Why, How, What, When, Where?

The new year began with a rebirth of our Life Group... the many new faces have been such a blessing. The chemistry of the group now is quite exciting!

We're going through Baptism and Affirmation classes together as a group. The first week, we had to split up into two groups and ask questions about the BIble... not about the Bible stories, but about the Bible itself. So we went ahead and had fun asking all sorts of questions. Little did we know that we had to exchange the sets of questions and attempt to answer them!

Moh Foong, Elizabeth, Grace and Carmen were in one group. Chin Hor, Rachel, Yuen Theng and myself in another.

Here are the other group's questions and our answers:

How can we know if the Bible is translated accurately when it's dated many, many years ago by different people?
We don’t know… we choose to have faith.

How can the events be verified scientifically or historically?
Certain events can and have been evidenced. For example, historically, Bible characters and events match those in local history.

Should the Bible be interpreted literally? Does our interpretation of the Bible change, or there is only one absolute truth?
It’s subjective. It depends. Some parts of the Bible are factual, some poetic. The same verse can speak to different people in different ways.

Why is the Bible divided into different books?
Different people wrote it at different times.

Why was the Bible first written in Aramaic (in actual fact, Hebrew) and not other languages?
Because it was the language used then.

Why must we read the Bible everyday?
Because it feeds your soul. It helps saturate the word of God in our spiritual lives.

Who decided what books go in out?
It was a process over the centuries as religious leaders of those times researched, debated and then decided which books were canonized.

Why was Jesus’ growing up years not written in the Bible?
After his birth, his identity was kept secret as the King had a bounty on his head. The revelation of his Messiah-ship wasn’t fully revealed until he began his ministry in his later years.

Disclaimer: The views posted above do not necessarily represent those of Bangsar Lutheran Church as a collective community.

Now we await the other group's representative to post their answers to our interesting questions, such as;

"Why is the Holy Bible filled with unholiness?" "Why are Bible heroes so evil?" "Is down-sizing mentioned in the Bible?" and "Why are the edges of the pages of Chinese Bibles always red?"

As we wait... I shall leave you with an interesting portrait to introduce a beautiful couple who's new in our group, Carmen & Joey. The following photo is the intellectual copyright of James Tan Chin Choy. Please credit if you decide to snag the photo to use elsewhere. ;o)

Echoes...

:o) This year's been about not just receiving calls to action but also answering those calls to action so far. Sivin's hinted at oh, I don't know...somewhere on the internet ;o) that it might be nice if someone shared some reflections about the rumblings from our new life group that currently happens on Wednesdays at his place. I thought I'd oblige to that call to action... *hehe*

"My mind was wondering about some floating insights and ideas I might post on with titles like Ugly Christians, Lazy Christians, Busy Christians, Crazy Christians :-) I think it was inspired by Ugly Malaysians :-(

Tonight, we had a good time at our "resurrected" LiFE Group (with Baptism/Affimation Class elements thrown in) and then there would be another set of titles Curious Christians, Laughing Christians, Beautiful Christians, energizing Christians. :-)

I really enjoyed seeing the two smaller groups asking questions and workin on their sample answers around issues raised on the Bible. It's kind of allowing people to try out their "Beta" version answers and then fine-tuning it or even correcting the trial and error answers. Of course, the process is less linear but then it's rewarding. If any one of them blogs about it. It would be interesting to see it from their point of view (*hint hint*)

Finally, I've come to the place where I learnt the first basic moves for the "famous" tambourine dance "Full Gospel move". It was pretty fun (of course we didn't use tambourines). And when we sang the African song together especially when we could manage two parts. Something raw emerged in the simplicity of worship .. which later was I think pretty beautiful later when we moved into the classic "Abba Father".

I was delighted when I saw Gareth just smile at us when we were singing the African song and then later join us in and out of the meeting. At least when the meeting is held here in the house we stay in (note: not our house *grin*) he's close by to Papa.

Well ... it's been a pretty good night.

Good night!"

