Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)
FUZHOU CITY, China – The Churches in China celebrated Bible Day 2021 by putting music to Scriptures, singing psalms and hymns. Taking inspiration from the Bible verse in Colossians 3:16, the event which consisted of presentations of hymns and songs in various local dialects, Bible exhibition and other Scripture related activities, was co-organized by China Christian Council/TSPM and Fujian Provincial Christian Council/TSPM, and held at Fujian Theological Seminary in Fuzhou City on 12 December 2021.
At the opening of the Bible Day, Rev. Yue Qinghua, Chairman of Fujian TSPM and President of Fujian Theological Seminary said that Bible Day is an important initiative to arouse the attention of all believers to Bible ministry, to encourage them to read and recite the Bible and rightly dissecting the truth, and to resist heresies and cults. He further noted that since the early 1900s, the Bible had been translated into several Fujian dialects, and the translations were published, distributed, and read by locals.
Preaching at the Bible Day Sunday Service, Rev. Shan Weixiang, Vice President of China Christian Council, said that Christianity is a religion of songs and singing. Believers express their worship of God through hymns and sacred songs, thereby engraving the Word of God on their hearts and renewing their minds. Referencing Psalms 119:172 and Colossians 3:16, he encouraged believers to hand copy, read and sing God’s word on the one hand; on the other hand, more importantly, to apply it in their lives, to be the salt and light of the world, to honor God and be a blessing to others.
He highlighted that activities on Bible Day in 2019 (Hangzhou) and 2020 (Guangzhou), were based on the themes “Reading the Scriptures from the Chinese Perspective” and “Hand Copying the Scriptures” respectively. This year in Fuzhou City, the theme is “Singing the Scriptures in Chinese Melody”.
Besides live performances, a number of churches, seminaries and individual believers across China responded enthusiastically to the call and video recorded presentations of Scriptures sung in Chinese melody and local folk style which were screened at the Bible Day event. Praise God for the magnificent symphony of voices and songs using the Scriptures in celebration of God’s Word!
Christians in China are known for their love of God’s Word and United Bible Societies is thankful to be able to support the Churches in China in the printing and distribution of Bibles since 1985. To date, more than 88 million copies of Bibles have been printed and distributed for the believers in China including the ethnic minorities Christians. Let’s pray for the Churches in China that they will be more and more deeply rooted in God’s Word.
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Translated and adapted from this Chinese news article.
