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基督是我們再來之君

Written by Editor1

2022.11.19/20

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

回到蒙特利爾與家人團聚總是一段特別的時光，在這裡讓我重新再聚焦“基督是我們再來之君”。蒙特利爾是一個披戴著濃厚天主教會背景的城市。

從我家到我們附近的醫院，沿著De L’Eglise 譯作「教會街」短短的10 分鐘的車程，我們經過了至少 3 座天主教堂。在 3 座教堂中，有 2 座較小，外面雜草叢生和光禿禿的灌木叢。從外貌看起來相當悲涼、孤獨和空虛。回想 1960 年代之前，每個“教區或教堂”他們負責照顧和關懷附近的社區及當地的居民。無論是身體的需要（例如：派送食物賙濟窮人）、情緒的需要（例如：探訪病人和獨居者）和屬靈的需要（例如：為有需要的人祈禱）。這些神職人員的事工就是在社區作鹽作光。但是在 1960 年代之後，魁北克人悄悄離開教會機構之後，我們現在有整整一代人甚至更遠的人已經完全脫離了教會的生活。正如福音聯盟 (The Gospel Coalition)所引用說，魁北克及其人民現在被認定為整個北美地區接觸福音最少的人群。不到 1% 的人口被確定為福音派基督徒。

但教會的影響力和遺產依然存在。即使我們走過凡爾登醫院(Verdun Hospital)（1930 年代至 1950 年代由天主教會創立和領導）的大門，它的銘文也寫著“Hopital General de Verdun, Dedie au Christ Roi ”譯作「凡爾登醫院－ 獻給君王基督」 。我真想知道，有多少人走進這個門實際上知道基督是誰？擁有如此濃厚的傳統和豐富的歷史，人們或許認為這讓基督為人所知會很容易吧！但事實上似乎剛剛相反，當我沿著「教會街」行走，我經過一家新酒吧“Church St. Pub”，它的標誌是拿著乾草叉的魔鬼。

無論我們的四周環境如何，願我們都不要忘記基督已經為我們的罪而犧牲了自己的生命，祂還會再來。願我們不會對這個事實淡忘，就好像建築物上的雕刻版畫，只會成為一種裝飾並且被忽視。讓我仰望「皇家山」(Mont Royal) 並注目於十字架，城市裡所發生的一切事都離不開十字架的影子。

羅馬書 5:8 “唯有基督在我們還作罪人的時候為我們死，神對我們的愛就在此顯明了。”

主僕
關潔玲傳道

教牧心聲

pastoral voice

Written by Editor1

2022.11.12/13

From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Mark Liu
Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Hello brothers and sisters. Thank God for letting me share with you what I encounter these days.

In the past six months, God has given my family a new test. There was a problem with our visa. I thought it was just because of the pandemic that the issuance of the visa was delayed. When the BC government stopped giving us medical insurance, I suddenly found that my faith was facing a big challenge. I kept thinking about whether I made a mistake in a certain application process, which caused the delay. And the hardest part is that in October, even my daughter’s visa had problems. The government asked her to stop attending classes until a new visa is issued. For me, it was a huge blow, especially to tell my daughter that she could no longer attend classes. My daughter’s teacher told me that when he told the news to my daughter’s classmates, some of them cried. I also cried when I heard this. My faith was put in test again.

In the past two decades, while I was at work, I had always been very sure of this kind of things. Because as long as the application is filled out and the documents are ready, everything will happen at the scheduled time. But what I didn’t expect was that in this application, not only my visa was not issued at the scheduled time, but also my daughter’s visa also had problems. The “high tower” I built for myself was built on a pile of sand, not the rock.

I was shocked by my daughter’s composure after she learned she couldn’t attend classes. My wife told me that her reaction depends on the parents’ reaction. If we don’t react very much, she will think it’s not a big deal. If we react much, her response will be even greater. These are not what parents should give to their children. My daughter sent a simple email to tell the teacher that she could not attend class for the time being, but she would do her schoolwork at home. Between the lines, I saw her calm, but her father was there clinging to worry. Jesus said we should be like children. I’m thinking this is a good learning to me. I have some biblical knowledge in my head but I did not apply when the problem came. This experience told me that I did not turn the past encounter into an experience to help me face the current challenges.

