Cell Group July 2012

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Turning

HOW many decisions have you made today? What to have for breakfast, for example, or what to wear – these are some of the decisions we face every day. Many are seemingly unimportant ones that have little consequence – although have you ever chosen the wrong pair of shoes to wear on a day out?

Yet we face some decisions that we know are very important. We weigh up the consequences and move forward with caution.

One Bible character who raises our awareness of decisions and their consequences is Jonah. The story of this reluctant prophet is often thought of as a children’s tale, but it has so much to challenge all of us.

‘Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher’ (2 Kings 14:25) was called by the Lord to ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it’ (Jonah 1:2 all quotations from New International Version). The Lord told Jonah that he was to do this because the wickedness of the city had come up before him.

Faced with this mission, Jonah made the decision to run ‘away from the Lord’ (1:3) and headed in the opposite direction – setting sail from Joppa to Tarshish.

Why did he do this? What was it that made Jonah decide he should not follow God, but instead go in the opposite direction? Was it fear – fear of going to this great, wicked city, fear of what the people of Nineveh might do to him upon hearing the message from God? Or was it because he did not want God to show mercy to the Ninevites?

We read later that this last reason actually was the cause of his flight, for Jonah knew that the Lord was ‘a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love’ (Jonah 4:2).

The consequences of Jonah’s decision unravelled in all manner of twists and turns. On the boat towards Tarshish, Jonah must have turned green when he had to admit his story and was thrown into the sea (1:9–15). Although rough for Jonah, this was a good decision by the sailors because when the sea turned calm they turned to the Lord (v16).

Finding himself inside the belly of a ‘huge fish’ for three days and nights, Jonah turned to God in prayer (2:1–10), crying in distress, remembering the holiness of God and committing himself to sacrificial giving. On deciding to ‘make good’, Jonah turned from disobedience to obedience and went God’s way (3:3).

The people of Nineveh heard the message and turned from their wicked ways (3:5–9). They donned sackcloth and fasted, calling ‘urgently on God’ (v8). God’s anger and wrath for the people of Nineveh turned into love and forgiveness when he saw ‘how they turned from their evil ways’ (3:10).

Jonah struggled with the outcome of his journey. He was not happy that God had forgiven the people of Nineveh. We leave Jonah in an uncomfortable place, where he is finding it hard to deal with the consequences of his actions (see chapter 4).

Jonah had learnt that God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8 and 9). He also learnt that we cannot escape God or flee from his Spirit or presence (Psalm 139:7).

Jonah’s journey echoes the truth that God’s plans are ‘to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’ (Jeremiah 29:11).

Every day, no matter what you do,
Will be the result of decisions made by you.
Like what time you get up in the morning, or go to bed at night,
Whether you travel to the left or turn to the right,
If you say yes, or if you say no,
Whatever you decide is the way you’ll go.
And reading the letters you get in the mail
Creates another decision trail.
Each daily decision, made in joy or strife,
Helps form the foundation of your life.
(Robert Saehloff)

I do not know what decisions you are facing in your life, but I know the God who is with you through every twist and turn. Proverbs 3:5 and 6 tells us: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.’

I pray that we, as God’s people, will be bold enough to obey, follow and trust as we walk through life with him.

by Captain Mann is corps officer at Greenock

Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for Corps Sport and Outing 21/07/2012

2. Please intercede for Penang CFM High Praise 16/09/2012

3. Please intercede for Corps Family: Devi, Kaseh & family.

4. Please intercede for Corps Family: Freddy, Alice, Ailyn and Daniel Chong

Announcements

1. Change of Appointment
Effective Date: 13th Sept 2012
Major Kamala - Team Leader for Melaka & Batang Melaka Corps
Lieut Fiona - Asst. Corps Officer, Ipoh Corps & Asst Superintendence Ipoh Boy's Home
Captain Brenda - Penang Children's Home Superintendence
Captain Tan - Team Leader for Penang

2. Youth Worship
Date: 15/07/12 (Sun) Time: 7:30pm Venue: Corps Worship Hall
All youth please take note.

3. Cell Group
Date: 20/07/12 (Fri) Time: 8:15pm Venue: Please contact your leaders.
Please come and join us.

4. Corps Sport and Outing
Date: 21/07/12 (Sat) Time: 3:00pm Venue: Penang Bowl
Event: Bowling. Please contact Capt Tan for more information.

5. Corps Council Meeting (Budget 2013)
Date: 22/07/12 (Sun) Time: 12:30pm Venue: Corps Worship Hall
All corps council members, please take note.

6. Open Day Coupon
Brother and Sister are encouraged to help to sell the open day coupons. Please contact Capt Brenda for more information. Open Day will be held on 08/09/2012 time: 8:30am-2:00pm.

