God is in control . . .

May 20, 2013

Like all of you, I have been caught up with the events this past week in our state. Our own Kim Olson expressed it very well on Facebook when she said: "Heavy heart this morning, thinking of all those affected by the tornadoes. I know my God is in control and He did not cause this to happen. He did allow it. We live in a fallen world and terrible things happen. I am confident that He has a plan. However, we won't truly know His heart until we're with Him in heaven. Hug your family and friends. Tell them you love them. We are not guaranteed tomorrow." When Kim was a teenager, her family (including mom, Judy Kirton!) lost everything in a tornado. We do not understand, but we do acknowledge that God is indeed in control.
 

As our staff met and formulated how our church could step in to assist, as we prayed for the victims and the responders, we were reminded in our staff devotional this week that we don’t worship God because of what we can expect. We worship God because He is . . . and that is what we are going to do this Sunday.

Reflections . . . Christmas Pageant 2012 - Part II

I have just completed my end of the Pageant ritual, first of ALL putting away my costumes, and then the party, and then the long awaited trip home to shave off my beard, cleanse my skin of all make-up, and plan for an early barbershop appointment with Paul Rogers, my barber of 30 years. He has been gracious to let me have my post-Pageant haircut even before regular business hours. When I first shaved off my beard, I was amazed how young I looked without it. Today, I am not so sure. I get mixed reviews. However, as my life settles back to life without Pageant, I realize each year I am changed in my inner man in ways that are much more difficult to detect from the outside.

I heard on the way to our Christmas Pageant the continuing saga of the "War On Christmas." Such comments always shock me. Who would want to destroy the greatest of all celebrations? What is it they are so afraid of? What offends them so much to seek to shut it down? While I am aware of the fallen condition of its human heart and answers to explain the politics of such discussions, I am again amazed at the intensity of such assault on this our celebration of hope, the coming of our precious Lord as a baby, the coming of our salvation.

Then I realize our Christmas Pageant is waging a real war. We the members and guests of Emmanuel are celebrating Christmas with full force and all our energy. Each part of our church participates whether passively or actively. Together we embrace the renovation of our worship center, the rearrangement of schedules to accommodate the Christmas Pageant performances and practices. We witness the fullness of the body as each part utilizes its resources to share to the best of our abilities a clear presentation of the Gospel. I am always astounded by the unity and sacrifice of so many believers each offering their own gift of service. It’s true I sometimes hear cries of being tired in the midst of it all, but like so many things, the work becomes a badge of honor and seems to build an even tighter bond in the midst of the body of Emmanuel. We the people of Emmanuel seek to share the message of Christmas with full force to all in our community, Northwest Oklahoma and now to the world. We actively engage in this battle to keep our Lord and Savior the center of this busy season.

In the midst of this proclamation of Christ’s coming, I am encouraged each year with new friends I encounter. I am taken back by the kind words of our guests. I am edified by stories of Christmas Pageants of long ago that still affect the hearts of those coming back. As I reflect on past years, I miss the books of the Bible by our Pastor. I miss the song of David Jenkins many years ago of Peter’s betrayal. I miss the songs of Brian Jenkins and Joyce Bonnett and Elizabeth Stone. I miss the presence of Patsy Cox and seeing her smile so boldly as I slipped my hands over her withered hands. Then I reflect on the present—Steve Yarbrough’s portrayal of Lazarus. I actually imagine I am there. I begin to visualize the words of Scripture in a way I never imagined before. I see a dead man come alive. I witness the reality of his greatest miracles before my eyes.

I think of the unique experiences afforded me this year. A new friend, a young Air Force pilot making a brief stop in Enid, but managing to find a way to plug into our Pageant. I think of a young Chinese immigrant who never heard the story of the Gospel. I think of a mentally handicapped young man crying as he identifies the pain of Jesus crying out on the rock in prayer. I sense this young man understands pain in a way I cannot fathom and I am humbled by his compassion and faith.

There is both a sense of discomfort and honor in portraying Christ before our congregation. While we are all to represent Christ, I realize many people do not remember my given name but only remember me as Jesus. I realize my actions matter. I feel like Peter making bold claims but being very weak and capable of the greatest of all falls in a moment. There is also a sense of great pride in being associated with such an army of volunteers. There is also a blessing in portraying the role of Christ. I wish every one could be lifted up on the cross, to carry the cross through an angry mob, to walk in the midst of clouds among angels, to look at the soldiers that crucified you, to gaze upon the audience as I pray over the rock of (Gethsemane) and to feel the new found victory of Jesus coming out of the tomb. These are all moments, I cherish. They are intensely personal.

