St Andrew's Church, Brunei

Therefore, do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true) and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. Ephesians 5:7-11 ESV What does it mean to be in a formal or informal partnership? Doesn't partnership imply a conscious and active participation in the activities we have bound ourselves to? A partnership does imply the willingness to come under an agreement, even a covenant. Paul in writing to the church in Ephesus calls them to be unyoked with the deeds of darkness. He used the term "darkness" to invoke the imagination and emotion of his readers on the type of deeds produced by those who do not have the Light - who is Christ. These deeds of darkness include sexual immorality, covetousness (envy and desire for what others have), filt

In Ephesians 4, Paul writes about the importance of church unity and healthy fellowship. Paul is concerned about how we support each other. In v20-24, we are instructed to put off our old selves and the deceitfulness of our own desires. We should put on our new selves in Christ, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We are therefore instructed to behave in a godly manner, with Christ’s help. Verse 25 tells us to ‘put off falsehood and speak truthfully to each other, for we are members of one body’. What does this mean? Clearly it means that we should not lie to each other, but it is not limited to this. Speaking the truth means being honest and accountable to each other in every aspect of our lives. As part of the body of Christ, we have the responsibility to speak to another person when see that their behaviour or attitude is not consistent with a righteous and holy life. We should also be prepared to listen to other peoples’ feedback about how we conduct ourselve

#SermonSeries: Armour of God - Introduction Good afternoon, Come and join us online on the Equipping the Saint sermon series. Have a blessed Sunday. Stay safe. God bless.

Life as a Christian is like no other and truly unique. We regularly meet people from different backgrounds, different ages, different opinions through bible studies, church and other events. With such diverse group of people, it presents opportunities for conflicts to arise. Just think about your own family or friends and think about how often conflict can arise. However, in this passage, Paul calls us to be one body and one family in God’s family. We are called to live in peace and called to love one another through the power of the Holy Spirit. Is that possible? In order to apply this passage to our lives, we need to examine our own attitudes and characters. I will focus on verses 2 to 3. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  Humility There cannot be unity without humility. Pride is one of the most common root causes of conflicts. Pride tells us to hold on to power a

This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. Ephesians 3:11‭-‬13 ESV Study: The Christian faith and life is both an invitation to a life of abundance and suffering in Jesus Christ. When you read Ephesians 1, you will discover that Paul expressed the abundance of spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms that were available and given to him, the apostles and those who believed in Jesus Christ. However, as you go along in the reading you will notice that he wrote of being a prisoner of Jesus Christ for the sake of the Gentiles (3:1). Paul understood that the abundance of blessings were God's grace to be lavished on others. It is God's eternal plan - predestined will, that the Church (Jews and Gentile) display His wisdom (i.e. salvation and life is found in Jesus Christ).

Tuesday Devotion: Citizen or Foreigner (Ephesians 2:11-22) "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints.." (v.19)  Ephesians tells us we are citizens of God's Kingdom and that we are not strangers and foreigners. These are opposing identity. Believers in Ephesus struggled with their identity. They claimed to be citizens yet tried to earned citizenship by living the law, e.g., circumcision. A confusing bunch of citizens. Or are they strangers and foreigners? What about you?  For now,  let just do 2 checklists: 1. He is your Savior ? You know Jesus and thay He has died for you and given you salvation?  2. He is your King ? This means trust and obey His word. Trust and obey even when I don't feel like it or don't understand fully. Trust and obey even when the Scripture is not convenient to me and my situation.  Trust and obey even when you think it is unfair or very uncomfortable.  What are those moments you don'

Jesus taught that " The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light ... " (Matthew 6:22). What our eyes see determine how healthy we are. Example, if we see treasure on earth, we will be earthly bounded. If we see treasures in heaven, we will be heavenly minded. These two are a world apart. The former lives for now and will do all things to grab, including hurting others. The latter lives for eternity and becomes a steward of what God entrusts him and thus bless many. Paul understood this truth and in Ephesians 1:18-19 told us that with healthy eyes we know: 1. The hope of His calling- to salvation, Christlikeness, to serving the King of kings. 2. What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.   Imagine this, a son of a billionaire inherits the billions.   That is awesome. Now imagine what the God of all creation, of eternity possesses (where a billion dollar is like one cent to Him) and what inheritan

“Bless the Lord, O my soul.” The phrase comes up repeatedly, over and over again in Psalms 103 (depending on your translation). And this is something we often hear, sing and maybe even say. But what does it really mean to bless the Lord? And isn’t it supposed to be us being blessed by Him, and not He by us? The word blessing, most of the time when we use it, we usually mean it for a gain of some kind. However to “bless” isn’t restricted to just that one meaning. It's also words of promise, truth, and encouragement. When we say “bless the Lord” it means that we are praising God, we are pouring out praise upon him, we are declaring that He has power, we are glorifying Him for what he has done and we are worshipping Him. God wants us to worship Him, and praise Him, not because He needs it, but because He wants us to know who he is and to recognize who He is. Because the more we understand Him, the more we will grow to love Him, and to find Joy in Him. Have you ever seen videos of

