What’s On

Sermons to be brought forward in new service order

Service orders will be changed from 9-10 September.

Services will begin with 20 minutes of worship which will be followed by the sermon.

The worship and sermon segments have been brought forward to create more space for us to respond to God.

For this to work, we would like to encourage everyone to arrive on time, or better still, 5-10 minutes before service starts, to ready your hearts for worship.

Whether you take the bus, MRT or drive to church, do factor in enough travelling time for the bus to arrive, or to secure a parking lot.

Let us honour God and one another by being on time.

Please do speak with Ps Benjamin Fong if you have any queries about the revised service order.

LECTIO* – BRMC’s Bible Reading Journey

As Connect Experience 2023 (CE’23) concludes and we now enter a season of open topic sermons, we also shift gears with lēctiō, BRMC’s Bible Reading Journey.  

To help every BRMC member grow and submit under the Authority of God’s Word (the first of the 4As of Biblical Koinonia), we provide a daily Bible reading plan based on the pulpit calendar. 

The readings will be posted every morning on our Telegram and Facebook channels from 23 Aug 2023, following the end of the 40-day CE’23 Daily Devotions. 

The Rhythm 

Whenever there’s a sermon series, each week’s readings typically begin on a Wednesday to help us prepare for the coming Sunday’s sermon. Another two readings on Monday and Tuesday give opportunity to reflect on the message just preached. We encourage the use of the 4Rs (Read, Reflect, Relate, Rest) as a guide for our daily encounter with God’s word. This is no reading on Saturday; instead, we encourage “Examen” – a time of prayer that helps us to reflect on the week that has just passed and commit to God the new week.  

Preparing for Advent

From now till mid-November, we will read through the entire Gospel according to John. John is the most evangelistic of the Four Gospels, challenging us to consider who Jesus really is and how we will respond to him.

The choice of John’s gospel for Lectio is to prepare us for Advent, and not because we will be preaching from that book.

Lectio Bible readings will be synced with sermons from mid-November, for our series on Messianic Light in the Minor Prophets.

May our souls prosper as we read God’s Word together!

 *Lectio is a Latin word which means “a reading”, or  “a selection”.  Lectio divina (divine reading)  is the spiritual exercise of Bible reading, which focuses on meditating on a portion of Scripture (daily bread) as an encounter with the God who prospers our souls.  

BRMC welcomes Ps Joshua Kwok

Barker Road Methodist Church warmly welcomes Pastor Joshua Kwok to serve with us as Assistant Pastor with effect from 1 Aug 2023.

Ps Joshua served at his home church Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church prior to joining us.

This was announced at TRAC 2023 Special Session on 15 July 2023 held at Fairfield Methodist Church.

He will be introduced in person to the church family at this weekend’s services.

Pledge FY23/24

Dear BRMC Family,

As we approach our 58th National Day, I am reminded of the Pledge that we recite annually on the day itself. The opening line is etched on our minds and hearts – “We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people…”.

According to the Collins English Dictionary, a pledge is a “serious promise that we will do something”.

In the Bible, promise-keeping is an important facet of a person’s integrity of character. The keeping of promises, particularly those made to God, is a recurring theme. It communicates that God not only takes promise-making seriously but expects His people to do likewise.

We hear this from the writer of Ecclesiastes who instructs us to not delay in fulfilling our vows to God (Eccl. 5:4-5). Moses tells us that God is a “faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments” (Deut. 7:9). According to Moses, God does not lie nor change His mind, and that what He has promised, He will do; what He has said, He will fulfil (Num. 23:19).

There is no doubt that God is a promise-keeper. God keeps His promises to us, and wants us to keep vows or promises that we’ve made to Him as well as others. I believe that God passed the litmus test when He sent us the promised Messiah, Jesus, and when He fulfilled His promise to send us the Holy Spirit. Be encouraged because we can depend on God to fulfil His promises to us. We can count on Him, and that should fill us with hope.

