The Christmas Gift

All I want for Christmas is...

Once upon a time, a little girl live in a house with her mummy and daddy. Her name is Samantha. Now it was two days before Christmas and Samantha was feeling very excited. The whole house has been decorated with Christmasy things and there was a huge Christmas tree in the living room with loads and loads of presents under it. Every day, Samantha will look under the tree, counting her presents. She can’t wait till Christmas morning to open up her presents.

On Christmas eve (the night before Christmas), she went to bed, thinking excitedly about the next day. Oh….she thought to herself…Christmas is so wonderful…I have been waiting so long for my presents. I don’t think I can fall asleep tonight.

But….she did fall asleep. And she had a dream. She dreamt that she woke up on Christmas morning and all her presents were gone. There was nothing under the Christmas tree! She looked everywhere…in her room, under the bed, in the toilet, in the garden….everywhere…but there was not a single present to be found. She started to cry….I don’t believe this! I waited so long and now all my Christmas presents have disappeared!! What am I suppose to do on Christmas?

Suddenly, she spotted something at the corner of her eyes. There was a glittery, sparkly box under the tree. Hmmm…I haven’t seen THAT box before…I wonder who is it for? She went nearer and nearer and on the box it says…To : Everyone….From: God. What do you think Samantha did? Well….she is ‘part of everyone’ so she opened the box. And you know what she found inside? When she opened her box, she couldn’t see anything at all but SUDDENLY, her whole heart was filled with love. She felt happy, excited, joyful, blest, cheerful, delighted, overjoyed, thrilled, elated, ecstatic, jubilant…so much love that her heart has no more space to fill sad. It was bursting with joy!!!

Suddenly, she woke up from her dream. It was already Christmas morning! She quickly got out of bed and ran to the Christmas tree. What do you think she was looking for?? For her presents? No….she was looking for that glittery, shiny box that was in her dream. The box that made her heart filled with so much joy and love. Do you think she found the box? No…..Where was the gift?

Well, that gift that’s filled with love is what God gave to us 2000 years ago on the first Christmas – the day that Jesus was born. God gave us His best Christmas gift – His son Jesus to die for our sins so that we can live forever and ever. This gift is something we can’t see, not like the Christmas presents we get on Christmas…but it’s something that fill us with so much love that, when you think about it…that’s really all we need when we celebrate Christmas.

So, I hope you remember that on Christmas day, when you are opening all your gifts, don’t forget the most important gift of all – God’s gift of love to us. Open that gift and let God fill your heart and your life with his amazing and wonderful love. Amen.

I Hate Goodbyes

Are goodbyes really that good?

This is a story about a little girl named Katie. Katie is about 6 years old and there is one thing that she hates the most…the very, very, VERY most in the world and that is….she HATES goodbyes!

She hates goodbyes so much that one day she decided to make all goodbyes disappear.

How is she going to do that???

One day, her daddy said ‘Goodbye Katie…I’m going to work now. I’ll see you later tonight.’

The moment Katie heard that yucky ‘goodbye’ word, she started singing on top of her voice ( “twinkle, twinkle, little star….”)….very, very loud so that she won’t be able to hear that yucky word.

One day, her grandma and grandpa said ‘Goodbye Katie..we’re off to go to America. Can you please give us a hug and kiss?’

Do you know what she did? The moment she heard that yucky ‘g’ word, she grabbed her teddy bear and started scolding him in a very loud voice.’Stupid, silly, naughty teddy bear!’ She scolded in a loud voice so that she won’t be able to hear that yucky word.

One day, her mummy said ‘Goodbye Katie…I’m going to a meeting in another town. I’ll buy you a present when I get back. What would you like?’

You know what Katie did? When she heard that yucky word, she started to find all the loose teeth in her mouth and she wiggled them very, very hard till it hurt. She thought that maybe by feeling ouchy, the yucky goodbye word will disappear.

But did the goodbye words REALLY disappear?

No….even though Katie sang very loud….daddy still said goodbye and went off to work. Even though she scolded teddy very loud, grandma and grandpa still said goodbye and went to America. Even though she wriggled every single loose teeth, mummy still said goodbye and went for her meeting.

Poor, poor, poor, poor Katie…she couldn’t make the yucky goodbye word disappear. All the goodbye words swam round and round in her head till one day, she just burst into tears.

She cried and cried…so much that maybe she filled a whole swimming pool with her tears.

Daddy gave her a big, big hug and told her ‘Katie…it’s OK to cry. Crying will make you feel better.’ He told her that she was not the only one who hates goodbyes. Daddy, mummy, grandpa and grandma all hate goodbyes. They all wish they could make goodbyes disappear forever and ever. They all wish they don’t have to say goodbyes to anyone because goodbyes make them feel sad.

