Alpha Leadership Coach

I appreciate your comments and I do believe God is...

2010-06-22T13:34:24.898+08:00

I appreciate your comments and I do believe God is often quicker to forgive us than it is for us to ask for forgiveness. If the Parable of the Prodigal Son is anything to go by (Luke 15:11-24), it tells us that only when the younger son ADMITTED he had sinned (v.18) that he was able to EXPERIENCE the Father's forgiveness (embrace) and restoration of his rights and privileges as son (Luke 15:20-22). Note that the younger son already has a relationship with his father (he's not an alien). Similarly, when God asked Adam, "Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9), He was not asking Adam for information (God knows everything) but for admission (confession) from Adam that he has sinned. Adam, instead of confession (admitting he had sinned), blamed Eve for the problem. Adam is also a type of believer. But God expects him to admit he has sinned (confessed).

Ephesians 1:3 tells us that God has already blessed believers with every spiritual blessings. I suppose that includes healing from sicknesses. But how many believers are experiencing continual health without sickness? Why? According to Apostle James: "We have not because we do not ask" (Jas 4:3). Just as we can only experience healing when we ask God to heal us, so we can only experience forgiveness of sin when we ask God for forgiveness. This is the basic principle of faith: everything has been given to us in Christ, but to experience every one of God's blessings (forgiveness included), we must believe and ASK for it. There is a gap between Eternal Facts (what God has done for us in Christ) and Experiential Truths (what we experience personally). The gap is bridged by faith: Eternal Facts + Faith ==> Experiential Truths.

Long before I ever heard JP preach, the Lord asked...

2010-06-22T10:13:50.062+08:00

Long before I ever heard JP preach, the Lord asked me why I continued to ask him to forgive me? I was told that is what I needed to do, but he led me to scripture that he had put robes of righteousness on me and took my filthy robes. Old testament. And my sins are far as East from West and deepest seas. He led me to asking others to forgive me for my mistakes and ill spoken words that hurt them personally. But as far as God is concerned he forgave me fully one time with the Blood of his son. If I could make God love me more by asking him to forgive me every time I sin then that would be good. If sin separated me from God then I would never be able to pray or ask God for anything. When my sin is always before me I am separated from God. This is why God gave his son to die for our sins and God righteously judged them ALL. Even if you don't believe! This is why my Dad asks me to Love my enemies. Because he died for them too!

Greetings im fresh here. I stumbled upon this mess...

2010-06-07T14:19:55.974+08:00

Greetings im fresh here. I stumbled upon this message board I find It exceedingly accessible and it's helped me a great deal. I should be able to give something back & help other users like it has helped me.

Cheers, Catch You Later

Hi Christ Alone Although I admit that Pastor Prin...

2010-04-16T05:56:27.291+08:00

Hi Christ Alone

Although I admit that Pastor Prince might be wrong to say that these 1 John 1:9 is written to unbeliever, the whole gospel is all about Grace after the cross.

Do you know that if the whole of 1 John is written to believers, there is no mention of continous confession of sins? Christ has forgiven all our sins when we become believers - past, present and future.

For 1 John 1:9, the word confess in the Greek is not really "confess" in English. It is made up of "homo" and "logos" meaning to speak the same. Who are we speaking the same about our sins? God and us are speaking the same about our sins. What does God speaks about our sins? Hebrew 8:12 is the answer - "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (NIV)

Praise God for the many lives saved by one man's b...

2010-03-10T09:29:34.114+08:00

Praise God for the many lives saved by one man's bravery.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Did I say the...

2010-02-27T08:39:29.559+08:00

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Did I say the world will end in 2012? How interesting!

I kinda have been expecting this in a way... But I...

2010-02-26T16:36:16.155+08:00

I kinda have been expecting this in a way...
But I reali dun think da world is going to end...start a new era maybe but the world is not ending.
That's not gonna happen till a thousand years later! Ok, I'm not sure bout that either but that's not the point! The world's not gonna end! Full stop!
[url=http://2012earth.net/switch_to_consciousness_2012.html
]world schedule 2012
[/url] - some truth about 2012

Dear Christ Alone, I am quite agreeable by & large...