Thank God, after a month of praying from brothers and sisters, all our visa problems were resolved. After a month of waiting, the daughter finally returned to school. When seeing her classmates hugging her, the image still stuck in my mind. May my encounter of the past few months no longer stay in the past, but become an experience that will help me face today and can also be a blessing to others.

May God bless you all.

In Him,
Rev. Mark Liu

教牧心聲

教牧心聲

Written by Editor1

2022.11.12/13

弟兄姊妹大家好。感謝神的恩典，讓我在這裡用文字分享我的心聲。

過去半年，神給予我一家新的考驗，那就是我們的簽證出現了問題。原本以為只是因為疫情的緣故而延誤簽發簽證，到BC省政府停止給予我們一家醫療保險，我突然發現自己的信仰面對很大的挑戰。我不斷在思考：到底自己是否在某一個申請過程中出現了錯誤，導致這一段時間，我們不斷在等待簽發簽證。而最難受的是，在十月份的時候，連我女兒的簽證也出現問題。政府甚至要求女兒停止上課，直到新的簽證簽發為止。對我來說，這個打擊是非常大的，尤其是要告訴女兒她不能再上課這個消息。女兒的老師告訴我，當他把這個消息告訴女兒的同學的時候，有一些同學們哭了。當聽到這個訊息的時候，我也哭了。我的信仰再一次被推倒胡同裡。

在過去的二十多年的工作中，我一直對自己在申請的事情上是很有把握的。因為只要填好了，文件預備好了，一切就會在預定的時間發生。卻沒有想到的就是在這一次的申請中，不單我的簽證沒有在預定的時間簽發，連女兒的簽證也因此出現問題。我為自己組建的高台，是建立在一堆沙土上，而不是建立在磐石上。

在女兒知道不能上課之後，我非常震驚她的鎮定。太太告訴我，女兒的反應是取決於父母的反應。若果我們反應不是很大的時候，她就會以為沒有什麼大不了。如果我們反應太大，她的反應就會更大。這些都不是父母應該給予孩子的。我就想起了我們的天父，如果祂看見我們所遇到的事情的態度還是很鎮定的話，我們的憂慮就是自己拿來的。之後，女兒還發了一封簡單的電郵告訴老師，暫時不能上課，但是她會在家裡做學校的功課。字裡行間，我看到她的平靜，反而是她的父親在那裡抓著憂慮不放。耶穌說我們要像小孩一樣。我在想這個就是一個很好的學習。我頭腦上有很多聖經知識，卻沒有在問題來到的時候應用出來。這一次的經歷，告訴我，我沒有把經歷化成為經驗，幫助我面對現在的挑戰。

感謝神，經過一個月後，經過弟兄姊妹的禱告，我們所有簽證的問題解決了。經過一個月後的等待，女兒終於回到學校。看見同學們擁抱她的情境，還停留在我的腦海了。願我過去幾個月的經歷，不再是停留在過去，而是變成為經驗，幫助我面對今天，也可以成為別人的祝福。

願神祝福你們。

主僕，
劉展權牧師

教牧心聲

Unlimited Grace

Written by Editor1

2022.11.05/06

From the Pastor’s Desk:Pastor Jeanie Au Yeung

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Recently, a popular term in the food industry: “Eat without boundary”, which means that you can drink or eat as much as you can for a special kind of food , that is, food serving unlimited “All you can eat”. It is not a new idea and certainly good news for some people who can eat a lot.

I just returned to Prairie Theological Seminary not long ago to attend the school’s centennial celebration. The college is located in a quiet town, where I met with many teachers and classmates from the past. We had several times gathered at the only Chinese restaurant in the town, and we all loved the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet at there restaurant. We selected what we like and enjoyed to food to the full. There were several “all you can eat” restaurants in Richmond and Vancouver in the past, but they existed no more due to many eating too much gluttonous diners.

