On Easter 2021 which falls on April 4, churches across China resumed in-person gatherings, following the effective containment of COVID-19 in the country. The serial articles introduce how six Christians celebrated the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In part 2, let's hear about how two Christian brother and sister marked the holiday.
This is a story about Brother Chen.
Attending training courses at the Shaanxi Bible College, Brother Chen spent the Passion Week at that school. He went back to his hometown to attend the Easter service, serving as a host.
At 9:30 a.m. on April 4, the service began with the teaching of hymns. He later went to the altar to greet believers in the name of the Lord, followed by the reading of Psalms 24. After singing the hymn "A Glorious Resurrection"(not sure), he led the congregation in reciting the "Apostles' Creed". After the intercession of the choir leader Li Xinmei, the choir members sang two songs accompanied by piano, "Rock of Ages " and "The Day of Resurrection". Later, he conducted responsive reading from Matthew 27:1-10.
At 10:00 a.m., Elder Wang Ying gave a sermon titled "The Lord Jesus is Resurrected", based on Luke 24:1-10. After the sermon, baptism and Holy Communion were held.
At 11:30 in the morning, after Elder Wang’s blessing, the worship service ended with the beautiful piano piece "The Lord is in His Holy Temple". Every believer received an Easter egg before leaving the church. It was the first time Brother Chen presided over the service.
Below is the story about Sister Liao and her husband.
Baptized on Easter in 1992, she is now 78 years old, celebrating every year’s Easter as her spiritual birthday.
In 1993, the second year after her baptism, she was the first to sign up for the just established choir in which she has served for 25 years. Her husband found her so happy after she believed in the Lord that he started to pray and read the Bible with her. On Christmas Day in 2010, he was baptized in her company.
In August 2007, when her husband was undergoing emergency heart bypass surgery in the hospital, the choir members sang hymns in the corridors outside the operating room, which enabled the 70-year-old man to safely escape death and live a healthy life.
When he was discharged from the hospital after the operation, the attending doctor said to his son that he could only live another four to eight years after the operation. With God's salvation and blessing, it has been 14 years since he left the hospital, more than eight years surplus.
Since he believed in the Lord, he changed his bad temper, quitting smoking for decades. Every morning they prayed together after waking up. When she was tired after reading the Bible to him, he read the Bible for her in turn. In the 14 years since the old man fell ill and was discharged from the hospital, they had read the Bible more than a dozen times.
It was not until 2016 that she was reluctant to withdraw from the choir service, as her husband needed 24-hour care for deterioration of physical condition due to the surgery. She only went to attend Sunday services when her children came to take care of him on Sundays and holidays.
As she had to take care of him, she could not go to church to celebrate Easter, which fell on April 4. Waking up at 3:30 in the morning, she listened to an online sermon with the title "The Love and Hate of Jesus" on her smartphone.
When it was getting brighter, she woke up her snoring husband at 6:00 a.m. Helping him sit up, she put his clothes on. Both kneeling on the bed, she prayed, while he kept saying "Amen". After the prayer, they sang two hymns together. Finally, she read the verses related to Easter in the Bible for him.
At noon, their children brought grandchildren to the house, having a lively lunch with them. Her daughter bought a big cake for her to celebrate her birthday on Easter.
At 17:30, they started to read the Bible and praise. Having rested for more than two hours, they began to read the scriptures, pray and praise again at 21:00. Later, she sang more than a dozen hymns, including "Christ Arose" and "In the Hazy Morning Light". When singing, she live-streamed the sound to the WeChat group of her church gathering. That is how she celebrated Easter this year.
To be continued…
(The original article is published by Gospel Times.)
