Title: Ephesians – An Introduction
Scripture: Ephesians 1: 1 – 2 & Acts 19
Preacher: Rev Gaurri Maniam
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* Streaming License – 31/07/2021
YOUTH BAPTISM & MEMBERSHIP CLASS
Starting Dates : May 1 & 2, 2021 (Sat & Sun)
Saturday at 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Sunday at 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Participants to attend either Saturday or Sunday Class. The Classes will be conducted via Zoom. Please contact Jane Amarasingham at 017-6227226 to register.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
The Church will NOT be having in-person worship service for two weekends (April 24-25 & May 1-2). The worship services will be held online for two weekends (April 24-25 & May 1-2). Please log on to the church website (www.klangwesley.com) to follow the worship services.
In-person worship service will resume on May 8-9.
CHURCH & CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED
The Church and church office will be closed from April 22 to May 5, 2021. All staff will be working from home. If you need assistance, kindly call or whatsapp any one of them:
Pastor Gaurri @ 012-5594537
Chee Kai @ 012-2360457
Taeko @ 012-2360458
Pelita Chuah @ 016-6256188
Jane @ 017-6227226
NEXT WEEKEND SERVICES (PRE-RECORDED)
(MAY 1 & 2, 2021)
Sermon Title : God’s Extraordinary Story
Scripture Text : Ephesians 1: 3-14
Speaker : Rev Gaurri Maniam
There will be Holy Communion.
2nd OFFERING
The 2nd Offering for the month on May will go to TRAC MW Sunday Project (Haknook Jenang and TRAC Mission Fund).
LCEC MEETING
Date : Saturday, May 8, 2021
Time : 1:00 p.m.
The meeting will be via Zoom
CONDOLENCES
Our deepest condolences to BK Lim, Kim Hua and Ern Yi on the passing away of BK’s father, Mr Lim Hai Chua on April 20, 2021 at Tanjung Sepat. The funeral was on April 22, 2021.
ONLINE BANKING
While we acknowledge that many people are affected by the current MCO situation, we encourage you to continue giving your tithes/offering during this time through online banking. The details are below:
Pledge Payment can be done via Online to Wesley Methodist Church Klang Bank Account No: UOB 171-315-561-1
In the riot in Ephesus (Acts 19: 23-41), God’s Spirit had worked in such a remarkable way in Ephesus that large numbers of people were coming to believe in the Jewish God and His Son, Messiah Jesus. They were bringing their pagan articles and scrolls and burning them in front of the whole city. The Artemis craftsmen were losing all their business because no one was worshiping Artemis any more. The leader of the silversmiths guild, Demetrius, stirred up a riot and they dragged some of Paul’s companions into the theater to work them over. The crowd was going wild, with some shouting one thing and some another. The text says, for two hours they shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19: 34). Finally, the mayor of the city was able to get the crowd under control and disassembled.
A couple of faith lessons jump out from this story. First, when was the last time that we got people so excited that they shouted something for two hours? By and large, we have little passion for Christ or spiritual things. Our church experience is usually ho hum; we go to Sunday School and church and then go home. We reserve our passion and excitement for sporting events! For the most part, we aren’t even bothering the devil’s crowd, we don’t want to stir the waters and cause a problem. Look at the chutzpah of Paul. He was willing to take on 25,000 Artemis worshipers! We need to be stirring the pot for Christ!
