8th Nov Sermon Discussion - "Moving Into God's Destiny"

Scripture Reference: Joshua 1:1-9 (Message by Rev Rick Seaward)

Introduction:
God has a Destiny for every single one of us… The question is, are you entering into the Destiny God has for you?

Similarly, God has a Destiny for Joshua and for the Nation of Israel, individually & collectively. God told Joshua to get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them.” (Joshua 1:2)

From Joshua chapters 2 to11, we read how Joshua led Israel to conquer and took possession of much of the Promised Land. But…, it was at least several months or 2-3 years before Joshua led the people to conquer the Promised Land.

Why had they never got the land before? What was holding them back? God? the Land? the Enemy? No, it was They, THEMSELVES...

There are 2 major reasons that hindered Joshua from fulfilling God’s Destiny to lead the nation of Israel to Conquer the Promised Land

1. Things of the Past
A. Things People Have Said To Us
B. Living in Our Past Consequences
C. Living in the Failure Of Others
D. Settling For the Status Quo
E. The Same Methods

Question for Discussion: What are some things of the Past that may hinder you from believing that you will fulfill God’s Destiny?

2. Things Right Now
A. Forgetting the Promise (Our Destiny)
B. Fear
C. Not Wanting to Take Responsibility
D. Not Completely Believing God's Word
E. Lack of Commitment to Obeying God's Word
F. Many Distractions from God's Plan

Question for Discussion: Is there anything that is happening now in your life that may cause you to think that you are NOT able to do what you think God is calling you to do?

Reminder: Our Destiny is to Conquer, Not just To Win!
A. Joshua 11:16, “Joshua took all the land …”
B. He won many battles, but kept going until He conquered
C. Joshua would not stop until He had conquered!

Conclusion: Will you move into your God-given Destiny? Will you be a part of God’s Destiny for FCBC?
Let’s pray for God to restore a Conquering Spirit in us! Pray that we will not be just satisfied with WINNING, but we want to CONQUER as what God has intended for us to do! Pray that we will fulfill God’s Destiny for our lives. Pray that FCBC will fulfill God’s Destiny for our church.
Let’s commit our YouthNet Goals for 2010 to the Lord in prayer too that we will EXPERIENCE MULTIPLICATION & SEND everyone out for a Mission Trip next year!!!

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1st Nov Sermon Discussion - "Dead Man Walking"

Scripture Reference: John 11:38-44

Ice-Breaker:
To start today’s cell meeting, we like to play a game called, “Guess the Murderer”. This is how we play the game:

Step 1: Have everyone sit in a circle

Step 2: Bow our heads and close our eyes and the cell leader will walk behind everyone in circle to choose the “murderer” by tapping on someone’s head without anyone knowing whom he has chosen

Step 3: Everyone can open their eyes now and just talk and joke and have fun normally while the “murderer” tries to kill the rest of you one by one by winking at you without anyone noticing….

Step 4: If someone winks at you, you must make a loud noise as though you are in pain being killed by someone. After you “die”, you remain in the circle as before but you cannot tell anyone who murdered you.

Step 5: At any time, anyone who is not murdered can guess who the murderer is. But if he guesses wrongly, he “dies” too.

Step 6: The murderer wins if he can “kill” the last 2nd last person in the circle.

(NOTE: Cell leader, you can play this game a couple of rounds depending on the time that you have…)

I hope you have fun playing this game… being dead after you are “murdered”… :)

Let us now discuss Pastor Melvyn’s Sermon entitled, “Dead Man Walking”

Scripture Passage: John 11:38-44 (Cell Leaders can get the members to role play this passage as an introduction to the discussion)

Introductory Questions:
- What was the “Hopeless Situation” in this story?
- How did Lazarus “come alive” or “ break free” ?

The Question of Today’s Message is: How can we live in True Freedom?

1. Remove Hopelessness – Walk in Faith
Are there situations around you that you feel hopeless about ? Have you given up praying or believing something can happen to change the situation ? Share with one another & minister to each other…

2. Reject Bad Habits & Bondages – Wake Up to Freedom
Are there Bad Habits that you are holding on to? Are you caught in any bondage that you would like to share with us so that we can pray for you?

