How We Do Things 'round Here

Last Friday night there was a Home School Talent Show in the Sanctuary.

The kids were great. A lot of talent!!

Afterwards Bro. Tim said, "Bro. Lyndel! The exit signs are still covered up from the Passion Play."

We cover them up because

1. it's very difficult to exit out those doors with the set and

2. there's something wrong about watching the crucifixion with a big red EXIT sign

glowing in the background behind the cross.

"I'll go get a ladder."

"No. Just sit there on the rail and I'll carry you over and you can pull the cardboard off."

So I agreed. Bro. Tim and I always work so well together and always have a fun time!

So I got on Tim's shoulders and he carried me over to the "exit" sign.

TA DA! Got it.

I thought he would take me back to the rail.

Oh! Nope. He headed across to the other side!

He was hollerin' "Hold still!"

"Stop leaning!"

"Your tie is in my eyes! I can't see!"

I was just trying to stay balanced so I didn't fall off while he lumbered across the floor!

Almost to the other side.

Working on the other sign, hoping I don't fall and kill myself.

Bro. Tim is panting and I'm afraid he's about to have a stroke!

Got it! And he held me steady. (I thought he was going to drop me.)

Such strength!

Back to the rail.

Mission accomplished.

And now you know...

That's how we do thing 'round here!

Corporate Worship - Why It's Important

"I can worship at the golf course."

"I can worship while I'm hiking through the Rockies."

"I can worship seeing a beautiful sunrise as it comes up over the lake."

Yes, if a person is paying attention to his surroundings he can find countless reasons to give praise and to worship our Great Creator. Years ago I hiked through the Rockies with some friends and the majesty of the mountains and the wonder of 100 ft. tall waterfalls and the crystal waters of mountains lakes and streams, the countless shades of greens and browns in the forests and rocks... well, I could go on and on... all of it gave us many times to just stop and thank God and worship Him for His amazing work.

I hope all of you have those times when you are out in nature where you can stop and take a moment to worship. Look what Colossians 1:15-17 have to say about Jesus and creation.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.

But individual worship is not enough. We need corporate worship. (Corporate worship means worship together as a congregation.) Hebrews 10:23-25  Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Our congregation at Hilldale has had some very emotionally tiring weeks lately. We've had the highs of a great Passion Play and Easter morning celebrations and the lows brought by sickness, trials and memorial services for family and friends. As we gather on Sundays and worship our sovereign King together we share each others burdens, we rejoice together, we encourage each other...

This Sunday we will begin our worship services celebrating the great things God has done in our lives as we sing:

To God Be the Glory
Hear our Praises
Friend of God

But because we have met so many times lately to offer words of comfort to those who have lost family and friends in death, it is important that we offer up together words of  faith, comfort, and hope. We will do this as we sing these two great song:

It Is Well
I Will Rise

We've celebrated the power of the Resurrection in the last few weeks and this week we can join the song of heaven.

"And I hear the voice of many angels sing 'Worthy is the Lamb.'
and I hear the cry of every longing heart, 'Worthy is the Lamb!'"

Fun with Wigs

No explanation needed.
Well, I guess I should say that this year's "Jesus" in the Passion Play has short hair, so we've pulled out some wigs. I'd love to hear your comments on my two models.

Set Construction Update

Things are coming along for this year's Passion Play - Free! My Chains Are Gone
April 21-23, 7:00
Tickets are free.

So here are a few pictures form yesterday. For some reason my phone won't send pictures to facebook anymore. I guess they aren't on speaking terms.

Baskets of leftover bread (they'll be 12)

Pilate's Court

(Still have plants to finishing details to add)

Dr. Luke's House

(He's our main actor this year. He'll be working on a letter to Theophilus. - See Luke 1:1-4)

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

Great music is great no matter what instrumentation is used to play it. Bach's beloved song "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" is one of those songs. I've heard it sung by choirs, played by strings, pianos, even a saxophone quartet - and it's always lovely.

This video has it performed in a totally different way and once again it shows it's timeless classic beauty - and it's just reallllly awesome the way they did this!

Construction Week

It's construction week as we prepare for this year's Passion Play - "Free! My Chains Are Gone."

If you live in Clarksville and you get the daily paper you might have noticed our ad in the Rivers and Spires program guide. Not only was this delivered to 20,000 homes, it will be all over downtown during Rivers and Spires.

The first load of set pieces arrived early this morning before the rains came.

I'll try to keep you updated.

The easiest way to see set construction is to follow along on FaceBook. (although today it wouldn't let me uplad this picture)

Rehearsal Schedule for Sunday, April 10, Monday, April 11

Here's our rehearsal schedule for this Sunday afternoon, April 10.

3:00 - Shackles choreography with youth
3:30 - Blessed Is He  Triumphal entry
4:00 - Set Me Free soloist and bad guys (I hate to call them demons right out here in public)
5:00 - Arrest and Crucifixion Scene - people needed: Angry mob, Soldiers, Jesus, priests, Pilate, thieves
6:00 - Feeding 5,000 - people needed: Jesus, disciples, Jacob
Rehearsal for Monday, April 11.
6:30 - Lazarus scene - people needed: Jesus, Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Benjamin, priests