Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
In the last service of January, Pastor Melinda focused on Psalm 90, emphasizing the contrast between the eternal God and transient man, and the brokenness of the world due to sin. The psalm also highlights the mercy of God and the blessing of a relationship with Him. Moses’ prayer for God to change the times of their lives is transformed into a promise through Jesus.
Pastor Esther Tham shared a powerful sermon on Psalm chapter 4, written by King David during a time of distress. The passage encourages believers to trust in God’s divine intervention and seek relief from distress. Despite his turmoil with his son Absalom, David found joy and peace in God’s presence. The sermon emphasized trusting in the Lord, offering right sacrifices, and praising Him for His grace.
As we go through the challenges of life, will we, as children of God, be able to persevere in faith, hope, and love?
Why is your heart troubled? Why is your soul not at rest?
Pastor Esther Tham11 & 12 November 202 Let’s look at today’s text, which is taken from Psalm 46:1-11, this is … More
Pastor Koay Kheng Hin5 November 2023 The sermon today is titled “Radical Discipleship”. It addresses the true nature of what … More
Today, we want to look at the book of 1 Peter. This letter was written by Peter in approximately AD62. Peter was probably in Rome when we wrote this later, and it was during the great persecution under Emperor Nero.
Today we shall be using this passage as a launching pad to look into the metaphor of light and darkness in the Bible.
There are so many factors that affect the state of our soul. Relationships, health, and emotions are some of these factors.
Rev Koay Kheng Hin17 September 2023 As we all reflect on the past week, some of us may have encountered … More
Pastor Melinda Song10 September 2023 Over the years in church, I heard many sermons about forgiveness and turning the other … More
Rev Koay Khneg Hin27 August 2023 Busyness and conflicting demands on our time are characteristics of the time we are … More
Worship has always been a contentious aspect of church services. Those who prefer a more subdued and reflective style of worship find overly expressive forms of worship uncomfortable, possibly even arrogant and showy. On the other hand, others from a more Pentecostal/charismatic background find this type of worship stiff and lacking the Spirit.
Pastor Koay Kheng Hin6 August 2023 The sermon today attempts to address conflicts in human relationships. Conflict is a direct … More
As I reflect upon the kind of church God wants Tabernacle of Praise to be, I have come to realise that the kind of church that TOP becomes is inextricably tied to the kind of people we all are as members of TOP.
In these few verses, Jesus said in the upper room teaching his disciples on the night of his betrayal. When he is about to depart from them and so he is preparing them for the time when he is not there with them physically. What he is preparing for in particular in this passage is how to have a relationship with Jesus. What it means to actually have a relationship, a living abiding relationship with Jesus that produces God’s honouring fruit in our life.
Through the years it is a joy to see familiar faces in church. At the same time, it is very sad to find that there are those who are no longer with us for a number of reasons. But one of the saddest stories to hear is of believers who have just left the church altogether or may not even be worshipping God anymore.
I wish to begin by stating that it is not easy to be a father in this generation. I speak to fathers who struggle with wayward children, to fathers who have obedient children who have dreams and aspirations that you personally as a father find difficult to help them in the pursuit of their dreams and hence feel a sense of inadequacy and to fathers who desire to grow in fatherhood and finally to fathers who have made wrong choices in life and who aspire to turn on a new leaf and be good fathers.
Over the last few decades or so there has been a call for men to rise up to being fathers to their children. The need for mothers to be mothers is just as great.
Have you wondered how God looks at you? Specifically, the question relates to whether God is more interested in who you become than in what you achieve?
What do you see when you think about the lives of people all around you? When we really take time to reflect upon this question one inescapable fact is that suffering is part and parcel of this temporal life in this world. The sermon today addresses this issue from the perspective of the apostle Peter.
Resurrection Sunday has always generated much excitement and rightly so, but it should not be at the expense of Good Friday. Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday come as a package deal. Without Good Friday there would be no Resurrection Sunday. Without Resurrection Sunday, there would be nothing good about Good Friday and the horrific death of Jesus would be a senseless atrocity.
