow Him and not follow the world.” - @andrejosiah Ps. Andre expounded on the letter John the Apostle wrote to the Church of Thyratira, who had tolerated sin and made compromises in their lives. From that letter, we learn that no amount of good deeds, faithful service, sacrificial love, perseverance and hardship can cover for gross unrepentant sin and worldliness. As Christians, we are called to follow God wholeheartedly, enthroning God above all our desires, and allowing the values and priorities of the Lord of Life to take precedence over everything else. May we lead lives that are uncompromising and aligned to God, so that we may be known and called faithful disciples.

“To be ‘fallen’ in the economy of God's kingdom is to be about good deeds without great love. It is sacrificing intimacy with God in exchange for productivity for God.” - @andrejosiah Pst Andre kicked off our new sermon series, Let Them Hear, where we will prayerfully examine and respond to the words of Jesus as He addresses the church. Sharing from Revelation 2, and the story of the church of Ephesus, Pst Andre asked us to consider: are we doing the right things as a community, but labour without a fervent love for Christ? Our hope for recovering our first love is Jesus himself - the One who will seek, find and restore us. May we prayerfully seek God as we remember His grace, repent by turning away from forgetting Him, and re-do the first works as we recommit our lives and hearts to Him, individually and as a church family.

“The practice of discernment is to practice a preference for God in all aspects of our lives.” - @janicechinchern Ps. Janice brought us a word on discernment, and explored what it means, and how we can go about practicing it. Being able to discern is crucial for being faithful disciples, and thus plays a vital role in our lives as a community. When there are moments in our lives when we need to be discerning, may we be open to the Spirit, listening to what the Spirit of God has to say, and be willing to be led by the Spirit. Through this practice, we start to grow in awareness of God, of others and of ourselves, training ourselves to stay faithful, steadfast and true to God.

“We can persevere through the trials of life with God’s grace that empowers us to press on towards the ultimate prize - Christ Jesus.” - @xianyi Xianyi shared about Persevering in our Purpose. Expounding on 1 Corinthians 15:9-10, and the life of Joseph, he reminded us that perseverance through life’s trials and being a good steward of the talents and gifts that God has given us is not a matter of striving in our own strength. Instead, God gives us His unfailing grace to press on toward His purpose for our lives, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We hope that you were blessed by the word, and the reminder to fix our eyes on God, our great prize, and not the temporal things of this world.

“Jesus defines true leadership as loving, sacrificial service of others.” - @jedibaba We had the honour of having Dr. Tan Soo Inn share God’s word with us. Speaking from John 13:1-17, he expounded on servant leadership, and how Jesus challenged the mindset and structure of the disciples by washing their feet, a task that was usually done by the youngest or most junior member of the household in those days. With this act, he demonstrated what leaders of the kingdom look like - ones that humble themselves to serve the Lord and also others. May we learn to be feet-washing people, ones who would stoop down to serve others and wash their feet, and have a humble heart that’s open to receiving ministry from God and from the people around us.

“You prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” @chrisvonne dives into Psalm 23 and expounded on God as a Great Host who cares for and meets the needs of His people. He has laid before us a bountiful feast and beckons us to turn away from the enemies to come to His table and partake of all He is offering. May we take comfort that even amidst our struggles, God is with us and invites us to a seat at the table.

377. The Way of Courage (Camp Assemble Session 4) // Andrew Gardener by The City, Singapore

376. Do Not Be Afraid (Camp Assemble Session 3) // Andrew Gardener by The City, Singapore

375. A Different Spirit (Camp Assemble Session 2) // Andrew Gardener by The City, Singapore

374. A Different Spirit (Camp Assemble Session 1) // Andrew Gardener by The City, Singapore

“Listening is paying full attention to others. Ultimately, helping them feel accepted and free to be their whole selves.“ - @janicechinchern Pst. Janice preached on the Crisis of Listening today, and asked: do we listen to the people around us well? The practice of listening, while a lost art that requires intentional effort, is transformative - what opens the doors to healing when one feels safe to be open and their whole selves. May we prayerfully desire to listen well to God, to others, and to our own hearts.

“When we encourage people, we live out the ministry of the Trinity. Part of our sanctification and spiritual maturity is to grow in encouraging others the same way that God encourages us.” - @andrejosiah Pst. Andre spoke about A Culture of Encouragement, and how we may be a biblical community that upholds the spiritual discipline of encouraging others in an increasingly cynical and critical world. As we grow in our knowledge of the nature of God and His character, having a spirit of encouragement is how we may become more like the God we serve. May we actively look to encourage the people around us. This means noticing, spurring on, and building them up, that we may support them in their journey of faith and pursuit of God.

