St Andrew's Church, Brunei

John, one of the twelve disciples, brother of James and perhaps the closest friend during Jesus incarnate, earthly ministry, has written this gospel. He invites us in verse 1 to look to Jesus, the Word who was with God in the beginning. In verse 2, all things were made through Jesus. This includes all people. Sometimes we can fall into the trap of believing we are at the centre of it all. We can be selfish and self-obsessed. Jesus, however, is at the centre of all creation. We are all created by Him and for Him. He is the ruler over all with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is from everlasting to everlasting. He was there when everything was created. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. When we commit our lives to Him, He is our Saviour and Redeemer. In verses 11-12 John describes the rejection by some people of Jesus. John also describes how those who accept Jesus become children of God. We are God’s children. God is our Heavenly Father. This is a very impor

 Promises in 2020 and 2021 Devotion 29 Dec 2020 Luke 2:26-35 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace..." Luke 2:29 As we are about to end 2020 and enter 2021, there is a deep sense of uncertainty. Yet as a son or daughter of God, we hold on to God's promises. In the verse above Simeon, a man of God, praised God for the fulfilment of God's promise to him, that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. For a long time this promise of the Messiah and salvation had not been promised. When would it be fulfilled? Or is it even real? Is it just a false hope? Yet God's promise is yes and amen because God is a faithful God and He never break His promise. He fulfilled His promise to Simeon. Let me repeat, God is a faithful God and He keeps His promises. As the year end, would you take time to reflect on God's faithfulness and how He has fulfilled His promises to you. And as we enter the new year, what are God's promises in the B

Matthew 10:16–33, Jesus is telling his disciples what it will cost to bear faithful witness and make disciples in the coming years and what blessings they can count on to sustain them. The text relates directly to the next forty years after he departs, but it is true in principle for the rest of the age. He says in verse 23, “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” I don’t understand the “coming of the Son of Man” in this verse as the second coming of Christ. If it were, this text would be false. Six Costs  1. The cost of being arrested by authorities. Verses 16–18: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gen

Hello, church! Let us come and celebrate the birth of Christ together this blessed morning. Have a blessed Christmas with your loved ones and stay safe. God bless. Merry Christmas!

John the Baptist was a miracle baby born to two elderly parents who were not able to have children. He was destined by God the Almighty to be the forerunner for the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. In the conclusion of Zechariah’s prophecy of the coming messiah, the “horn of salvation”, he spoke of John as the “prophet of the Most High who will go before the Lord to prepare the way for Him.” It is said that after the arrest and death of John the Baptist, Jesus declared him to be the greatest of prophets because he was faithful to the one thing that was expected of him, to prepare the way of the Lord! John was the prophet for the first advent. What does this mean for us? When I read Zechariah’s prophecy, I can’t help but grow with anticipation of the coming of the Lord in His second coming and we, the Church are now positioned as “prophets” to prepare the way of the Lord, and to give the people the knowledge of salvation. Friends, John’s ministry of the proclamation of the Gospel

This is Mary’s song of praise to the Lord after she was visited by the angel Gabriel who revealed the amazing news to her that she would give birth to Jesus, the Son of God (Luke 1: 30-35). Mary immediately submitted herself to God’s will (v38) and rushed to visit her relative Elizabeth, who was pregnant with a baby who would grow up to be John the Baptist. Elizabeth and her baby were filled by the Holy Spirit when they heard Mary’s greeting to them. Elizabeth spoke words of faith and blessing into Mary’s life and she believed that Mary was about to bear a special child. She recognised that Mary had faith that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her that were told by the angel Gabriel (v41-45). Mary then sings a song to glorify God. This song is also known as the Magnificat, meaning Mary’s hymn of praise to God. Mary believes God’s word and her immediate impulse is to praise God. This is in contrast to Zechariah’s response to the angel Gabriel earlier in this chapter (v18) after he

#SundaySermon Emotionally Healthy - Hope Date: 20.12.20 Shalom Church! Come and join us for this week's Sermon on Emotionally Healthy - Hope! Have a Blessed Sunday and Stay Safe! God Bless!

