“Blest Be The Tie That Binds”
December 27, 2012
Listen to this message on your audio player.
“Blest Be The Tie That Binds”
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
My favorite part of a Christmas Eve service is the candlelighting ceremony. As our service was concluding on Monday evening we gathered in a large circle around our sanctuary. Pastor lit his candle from the Advent candle and then lit the candle the next person was holding. One by one the candles lit up around the room until we fully completed the circle. It took awhile but we sang Christmas carols throughout the lighting until the room was filled with the warm glow of candlelight.
For the last twelve years we have attended a rural church that has a long heritage. Although we have had short term stints as an interim pastor this church has been our base. We really appreciate the multi-generational aspect of our congregation.
As we sang the carols and awaited the circle to be all aglow I began to observe the people we fellowship with. What I saw could easily be replicated in other churches from our past as well as the church you presently attend.
I scanned my memory bank over the last twelve years and considered the blessing of overcoming faith in the genuine people of God. However the following is not just our local church but a composite of our ministry, now over 35 years of Christmas Eve candlelight circles, as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Some are fresh observations from the other night, others are from my reservoir of memories going back many years. I purposefully mix the two settings in the interest of confidentiality and use fictitious names in some cases.
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one
Our comforts and our cares.
I looked over and saw Jim, a young man whom I recall going through several years of rebellion as an older teenager, who “disappeared” from the church for several years. He’s now married, faithfully attending church with his wife and serving on the board!
Across the sanctuary I spotted Irene, a woman who has been through some very deep valleys, including being abandoned by her husband, but she remains faithful, and God has provided for her needs.
Charles, a cancer survivor stood tall amidst his family members, now three years in remission and daily thanking God for the blessing of good health that he once took for granted.
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.
Jason and Debbie were present; a couple who had a very rocky period in their marriage. It warmed my heart to see him light her candle just as they did in their wedding ceremony. They’ve persevered and by God’s grace are rebuilding their marriage.
I saw William who years earlier had confided in me his struggle in overcoming pornography. He wants his life to honor God and for several years has experienced freedom.
As I looked around the circle I saw a number of grown children, now with their own young children, home for Christmas joining their parents in worshiping God with the church body on Christmas Eve.
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.
I smiled as I saw a young couple, Peter and Jen, whose marriage ceremony I conducted a number of years ago; there with their infant son, an answer to prayer. On the other side of us was another young couple, Mike and JoAnna. It seems it was not that long ago that I conducted their wedding, but they now have three children. Adoree’, their pre-school daughter, filled the room with her booming child’s voice as she sang out, “O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”
I observed a recent widow, Martha, who for many years stood next to her husband during this service. Now she stands among her support team who are seeing her through this lonely transition.
Joe, an old World War 2 vet who had a laryngectomy many years ago, belted out the Christmas songs through his mechanical larynx. The voice was rough but his joyful countenance was priceless and contagious.
Our courage by the way;
While each in expectation lives,
And longs to see the day.
I saw a couple, Jeff and Linda, who many years earlier, were delivered from a life of alcohol and drugs. It happened before I knew them and due to the change in their life it’s practically impossible for me to see them in that kind of lifestyle! They’ve been such a blessing to others over the years.
Grace and Earl, an older couple who stood in our circle, lost their young adult son in a car accident caused by a drunk driver many years ago. As God enabled them they reached out to the drunk driver who had killed their son.
Dave is standing beside his wife, Sandy, who sings as she sits in her wheel chair. For many years Sandy has endured the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis but they both demonstrate such overcoming faith and endurance.
And sin, we shall be free,
And perfect love and friendship reign
Through all eternity.
Today’s text states “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.” Our fellowship with each other is ultimately our common decision to walk together through steep mountains and dark valleys as the light of Jesus illuminates our path one step at a time.
Someday all sorrow, toil and pain will be replaced with unending joy and freedom from sin. Our love and friendship will reign through all eternity as our hearts are forever united in Christian love.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, we thank You for the band of Christian brothers and sisters that circle the globe who are among the redeemed, overcoming life’s obstacles, and giving testimony to Your faithful work in their lives. We uphold each other in prayer and lend support to those who have need, as together we walk in the light of Your holy Word. Thank You for the fellowship of believers that encourages us in our daily Christian walk. Amen.