*That's from Sivin's blog - http://sivinkit.net/*

I echo Sivin's sentiments about enjoying the session where our 2 small groups took turns thinking of, writing, answering and sharing questions about the Holy Bible as it is, not about Bible verses or content. Here at BLC, we're blessed to have a Pastor who's innovative with his methods, always open to experimenting and adjusting when it comes to getting through to people; yet at the same time, mindful of not swaying from what's really important and what God really wants out of us. Some people might start 'playing God' when it comes to methods, but not Sivin :)

Well, anyway, this new life group we've formed seems headed in the right direction. There is a mix of enthusiasm, passion, curious and tender hearts and like-mindedness. It's good to see the 'newbies' right in the thick of the action, participating, asking many questions, initiating conversations, even taking charge of the sessions at times and to our pleasant surprise, even taking light-hearted jibes at us 'oldies' of the group! ;o)

On the Wednesday night that just went by, Sivin conducted our the 1st Baptism class for the new hearts whereas it served as the 1st of the refresher classes for us old and older hearts. Sivin co-ordinated 2 groups of 4 people each in writing a list of questions about the Bible and the groups had to exchange the questions, and answer all the questions as a group the best we could to our knowledge. We shared those answers and had a good laugh about some of the answers while Sivin confirmed those answers and added on with the facts etc. It was a really good way to learn :) It was fun to begin with. Then it helps us to remember these questions and answers better. It also got everyone in on the action, not just one person speaking to everyone else nor was it just 2 people talking to themselves, leaving everyone out. It was everyone talking to everyone.

Although only 2 weeks into the new group, there is an air of optimism. It has given a few a sense of belonging, given one or two a sense of rejuvenation and generally just has excited us all. Here's to prayerfully, more to come...

Light Rains like Tears...

Originally posted in Underneath the Photographs:

I woke up today with very little expectations. I wasn't sure how many people would actually attend the fundraiser. And I was even more apprehensive about how many people would actually pay attention and listen to the bands. I was prepared to play to 5 listening ears (Yes, one of those 3 people is deaf in one ear). And I was also prepared to put my ventriloquist skills to use during the other bands performances by throwing my voice to create the majestic illusion that 237 people were listening, cheering, and screaming, "I want to have your baby!"



Luckily for those attending, I didn't have to resort to revealing my hidden talent as many came. It wasn't crowded, no. But for a day sprinkled with rain and a location in some corner of a Sentul suburb, the turnout was great! What was even greater was that the collections superseeded the expected RM5000 to about a total of RM14,000. What was the greatest though was the spirit of all those involved and all those who came. The solidarity and unity was a welcome change to our 21st-century world filled with violence, war and death.



To read more about Tsunami Aid Day, head on to JJ Resources, which is run by Jochebed, who was the co-organizer of this event, along with Chin Hor.




Fallen Leaves performed 2 sets, and played with Sue, of Her Reverie, as support. The rest of her band couldn't make it, so we jammed with her on stage. Others who performed were Sam and Qings & Kueens. We had a great time performing to great people. I must say we were much more relaxed than we were than in recent gigs... must be Uncle Pete's advice starting to kick in. We talked with the crowd, dedicated songs to individuals, and raised more than RM100 as a band through CD sales for the tsunami relief efforts. It rained every time I sang. But the rain was a welcome reminder as to the purpose of the event. The skies kept the atmosphere right on this day. Light rains, just like tears, fell throughout.

I was inspired and decided to sing 'All I Can Say' by David Crowder. I began, "If the tsunami victims were to say any prayer at this point of time, or sing a song... it'd probably be this one."

Lord I'm tired
So tired from walking
And Lord I'm so alone
And Lord the dark
Is creeping in
Creeping up
To swallow me
I think I'll stop
Rest here a while

Chorus:
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give (That's my everything)

And didn't You see me cry'n?
And didn't You hear me call Your name?
Wasn't it You I gave my heart to?
I wish You'd remember
Where you sat it down

Chorus:
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give (That's my everything)

Bridge:
I didn't notice You were standing here
I didn't know that
That was You holding me
I didn't notice You were cry'n too
I didn't know that
That was You washing my feet

Chorus:
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give (That's my everything)




Yes, we wish them all hope and peace; things we speak easily about, but may never truly understand their significance until we lose them...

Tsunami Aid Day *time change*!

Dear all,

Just to swiftly inform everyone that the time for the Tsunami Aid Day has been moved forward, and will be held from 10am to 3pm instead of the previous timing from 3-7pm. We just felt that this timing would be more condusive and it would be best to have the event right through lunchtime as well. They say that with Malaysians, food always brings people together :) So please inform everyone again about this time change and make the necessary announcements. We apologize for the inconvenience caused! Thank you for your time.

Best regards,
Wong Chin Hor