Kairos Spiritual Formation Podcast

One of my challenges as a Chinese Christian is to decide whether I am a "banana", "mango" or "durian" Christian. There are many dilemmas and landmines as we seek to follow Christ while practicing our culture. Here are some of my own reflections about the Chinese New Year.

Mary's song or Magnificat in Luke 1 is a hymn sung by Mary (after she discovered that she was pregnant) when she met Elizabeth who was also pregnant with John the Baptizer. This wonderful hymn magnified God (hence Magnificat). It not just reveals Mary's faith in God but also revealed Mary's character.

Jeremiah's letter reminds us that we  are exiles

Four considerations as we approach the final season of life

Dr Timothy Sng of Marketplace Ministry Malaysia's interview; allowing me to share my calling, work, and ministry.

How do we become brave and courageous when we grow older? Joshua 1:9 offers us some guidelines.

The Christian holy day of Pentecost, which is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter, commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31). In Christian tradition, this event represents the birth of the early Church.Watch this on YouTube https://youtu.be/zusWMWOuqPc

Jesus' Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. A discussion on death and life after death.

Of the three major events at Easter: Cruxification, Resurrection, and Ascension, most churches pay more attention to the first two. Ascension is important because it is the culmination of the first two events and offers proof that Jesus is the Messiah.Watch on https://youtu.be/Gg9mc79vd_M

The Patriarch Joseph ruled Egypt through seven years of fruitfulness and seven years of famine crisis. What are some of the marketplace leadership lessons we can learn from him?

In these dark times, how does one have hope? The prophet Jeremiah lived during such dark times when the Babylonians were at his gates. This exposition of Jeremiah 32:8-12 shows us how to have hope in times of hopelessness.

How do we complete our faith journey well? How do we end well? There are many challenges and obstacles in our way. Four principles to guide our journey.

This lecture was presented to the "Towards Vaccine Equity amidst COVID-19 Surge in Asia'  online consultation organised by the Christian Conference of Asia on July 20, 2021

Shema GII Spiritual Formation Center organised an excellent online retreat on Death, Dying, and Grief. This is one of the sessions on "Dying" in which I am invited to speak. I spoke in English which was interpreted by Grace Emilia into Bahasa Indonesia. Talk followed by an interesting Q&A session

How do you cope with pandemic fatigue?

A biblical and theological perspective of suicide

Some Christian considerations on suicide from the biblical and theological perspectives and what are some of the things we can do for people who are suicidal.

Beyond Easter: Truth and the Resurrected Christ.  A meditation on the disciples' encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Emmaus

John 11: 21-2721 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I AM the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” 

some tips and guidelines on how to lead a small group discussion

Intentional and purposeful living. Talk delivered to Monash CSJB Christian Fellowship on 02 March 2021

There are some concerns about Covid vaccines. This talk seeks to address some of these concerns

Reimagining the Parable of the Good Samaritan for the Covid Era

John the Baptizer. Make straight the way of the Lord.John 1:6-8, 19-28

What does Jesus means when he said "I AM the gate to eternal life"? Exploring this concept with glimpses of Celtic Christianity.

What does Jesus' statement that he is Light of the world mean to us? How do we experience light is a time of darkness?1. Children of light (Eph. 5: 8-10; 1 Thess.5:5)2. Walking in the light (1 Jn.1:7; Isa.2:5)3. Being in the light (1 Jn.2:9)4. Dancing in the kingdom of light (Col.1:12-14)

Why do you work? What is the marketplace? Does it matter where we work? This sermon explores the theology of work especially in the marketplace in light of the present COVID-19 pandemic, and its socio-economic effects on work and the marketplace.Kairos Spiritual Formationwww.kairos2.com

The Five Solas| Alex Tang |Kairos Spiritual Formation31 October is Reformation Day. What are we celebrating? What are the five solas?Sola GratiaSola FideSolus ChristusSola ScripturaSoli Deo Gloriasaved by Grace alone through Faith alone in Christ alone according to Scriptures alone for the glory of God alone

Exploring the seven 'I AM' statements in the Gospel of John. Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)Seven essential ingredients in the Bread of Life1. Forever Young (Eternal Bread)2. Keeping in Touch (Spiritual Bread)3. EnJOY your Makan/Food (Physical Bread)4. Freedom from Fear and Anxiety (Emotional Bread)5. Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Financial Bread)6. One Anothering (Social Bread)7. Sharing Good News (Sharing Bread)

Jesus' identity is often questioned. In this sermon we shall examine how Jesus sees himself who will allow us to see ourselves in the light of his revelations.

How do we face the storms of life? How do we develop a resilient spirit?