Unlimited, “take whatever you want”, how good it is! This reminds me of a Bible verse, “from the fullness of His grace, we have all received, grace upon grace!” (John 1:16). In God’s abundant grace, we can indeed receive ultimately and continuously, and we are freely received without paying any price. It is a pity that we often ignore God’s grace, and we often don’t even realize how blessed we are, and we always take God’s grace for granted.

Thinking of the grace of God, a hymn written by Annie Johnson Flint rings in my mind: “The Lord’s Grace is More Rich” I would like to share with you:

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase; To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,

To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision
Our God ever yearns His resources to share
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing
The Father both thee and thy load shall upbear

When we have exhausted our store of endurance
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources;
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Chorus: His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.
His pow’r has no boundary known unto men.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again

Whenever I think of God’s grace, I am always moved by the fact that the grace of the Lord had poured on me since I was young, even before I was born, when the time I didn’t really know about God , or didn’t know how to count God’s grace, and didn’t know how to appreciate God’s grace. The grace of God has never been withdrawn due to my ignorance, only keeps added. As what the hymn says: “His love has no limit; His grace has no measure. His power has no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He give, and give, and give again.”

Have you ever thank God for His never cease grace keeps pouring on you? Let us always be thankful, count His blessings always, and give Him praise!

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Jeanie Au Yeung

教牧心聲

「恩典放題」

Written by Editor1

2022.11.05/06

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

近年來在飲食界流行的用語：“放題”，意即在某範圍之內可開懷暢飲或儘量的吃，即無限量的“任食”。這對一些人來說是可以極盡享受之餘，盡可大快朵頤。我上月剛回草原神學院參加學校的百週年慶典，學院座落於寧靜的小鎮，與昔日多位師長及同學共聚。我們有好幾次相約於小鎮內唯一的中國餐館，大家也喜愛吃餐館所設的任選任食的中式自助餐。以前在列治文及溫哥華也有好幾間“任食”的食肆，但因食客無限量的狂食也至終做不住。

無限量的“任取”，這是多麼好的設合心意，按自己所需領取或領受的方式啊！這令我想起一節經文，「從祂豐滿的恩典裡，我們都領受了，並且恩上加恩！」(約1:16)。我們在神的豐盛的恩典裡，實在是可以無限量的不斷領受，而且是白白的領受，絲毫不用付出代價，是從神無限無量的豐盛中源源不絕地傾流出來賜給我們的。可惜我們往往忽略神的恩典，甚至常常察覺不到，也會視神的恩典為平常。

想及神的恩典，一首詩歌縈繞於腦際：“主恩更豐富”(青聖ll #65)。願在此和大家分享。歌詞提到：

重擔越加重，主的恩典越豐厚；勞苦越加增，主的能力越大；
患難越加多，主的憐憫越豐盛；試煉越是加倍，主平安越增。

當我們疲倦，一切的力量用盡，工作未完成，已感能力不夠，
當我們能力的來源已到盡頭，那時父的洪恩正開始傾流。

副歌：主愛無限無疆，主恩無可測量，主大能遠超過世人所能想， 都從無限無量豐富的主耶穌，主施恩，又施恩，又再次施恩。

每當想起也很令我感動的是，主的恩典從我年幼開始，甚至尚未出生，尚不知曉，不懂數算，不懂思恩時，早已臨到這不配蒙恩的我，而且主的恩典從來沒有收回，只有不住加添。正如詩歌所言：“主愛無限無疆，主恩無可測量，主大能遠超過世人所能想， 都從無限無量豐富的主耶穌，主施恩，又施恩，又再次施恩。”