-Translated by Abigail Wu
2021年的复活节，笔者采访了当地2位弟兄姊妹，今年的复活节，他们是如何过的……
三、陈弟兄：2021年4月4日这一天，按基督教礼仪，是主耶稣基督复活的日子。因着我还在陕西圣经学校参加培训，今年的受难周都是在学校度过的。只有复活节是我回家乡在镇子上教会过的。
上午9：30，在教唱赞美诗歌声中，进入到今天的主复活节崇拜序幕里。今天是我做圣礼主持人。登上主台后，面对台下就座的姊妹弟兄们，我在奉主圣名亲切问安之后，按聚会礼拜程序宣读呼召诗篇24篇。接着带领大家唱起了《一个荣耀的复活》赞美诗歌。
随后背诵了《使徒信经》，诗班班长李新梅作了代祷。接下来，在优美的钢琴音乐伴奏下，诗班弟兄姊妹们献唱了《万古磐石歌》《复活良辰歌》两首赞美诗歌。诗班献唱结束后，我为大家读了启应经文(太27：1-10)。
上午10：00，王鹰长老依据经文(路24:1-10）章节，围绕《主耶稣复活了》的主题。
证道结束后，举行了两大圣礼，即施洗礼和圣餐礼。
上午11：30，在王长老祝福后，伴随着《主在圣殿中》的美妙钢琴声，复活节主日的崇拜聚会结束了。每位弟兄姊妹们都领到一枚复活蛋。复活节这天，是我在2021年第一次主持了圣工。
四、廖姊妹：我今年78岁了，是1992年信的主，在当年的复活节受了洗，成为一名基督徒。在过去的这30年来，我一直把每年的复活节当做自己属灵生日来过.
信主后的第二年，也就是1993年，我第一个报名参加了教会刚成立的唱诗班，在诗班团契服侍了整整25年。我家老头子看我信主后这么喜乐，也被感染的跟着我每天祷告、读圣经。在2010年12月25日圣诞节这天，我陪着他去教会受了洗，也成了一名基督徒。
记得在2007年8月份,当老头子突发心脏病在医院要做搭桥手术时，教会诗班弟兄姊妹在手术室外走廊上歌唱赞美诗歌，让已70多岁的老头子平安闯过了死阴，健康活到今天。
老头子手术后出院时，主治医生对我儿子说：你爸手术后，也只能再活个四到八年光景。感谢神！蒙神的救恩和保佑，老头子出院至今已14年了，早超过了八年。
自老头子跟着我信主后，几十年的暴脾气也改了，抽了几十年的烟也戒了。每天早晨醒来后，我俩祷告结束后，我就开始给他读圣经，读累了，他会接着为我读圣经。自老头子生病出院后的十四年来，已和老头子共同通读了十几遍圣经了。
直到2016年，曾经住院做了搭桥手术的老伴，身体状况越来越差，需要有人在家24个小时照顾他，我才留恋不舍的离开了诗班。离开教会诗班后，在每逢礼拜天，或者节假日期间，有孩子们来家照顾老伴，我就会去教会参加主日崇拜聚会。
2021年4月4日这天是复活节，因着我要照顾老头子去不了教会。在复活节凌晨3：30就醒了。就打开手机在网络上听了一堂《耶稣的爱与恨》证道。
天渐渐大亮了，已到了早晨6：00。我摇醒了还在呼噜大睡的老头子，我扶着老头子坐起，帮他穿好衣服。然后我俩跪在床上，我作祷告，老头子不停的“阿们”回应。祷告结束后，我俩共同唱了二首赞美诗歌。最后，我们读了《圣经》中有关复活节的章节经文。我读，他听。
中午，孩子们带着孙子、外孙来家，我们全家热热闹闹吃了个午饭。吃饭期间，女儿还给我送了个大蛋糕。说是为我复活节生日专门定做的。
下午17：30，我俩又开始读经、赞美。吃过晚饭后，休息了两个多小时。在21：00，又开始了读经、祷告、赞美。接下来，我唱了诗篇91篇《神是我们的保护者》、新编赞美诗108首《主复活歌》、110首《复活喜讯歌》等十几首赞美诗歌，我还在一边唱一边同步发到我们教会聚会点微信群里。今年的复活节，我就是这样过的。（未完待续）
今年复活节，这六位弟兄姊妹如此过（中）
On Easter 2021 which falls on April 4, churches across China resumed in-person gatherings, following the effective containment of COVID-19 in the country. The serial articles introduce how six Christians celebrated the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In part 2, let's hear about how two Christian brother and sister marked the holiday.
