Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for 75th Anniversary Celebration.

2. Please intercede for Thean Sin, Saw Aing, Hock Hin, Grace & Matthew Tan

3. Please intercede for Any Chye Thiam and family

4. Please intercede for Francis, Maggie and Fernando Elias.

Announcements

1.Youth Fellowship
Date: 30/06/13 (Sun), Time: 7:30pm Venue: Worship Hall
Worship: William; Sharing: Major Tan; Games: Sin Kai & Jihhan. Youth please take note.

2. Soldiership (Membership) Class
Those who wish to join soldiership class, please stay back for the class. Do see Major Tan or Brother Tan for more information.

3. Cell Group Ministry
Date: 05/07/13 (Fri), Time: 8:00pm, Venue: Community Hall
All are encouraged to join and share in fellowship.

4.Senior Citizen Breakfast Fellowship
Date: 06/07/13 (Sat), Time: 8:00am, Venue: Paya Terubong
All seniors are welcome to join.

5.Corps Sports and Outing: Bowling
Date: 13/07/13 (Sat), Time: 3:00pm Venue: Penang Bowl
Please see Sis Jasinta or Bro Kim Aun for more information.

6.SAFE Fellowship (Pot-Bless Dinner)
Date: 20/07/13 (Sat), Time: 7:00pm, Venue: Community Hall
Guest Speaker: Capt Hary. Bring a dish to share and please see Mrs Tan for more information.

7.75th Anniversary Dinner
Date: 07/09/13 (Sat), Time: 7:00pm, Venue: Holy Spirit Cathedral
We wish to include as many Corps members as possible, please see Bro Tan or Bro Steven for more information.

Father's Day June 13 2013

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On A Wing And A Prayer

Long before Aled Jones found fame with his version of ‘Walking in the Air’, boy chorister Ernest Lough hit the high notes with Mendelssohn’s ‘O, for the Wings of a Dove’ with the Choir of Temple Church in London. Its release in 1927 caused a sensation, and in 1962 its lasting popularity made it the first classical single to sell a million copies in HMV’s history.

The title of Ernest’s solo, ‘O, for the Wings of a Dove’, is based on verses from Psalm 55: ‘Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm’ (Psalm 55:6–8 New International Version).

The psalm writer wasn’t having a good day. He was busy fighting a battle, his stronghold was under siege
and the enemy seemed to be gaining ground. To make matters worse, he had also been betrayed by someone he thought was a loyal friend. In distress and fear, he makes this urgent prayer: ‘Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught’ (55:1, 2).

But then he does what many of us do. He longs to escape from it all - ‘Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!’ - in the hope that his troubles will somehow magically disappear.

How do we cope when the going gets tough? We may choose to ignore unpleasant situations by burying our head in the sand and hoping they will go away on their own. The bad news is, they usually don’t! At some point, we have to face up to reality and deal with them.

As the psalmist reflects on God’s past goodness towards him, his fears are quelled and his soul calmed. His friend may have deserted him, but he finds peace in knowing that God never will.

We can take his sound advice for difficult times: ‘Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you’ (55:22). God doesn’t promise to make our problems go away, but he does promise to give us the strength to get through them.

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

Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for Tong Sing, Iris & their new born baby girl.

2. Please intercede for Dave, Lily, Daniel, Jacqualine Clarke

3. Please intercede for Sunny, Rachel, Elizabeth, Susan & John

4. Please intercede for Chin Kheng, Ewe Kheng, Cindy, Eng Soon, Eng Heng

Announcements

1. Congratulation
We please to congratulate brother Tong Sing an Iris for their new born baby. Please pray for their family.

2.Youth Outing
Date: 23/06/13 (Sun), Time: 6:30pm Venue: To be Confirm
Youth please take note

3. Soldiership (Membership) Class
Date: 23/06/13 (Sun), Time: 12.15pm, Venue: Corps Worship Hall
Those who wish to join soldiership class, please stay back for the class starting today, please see Major Tan or Brother Tan for more information.

4. 75th Anniversary Committee Meeting
Date: 30/06/13 (Sun), Time: 12.45pm, Venue: Corps Worship Hall
All committee please take note and attend the meeting.

5.Senior Citizen Breakfast Fellowship
Date: 06/07/13 (Sat), Time: 8:00am, Venue: Paya Terubong
All seniors are welcome to join.

6.Corps Sports and Outing: Bowling
Date: 13/07/13 (Sat), Time: 3:00pm Venue: Penang Bowl
Please see Sis Jasinta or Bro Kim Aun for more information.

