‘THIS is the best gift ever!’ These words will echo around the world at Christmas as love is expressed and relationships celebrated. Advent retains at its centre a gift. Indeed, it is the best gift ever because of what it makes possible.
• God breaks the silence and fulfils a prophetic promise.
• Darkness is dispelled; the Light of the World has come.
• Hope is offered; God ‘with us’ becomes a reality.
• Forgiveness bridges the gap – the great chasm between the Creator and the created is no more.
• God draws near; the Comforter has come.
God so loved that he gave, and the gift of Advent – the babe of Bethlehem – makes so much possible when the gift is received.
As I consider the gift-giving process, I focus on the receiving of the gift as being quite significant. I have been waiting since August to receive a birthday gift and – because of postal errors and a ‘return to sender’ episode – I am still waiting. Maybe it will become a Christmas gift! This personal experience has caused me to reflect on the crowds of people I encounter every day. Have they received the gift? As a matter of interest, is a gift really a gift if it remains unopened – not received?
This gift of God – the Advent of Christ, the sentiment that ‘God so loved the world’ – has universal implications. Churches around the world will light candles, read the Christmas story and celebrate Christ’s coming. Huge numbers will be present to hear the message again. The characters of the story come alive.
• Mary and Joseph are lifted as heroes of obedience.
• The Magi are commended for their perseverance, their choice of gifts and their desire to worship.
• Shepherds are named as the first to hear the good news.
In every way possible the stage is set; in every way possible Jesus comes again and God’s gift is celebrated. The question remains: have we received him?
Earlier in my officership I was given Corrie’s Christmas Memories – a book of brief readings and reflections by Corrie ten Boom. Her story comes from her experience as a wartime survivor. She watched her charming Amsterdam change with the occupation of the Nazis. She took pity on Jews and hid many of them until she was caught and became a prisoner at Ravensbrück concentration camp.
I opened the small book with anticipation and curiosity. The words that have had a lasting impact on my ministry are found at the conclusion. Corrie writes: ‘For you know: if our Lord were born a thousand times in Bethlehem and not in you, you would be lost anyhow.’
The Scriptures remind us that Jesus came. God ordained it, the prophets foretold it and John announced it. Jesus came, heralded as the Saviour of the world, good news to all people, a light to shine in the darkness, the most precious gift from Creator to created, with the hope that people would receive it – but did they?
Let me remind you of the beginning of John’s Gospel: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it’ (1:1–5 all quotations from the New International Version).
We could go back and argue over the point of when a gift is really a gift – when it is chosen, purchased and given, or when it is received and appreciated. In the context of Advent, the gift of the Saviour is not in question; the challenge remains for many to receive him into their lives.
My birthday gift may never show up, but God has. His offer of forgiveness, wholeness and hope is available and continually given to any who are willing to receive.
Matthew 1:23 says: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel – which means, “God with us”.’
May it be so this Christmas, as again we receive him into our hearts and lives. This is the best gift ever!
By Colonel Brian Peddle
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Announcements
1. Christmas Carolling
We want to thank you for those who helps on carolling.
2. Christmas Day & Children's Home Open Day
Thank you to all who brought their friends and families and also help preparing the luncheon and giving generous donation.
3. Visit of Territorial Commander
Colonel Gillian Downer will be visiting Penang on 31/12/2010, she will be preaching on Convenant Sunday on 2/1/2011.
4. Watch Night Service
Date: 31/12/10 Time: 7:30pm, Venue: Penang Corps
Banana Leaf Dinner will be served at RM10 per person. There will be testimony sharing, movie, games, and follow by watch night service.
We want to thank you for those who helps on carolling.
2. Christmas Day & Children's Home Open Day
Thank you to all who brought their friends and families and also help preparing the luncheon and giving generous donation.
3. Visit of Territorial Commander
Colonel Gillian Downer will be visiting Penang on 31/12/2010, she will be preaching on Convenant Sunday on 2/1/2011.
4. Watch Night Service
Date: 31/12/10 Time: 7:30pm, Venue: Penang Corps
Banana Leaf Dinner will be served at RM10 per person. There will be testimony sharing, movie, games, and follow by watch night service.