I do not know what you are going through, but God sees what you are going through and He is with you in that situation, in that conflict, in that pain and in that trouble. He has the power to change our situation.
The sermon today continues with spiritual insights that can be drawn from a study of the speech of the apostle Paul to the Ephesian elders on his way to Jerusalem as he finishes his third missionary journey.
What would be your answer if you were asked, “How are you feeling?” This is usually a question about a person’s physical health but it is equally valid for us to ask about a person’s emotional state of being.
To hold on to the basic teachings about Jesus, God’s Word is the greatest truth that builds up our lives. With this, we need to be rooted in God’s Word. Finding purpose through the Word of God.
Having a personal relationship with God. The right relationship with Him. There is value in devotion, however, we need more than devotion, we need to understand who God is and Jesus is the model of intimacy. Jesus is the model, He models devotion, and He models understanding of God.
Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year and a Sunday. There is therefore a dual significance to this day. Being a Sunday brings to focus the worship of God while the first day of Chinese New Year emphasises the tradition of festivity and celebration accorded to the New Year among the Chinese.
The Bible says, seek and you shall find, ask and it shall be given, knock and the door will be open. If we want all the goodness of God, we need to do our part. Jesus says, come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. We must do our part.
One pastor once said that you could give the secret of a good marriage in just one word. The word is forgive. Forgiveness is the key ingredient not only in marriage but in any relationship involving people. You need to learn forgiveness. You need to grant it, and you need to receive it.
Pastor Melinda Song12 & 13 November 2022 One of the most interesting topics of conversation among Christians is the will … More
Pastor Koay Kheng Hin6 November 2022 As we all look back to the past week, I believe that many of … More
Getting what we want, when we want, is a part of our daily life. For example, if we don’t like a TV show, we just change the channel. Same, when we don’t like the song we are listening to, we hit the button and change the song.
You may be trying to live right, do right, and obey the Scriptures and there have not been any evident blessings or rewards. It may even result in grief and heartache.
When we are exhorted to grow in holiness, often there is a sense that we think holiness is unnatural and beyond us. The reason for this is that we often misunderstand what holiness means and we often do not desire holiness to the same extent that we desire love because of such a misconception.
This Sunday morning even as we have partaken of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of him it is timely that we bring into focus the following question, “What is the one thing that God desires of us, with which God will be well pleased?
The character traits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are to be taken as a whole.
Then shall we see God! What does it actually mean? In this present world, it will refer to our subjective experience of the presence of God in our lives.
When we think of our fathers we all have different emotions and feelings because we have all had different experiences and perceptions of our relationship with our fathers.
Jesus valued their fellowship, prayers, service, financial support, testimony and witness. He honoured women, taught women, and ministered to women in thoughtful ways. As a result, women responded warmly to Jesus’s ministry.
However, as much as we have the hope of eternal glory, all of us, both young and old, are presently living out our earthly lives that come with their struggles and burdens as well as their blessings and joy.
In that vein, it is especially needful for each and every one of us to desire and prays for a personal encounter with God to revitalize our spiritual zeal. The title of the sermon today is, therefore “A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER”.
The world has an agenda to confuse our children on what it means to be human, created uniquely in God’s image. Do we have an agenda? And is it rooted in God’s word? We must teach our children of their Creator’s agenda for them to find their everlasting joy in him through Jesus Christ.
To seek God with all your heart is to have an intimate personal relationship with God, to increase your desire for God more than anything else in our lives and lastly to pursue God alone who can fill our emptiness in our heart.
There is no easy road to forgiveness. Forgiving another takes time and work. It begins with thanksgiving that we have been forgiven and acknowledging that we have been hurt and need to forgive the offender.
The word “good” is a generic term to describe what is excellent in quality, and/or worthy of approval – from good food to good person, good weather, good circumstances
We do well to follow the example of our Lord Jesus in his emphasis on the gospel call, understanding at the same time that good works must naturally accompany the gospel call.