Conclusion:
The only way that we can truly be set free & live in Freedom is to WALK in FAITH. Only by walking in Faith can we overcome the struggles that we face which make us feel that we are living in the “prisons” of our minds, in the “jails” of our lives… We need to WAKE UP from our “tombs” that tries to make us think that we are like “Dead Man Walking”…

Dear friends, let’s ask God to impart a NEW FAITH unto us so that we can live in TRUE FREEDOM…

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25th Oct Sermon Discussion - "Can God Depend on You?"

Announcements:

Before we discuss about the Sermon today, we have an announcement to make: Camp Transformers – An Exciting growth camp for all teens in FCBC aged 12-16, including the Gkidz P6s moving into YouthNet… Dates: 18-20 Dec (Fri – Sun); Fees: $40

Activity 1: Movie Talk

Starter Questions: Who has watched the movie: “Transformers II: Revenge of the Fallen”? How do you find the movie? Are there any truths worth remembering about the movie? (Allow the teens to answer and talk about the movie themselves…)

Leaders’ personal wrap up:
I remember it was so touching when the movie ended with Optimus Prime thanking the boy for saving his life, Sam replied, “Thank you for believing in me…”

· Is this not the same for many of us… We rise up to be used by God because we were encouraged along the way by someone who believed in us… gave us the chance to serve the Lord… Just like Optimus Prime can depend on a ordinary child like Sam, we too want to be those whom God can depend on!

The Question of Today’s Message is: Can God Depend on You?
(Message by Pastor Dishan Wickramaratne)

Summary of Ps Dishan’s Message:

1. God is looking for people whom He can use… God looks at the heart… God is asking, “Who can I depend on?”; “Who can I trust?” (1 Samuel 16:7)

2. An example of someone that God uses greatly is one of Jesus’ 12, Andrew, better known as, Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew is a simple & quiet person that the Lord could trust, that the Lord can depend on. Andrew was one of the first who knew Jesus, the first to say that Jesus was the Messiah. Although Andrew was not well known, Andrew was faithful in bringing people to Jesus. It was Andrew who brought Peter to Jesus. (John 1:40-42a)

3. In the story of Jesus feeding the 5000, it was Andrew who spoke up positively when the rest of the 12 disciples were negative. It was Andrew who spoke up about the young boy who had 5 loaves & 2 fishes. Many of us remember that Jesus fed the 5000, remember the boy who had the 5 loaves & 2 fishes. Very few people took note that it was Andrew who brought the boy to Jesus. (John 6:5-9)

Today’s message is about God wanting to use us for His Purpose… God is NOT asking us to DIE for Him… God is asking us to LIVE for Him… God builds His Kingdom with faithful people who are willing to bring their friends to Jesus… Are you willing to SHINE for Jesus in your lives and introduce Jesus to your friends by bringing them to church or evangelistic events so that they can know Jesus?

Activity 2: Discussion & Praying for Friends

During the Teens Camp, “Camp Transformers”, there will be an Evangelistic Event where we can invite our friends to attend, on the 2nd Day of the Camp (19th Dec 2009), from 1pm to 7pm.

Discuss as a cell how can we facilitate the bringing of our friends for this Evangelistic Event on 19th Dec. Then pray for the friends by name…

Invitation cards will be given out to the cell members on the following week cell mtg on 1st Nov…

Conclusion:

Do NOT belittle what God can do through YOU!!! Let us rise up and be someone that Jesus can depend on! Dear friends, what are we going to do for our God? Can God depend on us? Let’s Pray together…

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18th Oct Sermon Discussion - "Recovering From a Fall"

Sermon Scripture Reference: 1 CHRONICLES 21-22:1

1st Activity: (Game)

Let’s start today’s Word Discussion with a Simple Activity:

Step 1: Ask for a “brave” volunteer from your cell group. If yours is a mixed gender cell, only a guy can volunteer.

Step 2: The volunteer stands in a circle formed by the other cell members. The cell members should stand closely together and all have both hands open to the person in the middle but not touching him/her.

Step 3: At the count of 1,2,3, the person in the middle locks his/her legs and arms by the side and starts falling in any direction her/she wants without moving legs at anytime (like a doll). The cell members forming the circle ensure the person is within the circle and does not fall down at any time.

