Redeemed

by Jack Chui

Last year in 2014, Father Victor approached me near the start of Lent to ask if STAY could host a Stations of the Cross evening for the parish. With so many other things I had to do at the time, I asked for volunteers during the next cell group meeting and hand-balled the responsibility over to one of them with an opened ended guideline - Stations of the Cross. What resulted was the combining of the Firebrandz Choir, Firebrandz Dance and every other STAY member not involved to produce an amazing and reflective interpretation of the traditional Stations of the Cross.

In 2015, STAY/Firebrandz aimed not to take Stations to the next level, but to an even higher level with a production quality event of dance, drama and music. They called it 'Redeemed' and it was produced to bring the passion of Christ in a way Melbourne had not seen before. A video will hopefully be posted to help describe the Redeemed event which words won't fully capture. Hosted on the Saturday before Good Friday, I would like to share my take outs.

Nothing happens without leaders

Redeemed started as an idea by Christabel - Firebrandz Dance ministry leader at the start of 2015 and from there had just under 3 months to put on a large scale event which we had never done before. I realise that without her initiative to put forward the idea, her gathering of people and resources and driving the whole project, nothing of such an event would be possible. It made me see as a leader myself with such perspective how important leaders are in getting things done. This doesn't just apply to those 'appointed' as leaders but those who consider themselves the lowest as well in taking the imitative to pray and act. 

Christabel said 'yes' to God and 'yes' to a production Stations of the Cross and with a great vision was able to share it, inspire and encourage others to say 'yes' and for the benefit of the church community and Melbourne, for one night we brought heaven to earth. The Church lacks good leaders especially for youth and Christabel has reminded me how amazing things can happen by just taking initiative. Please keep leaders in prayer as they are so important in bringing God's glory to earth.

Pushed for the best

Aside from the event night itself, the one thing I'll remember was our first full dress rehearsal just over a week before the event after which Christabel told everyone that their dance/drama/music was terrible. I thought it was good/ok with my untrained eye/listening as I was only in small parts and was able to watch most of it but I did not expect such disappointment from Christabel. Lacking life, lacking emotion, timing and synchronisation, remembering moves ... it scared her how bad we were with so little time left and with a lot at stake.

Her straightforwardness was refreshing and required though and it excelled me and the others to practice and go beyond what we thought ourselves was good enough. Too often, I don't think I need to try hard to improve or be better because I'll eventually get there and I'm not that bad at things. But with a week left, Christabel pushed everyone hard to go beyond what we thought was our potential because by doing so, we would give it all for God and His Kingdom such that nothing was held back and so that God was not held back. In doing so God helped us deliver a story that glorifies Him.

Pressure and excitement

Its not often I am challenged or operating well outside my comfort zone. I can barely remember my last acting or performance day back in high school?.. Drama was the first class I dropped for a reason. But I said yes to anything that was needed by Redeemed and so some 'relatively easy' dramas were my performance roles for the evening. Backstage in the sacristy before the event the pressure was like exam nervousness but with a church full of people making sure I wasn't cheating. I hadn't felt so much pressure for what was at stake for a while.

I don't mind pressure because I think I deal with it well, but it brought excitement in what I and the crew could do to bring His passion alive and allow God to speak and be felt to all that watched and performed. I had never done anything like this, maybe watched something similar but it was a delight to be part of something radically different, inspiring and greater than myself. I did what I could not do before and I was happy, not scared because I was doing it for God and His kingdom.

Look at what we've done

From the last words of the movie "The Theory of Everything" (Steven Hawkings autobiographical film which I watched recently). I was reflecting with others how a large scale production involving so many dancers, props, costumes, music, video, lighting, marketing, prayers, choreography, filming would have been possible years earlier when STAY was without Firebrandz. We had not even thought of such dreams or visions before and it had become a reality after a few short years.

While every moment in STAY/Firebrandz is a blessing because of the people that God has gathered in the weeks/days/months before it, the big moments like Redeemed that aren't possible without a lot of people's collaboration was such a clear reminder to me of how we came from very little to be able to do so much. Its another great blessing to be able to witness and be a part of God's work. Like in the movie, it wasn't so much the honour I've received in helping STAY/Firebrandz grow or in being part of a production but the fruit it has borne in others that have come in contact with STAY/Firebrandz.

