O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness

ABUNDANT LIFE

Today is the first day of Chinese New Year. To many Chinese, it is an auspicious day to usher in luck and prosperity for the year ahead. One of the Chinese customs popularly practiced in Singapore and Malaysia is having the Yusheng or Prosperity Toss or Lo Hei dish. Yusheng (鱼生) literally means raw fish in Chinese. It has the same sound for another Chinese expression and that is increasing in abundance (余升). Therefore, the Yusheng dish is considered an auspicious symbol of abundance and prosperity.

For Christians, as much as we should enjoy the Yusheng dish, we are to be cautious not to believe that luck and an abundant life would ensue when we toss the ingredients and consume the dish.

The world regards abundant life as possessing longevity accompanied with the abundance of earthly blessings in the form of wealth, health, material possessions and happiness.  However, will the craving for “abundant life” be just an illusion after all, when illness, disability or tragedy strikes? Therefore, there are those who are gripped by fear and are drawn into superstitious beliefs and practices so as to avert any bad luck or ill omens that may befall them. As Christians, are we fearful that “bad luck” will happen to us? Is “abundant life” also elusive for us?

Abundant Life from Christ

Let us look at what Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The Jewish leaders in their unbelief rejected Jesus and refused to acknowledge Him as God even though they knew that He has opened the eyes of the man born blind. They were void of love, grace and mercy and excommunicated him from the synagogue. Jesus contrasted Himself to them. Unlike the Jewish leaders who were not the true shepherds because they steal, kill and destroy, Jesus declared that He came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly.

“Abundant” in Greek means “exceedingly, surplus or beyond measure”. These were not idle words that Jesus spoke. God’s yea is yea and nay is nay. He is faithful and able to fulfil this promise because He is God Himself.

An abundant life is not measured by the abundance of wealth we have. When Jesus was on earth, He was not rich. In fact, it is recorded in the gospel of Luke that His mother, Mary offered a pair of turtledoves (2:25) according to Moses’ law that the poor could offer turtledoves as a sacrifice (Leviticus 14:21, 22). On another occasion, Jesus was upfront with the scribe who wished to follow Him that He did have any worldly riches or goods to offer him. Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20).

Moreover, we are warned by Jesus to “take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15).

What is Abundant Life?

Essentially, abundant life is possessing eternal life. God in His grace and mercy gives us eternal life when we believe in Him. We are no more condemned by God for our sins (Romans 8:1). There is no more separation between us and God in Jesus. Since He has reconciled us to God by the “death of Jesus Christ, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10). We are no more His enemies but adopted as His children into His family “whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). What an abundant life we have in Christ to have God as our heavenly Father and to know that He is with us from now till eternity.

Abundant life in Christ also means we have inherited all the spiritual blessings He has bestowed upon us (Ephesians 1:3) and our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life (Revelation 21:27). We are therefore rich in Christ, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

The abundant life that we should desire is to live a spiritual and not material abundant life. Solomon had all the abundance of life but he found them meaningless (Ecclesiastes 5:10-15). Riches or poverty in life is not an indication of our standing with God. The story of Lazarus and the rich man demonstrates that having all the material blessings does not mean we have an abundant life. The plot twist of the story was that Lazarus, the beggar, was the one who went to heaven and not the rich man (Luke 16:20-31).

How to Have Abundant Life

As Christians our understanding of abundant life is not how the world defines it. Abundant life to us is to be born again and having our sins forgiven and washed by the blood of Jesus. We possess eternal life and like Lazarus, we shall see Jesus face to face one day. As we rest on this truth, life is abundant and worth the living because we are abiding in Jesus and He is abiding in us (John 15:4). Although, there will be trials in life, He has given us the love, joy, peace and hope in Him.

If you are seeking for an abundant life today, come and believe in Jesus and He will give you life, and give it more abundantly. When we who are Christians eat the Yusheng dish, let us thank God for the abundant life that He has given us.

– Rev Quek Keng Khwang 

Appointments for the Week

Onsite & Online Meetings

{slider title="Announcements" class="orange solid color_content"}

1. Sanctity in the Sanctuary: All worshippers are kindly reminded to observe silence in the church sanctuary from at least 10 minutes before the service begins, and to spend the time to quietly and personally prepare our hearts to seek the Lord. There will be ample opportunities to fellowship with other worshippers after the service ends.

2. Exercising Social Responsibility: To ensure the safety and comfort of all who use our church premises, the wearing of face masks is encouraged during activities that are held in crowded indoor settings. In addition, those who are unwell or who cough frequently are strongly advised not to attend church activities in-person but to participate in them online if possible.

3. Holy Communion will be served each month at the 11.00 am service on the first Sunday, and at the 8.00 am service on the third Sunday.

To minimise contact during Holy Communion, each worshipper is to hold out his or her palm so that the serving Elder may drop the bread into it with his gloved hand. All worshippers should sanitize their hands just before taking a cup of grape juice from the tray when it is brought to them. It is recommended that each worshipper should bring his or her own personal bottle of sanitizer for this purpose.

4. Membership Roll Update Exercise 2023 (8 to 29 January) for ACM:

If you are a member of Life B-P Church, please update your particulars or download the physical form at https://www.lifebpc.com/update for the purpose of  the Annual Congregational Meeting.   

Please drop the forms in the box provided at the front entrance after worship services or mail to 10 Gilstead Road Singapore 309064. 

5. Lifers are invited to serve our Lord as Traffic Wardens on Sunday. Kindly contact Dn Yeo  if you are available. 

6. Gospel Sunday, 29 January 2023, 8.00am and 11.00am. “Behold all things are become new” by Rev Bendick Ong

7.       Church Camp 2023 will be held from June 13-16 (Tue-Fri). at Radisson Golf & Convention Center, Batam, Indonesia.

Speaker: Pastor Tan Soon Yong.

Theme: Anchoring Our Faith in a Postmodern World.

Please reserve the dates!

8. Life BPC has the following vacancies:

a)       Assistant Finance Officer (AFO)

Responsibilities:

Assists in the finance operations of the organization, and Human Resource administrative/operational functions of the Church.

Qualifications:

• Diploma in Accounting or higher
• 2 years’ experience in relevant fields
• Should be able to handle full set of accounts
• Knowledge of Quick Book Systems and computer applications is an added advantage

b)       Assistant Media & Technology Officer (AMTO)

Responsibilities:

Assists in supporting the Audio-Visual (AV) functions of the church.

Qualifications:

• Diploma/ITE or higher in Electrical/Electronic/Mechatronics/Computer Engineering or Mass Media & Communications or equivalent.
• Knowledge/skills in handling of Pro-audio/visual equipment is preferred.
• Knowledge of IT and computer software/hardware.
• Hands-on in technical and maintenance works is an advantage.
• A dedicated, responsible, truthful and spiritually mature person with self-motivation, commitment and interest in this work and as a church ministry.
• Able to work independently and as well as in a team.
• Preferably a member of Life B-P Church.
• Possessing a Class 3 driving license is an advantage.
• Candidates with no relevant experience may apply as trainee for the position.

Candidates with relevant qualifications and experience may submit your application and CV to the Church Operations Manager at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.