FCM Newsletter 2008_V3 (Jul-Sep 08)

8/8/2019 FCM Newsletter 2008_V3 (Jul-Sep 08)

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Report on FCM Camp 2008

Overcoming the Snares of

the World

Text: FCM Camp Committee

Photos: James Tan

Overview(by Jason Liew)

The FCM Camp 2008 was held fromMay 26-31, 2008 at Calvary Pandan B-P

Church under the theme, Overcoming the Snares

of the Worldwith Pr Dennis Kabingue as the

main speaker. Evening exhortations

pertaining to The Life of Contentment were

given by Elder William Seah, Dn Peter Phoa

and Bro Joshua Yong. Yield Not to

Temptation is our theme song and the theme

verse, taken from Titus 2:12 reads, Teaching usthat, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should

live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present

world.The Camp Committee comprised Low

Boon Siang (Camp Master), Jason Liew

(Assistant Camp Master), Karen Lee

(Treasurer), Elena Ang (Publicity I/C), Ho

Xiao Wei (Logistics I/C) and Ruth Low

(Food I/C).

As FCM had many years of history in

organising camps (the first camp was in 1988),

we give praise and thanks to God for handed-

down guidelines from which we were able to

adopt certain good practices and streamline

processes to ensure the smooth planning and

running of camp. And as with every year, we

had our share of struggles and trials but theLord proved Himself to be faithful. First

there was a lack of camp committee members

but the Lord in His own perfect timing

assembled together the team. Next as the

weeks passed, both Boon Siang and Jason

discovered that they could only attend on a

part-time basis due to vocational

commitments and uncertainties abounded

regarding the regularity which bottleneckedthe planning process but they trusted in the

Lord and eventually, the Lord delivered them.

2008/3 FCM Newsletter Jul Sep 2008


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As to the intricacies of the testings of

our faith and how Gods mysterious yet

marvelous hand was at work amidst His

people despite their innumerable

idiosyncrasies, the camp committee could butonly document a number because there were

too many to tell. Nonetheless, even as you

read through these daily reflections of Gods

goodness in the lives of His people, we pray

that you will be encouraged and edified. And

so, the camp begins

Day One, Monday 26/05/08(by Jason Liew)

The 1st day of camp! Aloof from the

allures and attractions of this present world, a

fellowship of fifteen faithful few gathered

together in anticipation and hunger for a week

of spiritual feasting. FCMers and friends from

various churches rejoiced to see one another

and were quickly catching up with oneanother. Of course, there were those whom

some of us only knew by faces beforehand

but walked away forging deeper friendships by

the end of six blessed days.

The camp kicked off at 10.40am with a

time of intercessory prayer committing the

various items, events and people of the camp

unto the loving hands of Our HeavenlyFather for without Him we can do nothing

(John 15:5). Looking back, the Lord has

indeed inclined His ear unto our prayers and

blessed each and every one of us richly. The

group gathered on stage then began

introducing themselves to one another. To

assimilate the icy barrier, we played whacko.

After which, we sought to uncover more of

each other through a blanket game wherebywe must ascertain the other persons identity

and attributes. We then moved on to our

dormitories to unpack.

Lunch was next on the menu. After

physically filled, its time for the spiritual. The

1st theme message given on the 1st day by Pr

Dennis Kabingue of Gethsemane BPC who is

our camp speaker for the 1st time was indeed

a heart-reckoning and soul-searching sermon.

We praise the Lord for the faithful exposition

of Gods Holy Word. To sum up the opening

message, I quote (from the camp notes), The

best way to overcome the entrapments of the world is to

study the mindset of the world from a Biblicalperspective. And this we did, being taken

through passages of scripture revealing to us

the worlds leader (i.e. the god of this world)

and system (i.e. the rudiments, elements,

pollutions and wisdom of this world). Not

only so, we were reminded that the world has

its own leaders and teachers (i.e. the wise, the

scribe, the disputer of this world, the mighty

and the false prophets). While the glitters,gold and glamour of this world endeavor to

ensnare us, we should glorify God by

guarding ourselves with Gods given Word.

We must trust and obey.

An exhilarating Captains Ball got

everyone on their feet late afternoon. Thank

God for safety and good weather. The plan

was to have outdoor games the first day and

indoor object lessons on the second. Indeed,

God was gracious to grant us sunshine on

Monday and downpour on Tuesday.


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Elder William Seah of Calvary Tengah

BPC ministered to us after a delicious dinner.

He spoke on The Life of Contentment and

Trialsusing the acronym TRIALS to illustrate

his point and I quote, TRIALSare sent to...

Test our faith in Him, Refresh His grace toward us,

Inculcate dependence on Him, Acknowledge His

Sovereignty, Let Him have His way with us &

Sanctify us for His service. We were greatly

encouraged. The night closed warmly with a

fruitful time of dorm fellowship.

Day Two, Tuesday 27/05/08(by Low Boon Siang)

The 2nd day of camp began with a

devotional message entitled God is Our Refugeand Strengthby Bro Jason Liew. He led us in

the meditation of Psalm 46, which expresses

thanks for the deliverance of Jerusalem, the

city of God. Three precious points were

extracted from this beautiful psalm, namelythe

Protection of God, the Presence of Godand the Peace

of God. As children of this loving and mighty

God, we were encouraged to hope and trust

in His power, providence and gracious

presence, even in tumultuous times. In closing

of the devotion, we sang Hymn 46 of Revival

Hymns and Choruses A Mighty Fortress is our

God on which Psalm 46 was based. This

hymn was penned by the great Reformer,

Martin Luther, who wanted to praise God for

His preservation and defense of His church

and Word.

