City Harvesters celebrate Christmas with a touching drama and a message of God’s goodness.
Contributed By The City News Team
CN PHOTOS: Liu Yuan Tai, Michael Chan and Tu Jie Rui.
Justin is a bright, shiny new dancing toy that has just joined the gang of toys in little David’s bedroom. He’s a great dancer, singer and all-round entertainer, and thinks he is too good to be doing menial chores around the place. David’s other toys—his old bear Bobo, the Milkmaid that came free with a carton of milk, the Barbie doll (the queen of the room, by virtue of the fact she is the one who has a cool dollhouse with a pool), Trezzo the toy soldier, Giselle the ballerina—are initially welcoming of this new toy, but soon his arrogance causes him to face off with Barbie. When the opportunity comes for him to “escape” to a seemingly idyllic paradise of another child’s toyroom, Justin takes it—to terrible consequences.
Home For Christmas is this year’s Christmas drama—a time-honored City Harvest tradition. On the surface, a charming and beautifully directed children’s story, it explores the human condition and how our pride causes us to hide truths and present a false front; it reveals the human need to be accepted for who we are.
The drama, filled with hilarious moments, great singing and dancing, warmed the hearts of the congregation, which had started filling up the Suntec Singapore auditorium at 7 p.m on Friday, Dec. 23. This first service buzzed with anticipation as thousands arrived with their friends and family, expecting a touch from God as the message of Christmas was preached by CHC’s senior pastor, Kong Hee.
Kong, accompanied by his able Mandarin translator, Lulu Fu, shared a simple but deeply touching message about what receiving Jesus into one’s heart and life does for the pre-believer. Illustrating with true-life stories of Christians, Kong shared that God does three things in a believer’s life: He refreshes our bodies; He restores our soul and He remakes our life.
Kong shared amazing life stories of people who came to Christ: a medium set free from evil spirits when he accepted Christ—today he is a theology school graduate and is attaining his university degree. There was a young man who, having been grossly neglected and starved of love in his childhood, turned to a homosexual lifestyle. After accepting Christ he attended Bible school and fell in love with a girl—today he is a happily married father of two.
Though short and simple, Kong’s message hit home for many. None of us are perfect when we come to Christ—like Justin the doll, we are flawed, and sometimes, we may feel like a fake. But Jesus Christ knows us and accepts us as we are.
When Kong invited pre-believers and backsliders to receive Jesus, the atmosphere was filled with love and joy. As hundreds thronged to the front and said the Sinner’s Prayer, there was great celebration—both in heaven and in City Harvest Church.
There are four more services this weekend: 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24, and 10 a.m. on Sunday. Don’t miss a great Christmas service—a wonderful remembrance of why God gave the world the gift of His only son two millennia ago.
