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Mark 1:38—“And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.”

Here, Mark records a decisive moment early in Jesus’ ministry. After a day of intense activity—teaching, healing, and casting out demons—the crowds sought Him eagerly. His disciples pointed to the growing demand, saying, “All men seek for thee,” subtly urging Him to remain where His ministry was already attracting attention. Yet Jesus responds with resolute clarity: “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also.” Popularity, visible success, and pressing need did not determine His course; His God-given mission did.

Significantly, this resolve follows a time of solitary prayer (v. 35). Jesus’ decision to move on was not impulsive, but the fruit of deliberate communion with the Father. In prayer, His purpose was clarified, and His path confirmed. The will of the Father, not the expectations of the crowd, governed the direction of the Son. His example reveals a life ordered by obedience rather than convenience. Jesus sought not what was easiest or most affirming, but what was most faithful to the mission for which He had come.

His priority was unmistakable: preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Although His many miracles (v. 34) authenticated His divine nature and the God-given authority of His message, they were never intended to replace the proclamation of the message in other towns. Jesus affirmed, “for therefore came I forth.” His preaching is not incidental but essential to His incarnation. He has come to announce God’s saving reign, calling sinners to repentance and faith.

As followers of Christ, let us share His perspective of ministry—to value proclamation over popularity and to move forward wherever God calls us, confident that we walk in the footsteps of the One who came forth to preach. Obedience to God’s purpose, not human expectation, defines faithfulness.

Psalm 119:163—“I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.”

Psalm 119:163 reveals the moral clarity produced by a heart shaped by God’s Word. This verse stands within a section where the psalmist faces hostility and persecution, yet responds not with bitterness or compromise, but with deeper devotion to truth. His love for God’s law does not make him morally indifferent; it sharpens his discernment and strengthens his convictions.

The psalmist uses strong language, “hate and abhor”, to describe his response to lying. This hatred is not personal animus but a settled revulsion against sin and falsehood, formed by Scripture rather than sentiment. It is a principled rejection of falsehood in all its forms: deception, injustice, distortion, and unfaithfulness to God’s revealed truth. Lying is hated because it contradicts the character of God, who is truth and whose Word is pure. In contrast, the psalmist declares, “thy law do I love.” Love for God’s law is not mere admiration, but loyal affection that shapes belief and behaviour.

This verse teaches that true godliness involves both affection and aversion. Love for God and His Word necessarily produces hatred for what opposes His Word. To cherish truth is to resist falsehood. Scripture does not allow moral neutrality; it calls for a heart aligned with God’s righteousness.

The challenge given to believers is to examine what they tolerate. In an age where truth is often softened or reshaped for convenience, love for God’s Word demands courage. Yet this hatred of lying is not harsh or self-righteous; it flows from delight in God’s law. As believers grow in love for Scripture, their conscience is trained to reject what is false and cling to what is true, enabling faithful living in a confused and deceptive world.

Hebrews 6:1—“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.”

The exhortation, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection,” must be read in its redemptive-historical context. The writer addresses Jewish believers who had learned of Christ through the Old Testament—its ceremonies, promises, types, and prophecies—and were still tempted to treat those preparatory forms as necessary practices. These constituted the “principles,” or elementary teachings, about Christ, given by God before His coming to prepare the way for the fuller revelation now accomplished in Him.

“Leaving” does not mean abandoning truth, but moving forward from shadow to substance. The Old Testament provided a true and God-given foundation: sacrifices pointing to atonement, washings symbolising cleansing, promises anticipating salvation, and prophecies foretelling the Messiah. All faithfully taught Christ in advance. Yet now that Christ has come, died, risen, and ascended, believers are not to remain bound to the forms that once pointed forward to Him.

To cling to ceremonies and types after their fulfilment is like lingering at the scaffold after the building is complete. The writer urges his readers to move beyond Christ anticipated to Christ revealed, beyond promise to accomplishment. This forward movement is what he means by “going on unto perfection”, pursuing the complete revelation of Christ unto spiritual maturity.

Thus, believers are warned not to lay again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God. These were foundational under the old covenant, but now find their true meaning in wholehearted trust in Christ’s finished work. What once pointed forward must never compete with what has been fulfilled. True progress in the Christian life means building on the foundation, not living forever at it, pressing on to a fuller knowledge, obedience, and enjoyment of the completed work of Christ.

