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 celebrate Christmas, let’s reflect on the birth of Jesus and the significance of being children of God. The angelic visitation to the shepherds and other encounters with God’s glory illustrate how His glory envelops His children. This Christmas, may we find hope and peace in the glory of God.
Christmas is just two days away. The Christmas season is a good time for reflection, an opportunity to ask questions to ascertain the direction in which we should be heading in life.
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
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
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.
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?
Today I’d like you to consider what word or picture comes to mind when we hear the word “problem.” We tend to have negative connotations when it comes to problems. We don’t look forward to nor welcome problems. But how about the word “miracle”?
Today marks arguably the most important day in the Christian calendar. It is the day we all come together to commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the day he was raised from the dead.
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.
In today’s sermon, I wish to lead us to reflect upon eternity and its relation to our present life.
As we go through life, we meet people confronted with different circumstances of life who will have diverse needs. God constantly empowers us to grow in having a heart for people, to show care and concern and to lend a helping hand to people in need.
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.
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.
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.
We often begin the year with good intentions but our good resolutions seldom last. We start off well, but sad to say, we get distracted and derailed and some of us are even destroyed along the way because when faced with temptation…we yield!
As we celebrate Christmas today, we need to bear in mind the true meaning of Christmas.
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.
One good thing that came out of the uncertain season was that it drove the church onto its needs. We came to the highest authority to plead the case for the salvation of our nation. It is easy to pay lip service with platitudes like “we have to trust God” but it is in prayer that we show our true dependence on God.
Pastor Koay Kheng Hin6 November 2022 As we all look back to the past week, I believe that many of … More
It is the name of Jesus Christ that is the secret of success in the Christian life and in the ministry of the Christian church. But we have to be careful not to use the name of Jesus as some magic word like “Open Sesame” or “abracadabra”.
I have sought to categorize churches into three broad groups, namely the contemporary church, the charismatic church, and the conservative church.
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.
Pastor Melinda Song10 & 11 September 2022 We are at the tenth and final gate that completes our tour of the … More
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?
To watch is “to have the alertness of a guard at night.” A night watchman must stay awake and be hyper-vigilant. That is the type of watching Jesus spoke about because Jesus compares his coming with the coming of a thief in the night.
The character traits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are to be taken as a whole.
The war horses of Israel are believed to have been stabled next to the King’s palace. Warriors rode out to and returned from the battle at the Horse Gate. And the king’s chariots will pass through the gates on their way back into the city in triumphant procession.
The Fountain Gate is the sixth gate in our tour around the walls of ancient Jerusalem.
My friend, every genuine child of God wants to get up out of the dirt. That is the reason we are given a desire to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him — that we may get up out of the mire of life. We have been set free to “fight the good fight” (2 Tim 4:7) and to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb 12:1).
If you are going through a dark, scary valley today, remember that you are not alone. Rest in the promise of our Good Shepherd who will guide us through and around those dangerous spots in the valley so that we make it out safely on the other side. He will carry you when you are too weak to walk, and restore your soul when you are too tired to move forward.
Today is Pentecost Sunday according to the Jewish calendar. As we worship the Lord today as an assembly of believers, it is just timely, in these adverse times that we are experiencing now, we look back at the beginnings of the church to draw insights to encourage and exhort us as a church.
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.
Today is Easter Sunday, a special day of the year because this is the day Christians commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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.
On our trip around the ancient walls of Jerusalem, we visited the Sheep Gate which symbolises the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. He fulfils the 4 elements that make up a functional Sheep as the gate, the High Priest, the temple and the sacrifice.
On this Good Friday I would like us to look at a familiar passage from First Peter that sums up in two short verses both the horror and the wonder of Christ’s Passion.
we move through another week of our lives and we look forward to a fresh new week it is helpful to remind ourselves that, beyond the routine activities of our daily lives, there is always the opportunity for spiritual growth, a gradual process of growing in Christian maturity.
Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. Scripture has the transformative power to transform us. In the present trying times, Scripture can give us assurance and peace.
