牧人心語

我參加了星期五晚在Milpitas主堂舉行的受苦節崇拜。這次聚會，由容牧師、Pastor Hankin和黃正傳道統籌和安排。他們每個細節都留意到，我很感恩有一群年青的牧者來負責這個聚會。

Milpitas受苦節的崇拜以邀請會眾自己安靜默禱結束。我留到最後，並觀察到最後離開的，竟是幾個青少年女孩。我們對年青人的印象，通常是坐不定、經常跳崩崩的。但我卻看到她們是很安靜的坐在坐位上。我希望她們真的在默念耶穌基督為我們受苦受死所顯示的愛和帶給我們的盼望。

我坐在我的位置上，心裡沒有禱告，也沒有思想甚麼經文或耶穌受苦的故事。我只是安靜的坐在那裡，看著熒光幕上埋葬耶穌的墳墓，讓自己去感受一下坐在耶穌墳墓門口那種滋味，盡在不言中。我是坐在 21世紀教堂裡面的坐位上，但我的心是在兩千多年前耶穌的墳墓外。我是在記念耶穌的受苦受死，還是期待已復活的救主向我顯現？

這個星期日，我是大家來參加復活節崇拜的時候，不是單單來慶祝耶穌已經從死裡復活，乃是來朝見已經復活的主，祈求祂以復活的大能，幫助我們在這末世為祂而活。

招牧師

代禱事項

• 1. 感謝讚美神為我們預備有新牧者將會加入教會服事。祈求神繼續強化我們的教牧事奉團隊，讓教會能更有效完成使命。
• 2. 請為戰爭帶給世界的不安、甚至恐慌祈禱。求神讓更多人看到平安感不是來自外在的環境，乃是來自我們對人生的把握。若我們人生的把握是來自上帝，我們就有平安。
• 3. 為最近來參加我們各堂點活動的新朋友代禱。求神讓他們感受到神的愛和我們的關心，並從神話語中得安慰和醫治。
• 4. 為在復活節受浸的弟兄姊妹代禱。求神加添他們的信心，生命被聖靈繼續轉化，生命的見證能吸引更多人渴慕追求認識神。
• 5. 為教會宣教部正檢視本地和國外的宣教事工代禱。求神賜給宣教委員們智慧和洞察力，能明白神的心意和制定教會的宣教策略。

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From the Heart of a Shepherd

I attended the Good Friday worship service at Milpitas Campus on Friday evening. The service was organized and arranged by Pastor Yung, Pastor Hankin, and Pastor Zheng Huang. They paid attention to every detail, and I am very grateful to have such a group of young pastors in charge of this gathering.

The Milpitas Good Friday worship service ended with an invitation for the congregation to pray quietly. I stayed until the end and observed that the last to leave were several teenage girls. Our impression of young people is usually that they are restless and often jumping around. But I saw them sitting quietly in their seats. I hope they were truly reflecting on the love shown by Jesus Christ in his suffering and death for us and the hope he brings us.

I sat in my seat, not praying, not thinking about any scriptures or the story of Jesus’ suffering. I simply sat there quietly, watching the image of Jesus’ tomb on the screen, trying to feel what it was like to sit outside of Jesus’ tomb—a feeling beyond words. I sit in a seat inside a 21st-century church, but my heart is outside the tomb of Jesus, more than two thousand years ago. Am I remembering Jesus’ suffering and death, or am I waiting for the resurrected Savior to appear to me?

This Sunday, I pray that we come to Easter worship not merely to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, but to meet the resurrected Lord. I pray that He, with the power of His resurrection, will help us live for Him in these trouble days.

Pastor Chiu

Prayer Requests

• Praise God for preparing new pastors to join our church ministry. Pray that God will continue to strengthen our pastoral team, enabling them to help the church fulfill its mission more effectively.
• Pray for the unease and even panic that war brings to the world. Ask God to help more people see that peace does not come from external circumstances, but from our control over our lives. If our control over our lives comes from God, we will have peace.
• Pray for the new friends who have recently attended our church activities. Ask God to let them feel God’s love and our care, and to find comfort and healing in God’s Word.
• Pray for the brothers and sisters baptized on Easter Sunday. Ask God to strengthen their faith, that their lives may continue to be transformed by the Holy Spirit, and that their testimony may attract more people to thirst for and seek to know God.
• Pray for the church’s mission department as it reviews its local and international mission work. Ask God to grant the mission committee members wisdom and insight to understand God’s will and formulate mission strategies for the church.