King Solomon was one of the greatest of such pit-falls God had used to teach us life’s lessons.

King Solomon started off very well, showing his love for the LORD by walking according to the statutes of his father David. When he ascended the throne, God granted him wisdom to rule, plus immense wealth, solidly grounding his position in God and life.

Solomon’s writings in Song of Songs, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and his contributions to the Psalms astounded us with his in-depth wisdom as collated in the Bible. He ruled wisely and extended God’s Promised Land with stability; flourishing in trade, peace and prosperity. Soon he was renowned as the wisest man in the world. Kings and queens from afar were dazzled by his genius and Jerusalem’s architectural marvels and civilized cosmopolitan.

Despite all these, Solomon took a dramatic downturn in mid-life: his extravagant love of luxury and exquisite led him to exotic treasures, frolics, songs, wines and women.

His turning-point came as he lavishly constructed God’s Temple, but way overly lavish and exquisitely, his own Palace. He inter-married foreign princesses of different religious beliefs for military alliances, betraying his trust in God. Overwhelmed with great multiple wives and concubines, he compensated them by building altars and even bowing to their idols.

King Solomon, in his follies had distanced, disobeyed and sinned against God and His Commandments.

Fortunately, at long last, almost on his death bed, he awakened to lament:

“…the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man…God will bring every deed into judgment. “ (Eccl. 12:13-14)

Let us, therefore, hang on fast to God to safeguard ourselves against sins and failures that success can invariably bring upon us.

By Ron Chan

The post The Failures of Success appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

所罗门王就是陷入此陷阱的其中一位国王。这也是上帝用来教导我们有关生命的宝贵一课。

一开始，所罗门王爱耶和华，遵行他父亲大卫的律例。当他登基时，上帝赐给他智慧统治国家，也加添给他钜大的财富，巩固了他在上帝和生命中的地位。

所罗门在“雅歌”，“箴言”，“传道书”以及 “诗篇”中的贡献，都展现了他那深入的智慧,确是让人震惊。他明智地统治，稳定了上帝的应许之地；贸易蓬勃发展，和平与繁荣。不久，他的智慧闻名于世，是王国时代空前绝后的。来自远方的国王和王后都被他的天赋, 耶路撒冷那奇迹般的建筑，和文明的大都会所迷。

尽管如此，所罗门在中年时，人生却戏剧化的向下垂落：他生活奢华，热爱精致品，导致他寻求异国情调的宝物，嬉戏，歌曲，美酒丽人。

他的转折点在于他奢华地建造上帝的圣殿，但却过于奢华而精致地构建了自己的宫殿。他与不同宗教信仰的外邦公主结婚, 背叛了对上帝的信任。围绕在众多妻子和妃嫔中，他建造祭坛甚至向她们的偶像跪拜。

所罗门王在他的愚昧之中，远离和违背了上帝和祂的诫命，

所幸的是，在他临终前，躺在病床上，他惊醒过来并哀叹：

“。。。总意就是敬畏神， 谨守他的诫命，这是人所当尽的本分。。。无论是善是恶，神都必审问。” (传道书 12：13-14)

因此，让我们紧紧握住上帝，以便保护自己免受罪恶与成功所带来的失败。

撰稿: 陈锦峰

The post 成与败 appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

Day 1: Learning to be still

Met our spiritual director Father David Townsend, a Jesuit priest who gave us some instructions on how we were to spend our time the next few days. We were not to use our phones, or to talk to our friends even during meals. Besides meal time, we were to spend time alone in silence and prayer.

For a start, we were to reflect on Psalms 8, 103,104 – to be still and know God (Psalms 46:10), and to enjoy God’s love and presence through nature. The surrounding is beautiful and quiet with plenty of trees. It was difficult to “be still” as I tried to settle down to do some walking, reflection and prayer.

Day 2: Following Jesus

The spiritual director told me to reflect on the ministry of John the Baptist (John 1:29-42) – what it meant to me in my context right now. Three questions I need to ask myself for the next 3 days:

What am I seeking? What do I need to let go? What are the obstacles I faced?

So, I spent some time reading and re-reading and reflecting, walking and praying. This was what I jot down in my journal:

John the Baptist’s ministry was to prepare the way for people to follow Jesus. He pointed people to Jesus:”Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:29, 36- 37).

His own two disciples, one of them was Andrew, heard and followed Jesus. Andrew in turn brought his brother, Simon (Peter) to Jesus. This is a familiar truth in the Bible which we know but practice little.

All of us as disciples of Jesus do not just follow Jesus but are to help others to follow Jesus – to be disciples of Jesus .

My prayer: Lord as I follow you, help me to direct others to follow you – to be your disciples.

Day 3: Overcoming obstacles

Attended Mass on Sunday.