8.SAFE Fellowship (Pot-Bless Dinner)
Date: 20/07/13 (Sat), Time: 7:00pm, Venue: Community Hall
Guest Speaker: Capt Hary. Bring a dish to share and please see Mrs Tan for more information.

7.75th Anniversary Dinner
Date: 07/09/13 (Sat), Time: 7:00pm, Venue: Holy Spirit Cathedral
We wish to include as many Corps members as possible, please see Bro Tan for more information.

Freddy & Alice - Son, Daniel Cheong Wedding, 1 June 2013

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When I'm Feeling Blue

Sir Winston Churchill described it as his ‘black dog’ days. Others say they are feeling ‘down in the dumps’. However we label depression, we can take heart from knowing that we are not alone. According to the Depression Alliance, one in five people in the UK suffers from some form of the condition.

Recognising these times of depression to be a natural occurrence is the first step to getting through them. We also need to realise that we are more prone to feeling ‘down in the dumps’ when we are tired or out of sorts. Add worries about a friend or family member, money or work to our lot, and anxiety levels soon start to rise.
Humans are made up of body, mind and soul; so if one part is out of sync, the others are also likely to be affected.

Without the help of antidepressants or counselling, the writer of Psalm 42 had only himself ­ and God ­ to help him battle the blues. Although we aren’t told the cause or nature of his worries, they might well have involved a crisis of self-confidence.

Struggling with depression, discouragement and despair, the psalmist feels that God has forgotten him (see 42:9). He even tries a spot of self-diagnosis: ‘Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?’ (42:5 New International Version). He longs to be restored to his former state, to have an answer to those who ridicule his apparent lapse of faith with their taunts: ‘Where is your God?’ (42:10)

Each Jew was required to travel to Jerusalem three times a year to participate in the major religious festivals. Unable to make the journey this time round, the psalmist tries to console himself with the memory of past occasions. By recalling God’s goodness and unfailing love towards him, he begins to put his present troubles into perspective. He stakes his hope of recovery and restoration on God’s reliability and strength. As a result, his spirit is renewed.

He answers his own question with his own proven remedy: ‘Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God’ (42:5).

On the days when we feel at the end of our tether, we can be assured that God is holding the other end.

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

Prayer Requests

1. Please intercede for Lt-Colonels Leopoldo & Evelyn Posadas

2. Please intercede for Freedy, Alice, Daniel & wife, Ailyn Cheong

3. Please intercede for Kim Aun, Jasinta, Jonathan and Joshua Lim

4. Please intercede for Choon Eng, Jenny, Scott, Chiu Peeng Ooi, Chris, Sheila and Declan Lee

Announcements

1. Youth Drama Practice
Date: 16/06/13 Time: 7:30pm Worship Hall
Youth please take note.

2. Soldiership (Membership) Class
Date: 16/06/13 (Sun), Time: 12.15pm, Venue: Corps Worship Hall
Those who wish to join soldiership class, please see Major Tan or Brother Tan for more information.

3. 75th Anniversary Committee Meeting
Date: 16/06/13 (Sun), Time: 12.45pm, Venue: Corps Worship Hall
All committee please take note and attend the meeting.

4.Youth Leaders Meeting
Date: 17/06/13 (Sun), Time: 6:00pm, Venue: TBA
All youth leaders please take note.

5.Cell Group Ministry
Date: 21/06/13 (Fri), Time: 8:00pm, Venue: Community Hall
Please see your cell group leader for more information.

6. 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.

7.Corps Retreat
Date: 8-10/08/2013, Venue: TBA

8.Senior Citizen Breakfast Followship
Date: 06/07/13(Sat), Time: 8:00am Venue: Paya Terubong
All seniors are welcome to join.

8.Corps Sports and Outing: Bowling
Date: 13/07/13 (Sat), Time: 3:00pm Venue: Penang Bowl
Please see Sis Jasinta or Bro Kim Aun for more information.

Banana Leaf Ministry June, 15 2013

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Dumpling Festival Sunday, June 9 2013

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Good For The Soul

CONFESSION - so the saying goes - is good for the soul. We’ve all said or done things that we later regretted but did not own up to. It may have been something trivial, such as eating all the hard-centred chocolates in the box and leaving the soft-centred ones for the rest of the family, or more serious, such as telling a lie that has got someone else into trouble.

A sense of guilt can build up in our minds and memories until it becomes a burden of gigantic proportions. Some people cope by ignoring it. Some hope it will go away. Others completely deny the event ever happened - even to themselves.

