Welcome to the September 2025 Prayer Vigil!
IBC had the privilege of hearing a sermon given by Pastor Arthur Lai on Sunday, 24 August 2025, entitled “Being One in Christ”. Arthur pointed out that being “one” in Christ as the Lord prayed in John 17: 20 – 23 is the desire in God’s heart for all who follow Christ to become one just as Jesus and the Father are one. It is an essential quality of being a Christian and important for God’s redemption plan for the world because “…the world will know that you (God the Father) sent me (Jesus) and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (Jn. 17: 23) In our unity and oneness as Christians the world will know that Jesus is from God and will come to know God’s love (John 3: 16).
This oneness that Arthur talked about is a remarkable oneness which is not what the world normally sees. It is not just tolerating or accepting each other or being nice to each other. It is being part of God’s family wherever you may be, serving God together in God’s kingdom, following Jesus together and loving each other as Christ loves us (Jn. 13: 34 – 35). This oneness is there even if we have nothing else in common – our language, ethnicity, social background, you name it. This oneness is there even when there is tension and conflict or disagreement among us. The question at the end of the sermon was “How do we live this out?” The key to unity and oneness is humility. Without humility there will be no unity.
Humility is essential for oneness but we often struggle with pride which seems to be ingrained in us. Pride is a dangerous sin because Satan often uses it to cause dissension and division in the church even though Christians are called to join together as the body of Christ like the cells in our body, all working together for the health and good of the body, with Christ as the head (1 Cor. 12: 12 – 14, 25 - 27). Our fight to overcome pride and achieve humility cannot be won by worldly means such as training ourselves in emotional management. It is a spiritual battle and we can only achieve it by submitting to the Holy Spirit who can enable Christians to live this unity and oneness because we have all been baptized into the same Spirit who dwells in those who belong to Jesus –
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own...” (1 Cor. 6: 19)
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” (1 Cor. 12: 13)
“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” (Rom. 8: 5 – 9)
In our walk with Christ we have to allow the Spirit to teach us (Jn. 14: 26), guide us (Jn. 16: 13) and take charge of our lives, and not to quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5: 19)
Let us pray –
Holy Father, Almighty God, I thank you for the Holy Spirit which you have given to me and others who follow Jesus because by his indwelling and power we are able to overcome the sins in us and live lives that are pleasing to you. Even now your Spirit intercedes for me in my weakness (Rom. 8: 26) and helps me in my prayers. I pray that I will allow your Spirit to work and control all areas of my life so that I will bear much fruit and bring you glory. I pray this will be true for others in the body of IBC so that we will truly be united as one in Christ just as Jesus prayed in John 17, so that the world will know that Jesus is your Son who love them and died for their sins and that “there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4: 12).
Continue in prayer for –
- The Lord’s continual care, protection and guidance for our church that we may work together as one in the Body of Christ at IBC.
-
The
Pastor Search Team to be guided by the Spirit to make more connections in their
search; for the church to be united in prayer for
the Lord to reveal the one
who will shepherd IBC in the future.
-
The
deacons, ministry leaders and teams, the church staff, Life Group leaders and
Small Community Group hosts, that the Spirit will
work through them to help the
whole Body of IBC to grow together in Christ.
- The missionaries among us and our mission partners who are listed in the church Mission Budget.
- More volunteers to join the Christian Kun Sun Association to visit prisoners with the gospel.
-
The
inmates of the Ling Oi Drug Rehab Centre, the street sleepers in Shamshuipo and
Happy Valley, the elderly in Wah Fu Estate and
Silver Mine Bay, that they may
experience God’s love and receive salvation through Jesus.
- The Father to provide wisdom, energy and joy for those who minister to our children, youths and young adults.
- The Lord to provide a Children’s Ministry Coordinator and a Youth Worker for IBC.
- The young people who are studying or working abroad; for their protection and strengthening of their faith.
-
Those
we know who need physical, emotional or spiritual healing and care: Herald Lau
(recovery after hospitalization); Dave Kwok’s
colleague Demi (recovery after
stroke); Michelle Niem (treatment for cancer); Tony Mo (recovery after stroke);
Mike Ainslie
(Alzheimer’s); Brian and Yun Xiang’s baby Hudson; Alice Tsui
(prolonged bad eczema); Alice's brother
in law, Edward (receiving stem
cell treatment for rare illness); Thomas Lam
(eyesight); Iris’ two sisters, Winnie and Teresa, and Jackson’s sister-in-law
Alice (God’s
grace in their fight with cancer); Stephanie’s father (eyesight
and hearing); Frank’s brother Jan
(glaucoma); for God’s grace, care and
strength for Beatrice, Y.M. Chen,
Kaushic’s mother and Alex’s father.
- The Lord’s strength, wisdom and peace for caregivers for the elderly or those with health or special needs.
-
Non-believing
friends and loved ones to be drawn to Jesus – Frank’s brother Jan; Kenneth’s
mother and siblings; Terry’s son Joseph;
Michelle Niem’s family members;
Angela’s sister and brother-in-law; Pansy’s husband; Stephanie’s parents and
sister; Frederick’s
mother; Ivy’s son and family; Maria Tanielu’s mother and
family in Samoa; Charles’ brother William in Canada.
These prayers we pray in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
[This prayer guide was prepared by Charles Ip]