Thank God for You (Thanksgiving Day) 2020

November 25, 2020

Praise the Lord !  Thank God for You !

On 25 November, we had our first ever Thanksgiving Day Service.  Brothers and sisters from the Cantonese Service, Thai Service and Youth Service gathered together for a day of celebration and thanksgiving.

After the pre-service prayers, the service opened with an energetic session of praise and worship to give thanks and praise to our God.  As it has been a while since we had a combined service due to the COVID-19 social distancing measures, it was a special time to be able to worship God and partake communion together with so many brothers and sisters in our family.

Sister Sarah from Kindness Group then shared her testimony about how God transformed her mind from negativity to peace and positivity when handling a difficult situation at work.  She also shared how God healed her mother after an accident and gave their family peace and unity through prayer.  Praise the Lord !

Then came the Thanksgiving session!  Pastor Gavin gave a special presentation to show appreciation for brothers and sisters faithfully serving in our many ministry teams – Praise and Worship Team, Worship Service Administration Team, Chairing and Translation Team, Audio & Visual Team, Offering Counting Team, Hope Kidz, Hope Channel, Intercessory Team, Care Team, Promotion Team, Design & Decoration Team, Musical Team, Props Team, Mass Communication Team and the Ministry Lead Team !  A small token of appreciation was presented to each ministry team member.  During the presentation, there was a short video clip from each ministry team introducing their ministry and inviting new team members to join them.  The clips were fun and creative and the hall was filled with applause and laughter.  It is such a joy and a blessing to be able to serve God and one another in our big family!

Pastor Arlene then gave a sermon on 1 Timothy 1:12-14.  Indeed it is such a blessing that God have chosen us and put us into the ministry.  We are able to serve because of the grace of our God who added the strength unto us.  He does not look at our weaknesses but He counts us faithful because of Jesus Christ.  As we continue to serve, we will continue to be strengthened by God and He will grant us the skills and, more importantly, the love and compassion that we need in our ministry.  Let us not focus on ourselves, own strengths and weaknesses, or even the outcome of the work of our hands – just continue to focus on His mercy, love and abundant grace – we will be able to work together with God to serve His people and those who need His salvation in this broken world.

After the altar call, membership awards were presented to brothers and sisters who have been members of our church for 7, 10, 15 and 20 years.  Praise God that we are able to witness how God led the lives of these brothers and sisters over all these years, especially those who we have known since they were children.  God is good indeed !

We love the family of God !  Thank God for this great family !