Even if you sing in your loudest voice or wriggle all your loose teeth…we will still have to say that yucky goodbye word. But if we feel sad, it is OK to cry….it will make us feel better. There is something else we can think of that make us feel better. As Christians, we know that we will definitely see each other again….if not on this earth, we will meet again in heaven. So, we’re not saying the forever kind of goodbye….we’re just saying see you later, alligator!!!

The Lazy Eagle

Flying without Fear

Today I have a very interesting story to tell you about an animal. Can you guess what animal it is? It has feathers on its body, it can fly very high in the sky, it goes 'screech', 'screech'.....can you guess? That's right! It's an eagle. An eagle is a very special kind of bird. It can see very far and it has very, very wide wings that helps him fly high in the sky.

Once upon a time, there were a mummy eagle and daddy eagle who live in a very comfortable, cozy nest up on a high cliff. The nest was twenty feet long, eight feet wide, and four feet deep. It was big! They covered the bottom of the nest with twigs and thorns and then layered it with grass and soft feathers. One day, mummy eagle became pregnant. She was very happy and excited and so was Daddy Eagle.

One fine morning, mummy eagle laid two eggs. Inside the first egg was a little girl eagle named Annabel. She was a very active girl and couldn't wait to get out of the shell so that she can see the world. She kicked and scratched and clawed until she broke out of her shell. Hi mummy! I'm Annabel! Oh..I can't wait to explore the world. Where am I? When can learn how to fly?

Inside the second egg was a little boy eagle named Adam. Adam loves to be inside the warm, cozy shell. He doesn't like to be disturb, he just like to sleep the whole day long. But of course, he grew bigger and bigger and very soon, the shell crack and Adam slowly crawel out. Hmmm...hello dad, hello mum....yawn, yawn...I'm hungry, can you bring me some worms?

Annabel and Adam were very different from each other. Annabel was always busy, and she was already learning how to fly. Adam was happy to lay around in the nest and all he wanted to do was eat and sleep.

One day, Mummy eagle told them a story about a champion flyer eagle. Eagles were born to fly and only a few eagle become champion flyers, she said. The true champion flyer learns to master the wind. The wind is the champion's best friend. If you love the wind and make it a part of you, it will lift you and carry you places you can't go by yourself. Eagles are Kings and Queens of the sky. You have a strong body. You can fly to the top...never stop...you can be majestic, great, magnificent.....

Annabel's eyes was almost popping with excitement when she heard mummy eagle's story. Ohhh..I want to fly like that! But Adam, oh dear...he wasn't really very interested at all. What a waste of time. Why should I work so hard to fly when I can lay in my cozy comfortable nest all day long? Silly Annabel....!!

One day, mummy eagle said, Adam...I want you to climb on my back and go flying with me. Adam ( look disgusted and horrified)...Huh? What for, mummy? I'm very hungry and tired. I was just going to have a nap.

Mummy eagle put on a fierce face..Adam, I want you to do as I say. I promise you won't regret this.

Adam knew when his mummy is in that mood, he better obey so he said...OK...but when I get back, you must reward me with a nice, juicy worm.

So, they went for a ride. Adam held on tight to his mummy's back. The higher they got, the tighter Adam held on. Suddenly, mummy eagle folded her wings and turn upside down. Adam screamed and couldn't hold on. He fell...wheeee......thousands of feet towards the ground. He was so scared...he kicked his feet, he flapped his wings wildly, and even try yapping his jaw but nothing he tried would work. He couldn't fly and was going to hit the ground!

But, just before he hit the ground, mummy eagle came swooping down and caught Adam and carried him to safety.

Meanwhile, daddy eagle was back at the nest, taking out all the feathers and the grass.The nest was left with twigs and thorns. When Adam came back from his flying adventure, he was shocked. Oh no...what happen to the nice comfortable nest? I can't sleep in this poky, sticky nest. Daddy said, it's time for you to leave the nest and take care of yourself. Think about who you are, who you can be, and who you want to be. Think of yourself flying high in the sky. Try to do things you have never done before, and realize the potential in yourself.

Adam sat in the uncomfortable nest thinking what to do. There was no place to sit without getting his bottom stuck by a thorn and there was no food to eat. Finally Adam decided to do the only thing he can do. I guess I must learn to fly if I want to find food to eat. He climbed on mummy eagle's back once again and together they jumped off the edge of the nest.

Are you ready, ask mummy? In a trembling voice, Adam said yes and mummy once again folded her wings and turned upside down. Adam fell.....oh no...here we go again....Then he heard mummy's voice calling...Adam, remember the wind is your friend, spread your wings and fly. Adam cried...I can't, I can't! Mummy eagle called back...Yes, you can. Spread your wings and fly. Adam stretched out his wings. He felt the wind lifting him higher and higher. He was a bit scared at first, but he couldn't believe how fun it was. He could see so many things. He dived, he twisted, he flipped...I am flying, I am actually flying...Whopppeeee....this is the greatest experience of my life.

