order of service - carmel · 2016. 12. 27. · worshippers are invited to come forward for personal...
TRANSCRIPT
Worshippers are invited to come forward for
personal prayers with elders/pastors in the front pew.
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(FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY)
ORDER OF SERVICE 9.00 am & 11.00 am 25 December 2016
Worship Leader: Benedict Leow Speaker: Rev Daniel Chua
Prayer: Rev Peter Teo Scripture Readers: Goh Swee Hong/Cynthia Wee
Silent Prayer & Meditation
Prelude
Call to Worship
Opening Songs Angels We Have Heard on High
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Opening Prayer “Gloria Patri”
Responsive Scripture Reading John 3:1-18
Choir Presentation God So Loved the World/Let Earth Receive Her King
Worship in Songs Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You
Love Has Come! Jesus, Name Above All Names
Grace Alone
Offertory & Thanksgiving Prayer “Doxology”
Infant Baptism/Baptism/ Transfer of Membership/Reaffirmation
1st Service: Rev Oh Boon Leong/Eld Ho Peng Kee 2nd Service: Rev Peter Teo/Eld Ho Peng Kee
Congregational Prayer & Announcements
Scripture Text Hebrews 1:1-3
Message “What’s So Special About that Child?”
Closing Song What Child is This?
Benediction “Three-Fold Amen”
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MOUNT CARMEL WARMLY WELCOMES YOU !
Dear guests, we invite you to join us in the Fellowship Hall for Welcome Tea.
“What’s So Special About that Child?”
Hebrews 1.1-3
# 1: He is the heir of all things…
# 2: He is the creator of the universe… # 3: He is the radiance of God’s glory, the exact representation of his being…
# 4: He is the sustainer of all things…
# 5: He is our Saviour who now seats at God’s right hand in heaven!
Who is He to you? Do you know Him? Is He your Saviour?
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PRAYER PAGE “Dear Lord, on this Christmas Day we thank you for the gift of Your Love.
May we be a shining example of that love to others. As we remember the birth of Jesus, may we share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men. Amen.”
Come, join our prayer warriors in Room #03-06 on Wednesday @ 7.45 pm !
THANKSGIVING
Caroling@NUH: 25 of us brought cheer, songs, gifts and prayers to patients in 2 wards at NUH last Saturday. We give thanks to God for 4 patients who prayed to receive Jesus as their personal Saviour. Five others requested for prayers. Pray for Ps Johnny and Lee Luang as we do our best to follow-up on those who believe or are open to know more. SEMS: Rejoice that three brothers were baptized last Sunday. Pray for them to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord. MWS: Praise the Lord for Mdm Teng who requested for the removal of idols in her home on 10 Dec. Ps Kheng Hai and Ps Johnny removed the idols last week. Mdm Teng and her daughter Angeline (friend of Jane Lee) recently came to know the Lord. May God protect and keep them in the faith.
GLOBAL CONCERNS
Across Europe, security has been ratcheted following last Monday’s truck attack at Berlin’s Christmas market. The killer driver is still at large. Nearer home, Indonesia police foiled the plan for a Christmas suicide attack on police officers. Philippines and Malaysia also tighten security and deploy reinforcements at strategic locations. Pray against any terrorists attacks especially during Christmas & New Year’s weekends. Pray too for the law enforcers in these countries as they implement tougher security measures and increase patrols.
CHURCH CONCERNS
WatchNight Service, 31 Dec: Uphold in prayer John Calvin, the musicians, the AV crew as they prepare and rehearse for the service on the last day of 2016. Pray that many will come together to ponder, praise and proclaim the Lord’s work of greatness in our lives, our families, workplace, school, etc this year.
Children Ministry: KidSparks & Sunday School Children Promotion Day (31 Dec & 1 Jan) — Give thanks for 140 children registered for Kidsparks and Sun School, and for all co-workers’ commitment to serve in Children Ministry. Pray for good partnership with parents/guardians in communication, faith-development and spiritual growth of children. Coworkers’ Thanksgiving 8 Jan — Pray for Dr Myrleene Grace Yap as she prepares the exhortation to encourage and spur the incumbents and co-workers serving in this ministry. Pray for the committee as they plan and finalise details of the meeting, and the lunch-fellowship that will precede it. Pray that many co-workers will be able to attend this lunch.
Ladies Retreat, 2-5 Mar 2017: Give thanks for the speaker Mrs Hia Lin Choo who will speak on “Living A Christ-Centred Life.” Pray for good response from ladies in Mt Carmel, Hebron and Mt Hermon as publicity goes out.
