Dear Friends at 5C:
It was a wonderful week to be with the church family. On Thursday we had both prayer meetings (English and Chinese). I am so fortunate to be with this dedicated group of people to pray for our church and for one another. On Friday we had a wonderful Good Friday program, which provided us space and time to reflect on the greatest event in human history. The death of Christ frees us from the bondage of sin so that we can live in a life pleasing to God. This is not a simple repeat of an old story, but a powerful message to the corrupted world: salvation comes from Jesus alone. It reached the peak of a week-long meditation when the church came together on Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a blessed hope that not any religion can match, a hope that cannot be robbed off by any force, and a hope that is not of this world.
Thanks to all for organizing and participating in these gatherings! These programs were articulately planned and very well-executed. Praise the Lord that our leaders realize how important this holy week means to our Christian life. Just like testimonies we heard from Anna Ho and Joseph Ma, the power has been given to us to live a righteous life before God. This power that dwells inside us does not make us a good fortune but will make us a better person. More often than not, our prayers run dry because we repeatedly ask God to change the circumstances, remove the hardships or even transform other people, but we refuse to change ourselves. In this age, God’s primary interest to his people is to transform themselves into the likeness of Christ so that they can be ready to inherit the kingdom of God. Therefore, the old self has to die and be buried in order for the new self to live again. This is the message of all this holy week about.
Praise the Lord that more of our members receive COVID-19 vaccines in recent weeks. Now it seems that we are one step closer to return to the church for Sunday worship. Currently, the remodeling of the Student Union in SLONaz church is still underway. Hopefully, this project will be finished on time. Our church leaders will keep the congregation informed about the process of this transition. As we are planning to move back, church members’ health and safety have always been the highest priority in the process of our planning. Please stay tuned as we will communicate this plan with you in the days ahead.
Ministry Update:
- Annie Shi-Mu will lead church prayer meeting (in Chinese) at 7:30pm this Thursday 4/8
- Pastor Chen’s virtual office hours are scheduled from 10:00am-12:00pm every Friday
- Deacons monthly meeting is scheduled at 1:00pm on Sunday 4/11
- Small group “Goodness” will meet at 7:30pm Wednesday 4/14 through Zoom
- Small group “Peace” will meet at 7:30pm Friday 4/16 through Zoom
- Chinese Sunday school (Susan Quintel) and English Sunday school (Bianca Lin)
- We will continue the sermon series on the Book of Galatians this Sunday 4/11
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 the launch of the disciple training program in the church
- Pray for Anderson’s father who is still in convalescent home.
- Pray for Lydia Anderson’s resurgent brain tumor
- Pray for Annie’s sister and Anderson’s brother for Parkinson’s disease
Look forward to seeing you virtually on Sunday.
Blessings!
Jinchang
親愛的中岸教會朋友們:
上週與教會的大家庭度過了美好的一週。在週四,我們舉行了中文及英文的兩次禱告會,我很幸運能與一群虔誠的信徒為我們的教會和彼此祈禱。週五,我們舉辦了耶穌受難日聚會,這次聚會為我們提供了一個機會來反思人類歷史上最重大的事件。基督的死使我們擺脫了罪惡的束縛,因此我們可以過上討神喜悅的生活。這不僅是一個古老故事的簡單重復,而是對這個腐敗的世界傳達一個強有力的信息:救贖惟有來自耶穌。當教會在復活節主日聚集在一起慶祝,我們的主耶穌基督復活時,這也達到了
為期一周默想的高潮。復活的盼望是沒有任何宗教能與之匹敵的希望,是不能被任何外界力量奪走的希望,是不屬於這個世界的希望。
感謝所有組織和參與聚會的朋友們!這些聚會的流程都是經過精心策劃和執行的。感謝主,教會領袖意識到,聖週對於基督徒的生活來說是多麼的重要。就像周敏儀姐妹和馬新波弟兄的見證一樣,能力已經賦予我們,得以在上帝面前過公義的生活。這內在的力量並不是使我們走好運,而是讓我們成為更好的自己。我們的禱告常常乾枯,是因為我們一再要求上帝改變環境,消除困難甚至改變別人,但我們拒絕改變自己。在這個時代,上帝對他子民的首要任務,就是行事為人滿有基督的模樣,以便將來可以繼承上帝的國度。因此,舊的自我必須死亡並被埋葬,以使新的自我重生。這是整個聖週所傳遞的信息。
感謝主,最近幾週我們有更多的成員接種了新冠疫苗。現在看來,我們距離重返教堂進行週日崇拜又近了一步。目前,SLO 拿撒勒教堂的學生中心裝修仍在進行當中,希望這個項目能按時完成。教會領袖將向會眾隨時通報整個過渡的進程。在重返教會計畫中,教會成員的健康和安全始終是我們計劃的重中之重。請保持密切的關注,我們將在未來幾周內與您溝通此計劃。
事工更新:
1. 裴師母將帶領本週四 4 月 8 日晚間 7 點半的中文禱告會
2. 陳牧師每週辦公時間為週五上午 10 點至 12 點
3. 執事會將於 4 月 11 日週日下午 1 點舉行
4. 『良善』小組 4 月 14 日週三晚間 7 點半線上聚會
5. 『和平』小組 4 月 16 日週五晚間 7 點半線上聚會
6. 本週中文主日學將由馮石敏姐妹帶領,英文主日學由張西齡姐妹帶領
7. 本主日 4 月 11 日將繼續加拉太書講道系列
禱告事項
1. 為美國及世界各地的新冠肺炎的爆發
2. 為我們教會所有成員的身體及屬靈健康
3. 為教會新組建的各個小組
4. 為教會即將開展的門徒訓練計劃禱告
5. 為林恩深弟兄仍在療養院的父親禱告
6. 為馮慶芳姐妹復發性腦瘤及後續的治療祈禱
7. 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
期待週日線上見
主僕 陳金昌