ET Zone Adults’ Valentine Night

Special occasions ought not to be missed. ET Zone adults know that very well and so a very special Valentine’s Night was hosted at Riverwalk among all the adult cell groups in the zone.

 

Grown-ups stirred the night by calling each other pet names like ‘darling’, ‘dear dear’, ‘sweetie’ and ‘honey’ in the opening game. Three married couples from the winning teams were called upon to stand onstage to play it sweet over a romantic dinner that came with a twist.

 

Serving the spiritual entrée that lovely evening was our zone supervisor Edmund Tay, who highlighted intimacy in relationships through quality time and the right attitude. Newly weds Edmund Tan and Ming Hui, both cell group leaders, shared their God-authored love story and how they were richly blessed starting their life together as husband and wife.

 

The men in the zone then took turns to make deposits into their wives’ love banks as they boldly proclaimed their love through affirming words, a poem, a video dedication, presents and flowers. “It made all the singles envious”, commented Jing Jing of N149.

 

All ladies, including the singles, had a fair share of the love-filled atmosphere, as they received delightful long-stemmed red roses courtesy of the men. Wei Liang of N430 declares it a “lovey dovey atmosphere” all over. Newcomer John Chirayath found the gathering truly inspiring, making him understand what showing affection is all about.

 

It had been a night to remember – a celebration of love in different forms – one that is shared not only between spouses, but also among friends, families and most of all God, who Himself encompasses the very definition of it.

Reported by GJ Gonzales

It was a significant day for many of us on 5th February 2009. We gathered with members from other zones of City Harvest Church for a worship-leading and guitar class, known as iWorship 101. It was spearheaded by our all-time favourite worship leader- Brother Poh. As far as I know, every single person who attended this class left with their lives never the same again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brother Poh was frank in showing us the need to strike a balance between skills and spirituality when it came to worship-leading. In his opinion, skills and spirituality ought to go hand-in-hand and neither is to be neglected. According to the very experienced worship leader, skills are definitely essential to pull down the presence of God in an even greater way.

 

 

 

 

In response to what Brother Poh taught, Si Jia from E99 remarked, “I have learnt the guitar before. However, now, I feel I need to really improve my skills. I used to think it is just about the spiritual life.”

 

 

Zone Beau, Oh Yan Ming, mentioned, “I feel that I have gotten a whole new mindset about prayer and worship now. It is not just about going through the motions of playing the guitar, but pulling down the presence of God. I learnt from Brother Poh that as we have a balance, we can engage God’s presence.”

It is evident that iWorship 101 with Brother Poh had enriched us greatly and had renewed our minds, preparing us for greater encounters with God ahead.

During the course of the lesson, besides just equipping us with the necessary skills to song-lead and be effective guitarists, Brother Poh also shared with us his heart-felt revelations. The revelations which he shared left us in awe of the glory of God.

Brother Poh’s attitude and heart towards God touched us deeply as well. One of the impactful statements he made was, “Through the years as a Christian, I have never seen anyone growing to be more on fire for God by not going cell group meetings and services.” He asserted that the key to have more spiritual encounters with God was to first cultivate a deeper hunger for His presence. Just as the bible says in Matthew 5:6,

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon listening to Brother Poh said, Serene Ho from N317 sincerely shared that what inspired her most throughout the lesson was the reminder that we have to bring our body, soul and spirit together as one when we worship God to really touch His presence.

 

 

 

 

 

No words can sufficiently express how grateful we all are for that Thursday night spent with Brother Poh. It was not just yet another church meeting, but really a life-transforming two hours.

 

Reported by Gwendolyn Tan N317

It’s that time of the year again!! Yup! It’s Thanksgiving; a time where we really show our appreciation to each other! And the theme this year was Celebrities!

Everyone really came prepared to look like Celebrities and dressed up to the nines!

Some came like a character in Counter Strike and 步惊云 in 《风云》, while others came dressed as celebrities, like Tony Leung.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To start it off, we had “Guess Who Am I?”, hosted by Joanne and Lucas. We had a fun time playing Scissors Paper Stone to get a chance to guess who the celebrity was!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a great time of fun and games, we had some powerful testimonies.

If 2008 had been not quite a great year, we can still do the best we can and be an overcomer! The testimony that Darwin shared, reminds us that, when the going gets tough, the Tough gets going! So don’t give up waiting for your breakthrough, it’s just around the corner. Who knows? You might be the next Darwin; encouraging people with what you have overcome!