In the 2nd theme message, Pr Dennis

Kabingue helped us understand the Character

of the World from Ephesians chapter 2. The

Devil is the father of this world and the

characteristics of his household are

categorized into 1) Godless, 2) Ignorant of

God, 3) Haters of God, 4) Lovers of sin and 5)Haters of Gods people. In this Christ-less

condition, without the knowledge and saving

interest in the Messiah, they are strangers to

the covenants of promise. They have no hope

beyond this life and no hope of spiritual and

eternal blessings. We, as the household of

God should, and must be very different from

the household of the Devil, because we are

governed by different laws and differentmanagement. We are exhorted to examine our

own lives and walk worthy of the Lord in all

that we do. We are also warned to be careful

in our friendship with our peers that we may

not fall into the snares of the world.

After a sumptuous lunch, we had a

short siesta followed by an evangelismworkshop conducted by Rev Wee Eng Moh,

Pastor of Berith BPC and Bible Study Leader

of FCM NTU/NIE. Thank God for a very

powerful and necessary exhortation on the

necessity and importance of sharing the

gospel to lost souls. We were then divided

into groups to discuss various scenarios to

prepare us for effective tracting in the real

world outside. We also discussed on theanswers for common excuses and objections


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by unbelievers, be it friends or strangers. At

the end of this workshop, all of us were

further strengthened in fulfilling the great

commission.

At 4.10pm, the campers participated in

a Pictionary and team-bonding object lesson

called Blindfold. We had a jolly good time

of laughter and interaction drawing and letting

group mates guess the weird pictures. The

most challenging part came when a

blindfolded group mate from each group had

to overcome obstacles with their eyes

blinded. The rest of the group members

must direct with limited vocabulary so that

the sheep can follow the voices and reach

the destination. Not only was this game full of

excitement, it had a very serious object lesson,

which is to listen to the voice of our true

Shepherd and follow His leading in our lives.

The 2nd night closed with a session of

Prayer Meeting and Dorm Fellowship. TheLord is good. He had seen us through another

blessed day of spiritual feasting and sweet

fellowship.

Day Three, Wednesday 28/05/08(by Ruth Low)

Morning devotion by Bro Ko LingKang on Psalm 73 taught us not to envy the

world with all its wickedness. Let us beware

lest we be like Asaph who almost stumbled

when he was envious of the worldly ones who

seemed to be prospering and living a

luxurious life (vv. 2-4). Their seemingly good

life leads to pride and greed (vv. 6-9). Theirmoral standards are different from ours. They

have no qualms about committing sin they

live for self. Only when we come to God will

we realise that envying the ungodly is wrong

(v. 17). Judgment will come upon them. Their

destruction will be as quick and complete as a

dream that suddenly vanishes (vv. 18-20).

Rather than envying the unbelievers, they

should envy us instead. Verses 23-28 give thereason why. God guides us, holds us and

finally receives us into glory. We have peace in

the Lord. These make the big difference

between believers and unbelievers.

Morning Message by Pr Dennis

touched on the need for Christ as a way of

overcoming the snares of the world. Christ is

the Saviour of the world (Jn 4:39-42) Light ofthe world (Jn 9:5 8:12) Prophet of the world

(Jn 10:36 11:27 6:14) Bread of life (Jn 6:33)

and Intercessor of His people (Jn 17:11-15).

To overcome the snares of the world, we

must abide in Christ always. We must not

have any spiritual diets but constantly and

faithfully feed on the Bread of life. He also

promises to be with us till the end (Matt

28:18-20).

The Bible Quiz was held in AV room

and led by Xiao Wei. It was a blessed time of

interacting with own group members, testing

our Bible knowledge and learning new things.

It was raining during the quiz but it stopped

for us to go out tracting. A short exhortation

done by Ruth on 2 Cor 12:14-15we must

spend and be spent gladly for the work of thegospel in spite of rejection, inconvenience etc.

Next, we went in our 3 groups to Jurong East


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central, namely the bus interchange, entrance

to JEC and near the library. At least 3 souls

(school girls) were saved that day. One is Kai

Ting, and the other 2 are Indian girls. Karen is

doing follow-up with them.

Thank God for:

a) stopping the rain

b) the 3 souls added to the kingdom of God

c) all whom we managed to converse with

and share the gospel. Pray that the Lord

will allow the seed of the gospel to grow

in their hearts and that the Holy Spirit will

quickly convict them of their sin and need

for a Saviour

d) giving us utterance, especially those less

proficient in Mandarin

e) a new opportunity for those who have

not evangelised or done tracting before

f) the new lessons learnt (see next column).

Pray that the Lord will help us remember

those lessons and apply them the next

time we evangelise. Pray also that our

love and desire to reach out to the lost

will increase and be sustained

During combined sharing at night,

many experiences were shared. Heres a

summary of some lessons learnt:

a) Preparation of heart and mind (to have

the passion for souls, and wisdom to

know what to say and how to react)

b) Courage (to stand up for the gospel and

share it freely)

c) Persistence (of sharing the good news and

not to give up easily)

d) Sharing of personal testimony of salvation

and a new life in Christ (to show the

reality and fruit of believing in Christ)

e) Follow-up (i.e. get the name and number

of the person and make sure we contact

them)

f) Show pictures/read from the tract/read

from the Bible (so as to capture and hold

attention, and verify what we say)

Thank God for a blessed time of

sharing and learning from one another.

Sharing session was closed with Boon Xiangand Joshua praying for the above lessons

learnt as well as for the new believers and all

others whom we met.

