2025 is not just a special year for Singapore but also the Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS), which is celebrating a historic milestone.

Kicking off MCS’ 140th anniversary at Wesley Methodist Church today, Bishop Rev Philip Lim posed this question. 

“Are we near the kingdom of God or are we far away from the kingdom of God?”

Preaching from Mark 12:28-34, Bishop Philip said that MCS’ theme for the last four years (2021-2024) of Love God By Loving Our Neighbour would continue.

“But for this term, I want to re-orientate our focus towards loving God,” he shared.

Newly consecrated on December 6, 2024, Bishop Philip was elected to serve for MCS’ 13th quadrennium (2025-2028).

“In the past four years, we have given a lot of attention to the part about loving our neighbour,” he observed.

“And the application of that is that we have been more deliberate to receive and accept those that are different from us, and so on.

“That is well and good. But I think it is time to go back to the basics to love God.”  

The launch of MCS 140 was held at Wesley Methodist, which is also celebrating its 140th anniversary this year. Over 1,300 people attended the service, which was themed Looking Up, Reaching Out.

Unpacking the Scripture text, Bishop Philip referenced a familiar passage, in which Jesus had replied a teacher of the law about the greatest commandment.

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

When the man responded in agreement, Jesus commended him: “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” 

Is God No. 1 in your life?

We are often quick to seek answers on how to love God.

But we must first understand the basis for our action, which lies in our relationship with the Lord, remarked Bishop Philip.

Zooming into the first part of Jesus’ reply to the teacher of the law, he pointed out that these words were taken from Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

They also echo the first line of the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me.” 

“The Almighty God is the only God that the people must have,” emphasised Bishop Philip. 

More than 30 guests attended the 140th anniversary service, including church leaders, school principals and board chairpersons, as well as agency heads.

“For us today, there are many things that can take the place of God,” he said, adding that responsibilities such as family, work and church can end up replacing God’s position in our lives.

“Even the work to love our neighbour,” warned Bishop Philip.

“We must be aware that there is a danger for us to be so engrossed in loving our neighbour that loving them becomes first place, and God becomes second or third.”   

Amid all the distractions we face, is there something in our lives that prevents us from loving God fully?

“Is it possible that your time is so packed with so many different activities that there is just no time left for prayer or simply waiting upon God?” he asked.

“Have we been so consumed by all these different demands that you have no more space for God?”

Turning to the second part of Jesus’ reply, Bishop Philip then moved on to what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. 

Firstly, loving God with all our heart means serving Him wholeheartedly.

“We are to be totally committed to him,” he said.

“Not part of the time, and definitely not sometimes only or when we feel like it. Or worst, we only seek and love Him when we have gotten into trouble.”

Secondly, loving God with all our soul is to love God with our whole life.

While we are thankful for the freedom to worship in Singapore, this is not the case for Christians in other parts of the world.

“Today, we may never have to shed blood for our faith, but is there something we can do to demonstrate that we are ready to lay down our lives?” he questioned.

In Bishop Philip’s sermon titled Love the Lord Your God, he exhorted church members to do a heart check and reflect on their relationship with God.

Thirdly, loving God with our minds requires us to be careful about what we fill our minds with. 

“We are to love God with all our understanding. And the understanding comes from filling our minds with the word of God,” reasoned Bishop Philip. 

Fourthly, loving God with all our strength involves taking action, said Bishop Philip. 

“In other words, we do not just love God merely by saying yes, ‘We love you Lord.’ Our love of God must be accompanied by action and activities.”

He also highlighted that the Church faces different issues today, such as challenges to the traditional understanding of marriage and family.

“The Church is called to guard the faith and to stand firm in the Lord. To do that, you need lots of strength,” said Bishop Philip.

Recognising that some who have heeded the call to defend the faith and uphold biblical principles have received flak, he added: “To stand firm they need strength, and lots of it.

Finally, Bishop Philip wrapped up his sermon by circling back to the conversation between Jesus and the teacher of the law.

Are we, like the man Jesus affirmed, near the kingdom of God? 

“I think we all know of people who once loved the Lord, who once served the Lord with great devotion, but not anymore. They have drifted further and further away from the Lord,” he noted.

“The call to all of us is to come near to Jesus. James 4:8 says, ‘Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.’

“How do we draw near to him? We do that by loving Him with all our hearts, our souls or lives, our minds and our strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves,” concluded Bishop Philip. 

Joining Bishop Philip Lim in worship (back row, centre) were also presidents from MCS’ three Annual Conferences and pastors from Wesley Methodist Church.

Loving God, loving people

With 2025 being the year that MCS celebrates 140 years of Methodism in Singapore, Bishop Philip also officially launched MCS 140 today. 

In a letter sent out to Methodist churches at the start of the year, he had earlier revealed that there would be series of special events and initiatives in the coming months.

“As we reflect on God’s faithfulness to MCS, let us remember how our church was built,” he wrote.

Motivated by their love for God and the community around them, the founders of Methodism in Singapore planted the seeds of the Gospel here in 1885, which has borne fruit.

American missionary James Thoburn preached his first sermon here based on Zechariah 4:6, which has become the verse that represents the founding of MCS. Source: Screenshot from MCS 140 video

Today, MCS is the largest Protestant denomination in Singapore, with 46 churches that are home to more than 46,000 members.

Catering to a range of dialects and languages spoken in Singapore, MCS comprises three Annual Conferences: the Chinese Annual Conference (CAC), Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC) and Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC).

It is also active in the areas of education and community through its work in the 15 Methodist schools and Methodist Welfare Services (MWS), a social concerns arm that serves children, youth, seniors and families in need.

As MCS celebrates 140 years of Methodism in Singapore, Bishop Philip mentioned that it would continue to do its part to build the nation through its social concerns arm. 

“We want to rally Methodist church members to contribute 1.4 million hours (about 35 hours a person) to serve the community in any area of social concern in 2025 and beyond. These hours are not limited to MWS centres and local church programmes,” he explained.

A digital platform will also be created for pledging hours, as well as to match volunteer opportunities to interests and preferences with the help of artificial intelligence.

“Ultimately, this will be a platform for Methodists to come together with friends and family to do good for those in need,” said Bishop Philip. 

In 2025, MCS is hoping to raise $1.4 million to bless 1,000 families and individuals. Beneficiaries include the chronically sick and homeless, disadvantaged children and youth, and distressed families. 

Bishop Philip appealed: “I seek your support to rally your church and community as we come together to do good in this significant year for MCS and Singapore.

“May we demonstrate our love for God by loving our neighbours, just as our founders did 140 years ago.”

In line with the theme to Love God by Loving Our Neighbour, MCS will continue to share the love of God by serving the community. A screenshot from the MCS 140 video.

At today’s service, Bishop Philip also announced that for MCS’ 140th anniversary, the three Annual Conferences will jointly organise combined worship services during the Holy Week (April 14-16). These will be held at Kum Yan Methodist Church.

Other events planned for the year include the AldersgateSG lecture and celebration service (May 23-24) where Bishop Emeritus Dr Robert Solomon will be speaking, a youth conference on July 19 and an anniversary service on September 12.

This will all culminate in a big event on November 1, where churches, schools, agencies, MWS beneficiaries and Christian artistes will come together for a concert titled The Healing Nation.

Held at The Star Performing Arts Centre, this concert will not only be part of MCS’ fundraising efforts, but also a time of worship and celebration.

Look out for more details about these activities that will be shared soon.

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