"Jesus said, 'Can you drink the cup I drink?' 'The cup' not only predicts the martyrdom of the apostles but also reveals the truth and the path Christians should follow today, which is to complete God’s will through sacrifice and dedication. "
Last Sunday at Mochou Road Church, Nanjing, Jiangsu, Rev. Wang Xuefeng shared a sermon with the title "Drink the Cup Jesus Drinks", citing Mark 10:35-45.
This was the first resumed Sunday service since the second wave of coronavirus caused the church to shut down from July 24. Following the COVID-19 protocols, churchgoers entered the sanctuary under the leadership of the acolytes. First, they sang the hymn There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood, followed by the song Humble Thyself to Walk With God from the choir.
Before the sermon, Rev. Wang mentioned that under the influence of the post-pandemic era on the church, some believers didn’t come to the church to worship as they thought that listening to the audio sermons at home was the same. In response to this situation, she stated that during public worship God would give special grace, reminding listeners to cherish every opportunity to gather.
In the sermon, Wang pointed out that not only James or John, but also the other ten disciples, asked for worldly authority, as due to the weakness of human nature people were all controlled by rights and possessions, but Jesus wanted to free them from such ambitions.
The pastor explained that the cup here referred to Jesus’ crucifixion and Christians’ sacrifice and dedication to God. She led the congregation in thinking about whether the Christian life they expected was the same as that in the Bible. They had gathered for many years and were enthusiastic in serving, but maybe they had not yet touched the core of the gospel, which was to take up the cross and follow the Lord.
The servant of God shared her recent experience. As the only daughter, she always planned to take her parents to Nanjing to take care of them, who lived far in the northeast and were reluctant to live with her. Having a hard time agreeing to come recently, her father refused to come again, as he was angered when she and her husband went to the northeast to pack things up for her parents. Both sides were aggrieved and the situation was deadlocked.
One morning, she heard a hymn Jesus You Are Precious which touched her heart. In the praise and prayer, she felt the Holy Spirit's reproach that she couldn’t be wronged for the Lord who had crucified and suffered so much for her. She realized that she was not considerate to her parents, who had a deep desire for love and acceptance behind their seemingly strong attitude.
She found that this was a chance for Jesus to repair her relationship with her father. She and her husband took their parents’ hands to share with them their testimony of believing in the Lord and their love for them, succeeding in bringing them back.
Though she felt as if she had experienced a "death" during the process, she was very grateful, knowing that the secret to victory was to hold on to the Lord in all sufferings. This was the 21st Sunday after the Pentecost and the next Sunday was called the World Mission Sunday. She called on believers to preach the gospel even in their own pain and the pain of the world and accept the challenge to live out the image of the Lord who was the bread of their life.
After reciting the Apostles' Creed, the congregation presented the hymn Near the Cross. Following the Lord's Prayer, the service ended with the hymn tune Threefold Amen.
Mochou Road Church resumed its two Saturday gatherings and two Sunday services from October 16th.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