All the time, he was lying around the nest, being lazy and bored, he had the power in him to fly through the air and see so many wonderful things. He felt very strong and beautiful. Adam grew to be a magnificent eagle. His wings were strong and powerful, and he was no longer afraid to fly high in the sky. He was very thankful and grateful that he listen to his mummy and daddy eagle. Otherwise, he would still be lying around the nest, probably very fat and never get to see anything more than the nest.

I told you this story so that we can learn a lesson out of this. Have you had to do something you are afraid of? Some of you here started std 1 this year. You probably feel a bit nervous of going to a new school. Oh...what happen if I get lost, or nobody wants to be my friend? Some of you have important exams to take, school exams, piano exams...some maybe moving to a new place...some may be thinking about playing a musical instrument for church....Everyone has had the experience of feeling scared when they have to do something they haven't done before. Just like Adam the eagle. But the lesson here is that we must not let our fear stop us from doing the new thing, because if we never try, we will never get to experience how fun it can be to do new things. You'll find out so much more about the world around you and how enjoyable it can be. Once you try, you'll be surprise how much fun it can be. So, never be afraid to try new things. God is always there for to take care of us , just like mummy eagle was always there to save Adam when he fell.

The Great Wemmick Box & Ball Race

Have you done a marathon?

Once upon a time, there was a young boy named Puchinello. Puchinello lived in a town called Wemmicksville.

Just like other Wemmicks , he was made of wood. Just like other Wemmicks, he was carved by Eli, the wemmick maker.

Every year, wemmicks takes part in the “GREAT Wemmicks BOX and BALL RACE”. This is the most exciting event in the whole of Wemmicksville. Wemmicks have to carry as many balls and boxes as possible and climb the highest on the mountain to win the race.

Each wemmick in town wanted to be in the race. Each wemmick wanted to win the race to be the hero of the town. They all started practicing. Soon you see wemmicks walking around with armful of boxes and balls!

The day of the race arrived.

The whistle blew and off they went. Hearts beating fast and full of hope, each wemmick ran and ran…..wanting with all their hearts to be first on the finishing line and to be the hero of the town.

Puchinello ran his hardest along with them. But as they speeded down the field and through a hut, he lost his step and slipped. He tried hard to catch himself but fell flat on his face! His boxes and balls went flying through the air! Poor Puchinello….he was so embarrassed and sad….he lay down sprawled on the ground.

I surely cannot win now, he said, with a tear dropping from his eye. I’m hopeless as a runner, why try??? I am so tired….maybe I should just give up.

Suddenly, at the corner of his eye, he caught the glimpse of Eli, his maker. From the look on Eli’s face, Puchinello knew what he had to do. He felt new strength from inside him.

He rose from the ground to run once more. This time he decided that he would not quit. He was already so far behind…but still he gave it his all and ran and ran and ran.

At last he could see the finishing line. He crossed it….but in last place! He saw Eli at the finishing line but didn’t dare to look Eli in the face.

He hung his head low. I didn’t do well. I am hopeless. I tried but I wasn’t good enough.

You know what Eli said…”Puchinello, to me you have won. You won because when you fell, you picked yourself up again. For winning is no more than this….to rise each time you fall”. Well done my good and faithful son…I love you and I am proud of you.

Our lives is like that of a race. It has its ups and downs; we have happy times and sad times. There are times when we feel we are not such a good Christian and we have failed God. Just like Puchinello, those are the times when we fall…but the important thing to remember is that when we do fall; when we face difficult times, we mustn’t stop believing in God, stop going to church, stop reading the bible. We must remain faithful to God and not give up hope.

Eli told Puchinello it doesn’t matter whether he finished the race first or last. It doesn’t matter if he finished with 100 boxes or just 1 box.

It is the same with God, our maker. What matters to God is not how beautiful or talented or rich or clever you are, what matters to Him is for you to always remain faithful to Him.

Footnote: Character of Puchinello is adapted from the book "You are special" by Max Lucado.

The Gardener

Do you blossom?

Once upon a time, there was a gardener who own a piece of land and he wanted to create a beautiful garden on this land.

So, he went out to buy some seeds and planted them all over the garden.

He was very excited because he can’t wait for the garden to bloom – he wanted to enjoy all the beautiful flowers.

One day as he was walking in the garden checking to see whether any plant has grown, he was SHOCKED to see a group of plants, hiding in the corner! “Hey….what are you guys doing hiding over there?” “Ohhh” the plants said, “we are afraid of the sun. We don’t want to get sunburn – that’s why we are all wearing hats and sunglasses”. The gardener shook his head….don’t you know plants need sun to grow? Take a look at yourselves. You all look so weak and thin and fragile. No beautiful flowers can possibly bloom from you. The gardener walked away in sadness.

