Praise & Worship Bandung

Praise and Worship (P&W) GKDI Bandung on Sunday, February 17, 2019, was held successfully. The event, attended by around 150 teenagers, carried the theme Nirbana Nitya. In Sanskrit, nirbana means perfect happiness, while nitya means eternal or unbroken. So, Nirbana Nitya can be understood as perfect and everlasting happiness.

According to Dandu, the chair of the P&W committee, through that theme they wanted to invite young people to understand the meaning of true love. Moreover, February is identified with the month of love. “The symbol of love that is popular today is a heart-shaped icon, whereas true love is shaped like a cross,” he said.

The event began at 12:00 WIB with a video presentation. The strains of gamelan music and narration in Javanese drew the congregation into an illustration of a shadow-puppet-like world, complete with a dim cloth backdrop. The story was about a rich man who never lacked anything, yet his heart felt empty, so he decided to wander in search of true happiness.

At the end of the video, the Worship Leader (WL) and the Singers went up on stage to invite the congregation to praise and worship God. Six songs were sung together solemnly and with deep feeling.

After that, Rev. Andreas delivered a short sermon titled LOVE. He invited the congregation to compare the meaning of “love” in the common view with the Bible's version.

Love in the common view is associated with romance, feeling, belonging to one another, sacrifice, heartbreak, and sexual connotations. Meanwhile, true love according to the Bible, as described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, is patient, kind, puts others first, does not seek its own advantage or hold grudges, and delights in the truth.

Love speaks about identity. 1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Therefore, love is God's identity. In both the Old and New Testaments, we can find much evidence of God's love for humanity. Starting from God's promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:5), to His willingness to give His only Son so that humanity would not perish (John 3:16).

“Is love your middle name?” That was the question posed to the congregation as material for reflection. Rev. Andreas invited the young people to build love as a character, not merely a reputation. Love should be built as a conviction, not just a feeling, namely the conviction to help one another grow, as written in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

After the sermon, the participants watched an inspirational video depicting the love of God the Father, who was willing to sacrifice Jesus to save humanity. All the participants were then invited to pray together in groups of 3-4 people.

P&W closed with two spirited songs accompanied by drum music. The participants seemed to enjoy it and remained energetic until the end of the whole series of events, namely fellowship.

May this P&W help young people to have true love, so that they may bring a positive impact to the city of Bandung. See you again at the next P&W. The Lord Jesus bless you!

* Church GKDI currently exists in 35 cities. We have Bible Study activities in every area; if you need information or would like to get involved, contact us at contact Church GKDI Official: WhatsApp 0821 2285 8686 or Facebook / Instagram GKDI Official

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