SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE, EBCC DELHI
Date: 14 October, 2012 (Sunday)
Time: 11 A.M.
Place: EBC Church, Nasirpur, New Delhi
The Worship Service started with the Local Pastor reading Psalms 100 and had the opening prayer. Led by the Worship Team, the Congregation sang the hymns “Van leh Lei Siamtu ka Toupa aw”, “A Hoih hi” and “Toupa aw kei Hong Len in” followed by mass prayer. The congregation then sang “Khrist Sisan Pha” during which the ushers collected the offerings. Upa T.Kaithang then had the Offertory Prayer, dedicating the offerings to the Lord.
Pastor V. Songkhothang, who had retired after serving the Lord and EBC Church for many years, was the main speaker of the day. He spoke on the topic “Praise and Worship” and read John 4:24, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”; Romans 12: 1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”; and Nehemiah 8:5-6, ”Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.”
The speaker elaborated on the whys, hows as well as aims and objects of “Praise & Worship” such as :
(i) Giving respect and glory to the creater of Heaven and Earth, the Lord;
(ii) All those who have salvation to praise the Lord. This is an order.
(iii) To satisfy, make happy the Lord;
(iv) To satisfy the Lord, we should know the truth about the Lord;
(v) To give thanks for all His blessings;
(vi) To tell Him that we are weak;
(vii) To tell Him about our needs;
(viii) To praise him in the holy place, on the streets, everywhere, in our hearts and to non-believers and sinners;
(ix) To praise Him individually, in groups, etc;
(x) We are born to praise God
EBC Relief Fund
After the sermon, the Local Pastor, Pastor Nenglian Vualnam spoke about the EBCC Relief Fund to help the poor and disadvantaged section of the church. He stated that this is the only project of EBC to help the poor and needy. The fund is collected among the members of EBC itself, in cash and kind, and redistributed among the poorest of the poor. Speaking of his experiences as a Pastor in Zoudawn, he said that people in Zoudawn are still living in the dark ages. While most, if not all, people in Delhi are not worried about where our next meal will come from, and we are able to meet our needs, if not our desires, people in Zoudawn don’t even know where their next meal will come from. He said that people in Zodawn don’t have the privilege of choosing what to wear, they are lucky if they have anything to wear at all. While we can afford to dine out in KFCs, MacDonalds, etc, and do’nt care a hoot about our leftovers, people in Zoudawn can hardly afford two square meals a day. He also said that the Relief Fund was never enough, and was given only to the poorest of the poor, and the neediest of the needy. Quoting from the Holy Scripture, Acts 20:35, “‘It is more blessed to give than to receive” , he exhorted the congregation to contribute for the less fortunate lot.
He then called all the Deacons to the pulpit and all Deacons hold together a large piece of cloth on which the churchgoers can give their contributions towards the EBC Relief Fund. The hymn “Toupa Non Piidan” was sung during which members gave their contributions. It was a very emotional yet heartwarming moment, witnessing people generously giving their hard-earned money to help their fellow beings.
Therefater, the Local Pastor then had the closing prayer/ benefiction and the service concluded.
-Joyful Tonsing,
(Media Team)