Mark 1:15—“… The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Mark 1:15 records the opening proclamation of Jesus’ public ministry. Spoken in Galilee, immediately after John the Baptist’s imprisonment, these words announce a decisive turning point in redemptive history. “The time is fulfilled” declares that God’s appointed moment has arrived. Centuries of promise, prophecy, and expectation now converge in the person of Christ. History is not random; it moves according to God’s sovereign timetable, and that timetable reaches its fullness in Jesus.

Jesus also said that “the kingdom of God is at hand”, and that means that God’s work of salvation has drawn near in the King Himself. This is not merely future hope, but present reality. In Christ, God’s rule breaks into a fallen world with authority, grace, and power to save. The nearness of the kingdom demands response, not observation. Neutrality is impossible when the King stands before us.

Jesus’ call is twofold: “repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Repentance is a decisive turning, a change of mind and direction away from sin and self-rule. Faith is not mere agreement, but wholehearted trust in the good news that God saves sinners through Christ. These are not separate stages, but two sides of the same response. True faith always turns from sin; true repentance always turns toward Christ.

These words of Christ press upon every hearer the urgency of the Gospel of Christ. His call is not to be postponed until life is settled or circumstances improve. The kingdom is near us, now. The Redeemer-King, the Lord Jesus Christ, addresses us where we are, calling us to forsake false securities and rest in Him alone. For the weary sinner, this is good news: God has acted, salvation is offered, and the door of grace stands open. To repent and believe in Christ is to enter life under the gracious reign of Jesus Christ, both now and forever.

Sermon Text: Psalm 121
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 18th January 2026

CBS is a growing fellowship among our youths that is dedicated to reaching students in tertiary education with the life-giving Word of God. At a time when campuses are filled with competing voices (many of which are spiritually destructive), along with captivating ideas and pressures that draw hearts away from Christ, this ministry exists to anchor young hearts and minds firmly in the truth of Christ. Through faithful teaching, Q&A sessions, prayer, and fellowship, Christian students are equipped to grow spiritually and live out their faith with courage and clarity.

Our campus ministry meets online every Thursday at 6:00 pm, making it accessible to students, regardless of location or academic schedule – so they can meet together to learn God’s Word. Each meeting centres on the study of God’s Word, encouraging thoughtful discussion, mutual edification, and prayerful reflection. It is a safe and welcoming space where students can ask questions, strengthen their convictions, and be encouraged in their walk with the Lord.

We warmly invite all tertiary students from colleges, polytechnics, universities, and professional institutions to join these weekly gatherings. Students are also encouraged to invite their friends and classmates, creating opportunities for others to hear the Gospel and encounter Christ through the Scriptures.

Bearing witness to Christ in tertiary institutions is both a privilege and a responsibility. Campuses are mission fields for Christian students to live out their faith, speak the truth in love, and reflect Christ’s character. God uses their witness to shine His light in places of learning and influence.

Believers in educational campuses face constant pressure from ungodly ideologies, moral compromises, and spiritually destructive voices that challenge their faith. This Campus Bible Study provides encouragement through God’s Word, strengthening students to stand firm in Christ, grow in discernment and live boldly as faithful witnesses. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Col. 2:8).

If you are a tertiary student, join CBS’s online meetings. Come, learn the Word, grow in faith, and be a faithful witness for Christ where God has placed you.

Additional Testimonies of GYF Retreat Participants (Continued)

Valencia Hutagalung

Thank God for the 3 days of this camp, which has taught me many valuable lessons concerning sin and temptation. Thank God for all those who worked hard over the past few months to ensure the smooth running of the camp, and even those serving in the many different areas during the camp as well. Praise God for the time of fellowship and learning of God’s Word together. 

I’m thankful for the theme messages faithfully preached by Pr Cornelius, on the theme: “Fight the Good Fight Against Sin”. These messages have helped me to reflect back on how I’ve been living my life and on my personal walk with God. As I navigate the struggles against sin in my daily life, these messages serve as timely reminders for me to continue to watch myself and resist the devil (James 4:7). I’ve learnt that temptation can be either internal or external. Temptation is not sin when it is external and resisted against, but becomes sin when it is internal and embraced. I’ve also learnt about the functions and limitations of God’s Law, and about habitual sins and how we can break them.

One particular lesson which has impacted me most is the importance of prayer and asking God to help us resist temptations. Prayer is submitting ourselves to God, asking God to bend our will according to His, and not changing His will according to what we want. 