“While not all of us will be called to lay down our lives for the sake of the gospel, we will all face moments of decision -where will have to choose between the way of Jesus and the ideologies of our world.” - @andrejosiah Pst Andre concluded our current sermon series today, Christ Is Risen: Faith In Light of the Resurrection, with a word on enduring persecution. While the gospel invites resistance as it opposes what most of our modern societies are built upon, Pst Andre shared about how persecution can be an opportunity for greater spiritual formation, and we grow to be more like Jesus. May this be our hope and joy to persevere for the sake of the gospel, that we may know Him more, become more like Him and reflect Christ in our world.

“Our anxiety need not be antithetical to joy and hope but God’s invitation to relinquish control and experience hope and rest in Christ.” - @janicechinchern In week 3 of our sermon series — Christ is Risen, Ps Janice leads us to look at a moment in John 20 where we find Mary Magdalene weeping outside the tomb of Jesus. In her anxiousness, she fails to recognise the angels, and even Jesus. It was when Jesus calls out to her the second time that she recognises Jesus. Do we sometime find ourselves like Mary? We might not realise our anxiousness, amidst shifting circumstances and sudden changes, yet we find trying to find something to have certainty and control over. But Jesus call us like how He calls to Mary, from anxious seeking to faithful witness. Jesus gave her not only His presence, and assurance but a direction to go. As we enter our week, may we bring our anxiousness to Jesus. Declaring our faith in Him rather than ourselves and allowing him to bring His presence, His assurance and His direction.

In his message, Christ is Risen: For All Who Fail, Ps. Andre shares on the work of Jesus - how He lovingly confronts us, and graciously restores us. We are often afraid of being confronted with our weaknesses, but God, in His grace, is the only one who can meet & confront us in our failure, and restore us when His strength is made perfect in us. While the enemy aims to destroy our lives through little bits of sin and compromise that rob us of our confidence to be God’s witnesses, may we live open and willing to God’s confrontation, placing our faith in Jesus’ faithfulness to seeking us in our failure and through His grace, restoring us.

“Our spiritual aliveness is not seen in our ability to suppress our doubts, our spiritual aliveness is seen in our ability to carry our doubts to God. “ - @andrejosiah Ps Andre opened our brand new sermon series this week — Christ Is Risen: Faith In Light Of The Resurrection. We look at the passage from John 20, famously known as “Doubting Thomas”. As Christians we might often feel that doubt is incompatible with our faith, and not allowed to be found in a mature Christian. But the path of doubt is inevitable for anyone who wants to follow Jesus and grow into a mature Christian. Perhaps doubt isn’t the sign of the end of faith but the beginning of a deeper richer version of faith. Ps Andre encourage us to continue to live by faith in times of doubt. Like sowing seeds into the ground of a dry and harsh season, not losing heart. And as the the rain of God comes, our faith will begin to bloom to life, a spiritual aliveness and growth never seen.

“All of us are leaders - deep inside us, a dormant force awaits its awakening, driven by a desire to bring glory to God.” Ps. Daniel encouraged us to be a People of Imitable Influence & Impact. He reminded us of the origins of The City, and our call to be “the city on a hill”, before sharing with us on how we are all called to be leaders in our lives, and a framework of how to a good spiritual Christian leader. May we take some time to ponder on the following questions as we work to becoming spiritual Christian leaders: 1. Pursuit - Who/what is your vision? 2. Process - What do you value? 3. Passion - What is your vocation? what is it you fighting for? 4. People - Who can you be vulnerable with?

“May we not let our intellect limit what God can do in our lives.” - @joyshuo Ps. Joy shared from Luke 2 about how we may Make Room for God in our lives. This starts with having an open heart and mind, and consciously making space by surrendering our time to God. Lastly, actively saying yes to God, even when we may not fully understand where, why and how God is moving. We pray that you were blessed by the word. May we open the doors of our lives to God afresh and commit our ways to Him as we prepare for a new week.

“God’s intervention in our lives is purely the gracious, full initiative and sovereign action of His alone.” - @janicechinchern Pst Janice asked us to ponder about the But God moments in our life- our need for His rescue, God’s motivation for intervening in His love for us, and the reality of this, now that we are made alive in Christ. May we desire a deepened knowledge of how His grace has saved us, so that we may walk in the resurrected life we now have in Christ, as a witness to our world.

“The resurrection matters because the issue of our sin and our souls longing for a story that helps make sense of all of the painful realities of life, find its fulfilment in the resurrection.” - @andrejosiah Ps. Andre brought us a powerful message on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, expounding on how it is intellectually credible and existentially satisfying. When Jesus died and resurrected from the grave, 3 things were revealed: God’s radical welcome into the Kingdom, His plan for radical restoration and His invitation to radical mission. As we celebrate this glorious day of Jesus’ resurrection, we invite you take some time this week to ponder about what it means to you personally. Have a blessed week ahead.

