Brisbane Bible-Presbyterian Church’s 2nd Anniversary Thanksgiving
A Report by Rev Hien Nguyen, Pastor of Brisbane BPC
We thank God and praise the Lord for His grace and blessings upon our Bible Seminar and Second Thanksgiving Anniversary (14-15 March 2009). We thank God for the blessed and fruitful ministry of Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo, Jemima, Judith and eborah in our midst.
Bible Seminar on 2nd Coming of Christ
(14 March)
The Bible Seminar was conducted by Dr Jeffrey Khoo at Pastor Hien’s home. As Pastor Hien has never preached the Second Coming of Christ exhaustively, it is very good for the brethren and friends here to hear the message on this topic by Dr Jeffrey Khoo. Thank God for providing Jemima to play the organ for us. Thank God also for the special items beautifully presented by Judith and Deborah: “What If It Were Today” and “This World Is Not Our Home,” and “Let Others See Christ in You.”
In the first Session, Dr Khoo spoke on the signs of Christ’s return based on Matthew chapter 24: false Christs, false prophets, false teachers, false doctrines, counterfeit sign-gifts (speaking in tongues, dreams, visions, prophesying, faith healing, lying signs and wonders, etc.) as well as the signs of wars, famine, earthquakes, pestilences, decline in morality, the spread of the Gospel, and especially the miraculous sign of the nation Israel and its Declaration of Independence on the 14th of May 1948 after 1878 years since they were dispersed to the four corners of the world in 70 AD due to their crucifixion of their Messiah. Thus, the prophecies in the Old Testament and the New Testament have been fulfilled in Christ and the nation Israel. They are being fulfilled and will surely be fulfilled.
In Session two, Dr Jeffrey Khoo expounded on the rise and fall of the world empires as prophesied in Daniel chapter 2: the Babylonians (the head of fine gold), the Medo-Persians (the chest and arms of silver), the Grecians (the thighs of brass) and the Romans (the legs of iron). The present era is heading towards a revived Roman empire which is united and yet divided (the feet part of iron and part of clay).
When our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ comes again (a stone cut without hands), He will smite the image at its feet and smash it to pieces. Christ will then establish His millennial kingdom of peace on earth (the stone became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth). Dr Khoo also spoke on (1) the tribulation week (7 years) in Daniel chapter 9 with the first 3½ years of false peace, but antichrist will break the peace treaty at the end of the 3½ years and set himself up as God to be worshipped in the temple; (2) the appearing of the two witnesses (Moses and Elijah) in Revelation chapter 11, and their powerful ministry on earth, their death and resurrection before the eyes of all the inhabitants of the world through live telecast; (3) the worship of the beast (the Antichrist), and the mark of the beast which is 666 (a man’s number) on the right hand or the forehead of those who want to buy or sell as recorded in Revelation chapter 13; (4) the Rapture of Christ’s Church prior to the coming Judgement and Wrath of God on the earth (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:9; Rev 6:16-17; 14:10, 19; 15:1; 16:1); (5) Satan who will be chained up during the millennial kingdom of peace on earth under the reign of the Prince of peace—the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Rev 20:1-6); and (6) Satan who will be released at the end of the millennium, and God’s final judgement of Satan and those who follow him when they are thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:7-15); and (7) the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, and the new Jerusalem (Rev 21). Dr Khoo also encouraged the brethren and friends to prepare themselves to meet the Lord, making sure that they are born again and put on the white robe of Christ’s righteousness. In the Q & A session, Dr Khoo answered questions from Zac, Simeon and Stefan.
At the end of the seminar, the book—Coming World Events Unveiled—written by Rev Dr Timothy Tow was distributed to brethren and friends. After that we had dinner fellowship prepared by Anne, Linda, Michael Low, Joanna and Trang; grass jelly and fruits prepared by Joan, soft-drinks from Robert and Karen Goh, and home-made ice-cream by Michael Benjamin.
We really thank God for the seminar. One of the students said to me, “I have learned a lot.” Praise the Lord! Thank God for bringing Dr Jeffrey Khoo, Jemima, Judith, Deborah into our midst. We also welcomed Dr Florence Tan from Singapore Bible College, Bro Stefan Lehmann (a German PhD student at UQ), Bro Michael Low (from Melbourne), together with our brethren and friends in Brisbane: Aunt Dzung, Aunt Hien, Bro Robert and Karen Goh, Bro Tim Low’s family with Sis Anne and Zac; Bro Eric Too’s family with Sis Linda, Hannah and Emma; Bro Jason Wong’s family with Sis Joan, Samuel, Simeon and Silas; Michael Benjamin; Jerry, and the students: Joanna Fong, Benjamin Wu, Jason Lim, Eva, Pei Chuan, Ziling Zhuang, Becky; and Pastor Hien’s family with Sis Trang, Hanh and Timothy.
Sunday Worship and 2nd Anniversary Thanksgiving Service (15 March)
We had our Prayer Meeting from 2 to 2.30 pm. Then we had 30 minutes of fellowship before our Worship Service started at 3 pm. Thank God for providing Linda to play the piano for the worship, and for the special items by Deborah who sang beautifully “The Holy City,” “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and “May the Lord Find Us Faithful,” accompanied by Jemima (piano) and Judith (guitar). Thank God also for the baptism of Ziling Zhuang, a Chinese student at UQ.