2010-02-11T11:23:24.271+08:00

Dear Christ Alone, I am quite agreeable by & large with Pastor Prince's message on Grace. It's a needed balance to the law-oriented preaching that one hears often from the pulpits in this country & elsewhere. For this reason, I share your belief that Pastor Joseph Prince has a special calling. However, sometime in our zeal to preach a particular doctrine, we may inadvertently take texts out of their contexts to prove our point. So, my issue with Ps Prince is his argument that 1 John 1:8-9 is addressed to unbelievers, not believers. If we look at the context of 1 John 1:8-9 (Ps Prince himself has often said that a text taken out of its context is a "con"...), we will conclude that the "WE" is to be read as "we believers." The only time the Apostle uses "you" in his epistle is in verses 1 & 2 to refer to the readers. Otherwise, "we" refer to the Apostle John & believers like himself. E.g. "If we (believers) say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness..." (v.6). "If we (believers) walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship with one another..." (v.7) etc. So verse 9 must be read, "If we (believers) confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us and [continuously] purify us from all unrighteousness." Confession sin does not minimize grace but magnifies grace because grace has no meaning apart from sin. Grace does not make confession UNNECESSARY but makes it POSSIBLE.

I quote in sentence "Confession of sin is possible...

2010-02-11T10:12:16.922+08:00

I quote in sentence "Confession of sin is possible only if we BELIEVE that God will forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness".

Exactly, doesn't this sentence describe what John spoke in 1 John 1:8, "If we say we have no sin…” to some unbelievers who said that they have no sin. God already declared that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Some religious leaders always lead their congregations in the confession of sin, before worship, in the midst of worship, after worship, that make you so sin conscious like a heavy burden weighing on you. As a result, we are became very sin-conscious and self-conscious that we must confess all our sin to earn God’s approval fearing the wrath of God if we forget to confess all our sin.

Sadly, these same leaders never preach about the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Just hear what David spoke in Romans 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin."

Let me say, confession of sin does not transform you. It is beholding Jesus Christ that we are transformed from glory to glory.

I hear it from my own ear from Pastor Prince that he is not against believers to confess their sin.

Finally, let me say that Pastor Prince is preaching the Gospel of Grace to the whole world, in USA, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia. Isn’t it a calling?

Does a believer says that he has no sin? If he s...

2010-02-11T00:09:08.266+08:00

Does a believer says that he has no sin?

If he says that he has no sin then he actually denied Jesus Christ as his savior. He is an unbeliever, isn't.
Let's look at the context to 1 John 1:9 in verse 8 in the Amplified verson:

1 John 1:8
If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our hearts].

It is clear that verse 8 is talking about unbelievers.

ah at last, I found your post once again. You have...

2010-01-21T18:49:13.069+08:00

ah at last, I found your post once again. You have few [url=http://tipswift.com]useful tips[/url] for my school project. This time, I won't forget to bookmark it. :)

Amen, we do often misunderstand the order too, and...

2009-12-18T09:37:56.484+08:00

Amen, we do often misunderstand the order too, and also condemnation to our consequences regardless of the cause.

Shalom Then Chee Min, Very good insight and edifi...

2009-12-09T07:52:37.164+08:00

Shalom Then Chee Min,

Very good insight and edification.

Thank you much; very nice website. God bless you. ...

2009-11-12T07:22:44.830+08:00

Thank you much; very nice website. God bless you.

Please add me @clearleadership

Joanne

Thanks for a very thoughtful response. You and you...

2009-08-14T14:35:48.062+08:00

Thanks for a very thoughtful response. You and your team members are living examples of this transformation process. May KYMC be radically transformed into a Kingdom community!

Amen! People who serve in Alpha would benefit fro...

2009-08-13T23:11:06.630+08:00

Amen! People who serve in Alpha would benefit from "re-encountering" God at various levels, greatly blessed from strengthened faith.

Often times when Jesus performed a miracle, it was the SERVANTS who were the witnesses and encountered God at first hand. I'll venture to say the SERVANTS probably benefited the most.

Take the servants at the wedding for example. They were the ones who witnessed first-hand how Jesus turned their huge jugs of water into the best wine, right before their eyes and in their hands as they poured them out. Imagine what these servants would be telling all the other people.

Similarly, when Jesus fed the multitude with the two loaves and five fishes in the hands of the young boy, those who were distributing (serving) the miraculously-created bread and fishes would've been in awe and their faith would've reached unprecedented levels.

Serving in Alpha - or any ministry for that matter - enables the SERVANTS to be first-hand witnesses of God's miracles happening in people's lives, thereby experiencing God in multiple ways and dimensions.

Many Alpha guests feel the same way as you do when...

2009-05-06T23:05:00.000+08:00

Many Alpha guests feel the same way as you do when they started on the course. However, as the weeks progress, they realize that there is more to Christianity than just escape from hell after death. Eternal life is not life post-mortem, but eternal life is abundant life NOW! Jesus taught us to pray, "Your Kingdom come!" So, it's not about what happens to you when you die. Rather, Christianity is about what happens to you now. Our Alpha guests are mostly non-Christians and free-thinkers. So, they have found a new life. Have you?