Human nature hasn’t changed much through the centuries. In Old Testament times, people were just the same: a mixture of goodness, of trying to be good and of sometimes failing to be good. Describing his own shortcomings, the psalmist prays to God: ‘When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me’ (Psalm 32:3,4 New Living Translation).

But instead of letting the past rule his life, he does something about it. He confesses his wrongdoing to God and seeks forgiveness.

He contrasts his previous life with the joy of being forgiven: ‘Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!… Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone’ (32:1-3).

Sharing his burden of guilt with God through penitence and confession was definitely good for the psalmist’s soul.

Sometimes the person we find it hardest to forgive is ourselves. But being honest before God and facing our past - with all its regrets and ‘what-might-have-beens’ - are the first steps to receiving divine forgiveness and the Almighty’s help to make a new beginning.

UK & Ireland War Cry June 2013
Photo: War Cry Library

Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for Colonels Lyndon & Bronwyn Buckingham

2. Please intercede for Jimme Lee and family

3. Please intercede for Letchimi, Mahen Deren, Krihore, Dashalini, Pavayarni, Somansri, Vennilah, Pavithra

4. Please intercede for Penang Corps Ministries

Announcements

1. Appreciation
Thank you Major Raelton & Lynn Gibbs for their encouragement and sharing of God word.

2. Prayer Ministry
Date: 14/06/13 (Fri), Time: 8.00pm, Venue: Children's Home
We wish to include you in our prayers, please send in your prayer request and join us in pray.

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

4. Soldiership (Membership) Class
Date: 16/06/13 (Sun), Time: 12.15pm, Venue: Corps Worship Hall
Those who wish to join soldiership class, please see Major Tan or Brother Tan for more information.

5. 75th Anniversary Committee Meeting
Date: 16/06/13 (Sun), Time: 12.45pm, Venue: Corps Worship Hall
All committee please take note and attend the meeting.

6.Youth Leaders Meeting
Date: 17/06/13 (Sun), Time: 6:00pm, Venue: TBA
All youth leaders please take note.

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.

8.Corps Retreat
Date: 8-10/08/2013, Venue: Hatyai, Thailand (TBC), Fees: RM260 per pax
Please see Jasinta for more details and information

Prayer Meeting June 9, 2013

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CRY FOR FORGIVENESS

THE musical 'Les Misérables' - based on the novel by French author Victor Hugo - tells the story of Jean Valjean, an embittered convict released on parole after a 19-year prison sentence. His crime? Stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family.

On the run after breaking his parole, Valjean finds refuge with a kindly bishop, who gives him food and shelter. He repays this kindness by stealing some of the bishop’s silver, but when the theft is discovered the bishop offers him forgiveness rather than sending him back to prison.

This action turns Valjean’s life around. He vows to live up to the bishop’s trust in him, and build a new life devoted to serving humanity. Taking on a new identity, he rises to a respectable position in society, but his new life is thrown into turmoil when he hears that an innocent man has been mistaken for him and arrested. With everything to lose, a desperate Valjean prays for divine help and guidance: ‘God on high,/ Hear my prayer,/ In my need - / You have always been there.’

It’s a prayer that humankind has been making since the beginning of time. We find it in Psalm 130: ‘Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord… Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness’ (Psalm 130:1-4 New International Version).

And - also since the beginning of time - God has been listening and responding to those who go to him in a spirit of true penitence and ask for forgiveness.

Reaching the point of rock-bottom desperation can also be the start of a new way of life. Sometimes, that’s the only time when we are ready to listen to what God has to say to us, and accept his offer of help and forgiveness. No matter how many times we may fail, God does not cast us aside as useless or no-hopers. The psalmist tells us: ‘With the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption’ (130:7).

The story of Valjean may be imaginary, but God’s love is real. Could it turn your life around?

UK & Ireland War Cry June 2013

Youth Camp May 31-June 3, 2013

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Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for Tong Sing, Iris, Jesslyn, Tong Ming & Siew Kuan(Mother)

2. Please intercede for Ooi Ah Seong and family

3. Please intercede for Jerry & Margret.

4. Please intercede for Lenny, Devi, Kaseh & family

5. Please intercede for Bro Ah Seng fast recovery on his injury.

Announcements

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

2. 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.

3. Soldiership (Membership) Class
Date: 16/06/13 (Sun), Time: 12.30pm, Venue: Corps Worship Hall
Those who wish to join soldiership class, please see Brother Tan for more information. The class will start from June 2013 onwards.

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

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

6. 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.