WELCOME (15minutes)
Choose one of the following icebreakers:
(If you have first-time guests, begin with a round of introduction and warmly welcome the new visitors.)
1. From A to Z
The facilitator will reveal a subject, and each member will take turns to give an answer, in alphabetical order, relating to the subject. For example, for Movies: Armageddon, Back to the Future, Captain America, … Zootopia.
Suggested subjects: Bible characters, food, movies, celebrity names, brand names, etc.
Notes:
- Facilitator may want to number the participants and share the numbered list in the Zoom chat window as the sequence of how participants appear on Zoom is not fixed.
- Members can ask the group for help or find the answer online if they can’t think of an answer.
- To make the icebreaker more interesting, for every new subject, you may wish to start off with the next alphabet after that of the last subject, e.g. if you end at G for Bible characters, then start at H for Food.
2. Celebrity Interview
The facilitator will randomly number the participants and share the numbered list in the Zoom chat window. Participants will be paired in twos, e.g. #1 and #2 will be a pair, #3 and #4 will be a pair. Break out into pairs and take 10 minutes (5 minutes for each interview) to interview each other as a reporter over a separate Zoom window or WhatsApp. At the end of 10 minutes, come back to the main Zoom meeting and have each participant report what they have found out in the interviews about their “celebrity”.
Suggested questions:
- What is your dream?
- Where is your dream holiday destination?
- What are your top 3 bucket list items?
- What will you do after you retire?
- Who brought you to Christ?
Transition to Worship:
We want to thank God and each other for the fun we had with the icebreakers. It is indeed a happy moment. Beyond that, we know that we have God’s Spirit living within us and that if we have Him by our side, every moment is a grace moment; every day is a day of grace. Let’s now worship God with ‘This Is Amazing Grace.’
WORSHIP (20 minutes)
You may use the following suggested worship songs:
- This Is Amazing Grace (D)
- The Blessing (C)
- Still (G)
Let us pause to wait upon the Lord for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We would like to encourage everyone to exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit – if you have a word, a vision, tongues and interpretation of tongues – release it and let it minister to each other.
Transition to Word:
As we have sung, O Lord, still our hearts and our spirits to harken to the voice of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
WORD (45minutes)
Memory verse of the week: Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Sermon Title: Order in the House: Submission
By Senior Pastor Daniel Khong on 4 & 5 Jul 2020
Scripture Passages:
Ephesians 5:21 (NIVUK)
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT)
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Introduction
Submission is accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person.
It is allowing ourselves to be placed under; to be subject to someone.
The act of submission exemplifies three things:
- Our obedience (to God and to the authorities He has placed upon us)
- Our surrender (to Him and His purposes)
- Our humility (in accepting and applying this)
Discovery and Understanding Questions:
Q1. Ponder over the following verses. What do they say about Christ’s submission to God?
Philippians 2:8 (NLT)
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God…
Matthew 26:39 (NIVUK)
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.’
A1. Jesus Christ submitted to what God wanted Him to do, even though this was a painful and very difficult thing to do, being prepared to even submit to the point of death. This submission is a sign of His total obedience to God.
Q2. When Christ submitted what was He also doing? What was the outcome of this submission?
Philippians 2:6-7 (NLT)
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.
Matthew 16:24-25 (NKJV)
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
A. W. Pink - “Taking up my "cross" means a life voluntarily surrendered to God.”
Philippians 2:9 (NLT)
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names…
A2. By submitting, Jesus gave up His rights as the divine privileges to serve humanity by dying for the sins of mankind. He surrendered totally to God and He expects His disciples to do likewise! The outcome of His surrender was that God gave Him a position of power and victory - God exalted Him above all else.
Q3. What does Christ’s submission to God show?
Philippians 2:7-8 (NLT)
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
A3. It showed His humility – He gave up His rights as a divine Godhead; He willingly died a criminal’s death.
Application Questions
Break into smaller groups, share, pray and minister to one another.
Q1. Submission displays our obedience, our surrender and our humility. What is the area that you struggle with most when it comes to submitting? What would you want to do about this?
Q2. Think through the earthly authorities God has placed over your lives. Do you have problems submitting to them? How can you obey, surrender and be humble to still submit?
[CG Leaders: Beware that this does not turn into a session for complaining and accusation of these earthly leaders. Instead point your members to the necessity of biblical submission to earthly authorities.]
Hebrews 13:17 (NKJV)
17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Ephesians 5:22-24 (NKJV)
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Saviour of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
Transition to Works:
Lord Jesus, You have taught us that by submitting to one another we are honouring You and one another. Help us now to honor others by serving them as Christ did. Help us to love and serve others in practical ways.
WORKS (15minutes)
1. Continue to Connect
a) With cell group members
- Hold your cell members accountable to watch the Livestream Service or download the message to listen later.
- Seek ways and means to stay connected with each other, especially those who’ve been impacted by COVID-19. For example:
- Synchronize prayer times.
- Discuss devotional thoughts through WhatsApp.
- Create a cell group hashtag - Post uplifting messages, sermon videos and notes, or even bookmark pretty verse images that you like on Instagram by leaving these in your cell group hashtag as a comment. Everything that has been tagged with your cell group hashtag will be available for the entire group to see!
- Video call each other.
- Continue with your cell group meetings online. Help your members to set up their online meeting account (if not done already) and teach them how to use it for online meeting (if need be). Ensure that none of your members fall through the cracks. Continue to monitor the attendance of your online meetings
b) With Potential BESTs / Pre-Believers
- Evangelism need not take a back seat with livestreaming or COVID-19. Invite pre-believing friends/Bests/3x3 contacts (depending on their comfort level) to join you in watching our livestream service. Connect online with them and spur other members to do so.
- When the salvation altar call is made during livestreaming, a Response Form link will be screened over the livestream for those who have responded or want to respond, to fill in. The livestream links are:
- For English -- www.fcbc.org.sg/connectwithus
- For Chinese -- www.fcbc.org.sg/zh/connectwithus
Encourage your pre-believing contacts to fill up the Response Form or you can help them fill it up. When filling up the Form, try to provide as much of the information needed as possible. Encourage them to fill up the Response Form immediately after the livestream service.
2. 3x3 Prayer
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the strongholds that bind the people. Ask Him to set up divine appointments for us to minister His power over them (words of knowledge, healing, helps, etc.). Pray for one another to have boldness, courage and obedience to follow through.
3. Consolidation of New Converts
Assimilate them! Let them have a sense of belonging with our faith community! Connect with them via phone calls; introduce them to cell members via WhatsApp and invite them to join in our livestream services and your online cell group meetings.
4. TOUCH International Smartphone Donation
Remind CG Members of this opportunity to do good to the migrant workers in our midst.
- These smartphones will go to migrant workers whose phones are unable to download contact tracing apps.
- If you’d like to donate, you can still do so!
- Pre-loved smartphones must meet these minimum specifications to be donated:
- Android – Version 5.1 and above
- iPhone – iOS 10.0 and above
- Here’s what we can do to help:
- Locate our pre-loved smartphone and check that it is in good working condition and meets the minimum specifications.
- Erase all existing information on the smartphone.
- Sign out of all apps or play store accounts and perform a factory reset.
- Clean the smartphone and charger with alcohol sanitizer and place in a Ziploc bag.
- Drop the smartphone off at one of the following locations:
COLLECTION VENUES
Announcements:
For the latest announcements, please visit www.fcbc.org.sg/announcements or our social media platforms – we can be found on Facebook and Instagram @fcbcsg.