Ebenezer Family Church

On Paul's last journey to Rome, he finds himself departing on ship after warning those in charge that bad weather was imminent. However, because Paul was commissioned by God to stand trial before Caesar, He purposed to save the lives of everyone on board, even though they ignored Paul's warnings. And even though the ship became a shipwreck, every was saved!

Following on from last time, James warns the church against pandering to the rich in hopes of securing some worldly gain. These are unbelieving people who blaspheme Christ's name. Rather, the Church should be attentive to those under her care, especially the poor.

Even though the crowds literally just want more food, Jesus tries to show them spiritual realities: just as we need physical bread for survival, we also need spiritual bread for survival. However, people who are blinded to their true spiritual condition will never for a moment think they need anything from the Bread of Life.

Although we should do our best to live peaceably with all men, not all men want to live peaceably with us. The people of Jerusalem became very upset with Paul for his teaching and especially for involving the Gentiles. When we stand for truth and righteousness, we are bound to upset those who stand for unrighteousness. Take heart! He has won the victory!

Natural man is going to make distinctions and discriminate against other people. That is because natural man is a respecter of persons: these differences in social rank, wealth, race, etc. matter to us. We must submit to and live for the glory of God so that these differences won't matter to us. Let's see ourselves and each other primarily as redeemed children of God!

Pastor Pragasen shares some lessons we can learn from a flower - the Father cares for us, equips us, and calls us to live our lives for Him!

When we go to church, give of our time and resources, and serve one another, we are contributing to God's eternal Kingdom. This kind of work also cannot be faked: God is not mocked. Let's not grow weary of doing this good work, because it's part of an everlasting work!

Isaiah finds himself in the midst of God's majesty and glory without escape. As a sinful man confronted with the holiness of God, he declares, "Woe is me; I am ruined!" If we are not devastated by God's holiness, we will never know our own nature. The good news is that we are not left devastated, for God showers us with His grace!

God knows what He's doing; our words should be few before Him. Likewise, if God is in Heaven and He is in charge, we should give Him the glory. Let's stop spending so much time talking about ourselves!

The city of Ephesus came to a stand still in protest, but nobody actually knew why they were protesting. It was all just a mindless frenzy. Today, we know that there is no more Ephesian church. Perhaps because they became too friendly with the state? Let's see what we can learn from this narrative!

Rehoboam chose to listen to the brash young men of his youth over the wise old men who had advised his father, Solomon. He lost most of the kingdom as a result. Let's learn to listen to accept the advice and wisdom of those who know better than we do!

The aggressive crowd still want to find Jesus to make Him work for them. When they go seeking for Him, they are surprised to find Him! We can never expect to "seek" Christ for our own reasons. We must seek Him for who He is!

In a city full of philosophers and wacky thoughts, Paul sets the record straight: there is one God, He can be known personally by man, and He commands us to repent. Let's have a look at this Gospel message preached in the middle of Athens!

A doer of the Word demonstrates his faith by charity and purity. Let's not delude ourselves into thinking we are doing well. We must look intently at the Word, at Jesus, and have Him radically change our lives!

Sometimes we forget that "miracle" literally means "sign" - it must point to something. In this instance, it points to Jesus's complete dominion over Creation as Almighty God. And yet, when He draws near to His disciples, He greets them as friends. Let's also learn to recognize His voice and lay hold of Him by faith!

This morning was a time of testimonies and sharing in Communion. Pastor Paul briefly shares some thoughts about the Lord's Table.

Being slow to hear, quick to speak, and quick to anger means that I am focussed on myself and my passionate impulses. James says that this attitude cannot achieve the righteousness of God. Let's aim to be gentle with His Word and rid ourselves of the filthiness of our sinful nature!

Miraculous food is provided for everyone! But not only that, twelve full baskets of leftovers too. At the end of this account, what we see is something more than just a physical need being met. We see the Saviour who has come to provide completely and to satisfy totally. He gives abundant life.

We don't know too much about what happens inside prisons, but most of us might not imagine there to be a lot of hymn-singing going on! Well, that's what happened with Paul and Silas. Even in the most difficult of circumstances, they praised God. Let's learn some lessons about praise from these brave men!

Every good thing and every perfect gift is from above, from God. We cannot do anything to earn it and we cannot do anything to make Him change His mind in giving it to us. He is consistently good and His goodness is consistent!

This is the only miracle (besides the Resurrection) that appears in all four gospels. In part 1, we cover the build-up right before Jesus's miraculous multiplication. It starts with a massive crowd in an isolated place, a testing question to Philip, and a quirky chirp from Andrew...

Today, we shall have a look at when believers were first called 'Christians'. Initially, this was a type of insult used against those who were followers of Christ. However, this insult did not stop those from living proper lives as befitting to their title!

We are all going to experience temptation because we all have a sinful nature. God allows us to be tempted, because He allows us to be alive! But we have the great assurance that if we persevere, we will receive the crown of life. The greater assurance is that it is He who helps us through and finds us approved!

King Herod has James killed and Peter imprisoned. Even though it was not an escape for James, it was an escape for Peter. However, the Church kept praying and trusting in God's will. Let's learn some lessons about prayer from this narrative!

When we depend on our material wealth during trials, we don't depend on the Lord. That's why the poor are exalted in Him and the rich are humbled in Him. There's nothing wrong with having things to help us get by, but these things cannot save us like Jesus can!