April 30 /May 1, 2022
From the Pastor’s Desk Rev. Simon Lee
Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,
What a joy to witness on Easter Sunday this year 10 persons were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! This follows 19 persons baptized last October on Thanksgiving Sunday. I am totally amazed by the work of God Himself amidst the COVID pandemic, that after almost two years of the Church being locked down, altogether there are still 29 new members through baptism. Yes, it is all the grace of God!
At the baptism, each baptismal candidate is asked two questions. First, do you know you are a sinner, and you accept Christ as your Saviour who washes away all your sins? The second question is will you from now on follow Christ as your Lord, obey His teaching and grow in your faith daily? It is so exciting each time to hear each candidate answers very affirmatively “I will!” The whole congregation all reacts with joy to witness that, just like the angels in heaven!
But all of us as Christians struggle in our faith after we put our faith in Christ. It is part of the growing process when we face all sorts of trials in our daily lives. At such time it is important to remember that Christ is not only our Saviour, but also our Sanctifier. Christ will help us grow as Christians so as to conform to His image. Peter teaches us: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (I Peters 1:14-16, quoting Lev.19:2) So for the next two months, we are going to look at the theme of “Christ Our Sanctifier.” We will do this by studying the Book of James.
The Book of James is most probably written by James, the brother of Jesus. James, together with Peter and John, were the pillars of the church (Gal. 2:9). He was the recognized leader of the Jerusalem church as we can see in his speech at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15).
The purpose of the letter of James is to encourage the early believers to grow in Christian maturity and holiness of life. James teaches young Christians how to achieve spiritual maturity through “a confident stand, compassionate service, careful speech, contrite submission, and concerned sharing.” (BKC) It deals with every aspect of our Christian walk. James emphasizes “practical holiness,” how faith and conduct must come together when we walk with Christ, in all situations of life. The series is as follows:
Christ our Sanctifier 1: The testing of your faith (1:1-18)
Christ our Sanctifier 2: Hearing and doing the Word (1:19-27)
Christ our Sanctifier 3: The danger of prejudice (2:1-13)
Christ our Sanctifier 4: Faith without work is dead (2:14-26)
Christ our Sanctifier 5: The taming of the tongue (3:1-18)
Christ our Sanctifier 6: The challenge of worldliness (4:1-12)
Christ our Sanctifier 7: The challenge of the wealthy (4:13-5:12)
Christ our Sanctifier 8: The prayer of Faith (5:13-20)
Brothers and sisters, please read ahead and wait for a word from Christ our Sanctifier. Shalom!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Simon