Step 4: Keep going for about a minute and try with one or two more volunteers if time permits.

Debrief for the Game: How does this activity tie in with the sermon we just heard today?

• Sermon is about falling back into the merciful hands of God.
• Humility needed to depend on others’ help not to fall.
• We are sometimes not in complete control although we think we are.

Today’s Message:

How then can we recover from a fall or a failure? We need to know the two characteristics of God.

1. FLEE FROM THE HOLD OF SATAN – GOD HATES THE SIN OF PRIDE
2. FALL INTO THE HAND OF GOD – GOD HEARS THE POOR IN SPIRIT


1. Flee from the hold of Satan - God hates the sin of Pride

a. According to Ps Melvyn’s sermon, was taking a census (counting of number of troops) wrong? Why then was God angry with King David for doing so?

Answer: The reason King David ordered the census because he wanted to know for his own pride how big and powerful his army was.

2nd Activity: (Deeper into the Word)

b. Pick a few teens to read the following verses using their Bibles:

• Proverbs 6:16-19 - There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

• Proverbs 8:13 - To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

• Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

• James 4:6 - But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Ask the teens to share what they think “pride” is and why it displeases God.

Answers: What is pride? It is self importance and self reliance versus depending on God for guidance and blessing.

Pride is the very sin that Satan has committed that caused Satan (also known as Lucifer) to be cast down from heaven. In fact, pride is the very nature of Satan. Pride opens the door wide for Satan to attack us! It attacked David and cause him to think that Israel’s success depended upon the strength of Israel’s army.

2. Fall into the hand of God – God Hears the Poor in Spirit

King’s David prideful action brought grave consequences; let’s learn how he recovered from this fall. Let’s read three verses from 1 Chronicles together:

1 Chron 21:8 - Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."

1 Chron 21:13 - David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men

1 Chron 21:17 - David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people."

Learning points:

1. The turning point of this episode came when David realized his great sin and realized he has nothing if not for the blessing of God in his life. Twice, he confessed and repented of his great sin. He became poor in spirit – apart from God he is nothing and has nothing. He recognized that he needs to fall completely into the hand of God once again.

2. It was really a divine step that the angel of the Lord stood at the threshing floor of Araunah (a place in Jerusalem) when God, filled with His heart of compassion – stopped the killing. The threshing floor is a place of where what is precious is separated from what is perish – what is treasure is separated from what is trash.

3. God wants to remove what is useless from our lives so that He can bring out what is precious. In spite of the pain of the sin, David was being constantly changed to be a man after God’s own heart. Out of the gross sins of David came the most beautiful thing – the location for the building of the Temple of God!

4. God’s grace and mercy for us is paid by Jesus on the cross. Jesus set the example for us by humbling Himself to go to the cross. The cross gives us a fresh start from our prideful fall.

3rd Activity: (Doers of the Word)

1. Share one area of pride God convicted your heart about today.
Examples: performance in school, good looks, success, family, wealth.

2. Ask your friend to pray for you to help you surrender that area of pride to the Lord today. Pray for God’s grace.

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4th Oct Sermon Discussion - "The Place to Be!"

1st ACTIVITY: (Game)

Let’s start today’s Word Discussion with a Simple Activity:
Let’s play a game, called, PESI-COLA: ONE; TWO; THREE!
The game is simple:

Step 1 – Have everyone hold hands & form a circle.

Step 2 – Let go of your hands, and as you shout out, “PESI-COLA: ONE; TWO; THREE! ,” move backwards 3 steps to make the circle bigger.

Step 3 – One by One, take turn to use your foot to touch anyone’s foot or leg. By so doing, the person being touched will be eliminated & out of the game!
(Please note that every one can only do this in one move & he or she must not jump a few steps… Please REMEMBER to be gentle & do not injured someone by kicking him or her too hard…)

Step 4 – Those who are out keep cheering those who are still “Alive” and see who is the last man or woman Standing WITHOUT being touched by anyone…

Debrief for the Game: What do you think is the moral of this game?
☺ Just to have fun? Of course… Anything else? Anyone can come up with a reason to link back to today’s message?
☺ Correct!

