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
