alive @ 2010

Congratulations Alex Bilodeau!!!

“You raise me up on eagles’ wings” proclaimed Rev. Dr. Steven Harold as he preached on the words of Isaiah (40:29-31), “Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Pastor Harold spoke of how wearied people can find forgiveness, strength, and renewal in Jesus Christ who bore the burden of our sin on Calvary’s cross and who provides new life, both now and forever by his own resurrection from the dead.
Developing his message around lessons learned from eagles, Pastor Harold said that God might knock us out our “nests” but He will swoop down and catch us in his “wings” before we crash (Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11). Even in high winds, we can soar confidently for Jesus invites, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened by life and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

A hearty “Happy New Year!” to our Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ … all around the world! Richmond, BC is alive not only with the Olympics but Chinese celebrations are in full swing. The city of Richmond has over 125 different ethnic origins — 45% are of Chinese origin. Street and business signs are in Chinese. Shopping centers are completely dedicated to Chinese cuisine and art.

Trinity, Richmond has a vibrant outreach to the Chinese community. Under the leadership of Pastor Horace Hung, the congregation proclaims the love of Christ. (Pastor Hung also works with a Chinese fellowship at Faith Lutheran Church in Surrey, BC.) Trinity has been running an ESL program for the past 4 years. As a result of this outreach program, more than fifteen Chinese people have joined Trinity and many more hear and read the Gospel of our Lord on a regular basis. One young Chinese member at Trinity, Henry, says he came to join Trinity after a friend, who was attending Trinity’s ESL class, invited him to come to the class and to worship. Henry eventually studied Martin Luther’s Small Catechism and came to the conviction that Trinity Lutheran Church faithfully teaches and practices God’s Word.

Another LCC congregation, Prince of Peace, is a Cantonese-speaking congregation that shares the Gospel in the Killarney Park area of Vancouver. Pastor Mark Chiang and his congregation are hosting large screen TV events during the Olympics and they are distributing 3000 (!) More Than Gold witness pins to Olympic attendees!

As we begin the Year of the Tiger, we pray that the Christian church will make many new inroads to the Chinese community – both in Canada and in other parts of the world!

Dear Father in heaven, we know that you love all the people of the world. We know that Your Son, Jesus Christ died on the cross, not only for our sin, but for the sin of all people. Please, O Father, bless the work of our Chinese Christian brothers and sisters. As they share the Good News of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, may the Holy Spirit open the hearts of all people who hear Your Word and may they come to confess that, “Jesus Christ is Lord!” We pray in the name of the Lord of the nations, Jesus Christ, Amen.