He went on walking till he reached another group of plants. He was surprised to see they are all holding umbrellas! “Excuse me plants…..what do you think you are doing?” “ Ohhhh….we are protecting ourselves from the rain water. We are afraid we will catch a cold if the water falls on us. It will be too uncomfortable for us to bear”. “Are you crazy?” said the gardener. Plants need water to grow. Look at yourselves. You are all yellow and dried and withered. How can healthy flowers ever bloom from you? The gardener walked away in disappointment.

He then walked to another patch of plants. He was amazed! There were plants growing wild all over the place. There were tall ones, bushy ones….they were just creeping and crawling all over, like a jungle. The poor gardener could hardly see where he was going! “What is this? How come you are all looking so wild?” “Ohhhh…..we don’t want to be cut by the shears…keep them away from us. We like to be natural and free. We like to grow anyway we want.” The gardener sighed…..my wild plants, don’t you know that plants need to be prune to grow healthy? The dead ones need to be trim so that the healthy ones have space to breathe and grow. Look at you….you are all wild and shaggy…..how can flowers ever bloom? The gardener walked away, his head hung low with dejection.

The gardener knew he planted another patch of plant. It took him a long, long time to find them because they were so tiny……maybe like an inch tall. “Excuse me……what happened to you?” “Ehhhh….you see, we don’t really like the fertilizer ( you know, the cow poo-poo?) It’s extremely stinky so we rather stay small but clean. The gardener shook his head….how can flowers ever bloom from you?

Suddenly, something caught the corner of his eye. He looked up and his face broke into a beautiful smile. He saw the most beautiful flowers of different colours, growing healthy and strong. “Oh Master….the flowers said…are you happy with us?” The gardener replied….O my precious ones….you have allowed yourselves to receive the sun, and water, to get pruned and fertilized….see how much you have grown…..from a seed to a beautiful flower. I am so proud of you!

Now, I want you to use your imagination. The gardener in this story is GOD. We are the seeds. We are meant to grow into beautiful flowers for God to enjoy.

But many times, we run away from difficulties in life, for example, studying hard for your exams….just like the plants running away from the sun.

There are also times we don’t like to do things that make us uncomfortable, for example, not cheating in school and have all our friends tease us about it….just like those plants that run away from rain because it will make them uncomfortable.

What about the times we refuse to give up bad habits such as watching too much TV…aren’t we like the plants who didn’t like to be prune and only like to be free to do things their way?

And, not forgetting…there are also times we don’t like get our hands dirty and to serve God such as helping our teachers in SS or our parents at home? We are then like those plants that wont grow up because they don’t like the cow poo-poo.

The plants that finally bloom are the ones that submit to the sun, water, pruning and fertilizing.

God knows we need difficulties in life, uncomfortable situations, giving up bad habits and serving Him in order for us to grow as Christians. Remember that God wants each of His child to grow into beautiful flowers and the family of God to grow into a beautiful church that glorify His name.

The Palace Without a King

Is there a king in your palace?

Once upon a time, many thousand years ago, there lived a King. This King was kind, wise and generous to all the people in his kingdom. Everyone in that Kingdom loved their King and loved to spend time with him and the king loved to spend time with them too.

When the king died, all the people in that kingdom was really sad. They cried and mourned for many days. “Oh No, our beloved King is gone. We must remember our loving and kind king” They decided to build a palace in honour of him, so that people in the kingdom will always remember him forever and ever.

They placed his coffin in the center of a large piece of land. They were going to build the biggest and most beautiful palace on this piece of land. And so construction of the palace began around the coffin. Everyone was involved one way or another. Everyone.. (almost everyone) was busy doing something to help build this palace. Those who were not busy helping… were BUSYBODY talking about the biggest construction project the kingdom has ever seen. No expense would be spared to make the King’s final resting place the most magnificent building.

As weeks turned into months, the people got more and more excited about building the palace. The more excited they got, the more busy they became. “Where is the window? Come lets build a room here, QUICK we need some stones in the kitchen, How tall do we build it?”

A committee was formed to discuss and decide which is the best bricks to use. Another committee was formed to decide which colours to paint the many rooms in the temple. Another committee was formed to discuss how many rooms and doors should the palace have. EVERYONE was busy… doing something.

The construction of the palace kept them so busy that they actually forgot about the king. They even forgot how he looked like. They did not even miss his presence anymore.

One day, when everyone was rushing to put the finishing touches to the palace, the Chief Architect went on his round to check on the quality of work. He walked around the construction site to inspect the palace. As he was doing his rounds, his leg bumped against a wooden box right in the middle of the almost completed palace. “OUCH!!! Who put this box here??!” he demanded to know. Whilst still in pain from that knock, he brushed the dust off his leg and ordered a worker to throw the wooden box out. The architect didn’t know he had ordered the throwing out of the king’s coffin. The king who was by now - forgotten – hidden beneath layers of dust and time and the busy activities on the construction site.

The one person the palace was built to honour was now forgotten but the temple was constructed anyway.

