St Andrew's Church, Brunei

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Paul wrote this to Timothy while he was in jail. He expected to be executed soon. Over the years, he had mentored and discipled Timothy who had risen up to be a faithful Christian leader and pastor. Paul tells Timothy that even as he faced death, he was confident that he had done what was right and he was confident of receiving his reward from God (v8). By this stage, Paul had experienced the expansion of the new church and the spread of the gospel across Europe and Turkey. He had led the church faithfully and he had seen many people come to Christ. However, he had also seen many people who had lost their commitment to God or had been led astray by the wrong teaching. He had been abandoned by friends and co-workers and had come under multiple attacks. However, he had stayed faithful and committed to what God had entrusted to him. It seems obvious, but we should understand that after receiving Christ it is

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But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone. Paul seems to be talking about pe

 Thursday Devotion Reading: Psalm 113 "Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!" Psalm 113:1‭-‬3 ESV I first learnt this Psalm as a young child attending Sunday School. Those of you who were attending Sunday School back in those days before the 1990s will remember singing this tune to a very familiar melody.  At this point of the devotion, I would like to encourage you to read the entire Psalm, use it in your personal prayer and worship unto God. Consider how great He is and worthy of praise. Go ahead then come back after you have done so.  Welcome back!  As you read the Psalm you will notice that there are two key reasons to praise God "from the rising of the sun to its setting."  The first is that God is great and glorious. The Psalm said that "the name of the Lord is to be

 Tuesday's devotion Today’s passage Jeremiah17:1-14 In this chapter the Prophet begins to describe the character and extent of Judah’s sin, he starts with a figure that emphasizes the hardness and strength of Judah’s rebellion against God. Their sins were engraved deeply upon them, as if written with an iron pen, and with the point of a diamond. Both the heart and the religious works were deeply etched with sin. For all this deeply ingrained sin– God promised to bring His judgment upon Judah. We can identify three distinct blunders or Judah’s rebellion against God,. 1) The rebellion of trusting in man instead of God 2) The rebellion of trusting one’s own deceitful heart 3) The rebellion of trusting in riches by unjust means and not in the God of all glories Jeremiah pictured a weak, dry shrub in the desert about to die from drought. This is the picture of the one who trusts in man instead of the LORD; they are dry and unsustainable. His heart departs from the Lord. And, he wi

 [20.06.21] Father's Day Sermon: Father, Hunger for God. We apologize as there was no audio for the first 5 mins and 20 sec, due to some issue. Blessed Father's Day to all fathers. Stay safe and God Bless.

The first line of today’s passage tells us that wealth can make us selfish and proud. Because money has the ability to change you. The more money you have, the greater the temptation to be proud. You are more susceptible to looking down on people because you think highly of your own achievement. Why are there passages in the Bible warning us against loving money? God recognizes the human weakness for wealth and the Word of God serves as a command and a reminder to us all the dangers of placing our trust in money. There is no two ways about it. Trusting in money means that you have little or no trust in God to supply your needs. Jesus gave the perfect example by saying that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to gain eternal life (Matthew 19:24). Jesus recognizes that when a man places his trust in wealth, there is no place for God in his life. Paul also warns that there in uncertainty in riches. One can be wealthy today and it can be gone to

In today’s reading, Paul gives some final warning against false teachers. These people, who do not “agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ,” are arrogant, ignorant, and create controversy resulting in “envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people” (vv. 3–4). But even worse, these false teachers had a false view of wealth and money. Paul encourages Christians to view wealth differently. We must recognize that godliness does not lead to financial gain, but to contentment (v. 6). Paul reminds us that “we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (v. 7). In other words, material wealth does not have eternal value. This raises the question for a Christian: How much is enough? Paul’s standard for contentment was pretty low: food and clothing (v. 8). It is likely that Paul looked to Jesus as his model (Matt. 6:25–34). Paul was not saying that every Christian should only have the bare minimum. What he was sayin

Like Jeremiah, I’m sure we’ve all had those burning questions; that while we can ask our pastors or leaders, we want to ultimately hear from God too. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Asaph asked the same question in Psalm 73. Hopefully without pride, Jeremiah understood that he was righteous and most of those that were in Judah and Jerusalem were wicked. And yet, they were prospering while Jeremiah seemed to be suffering a lot. How many of you have found yourselves in a similar position; when we see people who we have deemed to be evil or lack compassion and yet they continue to prosper before our very eyes? Jeremiah proceeded to boldly contrast his life with the life of the wicked – perhaps those who threatened him (Jer. 11:18-19). He knew that his life and heart were tested before God in a way that their lives did not seem to be. In the previous chapter, he felt like he was a sheep for the slaughter (Jer. 11:19). He prayed that the wicked would now be put in that same place.

