Sunday Service on March 22, 2026

Church News

1. We warmly welcome brothers and sisters to worship our eternal Lord, who was, is, and always will be. We also extend a special welcome to new friends and visiting brothers and sisters from afar, and we hope you will become a part of our spiritual family. After the service, please join us in the fellowship hall for tea and to connect with one another.

2. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching

3. The third annual conference of the New Zealand Chinese Methodist Church was successfully held last weekend. Let us join together in prayer for the pastors and ministries of the annual conference. The appointments for the pastors of each congregation are as follows:

4. Hong En Church: Superintendent Chen Li Liang, Assistant: Pastor Wang Li Li

5. Song En Church: Pastor Gong Zi Yang, Assistant: Pastor Lin Gao Xian

6. Rong En Church: Pastor Chen Qing Ming

7. Xuan En Church: To be determined

8. Mei En Church: Pastor Shen Jun Ting, Assistant: Pastor Chen Yong Rong

9. Hui En Church, Lower Hutt Mission: Pastor Wu Zhi Wen, Assistant: Pastor Li Hao Xuan

10. Jia En Church: Pastor Fang Ling Ai

    Huai En Church, North City Mission: Pastor He Ming Dao

    Pei En Church: Pastor Deng Gui Ting

    New Plymouth Methodist Mission: Rev. Huang Wanli

    Queenstown Mission Station: To be determined

    Prayer for the Church:

    Let us pray for the church:

    We ask God to grant the power of the Holy Spirit, so that Grace Church in Tauranga may continue to be a spiritual family, leading more people to know Christ and experience the renewal of life and the joy of the gospel.

    We pray for the church to have a clear vision and unity in its mission of "making disciples, caring, and evangelism," that all members may work together in harmony to faithfully fulfill the ministry entrusted by God.

    We seek God's guidance in all church ministries (such as Sunday services, care groups, youth fellowship, and children's Sunday school), that they may bear spiritual fruit, love and support one another, and reflect the love of Christ.

    We pray for the spiritual lives, health, and families of the church leaders and workers, asking God to grant them wisdom and strength, so that they may be renewed and strengthened in their service.

    Prayer for the Believers:

We ask God to help each believer continue to grow in their relationship with Him, to long for prayer and the study of the Bible, and to establish an intimate relationship with the Lord.

Pray for believers to have a humble and teachable heart on the path of discipleship, relying on the Lord's strength to grow in faith and live a life of abundance.

• Pray that believers will care for one another in love and unity within the community, supporting each other in life and collectively experiencing God's grace.

• Pray for the faith growth of youth and children, that they may come to know God from a young age, rooting His Word in their hearts to guide them throughout their lives.

• Pray for the New Zealand Chinese Methodist Church Annual Conference:

• Ask the Lord to lead and watch over the ministry of Bishop Chen Liliang of the New Zealand Chinese Methodist Church.

Pray for all pastors and their families within the Methodist Church:

• May God strengthen the spiritual lives and ministries of the pastors: pray that the Lord grants them daily time alone with God, so their spirits may continually be filled with the Holy Spirit, possessing heavenly wisdom to guide the church in accordance with God's will.

• Pray for the safety and peace of pastors and their families: earnestly ask God to personally protect the pastors and their families, granting them physical, mental, and spiritual health. May they experience the Lord's presence and comfort in the face of spiritual battles and pressures, and be kept away from all temptations and trials, finding victory in the Lord.

• Pray for the relationship between pastors and co-workers in ministry: may God anoint the messages and ministries of the pastors, allowing their service to reflect the truth and love of Christ. Pray for unity among pastors, co-workers, and the congregation as they serve together, flourishing the gospel.

• Eva and her land / Ronili. Ultimately, life is what matters, not material possessions.

My first job in the United States was as a teacher at a university in Montana. The area was vast and sparsely populated, and the people were kind.

1. In the small town where the university was located, we were the only Chinese family, which allowed us to form many friendships with American locals.

2. Due to the extreme cold, I moved to teach in the central United States after three years.

• Two years later, an elderly friend flew out specifically to visit us; another family, a doctor’s family, missed us and wanted to buy plane tickets for our two children. So, we made a special trip back to see them.

• A few years later, many of those friends had aged, some even found it difficult to move around, and they were not familiar with video calls on phones or computers. Thus, our whole family made a second trip back to revisit those familiar places.

• Some friends had either moved away or passed on. Among the departed was a colleague from my time at the university named Ava. She was from Poland and was a talented artist, and she was about the same age as I am.

Little did I know, she passed away a few years ago.

When I first started working at that university, Ava was always very eager

to help me, inviting my husband and me to her home, and she would openly

share some personal stories. One time, she drove my husband and me

out to the countryside, and after a twenty-minute drive through the vast mountain pastures, we stopped at a spot where she gestured broadly, saying that this entire area was her land. That expanse was about forty to fifty acres, beautifully set against the rolling hills. I stood there in awe, never imagining that a university professor could also be a landowner. She was quite proud, even a bit smug. She said to me, "You could buy a piece of land here too; it's not expensive now, but it will go up in price later."

At that time, my husband had just arrived in the United States from China, and he was amazed by this scene. In China, land is owned by the state, cannot be freely bought or sold, and is quite expensive. He exclaimed to Ava, "Wow! You are a big landowner." Hearing this, her eyes sparkled with joy. When I learned that she was no longer with us, I felt a deep sadness. The land has indeed increased in value, but the "landowner" is gone. I was reminded of a verse from the Bible: "Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever." (Ecclesiastes 1:4) Perhaps her children inherited that land, or maybe it was sold to someone else; but one day, the land will still be there, and the ownership will change. Ultimately, in life, material possessions are not what matter; it is life itself that holds significance. "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" (Matthew 16:26) A pastor once stayed with a Christian while preaching in another city, and that Christian took him to see his piece of land. The pastor stood there and said, "I do not have a square inch of land on earth," and then pointed to the sky, saying, "But I have land there, in heaven." Indeed! Having land on earth is not a bad thing, but what is important is whether we have a place in heaven. The land in heaven cannot be bought with money; it can only be received from the Lord Jesus through faith and repentance. When I knew Ava, she was not a Christian. I hope that in the years since we parted, she has come to know the Lord Jesus.

This article is sent by Guozheng Network and authorized for publication by the Hong Kong Chinese Christian Mission. Readers are welcome to share this testimony with your brothers and sisters in Christ or with friends and family who have not yet believed, to share God's love and grace together.