I found myself wondering what our society might look like if every Singaporean kept their pledge. What if everyone cared enough about our country to strive for unity, regardless of our differences, and worked together to build a society where justice and equality is experienced by all? Might we see less poverty, mental health issues, social unrest, and instead see a more cooperative, contented, happier, hopeful people? Perhaps…

By extension, I wonder what it would look like if we, the people of God worshipping at Barker Road Methodist Church, kept vows made to God at our baptism and reception into membership? Amongst other things, we promised to be loyal to Christ and to be active participants in the life of our church family. We pledged to “faithfully participate in its ministries by our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service” (Methodist Hymnal).

Pledge Sunday is a timely reminder of the vows that we have made.

It’s not just about money.

It’s about the keeping of vows and promises.

It’s about how we position God. And how we position ourselves relative to Him.

And it is because promise-keeping is important to God that I encourage all of us to take time to pray. Ask the Lord how He would have us respond. I pray that as you do, this certainty will settle in your hearts and minds – that “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8).

Amen.

Please reach out to our Finance Team if you would like to look at more detailed financial statements.

With blessings and warmest wishes,

Rev Wendy Watson, Pastor-in-Charge
Mr Bill Chua, LCEC Chairman
Mr Melvin Dineshraj, Budget Treasurer

Pledge your commitment online

Pledge Form FY2023/2024 (Aug 2023 – Jul 2024)

More ways to give 

(CE’23) Sermon Series: That Your Soul May Prosper

Presented as part of the Connect Experience 2023 (CE’23), this sermon series explores some of John Wesley’s most important messages that Methodists must hear anew for today.

These include:

Who really is a Christian?

Can someone lose his salvation and end up in hell, and what is hell anyway?

Is “going to heaven” the reason why we try to be good Christians?

Addressing the above questions and more, the eight-week series means to bring all listeners to the wells of an abundant life (John 10:10) so “That Your Soul May Prosper“.

“That Your Soul May Prosper” pulpit schedule:

1-2 Jul  – “The Important Question” (Matt 16:26)
8-9 Jul  – “Witness of the Spirit” (Rom 8:16)
15-16 Jul  – “On Predestination” (Rom 8:29-30)
22-23 Jul – “Of Hell” (Mk 9:48)
29-30 Jul  – “The Good Steward” (Luk 16:2)
5-6 Aug  – “On Working Out Our Own Salvation” (Phil 2:12-13)
12-13 Aug – “Almost Christian” (Acts 26:28)
19-20 Aug – “Christian Perfection” (Phil 3:12)

Sermon recordings

About the Connect Experience 2023 (CE’23)

CE’23 is an eight-week experiential exercise that helps us to connect with God and one another for the sake of the world.

Participants meet weekly between 1 Jul and 20 Aug in either newly-formed CE’23 Experience Groups, or in their current Connect Groups.

We will be following the sermon series while re-discovering the Wesleyan way of being God’s community.

Learn more about CE’23 

Connect Experience 2023 (CE’23) countdown

CE’23 40-Day Daily Devotions will begin on Wed, 28 Jun.

They will be posted to the BRMC Facebook Page and Telegram channel every night. Do subscribe to our channels if you haven’t already done so.

• Telegram
• Facebook

The daily posts are meant to complement the CE’23 Journal that our Experience Group and Connect Group participants will be using in the 8-week CE’23 journey.

Participants: Please collect your journals by Sunday, 25 Jun. If you attend the weekend 5pm services, please follow collection instructions in your email inbox.

Are you joining us in this season of the Christian marathon?

“If you want to go the distance in your relationship with Jesus, don’t run the marathon alone….

You don’t need 100 people with you. You don’t even need 10. You just need three or four people running with you, supporting you in all God wants to do through your life….

That’s why you need to be in a small group.”

(Timely quotes from the 21 Jun reading in “Open Doors: A Year of Daily Devotions” by Rick Warren. https://pastors.com/run-the-race-together/)

Learn more about CE’23

New monthly Chapel in refreshed Seniors programme

A new Seniors Chapel will be held monthly from June, providing a space for seniors to worship God and enable them to pray with and intercede for one another. It will be held at 3.15pm to 4.15pm on every third Wednesday of the month at the Sanctuary, starting 21 June.

