Sunday Bulletin

Welcome

A warm welcome to everyone worshipping with us!
We pray you know God’s grace and peace today.

Speaker: Pastor Thiu Elias
Topic: Holiness: Prepare the way for the Lord
Scripture: Mark 1:1-8

Announcements

• Sunday school will have a bake sale today after service in the Lower Hall to raise money for the Edinburgh Food Bank. Please come to support (bring cash to buy cakes!) and raise money for this charity especially during this time of struggle for many. For parents/carers of Sunday school children, please bring your baked goods for this sale on Dec 3rd to the Lower Hall before service starts. Please label with any possible allergens in your baked goods. Thank you! 

• There will be a Christmas Carol Service in English and Chinese on Monday, 25 December at 1:30pm followed by a potluck meal, so please bring along food to share and let our coworkers know in advance the kind of food you are planning to bring. Also, we need a number of helpers to serve in the kitchen on that day, please let us know if you are interested.

• The annual All Nations Service will be held today at 6pm at Greenside Parish Church, Royal Terrace, EH7 5AB. Welcome to join and worship the Lord with believers of different nationalities from all over the world.

• Gift Aid is an arrangement that allows charities (including churches) to reclaim tax on a donation made by a UK taxpayer. This means every £1 donation will be worth 25p more, at no extra cost to the giver. If you are a UK taxpayer and have not completed a Gift Aid form, please download and complete the form here (one-off donation / multiple donations) and return it to a church staff as soon as possible.

Last Week’s Church Attendance

Joint Communion Service:  146
Sunday School: 22
Cantonese Bible Study*: 8
Cantonese Fellowship*: —
Youth Fellowship + Adult Group: 55
Mandarin Fellowship: 21
Mandarin Adult Group: —

* online

For church ministry

• Pray for the unity of the church that the Lord would grant us hearts to love one another, “Fellowship together in Christ”. May deeper connections be established among us, allowing our spiritual lives to be strengthened and to flourish.

• Pray for the need of church meeting space and the need to increase the number of staff. Since most fellowship group gatherings have returned to normal, together with the number of new immigrants and international students participating in gatherings has steadily increased, the church requires more space for activities. The pastoral team is also looking for a suitable office location for work and meetings. Pray that the Lord will provide to meet the needs of His church.

• Please pray for Pastor Thiu and his family, his study in New College and his ministry with CECE.

For individual needs

• During this period of Advent and Christmas, may all of us prepare with anticipation and joy to welcome the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and at the same time prepare for His return.

• Pray that the Lord will protect us all through the winter, and that the Lord will sustain our physical and mental health.

• There will be examinations in universities and high schools in December. May every student have the peace, strength and wisdom from the Lord to cope with the examinations.

For the world 

• Continue to pray for the war between Israel and Hamas. There has been a temporary ceasefire between the two sides over the past week, but there are rumours of terrorist attacks and air strikes on both sides during the ceasefire. On the other hand, the Russian-Ukrainian War has been ongoing for nearly two years, and the situation remains deadlocked. We ask the Lord of peace to lead those in power everywhere to abandon their desire for power and their aggressiveness, to seek peace for the true well-being of their people and the people of the world, and to put an end to all the casualties and sorrows caused by any use of force or war.

• Continue to pray for extreme climate conditions around the world. The UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has just released its Report on the State of the World’s Climate 2023 and declared 2023 to be the hottest year on record. The report states that greenhouse gas levels are at record highs, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are already 50% higher than in pre-industrial times, and sea level rise is at record highs and accelerating. The UN Cop28 now is being held in Dubai, UAE (30/11-12/12), and we hope that the Lord will lead the conference, so that leaders and those in power can urgently reach consensus and take effective action to protect humanity from climate disasters.

1st Sunday (05/11-11/11)

Chinese Service: £962.53
English Service: £350.00
Pastor Fund: £0.00

2nd Sunday (12/11-18/11)

Chinese Service: £1025.72
English Service: £0.00
Pastor Fund: £0.00

3rd Sunday (19/11-25/11)

Chinese Service: £317.47
English Service: £0.00
Pastor Fund: £500.00

4th Sunday (26/11-02/12)

Chinese Service: £1046.92
English Service: £390.00
Pastor Fund: £700.00

Total General Fund in November: £4092.64
Total Pastor Fund in November: £740.00

Includes monthly direct debit offering