Walking with the Gospel

 

Walking with the Gospel — Gracias Choir

Every year, through numerous performances, the Gracias Choir brings joy to those who come to their concerts. Especially during their annual Christmas Cantata tour at the end of each year, they offer the audience a heart-warming, touching, and joyful Christmas gift.

A New Type of Performance

In 2024, the Gracias Choir began something new. They prepared a type of performance they had never done before — something different from their previous concerts.

Until then, the choir had always performed in large cities, renting major concert halls. Naturally, audiences had to buy rather expensive tickets to attend. Yet even so, people eagerly came to see them. This was because the choir brought the audience immense gratitude and joy, making them more than willing to pay for a ticket. That’s how deeply people loved the Gracias Choir.

But in the new year, the choir began performing not in big cities but in small and medium-sized towns. For dozens of choir members, renting venues and performing in smaller cities was no easy task. What’s even more remarkable is that they did not charge admission — all the performances were free.

I traveled together with the choir, preaching to the audience about Jesus, who was crucified for our sins — the One who freely delivered us from sin and made us righteous. Accompanying the Gracias Choir to these small cities to share the Gospel while they performed was truly astonishing.

Joyful People, Blessed Through the Choir

Traveling from city to city with so many members involves huge expenses. I honestly don’t know how all that was provided. In each province, the choir would move from one city to the next, often performing until late at night. During the concerts, I had the opportunity to preach the Gospel to the audience.

After each performance, all the members would get on the bus, sleep while traveling, and head straight to the next city. And then, in the next city, they would once again deliver another breathtaking performance.

Every time I stepped onto the stage and saw the hall packed with people, my heart pounded with excitement. I preached to them about God’s love — about how Jesus was crucified and forgave all our sins, revealing the width, length, height, and depth of God’s love to us. I saw the joy on the audience’s faces as they listened to the message, received the Gospel in their hearts, and went home filled with happiness.

I don’t know how they managed such large expenses, or who prepared the meals, since they cooked for themselves to save money instead of eating out. All these unseen efforts came together to support the preaching of the Gospel — the message that Jesus freely forgave our sins.

Many people in these smaller cities had the rare chance to experience world-class music. They left the concert hall with excitement and bright smiles. Seeing them so happy filled my heart with deep gratitude.

Compared to the love of Jesus, who died for us, these things may seem small. But watching the Gracias Choir members become “little Jesuses,” dedicating themselves to spreading the Gospel through their performances, made me truly thankful. Having such a choir — one that leads people to receive the forgiveness of sins and overflow with joy — is such a blessing.

与福音同行的格拉西阿斯合唱团

 

格拉西阿斯合唱团每年通过多次演出，给来到演出现场的人们带去喜乐。特别是每年年末他们访问各个城市，进行圣诞节康塔塔巡回演出时，为前来欣赏的观众献上了令他们感动、喜乐、温馨、幸福的圣诞礼物。

 

开始新型演出的合唱团

到了2024年，格拉西阿斯合唱团开始做起了新的事情。他们准备进行与以往演出性质不同的从未做过的新型演出。一直以来，合唱团都是在大城市租赁大型演出场所进行演出的。当然，观众们也要购买价值不菲的门票来观看演出。可即使这样，也阻止不了人们前来欣赏。因为合唱团为观众们呈上了极大的感谢和喜乐，使观众们可以毫不吝惜地花钱买票来看。格拉西阿斯合唱团就是这样被人们所喜爱。

在新的一年里，格拉西阿斯开始在中小城市举办演出，而不是在大城市。几十名合唱团员在中小城市租赁演出场所演出，这并非易事。难以致信的是，他们不收门票，免费进行演出。我跟着合唱团一起同行，为来到演出现场的人们传讲为了我们的罪被钉十字架的耶稣，传讲白白地把我们从罪中拯救出来，使我们成义的耶稣的爱。就这样，我与格拉西阿斯合唱团同行，在多个中小城市演出、传讲福音，真是太惊奇了。

 

听福音后喜乐的人们，因合唱团而感到幸福

众多团员到各个城市去演出，开销非常大。我不知道这些钱是怎么准备的。合唱团在各省，从一个城市到另一个城市，经常演出到深夜。演出中，我会有向观众们传讲福音的机会。演出结束后，合唱团全体成员坐上大巴，在车里睡觉，同时向下一个演出城市出发。接着在下一个城市，他们再次呈现一场激动人心的演出。

走上舞台，看到座无虚席的观众时，我的心总是激动得砰砰直跳。我向他们传讲着神的爱，传讲着耶稣通过被钉十字架，赦免我们所有的罪，从而向我们显明神长阔高深的爱。我看到很多观众喜乐地听着话语，看到他们将福音栽种在心里，带着幸福的心回家。

我不知道这么大的开销是怎么准备的，还有为了省钱，他们不能去饭店吃饭，而是做饭吃，这些饭又是谁准备的。正是这些支援汇集在一起，使我们能够传讲耶稣白白地赦免我们罪的福音。很多城市的市民听到了在小城市不可能听到的高规格的音乐，带着兴奋的心情离开了剧场。看到他们开开心心地离开的样子，我也感到特别感谢。

与为了我们死去的耶稣的爱相比，这些显得微不足道，但看到格拉西阿斯合唱团团员们成了小耶稣，为了福音演出的样子，我心里是那么的感谢。有这样的合唱团，能让来看节目的观众罪得赦免，沉浸在喜乐中，我感到那么的幸福。