- You can only touch your Neighbour!
- You can only touch the one that is next to you, or surrounding you…

Introduction to Today’s Message:

- To Love God is to Love Your Neighbour; It is the SAME!
- To Love Your Neighbour is the Place to Be.

The Question of Today’s Message is:
How can I be a Good Neighbour?

1. When we Accept our Place in God’s Plan

Acts 2:26 says … God determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

- The Activity that we just went through is to show us how important it is for us to appreciate the place that God has placed us in…
- We are God’s channel, God’s Ambassador to TOUCH someone… who is your Neighbour… who is NEXT to you…
- We can only be a Good Neighbour when we acknowledge that it is God who set the EXACT PLACE that we should live in…
- Then we can actively seek God’s Plans for us at the Place where we are in, be it our home, our school or our cell…

2. When we Align God’s Plan in our Place

Acts 2:27 says … God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though he is not far from each one of us.

This is God’s Plan:
- God wants to touch everyone! How can He do that?
- And He wants to do it THROUGH YOU!
- This is so that when you begin to TOUCH someone with God’s Love, that someone will SEEK GOD, REACH OUT to God, & FIND GOD!!!

In today’s sermon, Pastor Eugene shared with us 3 Steps of how we can help our Nieghbours Seek God, Reach Out to Him & Find Him…

Step 1: Be a Bridge of Blessing (Make a Difference)
Step 2: Be a Channel of Care (Meet the Needs of your Neighbours)
Step 3: Be a Deliverer of Destiny (Manifest the Savior)

2nd ACTIVITY: (Discussion)

Let’s Discuss how can we Practically do these 3 Steps in our Lives?

- Have Everyone share… This has to be personal…
- Only YOU can TOUCH your Neighbour!!!

3. When we Act in Faith & Believe God for Transformation

Jesus responds to FAITH & not just to Needs. Let your LIGHT Shine!!!

Some say, now is EXAM Time, why are we asking you to be a blessing to someone? At this time, like all other students, should we not JUST FOCUS in our EXAMS instead of being distracted by matters not concerning ourselves?

I want to tell you, “It is precisely that it is during this EXAM Time that we need to move out & be a blessing to our Neighbours… ” In times like this, when all our “Neighbours” are anxious about their exams, this is the best time for us to move in FAITH & be a Blessing to our Neighbours! Do something simple, don’t have to spend too much time… Just say a word of encouragement to some one; or pray for someone…

Let’s group into groups of 2 or 3 to pray for One Another… that we will Make a Difference & Meet Someone Needs so that the LIGHT of Christ will SHINE THROUGH US!!!

Do you accept your place in God’s Plan? Can you appreciate the place that God has placed you? Will you choose to be use by Him to bless someone?

All of us need to go through a JOURNEY of FINDING God’s Destiny for ourselves… We want to know God’s Plans for our lives… And the JOURNEY starts with where we are… NOT somewhere else… It is in the place that we are in, where everything is the same, the people are the same, during very ordinary moments, in the simple ways, that we begin to SEEK GOD… and as we REACH OUT to Him, we FIND HIM…

God place us where we are is so that WE WOULD:

• SEEK HIM
• REACH OUT TO HIM
• FIND HIM

Questions for Sharing:

Let’s share with one another, how we feel about the place where we are in?
- Are we happy with where we are?
- Are we happy with the Family that we are in?
- Are we happy with the School that we are studying in?
- Are we happy with the Church that we are in?
- Are we happy with the Cell Group that we are in?

Let’s share with One Another why are we Happy?
- Or why are we NOT? What can we do about it?
- Do you BELIEVE that God has a Plan for you at where you are?
- Do we want to seek the Lord & find out what His Plans are for you?

If you want, all you have to do is to SEEK HIM & REACH OUT to Him… The Lord says that you will sure FIND HIM! (Click here to read full post)

27th Sept Sermon Discussion - "This Day We FIGHT!"