Could someone build a building and forget why? Could someone construct a palace yet forget the king? Let’s ask ourselves this question. Could we, you and I, come to church and forget why we are here?

The story I told just now was a sad story. About people who got so busy they totally forgot about their loving king they so desperately wanted to remember. It would also be equally sad if as Christians we forget about God in all the activites we do in church? That we become so busy, we forget why we are doing and who are doing them for?It is like a person who walks in a beautiful garden but cannot see the beauty of the flowers around him.

God wants us to worship Him with our hearts. He wants us to lay down on the ground and proclaim Him as our Lord and God. Never to forget Him, but always remember and honour him, in everything we do. Let us not be so busy building the church that we forget we are doing it to worship our Saviour.

The Carpenter's Tools

What tool are you?

My story is about a group of tools who live in a toolbox which belong to a carpenter. One day, the tools had a meeting. You see, they have been having some problems getting along with one another. They have been complaining about each other, and each one of them thinks that the others are not doing their jobs very well.

Brother Hammer stood up… "Well, first of all, I want to complain about Brother Drill and his family. I don’t see what is so important about their job. They are noisy, always going around in circles and to me, brother Drill is extremely booooorrrrinnng!"

Brother Drill quickly spoke up…"Yes, I know we have a reputation of going around in circles but at least we are not like Brother Pencil. He gets on everybody’s nerves. He is so small that he often cant be found when he’s needed. And when he is found, he is so blunt at times that he makes such a bad impression. He needs to be sharpened up a bit around here if he expects to be of any use."

Little Brother Pencil spoke up…"Alright, alright…I am a little blunt at times…but it’s only because I’ve spend too long in service. At least I’m not like Brother Sandpaper. He’s so rough…I cant stand being beside him. He just rubs me the wrong way!"

That remark made Brother Sandpaper really angry. “Hey, what about Brother Ruler? He makes me mad by always measuring others by his standards, as though he is the only one right around here."

Soon, everyone was shouting at each other. Some were even ready to leave the toolbox when…who should open the toolbox but their master…the carpenter. He had come to perform his work…to build a house. He pulled out the tools and started using each one of them : hammer, screwdriver, drill, sandpaper, ruler…every single one was used to do different things and to build different parts of the house. The tools then realized their foolishness. The carpenter has use for each one of them, there is not one that is more important or more useful. Big or small…the carpenter needed all to build his house.

You know, can you imagine that this whole church is a toolbox…we are the tools and God is the carpenter. What kind of tools can you be? Maybe you are a little pencil…maybe Uncle Peter is a hammer because when he preaches, he knocks some sense into our heads. What about me, Aunty Sue? What kind of tool can I be? Maybe I am a drill…when I tell you a story…I hope to reach deep, deep down into your hearts…What about your Sunday school teacher? Maybe she can be a ruler…because she is always showing you the right way to follow God.

You see, we all have different roles to play in building God’s kingdom. What if there is a tool that doesnt want to be use? He’s quite happy just lying there in the box. Do you think the carpenter is happy with him? No. Why? Because he is not doing his job, not pulling his weight…

Everyone has to do their part, whether you are big or small, young or old, and everyone has a different but important role to play. Just like the tools!

Joining Technorati

Blogsphere AHoy!!

After a few initial posts, I decided to sign up on technorati. Now the real journey starts.

Invisible Walls

Walls You Cannot See, ( Ephesians 2:11-22)

Do you know what a wall is? What does it do? Yes, it blocks something or it divides something, right? Look around you….can you see walls? Can you point them out to me?

You know, there is another type of wall…a type of wall that is invisible…this type of wall does not divide things, it divides people. This wall is not made up of wood or bricks, but is built by judgement, anger, discrimination of race or wealth....

When we judge each each other…yucky, I don’t want to be your friend, you don’t like the things I like…, we are building a wall or…..

Eh, he always fail his exams, better don’t spend too much time with him, after I fail too…we are building a wall or…..

Yuck…don’t like the way she dress…look like Barbie doll…we are building a wall…

Does it sound familiar? We all do that sometimes, right? You know what is happening when we do that? We are building a wall that causes division among people. We are saying that we only like to be friends with certain type of people.

BUT, when we have Jesus in our hearts, and we believe that He died on the cross for us, the wall that divides us is no more…when Jesus died on the cross, He put peace and love in our hearts.

The peace and love should act as a bridge.What does a bridge do? It connects people. It brings people together. People of any type and every kind should be accepted as part of God’s family because we all already have something in common, we believe in God. We should try our very best not to build walls but to make bridges instead because God will be please with that and we want to please God. Amen?

Are You a Goose?

A Goose is Special

When we see pictures of geese flying south for the winter, have you ever wondered why they fly in a V formation?

Well, I discovered that by flying in a V pattern, the whole flock can fly 71% further distance and faster than if each goose fly on its own! You know, we can learn a precious lesson from the goose. As Christians, we are better off being together in our church family, doing things together than being on our own. That is why it is so important for us to meet on Sundays, to attend Sunday School, to attend home groups and prayer meetings.

