On Jan 29, 2017, a preacher from a church of Xinyang County, Tianshui, Gansu, told the congregation at the first Sunday service of the Chinese lunar year that they should head for the race ahead by fixing on Jesus, citing Hebrews 12:1-2.
He claimed that they should have goals for this new year for a runner shall not run aimlessly nor a fighter beat the air. The next step is to throw off everything that hinders, cast anxiety on God and take the Lord's yoke. Then remove the sin that so easily entangles because we can't stop after receiving the salvation of Jesus Christ but cleanse ourselves in Christ, added the preacher.
He said that finally, we should fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. The prophet Elijah who performed great miracles became so powerless that he prayed to die under a broom tree. We will encounter all kinds of trials and difficulties on the journey of following the Lord and it's hard to avoid weakness. As a result, we should put our hope in and depend on the Lord constantly.
In addition, the preacher stated that we should imitate the life attitude of the apostle Paul -- "pressing on toward the goal, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead."
After the service, several believers pasted spring couplets that are considered as an essence of Chinese folk culture, on the church's gate. In rural areas, some Christian families affix the gospel couplets that combines the gospel with folk culture on the door of their houses. It was believed by a pastor that this phenomenon reflected contextualization of Christianity and this practice was easily accepted by locals.
Translated by Karen Luo