 #SaturdayDevotion: Luke 1:5-25 Date: 19th December 2020 Gabriel meets Zechariah What can we learn from Zechariah in this passage? God had a plan. A really big plan. The people of God in Israel were a cowed and conquered people, as the land was under Roman occupation. God however, had a plan to bring salvation to the world.  Zechariah was likely an older man in his sixties. He was a priest. He practiced the habit of worship. He and his wife were godly and sincere. Verse 6 says: “Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.”  If we were to be described in the Bible, would the Holy Spirit says this about us? Are we obedient to the word of God in our lives? Do we want God to speak to us? Do we want a fresh supernatural revelation of God in our lives? If the answer is no, then why not? If the answer is yes, then we should like Zechariah get into the worship and Presence of God. But unlike Zechariah, during worship, we

Date: 17th December 2020 How do you see God in times of trouble? In this Psalm, we see David praying to God with a proper perspective. David cries out a number of requests to God and you can sense from this Psalm that David is in a place of great need and urgency. Despite being in a difficult situation, you also can sense from this Psalm just how much David trust and has confidence in our Almighty God. God is the only one who has control over our world. When life gets tough, the human tendency is to solve the problem by their own ways and when all else fails, they will turn to God. God is the furthest thing from our minds when we are in difficulty. Oswald Chambers said this: “We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there's nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all. Most of us would prefer, however, to spend our time doing something that will get immediate results. We don't wa

This parable is the first of the 3 parables told by Jesus when His authority was being questioned by the chief priests & elders. The other two parables are the Parable of the Tenants found in Matthew 21:33-45 and the Parable of the Wedding Banquet in Matthew 22:1-14.  Briefly, this parable is about a father asking his 2 sons to go and work in the vineyard. The 1 st son said “No,” but later he changed his mind and went to work. However, the 2 nd son said “Yes,” but he did not go at all. From this, it is clear that the 1 st son obeyed his father, but the 2 nd son did not. Continuing from that, we read that Jesus rebuked the chief priests and elders for not believing in John the Baptist who came to show the way of righteousness. But those who were despised and unwanted by the society such as the tax collectors and prostitutes believed in John’s message. They repented and did what God wanted them to do, thus Jesus said that they will be entering the Kingdom of God ahead of those

 #SundaySermon Present to God & The fruit of Joy Date: 13.12.20 Shalom Church! Come and join us for this week's Sermon! Have a Blessed Sunday and Stay Saf e! God Bless!

1 John 5:13-21 What does it mean that you believe Christ? Without referring to the answers below, take a moment to answer the question. Possibly write down as many as you can think of. And now compare your list to the list from 1 John 's concluding words. Consider whether these are part of your answers.   1. Deep assurance of salvation (v.13), not fear. 2. Confidence in approaching God in prayer  (vv 14-15), not insecurity or doubt. 3. Live as keeper of my brother and sister in Christ (vv.16-17), not adopting the attitude 'I mind only my own business'. 4. Stay away from sin (v.18), not having a relationship with sin. 5. Know that we are children of God (v.19), and God is the perfect Father. 5  Know God personally (v.20), not distance or aloof. 6. Keep yourself from idols (v.21), giving no room in my heart to them. Can you identify with this list? Which in this list is missing on your life as a believer? Take time to reflect on them, and ask God to restore in you what John h

 Date: 10th December 2020 Trust in His Love “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” 1 John 4:16 NLT   Love has always been a major theme in the Christian faith for without love there can be no hope for salvation. The Apostle John who wrote this epistle was perhaps the most credible witness of God’s love since he was the disciple that was at the very foot of the Cross when Jesus was crucified, and who was said to be the one loved (of Christ) (John 19:26-27).   In his assertion “we know”, John was insisting that God’s love is knowable and tangible. Not only is His love experienced, but His love was manifested in Jesus Christ and is now within us by the Holy Spirit. But why must the apostle remind us of God’s love and put our trust in His love?   Well, we need reminding because we are fickle creatures who are often seeking for other experiences and expressions of love.