I am in awe to look at what we've done because it had to have been God who did it through us.

In His Love,

Jack

Firebrandz Worship Night - Identity in Christ

September 24, 2014
Speaker: Bro. Jude 

For September's Worship Night, Firebrandz had Bro. Jude share his testimony and wisdom on our Identity in Christ. In summary, our identity in Christ is that we are made in the image and likeness of God, that we are formed as part of a family, and that as His friends, we are called to be part of His mission. Realising our identity with Christ is made difficult by our thoughts and feelings of unworthiness. It takes humility for us to be able to accept where we are right now. He also emphasized the importance of identifying with the humanity of Jesus. 

Ultimately, the will of the Father for our lives is to continuously return to Him.
In the decisions that we make in our lives, there are two important questions to ask ourselves:

What will bring me closer to Jesus?
Who will bring me closer to Jesus?

"Let your life be a life of thanksgiving and see how God will work in your life" - Bro. Jude 

Firebrandz Worship Night - Forgiving Oneself

August 27, 2014
Speaker: Sharon Arasu

It was such a grace-filled evening, from the Praise and Worship led by Sharon and her group, and especially as she shared her testimony and wisdom on Forgiving Oneself.

In forgiving oneself, the problem lies not in our inability to forgive ourselves, but in our inability to accept our Father's forgiveness. God has already forgiven us the minute we walk out of the confessional. It is our shame of admitting the sin and our feeling of unworthiness of the Father's perfect love that we refuse to accept His forgiveness.

The Good News is our Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, gave up His life for each and every one of us and for all of our sins because we are indeed worthy of His love.

Firebrandz 1st Anniversary Thanksgiving Mass

July 30, 2014

In thanksgiving for all the blessings that God has done in Firebrandz, Fr. Victor Faruggia celebrated the Mass with us, inviting everyone present that evening to come up as Christ’s church and partake in the liturgy of the Eucharist. Diana Mascarenhas, the director of ICPE Mission New Zealand, graced us with her presence as she led a felicitation program that evening.

Since its conception here in Melbourne last year, Firebrandz has been an ongoing testimony of trusting in the Lord, His providence, and just saying “yes” to Him. It has truly been a blessed year. Firebrandz and StAY have been such blessings, not just to each other, but for the community as well.

We’d like to thank everyone who celebrate this momentous and joyful time with us in thanksgiving for all the wonders the Lord has done! May we be continually guided by the Holy Spirit and be fruitful.

Putting God to the Test

By Jack Chui

I put my hand up to lead Firebrandz Worship Night in June because Aaron wanted a break after the retreat in June. I'm not a fan of skipping regular events because I'm tired or that (no disrespect to Aaron) especially when there are many others in the team who can help. It was my chance to give back to Firebrandz not in part due to the great blessings that has been brought to STAY through Firebrandz.

I had never led Worship Night before nor ran such a big event from the front. It was an opportunity to step outside the comfort zone as I haven't done so for awhile, and I trusted God to be there like I have grown to trust God slowly through several years of ministry. I had done all the necessary preparations of people, advertising and prayer. I knew what I was going to do - a retreat testimony sharing session like the one I witnessed in Singapore during March.

It wasn't easy leading the Worship Night. I'm probably not the speaker I had imagined myself to be. Must be a gift I'm yet to develop - don't know how Aaron does it... There wasn't as many people as I had hoped or thought normally came to Worship Night (I've missed the last few Worship Nights) and the rush to share testimonies wasn't quite the same as I had seen in Singapore. The Holy Spirit was there to bring out the testimonies from the retreat but not in the way I had hoped for. This was not to say that it wasn't an amazing night - it was, and I was privileged to be able to hear the STAY people share how God worked through Fritz and them from the retreat.

I wondered and prayed about why it wasn't more amazing to me. I opened my bible for the first time in a while, and playing some guided bible roulette (thanks to inspiration through the Quick Journey Through the Bible series at Tuesday Cell Groups) I came upon the short book of Judith. I wanted to read more about the Maccabean revolt as its my least understood part of the bible and I enjoy reading about battles. 

