Zion Bishan Bulletin 23 August 2020 English Services

23 August 2020
English Services & 10.30 am Livestream

Call to Worship

Meditative Hymn: O Jesus, I Have Promised

Scripture Reading: Joshua 5:1-15 ESV

Message: Preparing for Battle

Response Hymn: Undivided

Corporate Life & Prayer

Offering

Benediction

Announcements

Note: Holy Communion will be served at all in-person services

We are pleased to welcome you to worship with us! If you are new to Zion Bishan, do drop us a note on our contact form and our hospitality team will get in touch with you in the coming week. Please use the same contact form if you want to find out more about our faith, or about our activities and programmes.
http://www.zionbishan.org.sg/about/contact-us/response-form/

Our Sunday services at a glance

Speakers: Ng Zhiwen (10.30 & 1 pm) & Pastor Dev (3 pm & 5 pm)
Worship Leader: Pastor Alby & Elder Roland
AV: James Kok, Wee Aik Koon, Christina Wong & Soh Kok Hong
Pianist: Penuel Lau

Songs for personal worship and reflection:
www.zionbishan.org.sg/songs-for-reflection

English Services: Mercy & Grace Cluster
Pastor: Pastor Haoren
Elders: Pastor Ebi & Elder Roland
Deacons: Dns Alice, Dn Danny & Dn Sunil
Staff: Li Hui & Vernon

Speaker: Mr Ng Zhiwen/Pastor Ps Dev Menon

Preparing for Battle
Joshua 5:1-15

Intro: Their Hearts Melted

A Mass Circumcision

A Passover Meal

A Change of Diet

Conclusion: The Commander Arrives

Reflection and Discussion

1. What do you remember from the passage or sermon?
2. Why was it important to circumcise the Israelites?
3. What was significant about keeping the Passover?
4. What does it mean for us to ‘get ready’ for battle today?

Our Church

Annual Congregational Meeting (26 Sep) – As the church works towards this virtual ACM, uphold our leadership and planning team in prayer. With a lot of information and instructions going out, pray for discretion and discernment of our members to follow along with a loving and gentle Spirit, asking our Lord to guide us into the years ahead.

Our People

Pray for the Youth Ministry:

Youth Fellowship – Keep the youths and committee in prayer as they have returned to meeting in-person on Saturdays at 4pm. Thank God for sustaining them through many months of meeting online. Pray for the YF committee as they lead, plan and execute weekly activities in a safe manner, while seeking to build one another up as they meet physically. Pray more will join the Saturday fellowship.

Youth Discipleship – YD continues in their age and gender separated classes, mostly on Zoom. Attendance has dropped since classes had to go online. Pray for our YD leaders as they prepare and engage the youths with God’s Word weekly. Pray for the hearts of our youths to grow in the knowledge of God, learning to love and glorify Him in their lives.

Youth Ministry Exco – Thank God for Dn Chin Yew, Dns Peck San, Ee Wern, Shermaine and Karwei who have guided and discipled our youths. Pray for God’s leading as they meet to discuss direction for the Youth Ministry. Also thank God and pray for Jacqueline as she continues getting to know the youths and discern God’s calling for her as an apprentice.

Our World

Beirut, Lebanon – Our ministry partner reports on a very dire situation where many in the church community have been hit hard by both the explosion and the economic crisis. They require much outside aid to survive this crisis. Pray for God to provide for their essential needs and for the much-needed courage and strength to endure the rebuilding of their lives after so much destruction. In the face of such a hopeless situation, pray for God to bring back that spark of hope to the Lebanese people. 

West Nepal – Praise God for the 20th anniversary of our ministry partner’s existence on 18 Aug. Pray for God to continue growing and blessing the ministry. They have served faithfully and compassionately in providing a loving place for many children who do not have parents.  Starting with 6 children, they have grown to serving more than 200 children.  Praise God that some of them are studying and working in different places.  Many of the children do not know their birthdays or even their own ages so many celebrate our ministry partner’s birthday as their own!