This is a story about Brother Chen.
Attending training courses at the Shaanxi Bible College, Brother Chen spent the Passion Week at that school. He went back to his hometown to attend the Easter service, serving as a host.
At 9:30 a.m. on April 4, the service began with the teaching of hymns. He later went to the altar to greet believers in the name of the Lord, followed by the reading of Psalms 24. After singing the hymn "A Glorious Resurrection"(not sure), he led the congregation in reciting the "Apostles' Creed". After the intercession of the choir leader Li Xinmei, the choir members sang two songs accompanied by piano, "Rock of Ages " and "The Day of Resurrection". Later, he conducted responsive reading from Matthew 27:1-10.
At 10:00 a.m., Elder Wang Ying gave a sermon titled "The Lord Jesus is Resurrected", based on Luke 24:1-10. After the sermon, baptism and Holy Communion were held.
At 11:30 in the morning, after Elder Wang’s blessing, the worship service ended with the beautiful piano piece "The Lord is in His Holy Temple". Every believer received an Easter egg before leaving the church. It was the first time Brother Chen presided over the service.
Below is the story about Sister Liao and her husband.
Baptized on Easter in 1992, she is now 78 years old, celebrating every year’s Easter as her spiritual birthday.
In 1993, the second year after her baptism, she was the first to sign up for the just established choir in which she has served for 25 years. Her husband found her so happy after she believed in the Lord that he started to pray and read the Bible with her. On Christmas Day in 2010, he was baptized in her company.
In August 2007, when her husband was undergoing emergency heart bypass surgery in the hospital, the choir members sang hymns in the corridors outside the operating room, which enabled the 70-year-old man to safely escape death and live a healthy life.
When he was discharged from the hospital after the operation, the attending doctor said to his son that he could only live another four to eight years after the operation. With God's salvation and blessing, it has been 14 years since he left the hospital, more than eight years surplus.
Since he believed in the Lord, he changed his bad temper, quitting smoking for decades. Every morning they prayed together after waking up. When she was tired after reading the Bible to him, he read the Bible for her in turn. In the 14 years since the old man fell ill and was discharged from the hospital, they had read the Bible more than a dozen times.
It was not until 2016 that she was reluctant to withdraw from the choir service, as her husband needed 24-hour care for deterioration of physical condition due to the surgery. She only went to attend Sunday services when her children came to take care of him on Sundays and holidays.
As she had to take care of him, she could not go to church to celebrate Easter, which fell on April 4. Waking up at 3:30 in the morning, she listened to an online sermon with the title "The Love and Hate of Jesus" on her smartphone.
When it was getting brighter, she woke up her snoring husband at 6:00 a.m. Helping him sit up, she put his clothes on. Both kneeling on the bed, she prayed, while he kept saying "Amen". After the prayer, they sang two hymns together. Finally, she read the verses related to Easter in the Bible for him.
At noon, their children brought grandchildren to the house, having a lively lunch with them. Her daughter bought a big cake for her to celebrate her birthday on Easter.
At 17:30, they started to read the Bible and praise. Having rested for more than two hours, they began to read the scriptures, pray and praise again at 21:00. Later, she sang more than a dozen hymns, including "Christ Arose" and "In the Hazy Morning Light". When singing, she live-streamed the sound to the WeChat group of her church gathering. That is how she celebrated Easter this year.
To be continued…
(The original article is published by Gospel Times.)
-Translated by Abigail Wu
How Six Believers Celebrate Easter (Part 2)
