Posts by Ryan Seow (Page 9)

Mark 4: 35-40Later that day, when evening came, Jesus said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” They left the crowd and took him in the boat just as he was. Other boats followed along.Gale-force winds arose, and waves crashed against the boat so that the boat was swamped. But Jesus was in the rear of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. They woke him up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re drowning?”He…

At the end of last year, we worked on the memory verse 2 Peter 1:5-8 (“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness…”). Hopefully these are verses you’ve come to know and love, and even memorize. These verses are part of a bigger theme in 2 Peter, and the very last line of 2 Peter summarizes this theme well–“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).…

Back in October, I had the chance to speak on the topic of dealing with suffering and trials. From what I can remember, things were pretty different back then both for the church and in the world. We were allowed to have up to a hundred people join us live on Sundays, so it was nice to gather for those who were able even though we had to social distance and mask. The summer had just ended, where we’d seen…

During worship last Sunday, Jerry was MC’ing and shared a word he was hearing from God (see it here – https://youtu.be/bYWujpu54gw?t=1811). The word that Jerry got was that for many of us, we feel like our life is on “pause” because of the pandemic. We’ve had to pause important things whether it’s because of lockdown, our family situation, sickness, work life, job loss, etc. That word really spoke to me! I definitely feel like things in my life have been…

Back when I was in Overflow (youth ministry), we used to have intercession meetings on Friday nights in the church office. In some ways, having intercession meetings together was a good excuse for the young people to get together on a Friday night. But more importantly, intercession was a huge part of who we were as a youth group. Though we didn’t call it “listening prayer” at the time, that’s what we spent most of our time doing. We’d sit…

Over the course of 2020, we did 3 memory verses together as a church (10 commandments, fruit of the Spirit, 2 Peter 1: 5-8). The pastoral team also did a few extra verses together. Here are some highlights: Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace… gentleness and self-control.2 Peter 1:5-8: For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness… and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance.2 Timothy 1:7: For God…

Christmas 2020 is turning out to be a Christmas like no other. I’m probably not alone in having some mixed feelings about Christmas this year. On one hand, Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus, and the miracle of Jesus coming to be with us. Like we’re reminded about in John 1:14, “the Word became flesh and lived among us,” and that is real reason for joy! We should celebrate this Christmas season, and what it means…

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18–“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Near the end of one of Paul’s letters to the church in Thessalonica, he gives some good advice that is very relevant to what we’re going through today. First, Paul encourages the church to “pray without ceasing.” We really are in a season today where the need for prayer is so great. Last Wednesday, during our…

Isaiah 9:6 (CEB) A child is born to us, a son is given to us,and authority will be on his shoulders.He will be namedWonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Around this time of year, one of the things we like to do in our house is put up our Christmas tree. For me, putting up the tree has always been an important way for me to get into the Christmas spirit and Christmas season. In the past, even…

Romans 5:1-5 NIVTherefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured…

The topic of suffering is not one that we talk about often in the church. Part of the reason for this might be because there are some assumptions that the more pious or righteous we are, the less we suffer. This simply isn’t true! The story of Job illustrates this well. Job is a righteous man (Job 1:1) who goes through some tremendous suffering. He loses all his wealth, children, and health in a short time, and is so broken…

2 Peter 1:5-8: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” At Life-Spring, we’re now on our third memory verse for the year.…