On Easter Sunday, Chongyi Church in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province held three Sunday services with Communion, the very first in-person Holy Communion services of the church since the last Spring Festival.
The second service in the morning was a music worship. Although it began much earlier than the usual service time, many believers were already waiting in the small square in front of the church. At 9.40, the first service ended. After a sterilization procedure was done in the church, believers with appointment cards began to take temperature measurements to enter the church. Those who had not made an appointment earlier could also make an appointment on the spot.
The choir sang four hymns, namely, "Rejoice and Celebrate", "Amazing Love", "Jesus, the Desire and Joy in My Heart", and "The Past, Present and Forever Christ".
In a sermon titled "Empty Tomb - Living Lord". Pastor Zhang Zhongcheng preached that people had been questioning the truth of Jesus' resurrection from the past until now, and the empty tomb of Jesus as a historical evidence has already proven the resurrection of Jesus. So the focus of believers should be on the resurrected Lord Jesus.
"It is recorded in the Gospel of John Chapter 20 that Mary saw the Lord but did not recognize him. Mary was very familiar with the Lord Jesus, so why could she not recognize him? Because the Lord she knew was the Lord before the resurrection. Mary, who shed tears because of the empty tomb, felt that the Lord wass dead and never expected the resurrection of the Lord. So she cannot recognize Jesus when she sees him," the pastor said.
Later, when Mary recognized the Lord Jesus, the Lord said to her, "Do not touch me", hoping that Mary would have a new understanding of him. All along, Mary's understanding of Jesus was the visible and tangible Jesus. However, after Jesus resurrected, she was reminded that she could no longer view and believe Jesus from the previous perspective. What the resurrected Jesus desired to give Mary was the power of the Holy Spirit and the turnover of life, which could not be seen with the naked eye.
"Therefore, believers should have a new understanding of the Lord," Pastor Zhang reminded the congregation, "that is, through the resurrection of the Lord, the invisible life, the eternal life, starts not after death but when people are alive."
"The resurrection of Jesus gives people a brand-new style in which one can live a resurrected and eternal life, so that people's lives can be more exciting, more glorious, and reversed," he concluded.
After the sermon, the church held a Holy Communion service.
- Translated by Charlie Li
杭州崇一堂举办2021年复活节圣乐崇拜 迎来春节后首次圣餐礼
2021年4月4日复活节，杭州基督教崇一堂共安排有三场复活节圣餐主日崇拜，这是崇一堂春节后重新恢复实地聚会迎来的首次圣餐礼。
上午第二场为圣乐崇拜。上午不到九点半，已经有多人在崇一堂门前的小广场等候。九点四十，第一场礼拜结束，堂内消毒后，信徒开始凭借预约码、健康码，测温后进入教堂，之前未预约的也可现场预约。
诗班共献唱了四首赞美诗歌，分别是《欢欣庆贺》《奇妙的爱》《耶稣我心所慕喜乐》《昔在今在永在基督》。
献唱结束后，张忠成牧师以“空的坟墓—活着的主”为题证道，他指出从过去直到现在不断有人质疑耶稣复活的真假，而耶稣空着的坟墓作为一个历史的确据早已证明了耶稣的复活，信徒们的焦点应该聚焦在那位已经复活的主耶稣上面。
约翰福音20章中记载，玛利亚见到了主却认不出，玛利亚算是很熟悉主耶稣了，又为何会认不出呢？因为她认识的主并不是真正的主，那个因空的坟墓而落泪的玛利亚觉得主是死的，从未对主的复活有过期待，所以在见到耶稣时才会无法分辨。而之后当玛利亚认出主耶稣后，主对她说“不要摸我”，便是希望玛利亚对自己有一种新的认识，一直以来玛利亚对耶稣的认识都是看得见摸得着的，但耶稣复活之后，提醒她不能再用以前的角度来看待耶稣和信仰耶稣了，复活的耶稣要赐给玛利亚的是圣灵的能力和生命的翻转，这是无法通过肉眼看到的。
"所以信徒们也应该对主有更新的认识"，张牧师提醒会众，"那就是藉着主的复活彰显出无形的生命力量，永远的生命，这生命不是在人死后开始的，而是在人活着的时候就已经开始了”。
“耶稣的复活赐给人们一个全新的样式，能活出复活、永生的生命，让人们的生活能够更加精彩，更加荣耀，活出生命的翻转。”张牧师最后总结道。
证道结束后，教堂举行了圣餐仪式。
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/article/index/id/55917
杭州崇一堂举办2021年复活节圣乐崇拜 迎来春节后首次圣餐礼
On Easter Sunday, Chongyi Church in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province held three Sunday services with Communion, the very first in-person Holy Communion services of the church since the last Spring Festival.
The second service in the morning was a music worship. Although it began much earlier than the usual service time, many believers were already waiting in the small square in front of the church. At 9.40, the first service ended. After a sterilization procedure was done in the church, believers with appointment cards began to take temperature measurements to enter the church. Those who had not made an appointment earlier could also make an appointment on the spot.
The choir sang four hymns, namely, "Rejoice and Celebrate", "Amazing Love", "Jesus, the Desire and Joy in My Heart", and "The Past, Present and Forever Christ".
In a sermon titled "Empty Tomb - Living Lord". Pastor Zhang Zhongcheng preached that people had been questioning the truth of Jesus' resurrection from the past until now, and the empty tomb of Jesus as a historical evidence has already proven the resurrection of Jesus. So the focus of believers should be on the resurrected Lord Jesus.
"It is recorded in the Gospel of John Chapter 20 that Mary saw the Lord but did not recognize him. Mary was very familiar with the Lord Jesus, so why could she not recognize him? Because the Lord she knew was the Lord before the resurrection. Mary, who shed tears because of the empty tomb, felt that the Lord wass dead and never expected the resurrection of the Lord. So she cannot recognize Jesus when she sees him," the pastor said.
Later, when Mary recognized the Lord Jesus, the Lord said to her, "Do not touch me", hoping that Mary would have a new understanding of him. All along, Mary's understanding of Jesus was the visible and tangible Jesus. However, after Jesus resurrected, she was reminded that she could no longer view and believe Jesus from the previous perspective. What the resurrected Jesus desired to give Mary was the power of the Holy Spirit and the turnover of life, which could not be seen with the naked eye.
"Therefore, believers should have a new understanding of the Lord," Pastor Zhang reminded the congregation, "that is, through the resurrection of the Lord, the invisible life, the eternal life, starts not after death but when people are alive."
"The resurrection of Jesus gives people a brand-new style in which one can live a resurrected and eternal life, so that people's lives can be more exciting, more glorious, and reversed," he concluded.
After the sermon, the church held a Holy Communion service.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Zhejiang Megachurch Celebrates Easter With Music Worship
