Worship leader Thangkhanhau read out Psalms 145:1-10 and committed the service to the Lord in prayer. After an uplifting praise and worship session, Upa Chinsum dedicated the offerings.
Pastor Lamkhanthang introduced the Speaker for the day, as well as Speaker at the recently concluded BYF Bible camp, Evan Upa Lianding Guite and Sis Ruby who will be going abroad on missions, and welcomed the first timers/visitors to the church. He then made a call to prayer for those who received Christ at the Bible camp, Nupi Bible camp to be held in October, EBCC Central Delhi Bible camp starting next week, Dorcas Khawmpi next month, God’s protection for our people and land etc., and led the congregation in mass prayer. Thereafter, he dedicated baby Mungsonding s/o Thianbiaklal and Zamngaihsang.
Evan Upa Lianding Guite read out Luke 13:6-9 and delivered a sermon on why God sustained our lives till now and put us in the place we are in right now. He said that our life is not our own or choice, it is God’s. We are alive in the present because of God’s love, mercy, compassion, patience and long suffering. He did not spare us because we are good or He has not seen all our sins. God sees us and knows us for what we really are. Despite our failure to do His will and remain faithful to Him, His steadfast love and mercy which are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), spared us and kept us alive. Speaker also explained that God preserve our life because He has expectation from us. As written in John 15:16, we are to bear fruit. We can bear fruit by having a personal relationship with God, spending time with Him and being more loving and forgiving. Pointing out that we always have time for what we considered important, he exhorted the congregation to start afresh, examine how they live and prune away any pet sin they allowed to grow. He was emphatic that if we have God in us, our lives should definitely change for the better. Further, he encouraged the congregation to live for God’s glory in Delhi and be a blessing for others letting the light of Christ shine in their workplace and wherever they are.
Coming back to the reason why God has kept us alive till now, Speaker said that God is giving us the chance to turn away from our sins/past mistakes, do what is right and bear much fruits. As a step towards spiritual growth, he advised the congregation to compete with themselves and not with others by drawing closer to God, reading the Bible and praying more than ever, being more loving and forgiving each new day as compared to the previous day. Lastly, Speaker said that God doesn’t want us just to enter heaven, he wants us to correct our wrong doings and become His true and faithful followers. That is also the reason why we didn’t immediately die after being born again. Praising God for giving us the opportunity to live according to His will, he urged the congregation to take at least one step in that direction with the blessings of God.
A brief report on the BYP camp was presented by Esther Chinngaihnem. She informed that out of 193 registered youths, 182 could participate. 110 youths gave their lives to Christ and many youths were spiritually revived.
The congregation then sang the last hymn and the service concluded with prayer and benediction by Upa Zabiak.