您可曾想過主的恩典從不間斷的加給您？讓我們常感恩、數恩、念恩及頌讚主恩！

主僕
歐陽鑽玲傳道

教牧心聲

Continuing the work of our co-worker, the late Rev. Matthew Wong

Written by Editor1

2022.10.29/30

From the Pastor’s Desk:Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Early last year (2021) our dear co-worker, Rev. Matthew Wong （王允志牧師）wrote “March to Paradise (邁向神的樂園)” when he knew his days on earth were ending. These are his last words:

Good bye to my dear wife-lover, daughters and sons in law, grandsons and granddaughters, relatives, brothers and sisters, coworkers, friends, May we meet again in paradise where we can enjoy eternal life together. Amen.🙏

I still remember at his burial, because we were still at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were only 10 people allowed, all from his family, to say good-bye. It was an occasion where everyone there were sad to bid farewell, but the sorrow was very restrained because we all knew that it was more like “See you” and that one day we will reunite with great joy in heaven. Maranatha!

Shortly before the passing of Matthew, I was blessed to have opportunities to meet with Matthew and Stella. I was so touched that there were only two things he kept emphasizing. The first being, whatever the outcome of his sickness, he wanted the name of Christ be glorified. The second was that the ministries that he was involved in in his last few years would continue. His heart was always on glorifying God and furthering His Kingdom, as he knew he was marching to paradise. God is indeed glorified through the amazing testimony of faith of Matthew. Praise the Lord!

Rev. Matthew Wong was involved with two major areas of ministries: the Mandarin ministries of RCAC, and the short-term mission to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We are so thankful that the first “wish” (prayer) he had is being fulfilled in Rev. Mark Liu, ordained on September 11. Since Mark took over the Mandarin ministries, the work has continued to grow steadily in both numbers and quality, most recently with five brothers and sisters being baptized on Thanksgiving Sunday.  Also, he is responding to the Macedonian Call from Tsawwassen and doing outreach ministries at Tsawwassen Alliance Church. Praise the Lord!

The second major ministry of Matthew was the short-term mission to Malaysia. Malaysia is a Muslim country, and it is very hard to do Christian ministries there. But Matthew and Stella had established a ministry there in actively helping the pastors there to strengthen the three young Alliance Churches. The mother Church in Puchung has recently bought by faith an adjourning building to extend their work there. Matthew further helped to do evangelistic and discipleship work at an outpost, Kuala Lipis (立卑), to build up a small church there. The church which is built in a low-lying area is flooded often and needs to be rebuilt on higher ground. The people there in all these places remember with fondness the dedicated service of Matthew and Stella. Praise the Lord!

Right now the team, Stella Wong, Katherine Yeo, Lydia Lee and me, are engaged in a short-term mission work in Malaysia (Oct 27 to Nov 4). We want to assure the people that we have not forgotten them and reassure them that RCAC will continue to support their ministry there. For Stella Wong it is especially meaningful for her to return there to see Matthew’s work continue to prosper there. Please pray for us.

Yours in Christ,
Rev. Simon Lee

教牧心聲

繼承我們的同工，已故王允志牧師，的工作

Written by Editor1

2022.10.29/30

列宣家親愛的弟兄姊妹，

我們親愛的同工王允志牧師於去年(2021)年初，知道自己在世間的日子即將結束時，寫下了《邁向天堂樂園》。這是他的遺言：

再會了，親愛的妻子-愛人、女兒女婿、孫兒孫女、各位親人、弟兄姊妹、同工、朋友，願在樂園裡再會的時候能與你ㄧ起享受永生。阿們！

我仍然記得在他的葬禮上，因為那時我們仍處於疫情大流行的高峰期，只限10人出席，絕大部份為他的家人與他的道別。那是一個令人傷感的告別場合，雖然悲傷但卻很克制，因為我們都知道這更像是與他話別，說“再見”，總有一天我們會在天上歡聚一堂。主必快來(Maranatha)！

在王牧師去世前不久，我有幸得到與他和師母見面的機會。我很感動，他只強調了兩件事。首先，無論他生病的結果如何，他都希望基督的名得到榮耀。第二是他過去幾年參與的事工將延續下去。他的心總是於在榮耀神和推展祂的國度，因為他知道自己正在邁向天堂樂園。神確實藉著王牧師令人驚奇的信心見證而得著榮耀。讚美主！

