Praise the Lord
for the good gifts that He gives to us with so much generosity and grace. Praise
the Lord for the wonderful Good News of His salvation, redemption, and freedom.
He blessed us with a beautiful weekend. Our church participated in Annual Apple
Festival that is held in Endicott. New York Apples are some of the best in the
world. The Lord blessed us with a Joyful Lord's Day, a day of worship and
celebration.
One Christian
theologian said, "I go to church on Sunday, not for the sermon, not for the
music, but to witness to the fact that Jesus is Risen. Indeed we join His saints
and servants around the corner and around the globe every Sunday because Jesus
is Risen from the grave. Our Savior reigns.
I spoke to our grand
daughter Ada this past Saturday for over 7 minutes. She is only 20 months old.
It was a treat. Alice baked Peach pie and Blueberry pie for dessert for Sunday
dinner yesterday. It was indeed a great day of celebration.
Sunita is flying to
Romania today for two weeks with her work. Once again, I had a great Birthday
celebration last week. I praise the Lord for so many of you who sent me Birthday
wishes from around the corner and around the globe. I am so
blessed.
I praise the Lord
for Allan Crab. Allan conducted Handel's Messiah with the Downtown Singers for
the last 28 years. I attended the performances almost every year, missing only
one or two performances. Alan died two weeks ago.
I woke up early this
morning, at 3:00 AM, and started listening to Handel's Messiah. I get blessed
and refreshed. We are just three months away from Christmas Eve, 2012. Praise
the Lord for artists and musicians who proclaime Jesus Christ as Lord.
C. S. Lewis’
Chronicles of Narnia — The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe features four
children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Lucy, the youngest of the children,
stumbles through a wardrobe into a frozen world of Narnia, a place where it is
always winter and never Christmas. The other children at first disbelieve her,
but eventually they follow her through the wardrobe and into Narnia. The
creatures there gasp as they see them and treat them as though they are very
special. At first they are surprised, thinking there has to be some kind of
mistake. Then they are not sure they want this kind of responsibility, in spite
of how flattering it is. But then they meet Aslan — a lion who is the
Christ-figure in the story. He eventually calls them by new names,: King Peter
the Magnificent, King Edmund the Just, Queen Lucy the Valiant, Queen Susan the
Gentle. They are also given gifts to help them accomplish their calling. They
begin their wonderful journey of fulfilling their calling – a calling that was
planned for them before the world began - and as they do, Narnia’s winter begins
to break. The snow melts and summer’s warmth begins.
In the midst of chaos an confusion around the world, the Church of Jesus Christ declares and proclaims the Jesus who has ushered in His Kingdom on earth. The gates of hell cannot prevail against it. The snow is melting and summer is near. It is summer always somewhere on this wonderful world.
In his book "What Good Is God", Phillip Yancey tells of a group of American high school students who went on a mission trip to Afghanistan. They had great success and saw many people come to Christ as a result of their ministry. Dr. J. Christy Wilson (I had met Dr. Wilson in Boston in May, 1982) was their host while they were there. Wilson, born of missionary parents, took them to an unusual tourist site, the only cemetery in Afghanistan where ‘infidels’ could be buried. He walked to the first, ancient gravestone, pitted with age. ‘This man worked here thirty years and translated the Bible into the Afghan language,’ he said. ‘Not a single convert. And in this grave next to him lies the man who replaced him, along with his children who died here. He toiled for twenty-five years, and baptized the first Afghan Christian.’ As they strolled among the gravestones, he recounted the stories of early missionaries and their fates.
At the end of the row he stopped, turned, and looked the teenagers straight in the eye. ‘For thirty years, one man moved rocks. That’s all he did, move rocks. Then came his replacement, who did nothing but dig furrows. There came another who planted seeds, and another who watered. And now you kids — you kids — are bringing in the harvest.’
The group leader said, ‘It was one of the great moments of my life. I watched their faces as it suddenly dawned on these exuberant American teenagers that the amazing spiritual awakening they had witnessed was but the last step in a long line of faithful service stretching back over many decades. I’ll never forget that scene.’”
Perhaps at times we feel like all we do is move rocks — but we do it for Jesus, and we do it faithfully. Some day someone will come along and build on what we have done – and there will be a harvest. The Bible says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
The Bible also says, “Therefore, my brothers (and sisters), be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:10-11
In the midst of chaos an confusion around the world, the Church of Jesus Christ declares and proclaims the Jesus who has ushered in His Kingdom on earth. The gates of hell cannot prevail against it. The snow is melting and summer is near. It is summer always somewhere on this wonderful world.
In his book "What Good Is God", Phillip Yancey tells of a group of American high school students who went on a mission trip to Afghanistan. They had great success and saw many people come to Christ as a result of their ministry. Dr. J. Christy Wilson (I had met Dr. Wilson in Boston in May, 1982) was their host while they were there. Wilson, born of missionary parents, took them to an unusual tourist site, the only cemetery in Afghanistan where ‘infidels’ could be buried. He walked to the first, ancient gravestone, pitted with age. ‘This man worked here thirty years and translated the Bible into the Afghan language,’ he said. ‘Not a single convert. And in this grave next to him lies the man who replaced him, along with his children who died here. He toiled for twenty-five years, and baptized the first Afghan Christian.’ As they strolled among the gravestones, he recounted the stories of early missionaries and their fates.
At the end of the row he stopped, turned, and looked the teenagers straight in the eye. ‘For thirty years, one man moved rocks. That’s all he did, move rocks. Then came his replacement, who did nothing but dig furrows. There came another who planted seeds, and another who watered. And now you kids — you kids — are bringing in the harvest.’
The group leader said, ‘It was one of the great moments of my life. I watched their faces as it suddenly dawned on these exuberant American teenagers that the amazing spiritual awakening they had witnessed was but the last step in a long line of faithful service stretching back over many decades. I’ll never forget that scene.’”
Perhaps at times we feel like all we do is move rocks — but we do it for Jesus, and we do it faithfully. Some day someone will come along and build on what we have done – and there will be a harvest. The Bible says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
The Bible also says, “Therefore, my brothers (and sisters), be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:10-11
In
Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/X-LEVmxL5Y8
A Special Saturday Evening of Praise and Worship
http://youtu.be/X-LEVmxL5Y8
A Special Saturday Evening of Praise and Worship
Location: First
United Methodist Church,
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, NY
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, NY
Sponsored by Union
Center United Methodist Church.
5:30 PM Community
Dinner
6:30 PM Praise and
Worship
Special Music by:
"Treasure" Praise and worship band
Soloist: Emma
Brunson
Preacher: Pastor Marshall Sorber
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