“Between our desire for God to move how we want Him to, and our struggle to let go of what we have, we miss out on how King Jesus truly wants to work in our lives and through us.” - @timothyshaun In Week 5 of our Lenten Series, Timothy shared from the Gospel of Mark of how the Jewish people who wanted a King that would bring restoration, freedom from oppression and fulfilment of promises but failed to know Him in the way He wanted them to. When we recognise Him and His presence, we actively live out the things that He emulates through these 3 aspects: 1. Calling, 2. Confidence, and 3. Charity. It is so easy to miss the visitation and the work that He’s doing in our midst. What is He doing in our community, in our hearts that we should make an effort to not miss out on? Let us pray for us to not miss His visitation and to not lose sight of who He is.

“Our submission to God, when based on God’s affection toward us, is the kind of submission that Jesus exemplified.” - @janicechinchern Pst Janice continued our Lent series, Christ Our Example, with a sermon on Following in His Submission. Unpacking Jesus’ experience in the garden of gethsemane, Pst Janice reminded us of how Jesus embraced the anguish of His impending crucifixion, and yet, ultimately chose to submit to the will of the Father, with his absolute trust in God’s faithfulness. As we reflect on our own lives, do we submit to God from a place of trust, and dependence on His mercy and power? As we continue to journey toward Easter, may we pray for God to lead us into a deeper level of surrender and submission, that we may walk in the steps of Jesus and be formed into His likeness.

361. Christ Our Example: Following in His Forgiveness // Timothy Seow by The City, Singapore

“The way we follow in Jesus’s suffering is to allow God to redeem our suffering, transforming it to fully live into, with and through the pains of life.” - @janicechinchern In week 2 of our Lenten series, Ps. Janice gave a word on following in Jesus’ suffering, and brought us through scripture that teaches us how to view suffering and its place in our lives. When we follow in Jesus’ suffering, we are formed and transformed, and in that process we partner with Him in 3 aspects: 1. formation, 2, intervention, and 3. redemption. Is there a pain or trial you carry that you want to bring to God today? If you do, have a conversation with God about it instead of suppressing, denying or asking God to rid you of those pains. We also pray that God will redeem your suffering, and release healing into you and those areas of your life.

“The call to discipleship is the call to imitate Christ. When we imitate Christ, it cultivates intimacy with Him, to know him and who he is.” - @janicechinchern In week 1 of our Lenten series, Christ Our Example, Ps. Janice brought us a word on The Call to Follow. When we make the decision to claim Jesus as lord & saviour of our lives, we are also deciding to die to ourselves, living a new life in Christ, taking up our cross and following Him. And in Jesus - our way, our truth and life - we have the perfect example to imitate, by following him in not just our actions, but also our thoughts and attitudes, which draw us closer to Him and Him to us. In this season, let us spend some time to ponder in what it means to follow Christ, and have a conversation with Jesus on how He’s calling us to follow Him.

“God’s presence among his people has always been his heart. God’s vision was not a building to belong in, but a people to walk among.” @andrejosiah Pst Andre concluded our vision series with sharing from 1 Chronicles 13, and the life of Obed Edom, on how we may become “A Resting Place for the Presence”. More than hunger and desire, God is looking for a people who would acknowledge that He is Holy – by setting apart themselves with clean hands and a pure heart. As we prayed during our anointing service and time of response, may God find a home in us; and may we be a community from which the light of His presence may shine forth.

“Parents are to be the primary disciplers of their children. One of the primary functions of the home is to facilitate an environment of discipleship for our children.” - @andrejosiah In week 2 of our Vision series, Ps Andre brought us a word on “The Revival of Domestic Discipleship”. In today’s society, a child’s spiritual growth isn’t usually a parent’s key priority. However, through examples in scripture, we learn that if parents are not intentional in disciplining their children in the ways of the Lord, a spiritual decline can occur very quickly. So how does one become an intentional parent? By viewing their role as a parent as sacred, dealing with their own brokenness so they do not pass it on to their children, and building a plan and pathway for the raising of their children.

“God doesn’t just want a people for Himself; He wants the hearts of His people.” - @andrejosiah Pst Andre started our 2023 vision series with a sermon on the pursuit of wholeheartedness. While the fallen state of our hearts are desperately wicked, as described in Jeremiah 17:9, Pst Andre reminded us of the good news - that in Jesus we have received a new heart in a divine act of grace. For us to be aligned with God’s purpose and walk in the way of Jesus, we need to continuously guard this new heart that God has given us and seek after God even as He desires for our surrender and devotion. In the new week, may we ponder upon and immerse ourselves in the revelation of God’s love, even as we seek to live wholeheartedly for Him.

