The Quilt

The ladies from the sewing ministry wanted me to share the story behind the beautiful quilt that they presented to Sue and me last Sunday.

The story begins over 30 years ago. My grandmother used to make a lot of clothes for my mother. I remember many days as a child playing at my grandmother’s house as she measured and pinned up dresses for my mom. During this time, my mother and grandmother found some material for a dress. Over time they were never able to find a dress pattern that was just right for the material. As time went on my grandmother was no longer able to sew, so the material was put away.

Several years passed. I married Sue and then our family grew to include Steven and Rebecca. My grandmother sent the material to Sue’s mom and suggested that she make dresses out of the material for Sue and our Rebecca. Really by this time Sue’s mom had stopped sewing as well, so the material was once again put away. Several years ago, Sue’s mom gave us the material thinking Sue could do something with it. Since Sue doesn’t have time to sew, we put the material in a closet and forgot about it.

This brings us to the present time. When the ladies started Aunt B’s sewing ministry, I reminded Sue of the material sitting in our closet. We decided to donate it to the ladies to use in the ministry. They decided that the material we gave them would go into a quilt. Each week as they worked, I would stop in and visit with them as they worked on quilts and dresses. If you weren’t here last week and heard the figures, this ministry has already completed over 100 dresses and 9 quilts. I had no idea that early on they had decided to give the quilt to us.

This has really been a blessing to us and we wanted to share the story with the church.

The Season

The season from November 1 through January 1 is my favorite time of year. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day all fall within this two-month period. As a church we reflect on what makes us thankful. We reflect on the greatest gift of all as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. New Years Day offers a time of reflection on setting goals for the future and looking at where we have been over the past year.

During November, our home in Folkston becomes a blaze of lights as we cover the trees, shrubs, and house with Christmas lights. We usually begin decorating the day after Thanksgiving. We light up our neighborhood in honor of the light of the World – Jesus. At church we prepare special music to celebrate the season. As we look to Christmas, we look forward to celebrating Jesus’ birthday with family and friends.

I hope that this holiday season, you will focus on the important things of the season.

My Savior, My God

One of my favorite "new" songs is “My Savior, My God.” We have used it several times in worship now and I truly am touched by the words of the song. As I prepare the orders of worship for each service, many times I try to find out the background of the songs. I have several sources that I read and research.

As I was looking up the background of this song, I made an interesting discovery. “My Savior, My God,” copyrighted in 2005, was created in its present form by Aaron Shust. However, the text of the verses were written in 1873, by an English poet named Dora Greenwell. The original title of the hymn was “I Am Not Skilled to Understand.” Dora Greenwell lived a quiet life and is considered one of the significant poets of the Victorian era. Dora Greenwell had many things in her life that she probably had difficulty understanding. Her father died when she was young and the family lost its estate. She struggled with poor health and lived alone most of her life. She worked with handicapped and mentally ill children in a time when no one cared for these children.[1] It is obvious from her writings that she had an incredible passion for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Aaron was so moved by the text that he wrote a new melody for it and later added the chorus putting the song in the form that we now sing. Aaron says this about the text: “I thought it was a very strange title for a hymn, so I read through it and it just blew me away. It really focused on [the fact that] I don’t have to understand the mysteries of theology. I don’t have to understand God’s perfect plan. I don’t have to understand why Uncle So-and-so got cancer and died last year. I want to, but I don’t have to if I truly trust that God is in control.”[2]

I am not skilled to understand
What God hath willed, what God hath planned;
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior.

I take Him at His word and deed:
“Christ died to save me,” this I read;
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Savior.

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die,
You count it strange? So once did I
Before I knew my Savior.

And O that He fulfilled may see
The travail of His soul in me,
And with His work contented be,
As I with my dear Savior!

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring,
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior!

(Dora Greenwell 1821-1882)

[1] Brown, Robert K., The One Year Great Songs of Faith (Wheaton, ILL: Tyndale House, 1995), 296.
[2] Barker, Ken, More Songs for Praise and Worship Volume 4, Worship Planner Edition(Word Music, 2007), 279.

Are We There Yet?

Following is an article to my church from November 2007

Are we there yet? I’m hungry and thirsty. How much longer? Where do we go from here?