The scripture texts were taken from I Kings 19: 1-13 on Elijah fleeing from Jezebel after he killed all the prophets of Baal, and Matthew 8:23-27 on Jesus calming the storm. Both Elijah and Peter were afraid – their lives were in danger and their faith in God faltered despite having experienced God’s power personally. I realized very often I had also failed to trust God in difficult situations and was fearful of the unknown. So fear is one of my obstacles I need to overcome and learn to trust him completely.

Day 4: Letting Go

This morning, the spiritual director told me to reflect on the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12) . He suggested that I walk through the labyrinth in prayer. This is something new I learnt there – the labyrinth is an ancient way of prayer. As you move into the labyrinth, repeat your favourite Bible verses, sing your favourite spiritual-orientated song, and pray.

– At the entrance: What am I leaving?
– On the way in: What am I seeking?(/br>
– In the centre: What am I celebrating?
– On the way out: What will I offer?

It was a wonderful experience to pray this way walking through the labyrinth.

Day 5: Offering myself to the Lord

The final day of the retreat: I continued to read John’s gospel chapter3 and 4 and walked through the labyrinth again.

Jesus said in John 4:34,”My food is to do the will of him (God) who sent me and to accomplish his work.” Yes, indeed this should be what all of us need to do: the will of God and accomplish the work he has for us to do.

One of the verses that I reflected and prayed while walking in the labyrinth was Romans 12:1-2.

My prayer to God there as I stood in the centre of the labyrinth: Lord, I offer myself as a living sacrifice to you, transform and renew me so that I can do your will – as your will is good, pleasing and perfect.

By Lai Choy Fong

The post What’s Next, Lord: Seeking Through Solitude, Silence and Prayer appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

第一天: 学习安静

见我们的属灵导师，大卫神父。他给我们一些指示在这几天的静修要注意的事项。我们不可用电话，不可与其他人讲话包括用餐的时候。除了用餐时间，我们要独自， 安静用时间默想和祷告。他给我们几段经文去默想：诗篇8, 103, 104 – 要安静而认识神 (诗篇46:10)， 通过大自然思想和经历神的爱和同在。周围的环境优美和安静，有很多树木。虽然如此，我觉得很难完全的安静下来默想和祷告。

第二天: 跟从耶稣

早上见属灵导师。他告诉我去默想关于施洗约翰的事工（约翰福音1：29-42）“在我目前的情况这段经文的意义。”我需要问自己三个问题：我要寻求什么？我需要卸下什么？我需要胜过什么的拦阻？

在一天的读经，反思和在院子里走祷，我在日记所写下的：

施洗约翰所做的是为耶稣铺路，把人指向耶稣：“看哪，神的羔羊。” （约翰福音1：29，36-37 ）

他两个门徒，其中一个是安得烈，听了就跟从耶稣。过后安得烈找他的哥哥彼得，把他带到耶稣。

这是我们熟悉的经文和真理，但是很多时候忽略了实行。我们做为耶稣的门徒不仅仅跟随耶稣，也需要帮助其他人跟从耶稣，做主的门徒。

第三天: 胜过拦阻

星天的崇拜。

宣道的经文：列王上19： 1-13 关于以利亚先知杀害巴力的先知后被耶洗别追杀和另一处经文马太福音 8:23-27关于耶稣平静风浪的事件。

在这两件事件中，以利亚和彼得都因着他们的生命有危险而感到惧怕。虽然他们经历过神的大能，在这时候他们对神失去了信心。

同样我很多时候当遇到困难，我没有方法解决时，我也失去对神的信心。我惧怕那未知素所带来的，我所不能控制的事。

恐惧是我要胜过的其中之一的拦阻而我需要学习完全的信靠主。

第四天: 卸下与交托

今天早上，我的属灵导师告诉我去思想在迦拿的婚礼（约翰福音 2:1-12）。他建议我在院子里的迷宫走祷。 这是我在那里学习一个新的祷告方式。走迷宫祷告是一项古老的祷告方式。 当你走进迷宫时，心中重复你喜欢的经文，唱诗歌，祷告。祷告时问自己：

– 在入口时：我需要卸下什么 ？
– 走进去时：我现在寻求什么？
– 走到中间：我要颂扬什么？
– 走出去时：我要献上什么？

这样的祷告是一个很不同和美好的经历。

当我思想这段经文时，我把自己放在那婚宴情景。

第五天: 献上自己为祭

静修的最后一天。我继续读约翰福音第三和第四章。过后我再次的走院子里的迷宫祷告。

在约翰福音 4:34，耶稣说，“ 我的食物就是遵行差我来者的旨意，做成他的工。”是的，这是我们都需要做的：遵行神的旨意，做他给我们各人的工。

在迷宫里，我其中思想的一节经文是罗马书12:1-2。走到迷宫的中间，我向神祷告 ：

主，我愿意献上自己做活祭， 更新我的心意使到我能按着你的旨意行 – 你的旨意是好的，是完全的，是可喜悦的。

撰稿: 黎彩凤

The post 主啊，我何去何从: 通过独居，静默，祷告寻求神 appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15: 7)

In June 2016, I attended a local missions camp co-organised by AMKMC, AMKCMC and SKMC. Working with different organisations, this 4D3N camp raised my understanding of the underprivileged in Singapore.