As for those who had a great 2008, you can identify yourself with Vincent. He shared about how he was able to go from glory to glory in the year 2008. Even though he was just a normal ordinary person, but with God, he was able to rise up to the occasion and shine extraordinarily at home and in school. He even became one of the Manhunt finalists at the very first Asia Conference!

Drum roll…

The highlight of the whole Thanksgiving was The Grammys Awards! For the past one year, many had sown in much time, effort and love in to our cell groups. So this was the time to show how much they are loved and appreciated.

First up, we had the Magnet award – for those who had plowed with love and sown in much time and energy into reaching out. These people attracts people to them, presenting the people of charisma!

Next, we have the Nobel Prize award – these noble awardees practically did everything in the cell group! They had been working hard, so now showing our appreciation, we had some Noble prizes for them.

For the third award, we have the Best Support Artist award – they are the Barnabas in the cell group, always giving encouragement to those around them.

We also had the Most Generous award – these people not just show love through giving their energy, but also in areas of their time and finances!

Not forgetting the Rookie of the Year award – to encourage our new brothers and sisters in Christ. They had been very willing and teachable in many areas.

Last but not the least, we had the M.V.P. (Most Valuable Player) award!

These people have one of the fastest growing connect groups in their cell group. Some can be said to be the Most Visible Player and the Most Vicious Player.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we ended our meeting totally, how could we miss out on a chance to honor our leaders? Just as everyone was about to leave, we ushered them back in and showered them with gifts and cards, showing how much we loved and appreciated them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a way to conclude 2008 and start 2009!

What some of them have to say about the Thanksgiving!

Yi Ling (E316):

It was FUN, UNEXPECTED and THRILLING!

Dannon (W212):

This is a good end to a great 2008. Felt so loved and appreciated. It was a good time to show our love and appreciation to Jared and others as well.

 

Reported by Trudy Quek N351

It had been a long while since all the leaders in ET zone – both cell group leaders and connect group leaders – gathered together to pray and seek God’s face. Thus, when we received information that we were going to have our first leaders’ prayer meeting of the year on 20th January 2009, many of us were very excited. We knew deep inside of us that it would be yet another time where God would move and minister to us.

On Tuesday itself, the leaders started streaming into Riverwalk as early as 7 pm even though the prayer meeting was only going to start at eight in the night. The different leaders came from their workplaces, schools, and homes respectively. The many leaders travelled all the way down to Clarke Quay from the various parts of Singapore for one common reason- to catch all that God has in store for them individually and corporately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When asked before the prayer meeting started what she expected out of it, Santy Lim from W433 mentioned that she expected to witness the “power of God” and catch “God’s visions for us”. She also believed that she would be “renewed and empowered by the presence of God”. Lenny, N430, said with strong conviction that she expected herself to “be refreshed”.

 

 

 

Cell group leader of N317, Wong Ming Hui, was interviewed and in response, she gave her trademark sunshine smile and exclaimed, “I want to see more connect group leaders inspired to become cell group leaders” through the prayer meeting.

As the clock struck eight, we settled down and began to enter into a time of prayer and worship. While the leaders worshipped God with one song, the presence of God began to fall upon us. Personally, I felt as though I was being brought to a place where I could connect with God directly. I believe many other leaders felt the same. We prayed and claimed God’s promises, bearing in mind that God would answer persistent prayers. We were like an army of God pounding continuously onto heaven’s doors, believing with all our hearts that God would eventually pour down His blessings upon us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before the prayer meeting came to an end, Brother Edmund ministered to us. There was one thing which he said that left a deep impact on me – we should never fear that we are inadequate and not up to what God has called us to do, but with all that we have, we ought to serve God to our best. The prayer meeting came to a close with many of our lives being touched and transformed.

Wong See Wan from E99 commented, “It was awesome and God really spoke to me. It was very, very good. It is like God is preparing me for something ahead.”

Through this one prayer meeting, God refreshed many of us. We are deeply convinced that He is preparing us for greater things that have yet to come. God was also bringing us back to our essential fundamentals, such as prayer, so that we can run well and stay strong in this race that we run.

 

Just as Weng Lok from N178 said, it is all about “going back to the basics and relying on God and not depending on our own ideas and strength”.

Most certainly, just as Psalm 73:26 says, God is the strength of our hearts and our portion forever.

 

 

 

 

 

Reported by Gwendolyn Tan N317