The geese take turns to be the leader that flies in front. When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back and another goose takes over. They share the workload. In church, we should do the same. We should share the work equally among us so that there will not be people that are totally exhausted running around doing everything, and some others just sitting around doing nothing. God gave each one of us gifts to be use to bless others. We are like one body with many parts…hands, feet, toes and nose. If some parts are not working, than the whole body cannot function properly.

Do you know that geese are very noisy creatures? They make all kinds of noise, and they honk each other as they fly. Do you know why? The geese honk from behind to encourage those up front!! These geese are honking to encourage one another as they make their long journey south. As a Christian, we too should do the same. I am not asking you to honk (!), but to encourage one another by words such as “keep up the good work”, “thank you for helping” or “you did a great job”.

Lastly, do you know that if a goose gets sick or wounded and can’t fly, two other geese falls out of formation and follow it down to help and protect. They stay with the sick goose until it is able to fly again…and then they launch out to catch up with their group. If we have the sense of a goose, we should stand by each other like that. When any of us are feeling down or sick, the others should come along side and be a support and friend.

I hope that as a church we can be like a flock of geese - fly together in formation, share the workload, encourage each other and share one another’s burdens. This is what being a church family is all about!

Everyone Loves Presents

Mary’s Song, (Luke 1: 46-56)

Who…like…presents? Everyone loves presents right?

Have you ever opened a present…(bring out one present)…wow, so exciting…and then…hah??? Only a book…sigh, I’ve already got so many books..have you ever felt like that before?

Or…ooh, cant wait to open this present, mm…I wonder what it is….what??? just a pencil??? Aiyo, how disappointing!!!

Or…ooohhh…what about this? I think it is a remote control car…hah??? A pair of shoes…cheh…so boring!!!

You know, whenever we receive presents we always feel very excited to know what it is but sometimes…we forget the more important thing which is…the attitude we should have when we receive the present. Whatever the present is, whether it is a car, or a pair of shoes or even a pencil….we should always receive it with a grateful heart.

Now…you all know who Mary in the bible is right? She was given a gift by God…you know what the gift is? God gave her the special gift of being the mummy of Jesus while he was on earth. What do you think Mary said when God gave her the gift? You think she said…err…no thanks, or ee yer…what kind of gift is this??? She accepted the gift with a grateful and humble heart …and she even sang a song to God.

So, whenever we receive a gift, remember….receive it humbly and gratefully. What do you think is the greatest gift of all? The greatest gift of all was given on the first Christmas, when God gave Jesus. And people can receive this gift anytime, no special occasions needed….just a humble and repentant heart.

Beautiful Heart

Who Has The Most Beautiful Heart?

There is a kingdom in a faraway land where there lived very special people. These people are special because they consider their mot valuable possession to be their hearts. In fact, some of these people are able to hold their hearts in their hands – a very special gift indeed – and if a heart gets broken, it may be repaired at the local heart specialist!

Now in this kingdom lived a young man who claimed to have a perfect heart. He was very proud of his heart because it had no cracks or scars. It was very solid and could not be hurt or penetrated by anything at all. One day the young man was showing his perfect heart to a large group of people – something which he did quite often. People came from miles around to see his perfect heart and for such occasions he kept it locked in a beautiful glass case. No one in the kingdom dared touch him or his perfect heart.

As they were all admiring the perfect heart, a frail voice arose from the crowd and said: “My heart is more beautiful than yours.”

The crowd was quiet for a moment, and the young man said scornfully, “Come out of the crowd and show me your beautiful heart. Compare it to mine.” The old man did not speak – he simply showed his heart to everyone in the crowd. He did not keep his heart in a fine glass case, but carried it with him at all times. The young man immediately began to laugh when he saw the old heart. “That is the ugliest heart I’ve ever seen. It’s made of pieces that don’t even fit together perfectly. You are a fool, Old man !”

“Yes”, said the old man, yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love – I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and sometimes they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart – but because the pieces aren’t exact, it have some rough edges.

Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn’t return a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty holes – giving love is sometimes like this. The holes remind me of the love I have for these people, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space. So, now do you see what true beauty is?

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He realize he was always so busy taking care of himself and his perfect heart that he has had no time to love anyone else.

He walked up to the old man, reached into his heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the hole in the young man’s heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.

The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore, but more beautiful than ever since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his.

God wants all of us – young, old, big or small – to be his messengers of love to the world. God wants everyone in this world to know Him and to know His love. As God’s children, it is our responsibility to love and care about people who doesn’t know God – because God love and care for them – that is why He died on the cross for all of us. We must learn to love lost people the way God does.

I want all of us to ask ourselves – is your heart one that is filled with love and care for people – or is it one that is only filled with selfish love for yourself? When God look at our hearts – is it a truly beautiful heart?

