Christmas Eve Celebration

You are invited to join us for our Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve, 24th December at the ACA centre. A Christmas dinner will be served at 7:30 pm. This will be followed by a Carol Service with a Gospel message and then by other Christmas festivities. There's no entry fee (though if you'd like to contribute discreetly there will be a box provided). Please do come and bring your friends. You email us at smacc.info@gmail.com for more information. Transport will be available from UCSI (Sedaya).

Christmas Day, we'll have a joint celebration with SMACC1 and 2 at the Multipurpose Hall back at St. Mary's Cathedral, Dataran Merdeka at 10:30am.

EMU Music Seminar

Our sister congregations (SMACC1&2) are hosting a music seminar by Philip Percival and his team in partnership with EMU and the Gospel Growth Fellowship on Sunday October 18th. Please click on the above link for more details.

ACA Weekend Retreat

From September 11-13 ACA had its first weekend retreat together. Read below to see one member's account of the weekend:

Normally I’m very reluctant to leave my comfortable home to go on retreats/camping/trips. I’m just a very homely person and when I reach home I like to stay home. Because of this quirky trait I have, when the invitation to join the ACA Retreat came along my way, I was a bit hesitant to sign myself up. I also had a slight problem in terms of not having the financial resources to go. So I thought to myself, “That settles it! I’m not going!” and that was my mindset for a couple of weeks before a member of ACA asked me again whether I’d be interested in joining the Retreat.

Nearer to the date of the Retreat, I was getting more interested in the idea of going ‘camping’ with the members of ACA. I think what sparked this interest was the fact that I wanted to stay in ACA and be a part of the growing church. I knew from past experiences that church camps usually foster a great relationship between the attendees and for a church that is still in its growing stage (albeit all churches should be in this stage in one form or other), a church camp would be vital to cement the people together with the same vision and mindset. With this in mind, when I was asked again to join the Retreat, my answer was a “YES!”. With all arrangements made, I was finally at the Genting View Resort on September 11th, 2009.

With the cool mountain air to provide for a comfortable stay and a getaway from the humid and oftentimes hot weather of KL, the 3 day-2 night retreat was just a good time for everyone who attended to relax and unwind. However, it wasn’t all just relaxation for us as the retreat wasn’t just about having fun, it was also about getting to know God better and to pray together as a family in Christ.

Our first night together started with a nice ice-breaking session which despite its name, really warmed us all up to each other. I got to know a few people I’ve never met before. Then before lights out on our first night, a whole bunch of us gathered together in a circle to play a game involving tons of finger-pointing and confusing poses using only our hands and some cards! We had a great time laughing at each others’ confusion before retiring for the night.

On the second day, we hit the books and listened to a few talks prepared by Andrew about what it means to be Anglican, Reformed and Evangelical. I thought that the talks were really well prepared and helped us understand each term well and also the purpose of having ACA. We also learned that the Gospel is the centre of everything and without the Gospel and the Cross, we have no focus in our lives. In our small group discussions, we reflected on the talks that Andrew had given and pondered on the things we can do as a church to glorify God – some of the things we talked about were how the Gospel affects our mindsets and attitudes, how we should pray for each other, and also what going to church is really all about.

In between the talks and our group discussions, we had some indoor games and activities. We also had a trip outdoors to get acquainted with nature through a nature walk through the dense (ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a little) forest. This was particularly fun for me as an outdoorsy kind of person but seemed to be equally fun for everything else too! At the end of our 1-hour long trek, we took photos of our extremely muddy shoes and tried to see who the muddiest of all was.

I felt that three days was definitely too short a time to spend together but provided enough motivation for all of us to keep on speaking to each other and to encourage one another instead of just attending church and leaving at the end of the day without knowing anyone there. After learning that church is not only a vertical relationship between us and God but also a horizontal relationship between each other (the members of the church), I think that people were more willing to open up to share each other’s lives.

The most significant thing that I learned over these 3 days was how we attend church to not be served, but to serve others. When I returned home after the retreat, I remembered how Jesus had come to Earth as a suffering servant and although He was King, He came to serve others. It reminded me of how we are to act in church as well and how serving one another is actually an act of worship.