Prayer Request
1. Pray for Bro Chew Pong Hoe (Ah Boy) who just have his operation.
2. Pray for those going for holiday.
3. Pray for our corps 2011 programme and ministry.
4. Pray for our new and old contacts from Christmas Luncheon.
2. Pray for those going for holiday.
3. Pray for our corps 2011 programme and ministry.
4. Pray for our new and old contacts from Christmas Luncheon.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
John the Baptist announced it
GALATIANS 4:4
PICTURE a rugged, dishevelled social misfit living alone on the edge of the desert. He wears simple clothes made of camel’s hair, bound by a leather belt, and eats whatever he can find. He is a man with a mission and conveys through every move, gesture and utterance that he is possessed with a determined objective. The piercing eye, the pointed finger, the passionate voice and persistent message remind all who encounter him of the prophetic figures of the past.
True to the patterns already set, God chose an unlikely agent to prepare people to hear the message of redemption.
Some may question my introduction of John the Baptist into the miracle of Advent. I agree that this strange character had nothing to do with announcing the birth of Jesus; but what John does do is to help us come to grips with the Advent miracle of Jesus coming as a child in Bethlehem – and also prompts us to connect with the deeper meaning of the message.
Luke’s Gospel records the angel’s announcement to the startled shepherds: ‘Do not be afraid I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people’ (2:10 all quotations from New International Version).
The Advent message is more than a birth announcement. It captures the essence of God’s initiative on behalf of humankind. I point your attention to our study verse, ‘When the time had fully come, God sent his Son’ (Galatians 4:4).
Without any doubt, God ordained it and the prophets foretold it. While the angels shared in the heavenly news, it would be John who announced the significance and impact of the coming of Christ.
I have no desire to add John the Baptist to the nativity scene – he would look somewhat out of place. John prepared the way for Christ and his message; Scripture records that he proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven. He revealed the need for forgiveness and identified the Lamb of God. He marginalised his own significance and lifted Jesus, the Saviour who takes away the sins of the world. John the Baptist announced his coming (Matthew chapter 3).
The application of John’s announcement presents a twofold challenge. First, it strikes at the very core of personal preparation. It is about receiving Jesus in such a manner that the hindrances, the hesitations and the hang-ups are all discarded. Secondly, it is about sharing with others the reality of his coming.
The weight of responsibility to renew our welcome to the Lamb of God, the Saviour, automatically gets linked to the urgency of the gospel – the good news, intended for the whole world.
Many times during the next few days someone will ask: ‘Are you ready for Christmas?’ The inquiry is asking you to account for presents, cards and decorations. But take a moment to answer the question in a spiritual context. This is the basis on which John invites himself
into the Advent story; he asks the question: ‘Are you ready for his coming?’
Reflect on the poem ‘The Cross In The Manger’ by Ann Weems to find again a sense of readiness and a deep desire to share the knowledge that God sent his Son.
If there is no cross in the manger, there is no Christmas.
If the Babe doesn’t become the Adult, there is no Bethlehem star.
If there is no commitment in us, there are no wise men searching.
If we offer no cup of cold water, there is no gold, no frankincense, no myrrh.
If there is no praising God’s name, there are no angels singing.
If there is no spirit of alleluia, there are no shepherds watching.
If there is no standing up, no speaking out, no risk, there is no Herod, no flight into Egypt.
If there is no room in our inn, then ‘Merry Christmas’ mocks the Christ Child, and the Holy Family is just a holiday card, and God will loathe our feasts and festivals.
For if there is no reconciliation, we cannot call Christ ‘Prince of Peace’.
If there is no goodwill towards others, it can all be packed away in boxes for another year.
If there is no forgiveness in us, there is no cause for celebration.
If we cannot go even now unto Golgotha, there is no Christmas in us.
If Christmas is not now,
If Christ is not born into the everyday present, then what is all the noise about?
By Colonel Peddle (Chief Secretary)
PICTURE a rugged, dishevelled social misfit living alone on the edge of the desert. He wears simple clothes made of camel’s hair, bound by a leather belt, and eats whatever he can find. He is a man with a mission and conveys through every move, gesture and utterance that he is possessed with a determined objective. The piercing eye, the pointed finger, the passionate voice and persistent message remind all who encounter him of the prophetic figures of the past.
True to the patterns already set, God chose an unlikely agent to prepare people to hear the message of redemption.
Some may question my introduction of John the Baptist into the miracle of Advent. I agree that this strange character had nothing to do with announcing the birth of Jesus; but what John does do is to help us come to grips with the Advent miracle of Jesus coming as a child in Bethlehem – and also prompts us to connect with the deeper meaning of the message.
Luke’s Gospel records the angel’s announcement to the startled shepherds: ‘Do not be afraid I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people’ (2:10 all quotations from New International Version).
