Dear friends, guests and church family

A very warm special welcome to all our friends, guests and visitors. We are so glad that you are here today for our special Christmas program. We hope that you will have an enjoyable and meaningful experience that will bring deep peace and great joy in your heart.

I often spend time at the hospitals, either to visit church members or to care for my family members. Last week, a church member went for surgery and I waited awhile along the corridor outside the operating theatre. I saw patients being wheeled into the operating theatre and also out of it, accompanied by their family members. Their faces were understandably filled with anxiety as they clung on to the hope that the surgery will go well, the recovery will be good and the illness can be cured.

Hope is so important in every area of life. Parents hope their child will grow up well. Students hope to pass their exams. Families in conflict hope for restoration in their relationships. Poor families hope for enough food and finances. The unemployed person hopes to get a job soon. There is a popular Mandarin song that expressed the hope in every heart – “Tomorrow will be better” ( 明天会更好).

Christians all over the world celebrate the joy of Christmas because of the blessed hope we have in Jesus Christ. We experience the love and peace of God. We receive the grace and mercy of God. We receive forgiveness for our sins. We have purpose and meaning in life. We have the joyous hope of eternal life.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

 

Love in Christ
Pastor John