The Chapel session is part of a refreshed Seniors programme of online and on-site opportunities fellowship, including a regular brunch fellowship.

Weekly Online Fellowship         

• Fridays, 10am – 11.15am
• Sundays Post-Service, 10.30 – 11.15am

Monthly In-Person Events

• Seniors Brunch Connection
  1st Friday of the month, 10am – 12pm (July onwards)
• Seniors Chapel
  3rd Wednesday, 3.15pm – 4.15 pm
• Shalom Dementia Care Fellowship
  3rd Saturday, 2pm – 4pm

All Seniors are welcome to join us and connect with the church family through these events so that you may G.R.O.W. (Gracefully Ripening, Overflowing with Wisdom from God).

Seniors who are homebound and require pastoral visits are welcome to get in touch.

Event Calendar 

2023 Primary One Registration exercise

This is for children of Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, born between 2 January 2017 and 1 January 2018 (both dates inclusive).

Members who wish to enrol their children in Methodist Schools under Phase 2B may apply for a membership certification letter.

Enquiries 

Enter in to the new Connect Experience 2023

Barker Road Methodist Church is going back to basics.

We are inviting everyone to enter in to Connect Experience 2023 (CE’23) and rediscover the Wesleyan way of being God’s community and experience the joy and truth of the Christian life that’s transformational through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“I believe He has already started the renewal of our church,” says Rev. Lai Kai Ming, the pastor leading in CE’23. “And He is preparing us for greater things to come. “The first step is to re-discover what being a Christian and a Church is really about.”

The CE’23 journey will start on 22 April with a 3-week sermon series on what it means to be in koinonia, or fellowship, apart from congregating on Sundays. It will examine the “4As” underlying Christian love for one another:

1. Authority of God’s Word: We are called to be doers of the word, not just hearers.
2. Authenticity in relationships: How real and honest are we with each other?
3. Accountability for Good Works: We are commanded to watch over one another in love.
4. Acts of the Holy Spirit: The Spirit helps us connect with God and one another for the sake of the world.

Based on the 4As, the CE’23 journey continues in July-August with an eight-week guided experiential exercise in connecting with God and one another for the sake of the world.

Registration for CE’23 will open from 22 April to 17 June.

You can take part in CE’23 in the following ways:

• Join us in examining the 4As of Biblical Koinonia over 3 weekend services from 22 April to 7 May 2023
• If you are not part of a connect group, sign up to an Experience Group when registration opens
• If you are part of a connect group, join us as our church family rediscover, exercise and experience transformational community life

ENTER IN

Holy Week Services (6-9 April 2023)

Easter is the most important celebration in the Christian calendar, which is why we celebrate it as a worship service in many parts this Holy Week, and reflect on Holy Communion, loving one another, sacrifice, death, and the forgiveness of sins – themes that make sense as a whole only in the light of the resurrection.

Let’s come together, then, to Watch and Wait at the Table on Maundy Thursday evening, at the Cross on Good Friday morning, at the Tomb on Holy Saturday afternoon, and finally, on the Mountain on Easter Sunday morning.

Maundy Thursday, Thu, 6 Apr
8pm | Sanctuary

Good Friday, Fri, 7 Apr
8.30am* | Auditorium
10.30am* | Auditorium

Holy Saturday, Sat, 8 Apr
5pm | Sanctuary

Easter Sunday, Sun, 9 Apr
8.30am* | Sanctuary, URS
10.30am* | Sanctuary, Shine Forth (Livestream)
5pm | Sanctuary

*Livestream available

Lent Sermon Series: Disciplines of the Holy Spirit

As a follow-up to the “Acts of the Holy Spirit” sermons, this Lent series from 22 February to 2 April 2023 focuses on the inner life of the Christian.

The wind might blow strongly, but only a hoisted sail can catch its power. God is always speaking, but only a soul attuned to His voice can hear His words of love. Saints through the ages have discovered that while the sovereign Spirit “blows wherever it pleases” (John 3:8), His presence and power rest upon those who seek Him through a life of joyful discipline and obedience.

We look forward to seeing you at our worship services on the weekends.

