God Loves Choirs!

Singing in a choir is partly for the singers. It is a lot of fun. There is great teamwork involved and a real sense of accomplishment when you work hard on something for some time and then it sounds and looks wonderful (like the Passion Play or The Tree or Sunday morning worship).

But choirs are also for God. He must like them because He had choirs in worship from the time His people established worship in the temple. The singers lived near each other and the tithes and offerings brought to the temple paid their salaries. How cool is that? They had all the instruments playing too. There is a great story of the celebration of the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem in Nehemiah 12. They had singers come from all over and they divided them into two choirs and had choir directors and everything. Choirs are always a part of grand celebrations.

The western wall in Jerusalem. Is this the one Nehemiah built? I don't remember.

Now some will argue that there aren't choirs or instruments in the New Testament. Perhaps I'll address that in another post. Let's just say they haven't thought everything through biblically.

God has always had choirs. Job talks about the morning stars singing together at creation. Job 38 Some think Job is referring to the stars, some say it references angels, but either way, there was a choir singing God's praises.

Jesus said that if we didn't praise Him that the very rocks would cry out. There was a song we sang at youth camp one year that said something about not letting some rock take my place...

This is the "singing rock" in Santa Cruz, Portugal. It has a hole in it that "sings" as the waves and tide come and go. Pretty cool.

All of this to say - our church needs you in choir. Not just in the congregation. Singing in choir is more than just singing along in worship. It is getting together and working up great songs together for God's glory. I hope I'll see you in choir tonight. I don't have any rocks to take your place.

You and Me and the FLC

As Bro. Larry mentioned Sunday we're into the final countdown to the FLC grand opening. I know it will be exciting as we are able to use this new facility to reach out to our community. Rebecca St. James will be in concert May 25 for the grand opening!

I am looking forward to some racquetball, myself. I'm afraid Bro. Larry has stirred up a lot of competition for me.

Some of you are wondering how this will affect us as a choir. Our third service is designed to reach people who are not attending church now. If you want to attend that service you need to do two things.

1. You need to volunteer to teach a children's class.

2. You need to find someone to take your place in choir.

We will have choir rehearsal at the FLC beginning in June. We're actually going to meet in the aerobics room! Afterwards we can all hit the basketball courts and the walking track for some exercise.

Kids in the Passion Play

From Merriam-Webster

Main Entry: 1kid
Pronunciation: \ˈkid\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English kide, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse kith kid
Date: 13th century
1 a: a young goat b: a young individual of various animals related to the goat

2 a: the flesh, fur, or skin of a kid b: something made of kid

3: a young person; especially : child —often used as a generalized reference to one especially younger or less experienced

From Lyndel Littleton-Worship Pastor, Hilldale Baptist Church

1. a younger person who adds life and excitement to a passion play

2. a young goat who bleats at just the right time to bring a big smile to the audience

A River

Oooooooo! The creek is up. The Bear branch of Whites Creek is part of what makes Bear Hollow such a beautiful place.

Here is a picture of my creek last summer.

Here it is today! Woohoo!

Now I would never compare this muddy looking river to The River of Life Revelation 22:1 NAS (with it's crystal waters flowing from the throne of God) but you can see from even this little creek the power of water and of a river. I usually picture The River of Life as a peaceful stream you could wade in and look for gold nuggets (not that you need them in heaven). But thinking of the POWER of a river adds another dimension that is a great thought. The power of God to give life to all who believe. Wow! Someone aught to shout "Hallelujah!"

Happy Birthday Cheryl

My lovely wife had a birthday a few days ago and the choir was so sweet in having a surprise cake for her in choir this last Wednesday night. Unfortunately our granddaughter, Hannah, was having major issues with her asthma and allergies and we thought she was going to have to go to the hospital, so Grani (Cheryl) headed to Madison to help with Hannah.

Here is the pretty cake.

Cheryl is on the other end listening to us sing "Happy birthday!"

Thanks to everyone. It was a lot of fun.

Cheryl will be very happy to see that I didn't put her picture on here.

Kyrie eleison

Κύριε ελέησον

Huh? That's Greek to me.

Ha! It is Greek! Κύριε ελέησον is an ancient cry to God for Him to have mercy. The earliest Christians used this phrase in worship, but they took it from the Psalms. (Psalms 41:4 NIV for example) I suppose that makes sense since the very first Christians were Jewish men and women.





Kyrie eleison translates to Lord, have mercy. It actually is the prayer of each new believer as he comes to that place where he realizes he needs a Savior. Luke 18:13 NIV

There are some gorgeous Kyries written by all of the famous composers from Bach to Beethoven to Mendelssohn. Search "Kyrie" on Youtube to see some.




Kyrie by Palestrina

Mark Shultz has a great Kyrie that you have probably heard on Christian radio. And before him it was sung by Mr. Mister (all you 80's rock band fans can let out a cheer here). (again, youtube if you want to hear it - great song!)

Last night we listened to a Kyrie called "Lord, Have Mercy" written by Dan Scott and Nathan DiGesare arranged by David Clydesdale. We're even going to sing some of it in Greek. How cool is that? It is a great piece and may take us awhile to learn it. It has a powerful message and is a great tune.

If you missed choir last night you missed meeting four new people and some birthday cake for my lovely wife, Cheryl. Sunday we're singing "I Am Blessed".

I Love Spring!

do you recognize my bridge in the background?

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. Spring is full of surprises. Where did I plant those new daffodils with the short bright orange trumpet and the white petals? Oh, there they are! and they are prettier than the picture on the package.



The succession of trees blooming is so wonderful: (Feel free to vote in our new poll - what is your favorite spring tree. I'll give the results and the correct answers next week.)


first the pears,


then the cherries,

The cherry tree at my house

then the red buds (I love the drive down I-24 when all of the red buds are in bloom. but the new varieties are even more beautiful than the wild ones. If you have a chance to get to downtown Nashville in the next day or two drive through bicentennial park by the capitol. Oh my! So gorgeous!)

and just as the red buds are fading the dogwoods, the queen of spring, are in full bloom!



On Bear Hollow the peonies, daylilies, hostas, bleeding heart and iris are all right on track for a gorgeous show in a few weeks. Oooooo, Spring is so wonderful!

There's a beautiful old hymn that I love to sing in the spring - Fairest Lord Jesus. The text was written in 1677 in Germany. The tune was written in 1842. It still is a beautiful expression of love and adoration and praise in 2008.



The second verse says this:
Fair are the meadows;
Fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of springl
Jesus is fairer;
Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.



Let the beauty of spring remind you of the beauty of our Lord. Let His beauty and love and grace make your heart sing!


Of course a great place for singing is in choir. I'll be looking for you tonight!