Temptation

Temptation a trap that causes us to disobey God.

Once upon a time, deep in the forest, there lived a group of monkeys. These monkeys live a very happy and carefree life in the jungle. There was plenty of food, and all they do whole day were eating, sleeping and playing. Oh…I forgot…they also go to monkey school. At school, they were taught by a wise old monkey named Rafiki who tells them…."To be a good monkey, one must always know…that what looks good….may bring you harm."

One day, as they were playing by a stream, they heard one of the monkeys screaming excitedly…”Come over here guys, I found something so interesting! Quick! Quick!”

All the monkeys ran to see what it was. And they saw, standing there is their monkey friend….Curios George. He was grinning from ear to ear and pointing to a ….coconut!!

“See what I found!”

All the monkeys scratched their heads. “Errr…Curios George…you haven’t seen a coconut before?”

“No…no…look inside the coconut. Look in….look, peer through that hole on the coconut”

All the monkeys took turns one by one, peered into the hole and ( gasp…) you know what they saw in the hole?

The most delicious looking banana…it was yellowish greenish, juicy moisty, and most nice smelling banana they have ever seen…..

All of them started drooling…yummy, we want to eat that banana…

Curios George, who was also very greedy said…”Wait..I found it so I am going to take it out from the coconut and I will decide what to do with this banana.

So, he put his paws into the coconut, got his fingers around the banana and slowly started pulling his paws out. But…oopss…he couldn’t pull anymore..his paws were stuck!

His tried twisting his paws, he tried pulling it harder, he tried turning his paws from another angle…and he even got some of his friends to help by pulling his arm…but he just couldn’t get his paws out.

Suddenly, they heard some rustling of the trees and some plodding of footsteps…

“Yikes! One of the monkeys said….”I think it is a hunter coming…”

“Quick…run, run away…

Curios George didn’t know what to do! He tried to run with his paws stuck in the coconut but then he realized the coconut was actually tied to a huge tree!

“Let go, Curios George…Let go of the banana and you will be able to get your paws out”

Curious George wailed….But I want my banana…I want to eat it…

The monkeys shouted…”Don’t be so stupid! Do you want to be alive or dead? Remember what Rafiki said…what looks good, may bring you harm!!!

Curios George realized his foolishness and let go of the banana. His paws quickly became free and they all ran helter skelter for away from the approaching hunter.

Curios George learnt his lesson that day.

There are times we are like Curious George. We see something and we like it so much….but that thing may actually be a trap…a trap that causes us to disobey God. If we are like Curios George and continue to insist to hold on to that thing, we have fallen into the trap and caused us to disobey God. But of we let go and run away from it, then we will be safe….

The Three Little Missionaries

Once upon a time, there were 3 little missionaries who wanted to go to faraway places to tell people about Jesus. So, they kiss their mummy and daddy goodbye and each went on their separate ways.

The 1st little missionary met a man carrying some straw.

The man said: Good morning, where are you going on this fine day?

1st missionary replied: Oh, good morning Mr Man, I’m on my way to training school. I’m going to learn how to be a missionary and then I want to go to the deepest darkest Africa to tell people about Jesus.

The man said: What? You are going to waste all your time training? No, no, no…you should go straight to Africa now, don’t waste your time. You will know what to do when you get there. Here, take this straw – just what you need to build a hut in deepest darkest Africa.

1st little missionary answered: Well, err…if you say so. Goodbye.

So, the 1st little missionary took the straw, caught a boat and sailed for Africa. When he arrived, the quickly built his straw hut. He had only just moved in when along came a Big Bad Wolf, who said: Little missionary, little missionary, let me come in.

1st little missionary said: No, no, not by the hair of my chiny chin chin, I wont let you in.

Wolf: Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff till I blow your house in.

So the big bad wolf huffed and he puffed, he huffed and he puffed and he blew the straw house in. The 1st little missionary had no place to stay. He went out to ask the villagers for help but because he had no training, he couldn’t speak the language and so, the 1st little missionary had to go home.

The 2nd little missionary met a man carrying some sticks.

Man: Good morning, where are you going this fine day?

2nd missionary: Oh, good morning Mr Man, I’m going to learn how to be a missionary in the jungles of South America.

Man: Oh, you are so lucky you met me. There, you can have these sticks to build a perfect hut for you in the jungle AND I also have this book to help train you for the job.

2nd missionary: But I also need a church to pray for me and help me with money so that I can do my work in America.

Man: No, no, no….you don’t need a church to support you. You can handle everything on your own. Go, take my sticks and this book. You’ll be fine.

2nd missionary: Well, if you say so…goodbye…

So, the 2nd little missionary took a plane and arrived in the jungles of South America. But as soon as he had built his house of sticks, who should come along but the big bad Wolf.

Wolf: Little missionary, little missionary, let me come in.

2nd missionary: No, no…by the hair of my chinny chin chin, I wont let you in.

