Hanging a red banner on the doorpost of your home is a common practice during the Chinese New Year. One day, it struck me that I might have read the origin story of this tradition somewhere, so I snapped the picture on the left and went home to do some historical digging.
The Advent Season is a season of hope, preparation, expectation, and celebration. Through prayer, spiritual reading, acts of mercy, and participation in the Lord's Table, Advent helps us to expand the meaning of our lives, so that we are not ends in ourselves but a people who seek Christ as our hopeful end and joyful fulfilment.
I am a pastor’s daughter. I’ve seen firsthand the beauty and pain wrapped up in a life called to ministry for almost thirty years. I remember the first time I heard someone say something bad about my dad. He and I were working, gathering music in his office one late afternoon, when I heard the harsh words of others.
"Sometimes in the church I worry that we've settled for 'goldfish-bowl' worship. We convey a tame & domesticated God, and then find ourselves stuck in the endless pursuit of the ordinary..." (Matt Redman)
When we remember ICF, we have to thank so many people who have given and are still giving much to help ICF grow as an International church. There are many more unsung heroes that the Pastor did not mention during our service, but then we serve not because of recognition but because we love our Lord. And, of course, we give thanks to our Most Loving and Gracious God, that goes without saying.
We praise and thank God as we remember our very own beloved mother/ grandmother who is living or has gone home to be with the Lord. We remember their sacrificial love and care for us. However, some of you may not be seemingly fortunate to have a caring mother but an abusive one, a pushy one or a tigress.