The Advent message is more than a birth announcement. It captures the essence of God’s initiative on behalf of humankind. I point your attention to our study verse, ‘When the time had fully come, God sent his Son’ (Galatians 4:4).
Without any doubt, God ordained it and the prophets foretold it. While the angels shared in the heavenly news, it would be John who announced the significance and impact of the coming of Christ.
I have no desire to add John the Baptist to the nativity scene – he would look somewhat out of place. John prepared the way for Christ and his message; Scripture records that he proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven. He revealed the need for forgiveness and identified the Lamb of God. He marginalised his own significance and lifted Jesus, the Saviour who takes away the sins of the world. John the Baptist announced his coming (Matthew chapter 3).
The application of John’s announcement presents a twofold challenge. First, it strikes at the very core of personal preparation. It is about receiving Jesus in such a manner that the hindrances, the hesitations and the hang-ups are all discarded. Secondly, it is about sharing with others the reality of his coming.
The weight of responsibility to renew our welcome to the Lamb of God, the Saviour, automatically gets linked to the urgency of the gospel – the good news, intended for the whole world.
Many times during the next few days someone will ask: ‘Are you ready for Christmas?’ The inquiry is asking you to account for presents, cards and decorations. But take a moment to answer the question in a spiritual context. This is the basis on which John invites himself
into the Advent story; he asks the question: ‘Are you ready for his coming?’
Reflect on the poem ‘The Cross In The Manger’ by Ann Weems to find again a sense of readiness and a deep desire to share the knowledge that God sent his Son.
If there is no cross in the manger, there is no Christmas.
If the Babe doesn’t become the Adult, there is no Bethlehem star.
If there is no commitment in us, there are no wise men searching.
If we offer no cup of cold water, there is no gold, no frankincense, no myrrh.
If there is no praising God’s name, there are no angels singing.
If there is no spirit of alleluia, there are no shepherds watching.
If there is no standing up, no speaking out, no risk, there is no Herod, no flight into Egypt.
If there is no room in our inn, then ‘Merry Christmas’ mocks the Christ Child, and the Holy Family is just a holiday card, and God will loathe our feasts and festivals.
For if there is no reconciliation, we cannot call Christ ‘Prince of Peace’.
If there is no goodwill towards others, it can all be packed away in boxes for another year.
If there is no forgiveness in us, there is no cause for celebration.
If we cannot go even now unto Golgotha, there is no Christmas in us.
If Christmas is not now,
If Christ is not born into the everyday present, then what is all the noise about?
By Colonel Peddle (Chief Secretary)
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Ladies Fellowship 20 November 2010
Ladies Fellowship 20 November 2010
Beads making was the theme for the fellowship. Capt Brenda teaches the ladies on how assemble beads into a nice design of Angle. Everyone enjoy it include some young children who joined in.
Click here for more photos
Beads making was the theme for the fellowship. Capt Brenda teaches the ladies on how assemble beads into a nice design of Angle. Everyone enjoy it include some young children who joined in.
Click here for more photos
Lieut. Fiona Installation
Lieut Fiona Installation Service - 10 December 2010
We want to thank THQ for assigning another officer to Penang. It was a great privilege to have 4 officers in Penang.
We want to welcome Lieut Fiona into our family and pray for her ministry in Penang as she joined Major Kamala, Capt Tan, and Capt Brenda in The Salvation Army work here.
Click here for more photos (Album 1)
We want to thank THQ for assigning another officer to Penang. It was a great privilege to have 4 officers in Penang.
We want to welcome Lieut Fiona into our family and pray for her ministry in Penang as she joined Major Kamala, Capt Tan, and Capt Brenda in The Salvation Army work here.
Click here for more photos (Album 1)
Monday, December 13, 2010
Pastoral Letter - Hope
HOPE
Dear Fellow Salvationists,
I write in the Name of Jesus to greet and encourage you.
Here in London we are in the late weeks of the Autumn season, but the weather is unusually mild just now and we can venture out of doors, without the need for heavy clothing, to enjoy the falling leaves as the trees turn golden brown. The children walk and skip to school with a carpet of fallen leaves beneath their feet. As they kick happily at the gathered gold, a sudden gust of wind will propel the fallen foliage once again into the air. It is an enchanting season. In the southern hemisphere you are in Spring-time, with promise and hope bursting outward and upward from the earth to remind you of new life.
