Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
Hymns: Each Step I Take, RHC 332 Moment by Moment, RHC 333 Yesterday, Today, Forever PSALM 115 1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. 2 Wherefore should the heathen …
He Loved them Unto the End
John 13:1Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
It was a most trying time in our Lord Jesus’ earthly ministry where He would suffer shameful betrayal and desertion from His disciples. The suffering steps to the cross would soon begin. Yet, whether to His disciples or to the lost, He remained true to the mission that His Father had sent Him – He loved them unto the end.
JC Ryle said well, “Knowing perfectly well that they were about to forsake Him shamefully in a very few hours, in full view of their approaching display of weakness and infirmity, our blessed Master did not cease to have loving thoughts of His disciples. He was not weary of them: He loved them to the last.”
To think of such let-down would have driven a mortal man to great despair yet our Lord patiently and lovingly bore all. The Apostle Peter who, himself, deserted our Lord Jesus, having later repented, recounted the greatness of that love wrote:
20For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. (1 Pet. 2:20-25 KJV)
Hymns: RHC 314 Nearer, Still Nearer, 313 O Love that Wilt Not Let Me Go, 311 Does Jesus Care PSALM 40 1 (To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David)I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard …
Reformation in Switzerland
From Germany, the Protestant Reformation progressed to Switzerland, where in the northern part the people were mostly German in language and customs, in distinction from those parts which were geographically and in certain other respects linked with France.
Ulrich Zwingli led the Reformation movement in the northern part of Switzerland. He was born in the village of Wildhaus in 1484. Like Luther, he was of lowly birth, but he was brought up in more favourable circumstances than Luther and was educated in a school at Basel and at the University of Vienna. He was an altogether different type of man from Luther, but the teaching of the Spirit of God led both of them in the same direction. Zwingli became more and more convinced of the sad condition of the Church, and as he was a very earnest and diligent student of the Bible, he also became convinced that between many of the teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church and those of the Scriptures there was a world of difference. At the same time, he read the writings of the early Fathers and the books of Wycliffe and Huss. When a colleague of Tetzel, Bernardin Samson, sold indulgences in Switzerland, Zwingli raised a protect, but he was not as bold as Luther, nor was Samson as boisterous as Tetzel, so there was not such a violent clash in Switzerland as there was in Germany.
Hymns: RHC 387 I Need Thee Every Hour, 388 O For a Closer Walk, 284 Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus PSALM 145 1 David’sPsalmof praise. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. …
Day by Day – Hymn Story
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
The waves of revival that swept the Scandinavian countries during the latter half of the nineteenth century were greatly influenced by the wealth of fine hymns which flowed from the pen of Linda Sandell, born on October 3, 1832 at Fröderyd, Sweden. She was a daughter of the pastor of the parish church of that community. Being a frail youngster, she usually preferred to spend her time in her father’s study rather than to join her comrades in play. When she was twenty-six years of age, she accompanied her father on a journey to Gothenburg, but tragedy occurred before the destination was reached. The ship gave a sudden lurch and Lina’s father fell overboard and drowned before the eyes of his devoted daughter. She was the author of this hymn – Day by Day.
Although she had written hymns prior to this tragic experience, more songs began to flow out of her broken heart which reflect a simple, child-like trust in Christ and a deep sense of His abiding presence in her life.
Hymns: RHC 482 I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord 485 The Lord Is Good, 432 How Good Is the God We Adore 454 Make Me a Blessing Psalm 106 1 Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; …
If the Foundations Be Destroyed!
The psalmist cried out in Psalm 11:3 “3If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? ”(Ps. 11:3 KJV)
On 25 September 2018, I read with great trepidation on the Straits Times “Opinion” page Professor Tommy Koh’s article “Section 377A: Science, Religion and the law” what seemed to be a public appeal to repeal Section 377A of the Singapore law.
As a citizen of Singapore and a Christian pastor, I felt the urgent need to give a response because the very structure of the family consisting of father, mother and children coming out of that blessed union is about to be overturned. I write to emphatically emphasize that this societal order from time immemorial must not be compromised.
Hymns: RHC 237 Revive Us Again, 240 Breathe on Me, Breath of God, 243 The Comforter Has Come
Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. 2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of usmirth, saying, Sing us oneof the songs of Zion. 4 How shall we sing the Lord’S song in a strange land? 5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. 7 Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, evento the foundation thereof. 8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. 9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. Psalm 137:1-9 (KJV)
BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON
OUTLINE
(1) The Captive’s Sorrow (v1-2)
(2) The Captive’s Silence (v3-6)
(3) The Captive’s Supplication (v7-9)
INTRODUCTION
The 70 years of Israel’s exile in Babylon were soul searching years. Banished as a nation because of their waywardness and backsliding, when they departed from their God to worship idols. God’s repeated plea were not heeded, finally God acted to sent chastisement – Hebrews 12:5-8 “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”
(1) O Happy Day!
We thank the Lord for a blessed Baptismal Service last Lord’s Day. “O Happy Day!” was the message of rejoicing from:
Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
The thoughts summarized in our message were:
(1) Coming to the Lord/The Lord is coming to you (v1-16a)
(2) Cleansing from the Lord/The Lord cleansing you (v16b)
(3) Calling on the Lord/The Lord calling you to service and devotion (v16c)
This sermon can be assessed @ https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninf o.asp?SID=9301872421