Chinese for Christ Church of San Jose
English Worship Service
Worship Service: 10:00 –11:10 am followed by snacks in the Fellowship Hall.
Call To Worship* – Alison Law
Praise & Worship*- Praise Team and Congregation
Welcome & Announcements – Kenny Chan
Sermon “Genuine Happiness” Philippians 4:4-13 (page 982) – Elder Raymond
Song(s) of Response* – Praise Team
Doxology (Words of Praise)*- Congregation
Prayer & Benediction (Lord’s Blessing)* – Kenny Chan
*Please stand, if physically able. Also, please set your cell phones to “silent.”
Please exit through the ‘front’ of the sanctuary at the end of service. Thank you.
We are glad you are here this morning to worship God together with us! We hope that through this service you would experience God’s blessings to you — and know His love for you through Jesus Christ and the presence of His Spirit!
If this is your first time here, please fill out one the pink cards in the pew and pass onto any of our ushers if you would like us to contact you with more information about our church.
Sermon Notes
Announcements
- Hiring Minister Lianhai Fu: Our church will be bringing in Minister Lianhai Fu. His role will be serving on the Chinese Ministry through teaching and caring. His start date will be on Tuesday (8/16). For more information, please contact Elder Raymond (ray_hung@yahoo.com).
- Combined Sunday School: Jasmin Tsai will be sharing about her summer short term mission trip to Mexico today from 11:40am-12:40pm in the Fellowship Hall.
- Friday Night Fellowship (8/12): Our summer fellowship for adults (college/working) will meet this Friday (8/19) from 8-10pm. Location is TBD. For more information, please contact Joshua Chang.
- Church Wide Clean-Up (8/20): We will be having our annual church wide clean-up this Saturday (8/20) from 9am-12pm. For more information, please contact Shou Po (shoupo.shih@gmail.com).
- Saltshakers (8/20): We will officially welcoming our 6th graders this Saturday (8/20) from 7-9pm in the Fellowship Hall. For more information, please contact Daniel Chen (dantchen83@gmail.com).
- Inheritance: This month’s issue is now available! The topic is “Image Dei”. Inheritance is a monthly magazine that focuses on how Christian faith interacts with Asian and American cultures. (Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in Inheritance do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of CFCCSJ.)
Prayer Requests & Praises
- Praise God for the yard sale event yesterday. It was a wonderful opportunity to serve and reach out together for the gospel.
- Praise God for the hiring of Minister Fu and his heart to serve our church. Pray for him (and his family) as they transition to our church community.
- Pray for our students who will be starting a brand new school year starting this week. Pray that they will be sensitive to what God will be teaching them this school year.
What is a “Sabbatical”?
The principle behind the sabbatical comes from Genesis 2:2-3 and Exodus 20:8. As Christians we are all commanded to “sabbath” (rest) weekly. God has created us to work and then to rest. The rest commanded is not just physical rest or to busy ourselves with other projects or distract ourselves with entertainment but a deep rest where worship of God is the source of our rest. Our rest is mean to refuel us to work. Our rest is also meant to remind us that we are not God (i.e. in complete control) but that God is God!
For CFCCSJ, we have an extended sabbatical policy (3 months) for our full-time pastors. This sabbatical is not the same as a vacation. The purpose behind the sabbatical is for pastors to be refreshed, refocused and renewed. This extended time allows the pastors to take classes, have extended time to read, spend time with their families, visit other churches, etc. As author Thom Rainer writes, “A pastor has emotional highs and lows unlike most other vocations. In the course of a day, a pastor can deal with death, deep spiritual issues, great encouragement, petty criticisms, tragedies, illnesses, and celebrations of birth. The emotional roller coaster is draining. Your pastor needs a break – many times a break with no distractions…Most pastors don’t have an “off” switch. They go to sleep with the knowledge they could be awakened by a phone callat anytime of the day. Vacations are rarely uninterrupted. It can be an exhausting vocation, and a sabbatical can be a welcome time to slow down.
New City Catechism (from www.newcitycatechism.com/intro.php)
We hope that this will be a tool for us to use in disciplining our children, one another and ourselves as a church community. The New City Catechism is also available online & for your smart phones.
Question 44: What is baptism?
Answer: Baptism is the washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; it signifies and seals our adoption into Christ, our cleansing from sin, and our commitment to belong to the Lord and to his church.
Passage(s): Matthew 28:19