Another thought that jumps out at you is, “What business or activity of the devil is suffering because of our walk and testimony?” What industry (drug, pornography, etc.) are we shutting down because of our impact? What effect is our personal influence having on the dark side? As Christian businessmen, what are we doing when evil comes to our city in the form of gay pride parades, etc? Can we even have an impact on our city and our state? All these are sobering thoughts that come out of this moving story of one man’s impact on a city and culture. May God give us the courage to be the kind of testimony that we need to be in a world that is dark and full of the same kinds of things that were going on in Ephesus. (BOB DODSON)
The riot in Ephesus teaches us all a permanent lesson: that when disciples have a true revival, society gets a revolution. When the Spirit moves mightily upon children of God we may look for other mighty movements among unbelievers, and need not be surprised if the devil himself comes down, having great wrath, as though he knew that his time were short. (ARTHUR TAPPAN PIERSON)
Sunday, (Apr 25) – Pray against a brand of Christianity that is creeping into the Church, where our faith is culturally and socially acceptable, but is not a level of commitment to Christ that invites criticism or an uncomfortable life change. Pray that God will help us grow in our commitment to Him because our hearts continually go backwards all the time. Pray that in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the wisdom of His Word, He will empower us to seek Him, to draw near to Him, and find that in Him is more joy than all the things the world can offer to us. Pray that God will give us discernment in the face of error, and godliness and strength in the face of compromise.
Monday, (Apr 26) – Pray that God will send revival to the Church of Malaysia. Pray that as His people, we will continually humble ourselves in honest self-examination, confess our sins and turn back to God in repentance. Pray that we will grow deeper in intimacy with Christ, be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and guidance, and have a deep desire and love for the Word of God, and seek Him intentionally. Pray that the Church will arise and use this season to boldly preach the Gospel of salvation when many are looking for hope in a time of hopelessness. Pray for the raising of workers for the harvest is “white and ripe”, and many are in desperate need for a Saviour.
Tuesday, (Apr 27) – The COVID-19 situation continues to worsen in the nation, with daily cases of more than 2,000 infections, more clusters and more deaths. As the current infection spike is closely linked to our culture of sharing meals as a form of social and communal interaction, pray that people will intentionally choose to reduce social events, and continue to strictly follow all SOPs despite experiencing “pandemic fatigue”. Pray for wisdom for the authorities to make the right decisions to curb the daily cases and clusters with vaccines, speed up the inoculation process, conduct screening and monitor hotspots.
Wednesday, (Apr 28) – Pray for the World: Global tensions have been escalating given the developing and growing animosity between major powers and nations on the world stage that have regional consequences. Pray for the heads of governments and those in authority to come to peaceful resolutions, and that further violence and suffering will not ensue in our already pandemic stricken world. Pray that the governments of the world will come and work together to battle the COVID-19 virus and put an end to the pandemic that has caused much suffering for the people in the world.
Thursday, (Apr 29) – Pray for the Nation: Praise God for courageous judges and pray for God’s help for them in their challenging role as guardians of justice on the bench. Pray for the Judiciary to be independent, impartial and to have integrity to make good and righteous rulings that will uphold established constitutional rights and freedoms. Pray for the Judiciary to be protected from political pressures and to work with dignity to bring about just and equitable judgments for all. Pray for judges to avoid impropriety and potential controversial extrajudicial activities, and to perform judicial duties fairly and efficiently.
Friday, (Apr 30) – Pray for TRAC: The Wesleyan Community Methodist Church in PJ is the newest TRAC church. It was constituted in January 2021 with 42 people being received as founding members for the church. Pray for Rev Thomas Chin as the pastor. This is an added responsibility for him as he is also a District Superintendent as well as the pastor of Emmanuel Methodist Church in PJ. Pray for good working relationships with the church leaders of the new church. Pray that the church will grow despite the challenges faced now with the pandemic..
Saturday, (May 1) – Pray that God will protect extended families from harm and bless them with His perfect peace during this pandemic. Pray that God will guard their hearts and minds against fear, anxiety and worry. Pray that families will be bound together in the bond of love even when they are apart, so that all can look forward to coming together in person once the travel restrictions are lifted. Pray for members of families who have yet to receive Christ, that in this time of isolation and pandemic, they may experience the love of Christ and the hope we have in Him, and be saved.