“Where is that place that you can be rooted in, where God delights in you the most? What does that look like for you on a daily basis?" We had the honour of hearing Xianyi speak on “To Know the Love that Surpasses Knowledge”. Drawing from Ephesians 3:14-19, Xianyi shared his story on how he came to start understanding the love of God, and how God, through His Spirit, wants to expand our capacity to know His love by strengthening us with power. So how are we supposed to know the love that surpasses all knowledge? It’s to know that it’s not dependent on us, but that God wants to come and impart this love to us. As impossible as it seems to know the full depth and width and height of God’s love for us, may we tend towards Him as we mature in our walk with God and He continues to fill us up with His Spirit, transforming us into His likeness.

“God calls us to turn to Him. When we confess our sins and commit our hearts to Him, He surely hears us, because of His unfailing love.” - @janicechinchern . In our very first service of the year, Ps Janice opened with a sermon titled “Turning”, sharing out of Nehemiah 9. As we look through the text, we are reminded that despite of the repeated sin and disobedience of the God’s people, we see God’s long suffering mercy, His character, and covenant love for His people. Whenever the people turn back in confession, committing our hearts back to Him, God hears us. We are reminded that as we start the year, there is an invitation to live a new surrender — a surrendered life, a devoted life. May you live a life of surrender to God.

“His light is precisely what we see most clearly in the darkness. It is in our dark world, that the Messiah shines.” - @janicechinchern We celebrated Christmas as a church family, and Pst Janice called on us to remember how Jesus has changed our lives. As we celebrate, we remember that in darkness, has come a great light; one of hope and rescue because of God’s great love for us. This festive season, may we proclaim the light of Jesus, and desire to walk as His lights in our world. Be blessed, #thecityfamily !

“Like the Magi, we must go out of our way to come before Jesus, on bended knee. He alone is our hope in the darkness we face before the Second Advent.” - @timothyshaun On week 3 of our series “Postures of Advent”, we had Tim bring us a word on being on bended knees before Jesus, like the wise men who bowed down and worshipped Him in Matthew 2:11. Tim then spoke on what each of the 3 gifts the Magi brought to Jesus represent in terms of our worship to God - to worship in trust, holiness and suffering. As we go on bended knees before Jesus, may we do it with a heart of submission to Him, knowing that in Him we have everything we need, and that He’s drawing us deeper to be more like Him.

“God reveals Himself to ordinary people and meets them where they are.” - @janicechinchern Ps Janice brought us a word titled “Lifted Heads” for week two of the Posture of Advent series. Sharing from Luke 2, we learned that the shepherds lifted their gaze in seemingly ordinary moments and was bestowed with the wonderful news of Christ’s birth. In faith, they responded with haste and enthusiasm, bearing witness to the revelation of Christ to others. As we enter a new week, may we posture ourselves with renewed wonder and open hearts towards God, confident that He wishes to encounter us at exactly where we are and may we not miss it when He shows up.

“God cannot give Himself to us unless our hands are ready to receive Him” - @janicechinchern In Week One of the Posture of Advent Series, Ps Janice spoke on the posture of “Open Hands”. Guiding us through the advent story in Luke 1:26-34, we glean into the life of Mary as she receives the promise of the Messiah, Jesus. The posture that Mary took as she encountered the angel. - with open hands, in acceptance and faith. Open hands signify a posture of letting go, of surrendering instead grasping for ourselves. In our own lives, how is the Lord guiding us to a yielded faith in this advent season? How much of our life are we grasping for ourselves? Do we struggle to wholly trust God, living a naked defense less, and glad surrender like Mary. May we come with open hands as we approach our week, trusting and surrendering to God.

“Remembering who God is and what he has done for us is central to our faith whereas forgetting God and what He has done is one of the enemy's greatest plan to destroy your faith.” - @andrejosiah Ps Andre brought an inspiring and provoking message titled, “Year In Review: Remembering Your Baptism”. As followers of Jesus, we too can fall into a spiral of forgetfulness, being careless and distracted about what God has done in our lives, spiralling into disobedience, hardened hearts and abandoning God. Ps Andre pointed us to the scripture to remind ourselves to have practises of reminding ourselves of Jesus, our salvation and God’s mission for our lives. May we walk in the newness of life, remembering our allegiance to Christ; communing in the unity of the body that we are part of, and walking in a life surrendered to Jesus.

“No task is too small or insignificant to be used by God for the purposes of cultivating the earth in the image of His Kingdom.” - @yeosx Xuan brought us a word on why Our Work Matters. Sharing from Genesis 2, Xuan reminded us that work is fundamental to how God has made us, and that it is essential to our emotional and spiritual well being. As we continue to navigate the constant cycle of work and rest, may we glorify God and bear witness to His kingdom even as we stay faithful in the work we have been called to do. We hope you were blessed and encouraged by the word this morning. Have a good new week, #thecityfamily!