Night message was given by Dn Peter

Phoa of Calvary Tengah BPC on the topic

The Life of Contentment and Finances. Some

important points he highlighted in addition to

those found in camp booklet:

a) Covetousness is idolatry (Col 3:5)

b) We are to possess wealth, and not let

wealth possess us

c) We are to be rich toward God (Luke

12:16-21)

d) We are to ask for just enoughnot too

little or too much (Prov 30:8-9)

e) Luke 12:15 says, Take heed, and beware of

covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the


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abundance of the things which he possesseth

(emphasis added)

f) Matthew 6:21 says, For where your treasure

is, there will your heart be also. For where your

treasure is our treasure ought to be in

heaven. There will your heart be alsoif

our treasure is in heaven, our heart will

also be towards heaven, and not the earth

Day Four, Thursday 29/05/08(by Ho Xiao Wei)

The days morning devotion was led by

Bro James Tan from Psalm 77 and was simply

entitled Remember. He referred us to

Lamentations 3:21 and quoted a portion of

Charles Spurgeons morning and evening

devotional book. Having pointed out that

memories are important and they affect our

thinking and who we are, he encouraged us to

know that remembering the Lord is a solution

to our troubles. In this Psalm, in the day of

trouble, the Psalmist sought the Lord for help.

Yet, even when the Psalmist did so, he was

still troubled and his spirit was still

overwhelmed. Verse 11 gives us the solution

I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I

will remember thy wonders of old. An account of

Gods mighty work serve to prove Gods

faithfulness and power, and by meditating onthem and reflecting on what God has done in

his life, the Psalmist finds comfort. So should

we.

Pr Kabingue brought us through the

penultimate part of our study on

Overcoming the Snares of the World with

the first 4 of 11 steps in which Soldiers of

Christ could use in their battle and in

overcoming the snares of the world through

obedience in Christ. 1) A void Living in

Darkness of the World (John 12:46) 2) Be

Transformed From the Mindset of the World

(Romans 12:2) 3) Conform To Gods Word

(Romans 12:2) 4) Do not try to Gain the

World (Matthew 16:26).

After lunch, the campers spent time

with their FCM Camp group, getting to know

each other better, and preparing for the

special item on Friday. Following that, a

creation science video on The Age of the

Earthby Kent Hovind was screened.

For the night message, Bro Joshua

Yong from Truth BPC spoke on The Life of

Contentment and Relationships, expounding onEphesians 2. He quoted what Elder William

Seah defined as contentment during the first

night message. Our relationship with God is

the basis of our contentment and a right

understanding of it is crucial. Godliness brings

about contentment, not the other way round.

He also showed us our similarity to the people

in the city of Ephesus and the relevance of

what Paul has said to them. He then showedus the basis of our relationship with God

His mercy, love and grace shown to us in


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Christ, despite our unworthiness. This basis is

totally the work of God and is steadfast and

sure. This relationship of ours with God is the

basis of our relationship with men. As we

serve God together in this present world, weought to rejoice and not envy or covet, being

guided by the Word of God and the Holy

Spirit. Are we in Christ satisfied?

We then ended the night with dorm

fellowships, wonderful as usual.

Day Five, Friday 30/05/08(by Karen Lee)

Morning devotion for the day was led

by Bro Joshua Yong from Psalm 78 and was

entitled We Must Not Forget the Works of God.

Walking through the beginning verses of the

Scripture text, we were led to see how we are

commanded not to hide what we have heard

and known of Gods Word, but to show to

generation to come the praises of the LORD,

and His strength, and His wonderful works

that He hath done, that the generation to

come might know them, that they might set

their hope in God, and not forget the works

of God, but keep His commandments. We

see the marvelous and wondrous works of

God that He did in the sight of the fathers of

the children of Ephrahim, in the land ofEgypt, how He divided the sea and caused

them to pass through and made the waters to

stand as a heap, and how in the daytime He

led them with a pillar of cloud, and all the

night with a pillar of fire. We see also how

God had caused the rocks in the wilderness to

give them drink as out of the great depths,

and brought stream also out of the rock, and

caused waters to run down like rivers. Yet,they sinned more against Him by provoking

the most High in the wilderness, and tempted

God in their heart by asking meat for their

lust. The children of Ephrahim kept not the

covenant of God, and refused to walk in His

law and forgat His works, and His wonders

that He had shewed them. So oft had theyprovoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved

Him in the desert. They turned back and

tempted God, and limited the Holy One of

Israel, They remembered not His hand: nor

the day when He delivered them from the

enemy, or how He had wrought His signs in

Egypt, and His wonders in Zoan. Nonetheless,

He, being full of compassion, forgave their

iniquity, and destroyed them not, and many atime turned His anger away, and did not stir

up all His wrath. We are reminded not to be

forgetful people like them, but to remember

the works of God that we may not be as them,

a stubborn and rebellious generation, a

generation that set not their heart aright, and

whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

Pr Dennis Kabingue brought us

through the final part of our study on

Overcoming the Snares of the World with the

remaining seven steps in which Soldiers of

Christ could use in their battle and in

overcoming the snares of the world through

obedience in Christ. The seven remaining

steps discussed in this final part of our study

are: E vangelise the World (Galatians 6:14),

Fight the Ungodliness of the World (Titus


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2:12), Grapple with the Power of the

Darkness of the World. (Eph 6:12), Hate the

Life in the World (John 12:25), Illuminate the

World (Matt 5:14), Judge the World (Hebrews

11:7,38) and Keep in Mind the ComingDestruction of the World (1 Cor 11:32). As

the study comes to a conclusion, it is our

prayer that God would help us to be strong in

the Lord, and in the power of His might, and

to put on the whole armour of God, that we

may be able to stand against the wiles of the

devil, having the assurance and confidence

that we can have victory through our Lord

Jesus Christ who has overcome the world (see1 John 4:4-5).