View more upcoming events 

Lunar New Year weekend services

Please note that there will be no afternoon services on the 21-22 Jan weekend.

OneBRMC Services will be held as follows:

Sunday, 22 January

8.30am | Traditional | Sanctuary (Livestreamed)
10.30am | Contemporary | Sanctuary (Livestreamed)

Livestream link

First Corporate Prayer Meeting of 2023

Following her Vision Sunday sermon to ‘Wait, Watch and Pray’, Pastor-in-Charge Rev Wendy Watson invites all to join in the church’s first corporate prayer meeting this year.

The meeting will be held on Friday, 6 Jan, 7.30pm at the Sanctuary.

Like Jesus’ disciples who were called to be His witnesses in Acts 1, we are also called to wait, watch and pray in community.

This year, we will be focused on connecting with God and with one another in small groups.

Let us therefore gather and pray in unity for empowerment to go forth and fulfil God’s calling in our lives.

#CONNECT2023

Connect Survey 2023

New Year, New Start!

We are working to better connect our church family with God and with one another this year.

To do this, we are carrying out Connect Survey 2023 until 31 January to find out what drives people to be part of a Connect Group, or what may be stopping them from joining one.

Through Connect Survey 2023, you are also invited to suggest ways to improve church communications.

Sermon Series 2023: Acts of the Holy Spirit

We will be starting 2023 with a new sermon series on Acts of the Holy Spirit.

Someone once asked: “If the Holy Spirit left our church today, would anything change? Or would we go on with business as usual?” This is a sombre reminder that it is possible for churches and churchgoers to have “an outward form of religion but denying God’s power” (2 Tim. 3:5).

Over eight weeks from 1 January to 19 February, we will learn to recognise the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in BRMC.

More importantly, we pray that God—Father, Son, and Spirit—will transform us for the sake of the world He loves so much.

#Connect_Disciples

Remote Holy Communion to cease

Remote Holy Communion will cease from 31 December 2022.

BRMC members are encouraged to join us regularly at our 10 worship services on weekends, as we enter a new year of connecting closer with God and our church community.

Those unable to come on site for Holy Communion may register for pastoral visits, where Communion will be celebrated.

Register here 

Pastoral appointments 2023

We thank God for the successful 47th Session of the Trinity Annual Conference hosted by BRMC on 21-24 Nov 2022.

At the Closing service, five of our current pastors were re-appointed to BRMC for 2023. Rev Wendy Watson continues as Pastor-in-Charge.

At the same time, we bid farewell to Rev Lawrence Chua who’s stepping down in retirement after almost four decades as a pastor.

Last but not least, we thank God for the Rev Gilbert Lok, who was ordained to the office of Deacon of the Methodist Church in Singapore.

May God guide our pastors and bless this church with His presence as we seek to be a light for Him on this hill.

Advent Sermon Series: The Long-Awaited Saviour

Christmas is coming….soon!

Join us amidst your festive preparations for a new Advent-oriented sermon series every weekend from 19 November to 18 December.

We will trace how in the Old Testament, God makes various promises to his people, which culminate and find ultimate fulfilment in Jesus, the Messiah. And see while God gave various promises, their fulfilment was not immediate, but required patient hope.

Take heart that, today, God is still faithful and still fulfils his promises, as His faithful people continue to wait on him with hope.

See the Pulpit Calendar for more information. 

See our Service timings. 

华语崇拜 – 重返卫斯理堂

MANDARIN SERVICE- HOMECOMING

The Mandarin Service is returning to Wesley Hall at 10.30am from 11 Sep 2022. 

华语崇拜将于9月11日重返卫斯理堂，恢复上午10:30的主日崇拜。

Let’s invite our Mandarin-speaking friends and family to worship alongside our English services on Sunday mornings at the same time.

欢迎弟兄姐妹参加我们圣山上的主日崇拜。阿们。

Safe Measures Update

From Monday, 29 Aug 2022, the wearing of masks will be optional in indoor settings. ​

We advise members and visitors to keep exercising individual and social responsibility, and to stay home if you are feeling unwell. 