“Righteousness is to live according to the original intent of God, and be in right standing with God. Righteousness is right living with God.” - David Tan We had the privilege of having one of our members, David Tan, bring us a word on “Crave Righteousness” and what it means as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. He summarised craving righteousness into 3 points: to be whole, secure in who we are in Christ; to be one with God; and to be a blessing to others. May we be open and allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and lives convict us of areas where we may not be living tightly with God, as we continue to pursue and crave righteousness.

"If we are to take the idea of following Jesus seriously, then we also need to take the idea of an adversary seriously as well." -@andrejosiah Pst. Andre shared about Spiritual Conflict and how we wrestle with the reality of a presence of evil in our world as believers today. Yet, we have a great hope in Jesus who has overcome death, hell and the grave. By remembering who our enemy is, resisting the evil one and remaining in Christ, we can have spiritual victory in our lives. We hope that you were encouraged by the word. May we prayerfully desire to experience the freedom that Jesus has purchased for uys, by embracing His truth and presence in our lives, that we may overcome with His power.

“As People of the Way, we point people to Jesus, call them to repentance and teach all that Jesus has commanded and made known to us.” - @janicechinchern Ps. Janice brought us a word on being People of the Way, in line with our passion statement: to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do the works of Jesus in this city. She spoke on how we need all 3 aspects to be compelling, whole-life disciples of Christ, and how we are to disciple others - by helping others to learn the way of the Lord, and teaching them how to obey and abide by God’s commandments.

“God wants to bring us to a place where we realise that our own hope is God. Not scheming but surrendering, not bargaining but begging.” - @danielchua Ps Daniel Chua brought a fiery word titled “A Duel with God.” Reading out of Genesis 32:22-31, Ps Daniel encouraged us from the life of Jacob, moving from Jabbok to Peniel. From being on the run, to wrestling the angel we see Jacob’s transformation when he came to the end of self-sufficiency. From being crippled to being crowned, from broken to being blessed, from disgraced to the hall of glory. What a life we have when we begin to put our hope and trust in God. May we be like Jacob, come to the end of our self-sufficiency, and enter a life of hoping on God and standing on His word.

“Our ability to love God and people is tied to our revelation of God’s love towards us.” - @jasonchua.sg Speaking out of John 17, Jason brought a passionate exposition this morning titled “John 17: Jesus’s Desire”. As we explore further into the language of oneness in Jesus’s prayer in John 17, we discover a 2-fold desire that Jesus desires - a resting place among a people and a bridal union with a people. We see Jesus’s desire revealed through his love for us on the cross, and His desire for us fulfilled in the second coming? Do we have a revelation of God’s love towards us? How will we carry the desire of Jesus through the life we live? May we accept the invitation to co-labour with God until Jesus desire is fulfilled, that Jesus may be loved by every people as the Father loves Him.

“We are called to dream with God for our role in the flourishing of humanity.” - @andrejosiah Concluding our Life Together series, Ps. Andre encouraged us with a sermon titled “It’s Time To Dream Again”. Dreams function like a map for the road of life. Without dreams, we just wander in circles. We get sucked into the tyranny of the urgent, always reacting to the present never envisioning a future with God. All through scripture we see God speaking to His people through dreams, planting in them a seed form of their destiny in His unfolding story. God’s people have always been dreamers. As we turn the page in this season and move forward into a new chapter as a church, may we dream again; to ask God for grace and courage to open our hearts, minds and life to what’s possible through the Spirit.

“A new covenant in the blood of Jesus is the only means to forge a community across millennia of hostility." - Andrew Tam (@andoryuutam) Continuing our Life Together series, Andrew shared about the history of communion and what Jesus’ sacrifice means for the Church. In a time of interpersonal and cultural conflicts that run rampant, taking communion reminds us of the powerful covenant Jesus created with us. One meant to bridge divides and reconcile relationships. As we enter this new week, may we become so aware of God’s plan, the sacrifice that Jesus paid on the cross and the hope we have in Him.

“Jesus calls us to to be a community that loves one another as He loved us - that we may be ambassadors of reconciliation to the world.” - @timothyshaun Timothy continued our Life Together sermon series with a sharing on being A Community of Reconciling Love in a Culture of Broken Relationships. In a world where the ideology of cancel culture is prevalent and socially accepted, Tim shared about God’s vision for community - one that walks in love and adopts the posture of reconciliation. In doing so, we obey God, grow to be more like Jesus, and reveal Him to the world. As we prayerfully seek to encounter the love and forgiveness of Christ in the new week, may we receive His grace to forgive as He has forgiven, and love as He loves.