Scripture Reference: 2 Kings 13:14-20

Jehoash is a King of Israel of the Northern Kingdom during the last days of Elisha. When Elisha was very sick, King Jehoash came to Elisha, crying for help. From the story of King Jehoash, we can imagine that King Jehoash was not very hopeful that he will be able to defeat the enemies of Israel… There seemed to be a Passive Spirit…

The Question in today’s Message: How can we Break Free from the Passive Spirit?

1. We are Positioned for God’s Promises - Anointed for Victory
The Question we need to first ask ourselves is do we believe that God has blessed us with His Victory?
As October approaches, it also means that we are nearer to all our Final Year Exams, do we believe that God has blessed us with Victory in our Studies?
Let’s share with everyone, how well do you think you are doing in your revision? How well do you think you will do in this coming exam?


2. We are to Possess the Promises – Fight from Victory
As much as God wants to bless us, we need to recognize it is about 100% God & 100% Man… God wants to help us, but the question is do we want to help ourselves? God will not just ZAP us and give us good results like that… God wants us to grow in diligence, faithfulness… We need to work hard, then we can be good at it… Every promise of God needs to be followed through.

3 possible reasons that caused us to be Passive: Discourage; Wearing Down; & Fear
- In real life, are there things that are happening around us to make us feel Discouraged?
- Are there things in our lives that caused us to have a feeling of “Wearing Down”? What are they?
- Are there things that we are afraid of?

Optional Activity: Let’s play a game, it is called, Piggy Back – Dog & Bone!
Same as Dog & Bone, but 2 persons combined into one number, one be the horse, one be the person to grab the bone… Only the person on top can grab the bone & the person on top cannot touch the ground with his or her feet… (Please note that the pair in the Piggy Back should be of the same gender…)
Debrief for the Game: Is it tough? Did some just give up? Then sure lose, right? Remember this: Whenever we give up, we will sure Lose!


3. We need to have Passion for the Promiser – Persevere for Victory
When we have PASSION, we will be able to Persevere & be an Overcomer
Last but not least, remember that we need to depend on God… Let’s not be like the kings of Israel, depend on so many other things but not totally depend on God…
Let’s go into a time of prayer and ask God to bless us with Victory… Let’s hold hands in a circle and pray together… (Click here to read full post)

20th Sept Sermon Discussion - "How to Face Life Challenges"

Activity: Praise-Connectors Challenge

Instructions:
i. Divide the cell into 2-3 groups. Draw lots to decide which group will go first
ii. Cell leader start with a praise song ‘This is the day’
iii. Where ever the leader ends at, the first group is to connect with another praise song that starts with the same word that leader ends at.
iv. The next group will continue with another song with the word that the previous group stops.

For example:
Leader start with ‘This is the day, This is the day, That the Lord has made, That the Lord has made. We will rejoice, we will rejoice….

Group 1 starts with ‘Rejoice, Rejoice, Christ is in you..'
Group 2 starts with ‘You are You are crowned with many crowns, And rule all things in righteousness’ .... Etc

This continues until the winner merges or 10 min, whichever come first.

1. Rate the difficulty you face in connecting the praise songs.
1 = very easy 5 = difficult for some song 10 = very difficult
Praise comes easy for some and may be very difficult for others. When we face challenges, we may take things into our own hands and try to overcome the challenge with our methods. Just like Leah. Let’s read Gen 29:32-35 to understand more.

2. Read Gen 29:32-35. What was the turning point for Leah?
‘This time, I will praise the Lord’. When we face challenges, the turning point comes when we begin to praise God.

3. The divine order is praise comes first. Looking at the different challenges that you face, how can praise bring a turning point?

Challenges:
- Exams
- Friendship problems, such as misunderstanding, conflicts
- Family problems such as not enough money, quarrels,

Praise often brings a turning point because –
1. Praise protects the dream and the dreamer
2. Praise protects you when you are vulnerable (Gen44:14-18)
3. Praise put pressure on the problem (Gen45:1,2)
4. Praise was chosen by God to welcome a new day (Num2:3)
5. Praise says you expect to win
6. Praise declares your destiny is in good hands
7. Praise is the cure for discouragement and depression
8. Praise releases the power of God

4. When Ps Ashley faced the problem of losing hair, he chose to praise God each time he was discouraged. What challenge are you facing now? What will you do to bring a turning point in your life?

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