Prayer of Penitence

THE act of saying ‘sorry’ covers a whole range of feelings in many situations. It can be a casual throwaway remark when we bump into someone in a crowd; an expression of sympathy for a friend going through a difficult time; or a heartfelt apology for doing or saying the wrong thing.

‘Sorry’ may be a simple word, but it has huge implications. Think of all the conflicts that might have been avoided, the families who would still be speaking to each other and the relationships that would have survived if only the parties involved had tried to talk things through, swallow their hurt pride and utter that one little word.

David, the shepherd boy chosen by God to be King of Israel, wrote Psalm 51 and many such songs in the Old Testament. Under God’s guidance, he enjoyed success and fame as a ruler and military leader - but then he lusted after and took another man’s wife. Worse, he deliberately sent her husband into battle knowing that he was almost certain to be killed (see 2 Samuel 11).

As time passed, David became aware that he had taken a backward step in his relationship with God. In a spirit of repentance, David makes this sincere and honest prayer, asking God to create a pure heart within him and restore the joy he used to find in worship: ‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions… Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight’ (Psalm 51:1, 4 New International Version).

Like David, there are times when we need to say sorry to God - particularly when we have lost our way, or done something we know to be wrong or hurtful to others.

It’s possible to say sorry without meaning it. But when we say it straight from the heart - and then follow it up by a change of lifestyle - God hears our prayer and helps us to start again.

Do we need to take a leaf out of David’s book? Is there someone we need to say sorry to?

UK & Ireland War Cry May 2013
Photo credit: War Cry pictures

Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for Brother Lim Tian Seng.

2. Please intercede for Soon Bee, Wei Lin & Eden Ong.

3. Please intercede for Brother Yen Wong and family.

4. Please intercede for Brother Noeh Ah How.

Announcements

1. Youth BBQ Night
Date: 26/05/13 (Sun), Time: 6.00pm, Venue: Corps Community
BBQ dinner, all youth please take note on this.

2. Malaysia Youth Camp
Date: 31-3/06/13; Venue: Marina Cove Resort (Lumut)
Theme: SouledOut – Dare To Make Your Life Count.
Youth who attending the camp, please take note of things to bring for the camp. Thank you!

3. Cell Group Ministry
Date: 7/06/13 (Fri), Time: 8.00pm, Venue: Corps Community
Please see Cell Group leaders for more information.

4. Corps Review
Date: 7-9/06/13;
Majors Raelton & Lynn Gibbs will be visiting the Corps for the Corps Review.
There will be Corps Council meeting on 9th June 2013, after refreshment.

5. Soldiership (Membership) Class
Those who wish to join soldiership class, please see Brother Tan for more information. The class will start from June 2013 onwards.

6. Rice Dumpling Festival
Date: 09/06/13(Sun),
Brothers and Sisters are encouraged to bring some rice dumpling to share on that Sunday.

7. Banana Leaf Ministry
Date: 15/06/13 (Sat), Time: 11.00am, Venue: Corps Community
Volunteers needed to help on serving.

8. Singapore/Malaysia Women's Camp
Date: 20-22 September 2013; Location: Putri Resort, Melaka.
The camp will commence with dinner on Friday evening and conclude with lunch on Sunday.
Theme, speakers, timetable and cost details will be announce by the end of June.

Count your blessings

When did you last thank God for something? Today? Yesterday? Last week? Never?

Perhaps the attitude of gratitude doesn’t have much of a place nowadays. It seems to have been submerged by the ‘blame game’, and people exerting their ‘rights’ in as many situations as possible. If we’re not careful, we can begin to look on God as someone who is there only to receive our complaints and suggestions.

The writer of Psalm 103 has a lot to teach us about gratitude. It sets the standard, because it concentrates solely on the goodness and mercy of God with no grumbles or requests.

It begins by putting God first, in his rightful place: ‘Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name… May I never forget the good things he does for me’ (Psalm 103:1, 2 New Living Translation). The trouble is, we do forget - easily! Memory can be very selective. We have no difficulty in remembering the tough times, the hurts, calamities and disappointments, but conveniently forget God’s everyday generosity.