“As followers of Jesus, we war to make all of our life obedient to Christ. That is orthodoxy - the right belief and orientation to Christ.” - @janicechinchern In week 6 of Life Together, we explored the topic of being a community of orthodoxy in a culture of ideological idolatry. Ps. Janice shared on the difference between ideology and orthodoxy - when our ideologies become dogma that ousts God from His rightful place, then He is no longer the ultimate; the ideology is. But we are called to live orthodox, God-centred lives. What does that mean for us? It means to trust in the person of Jesus, to obey Christ and His way, and to have a willingness to trust that what God wants for me is good.

We’re on week 5 of our Life Together series, and we had Ps. Janice bring us a word on A Community of Deep Relationships in a Culture of Shallow Connections. Speaking from Colossians 3:12, we learn how godly virtues such as compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience need to be expressed in relationship with others - they are impossible to express if we’re on our own. As such, as we aim to form a community with stronger, deeper relationships, may we all learn to be committed and open, mutually bearing, and mutually forgiving with one another.

“A restful spirit is spiritual warfare in a culture of exhaustion.” - @andrejosiah Pst Andre continued our Life Together sermon series on how we may be a community of rest in an exhausted world. Sharing from Matthew 11:28-30, Pst Andre reminded us of Jesus’ invitation to come to Him that we may find rest. As we abide in Him, we’d begin to live life to its fullest, by taking on God’s intended way of life - one that loves God and His people well when we are rested and make room to care for others in an unhurried and intentional way. We hope you were blessed by the word. May we desire to pursue rest as an essential component in our discipleship to Jesus, that we may delight in Him and become a people of love.

“To honour is to recognise and esteem, to place high value on a person, in recognition of his or her importance. To honour is to learn to value what God deems valuable.” - @janicechinchern In week 3 of Life Together, Ps. Janice brought us a word on building a community of honour in a culture of contempt. All throughout scripture, the act of honouring is prominent as it is part of God’s design. In Mark 6:4-6, we learn that when we dishonour others, we cannot experience what Jesus can do as a result of our own attitude. Our own lack of honour stifles the power of God. So how then can we grow in honour? Romans 12:9-10 and 16-17 give us an idea. As we read those verses, may we learn to see and esteem others the way God sees them, as valuable and worth honouring.

“To remove yourself from the church and spiritual community is to commit yourself to spiritual immaturity.” - @andrejosiah In week two of our new sermon series LifeTogether, Ps Andre spoke on what a community should look like. Opening up with Philippians 2, we are asked to challenge our position as a Christian community. Are we a community that is like-minded? Are we challenged to be of one spirit and of one mind? Do we value others above ourselves, putting others' interests above our own? Ps Andre encourages us to guard against division as a people of God that we may be known as a people of love, distinctive to the world we live in.

“The church is not an experience we consume, it is the family of God.” - @andrejosiah In week 1 of our new series Life Together, Ps. Andre spoke on the church being the family of God. In recent times, we’ve transitioned into a “church as entertainment” culture, where instead of being equipped as followers of Jesus, we become consumers and critics who give ratings and reviews on a church’s performance. However, in the New Testament, we learn what the church community is supposed to be like - we’re to be compelling and distinct from the world, and a community not built on opinions and preferences, but on devotion to God and one another.

“The Father’s acceptance results in our repentance.” - @danielchua Pst Daniel preached on The Father’s Love from the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32, and how it redefined the way we view God, sin and salvation. We pray you were blessed by the word, and the reminder of God’s unending and unconditional love for us in spite of our sin, and the condition of our hearts. This new week, may we encounter the goodness of God our Father afresh, and desire to obey and follow Him from a place of love.

The sermon on We Will Be His People, Christine shared on the topic of covenant, specifically promise covenants between God and Man. When we become Christians, we come into covenant with God, establishing a relationship that He is our God, and that we are His people. But unlike God who is unchangeable, our hearts are prone to wander, to settle for lesser loves when we do not believe that God will do what He says He’ll do. Are there areas in our lives where there is unbelief, that is preventing us from fully living faith-filled lives? Let us then be like the man from Mark 9:22-24 who cried out “Lord I believe; help my unbelief!”. That even though our faith might be weak, take heart in the knowledge that God knows that, and can use it to stoke the fire of our faith, to invite us to partake in His covenant promises.

“We need not deny or suppress the shame we carry, but own it and turn towards God and others to receive grace and healing in community.” — @janicechinchern Ps. Janice shared on how “God Wants To Heal Our Shame”. In her message, she invites us to look at the pain and shame in our lives, inviting God and community into them. While shame wants to undermine God’s call on your life, God invites us from self condemnation into receiving His grace for repentance and mercy. May you find His Shalom as you seek Him in these areas of pain.

