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Most of us wear our busyness like a badge of honour—the busier we are, the more we feel like an achiever. But being too busy causes anxiety and burnout; we have no time for our family and worse, we have no time for God. If we are seeking balance in our life, the answer is to slow down. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus tells believers He will give us rest, which is to slow down; He invites us to learn from Him.
Adapting from John Mark Comer’s teaching on “Slowing”, I'll be sharing five things we must learn from Jesus: to adopt slow-down spirituality, to faithfully observe the Sabbath rest, to practice silence and solitude, to make devotional prayers (not just intercession and petition) and to develop detachment, which is to be content in any situation.
If we can slow down and follow Jesus’ unhurried pace of life, we will be changed, we will find His yoke easy and His burden light. -
One of the greatest challenges to our faith is when we go through suffering, yet our most urgent search for God happens when we are in pain.
This sermon will unpack the purpose of suffering, which is to transform us to be more like Jesus. Very few people in history suffered like Job: until the day he died, he never knew the reason he had to suffer, yet he loved God for who He was and not for His blessings. God’s purpose for us cannot be stopped (Job 42:1), and He has a purpose when we face hardship—He is working out something glorious in us. No matter how deep our pain is, God’s love for us goes even deeper. Jesus is with us daily in our suffering; nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
If you are going through a hard time in life, let this sermon encourage and empower you to hold on to your faith and trust in the Lord, having eternity in your heart. -
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The twelfth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: I believe in the life everlasting. Amen.
Eternal life or "zoe" in Greek is a promise from God to His people who believe and have faith in Him. While the apostle John says that whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life now (John 3:16; 1 John 5:11, 13), the Bible also clearly teaches that eternal life is a gift in the future. Those who believe in Jesus experience a little measure today but the fullness of it is reserved for the future, at the return of Christ.
This is the whole purpose of our Christian faith – not merely to be forgiven of our sins and becoming successful in the this lifetime. The end purpose of our salvation is to come into a loving communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, sharing in the fullness of the divine life. This "zoe" is an ever-deepening intimacy with the LORD and the experiencing of ever-growing love, joy, and peace from now till all eternity. Hallelujah! -
The eleventh statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: I believe in the resurrection of the body.
The Bible teaches that our hope is not fixed on the fact that we go to heaven when we die, but that God will raise us from the dead to be with Christ forever in our resurrected bodies (Rom. 8:23). It is a bodily resurrection where we will be given new spiritual bodies which are immortal, just like Jesus’ own body on Easter Sunday!
With our new resurrected bodies in the new heaven and new earth, we will be able to fully express ourselves and completely obey and fulfil God’s will and purpose for all eternity. Being swallowed up by the life of the Holy Spirit, we are at last fully baptised in the Spirit and have Him without measure (2 Cor. 5:4). Wow!
Until then, may we regularly confess this statement in the Apostle's Creed with our eyes fixed on that glorious day! -
The tenth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: I believe in the forgiveness of sins.
The word “forgiveness” in the Greek is 𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙢𝙞 which means to let go of a debt, to release it, and send the wrong or sin far, far away. Forgiveness is an expression of love. Because of His great love for us, in Christ we can find forgiveness (Col. 1:14). In fact, this is what Easter is all about. By dying on the cross, Jesus cancels out sin’s penalty. All the evils we have done, the right things we have failed to do, and the horrible attitudes we have expressed to God and to others have been erased and wiped off the record!
Likewise, we must learn to keep no record of wrongs (1 Cor. 13:5). Jesus says we forgive as many times as necessary (Matt. 18:22). Because love and forgiveness are synonymous, to be a loving person is to live in a constant atmosphere and attitude of forgiveness. Every time we recite this statement in the Apostles’ Creed, let us renew our commitment to walk in a constant atmosphere of forgiveness! -
The ninth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints.
The word “catholic” comes from the Greek word katholikos, which means “universal”. The Christian church is universal because it doesn’t belong to any one nation but to all nations of the world. The church is not a building of brick and mortar, or a religious organisation, it comprises us – the believers of Jesus Christ. We share in the “communion of the saints”, a sacred bond of love and fellowship by the Holy Spirit, uniting all true believers in Christ in His body. -
The eighth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: I believe in the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. When Jesus took on human flesh and lived on earth, the Spirit was absolutely central in Jesus’ life. Jesus lived completely dependent on the Holy Spirit from His conception to His ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus has set the “gold standard” (of a Spirit-filled life) for us to follow and imitate!
We need the Holy Spirit so much more each day. The next time you utter “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” let it be a genuine cry from your heart for more of His person, presence, and power in your life. -
The seventh statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead.
Jesus will someday return to end world history, raise the dead, judge the living and the dead, and usher in a new heaven and a new earth. When that time comes, our salvation will finally be complete! In this video, learn about the two resurrections, two judgments, and the time of rewards.
Understanding the second coming of Jesus Christ will help us to live life circumspectly and wisely (Eph. 5:15-20). We should plan our lives as if we will live a full span of years, but we should be ready to leave at any time, to meet with the Lord in his actual presence (Matt. 24:44). -
The sixth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: Jesus ascended into heaven, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Forty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He ascended into heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, as Man, departed physically and visibly from the earth and was immediately received into heaven, a place with no sickness, no sorrow, no pain, no depression — a place which we will one day dwell in with real spiritual bodies!