The psalmist lists a whole catalogue of spiritual blessings that he receives from God: forgiveness of sins, healing, redeeming power, tender mercies, unfailing love and compassion. The Lord, he says, does not treat us as we deserve, but like a compassionate father who remembers that we are like dust (see 103:3-5; 10-18).

True praise is a spontaneous response from our heart as we recognise God’s great mercy, love and guidance in our lives. It lifts us above the pettiness and narrow-mindedness of everyday life, which can limit our vision of what is good and right and drag us down. As the old hymn says: ‘Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.’

In contrast to much of the world, those who live in the rich West are well blessed in material terms. Isn’t that worth more than a grudging ‘thanks’ every now and again on special occasions?

So where do we start? With thanks for just being alive on a sunny day, the beauty of the world around us, our homes, our families and friends… the list is endless!

UK & Ireland War Cry May 2013
Photo credit: War Cry  pictures

Mother's Day - 12 May 2013

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Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for Jimmy Wang & family.

2. Please intercede for John, Shirley, Cheryl, Robin & Michelle Lee .

3. Please intercede for Hock Sun, Phee Keat, Tuan Ewe & Tuan Ean.

4. Please intercede for Seow Hwee, Loo Thoe & Khye Lin.

Announcements

1. Youth Outing
Date: 12/05/13 (Sun), Time: 7.30pm, Venue: Outing;
In-charge: Jihhan & Joseph. All youth please take note.

2. Cell Group
Date: 17/05/13 (Fri); Time: 8.00pm; Venue: Community Hall
Please see Brothers Tan & Tong Sing for more information!

3. Parents’ Day Celebration
Date: 25/05/13(Sat); Time: 7.30pm; Venue: Community Hall
All members are encouraged to participating in cooking competition, or bring a dish for the evening meal together. For more information, please see Mrs Tan (Loo Thoe).

4. Malaysia Youth Camp
Date: 31-3/06/13; Venue: Marina Cove Resort (Lumut)
Theme: Souled Out – Dare To Make Your Life Count.
Youth who attending the camp, please take note of things to bring for the camp. Thank you!

5. Corps Review
Date: 7-9/06/13; Majors Raelton & Lynn Gibbs our Territorial Programme and Assistant Programme Secretary will be visiting the Corps for the Corps Review. There will be Corps Council meeting on 9th June 2013, after refreshment.

6. Rice Dumpling Festival
Date: 09/06/13(Sun), Brothers and Sisters are encouraged to bring some rice dumpling to share on that Sunday.

7. Singapore/Malaysia Women's Camp
Date: 20-22 September 2013; Location: Putri Resort, Melaka.
The camp will commence with dinner on Friday evening and conclude with lunch on Sunday. Theme, speakers, timetable and cost details will be announce by the end of June.

Senior Citizen Dinner May 11, 2013

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Finding God

Some parts of the Bible are much easier to understand or relate to than others. The Book of Psalms is a case in point. Many psalms are loved and familiar to people, such as Psalm 23, which says ‘The Lord is my shepherd’. It is often read at weddings and funerals.

A psalm is a sacred song or hymn for use in worship. Many of them were written by David, the shepherd boy who became King of Israel.

The psalms aren’t full of religious jargon, but are honest expressions of feelings, moods and reactions. They cover the whole gamut of human emotions - from great joy and hope, to fear, anger and disappointment.
The psalmist isn’t afraid to tell God exactly how he feels when things aren’t going his way, or when he thinks that God has deserted him. He doesn’t say ‘I’m fine’ when his world is actually falling apart, or pretend that life is all warm and fluffy when in reality he’s battling for survival.

In this series we will be looking at nine prayers of praise, penitence and petition from the Psalms. We start with Psalm 8, a hymn of praise to the Almighty.

Looking at God’s greatness in Creation inspired the psalmist to ask: ‘What is man, that thou art mindful of him?’ (8:4 King James Version). Or, in a more modern version: ‘When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?’ (8:3, 4 New Revised Standard Version).

Ever tried counting the number of stars on a clear night? It puts things in perspective by reminding us how big and important God is, and how small we are in the great scheme of things. And yet, as the psalmist points out, this same great God also cares for us as individuals.