Title: The Way of the Cross
Text: Mark 8: 34 – 38 (ESV)
Speaker: Mr Yap Chee Kai
Walking the Way of the Cross (Mark 8: 34 – 38)
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Have you witnessed or heard one’s willingness to lay down one’s life for Jesus?
1.2 Last October, Bishop T. Jeyakumar’s sermon “Following Jesus Unreservedly,” conveyed a powerful testament of a missionary and his family who laid down their lives for the gospel. The indelible lines delineate: “The Cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back.”
1.3 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a martyr who took the stand against Hitler and his infamous policies of slaughtering six million Jews. He warned the Church, seized by cheap grace.
1.4 Today’s text is the pinnacle of Mark’s Gospel, exemplifying the cost of discipleship.
2.0 The Setting
2.1 Chapters 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34 is the pinnacle of Mark’s Gospel, accentuates the gravity: there shall be no kingdom of God without the way of the Cross.
2.2 Two observations emerged from these three texts. First, Jesus is to be killed and he will rise from the dead; and second, Jesus must suffer and be rejected.
2.3 Suffering and rejection is the central of Mark’s motif in 10:45: “to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.”
2.4 Only Jesus can ransom our soul from the power of Sheol (Ps. 49:15), and not man (Ps. 49:7-8); demonstrates God’s perfect redemptive plan.
2.5 God’s ultimatum plan cannot be thwarted. Jesus rebuked Peter (8:33); clearly explicates the division of godliness and godlessness.
2.6 Like Jesus’ disciples, we must partake in Jesus’ suffering, rejection and crucifixion. True discipleship places the disciples and us under the way of the Cross.
2.7 If you are being ransomed by Jesus, are you willing to follow him solely on his term? Today’s text is the central message to all of us.
3.0 The Cost of Following Christ (v.34)
3.1 Jesus demands one’s willingness to either obey or reject his three discipleship demands (Application).
3.2 Firstly, to deny oneself. If you follow Jesus you must reject all other offers which come your way.
3.3 Reject approval, honor, comfort, pleasure and security of the world (drown your old self Adam). Yet, embrace opposition, shame, sufferings and death (allow new Adam-Christ to emerge).
3.4 Self-denial means knowing only Christ, no longer knowing oneself…self-denial says only he is going ahead, hold fast to him–Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
3.5 When you have denied yourself, you will say: “Not my will but thine be done.” It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). This is the way of the Cross.
3.6 Secondly, only when a man has really forgotten himself completely and no longer know himself, but he sees only Jesus and know only Jesus, only then he is ready to take up his cross for Christ’s sake.
3.7 Jesus prepares and enables us to receive this hard Word as grace as the means to bear our cross.
3.8 To take up one’s cross means to bear one’s allotted share of suffering and rejection – for this is the way of the Cross.
3.9 Thirdly, Jesus tells his disciples to follow the way he has chosen.
3.10 It means to abandon the attachments of this world; this includes all of our self-idolatry, and self-independence denunciation. Instead, to depend on Christ alone.
3.11 Jesus’ word in v.34 demands our willingness (not under any compulsion) to come to him and surrendering our lives completely under his lordship.
3.12 Is it worth to follow him? Indeed, it is. Jesus elucidates four “fors” (vv.35-38) as a rationale/motivation to follow him.
4.0 The Promises of Following Christ
4.1 Promise 1: Eternal Life (v.35)
* The way of the Cross is laid down on every Christian. If we choose to avoid the Cross, we will be destined to fail and lose our lives forever.
* Following Jesus to death actually is the way to life (John 11:25). Indeed, those who lose their lives will save it (by following Jesus to death): this is the grand paradox.
* But if we refuse to follow him because we love our own lives in this world, then we eventually lose it. For indeed, no man can redeem his soul from God.
* On the contrary, if we follow Jesus and trust in his gospel (even it means death today), we have eternal life.
* You want to save your life, you lose it. You lose your life for Jesus and the gospel’s, you save it.
