Saturday 24 September 2011

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ

Recently, we have received news that a dearly loved sister of ours in Boston has returned to our Heavenly Father. She has served Him for many years in the BCEC Mission Team and attended the SCCC summercamp. Her love and hope in God has inspired many of us to draw even closer to Him.

We may cry selfish tears for her loss now, but the Lord has granted us eternal life. We will miss you. See you soon, Chik Ching.

Friday 16 September 2011

Schemat för HT11 är nu uppdaterat

Schemat finns nu på "Meetings" fliken men jag lägger upp ett ex här med:


Vecka

Datum

Aktiviteter

Ledare

34

28/8

Kick-off (BBQ)

35

Vardag

Skype - meeting

36

11/9

Bible Study

Wenhao

37

Vardag

Skype - meeting

38

25/9

Training

Jocke

39

Vardag

Skype - meeting

40

9/10

Preaching &

Worship

Jenny

Frankie + Jocke

41

Vardag

Skype - meeting

42

23/10

Bible Study

Catherine

43

Vardag

Skype - meeting

44

6/11

Training

Jocke

45

13/11 eller 12/11(Lör)

Outing

Kexin

46

20/11

Mission Training weekend

Jocke

47

Vardag

Skype-meeting

48

4/12

Preaching &

Worship

Kexin

Jenny + Frankie

49

11/12

Termin Avslutning

Alla

Monday 12 September 2011

Bibelstudier 9/12 2011

Vi fick en rolig överraskning i form av en ny deltagare idag!
Välkommen Sandy!

Deltagare: Jocke, Kexin, Jenny, Catherine, Frankie & Sandy
Ledare: Wenhao

Den här gången gick vi igenom Lukas evangeliet 11:5-13.

Texten handlar om hur Gud alltid finns här för oss. Det är upp till oss att be honom om hjälp.
Vers 9-10 säger:
"Jag säger er: Be och ni skall få, sök och ni skall finna, bulta och dörren skall öppnas för er. Ty var och en som ber, han får, och den som söker, han finner, och för den som bultar dörren skall dörren öppnas."

Texten kan missuppfattas om man endast läser dessa meningar, men läser man vers 5-8 så förstår man mer om vad det handlar om.
Situationen är sådan att när man är i behov av hjälp och har ingen annanstans att vända sig, så finns alltid Gud för dig! I svåra stunder helt enkelt.

Vers 11-13 handlar om hur syndare kan ge goda saker till sina barn, vad kan då Fadern i himmelen som är källan till all godhet, ge sina barn?

En av de bästa gåvorna vi har fått är den helige anden. Genom den får vi bl.a evigt liv.
Jag tyckte också att vi kunde be pga den heliga anden också var viktigt att påpeka.
Men då höll Jocke inte med och sa: De utan den heliga anden kan också be.
Vilket jag insåg att det stämmer ju, men det fanns en skillnad.
De som ber utan den helige anden använder en telefonlinje för att kontakta Gud.
Men om du har den heliga anden i dig så är det som om du kommunicerar med Gud genom fiber-LAN. Du har så mycket fler alternativ i form av "kommunikation". T.ex kan den helige anden vägleda dig, guida dig etc. Medans en telefonlinje är lite som 'one-way communication'.

Vi hade en rolig och lärorik söndag den här gången tyckte jag.
Jag är säker på att jag delar den här åsikten med alla andra som var i kyrkan idag -

Vi saknar er!
Maggie och Viktor!
Hoppas att ni har det bra där borta!


Wednesday 17 August 2011

May you dwell in His house and seek Him in His temple

One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek Him in His temple.
~Psalm 27:4 (NIV)

Blessings from Maggie :)

Sunday 8 May 2011

Keep walking straight without losing sight of what's important

Some may say that when you are in an impossible situation, you weren't meant for doing it. Like start studying for an exam the day before, trying to persuade a highly complex friend of yours, or writing on a graduation thesis and still have 27 pages left three days before deadline. As for me, I have experienced all of the above, and I am currently experiencing the latter two, except that I'm persuading two friends while writing on my graduation thesis. Still, here I am, putting effort and time to writing about God and His wonders. Why? Because He motivates me.

Some may say, that when you have 27 pages left on your graduation thesis three days before deadline, you may as well start writing or give up. On a sunny Sunday like this, I'm not going to do any of that. Instead, I'll keep walking straight without losing sight of what's important. What do I mean? Well, it's Sunday. I have been to church. With 27 pages hanging on my shoulders, I went with a brother and a sister from church. We went to the park, and we had a really nice, peaceful picnic, we talked, we laughed, the sister slept a little and we even tried our best to put out a fire in a trashcan we passed by. All of this was experience worth of gold compared to my graduation thesis.

According to the Scripture, being in a fellowship is highly recommended...

1 Corinthians 1:9 - God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
...because the Lord gave us the opportunity to do so.

2 Peter 1:5-8 - For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
...because it strengthens our faith.

Hebrews 10:24-25 - And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
...because we can encourage each other.

