REV POH! rev poh REV POH! rev poh

4th April marked our dear Pastor’s birthday and also the day after birth of the idea of this feature article, so naturally, the 1st person to be featured here will be Rev Poh. “10 Things We Wanna Know About…” is going to be an online article that features different people from WOW each time and some info about themselves that you may not have known! =) So! If there are any interesting/burning questions that you as a reader may want to pose to anyone in WOW we’re featuring here or you want to nominate someone to be featured here, do get back to us, and we’ll consider your requests!
Dawn (editor. Exodus Newsletter)

Well then, let’s unravel what Rev Poh is like, by going behind the scenes with Jon Poh:

1. How cool is your dad?

To be exact, 37°, that should be how cool he is. =D

2. Does he sing in the shower?

Nope!

3. Can he cook?

Yes!!! He cooks great chicken wings…that’s about it though.

4. French, Italian, Chinese or Japanese? What’s his favourite food?

Chinese….He loves porridge and bread.

5. Give us an incident when your dad was really goofy.

Well, he’s not in a goofy costume, I guess he’s not goofy, huh?

6. Tell us something about your dad we won’t know.

He likes weird shows like Star Trek…And he hates anything to do with Star Wars, the horror! But he has good taste for animes and COMICS.

7. What bugs your dad the most?

Drivers who cut into his lane while he drives…particularly when he’s driving me to school.

8. What do you think your dad can’t live without?

HE can’t live without air, food, water and God, I’m quite sure about that. Heh heh.

On to the real deal!

1. How naughty were you in school? (Or were you a very good child who never got into trouble?)
Happily, my memory does not serve me well on this question, however, being the class monitor in sec 1 and and then becoming monitor again in sec 3 and 4 (in another school) is a great motivation to be a good student.

2. Did you dress like a hippy in the 70s, with bell bottoms, tie-dyed shirts and floppy hair?
Alas, I was a very boring dresser. Standard dark colors; nothing that goes against the norms of the day and the dictates of the tailor, so no bell bottoms…
Floppy hair? found that irritating so longest i could ever manage was when i was in Singapore Polytechnic -Ayer Rajah campus (where the current Dover ITE is situated).. and then only 1 year.

3. ‘Fess up, do you do housework?
Not required, though the minimal sense of responsibility kicked in during army days.

4. What’s your favorite song/band?
Too many, but it’s more of songs from various bands. Some of them would be from
- Bach (Brandenberg concertos); Mozart; Strauss
- The seekers, The monkees (sorry, no beatles), Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mich and Tich (ha ha, I am sure you have never heard of that one); Beach Boys, Mamas and the Papas, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Wilson Philips,
- Queen, Deep purple, Journey, (sorry, not air supply), Abba, Styx, Beegees, Blondie
- Aha, Backstreet boys, Eiffel 65 (blue), N’ sync
- Groove Armada, Linkin P, Daft Punk, Blue man band and TV program themes

5. French, Italian, Chinese or Japanese? (Favorite food!)
Plain Bread, Marmalade and Peanut butter… and anything that can be wrapped in bread.

6. Why be a pastor?
I became a pastor because of my desire to provide pastoral care to young people.

7. Do you fear growing old?
Fear of growing old? Not when you
- are constantly face death and dying in ministry.
- just celebrated 52 yrs of existence which puts me as 2/3 of life taken.
- have younger pple calling you UNCLE.
- are able to enjoy long sought-after Marvel and DC comics in the singapore libraries

8. What was your most embarrassing experience?
Giving the wrong answer during ordination service (in front of all the CAC pastors and all 16 church delegates) IT was supposed to be a No…but I said Yes.
It was interesting feeling yourself having the shrinking feeling when everyone was laughing.

9. What’s your greatest fear?
Sorry, too many mini fears so difficult to say which is in the greatest category.

10. Do you ever get bored of/giving sermons?
The stress of time is always there but no. God’s Word is always a surprise for in preparation and delivery. It’s the belief that God wants to touch hearts and He will use the pulpit to do so.

