Happy Sunday! I hope you are having a beautiful day.
It is rather chilly and cloudy here in "our neck of the woods". Doesn't feel like a spring day in Florida at all...but maybe more like spring feels a bit further north. However we know it will warm up soon and we will be wishing for these chilly days again when it is in the hot humid days of summer, so I shall not complain!
"Once Upon a Tree"
by
Pepper Choplin
We were unable to record it due to technical issues, so here is another choir singing this same song. I hope you will click on this and listen along, as it is so beautiful, and is a wonderful song in preparation for the Easter season:
(Woodlands UMC, 2015)
Here are the lyrics:
"Once upon a tree, a good man died,
And though He did no crime, He was crucified.
If the story ended there, I would have no song to share,
But my heart will ever sing the story.
Once upon a tree, so the story goes,
And all its mystery surely no one knows.
Could the Father's will be done through the suffering on His Son?
And there comes the answer, "Once upon a tree."
For God so loved the world, He gave His priceless pearl.
What greater love could there be?
He died, He rose again, still the story doesn't end,
For His spirit is living in me.
What tale of human love could there ever be told?
What song could compare with the one I hold?
Through everything I am and through everything I'll be,
Let me sing my story:
"Once upon a tree."
Once upon a tree."
I hope you enjoyed this as much as we enjoyed singing it. Of course our little choir isn't quite that large, and we don't have an orchestra to accompany us, but we sang it with all our hearts and prayed that the message reached the hearts of those who were listening.
Here is a link to our online service for today. There is another song at the beginning, "Chariot's Comin'", which we actually sang several weeks ago, but because of the technical difficulties in recording the other song, this one was substituted for the online service today. The Pastor's message that follows is from James 5:13-20, which is a timely and wonderful message. I hope you will listen in.
Hard to believe next Sunday will be Palm Sunday and the beginning of "Holy Week". Our little church is looking forward to Easter Sunday in particular, as we will be moving back into our Sanctuary for our service after all these months of meeting in the Fellowship Hall due to social distancing issues. We will still maintain social distancing as much as possible and wearing of masks, but we have missed being in our beautiful sanctuary and are so looking forward to worshiping the Lord in that special place that has been dedicated to God for a place of worship and praise.
Here is a picture from two years ago when we had our Easter cantata:
Of course last year it was about this time that we had to stop having worship services completely for several months, so we were unable to meet for Easter at all. Therefore, Easter will definitely be a time of celebration for all of us to be together again to worship our Risen Lord.
I hope that you will be able to attend the church of your choice for Easter this year, but if not, we will have our service online for those who can't come. Our choir will be singing the Easter Cantata
"Our God Reigns".
I will share it here for you on Easter Sunday.
Well, I guess that's all I have to share today.
Psalm 122
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is built
As a city that is compact together,
4 Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat service. Your church reminds me of the one my grandparents went to when they moved to the Florida panhandle many years ago.
Thank you, Sandi. I love a small church with loving people who love the Lord, and that is what we have here. I imagine your grandparents felt the same way.
DeleteThat's a nice song. Y'all have a lovely Church. And I like the choir robes, very pretty.
ReplyDeleteI've been asked to sing with the choir on Easter day. The choir leader asked us to sing, "He Grew The Tree". (YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaigLHdH_pE&feature=youtu.be) I used to have a pretty fair voice, even sang at Disney World back in High School, but I haven't sung in public for donkey's years, not since I lost my range after neck surgery. I do miss singing so much. Please pray that my voice will not offend the Lord or the congregation. And may all be to His glory. Thanks. :)
Hope your Sunday was blessed. xx
Oh Pamela I am sure that your voice could NEVER offend the Lord or the congregation. When we sing for the glory of the Lord our voices are a sweet smelling fragrance to the Lord, and our praises rise all the way to heaven. That could never offend the Lord. Sing for His praise and glory with all your heart. I wish I could be there to hear you and sing along. That is such a beautiful song. I am happy for you to be able to sing!! Praise God!!
DeleteI don't remember hearing that song before and I enjoyed it and the message very much, Pam! Thank you for sharing it! I am so glad you will be worshipping back in your beautiful sanctuary next week! We are looking forward to Easter, too. How blessed are we Christians!! Praise God. xo
ReplyDeleteIt was a new song to me too, when we started practicing it in the choir. I really love it and was so glad I could find a video of another choir singing it so beautifully to share with you. Yes, we are excited about Easter Sunday and being together in God's house again. I know your Easter will be different this year, but when you think about Joe celebrating Easter in heaven with Jesus, that takes on a whole new meaning, doesn't it? I will be praying for you especially. Hope you have a good week.