Here are seven reasons why the ascension of Jesus to heaven is so important, and what it means for us. May you long for that day when you, too, will stand before Jesus face to face. What a glorious day that will be! -
The fifth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: [Jesus] descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again.
Between His death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday, Jesus’ soul was made alive by the Holy Spirit and brought to the realm of the departed dead (1 Pet. 3:18-20). In this video recording, I will share with you about what many church fathers believe concerning why Jesus descended to the dead. More importantly, because the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus form the central truth of the Christian faith, its importance can never be overemphasised – as such, we will also be looking at what the resurrection of Jesus proves and implies.
If Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile, and we are still in our sins (1 Cor. 15:17). But praise God, we worship a resurrected Saviour, and because He lives, we can face tomorrow! -
The fourth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea during the first century AD, was the one who presided over Jesus’ trial and gave the order for His crucifixion. Why must He die on the cross? Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Isaiah 53 says that the Saviour will have to suffer physically, psychologically, morally, and spiritually for the sins of all humankind. By being crucified, Jesus really died and was really buried. His work of salvation was completely finished on the cross once and for all. Everything that happened at Calvary authenticated all the claims of Christ. The next time you utter this statement in the Apostles’ Creed, you can do so with the utmost gratitude knowing that if everything Jesus claimed actually happened at Calvary, then you can also be certain that one day, He will return again in power and glory to receive you into His everlasting kingdom, just as He has promised! -
The third statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary.
Jesus was conceived by the direct action of God. There was no physical consummation between Joseph and Mary. His was a supernatural conception! In order for Jesus to be our Saviour, three conditions must be fulfilled, and the supernatural virgin birth guaranteed that Jesus fulfilled all three conditions, which I will share with you in this video.
Because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He is fully God. Because Jesus was born of Mary, He is fully human. Without the incarnation, Jesus Christ could not die for us, and the cross would become meaningless. The incarnation shows how much God loves us and has made a way for us to be redeemed through His Son. The next time we recite this statement in the Apostles' Creed, may we be immensely grateful for the great love that the Father has bestowed on us! -
The second statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: "I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord." Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the second person of the Trinity. He is not a created being. On the contrary, He is the eternal, unchanging, all-powerful God. But if God did not create Jesus, why then is he called the “Son”, and specifically, the "only" Son? In this video, I will break down this second statement in the Apostles' Creed and explain it to you as succinctly as possible. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is crucial for your salvation, and I hope that the next time you profess "I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord," you will be awestruck by the Saviour and Lord whom we love and believe in!
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The first statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: "I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth." When we say “I believe,” it speaks of something that is deeply personal. Christianity is a personal faith between you and God. No one can believe in God on your behalf – you must personally believe in him! But who is this “God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth” that Christians believe in? I hope that after watching this short video snippet, every single time you recite this first line of the Apostles’ Creed, you will find yourself being strengthened in your faith as you reaffirm your belief in this one true God.
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Someone once said that if life is a journey, and the 800,000-word Bible is the exhaustive map with everything in it, then the 115-word Apostles’ Creed is its simplified road map. In the next few posts, I will be sharing about the Apostles’ Creed. The word “creed” comes from the Latin word credo, which means “I believe”. As such, the Apostles’ Creed comprises statements that affirm what a Christian believes. I pray that by the end of this series, you will have a revelation of what each statement of the Apostles’ Creed means, and henceforth, you will recite it during every holy communion with utmost faith and conviction!
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What does the Bible say about women in church leadership? Can a woman be a preacher, a Bible teacher, a pastor or an ordained minister?
There is no denying that the Bible is filled with examples of women leaders. Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, and Esther had spiritual authority over God’s people. In the Early Church, Priscilla taught Apollos the Word of God. Phoebe was a deacon. Junia was considered an apostle. Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis were Paul's co-workers in his apostolic ministry. Lydia, Mary, Chloe, and Nymphas were house church leaders. Euodia and Syntyche were leaders in the Philippian church.
Church history is filled with many mighty women leaders, like Thecla, Ammia, Perpetua, Felicitas, Syncletica, Marcella, Proba, Paula, Melania, Hilda, Hildegard in Germany, Argula von Grumbach, Katharina Zell, and Teresa of Avila, etc. They were great leaders, Bible teachers, preachers, theologians, writers, disciple-makers, evangelists, miracle-workers, prophetesses, and church-planters.
Today, almost all major Protestant denominations recognise and ordain women pastors and ministers, like the Anglican, Assemblies of God, Church of God, Foursquare, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, The Salvation Army, and even some among the Reformed and Baptist. Many among them have women general superintendents, bishops, and archbishops. -
This is the final instalment on why we (in CHC) are Pentecostals. One distinctive of Pentecostalism is its doctrine concerning the second coming of Christ.