After lunch, the three groups broke off

for Siesta. There were some groups which

chose to set off early to plan and prepare for

Fridays Special Event. Each group was

assigned different categories of dishes to

prepare for the Special Event, and the

assigned task includes not only to come up with a dish under the category allocated to

them, they are required also to explain the

significance of their choice dish, and prepare

sufficient amount to feed at least ten. The

group had to shop for the necessary

ingredients within a budget of $20, and to

prepare the dish at the home of one of their

members. The objective of the Special Event

is to encourage deeper fellowship amongbrothers and sisters in the group and learning

from one another as they work together in

planning and preparing. Thank God for

seeing each group through a blessed time of

working together and in coming up with

delicious dishes for Fridays dinner. Thank

God also for the great creativity and excellent

culinary skills He has given the members to be

used to bless others.

As the camp comes to a close, the

campers gathered together to testify of the

Lords goodness in their life, and how He has

worked in the hearts of each one of them to

walk away from the camp resolved to live forHis glory. Indeed, the LORD hath done great

things for us whereof we are glad (Psalm 126:3)!

All praise and thanks to our God Almighty,

who had made the camp possible, and who

has blessed us greatly through it.

Day Six, Saturday 31/05/08(by Jason Liew)

We broke camp at 10.45am after area

cleaning and breakfast.

May the Lord continue to bless each

and every one, especially the camp committee,

who has served the Lord with distinction and

toiled laboriously in the Lords vineyard in

preparation and participation of this years

camp. In retrospect, it was truly a blessed

experience. How we wished more could come

and partake in this wonderful blessing. Will

you not join us next year?


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Thank God for the

opportunity to serve in the

FCM Camp Committee this

year. It has been my privilege

and joy. Thank God for the

sweet fellowship among like-

minded brethren, somethingthat is very hard to find

elsewhere. FCM Camp 2008

has truly blessed me in many

ways. Thank God for this

time of spiritual feasting.

May God help us to keep in

mind the lessons we have

learnt from the camp and to

live a victorious Christian life.~ Ho Xiao Wei, FCM NUS

The Lord had used this

years camp to show me how

He is able when I am unable,

and how He can use even the

unworthy and useless me if

He wills. Having theunderstanding of that, I rest

content in His will, not

wanting any more or

complaining of any less.

Being part of the camp

committee is not because of

any extraordinary skills orgifts God has bestowed upon

me, which I dont have and

being fully aware of that

brought about many

uncertainties and fears in the

process of carrying out my

duties and responsibilities.

The ability to fulfill my role

and to carry out chairingduties is hence only by the

grace of God, whose works

is manifested in my inabilities.

At the end of the camp, I

stand in awe and with a

thankful heart how my

Almighty God had brought

me through the many things

I well knew I cannot do without His help. I thank

Him also for being my

faithful God whom I know I

can always trust to provide

and to sustain, and to guide.

The camp has been a time I

find myself coming before

God in total dependence on

Him to see me through what

I needed to do, a time of

learning to trust, and to

commit all things into His

hands. It was also a time I

see Gods mighty hands at

work, in overseeing the

events of camp and in using

each of the campers to be a

channel of His blessings to

another. It humbled me

greatly to see how He is able

to use even a small number

of His children to be an

instrument in bringing to

others the saving message ofthe Gospel, whether it be

sowing of the Gospel seed or

to witness Him bringing

some out of darkness into

His marvelous light simply

through the Gospel message.

Indeed my God is so great,

so strong and so mighty,

theres nothing He cannot do!Despite the smaller number

of campers who were able to

attend the camp compared to

previous years, they are in no

wise of any less importance,

nor does the smaller number

discourages me in anyway,

for they are all precious in

His sight, and are beloved ofour Almighty God. I thank

God to be given the privilege

of serving Him and His

beloved children in even the

smallest ways. What great joy

it is! And what blessedness to

know that we share a

common love and a common

bond in our Lord Jesus

Christ! I thank God for the

many blessed moments He

has blessed us through the

camp, whether it be playing

of games, the deep and open

sharing over dorm fellowship,

one moment laughters and

one moment tears,

encouraging one another and

learning from the Word of


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God together, coming before

His throne of grace

interceding for one another,

or helping one another in the

many different ways. I thankGod most for the

contentment, the satisfaction

of the heart, mind and soul

that we can have in Him as

His children. What rich

people we are, for godliness

with contentment is great

gain! (1 Tim 6:6) Giving all

praise and glory to our GodMost High, who hath done

great things for us whereof

we are glad! (Psalm 126:3) ~

Karen Lee, FCM NUS

I thank God for the

opportunity to attend the

FCM camp. It is an eventthat I look forward to every

year, for it is a week of

spiritual nourishment,

refreshment, and also a great

opportunity to have blessed

fellowship. This year, though

the numbers were slightly

smaller, the blessings were

no less abundant, if not more! We learnt much during the

short week that we had

together. Spiritual resolutions

and convictions were made,

friendships were forged and

strenghtened, and most

importantly, we all drewcloser to God in our spiritual

walks. As we press on ahead

together, may the ministry of

the FCM continue to be a

blessing to the people who

attend, and may it continue

to grow from strength to

strength, until the Lord

returns. ~ Ko Ling Kang, FCMNUS

Had a most edifying time

during girls dorm fellowship

where we wept for our sins

and confessed them one to

another, with no judgment

made against each other buttogether sorrowing for our

own selves and each other.

Together, we realised how

weak, helpless, sinful and

infirmed we were but more

so, how good our God has

been to us, that He would

care to condescend to our

estate and help us creaturesthat are so often stubborn,

depraved and weak in sin.