 #TuesdayDevotion: Characterized by LOVE! Date: 7 th December 2020 We are in a season of love, joy and peace and today’s devotion-passage fits in well for this. Even as I have been reading the Epistles of John, I understand that Love is a major theme in 1, 2, and 3 John. You could go as far as to say that John believes love is THE distinguishing mark of a Christian. God showed us His love by sending Christ. Jesus showed His love by giving His life for us. John begins this teaching by exploring the relationship between love and hatred, John refers, of course, to the ancient and familiar story of the brothers Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:2-8) Cain was angry and jealous that God favors the sacrifice of his righteous brother Abel. In a fit of jealousy Cain slays Abel. God created Adam and Eve to be a blessing, but the couple hindered and blamed each other, for committing the first sin. Next, their children hated and killed each other. Then came generations that rebelled and disobeyed Go

  #SundaySermon Be Still - Peace Date: 06.12.20 Shalom Church! Come and join us for this week's Sermon! Have a Blessed Sunday and Stay Safe! God Bless!

# SaturdayDevotion: 5 th December In this book, John is writing to people in the church. He assumes that the readers would already know the gospel and would have also accepted the message of Jesus as our Saviour. He writes affectionately, calling us his “dear children” and his intention is made clear in verses 1-2; so that we will not sin. We have an advocate with the Father who is Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and for the whole world. This is the key reference point for the chapter.   Verses 15 – 17 warns us against worldliness and loving the material world and the worldly systems that ignore God. Loving the world means giving time, attention, loyalty and dedication to this worldly system. The sins and desires of the world; lust, greed and pride are not from God, but from our worldliness and attention to material things and society. We are strongly warned that if we love (pay a lot of attention to and dedicate ourselves to) these things,

  Greater Place PSALM 84: 1-2, 4, 12 “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!  My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”   (vs. 1-2) “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.”   (vs. 4) “O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trust in you.”   (vs. 12) As we are getting closer to Christmas this season of Christmas is quite unique. Many of us we are going through Isolation – quarantine – being separated perhaps from those we love – long to be with – to be in the presence of our family and friends.   We have all experienced these feelings/emotions during these last 7-8 months.   As I was reading through the book of Psalms for today’s devotion preparation then the Lord spoke to me through Psalm 84. If we look at verses 1-2, 4 and 12 we can find the following….. AN ATTITUDE OF “BEING HOME WITH GOD” – TO LIVE IN A CONSTANT ENVIRONMENT OF HIS PRESENCE As I read though this S

#TuesdayDevotion: 2 Peter 2:12-21 Date: 1/12/2020 Peter tells us not to be a dog returning to its vomit. Peter talks about bad people in the church. Some of these bad people claimed to be leaders.   Peter appears to be struggling to stop the church being spoiled. They came into the church but wanted the world. Peter says they were greedy and were experts in seducing people. They wanted money, sexual immorality, they were gluttons, thinking they were so spiritually superior they could make judgments about angelic beings they knew nothing about.   See 2 Peter 2:10-11. In verse 12 he says: “They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.” Peter describes them in verse 17 as “springs without water.” Have you met Christians who claim to be alive and spiritually mature, who claim to be Spirit filled and they say many things and don’t follow through? They join ministries but are not faithful, they m

Date: 29.11.20 Shalom Church! Come and join us for this week's Sermon on Emotionally Healthy Series! Have a Blessed Sunday and Stay Safe! God Bless!