"God's work is church work. My secular job is to earn money so I can do God's work"For those Christians working in the marketplace or other places, do you feel that your work is second-rate compared to those work that carries the name 'Full Time' workers (such as pastors, pastoral staff etc)? Do you feel that in your innermost being, if all things being equal, you should give up your job and go 'full time'?Watch it on YouTubehttps://youtu.be/JBb3jZ7C-FI

Discernment is a difficult process of finding God's will. A discernment framework is often needed.Video is available athttps://youtu.be/wQkM4lRYWUk

Ageing and the Pilgrim Soul: Four movements of the Holy Spirit at the later seasons of life.You may watch the video at https://youtu.be/TeQ2YI_9334

A contemplative piano composition by a very talented young musician, Elizabeth Tang.

The Christian holy day of Pentecost, which is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter, commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31). In Christian tradition, this event represents the birth of the early Church.The term Pentecost comes from the Greek Πεντηκοστή (Pentēkostē) meaning "fiftieth". It refers to the festival celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover, also known as the "Feast of Weeks" and the "Feast of 50 days" in rabbinic tradition. In Judaism the Festival of Weeks (Hebrew: שבועות‎ Shavuot) was a harvest festival that was celebrated seven weeks and one day after the first Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Deuteronomy 16:9 or seven weeks and one day after the Sabbath in Leviticus 23:16. The Festival of Weeks was also called the feast of Harvest in Exodus 23:16 and the day of first fruits in Numbers 28:26. In Exodus 34:22 it is called the "firstfruits of the wheat harvest." The date for the "Feast of Weeks" originally came the day after seven full weeks following the first harvest of grain. In Jewish tradition the fiftieth day was known as the Festival of Weeks. The actual mention of fifty days comes from Leviticus 23:16.

In the twelfth century, Guigo II. A French Carthusian monk developed lectio into a four step exercise: Reading/Listening (lectio)Read out a short passage of Scripture. When we read aloud, we become both proclaimer and hearer of the Word of God. As you read, listen for the word or phrase that speaks to you. What is the Spirit drawing your attention to? Meditating (meditatio)Repeat aloud the word or phrase that attracts you. Make connections between it and your life. What is God saying to you by means of this word or phrase?Praying (oratio)Now, take these thoughts and offer them back to God in prayer, giving thanks, asking for guidance, asking for forgiveness, and resting in God’s love. What is God leading you to pray?Contemplating (contemplatio)Move from the activity of prayer to the stillness of contemplation. Simply rest in God’s presence. Stay open to God. Listen to God. Remain in peace and silence before God. How is God revealing Himself to you?

Our imagination is God's gift for our enjoyment and to enhance our creativity and appreciation of the greatness of God’s creation. It is possible for us to pray using our imagination. This type of prayer is also known as contemplation, contemplative prayer, “imaginative prayer,” or Ignatian prayer. While Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) is not the first to use it, he recognized that it is a powerful form of experiential prayer if used appropriately. He had made it the central form of prayer in his Spiritual Exercises. One of the ways to pray this prayer is to imagine ourselves being part of a scene from the Bible. Here, we must be passive rather than active participants. We are not here to be a Hollywood director or an avatar in a virtual world. Our desire is to imagine ourselves to be present at the scene to see and note what is going on. We are with our imagination use our fives senses in order to better appreciate what is going on in the scenario. We are not to create characters or change the happenings.

Centering prayer is a method designed to deepen the relationship with Christ and to facilitate the development of contemplative prayer by preparing our facilities to cooperate with this gift. It is an attempt to present the teaching of earlier times (e.g., The Cloud of Unknowing) in an updated form and put a certain order and regularity into it. It is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer; it simply puts other kinds of prayer into a new and fuller perspective. During the time of prayer, we consent to God’s presence and action within. At other times our attention moves outward to discover God’s presence everywhere else. Unlike New Age or Buddhism meditation, Centring prayer is not emptying our minds but stilling or quietening our minds so that we can listen to Christ. It is Christ centered.

Lamentations is a grief process. We lament during this pandemic at the end of our way of life and the uncertainty of life to be after the lifting of the Movement Control Order (MCO). Pandemics have the power to destroy the old world and allow a new world to come into being. The destruction of Jerusalem and Judah by the Babylonians had a similar effect on the world of the Prophet Jeremiah.

The Breath PrayerBreath is life. Since the first human became animated by the breath of God, breathing is essential to being alive. When our breathing stops, our life ends. Our breathing thus is an intrinsic component of being alive. Jesus is God incarnate in a human body. Our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. The physical bodies in which our soul and spirit embody are Christ’s body on earth. So our bodies are sacred. Our breaths are sacred too as it is a gift of God, a means of grace, and a means of life. We pray with our minds using language. We can also pray with our bodies. The breath prayer is one of the early forms of prayer, started once we draw our first breath as a newborn baby. However, the breath prayer that we are using nowadays was formulated by the Desert Fathers and Mothers in the second to third Century C.E. Desert Fathers and Mothers were people who left the cities to go into the wilderness of the deserts of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt to be close to God. They were often solitary and committed their lives to prayer. From them came this tradition of prayer by being aware of our breathing. By intentional breathing slowing and still ourselves, we seek the presence of God. This is a form of wordless prayer, a contemplative type of prayer.