Today’s Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
“Blest Be The Tie That Binds” Video Smokey Mountain instrumental with photos of Cades Cove in Great Smokey Mountain National Park, I believe.
“How Beautiful” Video Twila Paris
“Bind Us Together Lord” Video
“I’ll Be Your Friend” Video Michael W. Smith
“Faithful Friend” Video Twila Paris & Steven Curtis Chapman
Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.
“Remember Lot’s Wife”
May 16, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
I took this photo several years ago from a boat on the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg, PA. I was intrigued by this lone tree that had managed to grow on a long abandoned bridge pier, an example of perseverance!
Listen to this message on your audio player.
“Remember Lot’s Wife”
My generation (boomer) has been succinctly characterized by the phrase, “Keeping your options open”. Such a sentiment may be commendable in many areas of life that require flexibility but what a tragic shame to see it extended to the spiritual and the moral standards as established by God in His Holy Word!
In our day far too many demonstrate only a passing interest or a short-lived commitment to Christ and His cause. The established moral standards by a holy God are made pliable to suit popular whims. This seems even more pronounced in the generation that follows mine, which has been described as the “What’s in it for me?” generation.
Many years ago I shared the Gospel with a man whom I challenged to commit his life to Christ. His response was, “Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try it.” He said he would give it a few weeks and see if his life got any “better”. I don’t recall what became of him but I know we don’t just try Christ. We trust Him daily for the long haul.
The Associates for Biblical Research is a ministry that seeks to “Demonstrate the historical reliability of the Bible through archaeological research and related investigation.” Research concerning the location of Sodom and Gomorrah reveals the overwhelming archaeological evidence for a cataclysmic event just as the Bible describes.
Lot and his family were told to flee prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and specifically instructed not to look back (Genesis 19:17). But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Jesus validates the historicity of the event and used this as an illustration of discipleship. “Remember Lot’s wife!” The words to a song many of us know comes to mind: “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back!”
Christ calls us to a lifelong commitment that will, of course, extend into eternity. Lot’s wife, in direct disobedience to a nonnegotiable command, looked back upon burning Sodom. Jesus uses this historical story to illustrate His call that we not look back with longing for the sinful life we previously lived.
I desire to have a deep, abiding faith that bears much fruit. In great part this will happen as I acknowledge that some choices are clearly not optional in this Christian marathon. I want to respond to the straightforward words Jesus expressed to His first disciples and, like millions before me, I too want to “deny myself, take up my cross daily and follow Him.”
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, I separate myself from the distracting desires and destructive deeds that pull me into the world where Satan rules with his power of darkness. In denying myself of former earthbound pleasures I find lasting satisfaction that will guide me all the days of my life and usher me into the eternal kingdom of heaven. There is absolutely nothing of worth here on earth that equals the gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Your Son. Amen.
Story behind “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus” Video Pastor Richard Kannwischer, of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, tells the story of a family in India who lost their lives because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Accompanied by music performed by Jadon Lavik, this compelling story of how a family’s sacrifice to follow Jesus influenced their entire community.
This true story took place in a small village in India where a family came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. This agitated the village so much that an angry mob gathered and shoved them into the public square.
The village chief confronted them and said to the man, “If you and your family will not recant your faith, you will all surely die!”
The man didn’t know what to say or do. The only thing that came to mind were the words of a song that he himself had composed when he first surrendered his life to God. And so he began to sing,
“I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back.”
“Take Up Your Cross” Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
“Follow Me” Video Kelly Willard
“Faithful To Provide Strength For Today”
March 26, 2012
Listen to this message on your audio player.blessings all mine with ten thousand besides.”
“O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress” (Isaiah 33:2).
A little over three years ago we began pastoring a small country church that has a rich spiritual heritage going back to its beginning in 1878. Located in the small hamlet of Mastersonville, Pennsylvania whose only school and general store were closed years ago. The church has been afflicted in recent decades by troubles and instability forcing its closure about ten years ago. Though it reopened a couple of years later it never regained the stability of a growing, viable congregation over the next five years, and was once again slated to close at the end of 2008.
