Sunday, April 21, 2024
4th Sunday of Easter

Scriptures: Acts 4:5-12
Message: “Filled with the Holy Spirit”
Preacher: Rev. Lian Chin-Siong

*** Announcements for the Week of April 21^st ***

• BIBLE STUDIES AND WORD & BREAD SMALL GROUP
  The monthly Bible Studies and the Word & Bread small group will have a combined session in Room 702 after the service today (4/21).
• HOMELESS MINISTRY OUTREACH
  The Homeless Ministry team will meet outside the chapel around 13:30 this afternoon. They will then head out to the Taipei Main Station to distribute meals to homeless people. You can join them at the mentioned time and location if you want to help.
• THE YOUNG PROFESSIONAL
  The Young Professionals CareCell will meet in Room 801 at 19:30 on Friday, April 26.
• WELCOME TEAM RECRUITMENT
  EM’s Welcome Team is recruiting! If you would like to serve and engage more in EM, the Welcome team is a good place to start. Contact its team leader, Mandy, if you can lend a helping hand. Thank you.
• OFFERTORY RECORDS VERIFICATION
  SLPC encourages its congregation to verify his/her offertory records through SLPC’s Line OA member service. Contact James for help on access.
• CHURCH BUILDING OFFERTORY
  Please use the dedicated offertory envelopes, which can be picked up at the Welcome Tables, for the church rebuilding offerings.
• SLPC PRAYER MEETINGS
  SLPC will host prayer meetings in Taiwanese and Mandarin in the 7^th floor chapel every Thursday night from 19:30 to 20:30. Pastors of SLPC will lead the meetings. We encourage brothers and sisters to attend.
• THE ELECTRONIC CONNECT CARD
  The electronic version of the Connect Card can now be accessed by scanning the new QR Code below.
  
  Or by clicking this link: https://forms.gle/AJqmNU2HkizjJXNH6
• SCAN OR CLICK TO SIGN-IN EVERY SERVICE
  Please scan the service QR Code around the Chapel entrance or on the bulletin, or click the Sign-In link that will be posted in the EM Family Line group chat each Sunday morning for attendance.

***Special Notice***

Hello brothers and sisters in Christ! May the peace of Christ be with you!

The Taiwan CDC has loosened its policies on the COVID-19 restrictions. However, it’s an enclosed space inside the church. As a result, please observe the following guidelines when inside the church premises:

1. Please make sure you have your masks properly worn when entering and inside the church. Disinfect your hands with alcohol if necessary. Maintain social distancing whenever possible.

2. If you don’t feel well, exhibit symptoms of cold, or have been in close contact with people who are contracting COVID-19, please consider to stay at home and participate the online service instead.

3. Food and drinks are conditionally allowed inside the church compound.

Thank you and let’s worship God together on Sundays!

Electronic Sunday Bulletin
EM encourages its congregation to use the electronic version of the Sunday bulletin to save paper.  Please click the following link to access the eBulletin:

https://shorturl.at/cxDJ8

Or scan the following QR code.

If you have any suggestion regarding the eBulletin, please let us know.  Thank you!

SERVE IN EM

Come and serve in EM!  You can join the Liturgy, the Audio/Video team, the Praise team, the EM Choir, the Homeless Ministry team, or the Kids Club.  Email: emcaresforyou@gmail.com for more info.

An Outcast Turned Witness

Dennis Sikazwe / The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands

Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see! ~ John 9:25

A ‘witness’ (martus/martys in Greek) is one who remembers something and testifies concerning what they remember. However, the word has a twofold meaning: (1) One who has seen and/or experienced something, or (2) One who testifies to what he or she saw. This is mainly in a legal setting. A martus is one who passionately attests to a fact or event; It is one who gives evidence (testifies in a court to the truth of a fact or event); one who has seen or has personal knowledge of something or someone. A witness is one who furnishes evidence or proof, confirming the truth by verbal testimony. In legal terms a witness gives testimony in a court trial. Martus is also used to describe those who witnessed to the point of death. This gave rise to our English word “martyr”, one who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce some truth – so being Jesus’ witness can be costly!

John 9:1–41 narrates how Jesus met a man who had been blind from birth. Tradition at that time had it that being born like that was as a result of sin or a curse on the part of the parents. After applying mud to his eyes, Jesus commanded the man to go elsewhere and wash off the mud. To this point, the formerly-blind man had still not physically seen the One who healed him, neither did this man seek Jesus out, or knew anything about Him prior to this incident. Local religious leaders could not accept that Jesus had performed a miracle, so they had been interrogating the man and his parents, insisting that Jesus must be a sinner.

The man’s response here was an excellent summary of how saving faith works. Sight or light are often used as a metaphor for faith. This man was neither an educated nor a rich person. He knew nothing about Jesus’ prior ministry, or the details of Jesus ministry. But what he did know, he knew for sure: he had been blind, but now he could see! The profound, incomprehensible change brought by his encounter with Christ was beyond debate. For Christians, this is the cornerstone of our testimony: it is no longer about what the Bible tells us about Christ, it is rather the influence of Christ in our own lives. This is what opens our conversation with others about the reality of the gospel (Mark 5:19), and which leads into all of our other evidence and arguments (1 Peter 3:15–16). We do not just know him, but we experience Him daily. He can no longer be silenced in our speech and deeds. In which ways do you, your family and congregation allow Christ’s life to be experienced by your community?