PERSONAL CONCERNS ,
1. Commit Kee Su Yin's health to God as she recovers from the birth of her premature son. Pray for baby Matthias Sim to grow well and strong each day.
2. For some people, Christmas or festive seasons can be a difficult time as family gathers. Pray for
the people God brings to mind who may be experiencing loss - a spouse, child, career, health, etc..
3. Ask God to protect families on their holidays. May He also bring them home safely.
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The Real 12 Days of Christmas
Sometime in November, as things now stand, the "Christmas season" begins. The streets are hung
with lights, the stores are decorated with red and green, and you can't turn on the radio without
hearing songs about the spirit of the season and the glories of Santa Claus. The excitement
builds to a climax on the morning of December 25, and then it stops, abruptly. Christmas is over,
the New Year begins, and people go back to their normal lives.
The traditional Christian celebration of Christmas is exactly the opposite. The season of Advent
begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and for nearly a month Christians await the coming
of Christ in a spirit of expectation, singing hymns of longing. Then, on December 25, Christmas Day
itself ushers in 12 days of celebration, ending only on January 6 with the feast of the Epiphany.
Exhortations to follow this liturgical calendar rather than the secular one have become routine at
this time of year. But often the focus falls on giving Advent its due, with the 12 days of Christmas
relegated to the words of a cryptic traditional carol. Most people are simply too tired after Christmas
Day to do much celebrating.
The "real" 12 days of Christmas are important not just as a way of thumbing our noses at secular
ideas of the "Christmas season." They are important because they give us a way of reflecting on
what the Incarnation means in our lives. Christmas commemorates the most momentous event in
human history—the entry of God into the world he made, in the form of a baby.
The Logos through whom the worlds were made took up his dwelling among us in a tabernacle of
flesh. One of the prayers for Christmas Day in the liturgy encapsulates what Christmas means for all
believers: "O God, who marvelously created and yet more marvelously restored the dignity of human
nature, grant that we may share the divinity of him who humbled himself to share our humanity."
In Christ, our human nature was united to God, and when Christ enters our hearts, he brings us
into that union.
The three traditional feasts (dating back to the late fifth century) that follow Christmas reflect
different ways in which the mystery of the Incarnation works itself out in the body of Christ.
December 26 is the feast of St. Stephen—a traditional day for giving leftovers to the poor. As one
of the first deacons, Stephen was the forerunner of all those who show forth the love of Christ by
their generosity to the needy. But more than this, he was the first martyr of the New Covenant,
witnessing to Christ by the ultimate gift of his own life. St. John the Evangelist, commemorated on
December 27, is traditionally the only one of the twelve disciples who did not die a martyr. Rather,
John witnessed to the Incarnation through his words, turning Greek philosophy on its head with
his affirmation, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14, KJV).
On December 28, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents, the children murdered by Herod.
These were not martyrs like Stephen, who died heroically in a vision of the glorified Christ. They
were not inspired like John to speak the Word of life and understand the mysteries of God. They
died unjustly before they had a chance to know or to will—but they died for Christ nonetheless. In
them we see the long agony of those who suffer and die through human injustice, never knowing
that they have been redeemed. If Christ did not come for them too, then surely Christ came in
vain. In celebrating the Holy Innocents, we remember the victims of abortion, of war, of abuse.
We renew our faith that the coming of Christ brings hope to the most hopeless. And, in the most
radical way possible, we confess that like the murdered children we are saved by the sheer
mercy of Christ, not by our own doing or knowing.
In the Middle Ages, these three feasts were each dedicated to a different part of the clergy.
Stephen, fittingly, was the patron of deacons. The feast of John the Evangelist was dedicated to
the priests, and the feast of the Holy Innocents was dedicated to young men training for the clergy
and serving the altar. The subdeacons (one of the "minor orders" that developed in the early
church) objected that they had no feast of their own. So it became their custom to celebrate the
"Feast of Fools" around January 1, often in conjunction with the feast of Christ's circumcision on
that day (which was also one of the earliest feasts of the Virgin Mary, and is today celebrated as such
by Roman Catholics).
The twelve days of Christmas saw similar celebrations of the topsy-turvy and the unruly. A "Lord
of Misrule" was often elected at Christmas and ruled the festivities until Epiphany. A schoolboy was
traditionally chosen as bishop on December 6 (the Feast of St. Nicholas) and filled all the functions
of bishop until Holy Innocents' Day. The Christmas season also sometimes saw the "Feast of the
Ass," commemorating the donkey traditionally present at the manger. On this day, people were
supposed to bray like a donkey at the points in the Mass where one would normally say "Amen".
