26/06/2005 Running the Race of Life

26/06/2005
"Running the Race of Life"
Mark Conner
CityLife Church Sunday 9am

Heb 12:1-3, 1 Cor 9:24-27, Phil 3:12-14
Running a race requires:

• perseverance (going strong)
• keeping your eyes fixed on the prize (a winning attitude)
  

Some people are running strong:

• keep going!

Some people slow down:

1. Fatigue
• some people become tired.
2. Running at an unsustainable pace
• some try to do too much and burnout.
• it is necessary tosometimes choose to slow down otherwise you may be forced to slow down.
• "I am always in haste, but never in a hurry. I never take on more than I can handle with perfect calmness in spirit." - John Wesley
3. Running on a new path
• sometimes we need to slow down and adapt to change before we go all out at full speed.
• every new chapter needs to be developed (eg. new job, new relationship)
  

Some people are coasting:

• some people slow down, and become content with their new speed.
• these people have lost their purpose (Rev. 2:1-7)
  

Some people stop:

• these people have given up hope because of dire situations or failure
• God will help us if circumstances cause us to stop. It will take time and healing. He wants us to eventually run again.
• some stop because of disillusionment or discouragement. (Ps 34:18) God wants you to understand this is not the end. There is a destination for you.
  

Some people have detoured:

• some people are lost. They need to realise they are lost, turn around and get back on track.

Winning isn't about not falling, but getting up again each time you fall and refusing to let failure grip you.

Star Wars Personality Test

Which Star Wars character are you attributed towards the most?
Apparently I'm the annoying Jar Jar Binks:



Click on the above image to take the quiz. Would like to hear what you guys get!

18/06/2005 The Hinge Factor

18/06/2005
''The Hinge Factor"
Nicole Conner
CLC Saturday 6pm

Matt 25:31-46

The "Hinge Factor" is God using someone small to open the doors that society and culture has closed. You may seem insignificant to the world, but when God uses you, you'll become a pivotal hinge factor. We need to 'stay our post', for God has a unique plan for our lives.

Doors cannot be opened without hinges. Although small and obscure, they are necessary.

Hinge factors become signposts that point the way to salvation.
Hinge factors are people who know who they are in Christ and serve wholeheartedly. They are contributers and not consumers. They focus on serving God, not the attention from men.

As Christians, we are called to be hinge factors. We live our lives in a warzone. (Eph 6:12)
But why don't we fight? Why don't we stay our post?

1. Some people are too sensitive

• in war, you will be scratched/wounded
• we need to get over it and get on with it

2. Some are ignorant of the need

• too much focus on the self blinds us from what is happening around us
• we need to see through God's eyes

3. Some are 'too busy'

• if God has called you to serve, He knows you can fit it in your timetable
• the joy of serving will take hold of your heart more than busyness can

4. Some despise their gift

• they don't recognise no matter how small their gift is, it is precious to God
• don't equate prominance with significance

5. Some people are indifferent

• these people 'don't care' and choose to 'sit on the fence'.
• indifference is the enemy's greatest weapon. An 'indifferent Christian' is no threat to the devil.
• Rev 3:15-16 God hates indifference.
• indifference does not strengthen an individual (ie some people prefer not to pick a side), it weakens its victim: it paralyses the mind and quenches the passion.

We all need to stay our post in this spiritual war. We all have a specific life that God has called us to live. To stay our post is to be faithful with our gifts, to be willing and obedient to God's calling.

To really live is to recognise the cause we are fighting for. This is the Hinge Factor.

12/06/2005 Facing Fear

12/06/2005
"Facing Fear"
Peter Nash
CityLife Church Sunday 9am

Gen 3:8-10
Fear was the first negative feeling humanity experienced after the Fall.
Fear has no basis of truth.