I pray that this is the year that we will see more fruit in terms of disciple-making in numerical growth and more spiritual growth among all of us.
from our sins and experiencing the peace with God, the peace of God and being at peace with men.
faith, from one level of faith to another level of faith. The life of the apostle Peter gives us a glimpse in regard to this growth in faith.
n this special day, it is appropriate that we turn our eyes towards our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As we look back to our past 43 years and thank God for his goodness and faithfulness, at the same time we are called to look forward to the future.
Termites can destroy a house or even a tree one little bite at a time. It may go undetected for years and yet do irreparable damage. Even if the termites are exterminated, it is always a great loss and great cost.
As we go through trying times such as this, it is needful to get our bearings right and not to lose our focus on God and lose our spiritual fervor.
We make our decision whether to trust or not to trust someone based on 4 components – their character, competence, care, and credibility.
As a believer in Jesus Christ, how are we to respond to the present happenings and adverse circumstances of life? What is the answer to the problems that we are facing? How do we find assurance in the midst of such uncertain times?
Today is Father’s Day!
A special Special because it allows us to remember fathers in our midst. When we think of our fathers we all have different emotions and feelings.
Today is Mother’s Day and we want to affirm, appreciate, honour and esteem all the moms and mother figures who have been such a blessing in our lives
We have just remembered our Lord in his death and resurrection! Such an occasion must necessarily always lead us to ponder and reflect on what it means to be a child of God and a disciple of Christ.
As we look to God this Sunday morning I believe that, for many of us, there are needs and burdens that trouble our hearts. Even as we bring these needs and burdens in prayer to God, it is more important that we seek to draw closer to God in relational intimacy.
Have you wondered what it means when we say, “I’m blessed”? It is usually in relation to good fortune, a desired outcome, positive circumstances, comfort, and the absence of problems. The common understanding of what it means to be blessed by God is that He gives us good things.
Have you ever been asked: Now that you are a Christian do you celebrate CNY? Being a Christian doesn’t mean I cease to be a Chinese..
When Jesus was born 2000 years ago, God wanted people to find Him! In Luke chapter 2, the Bible tells us the story about some shepherds… they were watching their sheep at night, and God sent an angel to tell them that Jesus has been born… and they would find Him wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
There are so many things that contribute to the generation gap. We used to live in multi-generational homes but nuclear families are now the norm. The pandemic has further compounded the problem as slowly but surely we are getting used to living in a socially distanced society. But sometimes it is more than distance that separate people and families.
WE are thankful to God that we can once again gather together as a people of God to worship him. As we reach the end of this unprecedented year, we need to continue to seek the Lord, reflect upon his person and grow in our knowledge of him.
During difficult times such as this period of an ongoing pandemic, it is needful for us seek God afresh and reflect upon our relationship with God in Christ.
2020 has been a roller coaster year. Our world has been turned upside-down and inside out. As we move towards the Christmas season some of you might be feeling that there is nothing much to look forward to or be grateful for. As pastor it is my responsibility especially in these dark times to remind you of THE POWER OF THANKFULNESS.
In the mean time I would like to encourage all of you that in a time of crisis and uncertainty such as this, God is beckoning us to draw near to him, to seek not only comfort and deliverance from him but to also grow in our relational intimacy with him.
Today’s sermon addresses a very common question that is asked by Christians. “Why does God not answer my prayer?” When the question is phrased this way, then the word prayer most often means petitionary prayer, that is a prayer where we ask God for a specific request. It is a question that can only be properly understood if we understand how God responds to prayer.
Many churches suddenly realised they need to bring the word of God to their congregation during lockdown and many churches scrambled to see how they can stream or broadcast the sermons.
And much as it is a blessing to have close and good friends the best friendship we can nurture is with God. That is why songs such “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” and “I Am A Friend of God” are so effective in bringing us comfort in our time of need and lifting up our spirits when we need a boost in confidence.
I am so glad to see all of you this morning in the house of the Lord. As we gather this morning to worship the Lord, it is noteworthy for us to remember what he has done for us all this while as a church and as an individual being a part of the church.