Firstly, we partnered with HealthServe to serve the migrant workers in our community. We learnt so much about their working situations in Singapore and the many difficulties they are experiencing. Many of them paid a hefty sum to come to Singapore because they were promised a job that was decent paying.

However, when they arrive in Singapore, many of them encounter difficulties. The living conditions in some dorms are really in need of improvement. My heart ached so badly when I saw the injustice that they were facing; I could only love them with no strings attached.

We also worked with a professor from NUS on a “Soap with Hope” project. We made soap bars out of recycled soap and presented them to the migrant workers. And, not forgetting the polaroid photos we took for them…that was probably the happiness moment for many of them and our team.

Food From The Heart (FFTH) is another one of the organisations that we worked with. Their aim is to reach out to the less-fortunate by alleviating hunger through food distribution programmes. We were involved in packing food such as biscuits, rice, canned food and powdered drinks (i.e. Coffee and Milo) into small bags for distribution. The process took less than an hour. Following that, the residents from the block would come to collect their goodie bags. Some of the elderly were quite frail, so we helped carry the bags and accompanied them back to their unit. Those were the touching and teaching moments indeed.

Next, to the Willing Hearts. Willing Hearts is a secular, non-affiliated charity that looks into elderly, the disabled, low income families, children from single parent families or the poverty-stricken families, as well as the migrant workers in Singapore.

In this partnership, we “started work” in the wee hours of the morning.

Our team volunteered at the soup kitchen that Willing Hearts operates and the duties included preparation of food, cooking, packing and distribution. Each person was allocated to a specific task, such as deboning fishes, frying eggs or cutting vegetables. The task may be simple, but doing it repetitively made it very mundane and at the end of it, everyone felt really drained. We began to wonder our motive… then, we remembered God and His people. We are to love God’s people in the simplest things in life without expectation of any returns.

Besides those mentioned, there were still many other activities and organisations that we worked with. At the end of the local mission trip, I become mindful of the people around me who need the love of God. I begin to notice the migrant workers whenever I walk past a construction site and I’ll be prompted to say a little prayer for their safety. I also become more aware of the people sleeping on the streets at night…

Although the local missions camp had ended…. the work has really just begun.

by Michelle Koh

The post An Unforgettable Experience appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

“我告诉你们，同样，一个罪人悔改，在天上也要这样为他欢喜，甚至比有九十九个不用悔改的义人还欢喜。” (路加福音 15:7)

在2016年6月，我参加了由三一年议会卫理公会宏茂桥堂，华人年议会卫理公会宏茂桥堂及卫理公会盛港堂联合举办的本地宣教营。在这四天三夜营会，我们与不同机构合作，而我对新加坡的弱势群体也有更深一层的认识。

首先，我们与HealthServe合作，关怀在社区里的外籍客工。我们了解到他们在新加坡的工作情况，以及他们所面对的种种问题。其实很多客工背井离乡交付大额中介费来新加坡，就是为了能够获得更高的收入。

但是，来到这里，许多客工却遇到多方的困难。有些客工宿舍的居住环境更是急需改善。看到客工所面对的不公平待遇，我深感心痛。我唯一能做的就是无条件地付出我的爱。

我们也与新加坡国立大学的一位教授联手合作 “希望肥皂”项目。我们利用再生肥皂制造一块块肥皂， 并赠送给客工们。还有，当然不能忘记所拍下的珍贵照片。。。那应该是我们和客工们最愉快的时刻。

Food From The Heart (FFTH)是和我们合作的另外一个机构。他们的目标是通过食品分销计划减轻饥饿以关怀有需要的人。

我们的参与就是将食品如饼干，米，罐头食品和粉末饮料（咖啡和美渌）装在小袋子里以供分派。整个过程不到一个小时。紧接着，居民们就下来领取他们的礼包。由于一些年长者身体虚弱，我们便帮忙携带礼包并陪同他们回到他们的住所。那确实是又感人又富有教育意义的时刻！