Thank God for the fruitful preaching of Dr Jeffrey Khoo on “Be Ye Separate!” (2 Cor 6:14-7:1). Many of our brethren and friends were reminded of the vital doctrine of Biblical Separation and were alerted, warned, and blessed by the message. Biblical Separation is not merely a denominational distinctive but an ecclesiastical command for every Church and Christian to keep. This is because the Old and New Testaments are replete with teachings on separation. God is holy, and He commands His people to be holy by separating themselves from sins, unbelief, idolatry, worldliness, wrong doctrines, apostasy and compromise so that He might be with them and accept them as His children. Biblical Separation is a doctrine of church purification and preservation and is to be held and practised by every Christian. Biblical Separation is not an option, but a command of God. Thus, failing to obey this command will result in the Church and the Christian being contaminated with worldliness and wrong doctrines, and even destroyed. While all the fundamental doctrines of Christian Faith are vital like red blood cells in our body, the doctrine of Biblical Separation is like white blood cells which keep the church body healthy, pure and immune from the attacks of Satan, worldly temptations, and wrong doctrines. The book—Biblical Separation—written by Dr Jeffrey Khoo was given to our brethren and friends who attended the Service. Thank God for His goodness and blessings.
After the Service, we had some group photos taken and then had dinner fellowship at Buffet Garden in Sunnybank.
Thank God for bringing many brethren and friends to our Worship Service: Our guests from Singapore are Dr Jeffrey Khoo, Jemima, Judith, Deborah. We also welcomed Aunt Dzung, Aunt Hien, Aunt Vinh (Trang’s mother), Bro Brian and Sis Kathy Bay (from Sydney), Bro Michael Low (from Melbourne), Bro Robert and Karen Goh; Mr and Mrs Nghiep, Bro Philip Phan and his son David, Bro Thanh (our mechanic friend) and Bro Hung, Bro Samuel and his wife Monica and their three daughters, with our brethren in Brisbane: Bro Tim Low’s family with Sis Anne and Zac; Bro Eric Too’s family with Sis Linda, Hannah and Emma; Bro Jason Wong’s family with Sis Joan, Samuel, Simeon and Silas; Michael Benjamin; and the students: Joanna Fong, Benjamin Wu, Jason Lim, Eva, Pei Chuan, Ziling Zhuang, Becky and Sherry; and Pastor Hien’s family with Sis Trang, Hanh and Timothy.
We are so much encouraged and thankful for the greetings, prayers, love gifts, and kind support from our mother church, True Life BPC, and like-minded churches from near and far: From (1) True Life B-P Church A$1,300 to Brisbane BPC and A$200 for her 2nd Anniversary; (2) Dr S H Tow, A$200 for Brisbane BPC’s 2nd Anniversary; and (3) Faith Presbyterian Church–Perth, A$200 for Brisbane BPC’s 2nd Anniversary.
The offerings at the Sunday worship service amounted to A$1,081.20. We greatly thank God and praise the Lord for His grace and blessings upon us and thank Rev Dr Timothy Tow and the Session of True Life BPC very much for their prayers, encouragement and kind support.
We do remember Rev Dr Timothy Tow and FEBC in our prayers. May God strengthen Rev Tow, sustain and bless him and his ministry, and mightily preserve FEBC for His Truth until our Lord Jesus Christ comes back again.
More about Brisbane BPC
(Continuation from 15 March 2009 Weekly)
Since 25 May 2007, the Lord has opened a door for Pastor Hien to write Christian articles in Vietnamese which are published in the Vietnamese SS Weekly Newspaper. Thank God for bringing Joanna Fong and Benjamin Wu (students from Singapore) to our midst in July 2007 and for blessing Dr SH Tow and his ministry in our midst with the Bible Seminar on Noah’s Flood (15 Sep 07) with the presence of Rev Paul Seiler and his wife Carol, and Robert Goh, Jade, Michael Low, and Stephanie Ho and our brethren here. On Sunday (16 Sep 07) Dr Tow preached the message on “Ready for His Return” and then his talk on “Japanese War Years.” We were glad that Aunt Dzung could join our worship with our brethren and friends that day.
We thank God for blessing Brisbane BPC’s 1st Anniversary in March 2008. Our guest speaker was Eld Dr Boaz Boon who spoke on “Enlarge the Place of Thy Tent” (Isa 54:1-5).
Thank God for blessing Brisbane BPC’s 1st Easter Camp in Hervey Bay in April 2008. Thank God for the hospitality of Bro Michael Low and his boss Mr Michael Chew over there. Eric Too was the camp master and Pastor Hien was the speaker. The theme was “Our Bible-Presbyterian Faith.”
Thank God for bringing Michael Benjamin into our midst in June 2008 and Bro Jason Wong’s family (Bro Jason, Sis Joan, Simeon and Silas and later their eldest son, Samuel) and Ziling and Sherry (students from China) into our midst in October 2008. Thank God for bringing Eva and Pei (students from Singapore) into our midst recently.
How thankful we are to the LORD. All is by God’s grace and mercy alone. Amen.
