പ്രിസേ ദി ലോര്ഡ

If you are wondering what that title says, it is “Praise the Lord” in Malayalam, the language in Kerala. It is the standard greeting of every Christian you meet. And yes, they say it in English most of the time. They even answer the phone with “Praise the Lord”…

And in India they know how to praise the Lord! Church services at IEM are held in the auditorium in Malayalam and in English at the Bible College. Everyone removes their shoes before entering and all the women wear a scarf over their head. The men sit on one side and the women on the other. The children from the home sit in the first few rows and “honored guests” sit right in front of everyone. And you always know who the pastor is because he is wearing a white shirt and black pants. :o)

Every service begins with singing, followed by reading of Scripture, testimonies, prayer requests/praise reports, followed by communion with a common cup. Then 2 to 3 pastors preach. The service is usually around 3 hours long but goes by quickly! I am amazed how still the children sit through it all (but they do often fall asleep in their chairs)!

The first Sunday Reji introduced us to the congregation and said how young I was and that I was a good helpmeet to my husband. Some of the Bible College students sang a hymn in English. Then several of the Sunday School children shared memory verses aloud. I loved how the girls would help the littler ones who had trouble with their verse. Chris preached on John 8:31-38 while Pastor George translated. GV followed with a sermon on the ministry of intercession. While GV preached it started raining so hard that it sounded like a freight train was running through the building! Even with a mic, you couldn’t hear a word he said! But he kept on preaching like nothing was going on… :o)

  

The second Sunday we worshipped with the Bible College students at their English service. They opened with Psalm 100 and “Praise the Lord/ Alleluia --- God is Good/ All the time” call and response. Rose read Psalm 95:1-7 and opened in prayer. The girls led us in singing 7 songs with guitar. Then Rose led a prayer of confession where everyone prayed out loud at the same time. The girls sang a song. We had a responsive reading of Psalm 95 followed by an explanation of the reading. We had communion, then another prayer and song.

GV preached about God’s call for us to serve Him. Rick, Chris and I sang Jesus Paid It All and then Chris preached on John 7:37-39 and God’s gift of Living Water.

Our last Sunday was a large joint service with several of the neighboring IEM churches joining us for the service and lunch afterwards. We got to take a peek at the kids’ Sunday School classes. It was the only time we ever saw mixed groups of boys and girls together. It is hard to believe they sit through 90 minutes of Sunday School followed by 3 hours of worship service!

    Before the service started, GV baptized several new believers. What a privilege to be a part of welcoming new members to the body of Christ!

meeting with those receiving baptism

 

The worship service opened with special music by the Bible College students. Then there was prayer and song, responsive reading of Psalm 100. Talking about communion and baptism. Dr Rick, Chris and I all gave our testimony of our time in India and John Matthew (the new principal of IEM) and his wife sang a song. Both John Matthew and GV preached.

George is such a great translator (and preacher)!

   

One of the pastor’s granddaughters visited everyone during church :o)

Worshipping the Lord was the perfect way on end our trip to India! Praise the Lord!!!