The Israelites having returned from exile were being held to seige by the Assyrians looking to starve them out without causalities to any side. A very smart move... The Israelites were starving and thirsting and so they complained to their leader and the leader said they would surrender if nothing happened in 5 days. Judith was an Israelite widow in the town and asked the Israelite leader to meet her and she said:

Judith 8:11-17 (just the beginning of Judith's speech)

“Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia! What you have said to the people today is not right; you have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to surrender the town to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days. Who are you to put God to the test today, and to set yourselves up in the place of God in human affairs? You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test, but you will never learn anything! You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart or understand the workings of the human mind; how do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and find out his mind or comprehend his thought? No, my brothers, do not anger the Lord our God. For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in the presence of our enemies. Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like a human being, to be threatened, or like a mere mortal, to be won over by pleading. Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him.

It puts to light what I might have done wrong - I had expectations that God will deliver no matter what I do, so long as I was there and faithful. I have learned to be faithful and not successful from St. Mother Teresa and it eventually came with success (after quite a lot failing...). I wanted to see God work through weak/new people like me. I didn't think I put God to the test, but perhaps unconsciously I did with my expectations. God is the author of success, in His way and not mine. Perhaps I have been spoilt by the success He has brought STAY/Firebrandz that I have forgotten how to accept the small victories in front of me.

Thank you Father for continuing to teach me, and humbling me so that I can learn. I pray that I can change from what you are teaching me. All praise and glory be to Him forever.

Stuffs

By Mario Wahyu Prabowo

Peace be with you, wherever you are at the moment.

Yesterday, I was blessed to have the opportunity to join the Firebrandz’ worship night. It was wonderful, the music, the people, everything. Solemn, yet joyful. Simple, yet so meaningful. It was wonderful!

The thing that I remember the most from the event is the part where we wrote down the things that hold us from God, the things that have been keeping our distance from Him, our sins, our fears, our desires. It’s amazing how at first I thought I wouldn’t have written a lot, yet as time passed by, I ended up adding more and more stuffs to my paper. Stuffs that I didn’t really notice before, stuffs that I realized but had forgotten, stuffs I thought were irrelevant and stuffs that I thought were already gone. All the “stuffs”, all the “baggage” that have been dragging me down from getting closer to Him, from completely trusting Him and from truly loving Him.

The whole session almost passed just like that, with me stuffed up thinking more and more of my “stuffs” to write down. Then I remembered about the question my group discussed in bible study the night before. In Exodus 3:6, when God said to Moses: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”, what was His purpose? Why, after 400 years of being still and silent, He suddenly popped up and told that to Moses, to His people? Why, when His people most certainly already forgot about Him, about His promise, and worship other Gods instead, that He decided to come up and say those words?

Then an answer came to my mind, almost as if God answered the questions Himself. What He wanted to say to His people is: “You might have forgotten, but I haven’t. You might have forsaken Me, but I will never forsake you. I love you, My child, and I will never leave you. Trust Me.”. On and on, His answer kept repeating in my head.

After writing down all our “stuffs”, we then put them in a basket in front of the altar and lift them up to God, asking Him to take them away and free us from our “stuffs”. I might forget about that though, maybe in a year or two, or even in a few days, I might go back to those “stuffs” and break my promises with Him. But He won’t forget. All the things we have said in our hearts, all the things we asked Him, He’ll remember all. Even when we forsake Him, He won’t forsake us. He won’t leave us, even though what we have done, what we are doing, or what we will do break His heart. For we are His children and His love for us is unconditional.

So let us pray together, I'll pray for you and you pray for me, that together we can learn to love Him unconditionally as well, to keep humble and trust Him completely, and to keep our promises to Him. To make Him a bit happier, and to repay His kindness after all the pains we have caused Him. God, please hear our prayer. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Firebrandz Worship Night - Bringing Scriptures to Life

April 30, 2014

Speaker: Kenny Antony Soosai

We had the pleasure of having with us Kenny, one of the founders of StAY and a man with a great gift of knowledge and teaching, talk to us about Bringing the Scriptures to Life.

He shared with us his personal Bible journey, helpful tips on how to choose a Bible, how to navigate through it, and other tools to help us in our Bible study. He also shared with us different ways on how to study the Bible and gave several examples on how the Scriptures in the New Testament connects to events in the Old Testament.

Most importantly, he has shown how the Scripture is not just a book, but the living word that we can rely on and is very much applicable in our daily lives.

