Emerge youths celebrated Christmas early at last weekend’s XmasTravaganza, with lots of food, games and a powerful message from Pastor Kong Hee.
‘Tis the season to be jolly indeed—there were none more jolly than the youths of City Harvest Church at their last Emerge service of the year, XmasTravaganza.
The Emerge service takes place every two months, and this final Emerge meeting of the year served as a great platform for the youths to gather, bond and celebrate the most important festival of the year. It was also an excellent opportunity for them to bring their friends to church for an afternoon of games, worship and experiencing Jesus.
On 11 Dec, Halls 603 and 604 on Level 6 of Suntec Convention Centre were transformed into a magical Christmas carnival. Before the doors opened at 3 pm, snaking queues had already formed outside the hall, the foyer filled with excited chatter.
Entering the hall, the youths were mesmerised by the work of the carnival committee—the tremendous effort and hard work put into the carnival paid off handsomely. Appreciative “oohs” and “ahhs” could be heard as attendees made their way to their seats, their eyes lit up with elation and anticipation.
As the sounds of festive Christmas music filled the church, the CHC youths and their friends entered the hall. On each seat was a Christmas hat and a bingo card to be used at the carnival after service. Soon, the entire hall was filled with a sea of Santa hats, amplifying the Christmas vibe.
“The atmosphere was definitely welcoming to newcomers,” said student Jodie Teo, 15. “Our members actively communicated with them and got to know them better.”
SAYING “YES” TO JESUS
After a powerful worship segment, senior pastor of CHC, Kong Hee, took to the stage to share a short sermon titled “Saying Yes To Jesus”.
Pastor Kong started his sermon by relating the story of the rich man and the beggar named Lazarus in Luke 16. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. Outside his gates sat a beggar covered in sores who was always hungry. When they died, the rich man was sent to Hades while Lazarus went to Abraham’s side in heaven. The rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger into water to cool his tongue because he was suffering in the agony of fire. Abraham then replied that the rich man in his human life had enjoyed good things while Lazarus lived a hard life.
The rich man then begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his family to warn them to repent. However, Abraham replied that his family had Moses and the prophets to listen to, and that they would not be convinced even if Lazarus goes to them.
Pastor Kong said, “The Bible speaks a lot about heaven and hell. As a preacher of the gospel, the great condition given to me was to show people the way to heaven and this is the reason why we have services and meetings like this.”
Going back to the story, Pastor Kong remarked that going to hell was a terrible thing and urged the audience to think about how the rich man ended up there for eternity.
The rich man was not sent to hell because he was rich. “If a man is rich and gives God what belongs to God and gives the family what belongs to the family, then riches would be a blessing,” the pastor preached.
Dressing in fine linen was also not the reason. “There is nothing wrong to have healthy self-esteem and looking sharp in life,” Pastor Kong noted. Neither was his lavish lifestyle, eating the finest food—wealth, opulence and luxury did not result in hell.
“Now, if none of these things are wrong, what then is the terrible sin of that sent the rich man to hell?” Pastor Kong posed this question to the youths. He highlighted that the rich man rejected God in life and in hell. When Abraham declined his request to warn his brothers, the rich man in hell called out to “Father Abraham” and not God or Jesus.
“The rich man rejected his only salvation by saying no to God and Jesus,” Pastor Kong revealed. “There is no other name under heaven by heaven that we can all be saved through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!”
In the Book of Job, the Bible notes that God gives every person on earth a few chances in their lifetime to hear the gospel of salvation.
He gave an illustration of a young man who came to church one Sunday afternoon and was touched and moved by the Holy Spirit. However, as his girlfriend did not want to accept Jesus, he did not respond to the Lord either. Later in the young man’s life, God gave him a second chance. The young man had dreamed about coming before the throne of God, shaking in fear. He felt so condemned that he was unworthy. However, gently and lovingly, the Holy Spirit whispered to him that Jesus loves him and urged him to say yes to Jesus.