Friday, 28 August Praise & Prayer
8 pm: Zoom Prayer Meeting (Registration required):
www.zionbishan.org.sg/friday-prayer-meeting

Sunday, 30 Aug
PULPIT EXCHANGE – One Service
10.30 Livestream Only
30 Aug “God's Providential Care” Psalm 121
Rev Dr Yap Kim Sin (Zion Serangoon)

Sermon Series: The Book of Joshua
6 Sep “Taking Jericho”
Mr Quek Tze-Ming (10.30am/1.00pm)
Ps Zheng Haoren (3.00pm/5.00pm)

13 Sep “Achan's Sin at AI”
Mr Quek Tze-Ming (10.30am/1.00pm)
Ps Zheng Haoren (3.00pm/5.00pm)

20 Sep “Covenant Renewal”
Mr Vernon Quek (10.30am/1.00pm)
Ps Dev Menon (3.00pm/5.00pm)

27 Sep “The Gibeonites”
Mr Vernon Quek (10.30am/1.00pm)
Deacon Danny Chua (3.00pm/5.00pm)

The Harvest is Plentiful, But…

Written by Mr Vernon Quek

I’m sure most of us know the rest of the verse above. After all, we’ve just heard a sermon on Matthew 9:37-38 by our brother Zhiwen last month at the end of the Missions Month series. By God’s grace, that very same week, our latest run of Christianity Explored began and had 43 participants registered – the largest of any CE course we’ve run so far! It was as if the Lord was driving the point home: The harvest is indeed plentiful, and we as a Zion Bishan church family are being called to step up, to pray and to labour.

We rejoice in those who took CE as an opportunity to do exactly that: to step up as Table Hosts, or to step up and invite friends and even come along with them to CE. Obviously, we run CE at Zion Bishan for those who wish to explore who Jesus is, but this is another big reason we run it: as part of the wider Zion Bishan vision of seeing every member of our church family equipped to labour side-by-side for the Harvest. In other words, CE aims to train those who sign up as Table Hosts to be more and more comfortable with presenting Jesus to those who do not yet believe – to be effective labourers for the Harvest!

There is no doubt that the Lord is working in our midst! One glimpse at our church’s weekly activities and anyone can see an abundance of Harvest opportunities. COVID might have changed or even shut down some of our previous activities, but I think we’d all agree that it’s opened up even more opportunities for the name of Jesus to go forth.

Yes, we rejoice in the large numbers signing up for CE. But do we have the eyes to see that this is but a drop in the much greater ocean of the plentiful Harvest? And if so, many more labourers are required! Imagine what it would look like if all, not just a few, of our church family joined in to labour together. Imagine if each and every one of us were well-trained labourers, and if by God’s grace, each of us had the privilege of just seeing one non-believing friend or family member come to know Jesus through us.

I believe that it is no coincidence that we’ve been led to the book of Joshua in this second half of 2020. As we heard last Sunday from Pastor Dev: The Lord is with us, but for what? What does being God’s People, taking the Promised Land, heading towards the New Creation, mean for us? Surely it must mean labouring in His Harvest! Are we still wandering, or is it time for us to charge?

What does this all mean for you personally? Is it time to take the next step in being trained as a Harvest labourer? Why not talk to any of the Pastors, Elders, ministry staff or your AG Leader about what taking the next step might look like for you?

Let’s pray to the Lord of the Harvest, but I hope you remember that the Disciples that Jesus was speaking these words to then went on to be the first great Harvest labourers.

Catechism Class
Starts 12 Sept, Saturday, 1-3pm

New in-person catechism class is starting in September. If you have been a regular worshipper with us and would like to consider baptism or transfer of membership to Zion Bishan, please contact Ps Dev by 25 August.
dev@zionbishan.org.sg

Annual Congregational Meeting
26 Sept, Saturday, 4-6pm

ACM will be held using an online/proxy format, due to COVID-19 measures. The notice of ACM, reports and instructions have been sent out via email. Please email acmzion@zionbishan.org.sg by 26 Aug if you have not received the details.

Please submit any questions you may have to Session latest by 4 Sep 2020. More details on submission of questions are found in the ACM notice.

30 August 10.30am Service

For the 5^th Sunday in the month, there will only be one service at 10.30am. Please join us via live-stream. If you want to attend that service in-person (e.g. bringing a friend), please contact one of the pastors.

In-Person Sunday Services in September

If you wish to attend a Sunday Service in person, please register by the Friday before that particular Sunday using the following links (choose from the 4 available time slots)

Sun 6 Sep (Joy / Light Clusters): https://zb-light-joy-6sep.eventbrite.sg  
Sun 13 Sep (Faith / Patience Clusters): https://zb-faith-patience-13sep.eventbrite.sg
Sun 20 Sep (Hope / Peace Clusters): https://zb-hope-peace-20sep.eventbrite.sg   
Sun 27 Sep (Mercy / Grace Clusters): https://zb-mercy-grace-27sep.eventbrite.sg

Please note that each Service time-slot is subject to a cap of 50 worshippers only.

Communion will be served at all services.

If you are unsure of which Sunday you should register for, or if you are a non-member who worships with us, do contact your AG leader or any of our pastors.

Visit www.zionbishan.org.sg/phase-2 to view our Safety Management Plan and to check which Cluster your AG is in. There will be no ADC, CD, YD or other activities on Sunday.