Truly, how great is the God

we adore! Looking forward

to next FCM camp! ~ Debbie

Tay, FCM NUS

FCM Camp 2008 was truly a

blessing to me. From the

messages, I was taught and

reminded of many lessons,

and I was also rebuked and

exhorted towards a closer

walk with my Lord and more

fervent service for Him. I am

especially thankful for the

tracting experience, for it has

served to remind me that

untold millions are still

untold, and to spur me on to

reach out to all the many lost

souls around me. Thank God

also for the blessedfellowship, it was truly a

wonderful time to be in the

company of Gods people

who have been a great

encouragement, be it in their

sincere and open sharings,

testimonies and even their

willingness to lend a helping

hand at all times. Praise Godfrom whom all blessings flow!

~ Ko Ling Ting, FCM NUS


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FCM Camp was a blessing as

a spiritual retreat and the

delightful fellowship. the

messages, devotions and

sharings during dorm

fellowship and discussions

were heartfelt and warm, thatboth rebuked and also

encouraged me to have a

heart renewed for service to

the Lord. Thank God also

for having been able to learn

much from other campers

who shared so freely their

experiences and showed so

much humility andcheerfulness in serving one

another. (: ~ Joy Ng, FCM

NUS

It was indeed the Lord's

providence that led me to

FCM Camp 2008. Term was

still on for me in that week,but by His grace my tests had

ended and I was able to leave

school surprisingly early

some days to attend parts of

the morning message and

evangelism workshop, and

come for all the nightmessages. Though I only

came on a part-time basis, I

was richly blessed. In

particular, the messages

about the life of contentment

and trials by Elder Seah, and

Elder Boon's own testimony

on stewardship ministered to

me at a time when I waspersonally struggling with

submitting to God's will

regarding my school

environment. And despite

the small number attending,

the fellowship of these

brethren who have obtained

like precious faith was a great

encouragement to continuein the Lord. Kudos to the

committee for their labour of

love for Christ in organising

this spiritual feast. ~ Jonathan

Tay, FCM NUS

FCM Camp 2008 was the

first FCM Camp Ive

attended. However, I could

only attend the Monday and

Thursday night messages due

to an internship stint. I thank

God for granting me

attentiveness andreceptiveness during the

messages despite my physical

fatigue. The acronym

TRIALS for the purpose

of trials in a believers life

was thought-provoking, and

I could relate it to Jobs

attitude amidst his trials

But he knoweth the way that Itake: when he hath tried me, I

shall come forth as gold (Job

23:10). I hope to be able to

adopt this same thinking in

my life when faced with

difficulties, especially to Let

Him Have His Way With Me.

Another valuable lesson

learnt from the messages isthat contentment is not a

state of emotion, but rather,

knowledge of the

relationship between God

and man. Having attended

church since young has

translated into a taken-for-

granted mindset with respect

to my relationship with God.

I had forgotten what a

privilege it is to be elected by

God to be His child.

Through the Thursday

message, I was reminded of

this fundamental truth. All in

all, attending the night

messages was spiritually

refreshing to me after being

immersed in the realities of


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the working world, and I

have been richly blessed. ~

Teo Jun Zi, FCM NTU/NIE

FCM Camp 2008 was the

second FCM camp I

attended. Although some

faces remain familiar as when

I first attended camp 2 years

ago, whilst others are new, I

must say the fellowship and

blessedness that FCM camp

provides is still the same!

This years camp theme

taught me much about how

to overcome the snares of

the world, with a

comprehensive step-by-step

guideline, which follows A

through K alphabetically for

easy memorizing! I also

learnt to be wary of thesnares of the World, and am

resolved after camp, to make

my life count for Christ and

walk in His ways, with His

enablement. One thing to

note! It is never a valid

excuse not to attend FCM

camp because you dont

know anyone, becauseeveryone is very warm and

friendly, so do join us and

see you next year! ~ Charlene

Tan, FCM NTU/NIE

Thank God for the FCM

camp. I have been greatly

blessed through it. It is

wonderful to see God

working through the ministry

of the FCM to bless

Christians who have gathered

to learn Gods Word. Thank

God for the Word faithfully

preached by Pr DennisKabingue, for the time of

discussion, for sharings in

dorms and in groups, for the

singing of praises to God, for

prayer, for fellowship, for

games, for cooking time

and for quiet time spent

alone with God. It is a

blessing to think upon thegoodness of God. Thank

God also for the opportunity

to serve in the camp. Thank

God for the grace God has

given to the camp committee

to plan and run the camp.

This camp has been a

wonderful time of spiritual

refreshing. Psalm 145:10,All thy works shall praise

thee, O LORD and thy

saints shall bless thee. ~

Joshua Yong, FCM SMU


ministry in Singapore. The

amount of blessings I have

received over my short

involvement in FCM thus far

are too many to name.

Although I was not able to

attend FCM camp 2008 full

time, the fellowship and

spiritual feeding was still very

warm and sweet. While I was

away from camp I yearned to

return to partake of the

messages and fellowship.

Really appreciate the youth

that our Lord have raised to

lead this ministry in these last

days. May we all remain

faithful and encourage moreto be blessed by this ministry!

~ Elvin Siew, FCM SMU


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Initially, the topic seemed to

be a rather common one,

alongside the usual lines of

the themes of spiritual battles

against sin, temptations and

all that, stuff which we might

have heard countless timesover the pulpit. However, it

was surprisingly refreshing...

