peace . love . joy

3 fun guys (Andy 哥哥, Ronnie & Shen) frm a childrens' church in KL came down to hold a sharing\workshop ytd and conduct the children's service today (@Aldersgate). yes, you read me right, a CHILDRENS' CHURCH. CHURCH! awesome aint it?? wonderful idea, i must admit =]

anyhow, we had a lil peek into the behind-the-scenes makings of the "service" at the childrens' church. had worship with loads of energy & actions (my personal fav =]), games, the sermon (which is children-friendly), earning of points, the 3-monthly-gift shop and such..

pretty fun =]

see, the thg about children stuff is that u cant be all paiseh and embarrassed and thin-skinned...must 敢敢去干 =D
so it's pretty fun : all the adults and youth looking like big babies, but we're all in this together so it looks pretty awesome and feels pretty awesome. makes u think of what David did in the town square that made Michal feel so embarrassed for him, but he danced anyway because he danced for God, not for any judging human eyes =]

a few of us frm FaithMC helped (pastor) Andy 哥哥 act out scenes for the serious part (the part where the kids understand that it is THE most important part - the part they must listen to and take to heart), the sermon.

God's love is immeasurable

"guessing" love
Zara and i act as 2 bimbos. i'm looking for romantic love, and refer to the horoscope for guidance. zara just found a bf, but wonders whether or not he loves her. she whips out a packet of m'nms and proceeds to eat one saying "he loves me", followed by another "he loves me not"...

"conditional" love
A.Mag and Yap tell Sam that as long as he scores As for school, no matter how he did it, they would love him more...

"fake" love
Ronnie has a video ipod. Shen, seeing that he has one, proclaims Ronnie as his best friend...

God's love is none of those. God's love is immeasurable - it cannot be counted\measured.

God's love is :
Unconditional
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
~ Romans 5:8
Immeasurable
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
~ 1 John 3:1
Boundless, such that He gave Jesus to die for us
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
~ John 3:16

we dont have to guess whether or not God loves us. we dont have to, or rather, there is nothing we can do to make Him love us more. God's love is real. God is love.

a class of 40 kids were on the bus, on the way back from an excursion. the bus was coming down the hill and picking up speed. the bus driver tried the brakes and realised they werent working.

on the right of the lane were lots of shopping centres and people. on the left was a steep drop down. there was no other way than for him to remain on the lane, still picking up speed. then he thought, at the bottom of the hill was a field. the field was long enough for the bus to come to a stop. so that was his plan. he'd go all the way down the lane and let the bus come to a stop in the field.

as the bus was approaching the field, the driver noticed a little boy sitting right in front of the gate leading to the field. the little boy waved at him and he waved back. there were 40 kids on the bus. and 1 kid in front of the bus.

all he could do was to drive through the gate.

after the bus came to a complete stop in the field, the police, parents of the 40 kids and the ambulance came. a lady came up to a police officer and asked for the driver.

"i'd like to thank him", she said.

being told he was at the hospital being treated for shock, she said she understood the ordeal he must have gone through.

the policeman looked at her," no, madam, you dont understand. that little boy he had to hit to save the 40 on the bus was his little boy."

you and i are one of those 40 on the bus. God is that bus driver. and Jesus Christ is that little boy.

God loves us so much that he sacrificed His only Son to save us.

i'd like to say "thank you" to those who prayed for me. God did hit me today. hit me so hard that i was struggling to choke my tears back.

He met me at Aldersgate during prayer. He spoke to me. He gave me a vision. how metophorical it is that we had Holy Communion today. How fast God works!
God is wonderful. God is forgiving. God really, really loves us.

Thanks be to God.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that helf Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I knoww that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

~"How deep the Father's love for us", Stuart Townend