Youth Fellowship - 19 Jun 2011

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Prayer Request

1. Please pray for Hands On Team from USA Eastern.

2. Pray for Penang Open Day on 3rd Sept 2011.

3. Please pray for Corps Family: Bro Ooi Ah Seong & Ah Peng families

4. Please pray for Corps Family: Steven, Casey and Allison Foo

Announcements

1. Warm Welcome
Warmest welcome to the "Hands On Team" from USA Eastern Territory. They will be helping at Penang Children's Home and Penang Corps & Community works.

2. Prayer Ministry
Date: 24 June 2011 Time: 8:15pm Venue: Corps Worship Hall. All are welcome.

3. Father's Day Celebration
We want to thank the ladies in organizing this event. We have a very good turn out for the services and also stay back for lunch.

4. SAFE Fellowship
Date: 16 July 2011 Time: 7:30pm Venue: Corps Worship Hall.
Special guest: Commissioners Lim Ah Ang & Pui Chan, Brother John Lee and Steven Foo will be speaker on that day. There will be food and fellowship! All are welcome.

5. One Ringgit Per Month
Encourage brothers and sister to give one ringgit a month for Corps Social Ministry.
You can even extend the invitation to your family and friends.

Cell Group 17 June 2011

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Ascension Sunday

Ascension Sunday

The first of three studies by Lieut-Colonel Alan Burns

NOW you see me… now you don’t! Forgive this rather frivolous introduction to the Ascension story. However, it seems to sum up the disciples’ feelings of perplexity and bewilderment at the moment when, it is recorded, a cloud hid Jesus from their sight as he ascended into Heaven.

In that moment, as he vanished from their sight, it seems that their cognitive capacity could not shed a glimmer of light on what their eyes were witnessing. ‘Is he really gone? Should we release the gaze of our eyes on that cloud that is hiding him? He’ll be back in a minute... surely!’

We can understand their perplexity. The disciples had recently experienced an overwhelming sense of grief and bereavement after the death of Jesus on the cross. Then his appearances and disappearances during those post-resurrection days left them wondering whether he was in fact coming or going!

For example, on the road to Emmaus Jesus suddenly appeared to two of his followers. At the precise moment when they recognised him, he was suddenly gone: ‘He disappeared from their sight’ (Luke 24:31 all quotations from Good News Bible). Now, at the Ascension, their complete inability to understand what was happening led to a further angelic appearance and explanation. The angels spoke some rather strong words (with a hint of irony?) which were designed to fill in the gaps in their understanding: ‘They still had their eyes fixed on the sky as he went away, when two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them and said, “Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken from you into Heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to Heaven” (Acts 1:10 and 11).

The angels told the disciples that they were looking in the wrong place, and using their eyes instead of their faith. That the angels appeared at this moment suggests that the Ascension is a significant moment in the story of Jesus. Have we misunderstood or downplayed its significance, seeing it as a less important moment in the unfolding story? What should we be ‘looking up at’ as we consider this event?

The big question in the mind of the disciples may have been this: ‘Is Jesus moving back to Heaven now? Is he leaving us?’

In the light of what Jesus had repeatedly told them, this posed a real problem. Jesus made many promises concerning his presence with them. He promised never to leave them or abandon them (see John 14:18 and 19). He promised to be with them always, right until the end of the world. Was he now leaving them? How were they to understand what their eyes were witnessing?

The sight of Jesus ascending into Heaven should not be interpreted as Jesus leaving the earth, nor indeed leaving his people. His bodily ascension into Heaven is, of course,
a mystery – in the same way that Calvary and the Resurrection are mysteries, leaving us lost in wonder and praise.

What we do know is that the Ascension is part of God’s redemptive plan.

In his book Surprised By Hope, Tom Wright reminds us of the significance of the Ascension by pointing out that the sight of the body of Jesus ascending endorses his lordship over Heaven and earth. His ascension is a clear indication that he rules in Heaven and he rules on earth and that, one day, God’s Kingdom will come in all its fullness when the two shall meet. Jesus himself said: ‘I have been given all authority in Heaven and on earth’ (Matthew 28:18).

The Ascension demonstrates that Jesus is Lord – in God’s eternal domain and on earth. It demonstrates the authority and reign of Jesus over all things in Heaven and on earth. It inspires the hope that we frequently express in our prayer: ‘May your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven’ (Matthew 6:10).

TO CONSIDER
• In what ways does the Ascension of Jesus speak into our understanding of his reign and rule over everything?
• Can you identify other passages in the subsequent pages of the New Testament where this is reinforced?