Just as Peter has denied Jesus thrice in front of a charcoal fire, He has given Peter the chance to declare his love for Him thrice in a charcoal fire that He built. Such a wonderful testimony of forgiveness and hope that no matter how much we stuff up in our lives, our Lord not only gives us second chances and a clean slate, but gives His total trust in us, just as He has entrusted Peter to feed and tend His sheep.

This is just one of the many beautiful stories of love evident in His written Word. By studying and immersing ourselves in His Word, not only do we get a deeper understanding of God's love and His ways, but we are also called to obedience to Him, to live His Word in our lives, and to pass it on.

Firebrandz Worship Night - Was it a Good Friday?

March 26, 2014

Speaker: Fr. Victor Faruggia

The night opened with an invitation for us to be with Jesus at Gethsemane. With dim lights and contemplative music, we were led by Aaron and Jessica to prayer and quiet reflection, creating an environment apt for Fr. Victor Faruggia’s talk on “Was it a GOOD Friday?”

And it wasn’t just a “talk” - it was a pilgrimage. From being with Jesus at Gethsemane, we became pilgrims, taking a walk to discover the essence of Jesus’ death on the cross. It’s easy to say that Jesus died on the cross because of His love for us. But what does that actually mean? How is it any different to someone who says they love us and brings upon death to themselves?

Jesus loves us so much that He came down to hell (here ends life and love) through the cross. He who is God, came to BE with us in our hell - in situations where life and love in our own lives end. Hanging there on the cross, Jesus Christ became subjected to anger, hatred, shame, isolation, pain, and betrayal. Our Lord became vulnerable, reminding us that in moments when we feel vulnerable to situations where life and love ends, we can draw strength and life from Him who was able to overcome hell through love.

As Fr. Vic said, we cannot carry the cross in which we ourselves are crucified. It is only through Him who overcome hell through the cross that we are going to be able to pick-up our own crosses and follow Him.

Firebrandz Worship Night - The Body of Christ

February 26, 2014

Speaker: Adam Cooper

What better way to end February than to learn about Human Love in the Divine Plan - that in order to understand our body and sexuality, we have to see it in this context.

Our human body, in its sexuality, is to be a sign of the divine mystery in the world, and this is what Theology of the Body is about; not a set of authoritative rules nor a coercive moral code. It is a freeing and empowering reality wherein we discover human dignity and human love, and gain an insight into our own temptations.

Not only did he talk about the human body, but more importantly, Christ's body as well. All of us need a renewed heart; one that is transformed daily by grace, and it is Christ's body that serves as a place of this healing and renewal. As the poet George Herbert said, "Christ's body is like a garden where we can gather herbs to heal our wounds."

Our bodies, despite all the sins, can be healed through the body of Christ.

This month's special:

But strive FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

So DO NOT WORRY about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. 

Today's trouble is enough for today. 

- Matthew 6:33-34

Firebrandz Worship Night - God's Will

January 29, 2014

Speaker: John Duiker

The first Firebrandz Set Free Worship Night for 2014 was filled with singing to Akekho Ofana Nojesu and receiving our spiritual cookie from our speaker, John Duiker.

John spoke of the importance of conforming to the will of God and living in His will. In giving our lives to Jesus, we have to keep surrendering to Him, keep walking in the light, and not hold back. We cannot profess God with our lips and deny Him in our lives, said John, and that God is with us wherever we are, we just have to turn to Him.

This Month's Special:

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, 

plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with HOPE. 

- Jeremiah 29:11 

Set Free Inner Healing Retreat

November 2-3, 2013

Celebrant: Fr. Elias Vella, OFM Malta

Initiative of the Institute for World Evangelisation - ICPE Mission

Once again, Fr. Elias Vella conducted a two-day inner healing retreat titled "Set Free". This was a concept started by Diana Mascarenhas, which aims to liberate us from bondage, inner conflicts and bring healing of memories.

Healing Mass

October 23, 2013

Celebrant: Fr. Elias Vella, OFM Malta

It was a Eucharist which focused on the healing of one’s family - a time to remember our family members who have gone to be with the Lord, a time for healing of one’s griefs and losses and unspoken traumas and events in the past.

Presided by Fr. Elias Vella, who has written several books on Healing, The World of Occult , New Age and Deliverance. Recently he addressed thousands of youth at World Youth Day in Rio.

The Lord comes to heal the broken-hearted and mend broken relationships.