Christian Living

Legacy Builders 1) Invest in long term results. (v10) Paul pioneered the Corinthian church but Apollos built on it. In Paul's mind, it is never about himself. With the limited time spent in that place, he wants to build a Legacy.  When leave the church, what are we leaving behind. 2) Invest in eternity in mind. (v13-15) 3) Invest and build with their best resources. (v10-13) God is looking at the motivation from your heart. You can build with gold or straw. Gold is when you serve with love; straw is building with fame from others.  We are limited with time, energy, and money.  Three types of Giving: - Loose Change Giving  - Budget Giving  - Faith Giving  Your will should include giving to Christian ministries. 4) invest with or through the holy spirit. (v6-7) A legacy Builder invest when the Holy Spirit calls. Whatever you give will be like the five loaf and two fishes.  ------- True legacy is about leaving your money and education degrees to live in t...

Christianity is a Crutch for Weak People Collin Leong. March 5. 2025 There is a common saying or criticism that Christianity (or religion in general) is a "crutch for weak people." This idea suggests that some view religion as a psychological or emotional support system for those who cannot face life's challenges on their own. Critics often argue that faith is used as a way to cope with fear, insecurity, or uncertainty. This perspective has been discussed by various thinkers, including Sigmund Freud, who described religion as a form of "wish fulfillment" to provide comfort and protection. However, many Christians respond to this critique by emphasizing that faith is not about weakness but about recognizing human limitations and relying on God's strength. They argue that Christianity is not merely a crutch but a source of truth, hope, and transformation. Christians often address the critique that faith is a "crutch" by reframing the concept and high...

Excerpts from CEFC Timothy Yeo's Sermon 20th Jan 2025 A. Introduction The Mars Climate Orbiter, launched by NASA on December 11, 1998, was designed to study the Martian climate and atmosphere. Unfortunately, on September 23, 1999, the spacecraft was lost during its orbital insertion. The failure was attributed to a navigation error caused by a mismatch between metric units used by NASA (metric units - newton-seconds) and US customary units used by the spacecraft builder, Lockheed Martin (imperial units - pounds-seconds). This error led the orbiter to enter Mars' atmosphere at a lower altitude than intended, causing it to burn up.  (Note: Newton-seconds measures impulse, ie, the change in momentum resulting from a force applied over a period of time. 1 newton-seconds is equal to 0.2248 pound-seconds) It's a fascinating yet tragic example of how even small errors can have significant consequences in space exploration. What about our Christian life? If we are not aligned to Go...

Except from Sonny Yeoh, Hope Search Jan 4, 2025 Rejoice Always. Pray Continually. Give Thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thess 5:16-18) RPG: Rejoice Always: When we know God accepted us, we should rejoice. Not only He accepted us as just a human, but also loved us personally. We can approach God and get a hug from him. No matter what happens, he is looking after us. See Habakkuk 3:17-19 - " Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places." Pray Continually  Pray is not just to talk to God, but talk with God, which includes hearing him.  God is omnipresent, so we can pray from anywhere and anytime.  Pray after mistakes and ask for forgiveness. Pray for o...

Excerpt from FGC sermon  Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes at the end of his life, in addition of Proverbs and Song of Songs. He wrote this after he strayed to live in pleasure and riches. He wrote what he had learned from his mistakes. God allows a rich man  to take a suitcase to heaven, after he prayed persistently for his approval. When he died, the angel said he cannot bring a suitcase into heaven. He opens the suitcase and it's full of gold. The angel and his friends laugh and ask him why he wants to bring pavement to heaven? We should not hoard temporary things but the fruit of the spirit. Mary who wash Jesus life are still remembered today, 2000 years after. 1. Seeing eternity from the Throne room "I have seen the god-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied." Ecc 3:10 We should read the scripture end to end, multiple times, not because we must, but because we love God. We are not suppsed to live accordingly to chaotic Earth's events. we must see it f...

Saul has all the advantages to be a successful man and leader:  These are what 1 Sam 9-11 say about him Handsome and tall (9:2) A humble man (9:21) God's blessing (10:6, 9-10) Support of good people (10:24) Skills in Leadership and Wars (11:11) However, success is not our assessment but God's assessment. God removed Saul from being king. He failed the king mission. The one disadvantage Saul has is his heart was not right with God. In 1 Sam 13, he did not have the patience to wait for Samuel and went ahead to perform the burnt offering and peace offering. Saul knew the laws only allowed a priest to do so. (Samuel was a prophet and a priest - 1 Sam 2:18; 7:9) Samuel said to Saul: "But now your kingdom must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. The LORD has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” (1 Sam 13:14) Saul did not kept God's command, because he did not love God. Those who love God ...

Joseph: A Character Model In Different Life Experiences (Genesis 37,39,40) Collin Leong. 6 November 2015 If anyone had an excuse to become a hardened, bitter, unforgiving, pessimistic and reclusive man, it would be Joseph.  Coming from a dysfunctional family with a father with 4 wives, 10 older brothers who had committed unspeakable acts, being bullied and rejected by them (no thanks to Jacob’s show of  favoritism  to him), thrown in a pit, sold to traders, slaved in Egypt, falsely accused and chained up in prison, and then forgotten by someone he helped.  Yet Joseph turned out to be someone who rose above every attack, every unfairness, and every temptation to become a beloved leader who saved tens of thousands of lives in Egypt and beyond.  So, let’s stop our self-pity right now, sit up and learn something from Joseph.  As a recap, we know that God build and tests our character through trials. And in many cases, he gives his servant a vision (or...