I would liken this camp to a

much needed visit to the

optician/optometrist, where

we improve our "spiritual

vision" to look out and be

aware of certain traps and

pitfalls in our lives. From the

reflections, sharing and

discussion sessions (which

we might usually lack aftermost messages), we are able

to clearly see, and realise how

certain things that appear as

the norm in our lives, can

easily lead to an opening for

temptation, or conceal a

hidden snare. Besides the

messages, FCM camp has

never failed to ensure ahealthy amount of fellowship,

which just simply adds

flavour and sweetness to the

whole experience... Praise

God! ~James Tan, FCM Poly


camp. Even though I was

there for a grand total of 12

hours, including sleeping

time, from the sharings from

the others in the camp, thank

God that we had a good time

of learning and

fellowshipping. J ~ Grace

Auyong, FCM Poly


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15

Debbie Tay

BA (English Literature, Theatre Studies)National University of Singapore

So, the day finally arrived. Although I

was waiting for this day, I think my parents

were more excited about it than me because...

they don't have to fork out money for my

studies anymore? I don't really know. Its a

mark of achievement for them that they had

successfully funded my educational path? Or

maybe, the prospect that this is payback time

(literally)? Oh well, I think I was more happy

that I have no more excruciating assignments

where I have to continually stare at a blank

page with nothing to type, no more frustrating

confusing group work (and worrying if you

have competent group mates and about group

dynamics), and most of all, no more tiringexams where fingers fly from start time to end

time, or mind-boggling ones where... uhh...

the mind boggles. Hmm, although I think Im

going to miss the three month long breaks

and FCM and chilling out with my friends at

the Olive Cove and... Well, the fun part ofstudent life I guess.

But reality hits. One stage of my life

has ended and another is beginning. And

before I go on to the next stage of my life, I

think it'll be worthy to look back on how God

has brought me through. To reflect, to

meditate, and to think on God's goodness and

the lessons that He had taught me that theselessons, together with its fruits: faith, trust,

patience, and hope, may prepare me for the

next stage of my life.

In essence, I thank God for my

smooth journey through, but I thank God

more for the rough bumps along the way,

because it is through these bumps that I

experienced more deeply, (or more 'obviously'for someone like me who takes things for

granted) the grace of God. And through my

student life in NUS, these three lessons stood

out the most:

1. Not to run ahead of God.

2. Take a stand for what is right, no matter

the consequences

3. Everything is a choice. Be convicted in

whatever you choose.

GRADUATION TESTIMONIES Debbie Tay Ho Xiao Wei Karen Lee Low Boon Siang Benson Ang Shirlyn Tan


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16

As I was pondering what to write and

perusing what little bits of journaling I had

made of my student life for the past three

years, I realised I had made many plans and

often, I wondered if God was in the equationor if I had placed my will before His. This one

incident stood out: I was planning to go for

an exchange programme for a semester in

Sweden / Ireland / Australia / Norway /

Finland. They call it the SEP: Student

Exchange Program. My grades were quite

alright and I was probably just sucked into the

excitement of living the life of a poor student

in a foreign country and experiencing lifeelsewhere (and thinking of nothing else but

that recall the words 'sucked into'). I was

very excited and made many plans, such as

taking SEP loans, checking out courses,

calculating expenses -- all of which were

legitimate except that I had forgotten to seek

the Lord's will. No, rather, I had sought the

Lord's will but I did it merely to appease my

conscience my mind was already made up. Inthe end, God had to stop me in my tracks by

giving me a D in English Language (how

ironic when I'm majoring in English

Literature!) which, suffice to say, made me

ineligible for SEP. Caught up in my

excitement, I had run ahead of God, tried to

do things my way instead of God's way, and

was unwilling to submit my life into God's

hands. Now, I learn: Don't run ahead of God.

REALLY seek His will without your mind

being made up already and fully submit your

life to His leading.

The second incident was quite recent.

In my last semester, I was involved in a

compulsory play module which nature was

not very edifying even though the director

was a Christian. We can't really do muchbecause we were students and this was a

lecturer and the module was compulsory for

graduation. Although I thank God that I

wasn't involved in too much of it (I was just

doing costumes), the time that we had spent

slogging together for it bonded all of us andmade us really close. So much so that, when

the time has come for me to make a right

decision, it became really hard to do the right

thing. You see, after our compulsory module

has ended, an opportunity arose for us to tour

another city, Shanghai -- for free! I had to

make a decision whether or not to follow and

had a hard time debating within myself and

justifying myself for going (Hey! Im onlydoing costumes!). But after some serious

discussion with a fellow sister-in-Christ in the

play and another sister in church, and

humbling myself and giving serious thought

to it, I decided eventually not to go because

the play itself was immoral (nevermind my

part) and a Christian ought never to be found

involved in this. And now that I have a choice,

how can I enter this immoral play knowingly?So even though my heart ached (a lot and a

lot) I made the decision not to go... I guess

sometimes, the hardest decisions made are

also the best ones. I think some of my friends

weren't too happy. I might have offended

some more friends, my bad grade could have

been because of that, but because I made that

choice based on my conviction, I had no

regrets no matter the consequence -- which

brings us to our last point.

Above all, I learnt that everything is a

choice. I can choose to submit to God or run

ahead of Him, I can also choose whether or

not to stand for what is right. I can choose to

seek God or the world. I can choose to while

my time away or do something profitable. I

can choose to edify my brethren when wemeet or talk about something else less


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church due to the VPP issue. It filled up the

slot where I would have otherwise been found

in the previous church prayer meeting, until in

Gods good time I was able to attend the

prayer meeting of the new church. It was alsomy only fellowship group before God led me

to join the new churchs Youth Fellowship

meetings. When great vexation of the spirit

set in while reading men-elevating, God-

denying theories and writings during the

school semester, the weekly FCM meetings

had been a relief to my soul.

God has blessed me greatly throughthe Fundamental Christian Ministry, and I

believe He has so for all who are part of the

group. It is my prayer that we will not forsake

the assembling of ourselves together, as the

manner of some is but exhorting one another:

and so much the more as we see the day

approaching (Hebrews 10:25).