2 Corinthians 6:1 - ‘Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain’.  What would it look like to receive the grace of God in vain? How would it appear to be a recipient of God’s grace, but to have none of its authority or power in your life? What good is the favor of God if it makes absolutely no difference in the life of the inheritor? Paul is here quoting from Isaiah 49:7 that the day is coming when the captivity is over, when the dispersion will be gone… and he will help his humble servant to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. In today’s context, Paul is saying that the day of the new has arrived in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Today God has offered salvation through Christ and this is the favorable time, the day of salvation. Receiving God’s grace is receiving God’s salvation. And because we have received this grace we become God’s co-workers. It is His work that He asks us to do together with Him. If we do not work with and for God, we receiv

#SermonSeries: Maturity Good afternoon, Come and join us online on the Equipping the Saint sermon series. Have a blessed Sunday. Stay safe. God bless. 

“ Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him .” The book of Job tells the story of a righteous man who loved and obeyed God. He was blessed with wealth and a large family. God asks Satan what he thinks of Job and tells Satan that Job is a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil (Job 1:8). However, Satan replies that the reason Job fears God is because God has protected and blessed him, and suggests that should God remove these things from him, Job would surely curse God to His face (Job 1:9-11). Then God does something that is unusual. He tells Satan, “very well then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.’ God therefore allows Satan to destroy whatever Job has. Job loses his family, his wealth and everything that is dear to him. In the proceeding chapters, we see how Job’s wife is so upset that she becomes angry with God. His ‘friends’ Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar go to visit him, supposedly to sympathise with him but it turns out

The psalmist in this chapter started by crying out to God for help, pleading for His presence. He is obviously suffering, and feeling there and then that God is so distant from him. He is so depressed to the extent that he lost his appetite, making him weak and thin. He also described himself as a “desert owl and bird alone on a roof” indicating his loneliness and sadness, with no one besides him. Added to that, he also faced opposition, was being mocked and cursed.  However, after describing his gloomy depressed situation, from verse 12 onwards, the psalmist changed his focus. He started remembering and acknowledging God for His greatness, that He is one who will endure forever. He trusted that God will have compassion and that He will rebuild and restore the nation, bringing deliverance to the people. And that God will answer and not reject the prayers of those in need. Towards the end of this chapter, the psalmist said that “God will remain the same and His years will have no end.”

In this passage, Peter was visiting Antioch to probably visit Paul and Peter was spending time with Gentile believers. We read here that he was eating with them. From the perspective of a Jew, it was highly unacceptable to eat with Gentiles as they were considered unclean in the light of God’s laws. It is likely that Peter was not observing the strict Jewish traditions as we know from Acts 10 that it was Peter who preached the Gospel to Gentile Cornelius and family. God gave Peter a vision that there were no longer any divisions of clean and unclean for all of God’s people. As we read on, we know that Peter withdrew from eating with the gentiles because a group of Jews arrived because Peter feared them. This is an incredible account of Paul opposing and correcting Peter’s behavior by calling him a hypocrite. Peter was one of the 12 apostles. He walked with Jesus for 3 years, listened to him preach and saw the risen Christ. Peter was asked to lead the church and was given the title, “t

Good afternoon, church! Join us online as the reverend shares a messages on Resurrection Sunday. A day where Jesus is risen and defeated death. A day where we know that He lives and gives us hopes for tomorrow.  Matthew 28:6 Have a blessed Easter Sunday

There was no motive for Paul making up a new religious message. The disciples including Paul were persecuted for this message. They did not make money from the message. On the contrary, they had to endure sometimes severe hardship and some of them were executed. They also often had to deal with difficulties from people inside the church. They sacrificed a lot because of this message. Paul went from a respected Pharisee with authority from the Chief Priest, to experiencing persecution from the Jewish leaders. He was later arrested, charged and executed by the Roman authorities. In this passage and especially at the beginning of chapter 2, Paul seems to suggest he was so astonished by the Gospel, it took him some years to fully understand it! He withdrew to Arabia, then went to Damascus and after 3 years went to see Peter. He later had to check with Peter to make sure the gospel he preached was correct. See Galatians 1, verse 18 and Galatians 2:2. This may be because human beings want t

In this chapter the apostle Paul gave the directive instruction to “test yourselves” while dealing with some serious problems of sin in the church of Corinth. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul was preparing to return to them a third time after having spent a great deal of time in Corinth already. In this chapter Part of Paul’s warning included these words: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Paul wants to see the wrongdoers to repent. But many of those who had fallen into immoral practices had taken to challenging Paul’s authority as an apostle. Paul intended to firmly discipline those who did not heed his warnings and repent before his arrival (2 Corinthians 13:2–3). So he turned their challenge around, asking them to examine and test themselves to see whether they were in the faith. This was not the first time Paul had asked the