I pray that I will continue to remember and apply these lessons amidst all the temptations around me. May I will continue to grow closer to God, and yield myself to Him in my fight against sin.

Lorraine Yong

I thank God for seeing me through another year and for enabling me to come for YF. The messages in YF have moved me and drawn me (and my brother Max) closer to God. Furthermore, by His grace and strength, Max and I had also attended the Catechism class. I also thank God for the encouragement from Pastor, Pr Cornelius, Dns Diana, the Aux-Comm, and brothers and sisters in Christ. Their fellowship, as well as their love and support, have encouraged me greatly. 

I’m thankful for the privilege to join this YF retreat, which has allowed us to learn the importance of resisting temptation and surrendering all our desires to the Lord. The Lord has truly blessed me with so much, and I pray that in 2026 I will be a more contented Christian and strive to be a good testimony to those around me, especially my family. May I also be a good encouragement to the younger youths joining YF in 2026, just like how the older sisters and brothers have done for me.

Rance Laurencio

Thank God for seeing us through the recent youth retreat, and for the edifying theme messages. The theme was an answered prayer for me, as often I find myself stumbling due to yielding to temptations in my continual walk with the Lord. Indeed, “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because (I) keep not thy law” (Ps 119:136).

I thank God for the aid of brothers and sisters who cared and looked after me, and for the recovery and sustenance God has given me, while I fell unwell due to sudden diarrhoea during the camp.

In particular, I thank God for the opportunity to use my God-given talent to serve Him by designing the cover for this retreat’s booklet. The concept I had in mind focused on the shield, inspired by Ephesians 6:16 – “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Furthermore, when I was brainstorming and exploring ideas, I followed the idea of the sword – “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

Finally, I thank God for all of His blessings, and I pray that we may all be channels of God’s blessings to others.

Chloe Chan

I thank God for the opportunity to attend my first YF retreat, where I was richly nourished by His Word and blessed through meaningful fellowship. Amidst the many internal and external temptations I face in my daily life, the messages shared during the retreat served as a timely and much-needed reminder to continually fight the good fight against sin.

I was reminded of the importance of staying close to God and His Word, which serves as a mirror that reveals our sinful nature and our deep need for salvation. This spiritual battle requires conscious effort and steadfast faith. We must remain aware of the sinful lusts that dwell within us, willingly submitting and surrendering them to God so that they may be put to death.

Our struggle with sin will persist and may even intensify as we grow older. Yet, this very struggle is testament of our salvation, for it reflects a renewed heart that now hates sin and desires righteousness. Therefore, we must remain prayerful and watchful, yielding our bodies as instruments of righteousness and not of sin, as we rely wholly on God each day in this ongoing battle. “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:13).

Exodus 16:4—“Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.”

In today’s devotion, we will focus on the last part of this verse—“that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no”.

Though freshly redeemed from Egypt, the people quickly grumble when hunger arises. The desert exposes their hearts’ need to learn to trust in God daily. Into this setting, the LORD speaks graciously: “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.” Yet, what God provides is also what God uses to test. Daily bread becomes the measure of daily trust and obedience.

The manna is given with purpose. The people are instructed to gather “a certain rate every day.” God deliberately limits the supply to a daily portion, forbidding hoarding for tomorrow. The reason is clearly stated: “that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” The wilderness becomes a classroom, and daily bread becomes the test. Obedience is measured not in extraordinary acts, but in the exercise of faith in ordinary matters of life.

This verse reveals that God’s testing is formative. The LORD already knows His people; the proving is for their sake. Through daily dependence, Israel learns that life is sustained not by abundance, but by trust in God’s promises. This truth echoes later in Scripture: “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Deut. 8:3). God’s law is never separated from His provision; true obedience grows out of daily dependence on Him.

Let us remember that when believers walk through seasons of uncertainty, God sometimes provides day by day rather than in abundance, not to discourage us but to train us to walk in continual dependence upon Him. The question is not whether God will provide—He will—but whether we will obey Him in the quiet, daily rhythms of life. Faith is proved not only in crisis, but in consistent, day-by-day trust in the God who gives and guides.

Exodus 16:4a—“Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day…” 

Israel has just been redeemed from Egypt, yet in the wilderness, their joy quickly turns to complaint. Hunger exposes the heart. The people grumble against Moses and Aaron, forgetting the mighty deliverance of the Red Sea. However, the LORD does not abandon them; instead, He reveals His gracious purpose: “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.” God meets their need with provision and their complaint with mercy.