Wolf: Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in.

So, the Big Bad Wolf huffed and he puffed, and he huffed and he puffed – until alas the house collapsed. The 2nd little missionary tried to build another house…but since he had no church supporting him and no money…he couldn’t and so had to leave to go home. He didn’t even have money to buy a plane ticket home and had to row a sampan home.

Now the 3rd little missionary set off. He had his missionary graduation certificate, dictionary of native languages, jungle training book, his bible, his how to build a strong house book and of course some money. On the way, he met a man carrying some bricks.

Man: Good morning, and where are you going on this fine day?

3rd missionary: Good morning, Mr Man. I am heading off to Bangladesh to tell people about Jesus.

Man: Well, I can see you are well prepared. Would you like some bricks to build a good strong home when you get there?

3rd little missionary: What a good idea! Thank you I will.

Soon the 3rd little missionary arrived in Bangladesh, where he quickly built his house of bricks. Just as well, for who should be lurking around the corner but….

Wolf: Little missionary, little missionary, let me come in.

3rd little missionary: No, no, not by the hair of my chiny chin chin, I wont let you in.

Wolf: Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in.

So, the Big Bad Wolf huffed and he puffed. And he huffed and he puffed. And he huffed and he puffed….but the brick house stood strong and he fell down completely out of breathe. So, he gave up trying to blow houses down and decided to be a vegetarian.

So, what can we learn from this story? What did the 1st missionary forgot to do? What did the 2nd missionary forgot to do? And what happened to them? So we have to remember this. If we want to be a missionary that go away to faraway places, we must have training, and we must have a church to pray and support us with money.

Prayer

What it means to Pray? (Daniel 6:1-28)

Today I brought along a lot of things to show you. You tell me what they are and what they do OK?

1. Hairdryer – blowing and drying hair
2. CD Player- playing CDs
3. Radio/clock – playing music and telling time
4. Lamp- gives us light

We use all these items for different reasons. Though they are all different, they have to have one very, very important thing before they can work. What is it?

Yes, electricity. If they are not hooked into any power socket, and without electric power, no matter how good they look, or how hi-tech they are…they are useless.

So it is with each one of us. Each one of us is good in different things ( like the different electrical items), but we too have to stay connected to our power supply in order to be effective. Who is our power supply? Yes, God. How do we stay connected? Through prayer which is talking to God and hearing from Him.

The lesson is very simple isn’t it? But you know, sometimes we still forget this very simple but important part of Christian life. When we get into trouble..,what do we do? Instead of praying first and asking God for help, we run around looking for help from other people. Sometimes we even forget to pray and even think that prayer is not that important. Then what happens to us? What happens to the hairdryer if it doesn’t stay connected to the power supply? It stops working, it becomes useless.

God cannot use us effectively if we don’t stay connected to Him. Always remember to pray to God: talk to Him and wait for Him to also talk to you.

Faith Means...

Faith means… "Knowing that something is real even if we do not see it"; Hebrews 11:1

Once upon a time, there was a boy who loves to play with fire. He is fascinated by fire. He read books about fire, he watch shows about fire and the one he enjoys most, he experiments with fire. His mum and dad are always telling him, "Jimmy, it is dangerous to play with fire. Don’t do it!"

But did Jimmy listen? No…his curiousity was so great that one day, while he was playing in his room, he tried to burn some sticks, just to see how fast sticks burn compared to paper.

But he was very careless. In his excitement, he allowed the fire to grow so big that it went out of control! Jimmy panicked…BIG time!

He screamed to his mum and dad... "Fire! Fire! Everyone get out of the house!"

Jimmy ran out of the house and he saw his mum and dad getting his brother and sister out of the house.

By now the fire was spreading fast. The whole house was filled with smoke. You cant see anything at all!

Suddenly mum shouted…Jimmy! Where is Jimmy? Jimmy had run back into the house to get his favourite toy fire truck.

Then they heard him screaming and there he was…in the upstairs room standing by the window!

His father ran directly below the window and shouted…

"Jump, Jimmy, Jump! I’ll catch you!"

Jimmy cried… "But daddy, I cant see you. There is too much smoke"

His father said,

"I know you cant see me son….but I can see you. Jump!!!"

What do you think Jimmy did? He jumped. He jumped, even though he cant see his daddy, but he chose to jump anyway because he trust his daddy will be there to catch him because his daddy can see exactly where he is.

God is like the daddy in the story and we are like Jimmy. We may be going through scary times, or maybe we may be worried about something, or we may be sick or someone we love may be sick.

All we need to do is to cry out to God (our daddy) for help. Then we have to listen to His voice and obey. Even though the situation around us may be scary and we cant see the way out, we know one thing for sure, God is always there to catch us and keep us safe because even though we cant see God, He can see us and He knows exactly what we are going through. This is why we can trust God. This is why what it means to have faith in God. Amen? Amen!!!