Gospel Light Christian Church

By Pastor Jason Lim Paul was fearless, even in the face of extreme persecution. How is it possible? The Reasoning His secret was in his perspective. He chose to focus on the unseen glory, which is eternal; and not on the seen affliction, which is transient. In fact, he sees his affliction as light and momentary, when compared with the eternal weight of glory that is to come. So, he was not afraid...

By Pastor Jason Lim Jars are fragile things. They break easily. Jars of clay are also cheap things. They are not made of fine china or expensive ivory. Paul says he and his Apostolic band are like jars of clay- lowly, humble, weak & vulnerable. And he says this is God's design. God delights to use weak men, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not man. God's power to save God u...

By Pastor Jason Lim There are 3 important principles in the apostolic ministry according to Paul. The Privilege Serving God in the gospel ministry is a privilege for Paul. He sees it as God's mercy upon him, an unworthy sinner saved by grace. He also sees the majesty of the ministry of the gospel- a ministry of life, of righteousness, and of glorified Christ-like lives. The Purpose Paul understand...

By Pastor Jason Lim Satan’s strategy, when it comes to sex, is to do everything he can to discourage sex within marriage, & encourage sex outside of marriage. Many marriages break down or are eroded because of sexual frustrations. What does God's word say about this? How far should one go regarding how we satisfy one spouse's sexual needs? Why is this even important? Or how can we better honor...

By Pastor Jason Lim There were Christians going to prostitutes in Paul's days. And we will not be surprised if there are Christians who may do that in our day. But what does the Bible say about this? Why should we refrain from such sexual sins? Is it because of fear of STDs/HIV/pregnancies? In 1Co 6:12-20, Paul takes us to a gospel-centred approach to sexual immorality. Discover his reasoning that...

By Pastor Jason Lim Can a Christian sue another Christian? Or a church sue another church? What if stealing is involved? Or a failure to pay alimony? Or a breach of contractual agreement? The church at Corinth experienced a legal dispute between 2 brothers play out in the civil courts. We can learn much from Paul's writing regarding this painful and difficult situation. Not only does he provide pr...

By Pastor Jason Lim Covid-19 spreads through close contact. Isolation and decontamination are required. Sin also spreads through close contact. Isolation and decontamination are also required. Paul, using the imagery of leaven in bread, talks about the contamination that 1 sinner can bring to the entire church. He then goes deeper into the Passover Festival to draw out the gospel-centered implicat...

By Pastor Jason Lim There are 2 major covenants in the Bible- the Old Covenant & the New Covenant. There are 2 approaches to God. The Old Covenant is about self-righteousness- man earns his own way to God by obeying the 10 commandments. The New Covenant is all of grace- that God will forgive and change us because Jesus paid it all! Here, the Apostle Paul dives deeper into the New Covenant, and...

By Pastor Jason Lim Because the Corinthians questioned and challenged Paul as an Apostle, he wrote 2nd Corinthians to defend and to explain his ministry. In these verses, he revealed 1. The Proof of Ministry Whilst the false teachers probably accumulated letters of recommendation, Paul was not interested in any of that. Instead, his confidence was placed on the people, and how their lives have cha...

By Pastor Jason Lim Paul introduces the Apostolic ministry using 2 pictures- a triumphal procession and the spread of aroma. The Apostle is likened to a captive in chains in the Roman triumphal procession. A conquered enemy in captivity brings glory to the Roman General. An apostle is like that conquered enemy that brings glory to God. Paul says in effect the glory and power of God is displayed th...

By Pastor Jason Lim The song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" was a big hit in 1973, and has remained one of the most popular songs in the world today. It is a song about forgiveness and restoration. It tells of a man who has done his time in prison, and who is writing to see if he will be welcomed by his loved one upon his release. In 2Corinthians, Paul also calls for the church to fo...

By Pastor Jason Lim Integrity is vital to leadership. People will not follow people they cannot trust. So when the Corinthians accused Paul of being fickle and frivolous in his plans, Paul had to explain himself. His assured them that he wasn't disingenuous towards them, but that the change of plan was for their genuine good. His life and ministry had always been singular and sincere towards them,...