Matthew 18:20 - For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.
...because God is with us.

1 John 1:3-4 - We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.
...because of the Gospel.

Galatians 6:9 - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
...because it gives us hope.

Therefore, we will never be afraid of deadlines or pages or theses, because we have fellowship, and hope. Here are examples of God's promise:

Matthew 6:33-34 - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

John 16:33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Thus, dear friends, keep walking straight without losing sight of what's important. Hope to see you next week, with new hope. :)

Monday 18 April 2011

Lev med Kristus som förebild (6/3 2011)

Ledare: Wenhao
Närvarande: Jocke, Kexin, Maggie, Catherine
Tema: Philippians 1 27-28

Lev nu bara på ett sätt som är värdigt Kristi evangelium, så att jag - vare sig jag besöker er eller är någon annanstans - får höra om er att ni står fasta i en och samma anda, att ni sida vid sida kämpar för tron på evangeliet och aldrig någonsin låter er skrämmas av motståndarna. Det gör klart för dem att de skall gå under och ni räddas, som en gåva från Gud.

Vi diskuterade om hur vi tolkade att man ska stå fasta i en och samma anda och aldrig låta oss skrämmas av motståndarna, vad det innebär etc.

Vi alla kan komma till en punkt i livet där vi ifrågasätter vad som är rätt. Borde man vara "förnuftig och klok" genom att göra val som är logiskt baserade eller ska man välja ett val vars grund är baserad på en tro på Gud?

Frågan kan vara svår att besvara på, speciellt om man har vänner som inte är troende och/eller att ens tro är svag. Detta dilemma vågar jag säga, har/kommer att drabba alla kristna.

T. ex. ska jag studera i London VT11. Det är ingen billig stad att bo i. Det förnuftiga jag borde göra är att skaffa mig ett sommarjobb och spara ihop pengar till London. Men ett sommarjobb/deltidsjobb kommer att hindra mig från att delta/tjäna i sommarlägret, påsklägret etc. m a o kommer detta att hindra mig från att tjäna min Gud.

Ur en person vars perspektiv och beslut är baserat på "logik och slump" skulle valet vara ganska självklart. Vart skulle annars pengarna komma från om man inte arbeta för det och sparar? Det ramlar inte pengar från himlen i alla fall! Eller?

Jag är en naturvetare, under hela mitt liv har jag fått lära mig att tänka logiskt och rationellt, därför var detta en ganska svår fråga för mig att besvara på. Efter mycket om och men, bestämde jag mig för att skippa jobben och tjäna min Herre. Varför?

Matt 6:33 Sök först hans rike och hans rättfärdighet, så skall ni få allt det andra också.

Den här meningen svarade allt. Jag behöver inte oroa mig! Sök Gud och Han kommer att ta hand om mig! Pengar är inga problem! De kan faktiskt komma från himlen. :)

Oavsett vad folk säger om det DU tror och det beslut DU fattar pga din tro. Lyssna inte på dem, läs bibeln och den ger dig svaren du behöver. Be till Gud om hjälp. Han kommer att ta hand om dig.

Det viktigaste är att du håller fast vid din tro oavsett vad som sker, oavsett hur starka stormar du upplever. Gud skyddar dig alltid!


Gud välsigne

Sunday 3 April 2011

Youth meeting 110403: Heart of Worship

The guys and I had a nice time worshipping our Lord today and I just shared really short and basically about what worship is and is not about. I am no expert, but this is just some things I've learnt from serving as a worship team member.
Worship is something we, as Christians, do a lot. Not only in church but also in daily life.
Though, when we say 'worship', we often refer to the session at church or at camps where we all gather and sing songs together.
But worship is much more than singing together (or doing dramas or painting and so on).

Before I share what worship is, I would like to share what worship is NOT;
- It is NOT an entertainment.
- It is NOT a performance (showmanship)
- It is NOT about good music (though music can help us to focus on worship, like a helpful tool) 
- It is NOT for an ecstatic experience (spiritual and emotional explosion). We often get spiritual high during worship sessions, that is not wrong in any way. And sometimes we might not get these kind of experiences and then we might think "the worship was bad". But worship shouldn't be based on these kind of temporary explosions!
- It is NOT about the audience or the person standing right next to you. Sometimes the most genuine worship is done when you're all alone. Just you and God!
- It is NOT about you!

Worship:
- is about expressing our love and commitment to God and giving our lives to Him (once again)
- is about entering into His presence and bringing everything before Him
- literally means to "bow down" (in Hebrew), which means to acknowledge the holiness of God
- is about thanksgiving, which means we acknowledge the goodness of God
Psalm 95:2 "Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.“
- is about praise, which means we acknowledge the greatness of God
Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.

WORSHIP IS ALL ABOUT HIM!

Songs that we have during worship sessions can be divided into so-called Songs of praise and Songs of worship. I think there are other categories to divide songs into, but this is a common way that we use.

