Character Goals to Last a Lifetime

We were invited to share in the Sunday Service of Grace EFC (Subang Jaya) today by Pastor Ben Skadiang on the topic "Character Goals to Last a Lifetime". Instead of the usual goal-setting, new year resolution type of message, I chose to focus on the critical need for parents to rise up to their call of addressing the potential curse of Malachi 4:6 where the hearts of the next generation is no longer turned to following the faith of their fathers. By choosing to remain passive, there is now arising a generation of young people who no longer "look" like their parents - with values and worldviews that are drastically different.

There are four points for a proper character-based education for our children (ref : Dr.Karl Coke) :

1. Provides competency for employment.
2. Provides morality for proper society.
3. Provides authority for order.
4. Provides absolutes to anchor life's decisions.

As parents, are we sacrificing our children on the altar of academic pursuits while neglecting the foundation of their faith? Wisdom, not intellect is the goal of for every parent. Here's the definition of a worthwhile character goal for every parent - "when there is such a bonding between the hearts of the fathers and their children that the next generation is inspired to follow the faith of their parents." (Gen 6:1-3, Exo 20:12).

p/s : Eunice was such an active sales-person for the book counter!

Community Outreach in Sentul

We are privileged to be invited by All-Nations Church to lead in a special outreach program to the children and youth of Sentul. The crowd which came was younger than expected and that led to some interesting spontaneous improvisation and interaction. Speaking to children is indeed a different ball game altogether! Very thankful also for the last-minute effort from the organizer to provide direct translation to Mandarin as most of the children present are Chinese-speaking.

We did two short sessions over two days (Dec 19-12) covering topics like :

1. Introducing you to your real family - ape vs man.
2. Why is there death and suffering - the curse and reality of sin.
3. Introducing you to your larger family - the origin of races.
4. Inviting you to join the heavenly family - salvation through Jesus Christ.

Young Adult Talk @DUMC

Last night, the Young Adults Ministry of DUMC (Damansara Utama Methodist Church) had a special Christmas social dinner event for about 100 people. As one of the many workshops available for the young adults, we were requested to conduct a one-hour "Creation vs Evolution - It's not about the facts!" talk.

Here's a testimony from one of the participants - "Great session yesterday, do come and share with us again next month. AiG really has a lot of good content, trust it would be a great teaching and evangelizing tool for churches.. Keep it up, will try to invite friends for the next sessions".

As you can see, being involved in Answers Academy have brought a common identity and passion for my family - a family that ministers together, stays together!

Report from Dr.Crandall @Answers in Genesis

Report from Dr.David Crandall, International Director of Answers Worldwide. He presented a summary (and testimonies) of what happened during the Nov 15-17 All-Asian Creation Conference - the audience was the Answers in Genesis staff located in the Creation Museum.

"Hello Joseph and Jimmy - My report went very well this this morning and our folks here were very excited. Everyone wants more details so I have been talking all day. It has been fun. Our Librarian/Historian would like to have a copy of the pieces of materials you printed…including 2 copies of the Conference booklet.

We're still thrilled......"

A Tale of Two Conversations

Conversation 1 : Last night, we had the privilege of catching up with Prof.Andy McIntosh and his wife, Juliet as they transit in KL for one night on their way back to the UK. At a time when most will be happily retired, Andy still has that fire in his bones to preach the creation message - especially in universities and colleges. As a post-conference project, Answers Academy may be looking into a "Creation College roadshow with Prof.McIntosh" event some time in the future.

Conversation 2 : Had lunch with a lecturer of a private university this afternoon and I had a rude awakening to the moral situation in Malaysia - taboos which were largely "western" in nature has now hit the local scene. In particular, the lecturer was referring to the growing "openness" of homosexuality on campus with even lecturers openly declaring their homosexuality! The college/university environment for our children is not going to get better and it behooves us as parents to start building the right Biblical foundations at home.

Conference Team Appreciation Dinner

We had the conference team appreciation dinner on Thur (24 Nov) to thank the many hands, feet (and mouth) who assisted us in the running of the recently held All-Asian Creation Conference (AACC). Indeed - how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (Ps 133:1)! The video clip above is a highlight of the speech written by Dr.Crandall (our AACC coach) that was read in acknowledgement of all the hard work rendered (and the encouragement of exciting days ahead!).

Testimony from Prof. Andy McIntosh

In Prof. McIntosh's latest newsletter, he had this to share about the recently held All-Asian Creation Conference, - "I spoke to one delegate from Kuala Lumpur who was not yet a believer and had fallen away from belief in Christ primarily because he had been just given a superficial understanding of what it meant to be a Christian, without any careful ministry showing the intellectual rigour of the faith which is firmly anchored in Genesis. He has gone away very thoughtful and I think is close to the kingdom.

Another is a believer and a government geologist, but very unsure of 6 day Creation but really made to think after hearing all the talks over these last few days. These were typical of the conversations with the many delegates."

It is testimonies like this which goes to show that the right historical understanding of Genesis is not a side issue - in fact, it demonstrates the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom 1:16) because God's Word is true right from the very first verse!

The First All-Asian Creation Conference

Finally - the first ever All-Asian Creation Conference (Nov 15-17) has concluded with over 600 delegates representing 18 countries. Our hearts are overflowing with amazement and gratefulness - "This came about from the Lord and it is marvelous in our eyes!" Thank you Dr.Crandall for entrusting this privilege to us in working with Answers in Genesis to bring about a movement here in Asia that we are indeed not ashamed of a Biblical starting point when it comes to matters of origins, science and history.

To view the 400+ photos taken of the conference - Click Here to Access the Web Album.