Ah, here we go again. The theme of intergenerational unity. Not gonna lie, when I saw the theme for this year’s youth weekend, my reaction was “huh, again ah?”

Only after recognising my rather brash and immature reaction did I realize how important and pertinent the issue of unity in the church is, has been, and always will be.

As times continue to evolve (or some might say, devolve), we are seeing divisiveness that is not dissimilar to the situations New Testament authors sought to address in the early church. As these authors fought to establish unity amongst false teachings and worldly influences, so too is the Church and each generation flooded with differing opinions and perspectives on the current issues we face today.

The lines between what is disputable and indisputable have blurred between age groups. We struggle to agree on LGBTQ or abortion issues. We differ in our political sentiments over the Israeli-Palestine conflict, social justice matters, and racial sensitivities. Or sometimes we decide against having an opinion at all, which in and of itself can fuel division.

And we also have the not-so-small issue of COVID-19. Instead of the weekly meetings to encourage and edify and admonish one another in scripture and prayer, the internet and media have become the dominant influence in our lives, possibly reinforcing our own deep-seated biases and practices. Yet another divisive factor.

Frankly speaking, sometimes we just can’t bring ourselves to “like” the younger or older Christians we meet in church. We don’t like the way they do certain things. We don’t like the way they say certain things. Because we as gathered sinners will selfishly try to put our own generational agendas first. To put my own agenda first. Young or old, the problems hampering unity have remained and will always remain because of our sinful nature.

That is why we as gathered sinners always need the gospel.

There is a song written by Bob Kauflin with Sovereign Grace Music called “The Gospel Song”. It is a simple song, with its lyrics going a little something like this:

Holy God in love became

Perfect man to bear my blame

On the cross he took my sin

By his death I live again

This is the core tenet of what we as the Church of Jesus Christ believe. Not just what the Bible Church believes, or what Teenacity believes. From the start of the church in Acts 2, our Holy God has graciously and lovingly unified His people through the ages: from Adam till today in Christ. He has taken our sin and defiled selfish desires through His death on the cross - that we might be unified together throughout all generations.

When all is said and done, the perfect unity that Jesus has and will achieve is that of bridging a generational gap even bigger than that of the British monarchy. From Adam to the youngest-believing Christian, we will be united in Christ. Our ways of thinking, shaped by whatever generation we have grown up in, are now rooted in Jesus and what He desires for us. We are not bound by whatever generational thinking that previously shaped us, or whatever current worldly influences say is right and wrong, but we are transformed in our thinking to live like Jesus and for Jesus. That is why no matter what we may face together as a church, we will always anchor ourselves in the gospel.

A new generation emerges; the current generation ages - yet contentious issues remain. So what should we do? We must keep our eyes on the gospel, keep preaching the gospel and live out the gospel with one another. These issues will come and go, seemingly dividing the generations, but as an inter-generational Church (across all generations throughout history), we are called to love and admonish one another in the gospel. Let us do so, to be a shining light to the world as representatives of our Lord and Saviour.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

— (Ephesians 4:29-5:2)

RESUMPTION OF ON-SITE WORSHIP SERVICES ON 3-4 JULY

Dear members and friends of The Bible Church,

I trust that you are keeping well. In view of the Phase 3 (Heightened Alert) measures for churches to meet physically, the church leadership has decided to resume our on-site in-person worship services. Please note the following:

1. The English services will commence from the weekend of 3-4 July. Ticket reservations through our website will be opened on 21 June. Please note that only the TraceTogether App or Token are accepted for safe entry. Due to the limited capacity, we encourage members to return for on-site services on an alternate weeks arrangement, i.e. Weekends A (1st & 3rd weekends) OR Weekends B (2nd & 4th weekends). 5th weekends and special services are open to all. Spaces that are still available 24 hours before any service will also be open to everyone.

2. Saturday English Service @ 5.30pm for those not vaccinated

On-site worship Services with live band and live streaming, with maximum capacity of 50 attendees without requiring Pre-Event Testing (PET). Please note that this service will be reserved for those who are not yet vaccinated, including many in the band. If you have been vaccinated, please attend the Sunday services as far as possible.

3. Sunday English Services @ 8.30am & 10.15am for those vaccinated or with PET

On-site worship services with pre-recorded worship. Both services will have a max of 100 attendees each in the sanctuary and another 50 in The Well. Please note that PET is required(but will not be provided by the church) for these 2 services, unless you are fully effectively vaccinated (i.e. at least 14 days after 2nd vaccination) or you have a valid exemption notice. For PET details and requirements, please refer to http://www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19/pet.

4. Online service will continue to be available each weekend, premiering from Saturday5.30pm.

5. The Chinese Ministry will also begin their on-site worship services from 4 July with 2 services @ 8 am and 9.30 am with 50 attendees each. Ticket reservations may be made through the church website. No PET is required for now.

6. Teenacity will start on-site in-person service with live streaming from 3 July @ 2pm,with a maximum capacity of 50 persons. The other 50 persons will attend the service and DG time online.

7. KFC will continue to suspend our onsite KFC program until Aug or Sep to reduce the risk of infection for children aged 12 and younger. All programs shall be streamed online. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and further details will be made known as soon as we have them.

