Dear Friends at 5C:
As you may already know, Brother Beng Lim went to be with the Lord last Saturday after a month-long battle with COVID-19. He was 83. At the time of his passing, his family surrounded him through Zoom, with his wife Kam and his son KC at his bedside. Pastor Chen was invited to join Lim’s family to say final goodbye to our dear brother. It was a touching moment as the family briefly reflected on Beng’s life, giving praises to God for His abundant blessings to Lim’s family. Brother Beng passed into eternity peacefully around 8:00 pm Saturday evening.
Thanks to the church family for your prayers for Brother Beng Lim! Our hope in Christ is well beyond what we can see in this life. Please continue to pray for Lim’s family, especially our sister Kam, as they go through the grieving period and prepare for funeral arrangements in the coming weeks. Last week Lim’s family made a meal request, the church decided to meet their need by providing three meals each week in March. It is amazing that the meal schedule was quickly filled up just in a matter of a few hours. Thanks to those who are willing to help Lim’s family! Your action speaks volumes of your love to Christ since many don’t even know this family very well. It is a great testimony to our community that God is being with this church.
It is about a month away from the Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter (Lent begins 40 days before the Passion of Christ). This is a time for Christians around the world to reflect on God’s love and redemption for mankind. I would like to encourage our members to set a time each day meditating on the greatest story in human history. May God’s love overwhelming your heart, His mercy keeping us away from evil, and His grace growing our lives into the likeness of Christ! Please pray for Chris Choi who is in charge of the Good Friday program on Friday, April 2 and Bianca Lin who is in charge of the Easter program on Sunday, April 4.
Ministry Update:
- Church prayer meeting (in Chinese) is scheduled at 7:30pm every Thursday
- Pastor Chen’s virtual office hours is scheduled at 10:00am-12:00pm every Friday
- English prayer meeting is scheduled at 7:30pm this Thursday 3/4
- Small group “Love” will meet at 7:30pm Sunday 3/7 through Zoom
- We will have holy communion this Sunday 3/7. Please prepare your elements for participation.
- Chinese Sunday school (Amy Shen) and English Sunday school (Anna Ho)
- Pastor Chen will continue the sermon series on Galatians this Sunday 3/7
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the Coronavirus outbreak in the US and around the world
- Pray for physical and spiritual well-being of our church members
- Pray for small groups formed recently in our church
- Pray for Lim’s family for their funeral arrangement for Brother Beng Lim
- Pray for Lydia Anderson’s resurgent brain tumor
- Pray for Annie’s sister and Anderson’s brother for Parkinson’s disease, Ed Sherman’s son Lane for brain tumor
Look forward to seeing you virtually on Sunday.
Blessings!
Jinchang
親愛的中岸教會朋友們:
您可能已經得知,在與新冠病毒進行了長達一個月的鬥爭後,林明源弟兄上週六被主接去,享年 83 歲。在他去世時,他的家人通過 Zoom 陪伴他左右,他的妻子陳金梅姐妹和兒子 KC 守在床邊。陳牧師受林家人邀請,送別我們親愛的弟兄。這是一個感人的時刻,一家人簡要地回顧了林明源弟兄的一生,讚美上帝對林家人滿滿的祝福。週六晚 8 點左右,林明源弟兄安詳地與世長辭。
感謝教會所有家庭為林明源弟兄祈禱!我們在基督的盼望遠遠超出了我們此生所見的。請繼續為林家人,特別陳金梅姐妹祈禱,他們要在悲傷中為幾週後的葬禮做準備。上週,林家人提出了備餐請求,教會決定在三月每週提供三餐來滿足他們的需要。令人驚奇的是,在短短的幾個小時內,就很快完成了備餐登記。感謝願意幫助林家人的朋友們!您的舉動表達了您對基督的愛,因為許多人甚至都不十分熟悉這個家庭。這表明上帝與這個教會同在,這是我們在這個社區當中的一個美好見證。
距離聖週、耶穌受難日和復活節還有大約一個月的時間(預苦期開始於基督受難的前 40 天)。這是全世界基督徒默想神對人類愛與救贖的時候。我想鼓勵我們的成員每天安排出時間思考這人類歷史上最偉大的故事。願上帝的愛令你的心感激難言,祂的憐憫使我們遠離邪惡,祂的恩典使我們的生命成長得更像基督!請為 4 月 2 日週五負責耶穌受難日計劃的蔡達文弟兄和 4 月 4 日週日負責復活節計劃的張西齡姐妹祈禱。
事工更新:
- 中文禱告會將於每週四晚間 7 點半舉行
- 陳牧師辦公時間為每週五上午 10 點至 12 點
- 英文禱告會將於 3 月 4 日週四晚間 7 點半舉行
- 『仁愛』小組 3 月 7 日週日晚間 7 點半線上聚會
- 下主日 3 月 7 日將守聖餐,請弟兄姊妹準備餅和杯來參加
- 本週中文主日學將由申雪花姐妹帶領,英文主日學由周敏儀姐妹帶領
- 本主日 3 月 7 日陳牧師將繼續『加拉太書』講道系列
禱告事項
- 為美國及世界各地的新冠肺炎的爆發
- 為我們教會所有成員的身體及屬靈健康
- 為教會新組建的各個小組
- 為林家人準備林明源弟兄的葬禮祈禱
- 為馮慶芳姐妹復發性腦瘤及後續的治療祈禱
- 為裴師母姐姐和林恩深弟兄的哥哥祈禱,他們正在遭受帕金森的困擾;為 Ed Sherman 的兒子 Lane 祈禱,他正在接受腦瘤治療
期待週日線上見
主僕 陳金昌