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Opening Music: First Love – Getty Music

Dr Shermaine Pan

Good Morning

We gather, to praise the Lord, the one who gave it all to all of us.

One of the questions I often get asked is whether I celebrate Chinese new year, since I am a Christian? Chinese new year, also known as lunar new year is the celebration of the start of the Chinese lunar calendar. Every Chinese lunar year is associated with a Chinese zodiac sign animal, and this year is the year of the tiger. A year parents often would want to have children, as children born in the year of the tiger is predicted to be brave, competitive, confident.

So, what does this all mean for me as a Christian? For me, my identity is first and foremost as child of the most high God, and what a privilege it is to celebrate who we are in Him, the great blessings He has poured into our lives and the great certainty of our future and hope we have in Him, as we celebrate and welcome another year of witnessing God’s goodness and grace. You will hear stories from some of my brothers and sisters in Christ later on during the service of what Chinese new year and being a child of God means to them.

I am Shermaine and I am one of the elders at Manchester Chinese Christian Church, a non-denominational community of believers who worship in three different languages – English, Cantonese and Mandarin at different venues across the city of Manchester.? The church started as a fellowship in 1966 following a visit from the late Revd. Stephen Wang, the founder of Chinese Overseas Christian Mission (COCM). When Revd. Stephen Wang founded COCM in 1950, the vision was: ‘where the Chinese are, there Christ must be.’? Over the past five decades, we have witnessed the faithfulness of God in the history and life of Manchester Chinese Christian Church - the numerical and spiritual growth, from a small gathering of university students in a fellowship to now seven congregations of all ages, young and old, worshipping the Lord every Sunday. What amazing grace, to know that His good news is for all including us, who are Chinese. Our mission as his church is to declare God’s glory and grace in worship, in love for one another and in serving the community.

Today, during the service, you will be hearing songs sung, prayers said, bible passages read, in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

This next song, sung in Cantonese, titled ‘An unreserved love’, speaks about God’s unconditional love that was shown on the cross.? Our lives are not defined by the zodiac animal of the year we are born in, or whether we follow every superstition to drive the bad luck away from the coming year, but instead as sung in the song, we give everything to Him, using our lives to serve Him and give Him our praise, because He first loved us unreservedly.

Dr Shermaine Pan

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC – STREAMS OF PRAISE, THE GIFT OF KNOWING YOU

We now hear stories from brothers and sisters in Christ from Manchester Chinese Christian Church, about their faith and Chinese new year celebrations.? We’ll hear from Tim who attends our English congregation and Cecilia who is a member of our Cantonese Church.

MUSIC 2: Contemporary Worship Song – Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) – Hillsong

TESTIMONIES: Chinese New Year

MUSIC 3: The Father’s Love – Matt Redman

Dr Shermaine Pan

The bible reading for today is taken from the book of Romans, written by the Apostle Paul, chapter 8, verses 9 – 17. This passage will be read in English by Eric Keasberry.

READING: Read By Mr. Eric Keasberry

MUSIC 4:你永远不更改 (feat. Joshua Band)

Intro to Sermon - Dr Shermaine Pan

And that in English says you are unchanging, the song we have just heard, the chorus says you are good, you are unchanging, you are kind and your love never fails.? God is the only one whose love for us never fails because he is unchanging and he is good and kind.? His love is the same for us yesterday, today and tomorrow. ?

Pastor Kim Lau, Senior Pastor of Manchester Chinese Christian Church will now deliver the address.

SERMON – Pastor Kim Lau

At this time of the year, we are preparing ourselves to celebrate Chinese New Year. Usually, as a church, we would be busy preparing for a busy weekend sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the thousands who visit the Manchester China Town celebrations. Sadly, this year, as last year, we’re restricted in celebrating in this way But the heart of the Chinese New Year celebration is not to be found in the noisy, exuberant streets of China Town but in Chinese homes scattered all through the city. The heart and soul of Chinese New Year is the family. All across the Chinese world, literally hundreds of millions of people, Covid permitting, will leave the cities where they have been working all year to return to parental homes to affirm once again their unity as a family.

The reading , taken from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, is not an easy passage to get our heads around on first hearing. It speaks of those who are in Christ being in the Spirit of God and the Spirit Himself dwelling in us. It speaks of sin and life, the flesh and the body. It is not until we come to the end of the passage that it becomes clear what this is all about. It is about family.

Not any family, but the family of God. This is not a mere figure of speech, for the Apostle tells us that we have been adopted into God’s family through the Holy Spirit; that, we share fully with Jesus Christ – the only begotten Son – in the inheritance from our Father in heaven. All the privileges and joys and blessings that belong to Jesus Christ belong also to us.

Every element of? the celebration of Chinese New Year reflects the hopes and fears of the family. Hope for harmony and peace within the family; hope for faithfulness and family piety; hope for blessing and prosperity. Fear, that overwhelming disaster and evil would not fall upon the family; that unity will not be splintered by bitterness or hate; that parents would not have the sorrow of children dying before them.

The Apostle Paul teaches us that in Christ all of these hopes and fear are met in the one Son of God. That through Him, we are truly become a family united in love and harmony; that peace and joy flow through every member of the family; that, even though the world may throw overwhelming force against the family we will not crumble or shatter; that even death cannot overcome us because the Holy Spirit gives life that cannot be overcome.?? We know this because Jesus Christ Himself died on the Cross for our sakes, but He was raised on the third day in glorious resurrection.?

It is a sad truth that the modern church experiences more persecution than at almost any other time in history. The range of suffering varies from place to place, but almost the very first thing any persecuting authority does is to restrict or forbid the gathering of Christians to worship. Knowingly or not, they strike at the heart of Christian identity – the fellowship of the family of God in Christ. Some of the most moving stories we hear from Christians living under persecution are the lengths to which they will go, to gather and worship. But even though they are prevented from the joy of family life together as God’s children, they are not forgotten because the Spirit continues to make them one with the whole family of God.?

The Apostle’s teachings on the family of God means that there is a family to which all can belong. There are many who have no family, or, whose families are so broken that they scarcely resemble family at all, but, in Jesus Christ, they have a family through the Holy Spirit who makes clean and gives life.? The lonely, the broken, the rejected, have a home in Jesus Christ.

So, for Chinese Christians, Chinese New Year is a time when we are reminded that we are the family of God. As we gather together to celebrate, we celebrate all that family means in a family that excludes no one. Whether we have biological parents near or far, whether we are isolated, we ALL have a family that will not fade nor which is overshadowed by death. We share in all the inheritance of Christ so that all that is hoped for amongst countless family reunions across the world is found perfectly in the one family of God. How do we become part of this family of God? Simply by extending our hands to Jesus Christ and asking Him to make us part of the family. He will welcome us and place the seal of His Holy Spirit on us – the sign of the family of God.?

MUSIC 5: Author / Perfector – Rivers and Robots ?

Dr Shermaine Pan

And we turn to God in prayer led by members of our three congregations in Manchester from our English congregation 5 year old Evie and 9 year old Ethan, from our Mandarin Church, Kate, and from our Cantonese Congregation, Juanita.

PRAYERS

Music under prayers: Be Still – Rivers and Robots (Instrumental)

Lord’s Prayer – in English / Cantonese / Mandarin

MUSIC 6: In Christ Alone – Getty Music (Geraldine Latty)

BLESSING & HAPPY NEW YEAR MONTAGE

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