Like all Christian believers, Salvationists are a people of hope. In mentioning hope I do not mean that shallow, facile optimism that says, 'Things will probably turn out alright in the end.' Christian hope proclaims the certainty that in Christ Jesus all is well now, regardless of our outward circumstances, and that we have the gift of hope from God not only for this life but for all eternity too. In 1 Corinthians 15:19 we are reminded that we have hope in Christ not only for this earthly life. Were this untrue then we are to be pitied above all others.
Titus 3:7 describes true believers as 'heirs having the hope of eternal life'. In this promise, and in many more found in Scripture, we sense the certainty of God's provision and the sureness of His promises. He does not toy with us. He offers us the gift of hope. We are free to accept or to reject His offer. My heart is filled with praise to God for each one of you reading this who has gladly and wholeheartedly accepted the Heavenly Father's infinitely gracious offer of hope - hope for today and for all our tomorrows.
I am very aware that as I write to you there remain only a few months of my term as the General of The Salvation Army. I will hand over to another, technically at midnight at the close of Friday April 1, 2011. The theme of hope is therefore very close to my heart in these days. I am full of hope for the future of the Army. I am full of certainty that God will bless and use to His glory the person, as yet unknown, who will become the General after me.
I urge every one of you to be filled with that same hope at this time. The 109 members of the High Council will gather at Sunbury-on-Thames near London in January 2011. They will come together from every corner of the earth on January 16th for a few days under my leadership as the General's Consultative Council. Then on January 21st the formal High Council proceedings begin, with the Chief of the Staff presiding over the opening session before a President is elected. The President then guides the Council in the election of the next General.
The High Council members will travel to London filled with holy hope. They will believe that God will guide them in their task. They will be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Army world will cover them with prayer. These will be sacred days, days brimming with holy hope.
I close this Pastoral Letter by thanking you again for your fidelity to Christ and for your sanctified obedience to the divine leadings of God in your life and in your Army service.
Thank you too for your prayers for Commissioner Helen and for me. I am fully fit and well again. Commissioner Helen awaits the results of further scans to find out the full effect of recent radiotherapy. With me, she commits you all to the matchless love of Christ.
Together we say to you, with the Psalmist: 'Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord' (Psalm 31:24).
God be with you and make you a blessing to others.
Yours in Christ,
Shaw Clifton
General
Dear Fellow Salvationists,
I write in the Name of Jesus to greet and encourage you.
Here in London we are in the late weeks of the Autumn season, but the weather is unusually mild just now and we can venture out of doors, without the need for heavy clothing, to enjoy the falling leaves as the trees turn golden brown. The children walk and skip to school with a carpet of fallen leaves beneath their feet. As they kick happily at the gathered gold, a sudden gust of wind will propel the fallen foliage once again into the air. It is an enchanting season. In the southern hemisphere you are in Spring-time, with promise and hope bursting outward and upward from the earth to remind you of new life.
Like all Christian believers, Salvationists are a people of hope. In mentioning hope I do not mean that shallow, facile optimism that says, 'Things will probably turn out alright in the end.' Christian hope proclaims the certainty that in Christ Jesus all is well now, regardless of our outward circumstances, and that we have the gift of hope from God not only for this life but for all eternity too. In 1 Corinthians 15:19 we are reminded that we have hope in Christ not only for this earthly life. Were this untrue then we are to be pitied above all others.
Titus 3:7 describes true believers as 'heirs having the hope of eternal life'. In this promise, and in many more found in Scripture, we sense the certainty of God's provision and the sureness of His promises. He does not toy with us. He offers us the gift of hope. We are free to accept or to reject His offer. My heart is filled with praise to God for each one of you reading this who has gladly and wholeheartedly accepted the Heavenly Father's infinitely gracious offer of hope - hope for today and for all our tomorrows.
I am very aware that as I write to you there remain only a few months of my term as the General of The Salvation Army. I will hand over to another, technically at midnight at the close of Friday April 1, 2011. The theme of hope is therefore very close to my heart in these days. I am full of hope for the future of the Army. I am full of certainty that God will bless and use to His glory the person, as yet unknown, who will become the General after me.
I urge every one of you to be filled with that same hope at this time. The 109 members of the High Council will gather at Sunbury-on-Thames near London in January 2011. They will come together from every corner of the earth on January 16th for a few days under my leadership as the General's Consultative Council. Then on January 21st the formal High Council proceedings begin, with the Chief of the Staff presiding over the opening session before a President is elected. The President then guides the Council in the election of the next General.
