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. Around the world
The leader begins by saying the name of any country, city, river, ocean or mountain that can be found in an atlas. The person next to him must then say another name that begins with the last letter of the word just given. Each person has a definite time limit (e.g., 3 seconds) and no names can be repeated. E.g., 1st person: London, 2nd Person: Niagara Falls, 3rd Person: Switzerland and so on. Repeat for a few rounds.
2. How can I forget?
Give each person a little piece of paper and a pen. Each person writes their name on the piece of paper. All the pieces of paper with the names are then put in an envelope and jumbled up. Now form a circle and have everyone share with the group (1) their favourite number (2) their favourite person (3) their favourite food (4) their favourite hobby and (5) their favourite colour. Once everyone has finished sharing, pass the envelop around. Each person draws a single piece of paper with a name and proceeds to recall the 5 things that that person has previously shared. See if you can remember them all!
Transition to Worship:
“As we come before the Lord in a time of worship let us remember that we are much forgiven and that God has removed our sins from us, as far as the east is from the west. And just as He has forgiven us, He has also restored us and reconciled us with Himself. How awesome! We can thus boldly come before His throne and know that we are accepted and we are loved. Amen!”
WORSHIP (20 minutes)
You may use the following suggested worship songs:
- Blessed Be Your Name (G)
- Give Us Clean Hands (E)
- God Is Able (E)
- I Love You Lord (E)
Do allow time for the cell-members to wait upon the Holy Spirit for any words, visions, tongues and interpretation of tongues for the edification of the body of Christ. At the end of the worship, Cell-leaders can ask each member whether they received any word, vision, impression, etc. Do take the time to pray for individuals or the group if there are words released for ministry. This is to encourage everyone to step out in faith to move in the gifts of the Spirit.
Transition to Word:
Thank You Holy Spirit for Your presence among us and touching us with Your Love! We love becaue You first loved us. Our desire is for more and more of You in our lives. Thank You for being so patient with us, even when we have sinned and strayed away. You keep pursuing us and pouring out Your incredible love and mercy when we don’t deserve it. Thank You Jesus! Amen!
WORD (45minutes)
Memory verse of the week: Psalm 62:11-12a
“One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love.”
Sermon Title: Evidence: Forbearance
By Rev Poh Wee Long on 2-3 Dec 2017
Scripture Passage: Galatians 5:22-23
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIVUK)
22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Introduction
Last weekend, we resume our sermon series on “Evidence” based on the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. The Greek word used in Galatians for “forbearance” is “makrothumia”, which is formed by two words “makros” and “thymos”. “makros” means “long” and “thymos” means “passion, anger”. Put together “makrothumia” means properly, long-passion, i.e., waiting sufficient time before expressing anger.
This means that having forbearance (also translated as patience and longsuffering) will greatly reduce and even prevent the possible premature use of force (retribution) that rises out of improper anger (a personal reaction). It does not mean that we will never be angry at any point, but it will hopefully be a long time before anger is expressed.
We need patience and longsuffering in this world because we are surrounded by imperfect people, just as we are, and we definitely do wrong to others just as they also do wrong to us too.
Ephesians 4:1-2
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
The Bible teaches us that as Christians, we have to live a life worthy of the calling we have received and that means we have to be completely humble and gentle, in love patiently bearing with one another, all their strengths and faults included.
In order to bear with one another in love, there are 3 things Christians must do in order to grow in this area of forbearance, being patient and tolerant of others.
- Forgo – Give up your rights
- Forgive – Give up your hurts
- Forget – Give up the past
Discovery and Understanding Questions
Q1. How do we forgo our rights?
A1. Forgoing is choosing to give up our rights even when we are “entitled’ to them. As Christians, we are to give up our right to choose an earthly way of living and doing things. Whereas the world is comfortable with giving in to earthly desires, the Bible tells us to set our minds and hearts on things above.
Colossians 3:1-2
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things…
Colossians 3:5-8
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips..
Q2. What kind of forgiveness is God looking for?
A2. It is impossible when living on earth not to have people sometimes offend, hurt or cause pain in our lives, through their attitudes, words, and/or actions. Indeed, the sting of betrayal was felt by Jesus Himself when He was betrayed by those closest to Him. However, if we want to love people and grow in forbearance, not only must we forgo and give up our right to retaliate, we must move on to forgiving those that hurt us, by surrendering those hurts and not holding on to them.
Colossians 3:12-14
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
God has first forgiven us. It is on that basis that we forgive others.
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” – C.S. Lewis
Q3. When God says that He has forgotten our sins, what does He actually mean?
A3. Forgetting does not mean that God pretends that the sin we committed did not happen. Instead,
when God forgets our sin, it is not according to our human understanding of what forgetting is, because God is all-knowing, and He cannot be unaware of anything or negligently forget something. But this is a deliberate choice by God not to remember what we have done and not hold our sin against us because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
2 Corinthians 2:10-11
10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—Ihave forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Ephesians 4:26-27; 31-32
26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold... 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Hebrews 10:14-17
14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
Application Questions:
Break into smaller groups, pray and minister to one another.
Q1. Are there couples in the group struggling with their relationship and communication or people who have not honored their family members by their impatience and intolerance? Is it because one party or both parties are insisting on their rights and their viewpoints? Commit today to value and treasure your spouse or family member and “be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
Q2. Are there members in the group struggling to forget a past offence, or forgive someone in their lives? Maybe it’s a family member, or colleague, or a friend who has inflicted hurt or pain in the past. Have them release forgiveness to whoever has hurt them or caused offence and allow the Lord to minister His love and healing. Unforgiveness only imprisons the one holding on to the grudge, hurt or offence.