We are the product of our relationships and the influence they have on our lives – our parents and grandparents, our spouses, the teachers who influenced us at key times, our children, our colleagues and our friends
This morning we’re going to look at a concept mentioned a number of times in the book of Ruth: Redemption. Our most frequent use of this term is in relationship to Jesus as our Redeemer. But what do we really understand by the term “redeem”?
Today is Father’s Day, a special day when we want to remember our fathers and celebrate fatherhood as a gift of God. Even as we remember our earthly fathers we need to acknowledge that the idea of fatherhood is drawn at its source from our perception of God as our heavenly Father.
Today marks nearly two and a half months since the MCO, and in this two and a half months much has happened and moving on, next week we will be entering into the month of June and in the first Sunday of the month of June, we will indeed be administering the Holy Communion online, for the first time in the history of Tabernacle of Praise.
Today’s message is entitled “Finding Hope” and we’re going to learn some lessons on how to find hope in God in difficult times.
Today is the 5th day of the implementation of the Movement Control Order as our nation work through the challenges posed by COVID-19. As we go through these stormy uncharted waters, we may wonder where God is in the midst of it. The truth is that God isn’t far away, and it is in times like this that he is inviting us into a closer and deeper relationship with him. Let’s not allow social distancing to turn into spiritual distancing.
The word “Love” occurs 31 times in these 5 chapters. In the last words of Jesus, a large part of it is on love. That’s why Jesus said by this all men will know you are my disciples if you love one another. Today I want to give you the picture of love. That is the title of my message.
When something is present, it means that thing is with you and is close in proximity. The personal presence of God is not merely some “force” or “influence”, but a personal, real, life-changing presence of a living God who abides in us and dwells among us.
Chinese New Year is that time of the year when we see some of our family members like cousins for the only time of the year. Family ties are important. We choose our friends, but family is given to us by God. It is not by choice. And New Year is a time not just to give and get Ang Pows but a time to catch up, talk, play and eat together.
So this Chinese New Year season, however you see it, a large part would be about relationships. About bonding and restoration, about catching up with one another. That is why I believe that my message today speaks to all communities, because its is a message about relationships.
How do we define the spiritual from the secular? It is not the issue of the type of activity you are doing.
Evangelism must begin from the church. The church must first and foremost have that loving relationship and to care for one another. Only then can the church love beyond its wall and share the gospel effectively.
The short title of my message today is: Relationship, and I want to begin with this little reference to John Calvin, a 17th century Protestant reformer. He once talked about the importance of putting on the spectacles of faith when reading the Word of God.
How do you react when your eyes are opened to you sin? Do you hide in fear? Do you become defensive and blame someone else? In your moments of agony over sin, you have a God who will deal with you in truth and compassion, and who offers you his perfect covering. You can come to him in repentance instead of hiding from him. You can ask him to work his glory and victory over your shame. You can ask for his covering of grace.
We are not perfect including me. We will have that tinge of religious holiness but we need to grow to spiritual holiness that makes people comfortable. How do you know, you ask me. He is a man without sin yet tax collectors feels comfortable with him, wayward women too and he’s even been called friends of sinners.
What is the basis and evidence for true faith? The answer is LOVE. I wish to ground the message today based on 3’s. I begin with verses 7-8. In these two verses John established that a person who truly is a child of God and really knows him, is evidenced by loving one another. God is love. This phrase grounds the whole passage.
Which is why Grounding is important. Because you will ask questions (rather, have questions about your faith, about what you’re really believing in). If you don’t, others will ask you the questions. And that’s why we need to have Accountability. We need to stay uncomfortable.
Today I want to go into my message entitled ‘The Race of Faith’. If you still remember the message I preached last week, ‘Spirituality In Christ’, I am following up from there, and I want you to try to re-collect a little on what I shared previously. This sermon today, and if you look at my past sermons, you will see that I do have a direction, that I do have something in my heart that I want to impart to all of you.
What makes a spiritually mature Christian? Someone who is strong in his faith and faithful to his calling. Like how Paul is called more than a conqueror in the battles of life.