The High Council members will travel to London filled with holy hope. They will believe that God will guide them in their task. They will be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Army world will cover them with prayer. These will be sacred days, days brimming with holy hope.
I close this Pastoral Letter by thanking you again for your fidelity to Christ and for your sanctified obedience to the divine leadings of God in your life and in your Army service.
Thank you too for your prayers for Commissioner Helen and for me. I am fully fit and well again. Commissioner Helen awaits the results of further scans to find out the full effect of recent radiotherapy. With me, she commits you all to the matchless love of Christ.
Together we say to you, with the Psalmist: 'Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord' (Psalm 31:24).
God be with you and make you a blessing to others.
Yours in Christ,
Shaw Clifton
General
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Announcements
1. Christmas Day Luncheon
Date: 25/12/2010 Time: 12:30pm Venue: Penang Corps
Each family are encourage to cook a dish or give in a free will offering.
2. Penang Christmas Open House
Date: 19/12/10 Time: 6:30pm-10pm, Venue: Esplanade Fort Cornwallis
All are welcome.
3. Corps Administration - Soldiership Records
All soldiers of the Corps, please give a copy of your Article of War, and a copy of your IC (both side) for Corps confidential records.
4. Banana Leaf Ministry
Date: 18/12/10 Time: 11am, Venue: Penang Corps
Volunteer needed, please see Captain Tan.
4. Corps Council Meeting
Date: 14/12/10 Time: 8:15pm, Venue: Penang Corps
Date: 25/12/2010 Time: 12:30pm Venue: Penang Corps
Each family are encourage to cook a dish or give in a free will offering.
2. Penang Christmas Open House
Date: 19/12/10 Time: 6:30pm-10pm, Venue: Esplanade Fort Cornwallis
All are welcome.
3. Corps Administration - Soldiership Records
All soldiers of the Corps, please give a copy of your Article of War, and a copy of your IC (both side) for Corps confidential records.
4. Banana Leaf Ministry
Date: 18/12/10 Time: 11am, Venue: Penang Corps
Volunteer needed, please see Captain Tan.
4. Corps Council Meeting
Date: 14/12/10 Time: 8:15pm, Venue: Penang Corps
Prayer Request
1. Pray for Banana Leaf Ministry to be held on 18/12/2010.
2. Pray for Elizabeth Zech for her safety in Nepal.
3. Pray for Lieut. Fiona on her appointment and ministry.
4. Pray Christmas Caroling. Pray for safety, health, weather.
5. Pray for Mrs. Tan's brother who is sick.
2. Pray for Elizabeth Zech for her safety in Nepal.
3. Pray for Lieut. Fiona on her appointment and ministry.
4. Pray Christmas Caroling. Pray for safety, health, weather.
5. Pray for Mrs. Tan's brother who is sick.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Prayer Request
1. Pray for Banana Leaf Ministry to be held on 18/12/2010.
2. Pray for Elizabeth Zech for her safety in Nepal.
3. Pray for Lieut. Fiona on her appointment and ministry.
4. Pray Christmas Caroling. Pray for safety, health, weather.
2. Pray for Elizabeth Zech for her safety in Nepal.
3. Pray for Lieut. Fiona on her appointment and ministry.
4. Pray Christmas Caroling. Pray for safety, health, weather.
Announcements
1. Welcome & Installation Meeting for Lieut. Fiona
Date: 10/12/2010 (Friday) Time: 7:30pm Venue: Penang Corps
Pot Bless dinner followed by short Installation Meeting.
For pot bless dishes and gift basket Lieut Fiona on her welcoming meeting, please contact Mrs Tan.
2. Penang Christmas Open House
Date: 19/12/10 Time: 6:30pm-10pm, Venue: Esplanade Fort Cornwallis
All are welcome.
5. Corps Administration - Soldiership Records
All soldiers of the Corps, please give a copy of your Article of War, and a copy of your IC (both side) for Corps confidential records.
Date: 10/12/2010 (Friday) Time: 7:30pm Venue: Penang Corps
Pot Bless dinner followed by short Installation Meeting.
For pot bless dishes and gift basket Lieut Fiona on her welcoming meeting, please contact Mrs Tan.
2. Penang Christmas Open House
Date: 19/12/10 Time: 6:30pm-10pm, Venue: Esplanade Fort Cornwallis
All are welcome.
5. Corps Administration - Soldiership Records
All soldiers of the Corps, please give a copy of your Article of War, and a copy of your IC (both side) for Corps confidential records.
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