However, when the man woke up drenched in tears, he convinced himself that it was just a horrible dream and rejected God a second time.
After many years have passed, that man is now married with many kids and grandchildren. One day, as he was walking along Orchard Road, he met an old friend and started reminiscing with his friend about the old days. His friend had since accepted Jesus Christ as his Saviour and even though he had committed many sins in the past, God had wiped away all of his sins and set him free. Seeing the change, there was an intense battle raging in the man’s mind.
However, for the third time, he said no to Jesus.
“This was the sin that caused this man to be lost forever,” Pastor Kong pointed out.
He went on to share a story about a professor residing in Germany after the Second World War. He gave a speech in a seminar with the title “God is dead”. He then used all kinds of philosophies to prove it and people who were impressed by his intellect believed him. At the end of the seminar at the question-and-answer segment, an old lady stood up with her hands lifted. She shared how she had lost her husband after the First World War and in her devastation, she thought she would lose her mind until she had a vision of Jesus. She found peace and overcame her grief. She then boldly challenged the professor to share what his unbelief has done for him. The professor reportedly refused to answer her.
“Many can debate and explain their case very well, but they can still be as miserable as can be. But now that you are here this afternoon, put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and your life is going to turn around. Your sins can be forgiven!” Pastor Kong urged.
With that, the pastor gave the altar call. Many were touched and moved to the front of the stage. As Pastor Kong prayed together with them, they had tears in their eyes, touched by the love of God.
A REAL EXTRAVAGANZA OF A CARNIVAL
As it is often heard in CHC, “Service is ofter but fellowship has just begun!”, the fun started right after the altar call.
The youths played an icebreaker game where the winners walked away with a Uniqlo bag and Suntec vouchers worth $20. Following that, the church announced the winners of the Best Dressed Cell Group Award. It was heartening to see many youths dressed up enthusiastically in the theme of “Carnival/Glitz/Bling”. Two cell groups—W657 from the pastoral zone led by Pastor Wu Yuzhuang and W567 from Pastor Lee Yi Lun’s zone—both won the best-dressed award and received a food hamper as their prize.
Finally, it was time to play! Every youth had a XmasTravaganza Bingo card and they had to complete as many consecutive carnival games and challenges found on the bingo card as possible. Up for grabs were a Nintendo Switch and an Apple iPad.
Everyone flew into action, turning the church hall into a hub of excitement. Student Li’ora Goh, 14, commented, “The atmosphere was upbeat but tense in the sense where everyone was wondering how to get more stamps to win!”
“The games were incredibly exciting, and the food options were so good as well! Despite the crowds, the queues were fast-moving and we got our food very quickly,” said 19-year-old Ngo Shuhui, a university student.
Guo Ziling, 16, who visited CHC for the first time that day said, “The atmosphere was one full of joy and fun, and the activities were well-planned. The prizes offered were also very enticing—it was a joyous experience all around.”
Besides the game stalls, the entire hall was also lined up with mouth-watering snack stalls. The smell of popcorn and candy permeated the hall. The carnival committee had gone the extra mile to provide many gastronomic delights, including slushies, bubble tea and all-time favourites such as hotdogs and ice cream.
Throughout the carnival, youths from different cell groups were invited on stage to perform Christmas songs to spread some Christmas cheer. “I had a great time with my cell group and friends during the carnival!” said Jeri Goh, 21, a student. “The atmosphere was really inviting and thrilling—the place was bustling with many people queuing up for the games and food stalls. My favourite part of the carnival was being with my friends, enjoying the ice cream and popcorn, and listening to the carols being sung live. That really brought on the warm Christmas spirit!”
As the carnival drew to a close, many youths were seen at the redemption counter, exchanging their stamped cards for colossal soft toys, Airpods Pro, acoustic guitars and other prizes. The Emerge youths and their friends certainly ended off the year with a bang!
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JOEY KUAN