王允志牧師參與了兩方面主要的事工領域：本會的普通話事工，以及對馬來西亞吉隆坡的短期宣教。我們非常感恩，他的第一個“願望”(王牧師祈禱)在9月11日按立的劉展權牧師身上實現了。自從劉展權牧師接任國語事工以來，事工在數量和質量上都在穩步增長，最近有五個兄弟姐妹於感恩節主日受洗。此外，他響應來自Tsawwassen 的馬其頓呼聲，並在Tsawwassen 宣道會開設外展事工。讚美主！王牧師第二方面的主要事工是對馬來西亞短期宣教的負擔。馬來西亞是一個穆斯林國家，在那裡做基督教事工非常困難。但王牧師和師母在那裡建立了一個事工，積極幫助該地的牧師鞏固三個仍屬雛型的宣道會。蒲種堂母會最近憑信心購買了一座建築物，以擴展他們在那裡的工作。王牧師進一步幫助在立卑(Kuala Lipis)的一個前哨站做傳福音和門徒訓練工作，在那裡建立了一個小教會。建在低窪地區的教堂經常被洪水淹沒，需要在地勢較高的地方重建。所有這些地方的人們都懷念著王牧師和師母為神擺上的熱切事奉。讚美主！

在目前，我們的團隊:王關麗虹師母、楊劉宜家姊妹、李羅美華師母和本人，正在馬來西亞(10月27日至11月4日)進行短期宣教工作。我們想向人們保證，我們沒有忘記他們，並向他們保證列治文華人宣道會將繼續支持他們在那裡的事工。對王師母而言，回到那裡看到王牧師的工作繼續在那裡蓬勃地發展，對她來說尤有意義。請為我們祈禱。

在基督裡與你同行的，

主僕
李耀全牧師

教牧心聲

The Funeral (by Michel Quist)

Written by Editor1

2022.10.22/23
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Raphael Chow

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

People were following:

The family-some crying, Some pretending to cry;

Friends-some grieving, Some bored or chatting.

Leaving the cemetery, some of the family were sobbing: “All is finished.”

Others were sniffling: “Come, come, my dear, courage, it’s finished!”

Some friends murmured: “Poor man, that’s how we’ll all finish.”

And others sighed in relief: “Well, it’s over.”

And I was thinking that everything was just beginning.

Yes, he had finished the last rehearsal, but the eternal show was

just beginning.

The years of training were over, but the eternal work was about

to commence.

He had just been born to life,

The real life,

Life that’s going to last,

Life eternal.

As if there were dead people!

There are no dead people, Lord.

There are only the living, on earth and beyond.

Death is real, Lord,

But it’s nothing but a moment,

A second, a step,

The step from provisional to permanent,

From temporal to eternal.

So in the death of the child the adolescent is born,

from the caterpillar emerges the butterfly,

from the grain the full-blown ear.

Death, grotesque character, bogey-man of little children, nonexistent

phantom,

I don’t take you seriously,

But I am disgusted with you.

You terrify the world,

You frighten and deceive men,

And yet your only reason for existing is life, and you are not

able to take from us those that we love.

“13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him… 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4.13-17)

Dear Lord, I want to love you more.

Your servant in Christ,
PastorRaphael Chow

教牧心聲

葬禮(摘自Michel Quist 所著的Funeral)

Written by Editor1

2022.10.22/23

 親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

 人們跟隨着：

有的家人在哭泣，有的好像在流淚；

有的朋友在哀傷，有的在沉悶或交談。

離開墓地，一些家人抽泣：“都結束了!”

有的朋友喃喃自語：“人是可憐的!我們有一天都會如此!”

其他人鬆了一口氣：“都完結了!”

而我則想：“一切正在開始!”