Songs of praise: are usually up-tempo (faster) songs and are used to acknowledge the greatness of God. It's common to clap hands and shout of joy, during songs of praise, to show appreciation and express joy. Just like sports fans clap hands and shout for their favourite teams, we clap hands and shout for our awesome God! (Psalm 47:1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.)

Songs of worship: are usually played in slower tempo. We acknowledge the holiness of God and fall deeper into His presence. Expressions that are common during this moment are lifting hands and bowing down (remember worship means to bow down). Lifting hands could have many meanings; lifting hands could be a way to invite the Holy Spirit to fall on you, it could also be like children lifting hands to their parents to say "Life me up, Father!" and so on. Bowing down means to humble yourself, showing respect to God, admitting His power and just surrendering yourself to Him. (Psalm 95:6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker)

Questions to consider:
- What kind of attitude towards worship have you had up until now? (Be honest with yourself!)
- What is the Heart of Worship? What should worship really be about?

We ended today's meeting with this song called Surrender. Because in the end, it is all about fully surrendering ourselves to Him and Him alone.


Peace out!

--Maggie

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Efter Bible Quiz . . .

Yo yo yo, jag är faktikst jätte glad över att Kexin, Jenny och Catherine var med i Bible Quiz! Någon av dem fick väldigt bra resultat också!
Så jag föreslår att vi inför nästa umgänge tar upp denna Bible Quiz med de som inte var med tidigare.
Läs noggrant igenom Apg kap 1-10.

Kexin, Jenny och Catherine kan hjälpas med poäng då!

Detta är mitt förslag, vad tycker ni?



Men inför nästa ungdomsmöte, som kommer härnäst, kommer Maggie att ta hand om...WOOOHOOO!
Be there then!


In Christ,
Jocke
=)

Thursday 24 March 2011

Umgänge 27:de mars

Hejsan alla kära ungdomar!

Vi kommer att ha en kristen frågesport (kval för Göteborg) tillsammans med vuxna under vårt umgänge denna söndag! Kom ihåg att läsa igenom Apg kap 1-10! En del allmänna kristen kunskap behövs också!
De tre bästa som vinner kommer att kvala direkt till den stora finalen i sommarlägret!!
Be prepared!!!

In Christ,
Jocke
=D

Tuesday 22 March 2011

den 6 feb ungdomsmöte

Hej alla,

Tänker bara informera hur vi har haft det i den 6 febuaris möte. 

Närvarande: Jocke, Catherine, Freda, WenHao, Kexin, Viktor. 
Applikation: att tacka Gud för de bröder och systrar som är insats i kyrkan.  

Meddelande: Filipperbrevet 1:3-8
Jag tackar min Gud var gång jag tänker på er, alltid, i alla mina böner för er alla. 
Och det är med glädje jag ber för er
ni har varit med i arbetet för evangeliet ända från första dagen, och jag är övertygad om att han som har börjat ett gott verk hos er också skall fullborda det till Kristi Jesu dag.
Det är som sig bör att jag tänker så om er alla. Jag har er ju i mitt hjärta; både när jag bär bojor och när jag försvarar och befäster evangeliet delar ni allesammans nåden med mig.
Gud kan vittna om att jag längtar efter er alla med Kristi Jesu ömhet. 

Kram 
Kexin

Monday 21 March 2011

Being humble

Attendants: Kexin, Viktor, Jocke, Catherine, Freda, Wenhao.
Bible verse: Philippians 2:5-8
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing, by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!

On yesterday's youth group session (20.03.2011), we had a discussion about the concept of being humble. What does being humble mean to you?
Jenny

Saturday 12 March 2011

Being thankful in suffering

It is easier said than done. In actuality, it is really difficult to do so. I remember from a couple of years ago that a friend was talking about another friend who was suffering from a physical disorder which has caused her a lot of pain during the years. She is young and having a sickness that bad was not something to be looking forward to. Technically speaking, she was doomed to live with this suffering the rest of her life. Applying that to myself, I have always been healthy as a horse, and every little suffering was a real pain for me. But after I heard about this young woman who was enduring her constant pains and also continuously, unceasingly thanking the LORD for loving her and granting her a chance to love Him back, each time I am about to complain about how sick I am, I pause and I think of what God wants. May everything in my life be according to His will, not mine.

Also, most pastors say that we tend to turn to Him, that we rely on Him more than ever whenever we are suffering. I cannot agree more. Deciding to become a Christian does not mean that we will live the rest of our earthly lives on cloud nine. Now I am having a really hard time being positive from my gastric flu. I throw up each time anything is trying to enter my stomach (like water and tea, since I stopped hoping that any food will stay). But thinking back to my friend, I can really see that she is fully relying on God, which also is something I should learn from. Let Him be in control. Stay happy because I am already saved. I still have hope. Elpida.
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him.
Philippians 1:29

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7
Jenny

Sunday 27 February 2011

Welcome to Elpida!

Step by step, we're moving closer towards a deeper relationship with the LORD.
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Philippians 2:1-3