Dear BPCWA worshipper, What was the first thing you did this morning as you woke up? Probably the very “usual” things that you do every other morning. After that, what did you do next? Probably the usual things you do every Lord’s Day morning. Perhaps even our breakfasts are our “usual” breakfasts. We are people of routines. It is certainly important that we build good habits into our daily lives and have the discipline to live them out. But what if one day things change suddenly, a major part of your life is suddenly totally disrupted . . . and may even change forever? Sudden life changes. 1)Health events. One such example that life can take a most unexpected turn
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Last Lord’s Day, we closed off our Easter celebrations with our Anniversary Dinner. Though our church was started in February, it has been our tradition to celebrate it on Easter instead. We are thankful that we could once again do it this year, something that we don’t take for granted anymore after we were unable to have it during the period of COVID restrictions. It was by God’s provision that we could have it together in a restaurant in an area separated from other diners. Despite the double-digit increase in food prices that we have been experiencing in our supermarket shopping, God has moved the heart of the restaurant owner to keep it at the same price
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Today is Easter wherein we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! His victory over death means that we too will have our bodily resurrection one day. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection completed the work of salvation for both the Old and New Testament saints. In the weeks before Good Friday, we looked at the doctrine of election and how God irresistibly drew us to salvation. How should we respond as we commemorate Christ’s finished work today? Responding with greater love, devotion, and worship of our Lord. With the recent revisit of our doctrines of salvation, we must understand that these are not mere impersonal theological doctrines to tickle our minds or for debates
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, This is a precious week in the Christian calendar. While the Easter weekend does not mark the actual dates of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, we set a yearly reminder in commemoration of Christ’s sufferings, death, burial, and bodily resurrection to complete the work of salvation. On Friday, we will be having the Sacrament of the Holy Communion, also known as the Lord’s Supper. Though it is something that we have every month and familiar to most, I want to bring us back to the night when the Lord’s Supper was first instituted by our Lord at the last supper Christ had with His Apostles. The significance. It was the night of the last Passover and the twelve
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, When Romans 3:11 states, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God”, it does not mean that an unbeliever cannot cognitively and intellectually understand the Gospel, or is totally disinterested in God. What “understand” means is that the natural man would not want to join in agreement of heart with God. “Seeks” refers to a begging and craving after God and a strong desire to have Him. So, fallen man may cognitively know the Gospel message and may even be interested in its concept. Yet, because fallen man loves sin more than light, he will not submit to God to come to Him totally on God’s terms (John 3:19-20). Hence, it is only
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Last week, we saw that our relationship as a human race to Adam is more than just about tracing our ancestry to one man. We saw how the significance is more than physical. We are all sinners because of Adam’s fall. This is because Adam is the federal head of mankind (Rom 5:18-19). This is what theologians rightly identify as original sin, which results in the total depravity of man. Be aware that some Christians reject this state of man after Adam’s fall, despite undeniably clear affirmations of it in the Scriptures. This week, I hope to answer the questions that are often asked to Calvinists, “If man is totally depraved and cannot choose God due to
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, At a recent Teens QnA, we answered a question posed about whether we all came from Adam and Eve. An important follow-up question to that is “So what”? Most people just mainly think about “Oh, we are all related in some way then!”. But we need to see beyond this aspect and realise something more critical. The believer must have a clear understanding of our relationship to Adam, its consequences, and how we are saved. Unbelievers may ask, “If I became a sinner because of Adam, how can God punish me when I became a sinner because of Adam?” After all, did not God say, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, In last week’s pastoral, we saw the importance of unity of convictions to have the blessedness of the Christian marriage that God intends for His children. Differences are real, and they can and do cause friction between parties who are expected to live or walk closely together. Unbelievers may overflow with praises about “how great their love is” to sacrifice such and such for the sake of love, but unbelievers don’t consider the spiritual aspects, merely physical. The reality of unity in marriage. As we have witnessed even recently, some who hold on to other systems of beliefs struggle with even just being a regular worshipper here. If that is so with an attendee at church, think
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, A resident at a nursing home recently told a worshipper that she was a Methodist who had been happily married to a Catholic. She said that it was just about mutual respect and not stopping each other when they went to church separately. She admitted that she knew that some Christians don’t believe that that should be so, but she said that she had been happily married throughout her life and it could work despite what some may think. What is your view of that? More importantly, what does God’s Word say? Whether you are single or married, it is important for us to have the right perspective. Walking with unbelievers in marriage. As Christians, we must
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Last week, we had our Sunday School promotion where the children of our families in BPCWA received certificates for their attendance and Bible memorisation or were promoted to the next class. This Sunday, as you read this, is the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year. For the Chinese, it is a time when familial bonds are remembered and celebrated. So, I thought that it would be apt in today’s pastoral to put both events together and ponder upon what a Christian family ought to be. A familial God. We are of a covenantal faith because it is a Biblical faith. The covenantal theme runs throughout the Bible and we must not miss that, because our God
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