All in all, this retreat had been a great eye-opener to me as I had learned so much about God, the Gospel, the church, worship and each other. I now know more people than I used to when I first attended ACA and now I care for everyone more than I used to as well. To learn of all that Jesus has done for us on the Cross certainly does leave a profound impact on our mindset and attitudes and for us to have learned all these things together as a Church made it all the more meaningful.

The ACA Retreat 2009 had indeed been a success in bringing some of its members together (I wish everyone who attended ACA had been able to come) and hopefully we will be able to have a similar retreat again in the future. This time, I’ll bring my hiking boots alongside my Bible!

- Julianne

Being Gospel Centred

The first thing on our list of values at ACA is being a Gospel centred church.
But what does this look like?

Have a look here.

Men's Night

We're having a men's event at ACA this Wednesday. It's a time for our men to get together to encourage each other to be godly men. Our speaker is Neil Watkinson from Singapore/UK. They'll be good food, good company, good teaching. RM 15 per head. If you'd like to come along please email us on smacc.info@gmail.com. Sorry ladies ... men only ....

Sermon Series

We've just started a new sermon series on the book of Acts.
Here is the plan for the next few week:

12/Jul/09 Acts 9:32-43 (plus review of Acts 1:1-9:31)
19/Jul/09 Acts 10:1-11:18
26/Jul/09 Acts 11:19-30
2/Aug/09 Acts 12
9/Aug/09 Acts 13:1-12
16/Aug/09 Acts 13:13-52
23/Aug/09 Acts 14

The sermons should be available online at www.smacc.info (click the sermon link).

Andrew

New Cell Group

We have a new cell group which meets right after church at ACA on Sunday afternoons. It will be a good time of Bible study, fellowship and prayer. This cell group will discuss application of the sermon as well as studying the passage that will be preached on in the following week. Newcomers are welcome!

Its that time of the month again :)

SMACC TEAM!!

Just a quick reminder that this Saturday (30th May) SMACC Team will be held at the home of Jake and Rubina Henry. (9 Jalan Rumba Riang 9/5A, Kota Damansara, 47810, PJ)

SMACC Team is for everyone and anyone who attends SMACC1,SMACC2 and ACA to come together to pray to our sovereign God for the ministry here and beyond.

We share food together from 6.00 pm - all gastronomical contributions welcome but not essential so dont be put off - its OK to just come as there is always enough food to share.

If any one needs a lift or detailed driving directions to the Henry's home, please contact us on smacc.info@gmail.com

Hope to see you all there.

A faith left unexamined is not worth believing

Guest Night - Start inviting friends now!

Date: Saturday 23rd of May 2009.

Time: 7pm.

Venue: Ascended Christ Anglican (ACA), Ampang.











We will be screening the documentary entitled, "The Case for Christ". This documentary is based upon the award-winning best-seller book of the same title which documents Lee Strobel's journey from atheism to faith through his 2-year investigation of the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ. Strobel, the former legal editor of the Chicago tribune, draws upon his investigative skills to examine the historical accuracy of the Gospels, the personal claims of Jesus and His resurrection from the dead.

RSVP latest by 19th May 2009 as there are limited seating. For more info, e-mail smacc.info@gmail.com

SMACAGOW

the widest smile!

the longest eyelashes...

the sexiest wink!



Im sure all who attended would agree that SMACAGOW was indeed a SmAcKiNG GooD weekend!

The theme of this year's talks was on God's Guidance, a very timely message in light of current economic conditions! Paul Harrington preached faithfully on this subject, over 4 separate talks, outlining firstly the key principles to making Godly decisions and then moving on to tackle 3 areas of application:
-God's Guidance and our Job
-God's Guidance through the Holy Spirit, applying the principles to Marriage
-God's Guidance and Money

In addition, there were 4 electives available on a variety of topics:
1. How to REALLY love your husband- we saw many husbands signing their wives up for this one!
2. Relationships - singleness
3. A Christian perspective to Chinese Traditions
4. Case for Christ

We also had heaps of fun games, icebreakers and our very own SMACC pageant,over an 8 course banquet dinner! -
see photos for footage of SMACC's widest smile, sexiest wink and longest eyelashes :)

SO..What else did 80 SMACC/ACA ers do in the tiny town of Kampar over the long may weekend?
...Checked out Kampar town -which consisted of only 2 main roads, but provided enough entertainment in the form of delectable chicken biscuits, some drove to Kellie's castle, football at 2am (tsk tsk - we hear Andrew was involved in this too!) and one group even drove to Ipoh for taugeh chicken at 1am :)
We even managed to include SMACC Team, our monthly prayer meeting on the saturday night.
It was a very fulfilling weekend, packed with excellent teaching and lots of opportunities to build and deepen relationships.

