Lord’s Day, Vol. 2 No. 5

(1) A Day of Rejoicing – A New Beginning

Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church became a reality when the Registry of Societies gave the approval for its existence on 28 Jan 2014 by an email notification. The title of the email was “APPROVAL FOR REGISTRATION OF BLESSED HOPE BIBLE-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ROS 1112/2013”.

The email reads: “Please refer to your application to register Blessed Hope Bible Presbyterian Church under the Societies Act. The application has been approved-in-principle under the name of Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church and subjected to the acceptance of the Constitution, including amendments made by the Registry of Societies and payment of the prescribed fee of SGD$400.00.” The constitution was accepted and the prescribed fee of SGD$400 was paid at the ROS – counter 21, 6th floor, ICA Building, 10 Kallang Road at 12.34pm on 28 Jan 2014. The administration procedure was completed.

It was an answer to prayer. 24 September 2013 was the date we submitted our application. We waited upon the Lord in prayer for 127 days. The Lord is good. We give Him all praise and glory.

(2) Mission of the Church

What is the mission of Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church? The objects for which the Church is established are:

1. The salvation of souls.
2. The edification of Christians through the teaching of God’s Word.
3. The promotion of godly and biblical worship.
4. The defence of “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints”.
5. The establishment and extension of Christian missions and institutions for the furtherance of God’s Kingdom on earth.
6. The promotion of Christian relief for the poor and needy.
7. The strengthening of mutual fellowship, encouragement and unity among individual Bible- Presbyterian Churches and other Bible-believing churches of similar stand “for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:9).
8. The Church shall not engage in activities that may undermine the racial or religious harmony in Singapore.1

The foremost objective is the salvation of souls. How much we need the Lord to help us fulfill this objective for salvation is of the Lord (Jon. 2:9). And how much we are responsible to put the “Go” on the gospel. We are in the process of preparing and printing tracts to evangelize our neighbours. Item 8 is written by the Registry of Societies for our church that we must not undermine the racial and religious harmony in Singapore. Let us in our effort to serve Him be mindful of this admonition.

The Apostle Paul has this counsel for us in Romans 13:1-3 “1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.”

We are thankful to God for the peace in Singapore that allows the gospel work to go forth. May this church be a beacon of light for the Lord till He comes again!

(3) Website

We registered the domain name blessedhope.sg for our website and is in the process of constructing it. Our sermons will be uploaded on sermonaudio.com. Please pray for God’s wisdom to guide us (James 3:17-18).

(4) Our Guest Speaker

Thank God for bringing Rev. Dr. Pradhudas Koshy and his family, to minister God’s Word and fellowship with us last Lord’s Day. Rev. Koshy is the Pastor of Gethsemane BP Church and lecturer of Far Eastern Bible College in Pastoral Theology. He spoke from Psalm 37:3 “Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” His sermon was entitled “Genuine Piety”. Rev. Koshy said, “Trust in the Lord and do good constitute what is genuine piety. Genuine piety is not just making a confession but living by that confession about God. The entire life is moulded and guided by our faith in God…true piety is not cold and impassive, its vibrant, in its belief and operation, its not cold.” We are challenged to put our faith into practice. We are reminded of the hymn “Make Me a Blessing”:

Out in the highways and byways of life,
Many are weary and sad;
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
Making the sorrowing glad.

Chorus:
Make me a blessing,
Make me a blessing,
Out of my life may Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

Tell the sweet story of Christ and His love,
Tell of His pow’r to forgive;
Others will trust Him if only you prove
True, every moment you live.

Give as ’twas given to you in your need,
Love as the Master loved you;
Be to the helpless a helper indeed,
Unto your mission be true.

May the Lord use us for His glory! Amen.

Yours lovingly
Pr Lek Aik Wee