8. Last but not least, let us continue to pray:

a. That the church will stay vigilant and responsive to the Lord, in view of the ever-changing COVID-19 situation.

b. That we would continue to live as normally as possible, guided by faith, and not by fear.

c. That we would reach out to encourage and bless others in such a time as this.

Blessings,

Snr Ps Beh Soo Yeong

On behalf of the Council and Staff team

Book your tickets here

CONGRATULATIONS

Our congratulations to Queenie Quek and David Nyam, and also to Brandon Cheng and Johannah Ang whose marriages were solemnised on 19 June 2021 and 20 June 2021 respectively. We wish them God’s richest blessings in their lives together.

CHURCH CAMP-FERENCE 2021

Recordings of the Church Camp-ference talks are now available on the church website at https://www.biblechurch.sg/.

DRAFT MINUTES OF AGM 2021

A draft copy of the minutes of the last AGM held on 20 March 2021 is now available on our church's website at https://www.biblechurch.sg/other-downloads-eng (members will be prompted to log in before they can access the document). Please drop an email to inform either Amelia Ng at amelia@biblechurch.sg or Deborah Lim at debs111@gmail.com. If you come across any factual, spelling or grammatical errors that need correction. We are grateful for the assistance of Mrs Tan Lai Cheng for checking the minutes.

ASST PS GIFT DANIEL ON SABBATICAL LEAVE FROM 1 JULY TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2021

Please be informed that Asst Ps Gift Daniel has been granted a Sabbatical by the Church Council from 1 July to 30 September 2021. During this time, he will be doing a couple of online courses, visiting and learning from some local churches and undertaking some personal studies, particularly in the area of mission and outreach. Please pray for the Lord’s grace and refreshment upon him, Stella, Nigel, Caleb and Josh.

During his absence, Snr Ps Beh Soo Yeong and other staff members will be covering his duties.

Church Council

PASTORAL CARE

Please feel free to contact any of our pastoral staff via email or SMS should you require prayer. If you know of anyone who is facing financial difficulties, please let us know as well.

PASTORAL STAFF TEAM
Link: https://www.biblechurch.sg/team

PRAYER@CG

Date: 25 June 2021 (Friday)

Prayer@CG is an effort to have the church come together through synchronized prayer in small groups. Prayer meetings will be held by respective CARE Groups (CGs). If you are not in a CG, you are strongly encouraged to join one for prayer.

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VIRTUAL CAMBODIAN TEA PARTY

After seven years in Cambodia, our church missionaries Tuck Weng and Lian See returned for their sabbatical last year. However, owing to the severe COVID-19 situation in Cambodia, they are currently still in Singapore.

Come and have a virtual tea session and cross-cultural exchange with them and the Cambodian youth leaders who are running the ministry in their absence. They will give an introduction of the Cambodian tea culture, and share about the outreach work among village children and the Discipleship ministry with youths. Virak will also give a testimony of his faith journey, and Ra will share about their struggles in sustaining the ministry amidst COVID-19 restrictions, and the enduring hope that kept them going.

Do come and listen to their sharing, encourage them to persevere in this difficult situation, and partner with them in the Lord’s work through your prayers. Sign up now! The first 20 who sign up will receive a gift pack by mail.

Please click here to sign up.

THE PARENTING CHILDREN COURSE (via Zoom)

Dates: 3 – 31 July 2021 (5 Saturdays)

Time: 10am-12pm

Please click here to sign up. Registration closes on 27 June 2021 (Sunday).

For more information please contact Timothy Lee at timothy@biblechurch.sg

The Parenting Children Course is a video-based course designed to equip those parenting and caring for infants to 10-year-olds, and parents-to-be, with long-term strategies to build a healthy family life. Over five sessions, the course will help you to:

• Build strong foundations

• Meet your children's needs

• Set clear boundaries

• Teach healthy relationships

• Consider your long-term aim

Each 2-hour session will be facilitated by one of the pastoral staff or an experienced parent.

This course is compulsory/mandatory for parents who want to offer their children for dedication. Parents with young children are strongly encouraged to join us for this informative and engaging course!

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THE ALPHA COURSE

Please click here to sign up.

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YAF RETREAT 2021: ALL FOR THE GOSPEL

Save the date for the annual YAF retreat!

Featuring a series of talks by Rev Dr Timothy Keller, the YAF retreat will be taking on a blended format this year! If permissible under the prevailing COVID-19 regulations, we will gather in homes for cosy watch parties, discussions, prayer, meals and games. Otherwise, the retreat will be held online with breakout groups on top of the joint sessions. Come get to know other young adults and grow together as one body of Christ!

Registration is now open! https://tinyurl.com/YAFRetreat2021

Retreat Fee: $10 (For covering group meals if we can gather physically)

Registration closes on 20 June 2021.

If you have any questions, please contact the retreat committee chairperson, Deborah Eu deborah.eusm@gmail.com.

YAF Retreat Committee

NEXT SUNDAY'S SERVICE

Date: 26 & 27 June 2021

Speaker: Ps Lee Kok Wah

Scripture Passage: Zechariah 9:1-10:1

Worship Leader: Dn Elaine Ng

Service Leader: Asst Ps Lai Keet Keong