是的，他完成了最後的排練，而永恆的表演正要啟動了。

他剛進入生命，

真正的生命，

直到永遠的生命，

是永生!

好像真的是有死人似的!

主啊，沒有死人，只有在這世界或離了這世界的活人。

主啊，死亡是真實的，卻只是一瞬間，

只一秒，只一步，

從臨時進入永久，從暫時進入永恆。

因此，透過死亡，

嬰兒轉化為青年，

毛蟲轉化為彩蝶，

種秄轉化為穀粒。

 死亡，怪異的特性，幼童的驚嚇，不存的鬼魅，我輕視你，更厭惡你。

你使世界恐懼，你恐嚇又欺騙世人，

你能夠存在的唯一原因是生命，

你卻不能奪去在主裡我們所親愛的。

“13弟兄們，論到睡了的人，我們不願意你們不知道，免得你們憂傷，像那些沒有盼望的人一樣。14我們若信耶穌死了，又復活了，照樣，也應該相信那些靠著耶穌已經睡了的人，神必定把他們和耶穌一同帶來… 17然後，我們還活著存留的人，必和他們一同被提到雲裡，在空中與主相會。這樣，我們就要和主常常同在。18所以，你們應該用這些話彼此勸慰。”(帖前4:13-18)

 親愛主，我願意更愛你！

主僕
周力行牧師

教牧心聲

Yes, I do: A Special Thanksgiving

Written by Editor1

2022.10.15/16

From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Thanksgiving was especially meaningful this year for me and I would like to share my joy with you all.

From the Church’s perspective, we had a thanksgiving theme plus a celebration of baptisms for a total of 19 new brothers and sisters (giving us a total of 29 in 2022). I had the joy and privilege of participating in all the baptisms in all the four Chinese services, to witness the tears of joy, the sparkling eyes of hope, and the smile of faith and assurance of the different candidates. When each person was asked by the different pastors whether he or she believes in his or her heart that Jesus Christ is his or her saviour, there was always a firm and joyful affirmative response: I do. Then when asked whether he or she will follow Christ closely based on the Word of God, again each answered in a clear loud voice: I do. One sister commented to me afterwards that her “I do” was spoken with even more conviction than when she did her wedding vow. She was also overwhelmed by the flood of gifts and well wishes that she received afterwards from family and friends, in her mind more filled with excitement than her own wedding.

There were many moving moments, to mention just a few here. In the Mandarin service, a mother and daughter who came to seek the truth not too long ago, both were joyfully baptized in the service. A sister in the Saturday Cantonese service who had delayed being baptized for years was baptized as witnessed by her husband and daughter, as well as many brothers and sisters who had encouraged her throughout the years. In AYAYA, there were so many touching testimonies, for example a husband was baptized in the presence of his wife and daughter after the family was restored in their relationships. Another sister whom Pastor Francis ran into at a superstore a few years ago also received baptism. In the Sunday Cantonese service, a fully pregnant mother wanted to be baptized with her husband because they wanted their child to born into a Christian home and they want to be good Christian parents. Another lady wanted to be baptized because she had realized her former faith was faulty, and she wants to be a true Christian. I can go on and on, but you can read them in the next issue of UNITY.

At the Sunday Cantonese service, Pastor Collins preached an evangelistic sermon based on the story of the healing of the 10 lepers: Ten were healed, only one was saved. The Spirit prompted me on Sunday at the end of the baptisms to make a calling for anyone to accept Christ after witnessing the baptisms. We were totally surprised when a person in the congregation immediately raised his hand and stood up to accept Christ, to the roaring claps of the whole congregation. Yes, the Spirit of the Lord was present and at work! Thanks be to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!

For me personally, after experiencing the challenges of COVID and of the ministries in the last year, this service was a fitting conclusion to my ministries at RCAC, witnessing totally about 200 people baptized in the last decade, becoming children of God and part of the family of God. This is a testimony to the faithfulness of the God whom we serve and to His work in our midst. To God be the glory!

Your servant in Christ
Pastor Simon

教牧心聲