Love Your Neighbour
Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ~ Matthew 22:37-39, ESV
In “Wanna do outreach? Let’s first talk about love,” Pastor Jeff Chong of Hope Singapore Church said, “Our neighbours are anyone that we encounter; that God has brought into our sphere of influences. Everyone is our neighbour.”
Thus if Christ’s commandment is to love God and love people (see the verses above), then it has to be ongoing acts of love toward others especially our neighbours located around us.
Alumnus & family who served in the Philippines
Alumnus Kelvin Ng graduated in 2018 with a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry. He together with his wife Julienne and young daughter Theo served in the Philippines as missionaries for nearly a year before Covid-19 hit the world and they had to return to Singapore. Below is a short interview and some prayer requests from Kelvin.
1. How long were you and your family in the Philippines as a missionary family? What was your experience there like?
Kelvin, Julienne and Theo has been in the Philippines for 10 months before COVID struck. We learnt a lot about ourselves, the culture and doing ministry there. I was setting up a basketball ministry and Julienne was in the livelihood ministry putting her art and design skills to work! At times, it was tough but God was there with us and carrying us through with His grace and mercies.
Gratitude for his blessings
Similar to Psalm 107 last week, Psalm 102:2 is one of gratitude towards God, for everything that we have through Him.
Psalm 102:3-5 details our blessings
“Who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
The ultimate blessing is God’s love to His people, and this Psalm serves as a reminder for us to sing praise wholeheartedly to Him for all of our days.
Praise does not exclusively mean singing songs of worship. We can praise God by passing on His blessings to those around us too. Recent news has reminded us all about the fallen nature of man and the ever-present need for forgiveness and redemption. Do recall this verse when you or those around you feel angry or disappointed, and be reminded that God’s love is truly worthy of our praise.
Blessing Joo Chiat Business Community
Recently, a number of staff and students wanted to show God’s love to the business community in Joo Chiat. They gave out bags of oranges and greetings cards to nearby shops and stalls while observing safe management measures. Those who received the bags were informed of EAST recent move to the area and our desire to get to know our neighbours better.
Please pray for EAST in knowing how best to express God’s love to our neighbours in the coming days. Shalom.
See below for more pictures of the recent visit to nearby businesses.
The season of Lent is upon us
The season of Lent is upon us, starting from 17 February 2021, which is Ash Wednesday. Lent is a 40-day period where believers take time to reflect upon Christ’s journey to the cross, death, burial and resurrection leading to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. This weekend, as preparation toward the start of Lent, here is an article published for last year’s Ash Wednesday but still remains relevant today.
Cru Singapore has produced a 2021 Lent devotional entitled, “Ashes to Resurrection,” which you can subscribed to here. They have also produced a series of downloadable wallpapers for smartphones with the Lenten theme here.
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