If you do much travelling during the holiday season, I am sure that you have heard these questions before. (Many times in my case) Right now, I am thinking about the upcoming holiday season. We will be expecting family over the Thanksgiving holiday and we plan a trip to Kentucky over Christmas. Each time we made that long trip to Kentucky, it seemed that all of these questions and statements flowed from the back seat every five minutes.
As I continued to think about these questions, I turned them toward our church. In reality, our life and the life of our church is a journey. Our church has just celebrated 98 years. We are looking forward to celebrating 100 years if the Lord tarries. Let’s look at these burning questions in the light of the journey of our church.

Are we there yet? As I think about this question, many people could say our church has arrived. We have a wonderful facility. We are out of debt, and most of the time we get along. It would be easy to sit back and say “what a blessed place we are.” But that is not what the Bible tells us to do. Philippians 3: 13-14 says: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.” Have we forgotten what our calling is? We will not arrive until Christ returns. Until then, our mission is to share Christ with a dying world.

I’m hungry and thirsty. We all have physical needs. When we travel, we usually make plans for rest and food stops along the way. As we journey along our spiritual path, we must also plan and carry out times for prayer and Bible study, so we can satisfy spiritual hunger. In John 4:13-14 we find these words: Jesus answered and said unto her, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Do we have a specific plan for daily Bible study and prayer? Our thirst cannot be satisfied without one. In order to focus on Jesus Christ and his commands, we must daily walk with Him.
How much longer? This is always a tough question to answer. When we are making that trip to the grandparents, we can usually give an estimate of the time. But the question is really not about time. The root of this question comes from our impatience. We are anxious to get where we are going and we become tired of the journey. I know in that 14 hour trip to my mother’s house, the last few hours seem longer than the first. In our Spiritual life we ask God this question about many things. Again the passage from Philippians reminds us that we are to continue to press toward the mark or goal. God is waiting to pour His blessing out upon us if we are willing to be faithful and obedient to His leadership.

Where do we go from here? Sometimes on a road trip you come to a crossroad. Often times you must decide which path to follow. Deciding the path is easier when you have consulted a map. As we journey through life as individuals and as a church, we must consult our spiritual map. We have to seek the leadership of God through His Holy Spirit and His Word. Anything short of that will be like coming to that crossroad without having looked at the map. A wrong turn gets you sidetracked and lost. Once again, we are standing at a crossroad on the journey called Pleasant Valley Baptist Church. It is time for each one of us to put aside our opinions and look to Jesus Christ. Our Lord commands it and the lost and dying in our community deserve it.

I’ve Found a Friend, Oh Such a Friend

This hymn by Rev. James G. Small was first published in The Revival Hymnbook, second series (1863), and then included in Small’s Psalms and Sacred Songs (1866), published in Scotland. The tune FRIEND was composed by George C. Stebbins.
I found the following devotional based on this hymn in the book; The One Year Great Songs of Faith. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:13 – 15

Sometimes the buddy-buddy approach to Christianity causes our concept of Gods holiness to be diminished. But when Christ’s friendship is depicted as James Small depicts it here, Christ is exalted. The hymn is full of great theological truths. From our standpoint, we sing, “I’ve found a Friend,” but the truth is “He loved me ere I knew Him,” and “He drew me with the cords of love.” Obviously it is Jesus who initiates this friendship. The final stanza concludes with lines that recall Romans 8:35: “Can anything separate us from Christ’s love?” Small concludes: “I am His forever.” Such a friend is truly worth singing about!


Verse 1
I've found a Friend, Oh such a Friend!He loved me ere I knew Him:He drew me with the cords of love,And thus He bound me to Him.And round my heart still closely twineThose ties which naught can sever;For I am His and He is mine,Forever and forever.

Verse 2
I've found a Friend, Oh such a Friend!He bled, He died to save me;And not alone the gift of life,But His own self He gave me.Naught that I have my own I call,I hold it for the Giver;My heart, my strength, my life, my all,Are His, and His forever!

Verse 3
I've found a Friend, Oh such a Friend!All power to Him is given,To guard me on my onward course,And bring me safe to Heaven.The eternal glories gleam afarTo nerve my faint endeavor;So now to watch, to work, to war,And then to rest forever.

Verse 4
I've found a Friend, Oh such a Friend!So kind and true and tender,So wise a Counselor and Guide,So mighty a Defender!From Him who loves me now so wellWhat power my soul can sever?Shall life or death or earth or hell?No I am His forever.