“True Christian friendships inspire us to be the best we can be for the kingdom of God.” - Dr Tan Soo Inn Dr Tan spoke about Spiritual Friendship, and how we may build meaningful relationships in the body of Christ, even as Jesus has called us His Friends and showed us the model of sacrificial love (John 15). May we demonstrate loyalty, acceptance, sacrificial love and transparency in the way we relate to each other, and be encouraged to pursue intentional friendships in community that point each other closer to Christ.

“Jesus’ call to believers isn’t just to preach the good news, but to become good news people by living such good lives.” - @andrejosiah Pst Andre preached from 1 Peter 2, about how we can live faithfully as Christians in today’s world, by living lives of consequence that glorify God. Like the martyrs of the early church who were distinctly different from the world, Pst Andre reminded us of our purpose of followers of Jesus to journey toward a vision of holiness in God’s kingdom, while living a life exhibiting question-provoking faith. We hope you were encouraged and challenged by the word, and the reminder of how we can embrace martyrdom as a way of life, where we choose a lifestyle of dying to oneself daily - dying a million daily deaths that lead to one massive life in Christ.

“Knowing God is our Father — who provides for what we need and cares for what we desire — frees us to seek first His Kingdom and make decisions that move our hearts toward Him.” - @timothyshaun Timothy shared an apt word on Walking with The Father. Speaking primarily from Matthew 6:25-34, he reminded us that God is not a faraway God, but a loving father who walks with us every step of the way, who knows and cares for our needs and our desires. With that knowledge, instead of taking things into our own hands outside of God’s timing, let us press on towards God, placing our faith in Him and His plans as He invites us to walk with Him.

“Embracing weakness and suffering is not the end of the story, but the display of God’s power and glory through a body of weak and broken people, is.” - @jasonchua.sg Jason shared about Finding Confidence In Our Weakness, and how the process of embracing our weaknesses, while counter-cultural, enables us to share in the experience of Jesus, who depended fully on God in His humanity. May we remain steadfast in reaching for God in our weakness, and take heart in His resurrection power that will make all things right.

"We mistake God’s patience with His absence. But we can choose patient hope in His trustworthiness and timing, knowing He is working in our waiting.” - @janicechinchern Ps. Janice shared this morning on being In The Waiting Space. As a people of God, we can embrace seasons of waiting on the Lord with eager expectation and a patient hope. We can learn to wait well, staying fervent in presence and faithful in service, because we can trust that even as we wait, God is working. May we bring our waiting before the Lord, and be encouraged that we are invited to do so with hope and faith that we are not alone in the process.

Reflecting on Ps. Andre’s sermon, let us to show hospitality and open up our homes and hearts to the people around us, to make time to eat together and showing God’s love to them.

“To follow Jesus is to embrace the way of suffering love, non-retaliation and forgiveness.” - @andrejosiah Pst Andre shared from Matthew 18:21, in his sermon, Forgiving As We Have Been Forgiven. Expounding on the parable where Jesus shows Peter that our forgiveness and our willingness to forgive should be limitless, Pst Andre reminded us that the call to forgiveness is core to being a follower of Jesus in our world today. Just as we’ve been forgiven a debt that we couldn’t repay, Jesus calls us to now forgive and extend that same mercy and grace to others, by releasing them of the debt “owed” to us, and no longer holding their trespasses against them. May we ponder: What does Jesus’ call to forgiveness mean for us in our individual lives? We pray that you were blessed by the word and that you’ll discover a renewed revelation of God’s love and forgiveness upon our lives as you seek Him.

“He has you inscribed on His palms. The master engraving the servant’s name on Himself, a prominent and lasting display of affection that cannot be erased.” - @janicechinchern Speaking from Isaiah 49, Ps. Janice shared this morning on how He Will Not Forsake You. At times, we like Zion may feel like God has abandoned us, especially when we experience a dissonance between our circumstances and what God has promised. But God tells us that while a mother may forget her child, He will never forget nor forsake us. He has us engraved in His palms, and He has us continually before Him. May we be reminded that His love is unchanging and rises above all circumstances, and we can lean in with courage and trust in His covenantal love.

“Once we’ve beheld Jesus, and find Jesus incredibly beautiful, we will reorient our lives and naturally cut other things out in pursuit of Him” - Ps. Samuel Whitefield We had the honour of having Ps. Samuel bring us a powerful message on Discipleship Begins with Beholding. He reminded us on what it means to be a disciple and to behold Jesus - to behold doesn’t mean to just see. To behold is to take a longer glance, to consider something, to reflect on it, to let it affect our emotions and thoughts. As we behold Jesus, may we rediscover just how beautiful and incredible He is, and in the process of discovering His unsurpassable worth, that we will be transformed into His likeness.