Many Thanks to all who organised it, helped out, ran games n children ministry, designed the lovely striking chilli red tee shirt :) and photographers.

For those who couldn't make it, the talks are available online on smacc.info (sermon downloads page. Check out more photos (and videos as well!) on our Facebook site.

SMACAGOW 2009

SMACAGOW 2009

Our annual camp - held jointly with SMACC1 and SMACC2.

Topic: Guide to God's Guidance

Speaker: Paul Harrington

May 1st-3rd, Grand Kampar Hotel.

Sign up at church on Sunday or email smacc.info@gmail.com for more information.

NEW Website up and running!

Our brand new website for ACA is up and running. Do check it out!
http://www.ascendedchrist.org

Thanksgiving and prayer

We had our first Sunday gathering at the new site last Sunday. God has been gracious to us in giving us this place - please join us in thanking God for it. We're not quite ready for an 'official launch' yet but we hope to be in a few weeks. We were thankful for 2 new faces in the congregation as well. We're also exploring some exciting ministry possibilities in the area - please pray for wisdom for us here. P

A New Home for ACA

Our first Sunday in the new centre will be this Sunday - 1st March. We thank God for the use of the Holiday Villa and look forward to meeting in our spanking new place. (We expect some 'teething' problems to start with and so we will have an official launch once these are sorted out. You are welcome to come and join us in the meantime - but take us as we are!)

However, the ultimate home that we look forward to is in the New Creation when we will gather with all God's people - across the world and down through the ages - to glorify the Lord Jesus, the Lamb who was slain for us!

Soli deo gloria!

Andrew

Site for the new centre

Here is a map that shows you where our new centre will be. You can also click here for it.


View Larger Map

Please pray for Lynn, Yee Li and Jenny as they work on publicity material for Ascended Christ. Give thanks that these sisters from SMACC2 are so willingly helping the church plant.
Andrew C.

Work is about to start on furbishing our new centre near Tesco Ampang. Please pray that all will go well with that and that we will be able to raise the funds needed for the work. The cost is estimated at RM110,000. Below are some pictures of the centre as it stands ...

More important than the fubishing of the centre is the building of the church. The church is not the building but the people who gather each week in the name of the Lord Jesus around his word. Pray even more that God would build his church!

Andrew C.

Review of the Fellows Workers Conference 2009

The Fellow Workers Conference, the inaugural conference organised by the Gospel Growth Fellowship (www.gospelgrowth.com.my) was held on the 1-3rd of January 2009 focussing on the role of the Gospel in the church. A group of SMACCers attended this event:

"At FWC09 we were reminded about what sort of priority the gospel should have in our lives - this year in particular the priority it has over the church. We took a look at how things like tradition, experience, intellect and social action have crept in and threatened (even replaced!) the gospel we preach in our churches today. We were challenged to think about how far we would go to ensure the gospel remains central in our churches.

Attending FWC09 was indeed a great way to celebrate the gospel and to help set the tone for the year. In light of it, it will also be interesting to see what FWC10: The Gospel & Interpretation will show us. Hope to see you there."

The kids had their own programme and were well taken care of...



A wide selection of resources were available...


Hmm...I wonder?!?...


The buffet spread was clearly a highlight...

SAVE THE DATE: 1-3 May : SMAGOW Camp

SMAGOW this year will be on the 1st -3rd of May. Save the dates on your calendars. This year we have the privilege of hearing from Rev. Paul Harrington, the Rector of Holy Trinity, Adelaide. It'll be held in Kampar..so a great chance to stock up on the famous chicken biscuits :)

Note: For the internet savvy amongst you, SMACC has now joined the Facebook Revolution! For updates, invites and the latest news, be a 'fan of SMACC' today.