After being informed of the situation we agreed to a short-term interim role in hopes that a longer-term pastor might eventually serve the church. That did not come about and, due to our over-filled schedule, we made the difficult decision to resign from the church early this year. Once again the doors to the church were closed after a final bittersweet service yesterday morning.
We closed with dignity as we acknowledged the scores of believers, both ministerial and lay persons, who had served Christ in that location for over 130 years. A number of folks visited the final service who had grown up in the church and told of the spiritual impact it had made on their lives; one man pointing to the altar where he had given his heart to Christ in 1974. Another spoke of her wedding and that of her 3 sisters that took place in this church. One spoke of the years that she, as a young girl, learned to play the organ for congregational singing. A teen-ager stood to her feet and recalled the time she spent in the nursery and directed her appreciation to the now elderly woman who was her nursery attendant, forever endeared to this teen’s heart.
Preparing for a local congregation’s final service is something we had never done before and have no intentions of getting good at, but it was a moving service followed by a potlock dinner and lingering fellowship through midafternoon. I feel I can state that God was glorified and His people were edified.
In my sermon I reminded the congregation that we are called to faithfully serve Christ every day, particularly in times of distress and uncertainty, as we live by faith. We, as believers, must have the faithful resolve of Simon Peter who in, a distressing and confusing time, stated: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68).
What songs do you pick for the last service? Our concluding hymn medley was, “Blest Be the Tie That Binds/God Be With You Till We Meet Again”. We also purposely selected a hymn that speaks so powerfully of God’s steadfast faithfulness, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”. What a blessing to hear the acapella voices blend in full harmony as they sang this familiar hymn with deep and special meaning. Indeed God has been and ever is faithful!
In a letter dated 1941 Thomas Chisolm, who penned the song wrote: “My income has not been large at any time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me until now. Although I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.”
Some of you are dealing today with a distressing and confusing season in life. You may be as the Apostle Paul testified, “hard pressed on every side and perplexed” (2 Corinthians 4:8).
But let us focus on this portion of the petition in today’s text: “Be our strength every morning.” That is our ongoing need. Yesterday’s strength is inadequate for the challenges of this day.
“Our salvation in time of distress.” God is always our present help in the time of any trouble or distress. Today be encouraged by these truths as you join me in crying out “O Lord” to the One who is able and willing to provide for all our needs because He is forever faithful.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father, we look to You this day to bring us word of Your unfailing love, for we have put our trust in You. You are our strength every morning and our security at night. Your steadfast love reaches to the heavens and Your faithfulness fills the skies. There is no one like You that provides for our every need. You are our salvation in times of distress, so it is under Your protective wings that we find refuge and safely abide. Amen.
Personal Note: We have known for several months this day was coming. Our schedule was becoming increasingly difficult to adequately maintain. We will now focus on this daily encouragement writing ministry and our business chaplaincy. We’ll still keep plenty busy since we are seeing growth and expansion in both areas, but we’ll now have time for a day off from our daily duties and will also travel some over the weekends.
Yesterday I was joined at the pulpit for a photo with Jesse Dourte, who had served the church as a pastor about 40 years earlier, and preached from behind this same pulpit. He and his wife, Wilma, came to the church a few months after we began pastoring and became our “unofficial” visitation pastors, as they were very faithful in making visits to people in the community, inviting them to church.As Brooksyne was cleaning and preparing the kitchen for our fellowship meal on Saturday she reached up on top of a cabinet to clear away a couple grocery bags. In so doing she also picked up an aged magazine tucked into the recessed area of the cabinet. She was prepared to toss it but then saw a lengthy article and photos of the Dourte family written nearly fifty years earlier. Some of our readers are very familiar with the Dourtes and will find the article (pdf) very interesting.
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” Video Selah
“He’s Been Faithful To Me” Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
“God Be With You Till We Meet Again” Video Selah The moving song was sang at the conclusion of our service yesterday. This is a beautiful version.
“Blest Be The Tie That Binds” Video Unknown
I shared on Friday that we had quite a time dealing with a stopped-up kitchen sink drain line. Even though we worked on it together as a family till late Thursday night, getting frustrated and messy in the process, we just couldn’t clear the drain line.