[13.06.21] Last sermon series on Armor Of God: Fully Equipped in The Armor of God

We were created to love and worship God, and to bring glory to Him over everything else. And everything was created in a way that helps us to love and savour God. But what happens when our priorities, and our focus is not on God? It’s common for almost everyone to have an idol in their life. Something or someone whom they give their most attention, time, or even worship to. For those who have made idols out of objects it says in Jeremiah chapter 10 verses 3 to 5 “For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold;  they fasten it with hammer and nail so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.” The idols are made by our hands, human hands, and they are unable to do anything without us. So why do we worship things that cannot d

Today’s bible reading passage is about Paul advising Timothy on how to refute the false teachings and heresies. He started that chapter by saying, “The Spirit clearly says….” It seems the Holy Spirit gave that revelation to Paul. With that revelation, he knew that in the latter days, some will depart from the faith, follow deceiving spirits and false doctrines. Therefore, it is important for him to inform church leaders like Timothy so that he can protect the people from these types of dangers.  I believe most of us would know of some believers who have decided to leave the Christian faith. It is a sad thing when we see people that we know, people who are close to us, falling away from God. Worldly influences and materialism may have turned them away. For whatever reason that they decided to abandon the faith, we may not know, but we do know that the devil seeks to deceive people and to entice them away from the Truth. We have to be aware that deceiving spirits were around since the b

Tuesday Devotion: 1 Timothy 3: 1 -7  Spiritual Maturity In this letter to Timothy, Paul gives him advice on how to instruct the new church in Ephesus. In chapter 3, Paul appears to be giving instructions on the attitude and conduct of leaders. However, this message is something that all Christians should pay attention to, as we are all called to serve and minister to others. 1 Peter 4:10 states that each of us should use whatever gift we have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace. 1 Timothy 3:13 reassures us that those who have served well gain an excellent and great assurance in Christ Jesus. God may have put in your heart a desire to serve and lead in a church ministry. Verse 1 tells us that whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Here are some instructions on how to prepare yourself for this responsibility. Before studying this passage, be reminded that Christ is the Head of the church, and we the body of the church receive our nourishment and

  Good morning, church! Join us online and listen to the sermon series on Equipping The Saints. Have a blessed Sunday. God bless.

Devotion @ 5 June 2021 1 Timothy 1:12-20  Holding onto faith and a good conscience Once saved, always saved? Or can we lose our salvation? Do we need to work at our faith? Today’s reading touches on these issues. Paul begins by giving thanks and marvelling at the grace and mercy and faith and love of Christ Jesus. Paul praises Christ’s “Immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” (see verse 6). He instructs Timothy in verse 18 to “Fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience” These appear to be crucial, for in verses 19-20 two named individuals Hymanaeus and Alexander who “Have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.” These two did not hold onto faith and a good conscience. Questions about salvation have generated theological controversy for centuries.  Note Paul instructs Timothy in verse 18 to “fight the battle well” That is, the process of keeping our faith strong requires our intentional eff

  Devotion @ 3 June 2021 2 Thess. 3:13-15 Doing Good Anyway   "But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." II Thessalonians 3:13-15   Doing good is a virtue.   Doing good even when it is tiring and difficult is godliness.   This was what Paul called the believers to. In fact in this passage (2 Thess. 3)   he called the believers to encourage and work on the lazy, troublemaker and busybody. Never give up on anyone, discipline them and seek to restore them.   Such is Christ-likeness. Such is imitating Christ. Jesus never gave up on his disciples. Jesus never give up on you.   And I wonder whether Paul had his own story in mind, how he persecuted Christians and yet Jesus never gave up on him. If a Christ-hater and murderer can be turned arou

  Today’s Devotion: Jeremiah 4 Judah was a tiny nation.   The Babylonian armies had been cruelly conquering one small state after another, getting ever closer to Jerusalem and Judah was threatened with extinction. The people were busy fortifying their cities and trying to make peace treaties, but Jeremiah knew this would all prove useless in the face of the onslaught of the enemy. Jeremiah knew that the Judah’s only hope was through divine intervention. That they needed to set right the relationship with God. Jeremiah appeals this to the people in a few ways, let us look at three of these for today’s devotion. 1.        RETURN TO ME (Vs 1) a.       If you will return, O Israel, return to Me!   First God calls his people to return to Me (Him).   A return to God Himself.    This is very personal.   God wants us too, to come back to Him; in a personal relationship. With a heart of repentance. That is not insincere and feigned, but real and hearty; not delayed to another time,