Prayer Request

1. Please intercede for SAFE Fellowship 14/07/12.

2. Please intercede for Dave Clarke who is in Hospital on bike accident.

3. Please intercede for Corps Family: Blessy, Yen Wong, Ah How.

4. Please intercede for Corps Family: Tian Seng, Lenny, Ah Seong & family, Ah Peng & family.

Announcements

1. Change of Appointment
Effective Date: 13th Sept 2012
Major Kamala - Team Leader for Melaka & Batang Melaka Corps
Lieut Fiona - Asst. Corps Officer, Ipoh Corps & Asst Superintendence Ipoh Boy's Home
Captain Brenda - Penang Children's Home Superintendence
Captain Tan - Team Leader for Penang

2. Youth Outing
Date: 08/07/12 (Sun) Time: 6:00pm Venue: Meet at Corps
All youth please take note.

3. Prayer Ministry
Date: 13/07/12 (Fri) Time: 8:15pm Venue: Community Hall
Please share your prayer concerns and join us.

4. SAFE Fellowship 2012
Date: 14/07/12 (Sat) Time: 7:00pm Venue: Community Hall
Guest Speaker: Dr Goh Eng Leong (Cardiologist & Physician) & Lieut. Colonel Bob Lee (Chief Secretary). Please contact Mrs Tan for pot bless dinner.

5. Corps Sport and Outing
Date: 21/07/12 (Sat) Time: 3:00pm Venue: Penang Bowl
Event: Bowling. Please contact Sis Jasinta for more information.

6. Corps Council Meeting (Budget 2013)
Date: 22/07/12 (Sun) Time: 12:30pm Venue: Corps Worship Hall
All corps council members, please take note.

7. Open Day Coupon
Brother and Sister are encouraged to help to sell the open day coupons. Please contact Capt Brenda for more information. Open Day will be held on 08/09/2012 time: 8:30am-2:00pm.

Confronting the powerful

‘WHERE two or three or more humans are together, there is power,’ writes Australian author and pastor Rowland Croucher. ‘Power is not evil in itself. But power is often abused when in the hands of selfish humans.’

Having previously considered some of the ways people are excluded and the cultural factors that influence attitudes, we now turn to this issue of power.

‘As followers of Jesus,’ says the Army’s International Social Justice Commission study Jesus And Justice, ‘our vision for a more just world is dependent on two primary “delivery systems”: social order and spiritual transformation.’

In Luke 19:1–10 we read that Jesus invited himself to the home of a tax collector named Zacchaeus, where he challenged this powerful man’s unjust behaviour. We noted last week that tax officials were considered undesirables because of their reputation for getting rich at the expense of others and for collaborating with the hated Romans.

Yet as a result of this meeting, Zacchaeus’s life was changed. Not only did he share his wealth and make restitution for his wrongdoing, he and his ‘house’ found salvation (v9). Jesus inviting himself to the house of a ‘sinner’ led to social revolution in a community and spiritual transformation for a number of people.

To consider: To what extent is the Church prepared to challenge unjust behaviour on the part of powerful individuals or institutions?

Jesus also confronted those who claimed religious power; in his day this was the Pharisees and scribes. They were the religious elite, enforcing not just the religious Law but the laws of the state as well. Jesus’ teaching, his popularity with the rank-and-file and his criticism of these leaders naturally led to conflict.

In Luke 6:1–11 we read that the Pharisees challenged Jesus and his disciples about picking grain and eating it on the Sabbath. Then, on another Sabbath, Jesus healed a man’s hand, deliberately provoking the religious powerbrokers. These were the leaders who would rather see rules obeyed than hungry people fed and the disadvantaged restored to fullness of life.

‘According to Jesus, some religious matters – such as justice, mercy and faith – are more important than others,’ says Jesus And Justice. ‘Religion that majors on minors is oppressive.’

To consider: Where should we look for our sources of religious authority? How can we protect ourselves from abuses of religious power? Who has the responsibility of keeping religious leaders accountable?

Then there is the issue of political power.

‘No political system is perfect,’ notes Jesus And Justice. ‘Many Islamic republics institute religious oppression. Some monarchies and dictatorships are intolerant to religious diversity. Marxism and communism remove social space for God and replace it with atheism. Even democratic societies are pressed with the evolving will of the people and their perpetually changing beliefs and preferred behaviours.’

In Mark 12:13–17 we see hypocritical leaders trying to trick Jesus into choosing between God and the State, to which he responded: ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’ Jesus’ followers are to fulfil their obligations to both God and State.

But where governments fail to act justly, neglecting the vulnerable members of society, how should God’s people respond?

