Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We have begun another year in our Lord’s care, kindness, and provision. But as we continue into this year, a couple of different podcasts I listen to have taken time for remembrances. They have remembered those who have died last year. For example, former President Jimmy Carter passed away on Dec. 29, 2024 after 100 years of life on this earth.
Death is something that we cannot avoid, even if it is something we avoid talking about or thinking about. Sometimes death comes unexpectedly. Such was the case for our sister in the Lord, Van Lee. She was a member of the Cantonese congregation. She passed away on December 27, 2024 after complications due to brain bleeding. She is survived by her husband, and two kids, who grew up in the youth group at CBCGL, Cathy and Kevin Sie. Please keep her family and the Cantonese congregation in your prayers as they grieve.
Sometimes, death is expected, as when people enter into hospice care. Pastor Chingwu Chen entered in home hospice care prior to Christmas. He passed away on Wednesday night, Jan. 1, 2025. Here is what Pastor Sean wrote to the Mandarin congregation (translated by Deepl):
“On January 1, 2025, at 8:30 pm, our beloved Pastor Chingwu Chen rested in peace and returned to the Lord. Pastor Chen devoted his life to the Lord’s ministry and spread the gospel together with his wife. He was our beloved pastor and spiritual role model.
Responding to God’s call in 1985, Pastor Chen and his wife went to Germany as missionaries, based in Hamburg, and served faithfully in various European countries for 12 years. In 1997, God’s leadership brought Pastor Chen to CBCGL as the pastor of the Cantonese congregation, and from 2006 to 2009, he was used by God as the Senior Pastor of our church. Even after his retirement, Pastor Chen and his wife continued to serve and care for their brothers and sisters in the church, demonstrating admirable love and pastoral care.
We are thankful for Pastor Chen’s life of service, and we thank God for his faithful witness in the Lord. We ask our brothers and sisters to pray for peace and support for Mrs. Chen and her family. In addition, we plan to hold a memorial service in the spring, and will announce the specific arrangements later.”
One day, each of us will either face death or experience the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Are you ready for that day?
Please continue to pray for the nations of Israel and Ukraine and South Sudan. Pray that the wars would end. Here is a suggested list of prayers if you are at a loss for words in how to pray: https://send.org/story/hh_pray_for_ukraine. And https://worldrelief.org/blog-prayer-for-israel-and-gaza/ Thank you for kneeling on behalf of the people of Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Gaza and Lebanon, Sudan and South Sudan, and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.
This Week (Jan. 3 – 9, 2025):
1. Tonight, Jan. 3, 2025, the Living Stones Friday Night Bible Study is taking a break. See you on January 10!
However, the Empower Fellowship (College Students) will be meeting in Room A201A (Jan. 3)
2. CrossPoint Community Sunday School meets this Sunday – Jan. 5 in the Koinonia Room (A-216). We end at 10:45 am to attend CBCGL’s Elder and Deacon Installation in the Main Sanctuary. Before that, we are continuing our study of Church History, led by TC Tang. We will use the following link for those who wish to join online this Sunday:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/491248585?pwd=RnpLcnpjQ01nTGZLSmhaZ3l4L3dKQT09
Meeting ID: 491 248 585
Password: 403767
Join by phone: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
There will also be a connection hour, a time for conversation and prayer, in A-202. And the Empower Fellowship will meet as well for Sunday School!
3. This Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, at 11:25 am, our CrossPoint Community Worship Service will start and Pastor Nathan Willems will be preaching. Pray for him! Join us for worship at CBCGL!
Text: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Title: Bible Centered
Live stream via Youtube: https://www.cbcgl.org/live-stream/
4. Each Wednesday, such as this coming week (Jan. 8) at 7:45 pm, you are invited, encouraged, and requested to join our weekly prayer meeting. We will not grow in Christ without growing in our dependence on God through prayer. In January, we will be praying beginning with praising God each week. The link is found below in the section on prayer.
Administration / Events
1. We have a missions update (so check out the missions tab in the bulletin)! You can provide support for James Liang (at UConn), and pray for him in the work that he is doing there, like leading a group of 20+ to Panama for a Short Term Mission Trip this month. If you’d like to help with providing mission updates – let Pastor Nathan know!
2. CPCM has reserved the Multi-Purpose Room on Saturday’s from 1:30 to 4PM for sports. We hope to see you there this year! We can play any game: Ping-pong, badminton, pickleball, volleyball, basketball; we can do it all. The room is reserved only for CPCM members and their guests, so it is highly likely you will have lots of space and time to play whatever you want. The goal is to build deeper bonds through shared interest and activity. The contact person is Joshua Zhang.
3. Sunday Lunch Service is available at CBCGL with $5 lunches that are first-come, first-served. Pizza is $2 per slice and Ramen is available (priced variously according to size).
4. Women’s Bible Study – “KEEPING IT VERTICAL” meets the first and third Tuesday of each month to learn, share and grow in the Lord. We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit. Come join us and meet new friends and bring more friends along! Contact jeannemic50 (at) icloud.com
5. All other announcements can be found here (in our CrossPoint Community bulletin).
For Prayer:
1. From Bishop J.C. Ryle – “To be prayerless is to be Christless, Godless, and in the high road to destruction…It will always be found that when prayers are few, grace, strength, peace, and hope are small.” Please join our Wednesday night prayer meeting (7:45 – 9:15 pm) even if you can’t participate the whole time.
https://zoom.us/j/758587937?pwd=aS9sZUdxcm1janNNM2I2aXJ6Smx2QT09
Meeting ID: 758 587 937
Password: 030086
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
2. We’d be glad to pray for you. If you need prayer, you can submit your prayer request via the following link: https://www.cbcgl.org/pray/
In Christ, your servant, SDG,
Rev. Dr. Nathan Willems
Associate Pastor of CrossPoint Community – A Ministry of CBCGL