ALIVE!

27 FEBRUARY 2010 @ OLPS Youth Gathering @ Verbist Hall

Thank you everyone who came, it was really wonderful. Below is some brief points of what we did, reflected on and a kinda content summary. It's not very well written but just go thru the points and you'll get a brief idea what we talked/listened/heard/reflected on! ;) Also good if you missed out anything along the way.

Quotes on being "Alive!"
- I am thankful… For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means I am alive.
- LIFE must be lived and curiosity kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
- I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive. ~ Joseph Campbell
- When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. ~ Marcus Aurelius
- Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive, it isn't. ~ Richard Bach

Sharing & Video by David Cheong: "Am I Truly ALIVE?"
We watched a video called "Shaking Tokyo", which starred the life of a hikikomori and how he came out of it. “hikikomori” Literally means - ‘pulling away, being confined’- It is a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive individuals who have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement.

Short clip:


We reflected on:
- How was the main character's life changed by the ‘shaking’?
- Why did he want to visit the Pizza Delivery Girl?
- How does this story relate to our own lives?

We then sang 2 songs with music from our Youth Music Ministry (YMM) - (the youtube vids below are just here to show you the tune of the songs/lyrics):





We had also a time of reflection. For those of you who didn't catch the words on the powerpoint, here they are:-

More Reflections on "ALIVE":
- We “die” each day… we get depressed and upset over various things.
- We lose hope, we fail to be happy, we get negative, we feel numb, feel pain.
- We question what is the Purpose of Life? OR we get cynical and angry about life.
- Or we dislike that God created us the way we are. We thus hate many things. Including ourselves.
- We doubt the existence of God. We disbelieve God’s promise of eternal life!

BUT Think about it…
- We are probably better off than many who are without food, education, family, etc…
- Many of our peers out there are still living life but do not know about God.
- If we are ALIVE now and there’s hope for tomorrow, God is probably there waiting for us already, so why are we worrying?
- If we are ALIVE now, God is the only one who knows why we are still alive, coz he created us, so why don’t we pray more?

SO.. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY about "LIFE"?

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NIV)

Romans 6:8-11
If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. You too must think of yourselves as (being) dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4-6
God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ..

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength

John 4:14
Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.

Finally, we listened to a Featured Song: "OXYGEN" by Avalon
We listened to this song and the words really spoke about being alive as a result of our God... he is our everything. Listen to it here!:


GOD BLESS! See you at the next event in APRIL (and don't forget Lenten vigil in March!)