* Jim Elliot’s motto: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
4.2 Promise 2: Eternal Soul (vv.36–37)
* For v.36: let’s compare the value of the world and the soul. Two lessons to draw from here.
A. First: Worthless things.
* If all possessions in this world including honorary titles, power, pleasures and the like are your idol, what is the point of being the richest people in this world if eventually you die and go to hell forever?
* Likewise, your career, or your family or even your life partner is keeping you away from walking the way of the Cross, what is the point of embracing it while you die and lose your soul eternally?
* What is keeping you from Jesus?
B. Second: Perishable things.
* The soul, which people appear to hold so cheap.
* Have we forgotten that is God who birthed man to become a living soul?
* And it was the soul, Christ was content to take our nature on him, and suffered death upon the Cross.
* The irony is we choose not to walk the narrow gate (the way of the Cross) where it leads to eternal life.
* If we choose to walk the way of the Cross, our soul shall never perish.
* Your soul is worth more than anything in this world. There is no price for your soul except the provision of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
* V. 37: The answer to this is none, absolutely nothing. Because Jesus has paid for that infinite price: the gift of salvation.
* Will you walk the way of the Cross? It is costly and foolish mistake if you choose not to take heed of Jesus’ stern warning in the final verse 38.
4.3 Promise 3: Eternal Judgment or Glory? (v.38)
* Jesus’ hard-piercing warning: impending judgment in this verse.
* Do not trade your soul with the perishing world and with the doomed rejecters who is ashamed of the gospel and Christ; you will face an eternal judgment.
* Do not let anything or anyone hinder you from coming to Jesus. Embrace the way of the Cross, though it may cost your life.
* Listen to this: if you are willing to die for Jesus and his gospel and follow him on his term, then consider your old Adam dead already. You are now living under his lordship.
* You live now to serve him, to please him, to bring him glory and to fulfill his plan.
* And so, is it worth to walk the way of the Cross? Indeed, it is.
* Remember: the sufferings, the shame and the death are all temporal, but the glory that awaits us is eternal.
5.0 Closing
* I end here with a famous painting by Domenico Fetti: Ecce Homo. The translation of the Latin words means: “This have I suffered for you, now what will you do for Me.”
* This painting has inspired countless unsung heroes, like Frances Havergal, Count Zinzendorf, and possibly you too.
* If the Lord is asking you now, the same word in the painting, what would be your response? Will you trust him to walk the way of the Cross?
Let’s pray.
Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI)
Account #: 464937
* Copyright License – 31/07/2021
* Song@Select Advance – 31/07/2021
* Streaming License – 31/07/2021
Title: The Way of the Cross
Text: Mark 8: 34 – 38 (ESV)
Speaker: Mr Yap Chee Kai
Walking the Way of the Cross (Mark 8: 34 – 38)
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Have you witnessed or heard one’s willingness to lay down one’s life for Jesus?
1.2 Last October, Bishop T. Jeyakumar’s sermon “Following Jesus Unreservedly,” conveyed a powerful testament of a missionary and his family who laid down their lives for the gospel. The indelible lines delineate: “The Cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back.”
1.3 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a martyr who took the stand against Hitler and his infamous policies of slaughtering six million Jews. He warned the Church, seized by cheap grace.
1.4 Today’s text is the pinnacle of Mark’s Gospel, exemplifying the cost of discipleship.
2.0 The Setting
2.1 Chapters 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34 is the pinnacle of Mark’s Gospel, accentuates the gravity: there shall be no kingdom of God without the way of the Cross.
2.2 Two observations emerged from these three texts. First, Jesus is to be killed and he will rise from the dead; and second, Jesus must suffer and be rejected.
2.3 Suffering and rejection is the central of Mark’s motif in 10:45: “to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.”
2.4 Only Jesus can ransom our soul from the power of Sheol (Ps. 49:15), and not man (Ps. 49:7-8); demonstrates God’s perfect redemptive plan.