Please refer to the MOH COVID-19 Phase Advisory for the latest guidelines. ​

BRMC’s response to the repeal of Section 377A

The Government has announced that it will repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises sex between men. At the same time, it has promised to protect the definition of marriage from being challenged constitutionally in the courts (1).

In response, the pastoral leadership of Barker Road Methodist Church stands in alignment with the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) and the Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS). We understand “same-sex sexual acts as contrary to God’s order” and affirm “the position of one man and one woman in a monogamous marriage relationship”(2).

We note the rationale and reasoning behind the repeal, and “trust that this decision was not taken lightly” (3). Members and visitors are encouraged to refer to the detailed statements put out by NCCS and MCS to better understand our position in light of more debates to come, within and without the church.

The decision to repeal s377A is contentious and potentially divisive. The pastors would like to encourage our congregational family at BRMC to recognise God’s sovereignty, and to uphold one another in love and compassion whilst we seek to live out God’s standards of holiness.

As we continue to promote our understanding of family, please pray for divine wisdom for the leaders of our country, community and homes.

“Though we walk a long and broken road
We are here to bear each other’s load
And forgive as You’ve forgiven us
Let us walk in love for we are one”

(Excerpt from “We Are One (In the Father’s Love)” by Emu Music;
Theme song of BRMC Sermon Series 2022: We Are Family)(4)

References

(1) PM Lee’s NDR speech: https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/National-Day-Rally-2022-English
(2) The National Council of Churches of Singapore Response to Government’s Decision on the Repeal of Section 377A: https://nccs.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NCCS-EngChi-Stmt-on-s377A-20220823.pdf
(3) MCS Response to the Repeal of S377A of the Penal Code: https://www.methodist.org.sg/index.php/what-s-happening/789-mcs-response-to-repeal-of-section-377a-penal-code
(4) BRMC Sermon Recordings & Study Guides: https://www.brmc.org.sg/services/sermons/

New Sermon Series: We Are Family

“Sister, let me wipe your tears
Brother, let me bear your fears
Come on, every daughter, every son
Let us walk in love for we are one”

(lyrics from We Are One, by Emu Music)

What does it mean to live as God’s family? To be a faithful family and a family of faith?

Join in our upcoming sermon series starting 13 August to 18 September as we hear God’s Word about both our biological and marital families, and our church family.

Please refer to the pulpit calendar for more information.

2022 TRAC Special Session Update

Congratulations to Pastor Gilbert Lok for being elected to the office of Deacon at the 2022 Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC) Special Session on 16 July.

He will be ordained at TRAC in November, which Barker Road Methodist Church will be hosting.

In the video below, Ps. Gilbert explains to one of our youths what ordination means.

BRMC to host TRAC 2022

We are preparing to host the annual gathering of pastors and laity of the 21 English-speaking Methodist churches in Singapore in November.  

The 47th Session of the Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC), to be held 21-24 November 2022, will mark almost a year of Rebuilding Koinonia as BRMC congregations return to pre-pandemic service timings and activities this year.

BRMC members can look forward to celebrating the ordination of Pastor Gilbert Lok to the Office of the Deacon at TRAC. After the event, he will wear the clerical collar and may then be addressed as Reverend Gilbert Lok. 

The last time BRMC hosted TRAC was almost 20 years ago, in 2003.  

As many as 300 delegates are expected over the four days.  

Watch this space

Join us in demonstrating the hospitality of Jesus to our brothers- and sisters-in-Christ from the Methodist church family, and celebrating community through service – as ushers, musicians, prayer partners and other roles.  

So, save the dates and watch this space for volunteer calls in the coming months.  

What is TRAC?

TRAC is an annual meeting where delegates reflect on past programmes, and to discuss God’s direction for us as a family of Methodist churches. Election of certain office holders may also be held in some years at TRAC.  

The conference is scheduled to be held on site, subject to last minute changes that may arise due to the ongoing pandemic. It was held online last year.  

Key sessions will still be livestreamed, for e.g. the Ordination and Closing Service of TRAC 47th Session.  

The Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC) is also the organisation that trains and manages our pastors. Under the Methodist system, pastors are not tied to a specific church, and are often reassigned after several years.