The Song of Solomon is widely regarded as one of the most difficult books in the Bible to comprehend, but City Harvest Church members have been able to incorporate the message from this book of the Bible into their daily lives, after completing a series of a church-wide bible study on The Song of Solomon taught by Senior Pastor, Kong Hee, and Deputy Senior Pastor, Tan Ye Peng.
Spread out over five weeks, the congregation learned how to decipher principles centering around the relationship between our Lord Jesus Christ and His Bride, the church, from the love story between the Shulamite woman and King Solomon. The lessons also explored how a young believer becomes a mature person of faith and how initial love grows through a process to become mature love.
22-year-old Peh Wei Kiat said the sessions taught him how his relationship with God is not a one way ticket.
“I learned that it is not about what we can gain from God,” he said, “It is about our desire to follow God beyond the four walls of the church, and build up His kingdom with Him; laying our lives down for others the way Jesus laid down His life for us.”
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| PHOTOS: Daniel Poh & Jason Lee |
He said he was deeply impacted by Tan’s teaching session during the second installment, where he learned how to serve others and break away from the behavior of an immature Christian.
“I used to be quite self-centered — caring more for my own needs,” he said. “But after that lesson, I realized how God wants me to lay down my life for others and help meet their needs. As I do that, God will fulfilled mine.”
18-year-old Jasmine Lam was similarly spurred on to change. She learned during Kong’s teaching sessions on the right attitude to take when facing life’s difficulties — including, like most her age, balancing her studies with church activities.
“It inspired me to be like the Shulamite woman,” said the Serangoon Junior College student, “Though there are ‘down’ times, I will put God’s will above mine, seek Him and do what pleases Him, which includes excelling in my studies.”
And it was a case of reaffirming her faith to serve as a full time ministry worker for 29-year-old Pauline Kong, a liaison manager. “It impacted me as I realized that seeking and serving God does not just touch my life but many others eventually as a result of my own transformation,” she said. “They helped me to see a purpose bigger than myself.”
While the lessons that were taken away from the Bible study differed from one person to another, one thing is for sure, the next round of church-wide Bible study couldn’t come soon enough for many.
“We cannot just consume “milk” as we mature and grow as Christians,” said Lam. “We need to take in the meat, the real deal of the Word of God, to able to get a strong grasp and understanding of the Bible.”