Rev May Ong 25 Aug 2019 Good morning. Penang is a lovely place. Thank you Pr Koay and Pr Melinda … More
Okay today, I am going to work on this message entitled ‘Search for Meaning’, and this is one where you have to think and reflect a little bit on what I am saying. It is a message that will take some time to sink in, what I am working on today is a sermon that is in my heart.
A recent study In Christianity Today reports that nearly half of all self-professed Christian millennials believe it’s wrong to share their faith with close friends and family members of different beliefs.
July 20, 2019, marks the 50th anniversary of the achievement of human creativity and ingenuity. On that day in 1969, two Americans, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, landed their spacecraft on the surface of the moon.
Did Jesus hang out with sinners and tax collectors? Should Christians hang out with ungodly friends? What’s up with Jesus hanging with the sinners? Why would Jesus hang out with sinners if Christians should not?
Now, I said we are going to go ‘back to basics’. So, when we talk about loving God, we always think of serving Him in church, serve Him here, serve Him there – serve Him everywhere, right? Or we think of giving to God.
If you are now a good father, you can grow more and become an excellent father. If you are already an excellent father, you can grow to be a great father. And if you tell me ‘Pastor, I am already a great father’, you can grow to become a unique father!
Paul was saying that the Corinthian church was planted by him but Apollos watered the seed that he planted. But the growth of the church spiritually or numerically was by God.
Mothers, of all the things you have done in life, none is as important as the godly influence you have had and are still having on your children and grandchildren.
Evangelism is the call of edification to grow the church. But very often, we don’t really equip our people to evangelise! If we sit down and think, when was the last time we shared the Gospel to someone? Sometimes, it’s not that we don’t want to share, it is that we don’t really know how to do it!
Why does pain happen? Have you ever wondered how nice it would be if there was no hurt, no suffering and no PAIN in this world? I am sure you have, at one juncture or another. Why do certain people have no food to eat? Why do some people have to beg on the streets?
But this morning I want us to look at what kind of a leader Jesus was. Everywhere he went, people followed after him. Why? Yes, he performed many miracles, he was there for the needy, he told stories and he spoke with authority, yet he came as a humble servant.
We have a supernatural and unique calling. Called to be a people of God. And he said live a life worthy of it. I want to live a life worthy of this calling and I want to urge all of us that we live a certain type of life that is worthy to be called the sons and daughters of God.
The primary purpose of the Counselling Ministry is that we want to help people draw closer to God. It is on dwelling on the promises of God, with prayer and worship; we see that indeed the Word of God does not return to him void, it accomplishes all that it was purposed to do. Indeed, we have seen in the past how God works and has experienced His goodness. We want to help others to experience God as well.
We are to be a light that shines in the world. We should shine before men. How do we shine? By the good deeds that we do. When we do good deeds in the name of Jesus Christ the glory goes to God. The glorifying of God is affirmed through the good deeds that we do.
God invites everyone, you and me, just as we are, but God expects us to put on new clothes to enter the kingdom. It may be a “Come as you Are” party, but once we arrive, we don’t “Stay As We Are.”
Our self-worth is too often based on what other people tell us about ourselves. The one, true authority on our self-worth is Jesus Christ, and since He gave His own life up for us by dying on a cross, that should tell us just how valuable we really are.
To eat at a king’s table is naturally to enjoy a position of great honor, and we have been invited. We were the misfits invited to sit at the table. Then we were adopted. We are no longer slaves, we are children of the king. More than that, we are sons and we have a place at the Lord’s table.
Sonship matters, because it means that we are not simply ‘children of God’ in an abstract or ambiguous sense, but that we – both men and women – have been graced with the same relational standing that the Son has with the Father. That’s simply how good our God is!
That will be the strength of TOP because what God put in my heart is what I can impart. We will move on the word, the community, prayer and we will grow in relationships.
And this Christmas, I hope you have a more meaningful Christmas because you know why that child in the manger needed to be born. For you and for me.
I am sharing this because some of you will leave Penang. Whether to study or to work it doesn’t matter. God will put you in a place where you can be a blessing to his kingdom. But to do that, you need to be integrated into a local church.