2.5 God’s ultimatum plan cannot be thwarted. Jesus rebuked Peter (8:33); clearly explicates the division of godliness and godlessness.
2.6 Like Jesus’ disciples, we must partake in Jesus’ suffering, rejection and crucifixion. True discipleship places the disciples and us under the way of the Cross.
2.7 If you are being ransomed by Jesus, are you willing to follow him solely on his term? Today’s text is the central message to all of us.
3.0 The Cost of Following Christ (v.34)
3.1 Jesus demands one’s willingness to either obey or reject his three discipleship demands (Application).
3.2 Firstly, to deny oneself. If you follow Jesus you must reject all other offers which come your way.
3.3 Reject approval, honor, comfort, pleasure and security of the world (drown your old self Adam). Yet, embrace opposition, shame, sufferings and death (allow new Adam-Christ to emerge).
3.4 Self-denial means knowing only Christ, no longer knowing oneself…self-denial says only he is going ahead, hold fast to him–Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
3.5 When you have denied yourself, you will say: “Not my will but thine be done.” It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). This is the way of the Cross.
3.6 Secondly, only when a man has really forgotten himself completely and no longer know himself, but he sees only Jesus and know only Jesus, only then he is ready to take up his cross for Christ’s sake.
3.7 Jesus prepares and enables us to receive this hard Word as grace as the means to bear our cross.
3.8 To take up one’s cross means to bear one’s allotted share of suffering and rejection – for this is the way of the Cross.
3.9 Thirdly, Jesus tells his disciples to follow the way he has chosen.
3.10 It means to abandon the attachments of this world; this includes all of our self-idolatry, and self-independence denunciation. Instead, to depend on Christ alone.
3.11 Jesus’ word in v.34 demands our willingness (not under any compulsion) to come to him and surrendering our lives completely under his lordship.
3.12 Is it worth to follow him? Indeed, it is. Jesus elucidates four “fors” (vv.35-38) as a rationale/motivation to follow him.
4.0 The Promises of Following Christ
4.1 Promise 1: Eternal Life (v.35)
* The way of the Cross is laid down on every Christian. If we choose to avoid the Cross, we will be destined to fail and lose our lives forever.
* Following Jesus to death actually is the way to life (John 11:25). Indeed, those who lose their lives will save it (by following Jesus to death): this is the grand paradox.
* But if we refuse to follow him because we love our own lives in this world, then we eventually lose it. For indeed, no man can redeem his soul from God.
* On the contrary, if we follow Jesus and trust in his gospel (even it means death today), we have eternal life.
* You want to save your life, you lose it. You lose your life for Jesus and the gospel’s, you save it.
* Jim Elliot’s motto: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
4.2 Promise 2: Eternal Soul (vv.36–37)
* For v.36: let’s compare the value of the world and the soul. Two lessons to draw from here.
A. First: Worthless things.
* If all possessions in this world including honorary titles, power, pleasures and the like are your idol, what is the point of being the richest people in this world if eventually you die and go to hell forever?
* Likewise, your career, or your family or even your life partner is keeping you away from walking the way of the Cross, what is the point of embracing it while you die and lose your soul eternally?
* What is keeping you from Jesus?
B. Second: Perishable things.
* The soul, which people appear to hold so cheap.
* Have we forgotten that is God who birthed man to become a living soul?
* And it was the soul, Christ was content to take our nature on him, and suffered death upon the Cross.
* The irony is we choose not to walk the narrow gate (the way of the Cross) where it leads to eternal life.
* If we choose to walk the way of the Cross, our soul shall never perish.
* Your soul is worth more than anything in this world. There is no price for your soul except the provision of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
* V. 37: The answer to this is none, absolutely nothing. Because Jesus has paid for that infinite price: the gift of salvation.
* Will you walk the way of the Cross? It is costly and foolish mistake if you choose not to take heed of Jesus’ stern warning in the final verse 38.