Again we find our directive from Scripture, where we see Jesus confronting James and John about their request for prestige and position (Matthew 20:20–28). This episode demonstrates how far off the mark they and the rest of the disciples are about the nature of the coming Kingdom, and it gives Jesus the opportunity to remind them what true power really looks like. While others might be tyrannical rulers who ‘lord it over’ their subjects, Jesus said: ‘Not so with you’ (v26). True power is about serving, not being served.

To consider: How do we hold our political leaders accountable? How do we apply the ‘Not so with you’ principle to our own lives and that of our church communities?

Where there are two or three, or more, of us humans together, power will always be an issue. But, as Jesus And Justice reminds us, we have an example in Jesus who ‘lived right and righted wrongs’. As his followers we have the mandate and the means to do the same: ‘To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly’ with our God (Micah 6:8).

Major Ruthven is Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Secretary, THQ

Announcements

1. Youth Special
Date: 01/07/12 (Sun) Time: 7:30pm Venue: Corps Community Hall
Praise & Worship: William Person-In-Charge: Captain Tan

2. THQ Finance Department Visit
Date: 02-03/07/12 (Mon-Tue). The THQ Finance team will visiting Penang to understand more about Penang TSA ministry.

3. Combined Cell Group
Date: 06/07/12 (Fri) Time: 8:15pm Venue: Community Hall
Please come and join us.

4. SAFE Fellowship 2012
Date: 14/07/12 (Sat) Time: 7:00pm Venue: Community Hall
Guest Speaker: Dr Goh Eng Leong (Cardiologist & Physician) & Lieut. Colonel Bob Lee (Chief Secretary). Please contact Mrs Tan for pot bless dinner.

5. Corps Sport and Outing
Date: 21/07/12 (Sat) Time: 3:00pm Venue: Penang Bowl
Event: Bowling. Please contact Sis Jasinta for more information.

6. Corps Council Meeting (Budget 2013)
Date: 22/07/12 (Sun) Time: 12:30pm Venue: Corps Worship Hall
All corps council members, please take note.

7. Open Day Coupon
Brother and Sister are encouraged to help to sell the open day coupons. Please contact Capt Brenda for more information. Open Day will be held on 08/09/2012 time: 8:30am-2:00pm.

Prayer Request

1. Pray for SAFE Fellowship on 14/07/2012.

2. Pray for our Youth Council 16/09/2012 at Ipoh

3. Pray for Corps Family: Tong Sing, Iris & Yoke Peng

4. Pray for Corps Family: Soon Bee & Wei Lin

Banana Leaf Ministry June 2012

Banana Leaf Ministry June 2012



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Senior Breakfast June 2012

Senior Breakfast June 2012



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TSA Malaysia Family Camp 2012

TSA Malaysia Family Camp 2012



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Youth BBQ Nite May 2012

Youth BBQ Nite May 2012



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Faith & Order Commission Jun 2012

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Father's Day June 2012

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Prayer Request

1. Pray for SAFE Fellowship on 14/07/2012.

2. Pray for our Corps Cell Group ministry

3. Pray for Corps Family: Hock Sun and Family

4. Pray for Corps Family: Seow Hwee, Loo Thoe & Kyhe Lin Tan.

Announcements

1. Youth Fellowship
There will be no youth fellowship this evening as the boys has a function at PISA.

2. Prayer Ministry
Date: 22/07/12 (Fri) Time: 8:15pm Venue: Community Hall
Please share with us your prayer request and join us.

3. Faith & Order Standing Commission
Date: 17/06/12 (Sun) Time: 7:00pm Venue: Rainbow Paradise Beach Resort, Tanjung Bunga
40 representative of Christian Leaders from World Wide will be coming to Penang for a week conference. Any corps members wish to attend, please contact Capt Tan.

4. SAFE Fellowship 2012
Date: 14/07/12 (Sat) Time: 7:00pm Venue: Community Hall
Guest Speaker: Dr Goh Eng Leong (Cardiologist & Physician) & Lieut. Colonel Bob Lee (Chief Secretary). Please contact Mrs Tan for pot bless dinner.

5. Corps Sport and Outing
Date: 21/07/12 (Sat) Time: 3:00pm Venue: Penang Bowl
Event: Bowling. Please contact Sis Jasinta for more information.

Challenging culture

IN March this year a 16-year-old Moroccan girl, Amina Filali, committed suicide after reportedly being forced by a judge’s ruling to marry her rapist. Subjected to further abuse following the marriage, she killed herself.

‘Article 475 of the Moroccan Penal Code allows for the “kidnapper” of a minor to marry his victim to escape prosecution,’ news reports stated. ‘It has been used to justify a traditional practice of making a rapist marry his victim to preserve the honour of the woman’s family.’

For years, activists in that country have been calling for the cancellation of this particular article. ‘Amina was triply violated,’ said one, ‘by her rapist, by tradition and by the Moroccan law.’

