Ephesians BS 1

Hello dear CF-ers!

On Wednesday September 7th 2011, we began our 4-month long journey on the book of Ephesians. We extend our warm welcome to the freshmen who joined us. We also welcome back our seniors who have certainly make good use of the holiday given to them. Everyone came together to study the Word of God after a long hiatus, facilitated by the wonderful cell-group leaders of each of the 4 CGs. Kudos to everyone who attended the first bible-study! It was an open, fruitful discussion about the Word, as well as about ourselves. We are blessed by the fact that God predestined us to be His children through the work done on the cross by our Lord Jesus Christ, lifted us to be heirs to His glorious inheritance and guaranteed it through the mark of the Holy Spirit. Such grace is accorded to us, who were utter sinners with no hope of salvation. We have to worship Him for His unending love for us and be in awe of His mighty power and authority. We thank God for being among us and led us through that wonderful time of sharing and discussion. I also thank Him for bringing in people from different backgrounds so we can understanding the true meaning of "one body in Christ".

Exactly one week prior, Jeremiah conducted an excellent overview on the book, which provided us with the correct contextual framework to have a deeper understanding about this Pauline epistle. We must bear in mind that Paul lived in a different era from us. We need put the social, political and cultural context of that era into perspective before we begin our journey. Despite that, God's message for all of us transcends the boundary of time. The God of Paul's era is the same as the God of our current era. The question now is how are we going to live out this message. Throughout this series of 10 bible studies, there will be many thought-provoking questions on how are we going to apply the concepts, ideas and message of the book of Ephesians into our daily lives. There must be a rock-solid biblical foundation to everything that we do; otherwise, we will be no different from the other non-believers. Knowledge of the Word is never enough; we need to live out the Word. The questions are geared to encourage self-reflection and exchange of ideas on how to live a life that glorify His name. Everyone, Christians and non-christians alike, watches our life constantly to look out for signs of God's work in us.

Having known about our spiritual blessings in BS 1, we need to bring these blessings to the people around us. Christianity is never just about knowledge. It is also about action. Jesus' life is one of constant movement and activity. You can find him teaching about the Word one day, then healing the sick and casting out demons on another. He traveled throughout Galilee and Jerusalem in His 3 years of ministry. He even sacrificed sleep to pray to our Heavenly Father throughout the night. He was doing just that on the night of His arrest. Keeping in mind of our theme of the year "Living Christ Inside Out", action and activity is a very important aspect of our programme for this annual year. We provide you with the chance to bring your friends along to join our activity so they may get to know about us and the Saviour that we believe in. This is the chance to live out the Word of God. EPL (Eat.Pray.Live) is right round the corner. Have you invited your friends to join us in a time of interaction and sharing of God's love through sports? You should know what to do... :)