Palm Sunday Programme: 13th April 2014
Today’s event was more of a celebration than a regular worship service. The church was packed to its maximum minutes before the starting time. The event was equally exhilarating for the young and the old. Churchgoers found themselves overwhelmed by the children’s acclamation that echoed the congregation and its campus. Todaywe commemorate the triumphal entry of our Saviour into Jerusalem. Hosanna!
The Program started with an opening prayer from the local Pastor .The Praise & Worship team led the church in singing praises and are once again at their very best. The offerings collected by the ushers were dedicated by Upa Khamgoupau. A brief silence following the prayer was soon broken up by the children’s chants of Hosanna! while making their way towards the church platform to perform a group song. The little hands raising palm branches and shouting Hosanna! in unison truly lifted the attendants’ spirit.
Upa Kaithang introduced the appointed program speaker – Rev S Vung Minthang and his wife NuVung. He recognized the demanding nature of work that the speaker and his counterparts are subjected to and thanked him and his wife in particular and also the ministries, for the opportunity. He and his wife were specifically invited to speak in the couple seminar held a day before. Upa Kaithang elaborated the various hardships and less than comfortable work that mission workers have to undergo. He reminded the church members of the crucial part played by the Mission and its Ministries in guiding the general populace towards a better society. “They are the last mechanism that we have when faced with doubts and uncertainties” he said. He encouraged the speaker, the evangelistic ministries and its general members to be strong and sharp against adversities and perhaps to be vocal about it. He led the churchgoers in raising their right hands as a gesture of solidarity and support for the church and its mission workers.
The speech was followed by a choir presented by the Youth Fellowship. The BYF have been practicing choirs every Sunday afternoon for a couple of months now. They have more than a hundred registered choir members.
Brief summary of Palm Sunday message by Rev S Vung Minthang:
With an introduction from the Local Pastor, Rev S Vungminthang took to the pulpit. He expressed his gratitude to the members of the church, particularly the BYF for their efforts to improve the lives of the people in our villages through Project Nehemia. He recalled the conditions that people in villages are subjected to from his frequent visit to some of the remote ones. “Most of our villages are dwindling due to migration; they are in dire need of basic infrastructures like roads, healthcare and human resources. Some villages are left with a single church Elder to preside worship services” he said. He often found himself and his colleagues being requested to stop prominent village church leaders from migrating. He narrated that assuring the villagers had little effect to improve their conditions and the inferiority complex they have endured overtime for living under those conditions. The speaker encouraged the church members to utilize the advantage they have to uplift, not only their immediate families but also the ones living in far off villages.
The Reverend started the Palm Sunday message with a passage from Luka:19:28. He explained how Jesus administered his own triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, as he had known that the trip would end in his sacrificial death. He said that Jesus, being the son of God, needed the people to celebrate for him and wanted His entrance into Jerusalem to be as glory as that of a king. He sent His disciples to get him a donkey without having to ask for permission as He is The King and owned the donkey much as he owned the owner and all of Jerusalem. The Reverend said that Jesus wants us and He wanted to be our king and we are His, much like that of Jerusalem.
The speaker ended his speech with a word of encouragement for the young. He voiced the importance that the present youth will play in the future of this congregation. Having to work for the Lord and his kingdom is most fulfilling and reward as it gives a sense of happiness that nothing else can, not only within oneself but to the family and loved ones. Mission workers have friends in all their posting places-- be it Korea, Japan or South India and as the congregation grows, bright young minds like the youth of today would be needed for its various mission works, he said.
The Palm Sunday service concluded with a benediction by Upa Dr Langkham.
Upcoming Programs highlights: -
- Good Friday Service on Friday, April the 18th @ 11am.
- Easter Sunday Service on Sunday, April the 20th @ 11am
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- Khupminlian Hanghal
Media Team