What we do with that knowledge is our decision. God gives us free choice: we can choose to ignore the redeeming love he offers us in the person of Jesus Christ or join in the hymn of praise. What will it be?

UK & Ireland War Cry May 2013
Photo Credit: War Cry pictures

Farewell Dinner - Colonel Gillian Downer May 5, 2013

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Prayer Requests

1. Please intercede for Malaysia 13th General Election & Colonel Gillian Downer's visit

2. Please intercede for Ang Chye Thiam & Family

3. Please intercede for Francis, Maggie and Fernando Alias

4. Please intercede for Steven, Casey and Allison Foo

Announcements

1. Territorial Commander's Visit
Date: 05/05/13 (Sun); Time: 7:00pm; Venue: Community Hall
Please come and joint us for a farewell dinner wtih Colonel Gillian Downer.

2. Prayer Ministry
Date: 10/05/13 (Fri); Time: 8:00pm; Venue: Community Hall
The Corps wish to pray for you. Please let us have your prayer request and do attend this prayer ministry.

3. CCM Combined Ascension Day Worship
Date: 09/05/13 (Thu); Time: 8:00pm; Venue: St. Georges Church
Please come and support the meeting.

4. Senior Citizen's Dinner Fellowship
Date: 11/05/13 (Sat); Time: 6:00pm; Venue: Tong Hoi Seafood Restaurant
Please confirm your attendance with Major Tan or Sister Alice Ong.

5. Parents' Day Celebration
Date: 25/05/13 (Sat); Time: 7:30pm; Venue: Community Hall
All are welcomed to join.

6. Singapore/Malaysia Women's Camp
Date: 20-22 Sept 2013 Venue: Putri Resort, Melaka.
The camp will commence with dinner on Friday evening and conclude with lunch on Sunday.

Run along!

On your marks, get set, go! And keep going for 26.2 miles. That’s the aim of the 36,000 runners who are tackling the London Marathon on Sunday 21 April.

After months of training, elite, amateur and fun runners from across the globe are getting ready to run, jog or shuffle their way round the gruelling course. Their steely determination may be present and correct as they approach the starting lines. But what they don’t yet know is how their run will pan out. Will past injuries flare up en route? Will they reach 18 miles and hit the dreaded wall?

Ben Cotterill understands such concerns well. Tomorrow he is taking part in his first London Marathon - and he is nervous and excited about it.

‘I’ve always been a sporty guy, so I thought it was about time I had a go at the marathon,’ the 26-year-old tells 'The War Cry'. ‘My main reason for entering is to raise money for Watershed, a Salvation Army project which provides clean water to communities in poor countries, but I also think that completing the course is a great achievement.’

Ben started his training for the big day last Christmas. Since then he has clocked up more than 150 hours of running. He finds that pounding the pavements adds something to his life.

‘When I’m out running, I have time to think,’ he says. ‘At the moment I’m at college, preparing to be a Salvation Army minister, so when I run I often find myself thinking about God. A lot of people think that it must be horrendous to run all these miles, but I actually feel freer as a result.’

Despite the positives of running, Ben has also encountered some obstacles to his training. ‘The weather has been awful,’ he says. ‘I remember running in a storm, and the wind kept blowing me backwards. And the snow meant that I had to do some training on a treadmill, which resulted in a knee injury. I had to rest for two weeks, which wasn’t ideal.’

Battling an injury means that Ben is even more reliant on the encouragement of pavement supporters to help him round the course. He is nervous about starting the marathon, but determined to finish it. ‘Sometimes, in training, I didn’t feel like running, but mentally I had to put my foot down and get out there. On race day, I know I just have to keep going.’

He makes a good point. Whatever life throws at us, we have to decide: do we keep going or quit trying?

To help us keep going, we can take comfort from God, who supports us. In the Bible, he says: ‘Do not fear, for I am with you… I will strengthen you and help you’ (Isaiah 41:10 New International Version).

We don’t know what we may encounter, what awaits us round the next corner. But, if we ask him, we can always be sure that God will be with us. He is willing to help us - every step of the way.

UK & Ireland War Cry April 2013