Lunar New Year Celebration

January 29, 2006

What did you do on the first day of the Year of the Dog? For many of our brothers, sisters and friends, it was such a special blessing that we could celebrate the first day of the Chinese New Year together at church. Moreover, all the couples received double blessing as Pastor Gavin led the whole congregation to pray for God’s blessings and protection upon their marriage.

On this special day, we listened to a very encouraging testimony from Lisa. She shared with us how God blessed her with a new job and a life partner. Before Lisa changed her job, the work she was doing was very heavy and her relationship with her boss was quite bad. With a desire to serve the Lord better, she prayed to God for a new job in which the workload is more reasonable and the relationships among colleagues are better. With constant prayer and patient waiting, God finally answered her prayer. She also thanked God for promising her a life partner even before she accepted Jesus Christ. She testified how God has prepared her and her life partner to come together. Now they are serving God together in the church and will continue to do so in days to come.

The sermon that Pastor Gavin gave was coherent with the New Year day – “The New You”. It reminded us of the new identity God has given us through Jesus. First, we are the citizens of God’s Kingdom. We are no longer bound by sins because Jesus has redeemed us. We have the right to claim the promises of God, however, as God’s people, we have to be loyal to God and pledge our lives to Him. Second, we are the members of God’s household. We are not foreigners any more. Thus, let us devote ourselves to build the house of God together. Besides, God has a new purpose for us, that is, to become a holy temple for God. This holy temple must be built on the foundation of God’s Word. We must uphold the principles of God and let Jesus be the chief cornerstone to keep us in line.

During praise and worship, the spirit of God moved in our midst and delivered us from all the bondages. At the beginning of the New Year, God has healed our wounds, and at the same time, He desires us to change our hearts and become more like Christ. Let us start NEW in the Lord!