May the Lord help us, also, to hold fast

the profession of our faith without wavering

(for He is faithful that promised) and to

consider one another to provoke unto love

and to good works (Hebrews 10:23-24).

Thanking the Lord for Fundamental

Christian Ministry and for His faithful servant.

All thanks and praise to Him, the Source of allgood things.

Karen Lee, FCM NUS (2006-2008), is a member of Truth Bible-Presbyterian Church.

She is now a Master of Divinity (MDiv) student at the Far Eastern Bible College.

Low Boon SiangBSc (Ed) (Physical Education & Sports Science)

National Institute of Education

Into the 7th week as a full-fledged

teacher, my heart is filled with thankfulness to

God, for He has so graciously seen methrough my 4 years of Teachers Training in

NIE. He has also given me grace and wisdom

in each and every assignment, project and

exam. Indeed, He is my Provider and

Sustainer.

Since the beginning of this year, I have

been looking forward to the start of my career

as a teacher in July, because there will finally

be no more exams (after 16 years of exams),

and I will finally earn a living. However, I also,

with much anxiety and fear, anticipate the

trials and stresses that will bombard me very

soon (especially after hearing countless scary

stories from all my teacher friends for the past

4 years).

Nonetheless, I must remember that

this life itself is an exam. How I walk every

day of my life and how I use every moment ofmy time must be according to the Setter and


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Examiner of this exam. I thank God for

giving me good secular grades, but I pray that

I may walk worthy of His name and receive

an eternal reward from Him, which is

incomparably more precious than thosegrades.

Where He leads me I will follow,

Though the way may be unclear.

For I know Im in His keeping,

And that He is always near.

The Lord is exceedingly good. He

helped me through these first few weeks of

culture shock as a Beginning Teacher, and Iam starting to adapt to this new life now

Four years ago, when I entered NIE, it

was the Olympics. Now, as I leave NIE, it is

again the Olympics. Indeed, time flies. So

what have I gained spiritually during these

years of tertiary education? I must thank God

for providing me with FCM, and every

opportunity to attend the Weekly Bible Study,

combined fellowships, outings and annual

camps. Here I learnt many invaluable lessons

from Gods Word, made several close friends,

built strong relationships, enjoyed sweet

fellowship and gained ample opportunities toserve God.

Opportunity is the flower of time or

the most precious part of it, which if once lost,

may never return.

Dear Brethren, may we sincerely thank

the Lord for His providence in sustaining

FCM, for the faithful and unfailing preaching

of Gods Word, for the Bible Study Leadersand fellow FCMers who encourage and pray

for us every meeting, and for the wonderful

fellowship in outings and camps. All in all,

praise God for His love for us. All glory be

unto Him. Amen.

He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered:

the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

~ Psalm 111:4 ~

Low Boon Siang, FCM NTU/NIE (2004-2008), is a member of Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church.

He served as Overall Student Coordinator (2006-2008) and is now a teacher at Lakeside Primary School.

Benson AngBEng (Environmental), Nanyang Technological University

PGDE, National Institute of Education

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not

unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways

acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

By Gods grace, He has seen me

through 4 years of undergraduate studies

(Environmental Engineering) in NTU and 1

year of Postgraduate Diploma in Education

(PGDE) in NIE. In fact, the Lord has blessed

me with excellent results. I would also like to

thank God for the baptism of my family andmy fiance.


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I could still recall when I was in my 1st

year of study, I was a hostelite and students

from the Campus Crusade came knocking on

my door asking me to join their cell groups. I

was an unbeliever then and I rejected themciting reasons like Not enough time for my school

work etcI came to know of the Lord when

my aunt brought my sister and me to

Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church. It

was through church service that I got to know

Brother Boon Siang (then also a student

teacher in NIE). He encouraged me to join

the FCM NTU/NIE conducted by Pastor

Wee and Aunty Helen to have fellowship withfellow undergraduate brethren. That was in

2004 and I was in my year 2 of engineering

course. Thankfully my timetable on

Wednesdays (the day on which FCM meetings

are held) usually end 1 to 2 hours before FCM

commences leaving me sufficient time for

dinner and freshen myself up. It would have

been a great temptation to skip FCM if my

lessons were to end in the morning /afternoon. Praise the Lord for He had not led

me into temptation, instead He knoweth my

weakness and delivereth me from it.

You may be wondering why a trainee

engineer (like me) is joining the teaching

career? By Gods grace, He has granted me a

scholarship to do my Industrial Attachment in

Shanghai, China. I was attached to the localutilities board as a trainee engineer designing

the layout of gas and water pipelines for the 6

month stint. While on the job, it dawned on

me that theory does not equate to practice

and the job requirements of an engineer isnt

suitable for me. I prayed about it and asked

for Gods direction and guidance for my

career in future.

When I returned to Singapore after my

6 month stint, I was back attending FCM in

my final year of studies in NTU and that was

where I met Brother Randy (from Calvary

Pandan BPC). He told me about MOETeaching Award (TA) as he just received one

and he was taking his PGDE under this award.

I prayed to the Lord and He moved me to

apply for the TA too. By Gods grace, MOE

accepted my application to be a teacher and

granted me the TA. With that, I knew that

God has called me to be a teacher rather than

as an engineer.

Right now, I have completed my NIE

training and will be formally inducted into the

teaching profession. I pray therefore that God

will lead and sustain me in the teaching

profession. I would also like to encourage

fellow brethren like brothers Boon Siang,

Herbert, Randy and sister Sherry who are all

in the teaching profession to stay passionate

and continue to our calling to be teachers andincorporate elements of Gods Word into our

teachings.

All I can say in conclusion is that the

workings of the Lord in my life are countless.

