Al-Kisah 'Graduation' (Part 3-Final)

Me and Principal, Rev. Dr. Ezra Kok

Rev. Dr. Kok's fan club

May all the 'young and beautiful' please smile

CMCCKL and family group photo

And there were those who came from a far...

USM buddy Emmeline with her hubby Herbert and son, little Erwin, all the way from Segamat

Not forgetting another 2 loyal USM buddies, Chooi Li (left) from KL and Wan Ching (right) from Ipoh.

Last but not least, my STM buddies...

Lucy and me

Ruth, me, liza and lucy

After a long day...finally, it's time to fill the stomach and 'chill out!'

It's been a wonderful day and I thank God for all of you for making it so meaningful.

Al-Kisah 'Graduation' (Part 2)

Wah...look like celebrity...

"Look at her...so happy"

From left: Mom, me, Dad, sis and Chee Keat

Me and my parents

Me, sis and Chee Keat

The Mifers

(From left: Kai Er, Val, Lee Chin, Kylie, me, Ben, Sian Jee, Yue Sum and Zhi Yuan)

The Ngs...Mr. & Mrs. Ng and Pearlie

My family with Mr. Richard Wong, the lay leader of Kepong Methodist Church

Buddies from church

From left: Peay Ying, me, Yin Shin, Shireen and Kim Ming

The Koks...(from left Wilson, Yin Yun and Yin Shin)

Me and Jun Ming

Al-Kisah 'Graduation' (Part 1)

Suatu masa dahulu...ok, its only about 3 weeks ago, was my graduation :) As some of my friends could not make it...I thought it would be good to just post up some pictures to 'menceritakan' the day :)

The night before Graduation day....Graduation dinner

Me 'lepaking' ...as usual in my room before going for dinner.

Lee Mei, the invited 'artist' singing 'In Christ Alone' with minus one piano accompaniment by Vicky Cho, the Korean wife of our STM graduate, Takashi Hayashi.

Receving gift for graduates

Me with family and friends.

From the left (standing): Me, Chee Keat, Lee Mei, Chooi Li, Wan Ching, God-grandmother's maid.

From left (sitting): Dad, Mom and God-grandmother.

Chooi Li and Wan Ching, my USM buddies who came down from KL and Ipoh for my graduation.

Of course there's also my monkey-business buddies in STM, Lucy and Liza.

Sweet little 'angel', Georgia (a.k.a. Georgie), my lecturer Mr. Alan's younger daughter.

Caleb (Vicky's adorable son), sis and me.

Perseverance- the theme for the night. Graduates...'Po Chung!' ('take care' in Cantonese)

Finally....graduation day!

The graduation hall

"As I was saying..." (tak habis-habis nak 'lecture')

Wee Ling and Philip...don't their smiles look the same?... got 'husband-wife' look right :)

Cindy...the American 'Super Grandma' who is always positive and encouraging!

We are ready to go in dy....

Waiting for my turn. (My left is KC and right is Ms. Ho, my lecturer)

"Jangan nakal bila graduate yah"

(Rev. Dr. Ezra Kok, STM 'Boss-Principal' on the left and Bishop Moon Hing)

Smile!

Yea...yea...finally after 3 years of hard work!

Is Unity a mark or a myth of the church?

Is Unity the mark or the myth of the Church?

There are just endless list of reasons why people want to break away from the church. Here are the Top 10 most popular reasons (that I can think of):

1. We prefer to have our own worship style
2. We just can’t agree with each other about what we (would like to) believe
3. The Church is not Spirit-filled
4. The leaders are too rigid and old-fashion
5. Pastor is leaving, so are we
6. Some people are just a sore in the eye
7. The preacher is boring
8. We have a better structure
9. We want something new and not traditions
10. We don’t speak the same language

It is indeed a great challenge to stay united in diversity. It is so much easier to take the easy way out. Walk out! But Love never fails. Hence, it is no wonder that Jesus asks us to love one another just as he had unconditionally loved us. Then all man, knowing how hard it is to stay together against the test of time, will know that we are His followers. We are the message. We have to continue to strive to resolve differences and to learn by the grace of God to live up with each other. Then truly, the power of the Gospel will be lived out and not just preached. Then unity becomes the mark of His Church and not a myth.

What will he see?

Today when a stranger walks into our church, what shall describe his experience?

What will he see? Will he see a bunch of dull worshippers? Will he see cold wars breaking out between individuals? Will he see some searching within their wallet for the smallest denomination to put into the offering bag? Will he see how he is out of place as all the rest are of a higher class than him?

What will he hear? Will he hear juicy gossips about the latest marriage breakdown? Will he hear the leader back stabbing each other? Will he hear the silence of bored young people?
What will he feel? Will he feel the emptiness of the people’s worship? Will he feel the superficial relationship between people with each other? Will he feel the arrogance of the people of their status and wealth? Will he feel that this is just not the place for a person like him?

The Church is to be the reflection of heaven on earth. She is the reality of God’s presence with among His people. And most of all, she is the reflection of His divine nature, Love! May God grant us, in our own community of faith to BE all the Church is supposed to be!