The church has been scattered in a sense by the two years of the pandemic. It is now time for us to gather back physically in an assembly of the people of God to worship him. We need to take our eyes off from focusing upon the pandemic and the virus to rebuilding the church to manifest the glory of God.
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.
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.
which means “visit” or “coming.” Christmas is coming and there is a sense of anticipation and expectancy.
ay, His mission stands completed and He commands us to tell the world about Him. This Jesus, who is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
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.
We love our freedom. The desire to be free is one of the strongest desires in human nature. From Abraham Lincoln to Nelson Mandela, some have sought for freedom and some have fought hard for it. Others have made long speeches about freedom and sung inspiring songs about it.
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.
Therefore, it is important for all of us to have a high view of truth, to know that truth upholds people and truth brings life.
In the midst of the difficult circumstances of present times, it is needful for all of us as a people of God to keep in mind the priority of our Christian lives and the purpose for which God called us into his kingdom.
However, at the same time, we need to widen our horizon and to see beyond the physical realm to be aware that in all things that happen in the physical realm, there is a concurrent active spiritual dimension and it is important that at times like this, we purposefully put on THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD.
If this is a movie we find two main actors – Peter and the lame man – with John, the supporting actor. The scene set before us is the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate. The director is the Holy Spirit.
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.
This morning let us look at how the disciples prepared themselves for the visitation of God and compare that with our desire and readiness to have God work in our lives and in our church.
Today is Easter, Resurrection Sunday! Praise be to God that we are able to gather together to worship God and to remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in his resurrection!
Good Friday is closely linked to the Passover, a very important Jewish annual springtime festival that falls on the 14th of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar.
Today is Palm Sunday on the Christian calendar, the day we commemorate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It begins the events leading up to the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
God has one boundless purpose that embraces all the things that He permits and ordains. Without denying free choice, we believe that God foresees the curious twisting of human will, and that He overrules all for His own purpose.
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..
As we celebrate Christmas in the midst of a pandemic, there is much to thank God for. Whether you are a Christian or not, you will probably view Christmas and understand it as a season of giving. Christmas is largely seen as a season of gifts, of the giving and receiving of gifts.
In Moses’ encounter with God, God proclaimed his goodness through expressing his love and his holiness. Today, we turn to the Person of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The title of the sermon today is “God’s Will Be Done.”
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.
This is the time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Saviour in Bethlehem. If someone were to ask you to tell them the Christmas Story where would you start?
A rainbow’s ability to bring joy to just about anyone is probably why they’re painted on kids’ cheeks at parties; used to decorate birthday cakes, garden flags and bedding; mentioned in lyrics, poems and other writings. They are also the stuff of folklore across many countries and cultures.
To bring some light to the situation we are in, I wish to draw some relevant insights from the book of Romans. There are three insights based on the 3 “Es” of Eternity, Edification and Empowerment.
The sermon today seeks to bring into focus the three important emphases of Tabernacle of Praise in relation to God. These three emphases are holiness, love and unity. As we reflect upon the attributes ofGod, we can discern that the two descriptions “God is holy” and “God is love” captures much of who God is.
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.
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”?
There is this challenge that as time goes on, we may think of our Christian faith as between us, ourselves and God. It becomes a bit too personal without realizing that God looks at us as a community of His people.
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.
Governments have had to grapple with health and economic crisis. Medical front-liners have been pushed to their limits trying to cope and businesses have come to a near standstill. People are dying.
The very fact that Jesus resurrected from that Easter Sunday brings to us that understanding that the Cross and the empty tomb forms a complete, integral part of the Gospel.
On Good Friday, two thousand years ago our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. We know His story. We know He suffered torment and agony at the hands of evil men; endured the shame of being crucified naked; and died on the cross for our redemption.
I believe everywhere you go these few days, everyone of us will be confronted with dialogues and conversations about the current political tension. We have all had a challenging week with the political uncertainty that is enveloping the country. Times have been hard but in this past week, we sense that times have become even harder, in a time of the economic downturn. Uncertainties have suddenly become the order of the day, as we do not know what to expect.