It may be an extreme case, but this girl’s plight highlights the effect traditional practices can have on the pursuit of justice.

Jesus And Justice – a study by the Army’s International Social Justice Commission – looks at three ways Jesus confronted unjust traditional practices and attitudes of his day: by rejecting racism, by dignifying ‘second-class’ citizens and by putting his own reputation at risk.

Racism frequently rears its ugly head in British society, with some football players and fans as well as police officers recently under scrutiny for racist behaviour. In New Testament times, it was Samaritans who were the focus of such attitudes. So, when Jesus encountered a woman of that race by Jacob’s well (see John 4:1–42), both she and he were aware of the cultural rules.

Jesus, however, ignored convention by asking the woman for a drink. She, understandably, was as mystified by this as the disciples were when they returned from town. The end result of the exchange, though, was a woman no longer excluded from society. She was still the talk of the town – but instead of being rejected, her testimony was listened to and acted upon.

To consider: The disciples didn’t always get where Jesus was coming from. Would the Samaritan woman have been as open and honest with Jesus if his disciples had been present from the start?

Samaritans were again centre stage when Jesus told the story of the man attacked en route from Jerusalem to Jericho. In the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) a member of an ‘inferior’ caste was lauded for his superior behaviour.

In a society where religious leaders were part of the upper classes and Samaritans were second-class citizens, Jesus turned the status quo upside down and reminded his listeners that God loves more than one ethnic group. He chooses all to follow him. As Jesus And Justice puts it: ‘Jesus was a cultural disrupter.’

To consider: What cultural restraints made the priest and the Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan walk on by? What, in Salvation Army culture, might cause us to fail to act on behalf of others?

And so we come to the issue of reputation. While we might not be surprised that Jesus spoke out about racism and the class system, what about the thought of him spending time with certain other ‘undesirables’ such as tax collectors and prostitutes? (See Matthew 9:9–13 and Luke 7:36–50.)

Tax officials in those days were often extortionists, collecting money in order to line their own pockets and those of the Roman occupying power. Prostitution was forbidden, with the stoning of guilty parties condoned. As far as the religious leaders were concerned, by associating with such members of society, Jesus had crossed the line of cultural decency.

His reputation seemingly was in tatters, but more important to him was the change in the lives of the ‘undesirables’ with whom he mixed. Matthew left his tax booth to follow Jesus; the woman who poured ointment on his feet was praised for her actions and her sins were forgiven.

To consider: Who are social pariahs today? Unethical bankers? Corrupt police? Those who incite riots? What would it mean for Salvationists to be ‘cultural disrupters’ in 2012?

When it came to challenging discriminating cultural practices, Jesus ‘lived right and righted wrongs’, says Jesus And Justice. Whatever kind of cultural injustice we confront – racism, class intolerance, reputation or, as in Amina Filali’s case, preservation of ‘honour’ – God calls us to do the same.

• Major Ruthven is Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Secretary, THQ

Prayer Request

1. Pray for Southern Thailand flooding situation.

2. Pray for our Corps Banana Leaf Ministries

3. Pray for Corps Family: Steven, Casey, Allison Foo

4. Pray for Corps Family: John, Shirley, Cheryl, Robin and Michele Lee

Announcements

1. Brother Norman's Visit
Brother Norman (former Penang Corps Band Master) will be visiting Penang for a holiday for 3 days. He will be staying at City Bayview Hotel.

2. Cell Group
Date: 15/06/12 (Fri) Time: 8:15pm Venue: Community Hall
Please come and join us.

3. Banana Leaf Ministry
Date: 16/06/12 (Sat) Time: 11:00am Venue: Community Hall
Outreach programme to the Indian & needy community. Volunteers needed, please pray for this ministry.

4. Youth Fellowship
Date: 17/06/12 (Sun) Time: 7:30pm Venue: Corps Worship Hall
Worship Leader: Jihhan Bible Message: William Games: Joseph. All youth please take note.

5. Faith & Order Standing Commission
Date: 17/06/12 (Sun) Time: 8:00pm Venue: Tanjung Bunga
40 representative of Christian Leaders from World Wide will be coming to Penang for a week conference. A fund raising dinner organized by CCM Penang at RM1000.00 per table or RM100.oo per person. All Corps Council members are invited to join.

6. SAFE Fellowship 2012
Date: 14/07/12 (Sat) Time: 7:00pm Venue: Community Hall
Guest Speaker: Dr Goh Eng Leong (Cardiologist & Physician) & Lieut. Colonel Bob Lee (Chief Secretary). Please contact Mrs Tan for pot bless dinner.

7. Corps Sport and Outing
Date: 21/07/12 (Sat) Time: 3:00pm Venue: Penang Bowl
Event: Bowling. Please contact Sis Jasinta for more information.