The Last Seven Words of Jesus ChristA Good Friday Meditation

This sermon is an exploration of faith in the midst of sickness. It is based on Job 2:10b.Job has faith in the midst of his sickness and there are many lessons we can learn from him. Ultimately it is about God’s Grace in the midst of sickness.Some points to note are:1.We are not alone2.Everybody dies3.Pray and take your medications4.Suffering is a choice5.Trust and hope in dark times6.When nothing makes sense7.Knowing God

A short conversation with my grandchildren about pretensions. Why do we pretend to be somebody else?. About our true and false self.More on this episode may be read herehttps://bit.ly/2HZKjoXMore on conversations with my grandchildren herehttps://bit.ly/3a9BMMb

Sermon preached at Holy Light Church (English), Johor Baru, Malaysia on 23 February 2020.Monsters, Dreams, and Daniel-7An exploration of dreams and exposition of Daniel chapter seven with a modern-day thought experiment on Daniel 7.Using the Powerpoint with this sermon will be helpful. Download herehttps://bit.ly/37Od4Q5Visit Kairos Spiritual Formationwww.kairos2.com

Conversation with my grandchildren.Episode 2: Seeing and LookingVisit Kairos Spiritual Formation websitewww.kairos2.comTranscript available here https://bit.ly/320MXE1

Conversations with my grandchildrenEpisode 1: Hello little oneVisit our website Kairos Spiritual Formation at www.kairos2.comTranscript available at https://bit.ly/39Htb2W

Fear and the CoronavirusThere appear to a climate of fear in people of many countries which are far from the epicenter of the 2019 nCoV epidemic in Wuhan and Hebei provincial, China. Even though there are only a handful of patients in their country and most of these have been to the epicenter, or being in contact with people from there, the state of fear of being infected by the corona virus remain high. People scan the news media frequently (sometimes every few minutes) to see the latest tally of infected cases and death as one will follow the Olympics medals tally. Fear is visceral and irrational. One will rather believe the latest rumor or fake news than follow reputable websites or official announcements. Fear leads to mass hysteria, like hoarding of food, and of toilet papers!To deal with our fear of the outbreak, let us ask ourselves a few questions.Firstly, what are the facts? The virus outbreak started in January 2020 and have since infected confirmed cases and cause the death of more than a 1,000 people. It is contagious but the majority of people who were infected had mild symptoms like, fever, cough, and runny nose. Some has abdominal pain and diarrhea. This is common to any virus infection. Only about 2.4% died from respiratory complications. The majority of death occur among the elderly with other medical ailments such as diabetes, kidney failure, heart conditions, and lung problems. All but two of these deaths occur in China itself. Not exactly a pandemic (WHO is reluctant to labor it an epidemic), a worldwide outbreak. And, not exactly, an end of the world scenario. People are not dying in the streets. Why the fear?Secondly, can we control the event? Obviously not. An epidemic that is happening thousands of miles away are way beyond our control. Even the China health authorities and WHO cannot control the outbreak. What they are doing is try to contain the outbreak and they are doing a good job in this. The China authorities worked hard in quarantine a city (something no one had done before), limiting travel, building quarantine hospitals (within 10 days!), and sharing information. This is a new virus and by sharing the newly sequenced genome, the Chinese scientists has enabled the rest of the world to quickly work to understand the virus and to create a vaccine.Thirdly, can we do anything about it? Again, no. What we can do in our little part of the world is to maintain our personal hygiene and trust our own healthcare services to do their job. Finally, if we have not control over and we cannot do anything about the outbreak, then what we do with our fear? We can submit to our fear of the outbreak and live in a constant state of stress. Or we can submit to the One who in in control and can act on the situation. Jesus gave us some good advice in Matthew 6:25–34 (NIV) Do Not Worry25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will b

How do we redeem time? Psalm 90:12 gives us some clues.Psalm 90:1–17 (NIV) 1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3 You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.” 4 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. 5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— they are like the new grass of the morning: 6 In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered. 7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. 10 Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 11 If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. 12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. 16 May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. 17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. We redeem time by1.Resting2.Ceasing3.Feasting4.Embracing

What do Rat, Virus, and Horse symbolize? This sermon offers a perspective on what is happening in January 2020 and how are Christian to respond to these events.