It’s a blessing to have capable friends with the right tools. Our friend Ken Pierce came over Friday and opened the line making us very happy! When you don’t have something (a properly fuctioning plumbing system) you really realize how easy it is to take for granted.
Mystery Photo: I should have known the answer since we had a bumper crop of readers who wrote! Friday I shared this photo from a farm sale and here’s what Zane, who apparently has a lot of knowledge of cider presses informed us, “This photo is that of an apple/fruit press. The press is in a down position (meaning that it would have smashed the fruit to the bottom of the container with a hand crank). Typically, 2-3 types of apples are placed inside the barrel and pressed down with a fitted lid. The juices flow outside of the bin into a pan that leads to a retention container. Most people from generations past consider this to the best apple cider you can find. I agree.” We received many well-written, informational letters and appreciate your participation.
Ministry Update (Revised 12/11)
Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.
“The Tyranny Of The New” (Part 2)
April 28, 2009
The little white country church in Harwood Missouri I went to as a child when I visited my grandparents. My Mom went here growing up. The photo shows some of my cousins when we gathered in 2006 after my Mom’s burial service.
“This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it’” (Jeremiah 6:16).
Yesterday’s message dealt with the obsession our society has with the “new”. I tend not to be an “early adopter”; that is, embracing the new as soon as it comes out. I figure someone else can do the testing and pay the higher price. However if you visit our home you’ll see that we have indoor plumbing and electricity, something relatively new in human history, along with a lot of other new stuff unique to our generation.
But today I consider the “tyranny of the new” in regard to the church. As I write this I am sure there will be those who will quickly dismiss me as just an old-fashioned preacher in his mid-fifties, but please hear me out.
My concern is not the adoption of the new. Really, hasn’t every generation done that to varying degrees? In fact here in Lancaster County with the influence of the Plain people we have a colorful history of church disputes among the brethren in regard to what degree to adopt the new. Some of their issues are now dealing with the use of cell phones and computers, especially the interface with the internet. A faithful reader in this series has been an old order Amish man who has an email account at work. He is the one I send music to on his cell phone voice mail, which I refer to as my Amish Music Ministry!
Our church uses PowerPoint and I have learned to prepare my sermons for projection just like the famous conference speakers. We sing a mixture of new and old or what is often referred to as a “blended service.”
But most churches now want to be identified as contemporary (whatever that really means). Wouldn’t most churches in 1900 or at any other time in history have been contemporary during their age?
My annoyance at the contemporary church is not the embracing of the new, something I feel has been done all through history, but rather the tendency to devalue and disparage the old. Among so many I encounter a snobby attitude toward older music, i.e. hymns or even music written within the past twenty five years.
I was visiting with a friend after Easter who attends a self-identified “contemporary” church in our area. He’s my age and has a history in the church. I asked him about the service, “Did you sing some of those great Easter songs like ‘He Lives’ or ‘Christ The Lord Is Risen Today’?” He told me, “Oh no, we just sang new choruses.” I asked if they sang any songs dealing with the Resurrection. He told me they sang an “old” song from 1999 that he thought might have had something to do with the Resurrection! That’s Sad.
I don’t think this church is that untypical. Many churches of our day view any use of the old as a turnoff. I recently visited a church that is aiming to go entirely contemporary in style. They previously had two services with one being a “traditional service”. The brochure stated that they would be singing all new choruses with a band but would periodically include a hymn, but assuring the congregation that the hymn would be sung in a modern arrangement! Pity them if they actually sang the hymn as it was written and has been sung by believers for generations!
Do young people realize the great heritage we have through 2000 years of church history? Do the new among us realize our faith is not a new thing, but rather a continuation of the faithful servants of Christ for 2 millinium?
Here’s how one typical church seeks to describe itself:
“Celebration worship times are 9:00am and 10:15am. We’re not big on doing church the traditional way, so dress casual and come worship God in a relaxed, contemporary, and informal setting! Gather your family around a table, have coffee or juice, and a treat while one of the bands, Down to Earth and Altar Ego play uplifting and contemporary music. The sermons are short, practical, and positive. The entire worship service is approximately forty five minutes.”
