by Pastor Cecil | Dec 11, 2020 | Luke
Luke 2:2-10
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’”
Several years ago our church had finished a wonderful Christmas Eve service. Earlier there had been candles placed inside white lunch bags that lined the driveway leading to the church.
Joyce and I had volunteered to extinguish the candles after everyone had left. It had snowed a few days earlier and there were still a few inches on the ground. The temperature was below freezing when we crunched through the snow to the far end of the driveway. It was so quiet and beautiful that we were moved in our spirit with the beauty of God’s creation and the carol Silent Night.
The words of this well loved carol were written in 1818 by Josef Mohr after he had seen a play about the birth of Jesus. He was in a reflective mood and walked to a hill overlooking his village in the Austrian Alps. The view of the snow covered village reminded him of a poem he had written a few years earlier. The poem was about the night the angel announced the birth of Jesus.
The next day he took the words of his poem to Franz Gruber, who had just composed a melody. He re-worked the melody to match the words to the poem Mohr written. Our beloved carol, “Silent Night was born.
“SILENT NIGHT”
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Savior is born
Christ, the Savior is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video, “Silent Night” from Gloryscapes.com by going to: https://gloryscapes.com/silentnight/
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 20, 2020 | Luke
Luke 2:15
“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’”
The beloved Carol “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was originally written in Latin (Adeste Fideles). The words were written by an Englishman, John Wade who had originally intended it as a hymn.
The music to “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was composed by fellow Englishman John Reading in the early 1700s. In 1841, Rev. Frederick Oakley revised the lyrics of “Adeste Fideles”.
While it would be an appropriate hymn at any time of the year, it has become a cherished Christmas Carol. Let us all come and adore, Christ the Lord.
“O Come, All Ye Faithful”
O Come All Ye Faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
O Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God’s holy word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” from Gloryscapes.com by going to: https://gloryscapes.com/ocomeallyefaithful/
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 17, 2020 | Luke
Luke 10:3
“Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.”
Is it just human nature to want to stay in our warm and snug comfort zone, or is it the method Satan uses to keep us from doing God’s will and working in His harvest fields?
Regardless of how we answer that question, the fact is that God wants us to move out of our comfort zone. Inside our zone of comfort we focus most, if not all, of our energy on ourselves and neglect the needs of those around us. The harvest fields that Jesus speaks about in this passage refer to the lost and dying all around us.
You know, there are different types of harvest fields. When wheat or barley is harvested, all of the grain is gathered at one time. In a field of strawberries, however, only those berries that are ripe are picked. It requires many subsequent trips to complete the strawberry harvest.
It is the same way with the souls of men and women. Some may be gathered all at once in a mass crusade, while others must be picked one at a time. As we move out to the harvest field we must stop and consider when the crop is ready. It is not our comfort zone that is important, but the harvest’s ripeness. Are you ready?
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 30, 2020 | Luke
Luke 15:20
“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”
In the parable of the Prodigal Son the wayward son returned to the home of his father. He did not expect to be received as a son, but was in hopes that he could be employed as a servant.
We know the story of how the father was lovingly anticipating the return of his son. He loved the wayward youth and eagerly met him with love and extravagance. It was not because the boy deserved it, but because he needed. The father was eager to give it to this son who had returned.
Clara Fiske Scott lived from 1841 to 1897 and tragically died after being thrown from a buggy being pulled by a runaway horse. She was a prolific hymn writer, but only this week’s featured hymn is still in circulation. Think of her hymn as it relates to a wayward son who has come home.
Open My Eyes
Open my eyes, that I may see, glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key, that shall unclasp and set me free.
Refrain: Silently now I wait for Thee, ready my God, Thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine.
Open my ears, that I may hear, voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
And while the wave notes fall on my ear, everything false will disappear.
Refrain: Silently now I wait for Thee, ready my God, Thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine.
Open my mouth, and let me bear, gladly the warm truth everywhere;
Open my heart and let me prepare, love with Thy children thus to share.
Refrain: Silently now I wait for Thee, ready my God, Thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine.
May the words of this hymn become our constant prayer. In the moments when the cares of this world tend to blind us to the mighty power of God unto salvation may our eyes see the open arms of the Savior waiting to receive us home.
To access; Open My Eyes, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes, please go to: https://gloryscapes.com/openmyeyes/
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 16, 2020 | Luke
Luke 24:29
“But they constrained Him, saying, ‘Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.’ And He went in to tarry with them.”
If you knew that you were very near the end of your life, what would you write? The author of this week’s hymn, Henry F. Lyle, was preaching his final sermon to the small congregation he had served for over 20 years. He was so weak that he had to be helped to the pulpit.
He encouraged his parishioners to rely on the Savior who loved them enough to die for them. His prayer, reflected in this hymn, is a prayer that each of us can breathe when we approach the valley of death.
ABIDE WITH ME
- Abide with me—fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens—Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!
- Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
- I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
- Hold Thou Thy word before my closing eyes,
Shine thru the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video from Gloryscapes.com. To access Abide With Me, please go to: https://gloryscapes.com/abidewithme/
Blessings dear hearts! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions! – –
– – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 12, 2020 | Luke
Luke 17:3-4
“Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
If you are like me, there are times when a song pops into your head and it seems that you go over and over it. In the past day or so I have had that experience. The song is one that Bing Crosby sang many years ago — Easy to Remember, But So Hard to Forget referred to a sweetheart that was gone but not forgotten.
As I have thought about the words, I have been reminded how difficult it is for some people to forgive. The easy part is remembering the offense against us — forgetting the offense is the hard part.
Across the years I have been called upon to counsel many people dealing with the issue of forgiveness. They may say they have forgiven the offender, but at the same time their actions reveal that their thought life continually dwells on the way they were treated by the other party.
I have come to realize that the only reasonable way of dealing with our inability to forget the offenses of others is to focus on our own. Imagine a situation where another person is guilty of 85 percent and we are guilty of 15 percent. We must remember our own transgressions and ask the Lord to show us how to forget our hurt.
May God richly bless you as you by your words and actions!
– – Pastor Cecil