Slander occurs whenever someone says something untrue about someone else that results, intentionally or unintentionally, in damaging that someone else’s reputation. And when it occurs, it becomes a divisive, discouraging and confusing issue that often affects numerous people – sometimes many, many people.
Let’s practice loving holiness. I don’t want you to pursue holiness and come not smiling because you are now holy. We are already saved by grace. Let’s love. A lovingly holy person will see people where they are while a legalistic holy person will do likewise but setting a proficiency standard, that’s the law.
Kindness is not an inconvenience to be avoided, but a characteristic to be embraced. Sometimes it is as simple as a pleasant smile, or a warm handshake, or sending a thank you note, or assisting a neighbor with a household project, or being with a friend in distress.
A real encounter with God is personal. You will experience God as a person. You will experience him in a personal sense and this is the task of the whole Bible.
Yes, Jesus seeks to transform and redeem us. That doesn’t mean God wants us to become different people, it means that God wants us to be who we are in service of the kingdom in those ways that we uniquely can.
We have the image of God in us and we have the capacity to relate with people. You may say I used to be concerned about people but after 50 years I become more self centred. It may not be your fault entirely. You may have been hurt once, twice or three times and you closed up.
If you are not able to keep the fire and the love for God going then slowly the coldness of complacency will set in our lives. It will lead to spiritual stagnancy and eventually spiritual death.
Love has a softness and tenderness on one side of the coin but to be a good father, you need the other side of the coin, of firmness and discipline.
This morning we shall use the acronym M-O-T-H-E-R (based on the article “6 Truths About The Role of Moms” by Dr. Tim Clinton) to help us appreciate the benefits bestowed on us by our mothers
“Things which seem wrong to some Christians but not to all” and led us in a discussion of both how to handle the gray areas and how to relate to fellow Christians who don’t feel the way you do about everything.
How can we tell the whole world we are Christian and that they need Jesus, when we are not able to first tell the ones we love the most.
Jesus is the way to real happiness. If you know Christ and you are delighting in the Word of God and allowing the Spirit of God to transform you, you are on the way to real happiness.
Here you can see Paul suffered and love the church. One test is your love for Christ will without fail correspondence with your love for the church. The extent you love Jesus correspond with your love for the body.
Intentional Shepherding.
Best leadership model in the Bible to equip disciples.
Pastor Yoong Ying Wah It’s a pleasure to be here this morning. A little bit of introduction. I’m married … More
Rev Gideon Lee All of us go through life with questions. Like our children who grows to a stage where … More
Rev Gideon Lee Luke 7:36-50 Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman 7:37-39Ref — Mt 26:6-13; Mk 14:3-9; Jn 12:1-8 7:41, … More
Rev Gideon Lee The Lord led me to this Psalms even as I was looking at what to share. Psalms … More
Bro Koay Kheng Hin When pastor Gideon asked me to speak on Mother’s Day I asked if he was sure? … More
Sis Melinda Song CNY Eve Combined Service How wonderful to see you in the house of the Lord on the … More
Matthew 7:1-6 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the … More
Bro Koay Kheng Hin I know when we talk about a walk it can be sensitive. Like walking Petaling Street … More
Bro Koay Kheng Hin I actually prepared this some time back wondering what the Lord had for us. And as … More
Rev Gideon Lee Matthew 7:1-7:6Judging Others1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.2 For in the same way … More
Rev Gideon Lee What did I preached on last week? How to handle conflicts in the church as God has … More
Rev Graeme Lauridsen Thank for the opportunity to share. Background: Family, NZ – pastor and leader with AG 25 years. … More
Pastor Pauline Ding Thank God for all those that came to support the Teluk Kumbar work. We have up to … More
Pastor Pauline Ding I am a fourth generation Christian so I grew up in church. Even so I went through … More
Rev Gideon Lee Last week I was not here so if you are wondering if your pastor has backslide, I … More
Rev Dr Teresa Chai It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here. I see your church emphasis is … More
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