If time permits, I would want to continue

listing all of them down even till today I still

taste the goodness the Lord has bestowed

upon me. I urge all fellow FCMers tocontinue to pray, trust and stay faithful to our

Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In difficult and

trying times, be it at work or in studies, our

Lord knows and hears our prayers and He will

deliver us from our enemies and troubles. Let

us all fight the good fight of faith! Praise the

Lord from whom all blessings flow.

Benson Ang, FCM NTU/NIE (2004-2008), is a member of Gethsemane

Bible-Presbyterian Church. He is now a teacher at Greenview Secondary School.


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Shirlyn TanBSc (Hons) (Banking & Finance), University of London

Dip in Banking & Financial Services, Nanyang Polytechnic

Looking back, I have joined FCM for

about 4 years ever since I entered polytechnic.

I got to know about FCM through my cousin

Serene Lee who invited me to FCM Camp.

When I first joined FCM, the Bible Study

Leader then was Preacher Ho Chee Lai and

the Student Coordinator was Clarice Lim.

Thank God for the zealousness of Pr Ho in

teaching Gods Word and the commitment of

Clarice in coordinating the meeting. =)

We touched on many different topics

such as denominations, cults, the study of

Minor Prophets and issues such as situational

ethics, the Ten Commandments and lots

more. Through FCM, I have learnt more

about the issues that I have stated above andalso learnt to lead in singspiration. I have also

enjoyed my time tremendously in every FCM

meeting despite the tiredness as I would head

down to FCM after a long day in school.

Thank God for that. Coming to FCM enables

me to fellowship with likeminded Christians

as most of us are from the same

denomination and we are able to share our

poly experiences with one another, be it

struggles or blessings. Thats one advantage

when all of us are in poly. We will meet every

Friday at 6.30pm for dinner and we will have

the message at 7pm till about 9 plus.

Sometimes we will even go for supper and we

could fellowship even longer. There are someoccasions when FCM is held in the various

polytechnics and for me, it is held in a room

at the Engineering Faculty in NYP. Dn Peter

Phoa led us in Bible Study there, where we

had the message concerning the coming of

Christ. I enjoyed the fellowship and was truly

blessed by all the messages.

However, even after I graduated frompolytechnic to further my studies in UOL-

SIM, I continued attending FCM, making us

the alumnus in FCM. What keeps me going to

FCM is the studying of Gods Word and

fellowship. Having been a student in

university, I felt that having Bible Study is

important as it helps you to grow and make

decisions that are well-pleasing to God in our

everyday life. After some time, I took up therole as a treasurer in FCM Poly and served

God in FCM. At this point in time, the baton

of the Bible Study Leader was passed to Bro

Lim Jun Sheng and Luke Tan became the

Student Coordinator. Thank God for a

helpful Bible Study Leader and a generous

coordinator. =) I was also blessed by the

messages and the messages include submitting

to authorities, personal witnessing, salvationand a life in holiness and lots more. At this

time, FCM Poly is now meeting in Ngee Ann

Polytechnic (NP) and after the messages we

would have snacks, while pondering on some

discussion questions. Sometimes we would

also have FCM outings to celebrate our

members birthdays. This further strengthens

the bond of fellowship.

I would like to thank God for my Bible

Study Leaders and FCM Coordinators who


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NEWS & NOTES

have made a decision to serve God in this

area. Thank God for the effort that they have

put in to prepare the study notes, to the

coordinators for their time spent in SMSing

everyone every week regarding theprogrammes on that particular week, for the

individual members who have led

singspiration and the people who have made

an effort to come to FCM.

Well, for the people entering

polytechnic (or who are already in it),

although sometimes we might be too

preoccupied with the many deadlines forassignments, projects and tests, we need to

feast more spiritual food so that we would not

be overly distracted by the cares of this world.

One avenue for you to have your spiritual

food is to join FCM Poly, where we can study

Gods Word together and enjoy the warmChristian fellowship with like-minded

brethren.

Last but not least, I would like to

thank God again for making all these possible.

It is by his mercies that we are not consumed

and I would like to thank Him for all the love,

care, provisions and blessings that He has

bestowed upon me. May all glory, praise andhonour be unto Him!

Shirlyn Tan, FCM Poly (2004-2008), is a member of Galilee Bible-Presbyterian Church.

The first FCM Combined Meeting 2008 was held at Calvary Pandan Bible-Presbyterian Church on

February 29, 2008. The Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy, Pastor of Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church and Dean of

Students at the Far Eastern Bible College, delivered the Lords message. He spoke on the topic, Onward Christian

Soldiers.

The second FCM CD entitled, Onward Christian Soldiers was released on February 29, 2008 in

conjunction with the combined meeting. It was jointly produced with Bible Witness Web Radio and has 20 tracks.Kindly approach any of the Student Coordinators if you wish to order the CD.

The FCM Camp 2008 was held from May 26-31, 2008. Pr Dennis Kabingue of Gethsemane Bible-

Presbyterian Church spoke on Overcoming the Snares of the World. Night messages by Elder William Seah, Dn

Peter Phoa and Joshua Yong dealt with The Life of Contentment.

Calvary Tengah Bible-Presbyterian Churchwill be having its 14th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service

on August 3, 2008. The Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew will be speaking on The Lord Hath Done Great Things For Us,

Whereof We Are Glad. All FCMers are invited to attend.

The new Student Coordinators for AY 08/09 are Jason Liew (Overall), Joy Ng (FCM NUS), Teo Jun Zi

(FCM NTU/NIE) and Samuel Goh (FCM Poly). We also welcome Joshua Yong (DipTh, BRE, MDiv cand) as he

joins us as FCM SMUs new Bible Study Leader.


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FCM Newsletter 2008_V3 (Jul-Sep 08)

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