St James' Church

We had an interesting discussion during our last staff meeting on what make people stay and be committed to a church. There is the usual mix of reasons e.g. vision/passion, quality of our Services and ministries, the pastoral leadership, friendship/being connected etc. However we are all agreed that while these factors all contribute, they do vary with time and this is affected by both the ‘seasons’ in the life of the church and/or the individual. One factor, however, seems to stand the test of time…

We are a little over the half-way mark in our fundraising for the new building. And indeed, thus far, the Lord has helped us (Ebenezer!). Keep up the praying please. This is a marathon project, to be worked on for the next 3 years. We will need the stamina and focus - on the finishing line and on Him who has called us to run this race in the first place…

Our work and career can either be a spiritual stumbling block or a vehicle for the Lord’s glory. And on which side it will grow to be will depend on your beliefs and the daily choices you make…

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished…

Last week must be one of the highlights of the year for SJC as a parish…

With only slightly more than a week to go, we’re getting very excited to see how God is going to reveal Himself to us in new, personal ways as well as to a church as a whole. The focus of the coming 24-7 Prayer Week is on families (whether it’s your biological family, spiritual family, cell group members, church friends, mentor-mentee, discipler-disciple, etc.) praying, communing with and crying out to God together. We stay spiritually in sync with the physical rebuilding.

Sunday 2 Sept - Sunday 9 Sept 2007 at St James’ Church Basement Prayer Room. Check out the articles on the new Prayer Blog.

Ask any good Christian as to his purpose in life and most will probably say, “To live my life for the glory of God.’ But how many will say, “I live my life to enjoy God”? The earlier statement seems so much more altruistic and selfless – I live my life only for the benefit of another. To use the latter statement seems to imply otherwise.

Both Jennifer and I will be visiting the Lims this week. Do keep this visit in your prayers as we bring along with us your prayers and love.
We conclude the series on the Book of Joel this morning. We do need to continue to respond to its timely message to ‘rend our hearts and not our garments.’ From time to time, it is important that we as the Lord’s family, set aside a time to seek the Lord and allow Him to search our hearts.

We will be making a formal submission of our building plans to URA very soon. We have revised some parts of the design and you can view them at the special board. We continue to welcome any input you may have on the new building to the Rebuilding Project Committee. 

A post-trip report by Diana Yap who visited Michael and Bee Yong with Andrew from 15 to19 July.

All these are motivated by love for Christ and His church. I remember a simple Negro Spiritual I used to sing, “Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart...” It will be the simple touches and little evidences along the way which will help us see our own heart (and identify them in each other) for what they are in Christ-likeness. The sum of 12 to 13 million is a huge sum of course but when seen as a collective project (of a community of 600 adults - and more - if we factor future growth and why we are rebuilding), it is by no means a huge sum. If each one of us make our own little sacrifices, it is possible. 

We are here (with Pas William Chee), at the invitation of the Latimer Fellowship of NZ, an evangelical grouping in the Anglican Church here. The National Conference was held on Monday and Tuesday at a local Anglican parish.  Rev David Short is the main speaker. David is a vicar at a parish in Vancouver (Canada) and is a very gifted preacher and trainer. I recall attending a preaching conference almost 10 years ago at Regent College Vancouver, where he taught.  We were very blessed by his ministry and the moments of discussions and fellowship we had with him…

I will be away in Christchurch, New Zealand, to represent our Archbishop in an Anglican Evangelical Conference in Christchurch, which will be held over two days (1st & 2nd July). Ps William Chee is coming along as well. It will be good to link up with our brothers and sister in this part of the world.

As the second half of the year opens, do be alert to the various opportunities for participation in the life of the parish…

24 June 2007
Maggie Yew reflects on her recent trip and ministry with Christchurch, Banchang. Do read it and be encouraged and challenged. - Vicar

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