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.