Family Altar Time (F.A.T.)
(Cell Leader: Encourage your members to be faithful in keeping the weekly F.A.T. and refer them to this segment of the 4Ws for suggestions for their F.A.T. A possible time for them to have their F.A.T. is after a meal together, say during the weekend.)
Use either of the icebreakers in the WELCOME segment above and select worship songs that are meaningful to your family. If they are old enough, ask your children to select the songs and lead worship, and take this opportunity to teach them skills in waiting on God, praying, and leading with a servant’s heart and as a willing vessel for God.
After worship, you may wish to:
- Discuss last Sunday’s Family Bible Study in the Living Life journal, or
- Review your children’s take-home materials from GKidz (www.fcbc.org.sg/youthchildren/gkidz/parents), or
- Review and discuss this week’s memory verse, or
- Have one person read Galatians 5:22-23, another person read Ephesians 4:1-2, another person read Colossians 3:12-14, and another, Hebrews 10:14-17.
Last weekend, at the church services, we resumed the series of messages on Evidence, the fruit of the Spirit, based on Galatians 5:22-23. Rev. Poh Wee Long preached on forbearance, which is also translated in other English versions as patience or longsuffering. It refers to the quality of being able to bear with others and not be easily angered or provoked by them.
Question: Have you been hurt/offended/provoked/unjustly treated by others and in response you lost your cool and retaliated? Share about a recent case. What happened?
[Let your family members share honestly without being made to feel judged.]
Question: On hindsight, what could have helped you control yourself better and not retaliate?
[Let your family members share spontaneously.]
In his message, Rev Poh Wee Long shared about how we can grow in forbearance and bear with each other in patience and love. Firstly, we need to forgo our rights, i.e., give up the right to live and respond to others in a worldly manner (Colossians 3:1-8). Also, we need to forgive others of every hurt, offence and/or injustice against us (Ephesians 4:32). We need to give up these hurts, offences and injustices to Jesus. The Bible has much to say about forgiving those who sin against us. We should forgive because we ourselves have been forgiven of all our sins by God (Colossians 3:13). Also, if we do not forgive, we will give the devil a foothold in our lives (2 Corinthians 2:10-11; Ephesians 4:26-27). Thirdly, we need to forget past hurts, offences and injustices against us, deliberately choosing not to remember them (Hebrews 10:17) and not to hold them against the offenders.
Question: Referring back to what you shared in answer to the first question, how can Rev Poh Wee Long’s teaching on forgoing our rights, forgiving our offenders and forgetting the past help you to be more patient and forbearing towards the person(s) who offended you?
[Let each family member apply these 3 principles to their own situation.]
Question: Is there someone you are still angry with, have not forgiven or whom you know will continue to test your patience? What can you do to grow in patience towards him/her/them?
[Let your family members share freely and give suggestions and encourage and minister to them as necessary.]
End by thanking God for being patient with us, forgiving our sins and choosing not to remember our sins against us, and pray that we would likewise be patient with others. Pray for the salvation of pre-believing family members, relatives and friends.
Transition to Works:
Lord, we thank You for allowing us to experience Your Love. Help us to apply this Love daily in our life to the people around us so that the lost can be found and many can also enjoy the Love that You have for the world. Lord, keep us faithful in the assigned tasks you av egiven to us, as we live our life to be a blessing to others around us. In Jesus name. Amen!
WORKS (15minutes)
1. 3x3 Prayer
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the strongholds that bind the people. Ask Him to set divine appointments for us to minister His power over them (with words of knowledge, healing, helps, etc.). Pray for one another for boldness, courage and obedience to follow through.
2. Christmas Party 2017
- Firm up the time, date and venue for the party and start making contacts to invite friends to the party.
- Spend time praying as a cell for guests including 3x3 pre-believing family and friends. Pray that they will attend our Thanksgiving Service on 30-31 Dec 2017.
- Download Christmas Party manual at: https://www.fcbc.org.sg/sites/default/files/pdf/christmas_party_2017_eng.pdf
- Cell Leaders to collect Christmas materials at all worship services this weekend.
3. Inviting Friends to our Celebration Services
Continue to encourage one another to invite pre-believing friends to our weekend Services. Make time to listen to ‘The Voice of God’ for prophetic utterances that make speak to our pre-believing friends’ circumstances as a prelude to inviting them. In addition, take some time to discuss, plan an activity and pray toward achieving the goal you have set as a cell.
4. Consolidation of New Converts
Consolidate those who have accepted Christ - contact them via phone calls; meet up with them over a meal; make house visits; introduce to them to members of the cell and invite them to fellowship with the faith community during cell meetings and celebration services. Make them feel belonged.
Introduce them to LifeClass. LifeClass is an exciting package of equipping that guides new believers through the foundations of their faith and leads them into a life-transforming encounter with Jesus. It does this through nine weeks of personal study, combined with fun and interactive classroom sessions of Bible teaching and an Encounter Weekend. It replaces the current Pre-Encounter Class, Encounter Weekend and Post Encounter. Please check out the Equipping page at our website or Mobile App. Visit https://fcbc.org.sg/equipping/event-listing for more details.
Announcements:
Please visit https://www.fcbc.org.sg/bulletin/ or our FCBC app for more details.