• Lieut-Colonel Burns is Scotland Secretary and Divisional Commander, East Scotland

Prayer Request

1. Please pray for Hands On Team from USA Eastern

2. Pray for the Banana Leaf Ministry 18 June 2011 and Father's Day Celebration 19 June 2011

3. Please pray for Corps Family: Chin Keng, Ewe Kheng, Cindy, Eng Soon, Eng Heng

4. Please pray for Corps Family: Sunny, Rachel, Elizabeth, Susan and Jonathan

5. Please pray for Penang Open Day on 3rd Sept 2011.

Announcements

1. Adult Cell Group
Date: 17 June 2011 Time: 8:15pm Venue: Corps Worship Hall. All are welcome.

2. Banana Leaf Ministry
Date: 18 June 2011 (Sat) Time: 11:00am Venue: Community Hall.
All are welcome to support and please pray for this ministry to win souls for the Lord.

3. Father's Day Celebration
Date: 19 June 2011 (Sun) Time: 12:30pm Venue: Community Hall.
We want to thank the ladies in organizing this event.

4. One Ringgit Per Month
Encourage brothers and sister to give one ringgit a month for Corps Social Ministry.
You can even extend the invitation to your family and friends.

5. Hands On Team visit From USA Eastern
Hands On Team will be visiting Penang on 14 June 2011 - 5 July 2011, while in Penang, they will be involving in Corps and Community works.

6. Children Holiday Day Camp
Thank you to all the volunteers and teachers. The children have a good time and the parents appreciated the Children holiday camp.

Family Night

Date: 11 June 2011 (Sat)

Time: 8pm - 9:30pm

Place: Penang Corps (53 Perak Road, 10150 Penang)

Prog: Mini Concert & Parenting Talk

Speaker: Assoc. Prof Dr. Angeline Cheah Soo Bee
(Lecturer on Social Work, USM)

Contact: Mrs. Tan - 012 4293010 Capt. Brenda - 012 8059112

Please invite your friends to this special event.

Let’s hear it for the boys!

by Major Karen Sandford

MATTHEW 20:20–28

I THINK boys are amazing – especially my three! Strong, funny and cute as a button. What’s not to like! Which is why I can identify with the mother of James and John in Matthew 20:20–28, as she approaches Jesus and asks him for a favour: ‘Promise me that these two sons of mine will sit at your right and your left when you are King’ (v21 all quotations from Good News Bible unless stated otherwise).

At first glance, we could be forgiven for viewing her as just another pushy mother. You know the type: the sun radiates from every inch of her beloved, perfect offspring.

What on earth was she thinking? Wasn’t she the worst kind of mother, trying to live her life through her children? But who can honestly say they wouldn’t do the same given the circumstances? A little bit of motherly intervention can go a long way!

‘You don’t know what you are asking for,’ Jesus answered the sons. ‘Can you drink the cup of suffering that I am about to drink?’

‘We can,’ they answered. ‘You will indeed drink from my cup… but I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. These places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them’ (vv22 and 23).

The other disciples are furious when they find out (v24). But Jesus, in his infinite patience and wisdom, reminds them that although the world they know – as subjects of Rome – is one of power, position, ambition and dominance, his Kingdom is just the opposite.

‘If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of the others, like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people’ (vv26–28).

American evangelist John MacArthur writes: ‘Every one of us, just like the apostles, needs to understand that true greatness lies not in dominance but in service; we all need the repeated lesson that to be great in the Kingdom is to be humble in service; we need the repeated reminder that our central ambition should be to minister to others, not to be admired by others!’

As a church of disciples, we must serve the world in which we live and we must serve each other. We are called to communities. We are to be the living word of God to the people who need to see the love of God in action. But we need to be aware that our ministry may often be beset by the temptation to look for and hold on to power and prestige.

This woman in Matthew’s Gospel is nameless – known only as the wife of Zebedee or the mother of James and John. She is thought to have been Salome.

Her story shows a life filled with passion and purpose. Imagine being known first as a devoted follower of Jesus, and also as the mother of the ‘sons of thunder’ (Mark 3:17 Authorised Version). Her devotion to Christ and his ministry is evident, as she stands at the foot of the cross (see Mark 15:40 and 41). At a time when others were running scared, she continued – with several other women – to finish what needed to be done.

‘The cost of true greatness is humble, selfless, sacrificial service,’ writes MacArthur. ‘The Christian who desires to be great and first in the Kingdom is the one who is willing to serve in the hard place, the uncomfortable place, the lonely place, the demanding place, the place where he is not appreciated and may even be persecuted. He is willing to work for excellence without becoming proud, to withstand criticism without becoming bitter, to be misjudged without becoming defensive, and to withstand suffering without succumbing to self-pity.’

Salome’s life shows that she was aware of this. Pushy mother? I don’t think so. Just a mother whose fierce love for her children meant that she made the occasional mistake.
Jesus knew and understood that. Thankfully, he still does.

• Major Sandford is the corps officer at Caterham