Worship leader Vumsuan read out Luke 22:19-20 and the worship service
began with singing hymns of praise to the Almighty. Mass prayer and collection
of offerings followed. Ordained elder Khamkhanpau dedicated the offerings to
the Lord.
Pastor Lamkhanthang welcomed the first timers to the church and reminded the
congregation that the most important programme of the church is the Holy
Communion or the Lord’s Supper besides baptism. Reading out Luke 4:16-19,
he expounded on how God is interested in restoring lives and to set people free
from the bondage of sin. He said that God could have wiped out the whole of
mankind when we fall into sin and create new human beings. But the greatness
of God and His power lies in the fact that He is able to restore us and give us a
new life. God’s love for us is seen in the freedom of choice He gave us. He
didn’t create us like robots. Rather, He provides a way of salvation to be
reunited with Him when we become spiritually dead in sin. This is His eternal
plan.
Pastor also explained about the Year of Jubilee mentioned in Leviticus 25:23-28
in which the Israelites were set free. He talked about how Jesus Christ is our
jubilee. Christ came to give us liberty and set us free from the bondage of sin.
He begins His work on earth by reading out the scripture portion mentioned in
Luke 4:18-19 and introduced Himself as the One mentioned in the scripture,
who has come to give freedom. He said that Christ saving work on the cross
restore our relationship with God. As it is written in 1 Peter 1:18-19 and 2:24,
Jesus personally carried our sins in His body for our healing and we are
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. As the process of God’s work of
restoration is going on in their lives, he told the congregation to examine
themselves as to how much of it has been restored till now. Is the process
progressing well or too slow? While partaking the Lord’s Supper, he urged
them to pray to the Lord to speed up the process of restoration in their lives by
fully committing to Him in all things.
Pastor then bless the bread and the wine and the congregation prayerfully
partook the Holy Communion together, the bread first and then the wine.
During this time, pastor also reminded the congregation that the bread signify
Christ’s body bruised and broken for our sins while the wine signify His blood,
shed to cleanse us from our sins.
Pastor Khankham announced that there will be a prayer meeting of all who has
a role in the church service programme after the morning and the afternoon
service the next Sunday. Then the last hymn was sung and ordained elder G.
Khamgoupau closed the service with a prayer and benediction.