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.
Mary was truly an amazing woman. She wasn’t perfect but she stepped out in faith to God’s call and she was obedient to His will for her life. Mary is a woman who we would all do well to emulate.
Matthew’s first sentence makes a bold statement of Jesus identity: “Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham” but few authors would start their book with a long list of hard-to-pronounce names. So why would a book as vital as the New Testament begin with something as “dull” as a genealogy?
Everyone aspires to greatness. All of us want to have purpose and significance in this life. We want to be respected, and we want to leave a legacy. No one aspires to mediocrity.
Have you maximised the use of the resources that God by his grace has entrusted to you as a good steward? Not on what you lack but on what you already have.
TOP, we are people of Mt Zion and I’m calling on TOP to change our way of thinking about what is happening when we gather corporately to sing and pray and speak God’s Word. In fact, the celebration of the New Covenant resembles the revelry of a national holiday.
Today’s sermon seeks to answer this question. Where can we draw strength when we meet the trials of life?
The dividing point between the two groups is the cross. To one group is foolishness the other group is power. Folly and foolishness is tied together and power and wisdom is tied together.
During the reformation, the necessity of scripture was different because the Roman Catholics say the normal Christians do not need scripture because it is handled by the church. But the decay of Christians showed there is a need for scripture. The Protestant argues that the authority of scripture is sufficient.
In the history of the church this subject has been a huge dispute. The clarity of scripture. Is scripture clear enough for normal people to understand. Or do we need to be taught by the church?
What is Authoritative text? Firstly, it could mean a text with a voice with an identity or person that has authority. For example text that is issued by the government has a certain authority. Second, by authoritative text is text that is true. You need an authoritative source and also truth.
A lot of people have argued that inerrancy is an unnecessary study. If God’s word is its own self disclosure, then it’s not surprising that the word keep saying it reveals the truth. God words defends its inerrancy.
Let me ask you a serious question. Are you a sanctified Christian? You must be wondering how to answer. If you say yes I’m a sanctified Christian, then it sounds arrogant. If you say no, you have to repent. Or you may say not yet.
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?
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.
But I want to look at God’s word not from a theological aspect but from the perspective of our Christian walk on a daily basis. I want to look not so much at you having the word of God but does the Word of God have you? What do I mean by that?
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.
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.
Thirst is a powerful drive! Physical thirst cannot match he powerful thirst of the soul! We may have many different sources to “drink” from when we are thirsty but there is only one that satisfies the soul, the living waters of Jesus!
Every where we look we find people who have been exposed to the Bible and its teachings, but their lives have not been changed by it. Many have begun well in the Christian life but for one reason or another they have failed to mature in the faith as their growth was stunted.
Very few people have bad intentions. But most of the problems in the world are caused by good intentions. They seem good to the one taking the action but good intentions alone are not enough to guarantee good consequences.
The doubt we are discussing is not quite the same as a lack of assurance, which is focused on whether we can be acceptable to God or whether our faith is genuine. Here the focus is God himself—whether He is in fact there at all, or what His character is really like.
When we call Jesus Lord, we don’t choose what we want to obey. He is Lord. Someone put it very well. When you ask who is Jesus, is he Lord and God and step over and call him my lord and God. If you call him our Savior we have to call him Lord.
Rev Mark Barnard What a joy it is to be with you. We have been here numerous times. We … More
Rev Gideon Lee When we say shield we often think about the armour of God. Let us read from the … More
Rev Gideon Lee 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 The Coming of the Lord 13 Brothers, we do not want you to be … More
Rev Gideon Lee I want to look at a familiar passage of scripture. 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 The Vision of Paradise … More
Rev John Kirby I met someone in the car park and it seems it’s been five years since Rev Gideon … More
Rev Ng Kok Kee President of Bible College Malaysia I always enjoy coming to Penang and I’m glad to be … More
Kenny Song All of us are familiar with the Pharisees during Jesus’ ministry. Jesus had very little good things to … More
Rev Gideon Lee Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus Forbids Oaths 33 “ Again you have heard that it was said to those … More
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