“When we realize that nothing changes God’s mind or love for us, not even our human efforts, it frees us.” - @janicechinchern Pst Janice preached from the story of Ziba and Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel, drawing parallels of how to relate to God. In Slave or Son?, Pst Janice reminded us of how our identity and security are drawn from the Father’s love as His children. As we begin a new week, may we rediscover knowing God as our father, experience the fullness of knowing Him and the joy of His mission.

"God wants to deal with our hearts and uproot the things that prevent us from fully experiencing His goodness, and replace them with what’s better, so that there’s growth, flourishing, health, life.” - @janicechinchern This Resurrection Sunday, Ps. Janice spoke on how Jesus is better than life. Speaking from John 20:1-18, we learn about how resurrection happens and Jesus works when it is still dark to redeem, transform and transcend the power of darkness. Secondly, for resurrection to happen, dying that needs to occur first. May our hearts be open to receive His invitations to encounter upon encounter, as He works through the unfruitful, unwanted or harmful bits in us to transform dead things to become fertile and alive again.

“The facade of external righteousness hides a broken heart in need of God’s mercy. The church is to be the place we can lay aside these facades and find healing - a hospital which serves the most wounded among us.” - @timothyshaun Timothy Seow shared on how Jesus is Better Than External Righteousness. Speaking from Luke 18, he shared that Jesus’ biggest issue with the Pharisees was that they were externally righteous - looking good outwardly, but full of hypocrisy within. Jesus rebukes the heart that carries pride, self-righteousness and judgment, and tells us that the one who humbles himself will be exalted. May we remember that we need the mercy of God to overcome the Pharisee in our hearts. Let us resist external righteousness, humble ourselves, and walk in the mercies of God.

“Jesus’ definition of success for our lives is not measured by how much possession, position or power we carry but in our willingness to empty ourselves for the sake of others.” - @andrejosiah Ps Andre continued our Lenten series with his sermon, Jesus Is Better than Selfish Ambition. Sharing from Luke 10, he highlights Jesus’ words to the disciple about the difference between selfish ambition and holy ambition. Jesus took up the cross, forsaking his own rights, privilege and power poured out for our sake. We as the church looks the most like Jesus when we choose to pour out our rights, privilege and power for the sake of others. We pray that you were encouraged by the word, and the call to pursue Jesus’ way when we navigate power and ambition, emptying ourselves for the sake of others.

“When we give ourselves over to lust, we reduce people, who are the image of God, into fantastical images for our own gratification and pleasure.” - @andrejosiah Pst Andre continued our Lenten series today with his sermon, Jesus Is Better than Sexual Freedom. Sharing from Matthew 5, he reminded us that as followers of Christ, we are to tether ourselves to the sexual ethic that Jesus desires for us to have - to honour God with our bodies, while also honouring others by seeing their intrinsic worth and fleeing from lust. We pray that you were encouraged by the word, and the call to pursue Jesus’ way when we navigate sex and longings for intimacy in our own lives, knowing that we have a hope in God for the restoration of our past, and grace to live out His truth in our lives.

“The path of mammon is ultimately a path away from God. It is to root our loves and longings in this world and not in the coming age.” - @andrejosiah In week 2 of our Jesus Is Better series, Ps. Andre shared on how Jesus Is Better Than Mammon and Jesus’ vision of how we are to steward our finances. While the world preaches a self-centred gospel of consumerism of “just having a little more”, we as disciples of Christ are instead called to practice kingdom generosity, which is rooted in a self-sacrificial love for others. May we turn our eyes away from the temporal things of this earth, setting our hearts on what is truly eternal, and storing up for ourselves treasures in Heaven.

“If we’ve had a taste of this treasure, we would sell everything now to buy that treasure.” - @janicechinchern We had the honour of Ps Janice opening our lenten series, Jesus is Better with the topic “Jesus & The Better Kingdom”. Opening up this twin parables from Matthew 13:44-46, we understand that the Kingdom of God is the most valuble thing. And when you discover it, it’s worth giving up all that you have just for it. We are challenged to consider the treasure that is before us, the cost required to purchase this treasure and the joy that comes form it. We pray that as you enter this lenten season that you’ll taste the treasure that is worth selling everything for. That you may be totally committed to Him, and totally confident in Him.

“God never intended spiritual language to be a proof of our baptism; rather, He offers it as a provision - a resource for prayer, praise and flourishing.” - @andrejosiah Ps. Andre spoke on Praying In Tongues in the final instalment of our That You May Pray series. In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes about his desire for all of us to speak in tongues. Tongues is not just a mere prayer language; it enables us to express ourselves in a way where human language is limited. God released this gift to believers for the purposes of edification, for groanings that are too deep for words, for praise unto Him, and as a private language of love between us and God. May we earnestly desire this spiritual gift, that we may pray in the spirit and gain deeper intimacy with God.