3 types of fear:

1. Reverential Godly fear (Job 28:28, Acts 9:31)

• it is not destructive, but leads to wisdom
• it is linked with the Holy Spirit

2. Healthy fear

• not mentioned in the Bible, but also leads to wisdom
• it is there to protect us (eg the fear of pain or getting burnt can prevent one from touching a hot stove)

3. Unhealthy fear (Prov 29:25)

• many types of destructive fear are linked with the fear of man

2 Tim 1:7 - Fear doesn't come from God. He's here to rescue us from the bondage of fear.

Types of unhealthy fear:

1. Simple phobias

• some fears (like arachnophobia) have varying impact on different people, but generally don't destroy lives

2. Social fears or social anxiety

• fears related to interactions with another person or with a group of people
• left untreated, these fears can have the potential to mentally incapacitate

3. Anxiety disorders

• these grip/cripple life (eg panic attacks, obsessive-compulsiveness)

Fear can masquerade as other things such as anger.

Unhealthy ways to deal with fear:

1. Denial
   

• it is the absence of truth (Ps 51:6, Jn 8:32 - acknowledge the truth. It can set you free.)

2. Suppression
3. Self-Condemnation

• John 3:17 - God wants us to be free from condemnation

Steps to overcoming fear:

1. Recognise fear is common to all

• don't let fear rob you of the potential God has given to you
• "Courage isn't the absence of fear but the ability to face it"
• "Without fear there is no bravery"

2. Be honest

• Jas 5:16 - confess your fears to each other.
  

3. Understand the root (cause of the fear) if possible
4. Weigh up the validity of the fear

• what's the worst-case scenario? Is it worth the fear?
• "Fear makes the wolf bigger than it is" - German proverb

5. Renew our mind with God's Word

• challenge fear with the truth of God's Word

6. Get help

• God has placed people around to support you

7. Face the fears God asks you to face

• where fear may be an obstacle to fulfilling the destiny God has called, He'll ask you to face it.
• He'll always be with us and help us grow as we challenge each fear.

8. Pray and meditate (Phil 4:6-8)

• give God our worries, and meditate on things that are wholesome.

Exam Timetable (Semester 1, 2005)

Once again, we come to one of the most stressful periods of time invented by man: EXAMS!!!

Don't we all need a bit of a miracle here? The timetable is now complete. Keep each other in prayer, and all the best for the exams. Stay cool.... here are two one-liners:

• Study hard, pray harder.
• God bless and don't stress!