再来就是“愿之心”。“愿之心” 是一个慈善机构， 专门帮助老年人，残疾人士，低收入家庭，单亲家庭的孩子或其他贫困家庭，以及在新加坡的外籍客工。

在这次合作中， 我们必须在凌晨就“开工”。我们在“ 愿之心”所经营的厨房工作，任务包括预备食物，烹饪，包装和分派。每人被分配一个特定的任务，如剔骨鱼，煎蛋或切菜。任务看似很简单，但不断地重复便显得平凡。最后，每个人都觉得筋疲力尽。我们开始怀疑我们的动机。。。

然而，我们记起了上帝和他的子民。我们要在生活的点点滴滴里爱上帝的子民，并不期望任何回报。

除了以上的活动， 我们还和其他机构合作。在整个本地宣教营结束时，我发现自己开始注意周围的人，他们是多么需要上帝的爱。当我走过建筑工地时，我开始留意客工们，并默默的为他们的安危祈祷。我也更加注意睡在街边的人。。。

本地宣教营虽然已结束，其实要做的工作才刚刚开始。

撰稿: 许欣怡

The post 一个难忘的经历 appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

I was very fascinated by the GPS which was not available on my old car and immediately tried to use it to navigate to my brother’s new house in Tampines. I wanted to see how effective the GPS would be in guiding me to my destination.

“Turn right in 300 meters”, the GPS voice directed as I started my journey, followed by many subsequent instructions which I tried to follow. I knew my way to Tampines town, but was not sure of the exact location of my brother’s new house. During the journey, I decided to just trust my experience and not follow the verbal directions given. Yet, each time I deviated from the guided route, the faithful GPS would just re-map my route and keep giving the directions until I had arrived at my destination.

At that instant, I felt that Someone above was watching over me and giving me the necessary directions to my destination that I had requested at the start of my journey. The GPS is like God watching over us from above. He will not fail to bring us to our destination. As a Christian, I know that I am on a journey bound for Heaven. Yet along the way in life, I often trust my own experience and conscience instead of God. Many times, I failed to listen to GOD but trusted my own self.

As I considered the picture of God as my GPS in life, I couldn’t help but thank God for the many things He had given me to help me understand His love. When we close our eyes at night and open them in the morning, we can think of God, and praise Him for His tender protection and care for us. Like the GPS in my car, each time I divert off-course, God will patiently guide me back to the path of righteousness. He is always with me.

The road of life often traverses through unknown territory. We all go through seasons when the path ahead isn’t clearly visible. God’s plan may not always be apparent to us, but He has promised to be with us “always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). What greater assurance could we hope for, regardless of the uncertainty or challenge we might face? Even when the path ahead is unlit, the Light is with us.

Lord, thank You for being near me even when I cannot see You and for Your comforting presence guiding me when I lose my bearings. May my sharing cause others to be aware and in awe of the presence and power of our mighty God in their lives.

by Edmund Wan

The post Who is My Guide? appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

我对新车的全球定位系统非常着迷，并立即试图用它来导航到我哥哥在淡滨尼的新房子。我想看看GPS如何有效地引导我到达目的地。

“在300米后右转”，开始旅程后， 我试图跟着GPS的声音指示。我虽然熟悉去淡滨尼镇的路，但不知道我哥哥新房的确切位置。在旅途中，我决定依赖我的经验，而不是遵循GPS 的指示。然而，每当我偏离指导路线时，忠实的GPS又会重新映射我的路线，并继续发出指示，直到我到达目的地。

在那个时刻，我觉得似乎有人正在看顾我，指引我朝向目的地。

GPS就像上帝从天上看顾我们。祂一定会把我们带到我们的目的地。

作为一个基督教徒，我知道我的人生旅途的终点是天堂。然而，在生活中，我却经常信赖自己的经验和良知而不是上帝。很多时候，我都选择相信自己而不是上帝。

当我把上帝当作我生命路途的GPS时，我满心感谢祂帮助我更了解祂对我的爱。当我们晚上闭上眼， 早晨睁开眼的时候，可以想到上帝， 称谢祂的眷顾。就像我车里的GPS一样，每次我偏离偏差，上帝会耐心地引导我， 走上正义的道路。祂永远与我同在。

生命之路经常穿越未知的地域。当前进的道路不清楚时， 我们也许会觉得上帝的计划不一定是显而易见的。但是，祂答应“常常与我们同在， 直到这世代的终结。”（马太福音28:20）。

无论我们面临任何的未知数或挑战，上帝给予我们最大的保证。不管前方的道路有多暗，祂的亮光与我们同在， 指引我们。

主啊，感谢你，在我肉眼看不到你，肉体感觉不到你， 仍然安慰我对我不离不弃，在我迷失方向的时候耐心的引导我。愿我的分享使大家意识到和敬畏上帝在你们生命里的同在和祂的大能。

撰稿: 温福荣

The post 谁是我的向导? appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.