Chunjiang Church church in China's eastern coastal Jiangsu, Changzhou city marked Christmas ahead with three serial sermons and a gala celebration last Sunday.
Rev. Zhou Xinfang, senior pastor of the church, explained why the celebration was held in advance. As this year's Christmas Day falls on next Wednesday, a working day when the majority of the congregation needs to work, the celebration was considered to move to Sunday, but she is scheduled to serve in another local church on that day. Thus, last Sunday was a good time.
The celebration began with a Sunday service. A choir consisting of more than 20 people presented choruses such as "Christmas Thanksgiving" and "How Grand the Song of Lamb Will Be." A sacred music orchestra made of trumpet, trombone, saxophone, and simple drum kit is also performed as they show up at a communion service, which is conducted once a month, as well as festivals.
Later, three sermons around "The Vision Seen by Isaiah" based on Isaiah 6 were preached in a row. The preacher shared the structure of Isaiah that the first part of 39 chapters and the second of 27 resembles that of the Old Testament and of the New Testament. Chapter 6 is the key to the first part of Isaiah, depicting the scene of the "vision." King Uzziah, the cousin of the prophet Isaiah, sought the Lord during his early years of reign and fought to win many wars, but he ended up suffering from leprosy in an isolated room due to his arrogance against Him. Thus, when the king, whom Isaiah looked up to before, passed away, he came to "see" that the Lord is always sovereign, even behind the king's reign.
Compared to the king's pride in his later years, God is always humble. The preacher said that any sin is related to pride, while humility is the mother of all virtues. God, who is in control of the whole world and sits high on His throne, humbly asked whom shall He send. This calling voice has lingered since the fall of Adam. Isaiah, whose eyes and ears were opened, heard this calling; since then, he aligned with God's will throughout his life. Humility went to its peak on the savior Jesus Christ who was humbled to be a person, became the servant of men, and was exalted to the highest place as the king of kings.
After the sermons, the congregation walked to the yard to enjoy the annual "Christmas noodles," which contained normal noodles, tangyuan (traditional glutinous rice balls), meatballs, and several dishes. Believers sat at round tables for lunch.
Then an afternoon gala lasted three hours, ranging from dances, sketches, and folk tunes, to clapper talk (a form of oral storytelling performance).
As the celebration was coming to an end, the participants received a Christmas gift pack including peanuts and Bible verses with smiles.
- Edited and translated by Karen Luo