Actually since many churches now describe themselves similar to the above example they are by no means distinct, although I find it amusing that each acts as if what they are offering is new and original! Essentially it seems to me that there is widespread competition to see who can be the newest, or as one article states; to be “trendier than thou”. A dreaded moniker among many of my pastoral peers is to be labeled “old-fashioned”.
I enjoy singing new songs (which we do) but I also enjoy singing old ones. I prefer singing them in the original words which the hymn writer wrote and in the same tune, not changed to try to be relevant, although on occasion this can be enjoyable as well.
Relevance is another buzz word that will have to wait for another message. I don’t recall as a young pastor seeking to prepare irrelevant messages, for Bible truth is never irrelevant! My messages are for young, middle-aged, and old. I don’t segment the congregation by age. But the contemporary church acts as if relevant messages are a brand new thing for the present generation.
God called the kingdom of Judah to “ask for the ancient paths.” Today the last thing most people have any interest in are the “ancient paths”. Our culture is obsessed with the lure of the new. For so many the ancient paths have no appeal at all and are generally scoffed at.
“Ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” I believe the meaning here is spiritual and a call to obedience as found in God’s Holy law. This is the “good way” and by walking in it one will truly find rest for the soul. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
But many then and so many today emphatically declare, “We will not walk in it.”
We need to appreciate the “ancient paths” and those who walked faithfully in them. We must commit our lives to be obedient servants to Jesus Christ our Lord; to the entire infallible, authoritative Bible, and to the great examples set for us by scores of dedicated, sold-out believers throughout the ages of the Bible and the Church.
My earnest prayer today is this, “I stand at the crossroads and look; I ask for the ancient paths where the good way is, and by God’s grace I choose to walk in it and accept Your promise that I will find rest for my soul.”
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, we look to those who’ve gone before us, who’ve walked the ancient paths and remained faithful to Your principles as they have served You. We all come to the crossroads at various age intervals in our earthly walk and we must choose which path we’ll take. Help us to be careful of the untested path that disregards all that our forefathers taught us either by their example or in some instances their lack of wisdom or self-control. We thank You for all that You have for us now and for that which is carefully handed down to us from our Christian ancestors. May we honor You in the way that we choose to honor them. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Brooksyne’s Perspective: Since I’ve been involved in music and worship most of our pastoral years let me share a couple thoughts. By deleting the classic hymns in the church services year after year we’re soon going to be unable to minister in song to the residents in senior homes. The intergenerational songs are the hymns that have been sung for centuries. I love to sing songs like “The Old Rugged Cross” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. On occasion I reflect upon the years I sang them with my parents and grandparents as a youngster. These hymns are known everywhere and by multiple generations, but are beginning to disappear. I like to mix familiar with new, for that which we come to love and cherish is that which we’ve sung enough to memorize and sing on our own. I’m very thankful for Christian Radio where we can hear lots of newer songs with current artists whom God has gifted with music along with the classic hymns and songs written in the 1900′s.
Just this morning I was practicing with a Praise Team for an upcoming Mother Daughter Banquet and little David, 22 months, began to sing, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I Know” (also known as “There’s Within My Heart a Melody”). His mother said he sings it a lot at home but neither she nor David’s father taught it to him. I asked, “How about Grandma or Grandpa?” where he stays when Mom is working. She agreed that he would have learned it from them since they certainly enjoy singing the hymns (once again an example of intergenerational worship – three generations enjoying the same hymn message). We’ve segmented our children, youth, young adults and senior adults so much that it can be difficult to find common ground for worshiping together.
I like the way they decorate the front with old implements.
In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.
“Sing Allelu” Video I read that this song (or at least part of it) was written in 100AD.
“The Church’s One Foundation” Video
“Am I Just Tired Of Relevance?” A brief article with comments on a contemporary church’s marketing techniques A great read!
“The Contemporary Church” Article
“Five Deadly Sins of the Contemporary Church” Blog style articles with most recent (yesterday) at top. Scroll down for earlier articles in series.
“Innovative and Relevant Pastor Needed Immediately” Have a laugh!
“Most Relevant Pastor” Another humor post (satire)
Please help us continue this free encouragement ministry
