Day 2 of Evangelical Campaign
UR Huye stadium, Sunday 17, 2024 — A congregation of students making up the CEP association together with the Senior pastor of ADEPR Church, Isaie NDAYIZEYE, guest choir “La source choir Gisenyi” and several other distinguished guests filled the campus stadium this morning for a special Sunday service, a time when believers gather together to reflect on the good news of the gospel through worship, prayers and a sermon.
Introduction of the theme
This day marks the second day of the 9 days Evangelical campaign; an evangelism concert hosted by the CEP Christians to spread the good news of the gospel. The theme of this campaign is about “ Urubyaro rw’ Imana umucyo w’ isi” —God’s children; the light of the world, derived from the scriptures in Ephesians 5: 8 (For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light). This theme has two core sub themes with one being Christians adoption to being sons and daughters of God through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross in Calvary, where through his blood, he paid a ransom for the sins of the world. As a result, whoever believes in him, will no longer bear the penalty of their sins-death, but have eternal life. The other subtheme is about the responsibility of those who have been adopted —to live like the children of the light and be the light of the world, all of which is achieved by surrendering to the leadership of the holy spirit, whom they are given after salvation, and bearing the fruits of the holy spirit.
Key Moments of the Service
The service opened with a praise and worship session led by El Elyon Worship. With a rendition of Siloam’s song “ Mwami wange Yesu” a beautiful song of salvation, El Elyon together and the congregation sang about the day of salvation being the best day of any Christian’s life for it is the day when Christ lit their hearts making them come to a realization that they are sinners leading to repenting and then forgiveness and surrendering all to Jesus and thus becoming a new creature.
After a few remarks by the modulator of the service, the CEP president Aimable Rukundo, the assembly of believers sang Yesu avukira i Bethelehemu, the 164 song in the kinyarwanda hymns of “ Gushimisha Imana n’ agakiza”. This beautiful song conveys the message of the cross, God’s mercy, grace and love, calling all sinners to repent and be accepted into this joy.
Next up was Choir Performances by the four CEP choirs,
The first to take the stage was Alliance Choir, performing a song that celebrated the wonders of God's deeds. They were followed by Vumilia Choir, who, drawing from the story of Nathanael in John 1:43-51, conveyed the message of God's omnipresence.
The final two choirs to perform were Enihakore and Elayo. Enihakore's performance focused on God's mercy, emphasizing His desire that none should perish, demonstrated by His gift of Christ, who died for our sins. Elayo, on the other hand, highlighted the uniqueness of Jesus, stressing that He does not require any intermediary to perform His works. They referenced the biblical story from John 5:5-9, where Jesus healed a man who had been ill for 38 years at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem.
Special Performance by La Source Choir Gisenyi
In their first Song: Nagiriwe Ubuntu By La Source Choir
"I received the grace of Jesus, He carried all my burdens, cleared all my sins, He transformed me into a child of God, Hallelujah my Heart sings the Unconditional compassions from Jesus Chris, Being in his nature, Jesus made himself nothing by taking the nature of a servant…”
This Beautiful song entails the message of the cross. God himself took on the form of a lowly servant and became human to save all those who believe from death brought by sin. “ Philippians 2:6-8”. He endured all the sufferings and humiliation just so that he can bring us closer to God restoring our lost relationship with our creator. The knowledge and belief in this is thus what makes every Christians' heart sing the Lord’s unconditional love.
In their second song, the choir sang nothing but the gospel, calling all Christians to go in all nations proclaiming only the true Gospel of Christ's sacrifice and him alone being the source of salvation and righteousness and not any other false preaching.
In their last song, inspired by the scriptures in Revelation 5:1-5 “ Mbona Malaika Ukomeye”, La Source Choir conveyed the gospel message that Jesus, through His victory over sin and death, is the only one worthy to reveal God’s divine plan. The song celebrates Christ’s authority and triumph, declaring that He is the one who brings salvation and justice, fulfilling God’s redemptive purpose for humanity. Through this powerful message, the choir reminded the congregation of the salvation, hope, and glory found in Christ alone.
Sermon delivered by Senior Pastor
According to the scriptures, Matthew 4:15-17: "The people that sat in darkness saw a great light, and to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, to them did light spring up", the birth of Jesus Christ in the world is referred to as the light that is shone to the world which is believed to be covered in darkness (sin). Furthermore, in the book of John 8:12, Jesus affirms this by saying "I am the light of the world. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in". The preacher referring to these scriptures has inferred how Christians who are born again are made light by the one who saved them (Christ) because he is the one true light.
Before the coming of Christ, people lived in darkness meaning they lived lives full of sins and unrighteousness. Their actions were unholy and they were separated from God, their creator, for their nature defied him. Neither the laws nor the works they commanded could save people from sins. And because all had sinned, everyone deserved to die. (Romans 5: 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned). On the other hand, the good news that Christians proclaim is that because God’s love is immense and never ending, through his son Christ God reconciled himself to mankind and adopted believers to be his children. (John 3: 16). Jesus Christ's one time sacrifice is more than enough to save every sinner that believes.
In his closing remarks, the preacher reflected on what Jesus does for sinners who repent and believe. Through faith in Christ, sinners are saved, reconciled with God, and adopted as His children. They are then called to be the light and salt of the earth, part of a holy nation and a royal priesthood, blessed to share those blessings with others.
- Adoption to being God’s Children (John 1: 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—)
- The Salt and the Light of the world. The eyes that have seen the light find it impossible to return to the darkness. And also, a light, no matter how small it is, always defeats the darkness. Having been made new by Christ we stand to condemn darkness and to bring light to others. John 8: 12 "I am the light of the world. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in". Matthew 5: 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven
- A holy nation and a royal priesthood. 1 Peter 2:9: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light"
- Blessed to bless others. We have been saved from darkness free of any price and thus we are expected to carry on the message of the cross to others for them also to be blessed. Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. 2 Corinthians 9:11: "You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way
Reflections
- You can not be the light unless you accept the source to pour into you. We are in no position to change the world unless we accept the savior. Today accept Jesus as your personal LORD and SAVIOR.
- Let our words and deeds bear the light we have received. Let our lives shine light to others, so that they may also believe.
1 Timothy 2: “3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed at the proper time.
Senior pastor, NDAYIZEYE Isaie