4.3 Promise 3: Eternal Judgment or Glory? (v.38)
* Jesus’ hard-piercing warning: impending judgment in this verse.
* Do not trade your soul with the perishing world and with the doomed rejecters who is ashamed of the gospel and Christ; you will face an eternal judgment.
* Do not let anything or anyone hinder you from coming to Jesus. Embrace the way of the Cross, though it may cost your life.
* Listen to this: if you are willing to die for Jesus and his gospel and follow him on his term, then consider your old Adam dead already. You are now living under his lordship.
* You live now to serve him, to please him, to bring him glory and to fulfill his plan.
* And so, is it worth to walk the way of the Cross? Indeed, it is.
* Remember: the sufferings, the shame and the death are all temporal, but the glory that awaits us is eternal.
5.0 Closing
* I end here with a famous painting by Domenico Fetti: Ecce Homo. The translation of the Latin words means: “This have I suffered for you, now what will you do for Me.”
* This painting has inspired countless unsung heroes, like Frances Havergal, Count Zinzendorf, and possibly you too.
* If the Lord is asking you now, the same word in the painting, what would be your response? Will you trust him to walk the way of the Cross?
Let’s pray.
Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI)
Account #: 464937
* Copyright License – 31/07/2021
* Song@Select Advance – 31/07/2021
* Streaming License – 31/07/2021
Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples. He said, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must say no to themselves. They must pick up their cross and follow Me. Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for Me and for the Good News will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)
Do you know the difference between self denial and the call of Jesus Christ to deny self? Self denial is a common practice of mankind. There need not be any religious association to it. People who engage in efforts to lose weight practice self denial. Athletes who place themselves under intense hours of training to win the gold medal practice self denial. A man or woman with a vision for a business may practice the self denial of sleep or time with family in order to make that extra sale.
Now there is nothing inherently wrong with any of these practices in and of themselves. But they are not to be confused with the denial of self that Jesus calls His followers to practice every day. Denial of self is the setting aside of my will, or my agenda in order to pursue and do the will of God.
The denial of self that Jesus speaks of is for His sake and the Gospel’s. “If you don’t go all the way with Me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve Me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to Me, you’ll find both yourself and Me.” (Matthew 10:38-39, The MESSAGE)
Self denial is the “gospel” of the world of the unregenerate. Denial of self for the glory of God is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Self denial revolves around me. Denial of self revolves around Jesus Christ. When the church confuses self denial with denial of self, we end up with a “me-centered” generation of people who turn the church into a spiritual shopping mart that is for me and my needs, and the serving of Jesus into a matter of convenience. This kind of mentality is just as selfish as the world. (RAY VIOLA)
YOUTH BAPTISM & MEMBERSHIP CLASS
Starting Dates : May 1 & 2, 2021 (Sat & Sun)
Saturday at 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Sunday at 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Participants to attend either Saturday or Sunday Class. The Classes will be conducted via Zoom. Please contact Jane Amarasingham at 017-6227226 to register.
SOP DURING WORSHIP SERVICE
In compliance with the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) directive from the government, the following will be observed throughout the Worship Service.
1. Wear a face mask at all times.
2. Practice social distancing.
3. Refrain from shaking hands.
4. Leave the premises immediately after the Worship service.
WORSHIP SERVICES
The Church is only open for in-person worship services. The services will also be live-streamed and can be watched live at www.klangwesley.com
NEXT WEEKEND SERVICES
(APRIL 24 & 25, 2021)
Sermon Title : Ephesians – An Introduction
Scripture Text : Ephesians 1: 1-2 & Acts 19
Speaker : Rev Gaurri Maniam
ONLINE BANKING
While we acknowledge that many people are affected by the current MCO situation, we encourage you to continue giving your tithes/offering during this time through online banking. The details are below:
Pledge Payment can be done via Online to Wesley Methodist Church Klang Bank Account No: UOB 171-315-561-1