In spite of the advancement of the gospel, this “present evil age” will get ever darker, and lawlessness will abound (Gal 1:4; Mt 24:12). Jesus, however, will come again to end world history, raise the dead, judge the wicked, and usher in a reconstructed universe. This second coming will be preceded by a rapture and a resurrection (1 Thess 4:13-18), and Christ will defeat Satan and his Antichrist, false prophet, and evil forces (Rev 19-20). At His return, Jesus will set up His 1,000-year reign here on earth (Rev 20:1-6). This interval is called the “millennium”. It will be a time when Jesus reigns in righteousness and peace. After that, He will usher in the eternal state of the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21-22). This is the clear and plain teaching of the Bible, as well as the Early Church, in the first five centuries.
Almost all Classical Pentecostals are premillennialists! We reject the theories of idealism and preterism because they don’t interpret the Book of Revelation literally, but only allegorically and symbolically. Preterism believes that all end-time prophecies have already been fulfilled by AD 70, with the fall of Jerusalem. It teaches that the second coming of Jesus has already “taken place” (symbolically), and there is no rapture or 1,000-year reign of Christ. This goes against the clear biblical witness and we can’t accept it.
A quick recap:
(1) As Protestants, we believe in salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
(2) As Evangelicals, we believe in the inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy of the Scripture. We reject liberal theology in all its forms.
(3) As Pentecostals, we believe in (a) the baptism in the Holy Spirit as a second blessing, with tongues as the initial, outward evidence; (b) the appropriateness of speaking in tongues corporately; (c) Arminianism, not Calvinism; and (d) premillennialism, not preterism.
Maranatha! Even so, come, Lord Jesus! -
Almost all Classical Pentecostals are Arminians; we are not Calvinists! We believe that Jesus died for all, and He wants us to share the gospel to all, so that faith will arise in people’s hearts to freely choose to receive Christ as their Saviour. We don’t accept Calvinism’s idea of a “limited” atonement, which believes that Jesus didn’t die for the whole world (He went to the cross only for some).
(1) As Arminians, we believe in the sovereignty of God. The crucial difference here is that God, in His love, chooses to be sovereign even over His own sovereignty. He limits His own power to permit humans to freely choose, even if it means that they might oppose His will. Nothing less than the genuine freedom of choice is required for this love to be real.
(2) As Arminians, we believe in predestination. The crucial difference here is that we don’t believe that God has “predetermined” who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. We stand firmly on Rom 8:29 that says, “For those God foreknew He also predestined”. The clear Bible evidence here is that God’s foreknowledge is the ground of His predestination. Those He foreknew, who will freely respond to His saving grace, He elected for salvation.
(3) As Arminians, we also believe in total depravity, in salvation by grace, and in the assurance of this salvation. We just cannot accept the Calvinist’s interpretation of them, which we feel is not consistent with biblical witness.
As Pentecostals, we at CHC and THN, are very serious about the Holy Scripture. We seek to contend for the gospel which has been entrusted to us (Jude 1:3). We desire to preach the gospel to the whole world (Mt 28:18-20), expressing a divine love which, unconditionally and genuinely, draws all people everywhere, allowing them to freely choose Him. -
There are three reasons why Jesus wants to baptise us in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5, 8):
(1) Spirit baptism greatly impacts our personal relationship with God (Acts 2:4). At conversion, we have the indwelling of the Spirit. Now, we have the infilling of the Spirit. Jesus fully immerses us into the Spirit of God, until we are filled, thoroughly soaked, saturated, drenched, and overwhelmed by the Spirit.
(2) Spirit baptism greatly impacts our relationship with other believers (1 Cor 12:7-11). We are now empowered to minister and edify one another, especially in the nine supernatural charismatic gifts:
(a) Word of wisdom
(b) Word of knowledge
(c) Gift of faith
(d) Gifts of healings
(e) Workings of miracles
(f) Discerning of spirits
(g) Prophecy
(h) Speaking in tongues
(i) Interpretation of tongues
(3) Spirit baptism greatly impacts our witness of Christ to the world (Acts 1:8). -
"Speaking in tongues is a major distinctive of New Testament Christianity. Jesus Himself says that speaking with new tongues is one of the signs that will mark His followers (Mk 16:17). As a Classical Pentecostal church, we have strong biblical basis to believe that the gift of tongues is for today; it has not ceased (1 Cor 13:8-12).
What’s more, tongues is often used for the spontaneous praise and worship of God at a public Christian gathering (Acts 2:11; 10:44-46; 19:6-7). When tongues is spoken to an audience of one – God Himself in heaven – it is appropriate for all to freely and spontaneously speak to Him in their Spirit-given utterances (Acts 2:4). We see this very clearly in the Book of Acts.
When the words, however, must be understood by others (for the instruction and spiritual strengthening of the congregation), then every tongue must be interpreted (1 Cor 14:26-28). This is because the words are no longer directed to God but to the people.
As such, the consideration must always be – What is appropriate at a given moment of a church meeting? Tongues meant for God or for the people? It cannot simply be a blanket ban of all utterances of tongues at a corporate worship.
The public use of tongues at a prayer meeting or worship service is beautiful. Most of all, it is biblical. Let us freely and boldly do the same in moments of spontaneous prayer and worship of God! - Visa fler