Photographer: Jo-ann Tan

Come to service at 9 am this sun 060408! (2nd floor, John Wesley Centre) and discover:

* What on earth are WE here for?

* How can we be better together?

* What is 40 DOC of community all about?

* What sumptuous lunch we are having!

And come in BLUE as we want to be BLUE TOGETHER!

cover design: Sharene Sim

This sermon is in preparation for 40 Days of Commnunity.

Come and join us for service at 11 am. We are at 496, Upper Bukit Timah Rd. 2nd floor of the Sanctuary, John Wesley Centre.

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices
they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the
tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they
were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning
stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the
ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here;”
Luke 24:1‑6 (TNIV)

There is a time for words, and a time for silence.
A time to reflect, to dissect and understand,
and there is a time to just stand and look.

To behold.

Later comes the thankfulness, the future and the promise.
Thankfulness for this bruised reed not broken, this smouldering wick
not snuffed out; that our fragile hopes have not been crushed, and we
are still standing when the lights come back on.

But first, there is a time to just stand and look.

“…darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped
shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two…”
Luke 23:44‑45 (TNIV)

The body is taken down.
The tomb is sealed.
Night falls.
All that is left to do now
Is wait.

Now the free fall and the whirling darkness.
There can be no talk of the future here. Nor talk of the past.
No talk at all. There is only falling.

You can’t pick yourself up if you haven’t hit the ground.

It is over
It is ended
It is done
It is executed
It is complete
It is concluded
It is settled
It is finalised
It is accomplished
It is achieved
It is fulfilled
It is realised
It is paid
It is carried out
It is finished

What’s the trick? What’s the secret? Who’s ready with the twist, the
final reveal?
But there is no trick, no secret. This is it.

Where then are the optimists among us? Who’s going to tell me it’s
going to be okay? Where are the prophets, the wise men, the ones who
can explain? Has anyone worked out what happens next?

Where is everyone?

“Jesus said to his disciples: “Dear children, how brief are these moments before I must
go away and leave you! Then, though you search for me, you cannot come to me –
just as I told the Jewish leaders. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love
each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one
another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”
And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”
“But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”
Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows
tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more
than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that
I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get
you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I
am going.”
“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so
how can we know the way?”
Jesus told him, “I am the way …”
John 13:33‑14:6 (NLT)

It shouldn’t be this confusing.

Everything is couched in vagueness, all the instructions are cryptic. I
start out one way with confidence and a clear direction in mind, and
always end up lost. Or not so much lost, just always travelling and
never getting any closer. Always journeying and never arriving.

Wouldn’t it have been so much easier if you’d given us a destination?

“Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had leprosy.
During supper, a woman came in with a beautiful jar of expensive perfume.
She broke the seal and poured the perfume over his head.
She anointed Jesus’ feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair.
She broke the seal and poured the perfume over his head.
She anointed Jesus’ feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair.
And the house was filled with fragrance.
The fragrance of the oils filled the house.
Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why was this expensive perfume
wasted?” they asked. “She could have sold it for a small fortune and given the money
to the poor!” And they scolded her harshly.
But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why berate her for doing such a good thing to
me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever
you want to. But I will not be here with you much longer. She has done what she
could and anointed my body for burial ahead of time. I assure you, wherever the
Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be talked about
in her memory.”
Mark 14:3,9, John 12:3 (NLT, MSG)

A gesture of love so extravagant, so over the top, so extraordinary.
The audacity of it, something so valuable, so irreplaceable, dashed at
Jesus feet ‑ it’s just the sheer ‘all or nothing’ attitude of it all. There’s
no going back; once it’s done it’s done.

So why do I feel uncomfortable?

Is it that I just wouldn’t dare? I don’t dare. I just don’t know if I’m
prepared to take what is precious to me, and dash it at Jesus’ feet.
I’m just not prepared.