Great to hear from you Andrew. Hope your family is...

2009-05-06T22:59:00.000+08:00

Great to hear from you Andrew. Hope your family is fine. Please send my regards to your parents. Chee Min

Crap... who is there to validate everything that i...

2009-05-01T01:43:00.000+08:00

Crap... who is there to validate everything that is being said?

if your God is at all that holy and nice.. whatever wrong the man has done will be forgiven after death.. so whether to believe when alive doesnt really matters...

it is just a psychological game that christianity is trying to fool ard with.. i am not saying christianity is all bad...

but the things that it preaches and actions it forces ppl to enact simply contradict..

Hi Rev Then,Just happened to surf into your blog c...

2009-02-14T23:49:00.000+08:00

Hi Rev Then,
Just happened to surf into your blog coincidentally. Glad to know that you and your family are doing well. Time really flies, isn't it? Continue to shine for God and be a testimony for Him who is our hope and redeemer. God bless you and your family.
Yours Devotedly in Christ,
Andrew
(ex-CCRian, family of John & Stella)

Hi Patrick, The 70% retention rate refers to those...

2009-01-06T14:34:00.000+08:00

Hi Patrick,
The 70% retention rate refers to those who remained on the course. However, in some cases, retention was as high as 90%. Yes, I do believe that live talks create greater bonding between pastor (speaker) and the guests. When guests can connect with the pastor, the likelihood of them staying on in the course is higher. Chee Min

Hi Ps Chee Min,It'll be really great to see 70% re...

2009-01-06T11:04:00.000+08:00

Hi Ps Chee Min,

It'll be really great to see 70% retention rate at our Alpha courses!

My guess is that the Koreans probably started with "live" talks because of language, since Nicky's messages will be diluted and wierd if they were watched on a video dubbed into Korean. (Imagine Nicky 'speaking' in Korean in the video!) Then God gave the additional benefits of the "live" talks in form of increased retention!

Btw, are you referring to retention rate of

(a) measuring the % of guests who stayed till the end of course? (i.e., no. at end of course divided by no. at first lesson * 100%)? or

(b) measuring the % of guests who have completed the course and stayed to become new membes of the Church?

Regardless, since "live" talk generates such good retention and improved post-alpha assimilation, perhaps we should seriously consider and pray about it for direction at KY's Alpha?

So, the elder son was ignorant of the inheritance ...

2008-06-25T22:20:00.000+08:00

So, the elder son was ignorant of the inheritance even though he was the eldest in the family.

God said in Galatians 3:29, “And, now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are heirs, and now all the promises God gave to Him belong to you.” (New Living Translation)

The promises that God gave to Jesus belong to us!

God never lie. His word is Truth. He never wavers between yes and no. If He said it He means it.

Then, how do we know our inheritance in Christ Jesus? It is all written in the will of God. The will of God is written in the Bible. If we don’t read the Bible we never know what is our inheritance and it does us no good.

In our last Friday cell group, we discussed about God predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. We are the first born in Christ!

Hi Chee Min,I believed there are many profound tea...

2008-06-25T14:03:00.000+08:00

Hi Chee Min,
I believed there are many profound teaching to be found in this chapter. My sharing:

1) The father not only takes him back as a son, but restores his full privileges. The rope, ring and sandals. Giving him full power of sonship, full authority and full honour. That's salvation!

2) The older son, most people will say he is a good christain, a believer & having doing what he should do & he appeared righteous to men outwardly but inwardly he is like a phraisees.

3) The older son doesn't know his position with his father. In Luke 15:31 - "My son, the father said, you are always with me & everything I have is yours."

Our minds cannot conceive of the riches of our position in Christ. So, in Eph 1:17, Paul is praying that the Lord might spare christains from frantic search for thing they already possess, I think.

Blessings
Serene

Hi Chee Min,I believed there are many profound tea...

2008-06-25T09:10:00.000+08:00

Hi Chee Min,
I believed there are many profound teaching to be found in this chapter. My sharing are:

1) The father not only takes him back as a son, but restores his full privileges. The rope, ring and sandals, giving him full power of sonship, full authority and full honour. That's salvation!

2) The older son, most people will say he is a good christain, a believer & having doing what he should do & sppeared righteous to men outwardly but inwardly he is like the phraisees.

3) The older son, doesn't know his position with his father. In Luke 15:31- "My son, the father said, you are always with me & everything I have is yours."

Our minds cannot conceive of the riches of our position in Christ, so in Eph 1:17, Paul is praying that the Lord might spare Christains from frantic search for things they already possess, I think.

Blessings

Serene