BY Pastor Jason Lim Our church, like the Corinthian church, is plagued with sin. So, the study of the book of 1st Corinthians helps us approach the sin issue. As we wrapped up the problem of schism last time, we now progress to the problem of sexual immorality. The sin is a shameful one- that one of the members of the church will commit immorality with his father's wife- something that even the un...

By Pastor Jason Lim Much ink has been spilled over the division in the Corinthian church. We now come to the final appeal Paul made to the Corinthians to end their feuds. In this last segment, Paul appealed to them to look to his 1.Walk. Paul was not someone who had all talk but no walk. He led by example. When he said to them not to be boastful or arrogant, he modeled a life of humility and serva...

By Pastor Jason Lim People often assume that "Sufferings = not loved by God", and that prosperity = "loved by God." Whilst it may be true at times, this is not true all the time. In the Bible, we see that God uses the instrument of pain for the good of His beloved children. Whilst the Corinthians despised Paul for his many sufferings, Paul reveals that they are instrumental to molding him to be th...

By Pastor Jason Lim Someone said that the job of a university professor is to talk in other people's sleep! Well then, what is the job of a pastor? Paul in 1Co 4:1-5 lays down plainly the job description: 1. The Role. The Pastor is not a celebrity or superstar- he is a servant. The word means galley-rower. It refers to a Roman slave pulling the oars in the lower decks of a ship. Pastors must not b...

By Pastor Jason Lim In order to look good before others, there can be a temptation to compromise even in pastoral ministry. Instead of building people in faith with gospel-centered truth, pastors and church leaders can instead pump "humanistic steroids" to hasten artificial growth. We resort to worldly philosophies like pragmatism, materialism, traditionalism, sensationalism, and activism, instead...

By Hanniel Sinon Students rebel against teachers. Civilians go against authorities. Christians defy God. One symptom of our culture is this: that when we’re not happy with something, we do something against it. Likewise, the Jews of Malachi’s day weren’t happy with their lot. Considering their relationship as mere external, they openly defy God. They say, “What’s the point of serving God when I ha...

By Brother Luzerne Cheng In Malachi 2:17-3:12, Malachi exposes Israel’s inner rebellion against God. Malachi sends a strong message to Israel. He exposes a heart that had no desire for God and was willing to continue living that way. He dealt with Israel’s excuses and accusation that God was unjust. Yet Malachi too holds out a message of grace. God promises a fully restored relationship if Israel...

By Pastor Yu Fei In this sermon, we are going to explore how God exposed the hypocrisy of the leaders and the people of God in Malachi’s time. They were religious people who performed their religious duties dutifully, but their hearts were far away from Him. While they seemed to "worship God", they gave polluted offerings to God and were unfaithful in their marriages. They were so insensitive and...

By Brother Daniel Yip We start off our journey through the book of Malachi with a call from God to His people to return to faithfulness. The people of Israel had gone through hardship and were struggling to love God and live faithful lives. They had various excuses in their hearts to excuse their rebellious attitudes. Malachi reminds the people of God's sovereign love upon them: 1. relaying a proc...

By Pastor Jason Lim After more than a year journeying through the book of 1st Corinthians, we come now to the last chapter. Paul will sign off with 1. a note about the collection of funds for the poor saints in Jerusalem, 2. an update about his calendar for future travel plans, and 3. instructions regarding how the church should relate with his co-labourers. Though they may seem only administrativ...

By Pastor Jason Lim "Why do we need the new resurrected bodies in the new heavens and the new earth?" "Will those who are alive when Jesus returns still get resurrected?" "What's the process of resurrection like?" "Is this a new teaching from Paul?" "And how should this doctrine impact my life today?" These questions and more are answered by Paul in these last verses of 1st Corinthians 15. Come an...

By Pastor Jason Lim There is a dangerous celebrity syndrome in churches today, where pastors are elevated like super-stars. This can only breed strife, contention and divisions in the church, exactly what the church in ancient Corinth faced. Paul thus sets out an agricultural example to show that only God gives the increase, and if we boast, let's boast only in God. Let us then be clear about: 1....

By Pastor Jason Lim Whilst Christians are destined for glory, not all live God-glorifying lives all the time. We can slip into indulging the passions of the flesh and live in carnality. How can we tell? What's the problem? And how can we break free? 1. Diagnosis. Carnal Christianity is likened to spiritual infancy. Carnal Christians have a simple diet- they can only tolerate simple foods. Carnal C...