DeleteHow lovely! Thank you for taking us along to church with you today. I had hoped to go today, but Tim had stuff we needed to do. He said he will go with me next week. Your church is so pretty. I like the old churches and the warm, comfortable feeling they have.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Stacy! thank you for coming along!!Yes, we love our little old church, because it is still filled with so much life and love. I am thankful this little church didn't die out like some older ones do. Our people love the Lord and they love each other, and that is what really makes this church lovely!
DeleteThat is great that you get to move back into your church. Our church has 2 services but will have 3 on Easter Sunday. They do temperature checks and require that all wear a mask. We plan to go for Easter. We have had our vaccines and the 2 week period end right before Easter. I remember singing in our church choir in my teens. We sang Were You There When the Crucified my Lord. I went to a Methodist church. I have so many fond memories of Easter Sundays. Our church is also starting a Wed. day gathering for ages 65+. Makes me laugh because we were in our late 30's when our church started and all leaders and teachers. Have a great week Pam and thanks for helping me to remember my past!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is great that your church will have 3 services on Easter Sunday. I am sure many people are anxious to come back to church. Oh yes, I love that old song, "Were You There"...I can remember singing that since I was a child. It always made me "tremble, tremble, tremble..." Ha Ha, your church is starting a gathering for ages 65+....that is practically all our church is, 65+, except for our kids and a few others in their 50's maybe. We need more young people, but this past year hasn't been a good year to try to bring in new families. Hopefully by getting back into our Sanctuary and getting Sunday School started back up again we will be able to attract more young families. I hope you have a great week too. God bless you and yours.
DeleteSuch inspiration here today, Pamela! I'm so glad you all are meeting in person, and that Easter will be a true celebration for everyone involved. We are hoping to get back in person to our church in mid April.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Oh, I know you will be SO happy to get back to your church for in person worship! It certainly has been a long year. I hope you are having a wonderful visit with your mother...I know you have all waited such a long time for that also. Be blessed my friend.
DeleteI cannot believe that Easter is right around the corner. My how quickly time seems to fly. Girl, it is rather chilly here in Florida today. The weather is crazy isn't it? Looking forward to SPRING weather for sure as I am hoping it brings a breath of freshness to our souls. I too am like Susan....I so remember us singing; Were you there when they Crucified my Lord. Gives me the Holy bumps now just singing it to myself. Have a great week Pam. Hugs and blessings, Cindy
ReplyDeleteYes, Easter is coming rapidly upon us, and I am so happy that we will be back in our sanctuary for that celebration. We have so much to be thankful for...as do you, I know, after your experience that you just had. And yes, "Were you there..." brings back so many memories for me from my childhood too. That one and "Up from the grave He arose!" I love that one. I hope you will have a great week too. So happy to have you back. You were missed.
DeleteHmmm, not sure what's going on, but it looks like my comment (last night) never made it through cyberspace. (Sorry!) I'm trying to recall just what I said.
ReplyDeleteTho' I've never heard that hymn before, I found it so comforting. Like immersing my feet in a warm flowy river. Heretofore, I've been attending church services on-line, but it doesn't feel the same. As you've shown at the bottom of the cross, Faith over fear!
I don't always see the comments until morning or later, depending upon how busy I am. They won't show up here until I release them. I don't like having to do that, but I was starting to get some spam comments too often and had to do something. Yes, that song was so beautiful. It was new to me also. I love listening to it over and over. I hope you will be able to attend church soon, maybe Easter? It is a time to celebrate our faith over fear for sure...Blessings dear friend.
DeleteThank you for sharing the beautiful hymn and the service. Such a blessing to be returning to your sanctuary.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post. THank you for sharing your message and music. What better season than to appreciate the Words of our Lord and what he means to us! I havent had a chance to lsiten to your service but I look forward tp it laterr on this evening. It appears that my comments capabiity is working a bit now. So far, so good. I have been going to a fabulous Bible study on Spiritual Warfare by Derek Prince. What a timely study as we discern the times in which we live. I am lcinging to eery opportunity I have to fill up on the Word of God and especially during this seasosn of His Passion. May you continue the mighty work of grace and compassion, as well as excouragement and beauty. All of which our world needs so desparately!
ReplyDelete