Firmly Established in Truth ( 2 Peter 1:12-15) 12  So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.   13  I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,   14  because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.   15  And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. Truth. What is truth? In this day and age, the truth of God is under attack. In fact, many people no longer believe there is such a thing as absolute truth . They claim that all truths are “truths”, subjective and relative. By saying that all truths are “truths”, it demeans the power of the Gospel. This is a demonic attempt to disillusion humankind from the reality of God and Jesus Christ. Everything that Christians claim to be truth, in terms of the nature of humanity, sin and human redemption, is establ

Date: 26th November 2020 This is such a meaty passage - so much to chew on! The verses that I want to touch on are 8 -10: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. The devil wants to take us out.  I remember years ago a family member told me about a vivid dream they had.  They dreamt they were on a beach watching a lion walking.  Thinking they were safe,  they were alarmed when they realised the lion had started stalking them and cut off their way of escape.  I remembered this passage and shared it with the relative.  God was showing them an area of temptation in their life that they thought they had control over, that it wasn't suc

  #TuesdayDevotion: 1 Peter 4:1-10 Date: 24 November 2020 As Christians, we often find it difficult to avoid evil human desires and to live in a way pleasing to God. We often feel the tension between living an earthly life and a Godly life. How do we overcome this? As I meditate on this passage. There are a couple of things that I stood out for me: Jesus’s attitude going towards the cross was one of submission. Verse 1 tells us to “arm ourselves with the same attitude because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin”.   Verse 2 tells us we are to live a life of submission to the will of God and if we do, we will avoid evil human desires. But we struggle with submission, let just think about submitting to authority: your parents, your teachers and your bosses. Is it easy? The answer is no. However, as Christians, through renewing of our mind through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can submit to God’s will. The Christian idea of submission is not one of coercion but out of our l

  #SundaySermon Emotionally Healthy Series: Present to God & Present to People Date: 22.11.20 Shalom Church! Come and join us for this week's Sermon on Emotionally Healthy Series! Have a Blessed Sunday and Stay Safe! God Bless!

 Date: 21st November This passage can be difficult to read in these modern times. Verses 1 to 6 instruct wives to submit to their husbands. In today’s world of individuality and self-determination, this can initially feel like a backward step for women’s rights. Let us try to understand what Peter is telling us. The context for this passage is the early church. People were becoming new believers at times separately from their families. Some marriages would have a spouse who became a Christian whilst the other spouse had not. Peter was giving advice to women who had become Christians, without their husbands having already accepted the new faith. In the Jewish culture at the time women had no rights in comparison to men. Women were essentially owned by their fathers and then by their husbands. Wives who became Christians before their husbands were therefore in a difficult position. If a husband became a Christian, he would automatically take his wife and children into the church with him

#ThursdayDevotion : 1 Peter  2:1-10 Date: 19.11.2020 The main thrust of this entire passage of verses 1-10, is an imperative - and it reads, “Long for the pure milk of the word.” Everything in this passage supports that. It is a command to desire Scripture, to desire the Word of God. This has always marked those who have a love for God, who are in Christ. The psalmist said that the godly man is blessed because “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” He also sings that the words of God are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than the drippings of the honeycomb. We all know that, everything about a baby is wonderfully soft, cuddly and inviting, except their crying when craving for milk. This is the singular focus that draws the illustration that Peter chooses. Do we have anything even remotely like that kind of craving for the Word of God? Do we get to the place where we desire it more than anything else in life

#TuesdayDevotion: 1 Peter 1:1-16 Living in the Presence of our Heavenly Father, Son and Holy Spirit Date:17 th November 2020   Peter is writing to Christians in what is now the nation of Turkey. In verse 2 he states we are  chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of  the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood. We should take note that we are in relationship with all the Persons of the Trinity. Chosen  by the Father before we knew Him, having the Holy Spirit sanctifying us, and living in  obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkled by his blood. Think about this for a moment. Is this  not amazing?! Because of the Presence of God in our lives, in verse 2 Peter gives a blessing. He says to us:  “Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” What quantity of grace and peace do you have in your life? If not an abundance, then  something is wrong! We have all three Persons of the Godhead involved in our lives. We  have access