It is easy to dismiss all these customs as pagan survivals (which many of them are), or at best
as irrelevant and harmless follies. Indeed, the medieval church frowned on most of these practices,
and the Reformers of the 16th century finished the job of suppressing them. But perhaps there's
a message here worth pondering—that in the words of the horrified pagans of Thessalonica, the
message of Christ turns the whole world upside down. In the birth of Jesus, God has put down
the mighty from their seats and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and
sent the rich away empty.
Nothing will ever be safe or normal again. In the words of Michael Card, we are called to "follow
God's own fool." And yet, paradoxically, this greatest of revolutionaries was not a rebel. The one
who revealed the surprising meaning of God's Law and turned the tables on human traditions
nonetheless submitted to be circumcised according to the teaching of Moses.
Finally, on Epiphany (January 6), the celebration of Christmas comes to an end. "Twelfth Night" (as
all lovers of Shakespeare know) is the ultimate celebration of Christmas madness (Shakespeare's
play features one of his many "wise fools" who understand the real meaning of life better than
those who think they are sane). Epiphany commemorates the beginning of the proclamation of
the gospel—Christ's manifestation to the nations, as shown in three different events: the visit of
the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the turning of water into wine.
Epiphany is often a forgotten festival. The ancient tradition kept the Christmas decorations up until
Epiphany, marking the true end-point of the Christmas season. Epiphany sends us into the world
to live out the Incarnation, to witness to the light of Christ in the darkness. Following Jesus, we
have been baptized into his death and resurrection. Whether we are called to martyrdom, or to
prophetic witness, or simply to faithful living in the joys and sorrows of our daily lives, we live all
of our days in the knowledge of our dignity, redeemed through Christ and united to God.
We are part of the strange society of people whose world has been turned upside down, and we
go out to witness to this topsy-turvy truth: "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us: and we
beheld his glory … and of his fullness have we all received, and grace for grace" (John 1:14, 16).
Abbreviated from Edwin and Jennifer Woodruff Tait article of the same title in Christianity Today.
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AA N N O U N C E M E N TSN N O U N C E M E N TS
NEWCOMERS TEA FELLOWSHIP We invite our guests to join us for Welcome Tea every Sunday
in the Fellowship Hall after each Service.
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2017 CHILDREN MINISTRY CO-WORKERS’ THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER MEETING WITH LUNCH-FELLOWSHIP All incumbents (2016) and co-workers who will be serving in 2017 are warmly invited to attend our first gathering next year, details: DATE: 8 JANUARY 2017 (SUNDAY) TIME/VENUE: 12.30 to 1.15 pm @ Faith hall (lunch-fellowship); 1.30 to 3.30 pm @ Hope sanctuary (meeting) ATTENDEES: SATURDAY KIDSPARKS (Reading/Tuition, Bible hours), SUNDAY SCHOOL (9am and 11am), VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL (VBS), BIBLE CAMP SPEAKER: Dr Myrleene Grace Yap (Dean, School of Church Music, SBC) PROGRAMME: worship, testimony-sharing, ice-breakers, updates, prayers, etc. For purposes of lunch-catering and logistics-arrangement, pls register your attendance with the following persons and contact numbers/emails, by 25 Dec (Sun): KIDSPARKS (Reading/Tuition hour): Cindy Tan @ 90045077 /[email protected] KIDSPARKS (Bible hour): Melissa Choo @ [email protected] 9AM/11AM PRESCHOOL(SUN): Phoebe Chua @ [email protected] 9AM PRIMARY (SUNDAY): Stephanie Siow @ [email protected] 11AM PRIMARY (SUNDAY): Aileen Khong @ [email protected] VBS and BIBLE CAMP: Sam Cheng Wang @ [email protected]
2016 Annual Report - As in previous years, the 2016 Annual Report can be viewed on our church website at http://www.carmel.sg/?page_id=2851. This is to reduce paper usage. However, if you wish to receive a hard copy of the report, please call the church office @6779-5077 (Lai San) or email us at [email protected].
The pastors and admin team would like to thank all Carmelites for their Christmas greetings and gifts. We treasure your gestures of love, and the cheer that they bring. We take this opportunity to wish all a “Blessed Christmas”!
BLESSED
In order for us to close our year end accounts on time, please submit all claims to the church office by 15 Jan 2017 (Sun). Thank you for your co-operation.
Please note that Holy Communion will not be served on 1 January, but on 8 January 2017.
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● Please make all cheques, including those for the Development Fund, payable to Mount Carmel BP Church Ltd (exact payee name must be stated on the cheque).
