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The year 2012 ended off with the celebration of Hanukkah – the Festival of Lights. Although there is no Biblical mandate to celebrate it, ETW Ekklesia celebrates it as part of our remembrance of how the nation of Israel was delivered through God’s help. It is a reminder NOT to give in to evil but to actively take a stand for good, totally relying on God’s help. We saw how the Maccabees fought for the freedom to worship their God His way and because they pleased God, He granted them many victories until they finally managed to conquer the Syrian army and take back the temple mount some three years later. They tore down the desecrated altar and rebuilt a new one and then consecrated it so that they could continue to worship Yahweh their God with the appropriate sacrifices.

Jewish custom says that one light is to be lit on the first day with the Shamash candle, the servant candle. The Shamash is a reminder of Christ, our Servant Leader, who also is the Light of the world. Then two lights are lit on the second night and so on until all eight lights are lit on the eighth day of Hanukkah. Since we are Gentiles who are more concerned with the meaning rather than the Jewishness of Hanukkah, we had Mabel light all eight lights during the feast. Later on, all the members of the congregation (called “the light of the world” by our Lord [Matt 5:14]) lit their own candles as a symbol of their determination to keep the light shining and so glorify God by their good deeds (Matt 5:16). This was done after they learnt the historical and spiritual significance of the festival.

And of course, what celebration is complete without songs? We also enjoyed some hilarious music videos performed by the Jews themselves. We learnt some traditional Hanukkah songs and also about the reason why Hanukkah is celebrated by burning eight candles for eight nights. Some say it was to commemorate the miracle of the oil which burned for eight days instead of one. Others say otherwise.

Hanukkah is also a time of playing games and one of which was the dreidel, a four-sided spinning top that the children (and adults) play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, Nes Gadol Haya Sham, (“A great miracle happened there”), referring to the miracle of the oil. This time we did not have the physical dreidel to play with although we did so last time with chocolate coins given to each participant.

Later on, we all partook in a feast which included ‘latkes’, potato pancakes, a traditional food for Hanukkah. As usual, ETW Ekklesia never lacks the talent when it comes to whipping up a sumptuous communal meal. Thanks, in particular, goes to Esther, Jerri, Georgette and their helpers, Angela and Jan!
Blessed Hanukkah!

At the threshold of the fourth year into the forming of ETW Ekklesia, we had our very first retreat as a family of God. It was a three-day-two-night prayer retreat in Changi Village Hotel. The leaders in ETW believed that we were near a watershed moment in the history of ETWE and the world as God has been speaking to them through many happenings. Changes also are taking place in the world’s political and economical arena albeit we, in Singapore, are still enjoying relatively peaceful times. As ETWE went through the teachings of Judges (e.g. Judges 10:1-5) during our worship services, we learn that peaceful times are meant to be preparation time for God’s people to grow in Him to face the difficult times that may arise in the future. This involves spiritual growth and physical preparation (see * for further explanation).

Prayer began on Friday evening and lasted till Saturday evening which ended with personal reflections and sharing into the night. There were cheery and teary moments.

The prayer sessions were interspersed with worship and short bible teachings. In the first two sessions, the bible teachings focused us on how to pray cooperatively in a group and listen to the Spirit’s leading. Praying in groups that formed spontaneously followed after that. The next prayer session revolved around end times preparation and so some chose to pray together as a family nucleus to seek God’s will for the family. From the author’s own experience, it was interesting to be praying with different groups of people as the group dynamics were different.

After a short break for dinner, we had a session of Torah reading followed by our ETWE Saturday service. During the service, we sang ‘Jesus at the Center of It All’, the theme song for the retreat, and by then a familiar song to us. A reminder that whatever we do, we do it for the Lord Jesus Christ (Col 3:23)! The centre of gravity in our life is Jesus Christ and, because we do not know the specifics even in the near future, we humble ourselves to seek God and His will for us individually and for the congregation in the prayer retreat. When it comes to the congregational sharing, it was very refreshing to see people sharing from the Scriptures and how the Spirit moved amongst us to affirm one another. (Retreat attendees have been given Scripture passages randomly beforehand). Several common themes shared were devotion to God in difficult times, trusting in God’s Sovereignty and Almighty Power and hoping only in Him to do what is right in the end times, God being our refuge and God being the Caregiver of the orphans and widows through the church.

Sunday morning was reserved for fellowship amongst the members of ETWE family. Some took to exploring the food ‘paradise’ nearby, some to swimming or walking on the boardwalk, and yet others were satisfied with just chatting.

For many, the prayer retreat was a refreshing way to close the year 2012. For one attendee, it was even more special as it had been an answered prayer. The prayer retreat, though successful, was only the starting point to stir in each of us greater diligence and discipline to a life of prayer in 2013.

* Note:

The time of peace given to the judges and the tasks they should have been doing to reestablish worship of YWH

	In the Days of the Judges	Application Today
1.	Re-establish the levitical priesthood and ensure the worship of God as Moses & Joshua has instructed	Growing in God’s Word and knowing God
2.	Eradicate enemies in their surroundings as Moses & Joshua has instructed / prepare their people for future conflicts or emergencies	Train them for spiritual warfare so that the people of God may stand in the days of evil (Eph 6)

The celebration of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles or ‘Booths’) on 6th October was a ‘fruitful’ one – literally. Leviticus 23:39-43 tells us that this is Israel’s Thanksgiving celebration in which they acknowledge God’s provision for them through the Fall Harvest. In this joyous occasion, God commanded the Israelites to remember their humble beginning – ‘I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt, I am the LORD your God’ (Lev 23:43).

And so, in attempting to follow the footsteps of our Hebrew forefathers, ETW Ekklesia set up this visual reminder in the congregation by assembling a temporary tent (not made from something that grew from the ground like tree branches but enough as a visual simulation). On the poles of the tent, each member of the congregation took turns to hang his or her fruit from the ‘harvest’ as a symbol of the God’s abundant and faithful provision. It was a time filled with liveliness and laughter and admiration of the pretty picture of the tent (see photo below). Interestingly, that symbolic act of participating in ‘building the booth’ created a livelier atmosphere from that moment on.

The celebration continued with teaching about the feast, interspersed with praises to God, songs, and even a quiz time (prizes included!). We also believe that the Feast of Tabernacles was the time of the Messiah’s birth, if one counts from the announcement of the conception of John the Baptist to Zacharias (Luke 1). Prophetically, the Feast of Tabernacles causes us to look forward to the Second Coming of Christ where the fullness of our joy will be manifested – in the appearance of Christ in His glory and us becoming like Him (1 Cor 15:50-52). Spiritually, it reminds us that our flesh (our current ‘dwelling place’ or ‘tent’) is temporal and we are not to put hope in it but rather we are to put on Christ, who is our hope of glory (Col 1:27; Gal 3:27; Rom 13:14).

One reason why ETW celebrates this feast is because our knowledge and understanding of God, Christ and His plan for mankind is enriched with the many spiritual lessons and prophetic significance of Sukkot. Children are a welcome addition to this feast for it is to be celebrated in the context of the family, especially THE Family of God. They learn from a young age that the kingdom of God is associated with JOY and this is why we endeavor to inject some fun into the feast through songs, games, quizzes, etc. It is also a reminder that we, as children of the living God, are fully provided for by our heavenly Father – spiritually, eternally and materially. God is truly good!