Story 39: Gabriel Choo

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE 朱锦熹

I started attending COR around 2013, when my then-girlfriend and now wife, Ruth Lim, invited me. At first, I would only come whenever she was around. Over time, however, because of how open and welcoming my cell group (Elohim) was, I found myself wanting to come for service or cell sessions even when Ruth was not able to attend.

I think one turning point in my journey was when I heard a sermon on the Book of James, specifically on the use of our tongues. That sermon really struck me, because I used to be really foul mouthed. So I asked God to remove from me this need to use expletives. And it just happened. One day when I got angry about something, I realised that I had lost the ability to curse and swear, to the extent that I would even feel nauseous at the thought of using such words. That was one of the first moments when I knew God was real, because I could not have done it on my own.

Right now, I serve in the Children's Ministry of SWS, looking after the pre-schoolers. There were a number of factors that influenced my decision to join this ministry. I liked interacting with children, and so the learning curve would not be too steep. I also knew that, as Sunday School teachers had to share God's word with the children, this would force me to go deeper in learning about the Bible, which is something I was not very diligent about doing in my own. Finally, at that time I was hearing from my friends, Jerome and Brandon, that the Children's Ministry needed more male teachers. So all these factors led me to the ministry, and I thank God that thus far it has been smooth sailing.

我在2013年和当时的女友也是现在的太太Ruth Lim的带领下来到复活堂。开始时，只她有来教会我才会来。之后，因着小组的敞开和接纳，我发现就算是太太不在的时候，我也会来主日聚会和小组。

我想我的灵命的转捩点是当我听了一堂有关雅各书的道，特别是有关方言祷告。这堂道震撼了我，特别是我经常满口脏话。我祈求神拿走我爱讲的脏话的习惯。果然就这样的成就了。有一天我为某件事而生气，但我却发现我失去了咒诅的能力，甚至当我想到那些脏话时我竟然会作呕。在那时候我就知道神是真实的，因为我不可能自己能够办得到。

目前我在SWS的主日学服事，照顾幼儿们。有很多原因影响我决定参加主曰学的服事。我很喜欢和小孩子们互动，因此在学习上不会有太多的困难。我也知道主日学老师需要分享神的话语，这会逼我去更深入的读圣经，而我自己本身都不会这么去做。最后，我从Jerome and Brandon弟兄听到主日学需要男教师。这一切都是引导我去主日学服事，而我要感谢主这一路来的服事都相当顺利。

This article first appeared in Issue 20, December 2019 CHORUS Magazine.