Comments on Recent Pew Report

Many of you have already heard about the latest report from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The forum surveyed 35,000 U. S. adults. This report has some disturbing news for the Christian community. The most disturbing result of this survey is that seven out of ten Americans who profess to follow one specific faith believe that there is more than one way to get to heaven.

One observer stated that the problem with Americans and religion is not that they don’t believe anything, but that they believe everything. He went on to state that America’s faith is “3000 miles wide and 3 inches deep.” (Michael Lindsay, a sociologist at Rice University in Houston quoted in Christianity Today)

We have even had a national political candidate this week state that America is no longer a Christian nation, but a nation of multiple religions. He sems to believe that to be a good thing.
We claim to be a people of the book, yet how do we hold up this claim when so many within the church seem to embrace ideas that are contrary to the book. This should not be a grey area. It is clear in the Bible, Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6.

Following is a summary of some of the other results of the survey:
Of the 35,000 U.S. adults surveyed,
92 percent believe in God
79 percent believe in miracles
68 percent believe in angels and demons
58 percent pray daily (outside of religious services)
39 percent attend religious services at least once a week
39 percent meditate at least once a week
35 percent say they read Scripture at least once a week; 45 percent say they seldom read Scripture
34 percent have experienced or witnessed a divine healing of illness or injury
31 percent say their prayers are answered at least once a month; 19 percent say their prayers are answered at least once a week
14 percent cite religious beliefs as the main influence on their political thinking

We need to be concerned that while 92 percent say they believe in God only 39 percent attend church at least once per week. We need to be concerned that only 35 percent say they read the Bible at least once per week. An even greater concern is that 45 percent seldom read the Bible. We also should be alarmed that only 14 percent allow religious beliefs to influence their political thinking.

Where do you stand in these statistics? Do you fall in the 70 percent that discount Christ’s words that He is the only way? I pray not. Perhaps you fall in the 61 percent that are lax in church attendance. I pray that you will consider coming more often. Do you fall in the 45 percent that seldom read the Bible? If so, I encourage you to read the Bible more – It is the primary way that God speaks to us as His people. Do you fall in the 86 percent that vote without thinking of religious convictions? I pray that as you consider the upcoming elections that you will seek God’s will in your decision above all other considerations.

Practical Praise

When I think of the sacrifice that God made for me on the cross, my only response can be to offer Him praise. Charles Spurgeon, one of the great preachers of the nineteenth century, wrote the following in his book The Practice of Praise:

“We cannot, however we may resolve, praise God more and more if, as we grow older, we allow this world to take up our thoughts…You will find it small gain if you gain in this world, but lose in praising God. As we grow older, it is wise to concentrate more and more of our energies upon the one thing, the only thing worth living for — the praise of God.”

This is what church is all about. It is not about you and it is not about me. It is not about what you think and it is not about what I think. The purpose of the true Church of Jesus Christ is to worship and praise the triune God and to share the great gift that God has given us to a lost and dying world. Paul wrote in his letters to the early church that we are “strangers and aliens in this world.” Too often we get so caught up in living in the world that we forget that we are not a part of it. When we let the mindset of the world influence our thinking, then the body of Christ suffers because we think and act like the world.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie “Facing the Giants” is when the coach is alone with God at his wits end. He promises to praise God when things are good and to praise God when things are bad. While this is just a movie, it is filled with truth. Praise is an attitude of the heart. Praise is a reflection of the soul. Praise is determined by our will. Praise is a function of the mind that God gave you. Praise is a choice and a privilege. The Bible tells us that if we do not lift our praise that the very rocks will cry out. While creation may praise God, we are the ones given the ability to use words. Let us constantly be reminded of this as we lift up a song of praise.

Read the text of the hymn: “Man of Sorrows, What a Name.”

Man of sorrows what a name
For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim
Hallelujah what a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude
In my place condemned He stood
Sealed my pardon with His blood
Hallelujah what a Savior!

Guilty vile and helpless we
Spotless Lamb of God was He
Full atonement can it be
Hallelujah what a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die
It is finished was His cry
Now in heaven exalted high
Hallelujah what a Savior!

When He comes our glorious King
All His ransomed home to bring
Then anew this song we'll sing
Hallelujah what a Savior!

'Til next time!

Welcome to my Blog

Well, today I am going to join the vast internet blogging community. On this blog, I hope to share some thoughts on music and worship.

Welcome to my blog as we journey together.