Date	Time	Name	Subject
Monday 6th June	8:15AM	Prerna Bhatia	Optometry - Clinical Exam
Monday 6th June	9:30AM	Sherlynn Ang Elaine Chong Jessica Li Phuong Nguyen Victor Sim	Human Genetics Financial Accounting Financial Accounting Intermediate Financial Accounting Biomedical Biology: Molecules, Cells & Organisms
Monday 6th June	2:15PM	Gloria Dieu	Veterinary Anatomy 1A
Monday 6th June	???	Dominic Gan	Current Issues in Property
Tuesday 7th June	9:30AM	Ai-Hui Chua Victor Sim Lee Suan Tan	Enterprise Performance Management Physics [Biomedical Science A] Corporations Law
Tuesday 7th June	2:15PM	Steph Chen Tiffany Kwok	Defence Mechanisms and their Failure (paper 1)
Wednesday 8th June	9:30AM	Lisa Chng Jessica Li Wen Yeen Lim Simon Lo Phuong Nguyen Allen Tung	Planning, Property and Surveying Law International Finance Cognitive Development Software Engineering Process and Practice Business Finance Biochemical/Environmental Engineering 1B
Wednesday 8th June	2:00PM	Mandy Rojas	Design and Measurement 2
Wednesday 8th June	2:15PM	Steph Chen Tiffany Kwok Gloria Dieu Benny Hung	Health Practice (written) Veterinary Biochemistry 1A Gene Technology and Protein Expression
Thursday 9th June	9:30AM	Ai-Hui Chua Victor Sim Allen Tung	Research Methods 3 Chemistry [Biomedical Science A] Heat and Mass Transport Processes 1
Thursday 9th June	12:15PM	Steph Chen Tiffany Kwok	Health Practice (interview and physical exam)
Thursday 9th June	2:15PM	Prerna Bhatia Anna Choi Carissa Lau Sharon Hii Susan Ke Yii Vern Phang	Diagnosis of Ocular Disease Torts and the Process of Law I Civil Litigation
Thursday 9th June	???	Dominic Gan	Marketing Principles
Friday 10th June	9:30AM	Steph Chen Tiffany Kwok Angela Chung Sharon Hii Susan Ke Timothy Leung Allen Tung Sam Ung	Defence Mechanisms and their Failure (paper 2) Pharmacology Family Law Software Design Chemical Engineering Management Investments
Friday 10th June	2:15PM	Elaine Chong Ai-Hui Chua Gloria Dieu Timothy Leung	Product and Brand Management Animal Health, Management and Welfare Logic and Computation
Tuesday 14th June	9:30AM	Benny Hung Cat Nguyen	Cellular Basis of Disease Clinical Pharmacy
Tuesday 14th June	2:15PM	Prerna Bhatia Lisa Chng Elaine Chong Gloria Dieu	Contact Lenses Enviromental Change Cost Management Veterinary Physiology 1A (Theory)
Wednesday 15th June	9:00AM	Chetan Bhatia	Child Development in Physiotherapy
Wednesday 15th June	9:30AM	Angela Chung Gloria Dieu Sharon Hii Susan Ke Hieu Lam Jessica Li Lee Suan Tan	Functional Disorders of Vision Veterinary Physiology 1A (Practical) Property Law Biochemistry Part A Corporate Finance Equity and Trusts
Wednesday 15th June	2:15PM	Hieu Lam	Physiology Theory Part A
Thursday 16th June	9:30AM	Benny Hung Hieu Lam Sam Leong Cat Nguyen	Protein Structure, Design and Engineering Organic Chemistry Digital Communications Pharmacology
Thursday 16th June	2:00PM	Prerna Bhatia	Diagnosis of Ocular Disease (slide exam)
Thursday 16th June	2:15PM	Anna Choi Carissa Lau Angela Chung Sam Ung	History and Philosophy of Law I Ocular Histopathology Econometrics
Friday 17th June	9:00AM	Mandy Rojas	Developmental Psychology
Friday 17th June	9:30AM	Timothy Leung	Algorithms and Data Structures
Friday 17th June	2:00PM	Chetian Bhatia	Physiotherapy Skills
Friday 17th June	2:15PM	Anna Choi Gloria Dieu Hieu Lam Simon Lo Lee Suan Tan Phuong Nguyen Sam Ung	Contracts Law I Veterinary Professional Studies Physiology Practical Trade Marks and Related Rights Contracts Law I Contracts Law I
Monday 20th June	9:30AM	Sherlynn Ang Angela Chung Sam Leong Timothy Leung Allen Tung	Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology Optical Design and Opthalmic Instruments Communication Networks Probability Reactor Engineering
Monday 20th June	12:45PM	Prerna Bhatia	Clinical Optometry Practice (oral exam)
Monday 20th June	2:00PM	Chetan Bhatia	Anatomy
Monday 20th June	2:15PM	Anna Choi Phuong Nguyen Yii-Vern Phang	Criminal Law I
Tuesday 21st June	8:45AM	Angela Chung	Functional Disorders of Vision (practical)
Tuesday 21st June	9:30AM	Simon Lo Cat Nguyen Victor Sim	Database Systems Pharmaceutics Introduction to Biomedical Mathematics
Tuesday 21st June	2:15PM	Elaine Chong Ai-Hui Chua	Behavioural Neuroscience 2
Wednesday 22nd June	2:15PM	Sharon Hii Susan Ke	Dispute Resolution and Legal Ethics
Thursday 23rd June	9:30AM	Allen Tung	Biochemical/Environmental Engineering 1A
Thursday 23rd June	2:00PM	Chetan Bhatia	Behavioural Determinants of Health
Thursday 23rd June	2:15PM	Lee Suan Tan Sam Ung	Taxation Law Finance for New Ventures
Friday 24th June	9:30AM	Sherlynn Ang Lisa Chng	Molecular Genetics Computational Methods in Geomatics
Friday 24th June	2:15PM	Prerna Bhatia	Assessment of Ocular Disease
Monday 27th June	9:00AM	Chetan Bhatia	Physiology

Final update: Saturday, 4th June @ 12:30AM

Please also pray for Anna Choi, who will be overseas during the winter break and returning on Thursday 21st July. Have a safe trip!

Faith works.