The image is striking. Bread does not grow in the desert, nor does it fall from the sky. This is a supernatural provision, deliberately described as a “rain” from heaven. God alone supplies what the wilderness cannot. Yet this provision is accompanied by a command: each person is to gather only a day’s portion. The manna cannot be stored, hoarded, or controlled. God is teaching His people to live by daily dependence, not accumulated security.

Manna reveals a God who saves and sustains. Redemption from Egypt was not the end of God’s care; it was the beginning of a life lived in trust. The daily gift of bread trained Israel to rely on God’s Word and promise every morning. Jesus later draws on this scene, identifying Himself as the true Bread from heaven, given not for one day only, but for eternal life.

This narrative speaks powerfully to believers today as they pass through their own wilderness seasons. God does not always remove need, but He faithfully meets it. He gives grace for today’s need, not for tomorrow’s worries. As we learn to receive His provision day by day, we discover that daily dependence is not weakness, but the very path by which trust deepens, obedience is formed, and lasting joy is found in the God who provides.

Nehemiah 1:6—“Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.”

Nehemiah prays from the Persian capital, far from Jerusalem yet deeply bound to its condition. Having acknowledged God’s covenant mercy, he urgently pleads for the Lord to listen and to look upon his prayer. Nehemiah speaks not with presumption, but with holy urgency. He knows that the ruin of Jerusalem is not merely political or military; it is spiritual. Therefore, the first work of rebuilding must begin with a confession of the sins that caused the city's ruin. 

Strikingly, Nehemiah prays “day and night” for “the children of Israel.” Though he himself is not responsible for the specific sins that led to exile, he fully identifies with God’s people. He does not distance himself from their failure. Instead, he says, “we have sinned… both I and my father’s house.” True intercessory prayer stands in solidarity with sinners rather than in judgment over them.

Nehemiah names sin honestly. He confesses at the heart, not discomfort in the circumstances. Israel’s trouble is traced back to covenant disobedience, even their failure to keep God’s commandments, statutes, and judgments given through Moses. This is no vague apology; it is a clear acknowledgement that God has been righteous in His discipline. Confession aligns the heart with God’s verdict before seeking God’s mercy.

This prayer teaches us how spiritual renewal begins. Restoration does not start with plans, strategies, or complaints, but with humble confession. God listens when His people stop excusing sin and start owning it. When we pray like Nehemiah—persistently, personally, and truthfully—we place ourselves where grace flows freely. Far from weakening faith, confession expresses trust in God’s restoring work that alone can transform the damage of disobedience into an opportunity for His glory and the good of His people.

Nehemiah 1:5—“And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments”.

Nehemiah’s prayer arises from deep grief. While serving in the Persian king’s palace at Shushan, Nehemiah learned that Jerusalem lay in ruins, its walls broken down and its people living in reproach. Though he serves in comfort in the Persian court, his heart is bound to God’s city and God’s people. Before he speaks to the king about his people’s condition, Nehemiah falls on his knees before God, fasting and praying for days. His prayer is shaped by Scripture, theology, and covenant faith.

He begins, “O LORD God of heaven,” confessing God’s supreme sovereignty over all nations and rulers. The ruined condition of Jerusalem is not beyond God’s reach. Calling Him “the great and terrible God,” Nehemiah acknowledges God’s holiness and righteous power, the very qualities Israel has offended by sin. Yet this awe-filled address quickly moves to hope: God is the One “that keepeth covenant and mercy.” Nehemiah anchors his plea not in Israel’s merit but in God’s unwavering faithfulness to His covenant promises.

The covenant in view is the one God made with His people, a bond upheld by divine mercy. Nehemiah knows Israel has broken the covenant, and he will soon confess that sin plainly. Still, he prays because God remains faithful even when His people are not. Mercy here is not sentimental; it is loyal love, steadfast and pledged.

This teaches us how to pray amid ruin, whether it be personal, ecclesial, or societal. We come honestly, reverently, and confidently, appealing to God’s covenant mercy. Those who love Him and seek to obey Him must first depend on Him for forgiveness and restoration. Like Nehemiah, let us pray trusting that the covenant-keeping God delights to restore what sin has broken, for His glory and His name’s sake.