3 minute read

Doing good works and witnessing to the lost

Lynette Loo

Ihave been a member of Grace Methodist Church (GMC) since 1989. Before then, I had many opportunities to hear about God and salvation from different people of different denominations. By God’s grace, I was eventually led to a small group of Methodists that met in my neighbour’s home. This small group is now one of the Connect Groups of Grace Methodist Church. My family and I joined the group, and we felt welcomed and comfortable in the home setting. After a few months, we started attending GMC services and we are now serving in different ministries at GMC. All glory to God.

One of the things that appealed to me about the Methodist church was the systematic way of doing things. While studying at Oxford, Charles and John Wesley led "The Holy Club"—a group of men who maintained strict rules of Bible study, prayer and good works. Others called them "Methodists" because of their discipline.

This model is similar to how the Intentional Disciplemaking Roadmap adopted by Grace Methodist Church methodically sets out what a true disciple of Christ looks like. I especially see how doing good works and witnessing gels with being a Methodist.

by Kopikaki team

STORIES FROM THE FIELD: BUDDHISM IN THAILAND

3 January 2023 (Tuesday), 8.00 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Online via Zoom Register before 2 January 2023 via www.tinyurl.com/sff2023-buddhism

About 93.6% of the population in Thailand are Buddhists, the majority being Theravada Buddhists. What can we learn about their beliefs? How can Christians better understand the worldviews of Buddhists?

Dr Satanun, author of A Christian Theology of Suffering in the Context of Theravada Buddhism in Thailand, shares his insights as to how we can stay rooted firmly in Scripture and grounded in a theology of the cross while engaging with Buddhists.

Organised by Wycliffe Singapore

EQUIP – CITY OF GOD, CITY OF MEN: AN INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

5 January–16 February 2023 (Thursday evenings), 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Online via Zoom https://ttc.edu.sg/english/study-at-ttc/equip-registration/

$100 (Free for TTC Alumni and TTC Matriculated Students-Registration required)

The playwright George Bernard Shaw is dubiously quoted as saying that "politics is the last resort for the scoundrels". Boies Penrose, a former US Senator, once said "public office is the last refuge of the incompetent". Though tongue-in-cheek, these quotes suggest why politics is often considered a dirty word. There is a sense of cynicism, frustration, and even despair whenever politics is mentioned. Yet this was not always so. Celebrated thinkers in the Christian tradition have seen politics, if disciplined and informed by a robust Christian faith, as a vocation of high dignity and nobility. This course examines politics from biblical and theological perspectives. Participants will read key figures in the Western Christian political tradition and attempt to recover a theological vision of the good of politics and also consider how this vision might shape political ethics, such as issues of law, justice, human rights and the common good.

Rev Dr Nathanael Goh is a pastor from the Chinese Annual Conference of The Methodist Church in Singapore. He is pastoring at Sengkang Methodist Church. An advocate for the importance of Christian ethics and moral formation, his interests are at the intersection of Scripture, theology and ethics—especially a retrieval of Christian theological visions of the common good.

Organised by EQUIP

MAN OF IMPACT (MOI) – JANUARY TO MAY 2023 INTAKE

31 January–9 May 2023, Tuesday evenings, 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Cru Centre, 18 Verdun Road Register before 19 January 2023 at https://mde.cru.org.sg/Event $43 for MOI Participant Guide

Are you seeking to live a life of purpose and significance, one that is empowered by God? Join us for this 8-session course and learn what it means to be a man of impact for God's kingdom. This is a primarily online-facilitated course, with up to three face-to-face sessions at Cru Centre.