● Please note that NO receipts will be issued for cheques received by the Church below $5,000 except upon request.
● All Offerings and Pledges to Mount Carmel BP Church Ltd is not tax deductible.
AA N N O U N C E M E N TSN N O U N C E M E N TS
NEXT SUNDAY 1 JANUARY 2017
MINISTRY INVOLVEMENT COMBINED SERVICE
Ushers Youth/West Coast CG
Refreshment — No Refreshment —
Worship Leader Kenneth Lim
Congregational Prayer Rev Daniel Chua
Musicians Shirley Yeo
Scripture Readers Chai Chor Tiang
Welcome Corner — Closed —
Librarians — Closed —
AVA Crew Yu Ta Wen/Lee Sin Yee/Chan Wen Hui/Christie Phua
The church warden, Malcolm Ho, will be on leave on 28-29 Dec 2016 and 2-8 Jan 2017. Ah Jia, the cleaner, will take charge of opening and closing of the Bible Centre premise during his absence. He can be contactable at 9050-6876 (h/p). For any ministry requirements, please defer to the ministry in-charge (bookings). We appreciate your co-operation.
All Parents of Youths Meeting 15 January 2017 After 11am service in HOPE Sanctuary
DCG Leaders Meeting 8 January 2017 After 11am service in ACE Room
Youth Ministry Announcements
Newcomers tea/lunch fellowship will be held on 8 Jan 2017 in room #03-01. All newcomers are invited to join us after the worship services.
PASTORAL TEAM
Senior Pastor Rev Oh Boon Leong
Missions & Strategic Planning Rev Peter Teo
SES & Care Group Rev Lim Kheng Hai
[email protected] Ladies, ConnexUs & Rhoda
Ps. Assoc. Ang Lee Luang [email protected]
Children Ps Asst Margaret Ong [email protected]
Youth & Family Rev Jabez Chia
[email protected] Young Adult & Youth
Ps Asst Marianne Wong [email protected]
Pastor-at-Large Rev Daniel Chua [email protected]
SEMS Ps Asst Joyce Goh
Mandarin Service Rev Johnny Tee
Remnant Korean Service Rev Ezra Jang
BOARD OF ELDERS Eld Bruce Lockhart
(BOE Chairman)[email protected]
Rev Oh Boon Leong (Session Moderator)
Eld Yeo Siew Yam [email protected]
Eld Ho Peng Kee [email protected]
Rev Peter Teo
Rev Lim Kheng Hai
Rev Jabez Chia
TODAYTODAYTODAY
THIS WEEKTHIS WEEKTHIS WEEK
NEXT SUNDAY NEXT SUNDAY NEXT SUNDAY 111STSTST JJJANUARYANUARYANUARY 201720172017
Youth - Combined Service Sanctuary 9.00 am/11.00 am
Mandarin Service Chapel 10.45 am
Rhoda Fellowship ACE Room 11.00 am Worship Leader: Zenny & Maricel Speaker: Ps Assoc Ang Lee Luang Topic: Lessons from the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12)
Remnant Korean Service Chapel 2.30 pm
SEMS Service Hope Sanctuary 7.45 pm
Ushers: Clementi Woods CG/West Bay CG Refreshments: Legacy CG AVA: Timothy Chiam/Fiona Chee/Jonathan Lau/Daryl Tan/Loh Kum Hoe Welcome Corner: Steven Wong/Tan Mun Kiat/Dn Jonathan Lum/Sunny Yap Librarians: — Closed — Thanksgiving Flowers: Joo Wee & Sheila Choo Wing Kwong, Serena Hoo Alex & Susan Lee
English Services Hope Sanctuary 11.00 am Rev Oh Boon Leong - “Blessings & Happiness in 2017” (Psalms 1 & 2)
Youth - Combined Service Sanctuary 11.00 am
Mandarin - Combined Service Sanctuary 11.00 am
Rhoda - Combined Service Sanctuary 11.00 am
Remnant Korean Service Chapel 2.30 pm
SEMS Service Hope Sanctuary 7.45 pm
Wednesday, 28 Dec - No Prayer Meeting. We encourage you to come for the Watchnight on 31 December at 8.00 pm in the Hope Sanctuary
Thursday Men’s Group (TMG) : Break in December
Thursday 8.00 pm Hope Sanctuary: Choir Practice
Saturday, 31 Dec 5.30 pm Chapel: SES Rev Oh Boon Leong - “Blessings & Happiness in 2017” (Psalms 1 & 2) Worship Leader: Albunus Ng Congregational Prayer: Tan Thien Choon