Today I learned that over 450 people watched our Pageant online. I realize that one day, more may watch online that be seated in our pews. My spirit rests and knows that we proclaim a message the whole world needs to hear. We will win the war on Christmas ... one soul at a time.

Craig Shriner

Reflections . . . Christmas Pageant 2012 - Part I

The surf is up! I am riding a spiritual wave after the conclusion of our annual Christmas Pageant. What a blessing it was to be a part of such a wonderful worship event. What a tremendous opportunity to bring glory and honor to the birth, life, death and resurrection of our Lord. Almost 300 volunteers laid this Pageant at Christ's feet—a tiny offering compared to Calvary but one we desperately wanted to give. Our goal was to present the good news of the gospel and share the joy and peace He provides. The Pageant with all its drama, music, singing, costumes, props, staging, and effects could never hope to save a single soul. Only Jesus saves! Faith in the blood of Christ saves! Accepting God's grace through faith in what Jesus did for us saves! We are to go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Ours is to share. His is to save. The Christmas Pageant is a tool used by God to cut deep and true. I am reminded of what John the Baptist shared in John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." He is increased when we take the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and wield it with confidence. Know God with your head, love God with your heart, and share God with your lips. If we can die to self and abandon ourselves to God's mission, we can be confident the Holy Spirit will use the Holy Scripture to make us whole and holy.

Some lyrics from the Pageant crucifixion scene: "He could have left the garden long before he was betrayed. He could have summoned angels to come and end the pain. But He willingly surrendered there as He laid down His life—the Shepherd given as the Lamb to be our sacrifice. He chose the cross. He heard the call. He saw the need and gave his all. His heart compelled by love's greatest cause, to seek and save He chose the cross."

Do I really understand the depth, width and height of what He did for me on the cross? His love is too deep, wide and high for me to comprehend. But I know He loves me nonetheless and He will never fail me. The promises of God are...eternal, unyielding, binding, spectacular, righteous and holy. How great thou art! Isn't it oh so humbling to serve such an awesome God?! We have been transformed and can't help but proclaim Him as Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Prince of Peace, and the Lamb of Glory. He is truly the Lord of all!

May the richest blessings of the Christmas gospel message overflow within you this holiday season. The baby born of a virgin, the carpenter of Nazareth, the Jesus of ministry, the Christ of the cross, the creator of the universe...He dwells within you! Truly He is the greatest gift of all.

Hey, I have to go. Surf’s up again. There's another really great wave coming in I have to catch! Hope to see you out on God's ocean of faith, hope, and love. Merry Christmas!

For His Increase,

Steve Yarbrough (a.k.a., Lazarus)

InChoirer - October 3, 2012

If you were not with us this past Sunday evening (September 30th), you missed a glorious worship experience! We had a wonderful afternoon and evening with the combined choirs and orchestras of Southern Hills and Emmanuel. Our soloists represented us well, our choir sang their hearts out, and our orchestra added to the great sound. I want to thank everyone for the adjustments you had to make to give up an afternoon and evening so this could happen. All in all, we took 93+ individuals down and I think everyone will agree . . . it was a LONG day, but we can’t wait to do it again!

And we will do it again . . . on Sunday, October 21^st, but this time Southern Hills will come here. Our choir officers will be coordinating our efforts to be the best hosts ever (!) and we may be calling on some of you to help us out. We would really like to have EVERYONE with us in both our choir and orchestra on the 21^st so please save the day and plan to be a part as we host the great folks from Southern Hills.

If you read the other side (of the InChoirer) you will see a rather frightening number . . . we only have 66 days until Christmas Pageant! The concert music is finally in and Faye has published the full choir dates for you to be able to plan accordingly. In addition, we will schedule some "bonus" rehearsals that we’ll be telling you more about in the weeks ahead. Please spend time with your music and CDs on your own. The sooner we begin singing from memory, the more comfortable you will be when we start putting all the pieces together!

God has so richly blessed us . . . let’s worship this evening and Sunday and on every day in between!

Worship

We recently hosted a "Meet and Greet" with the new worship guy (Dr. Randy Lind) for our state convention. He made one statement that resounded with me—"Worship unites. Styles divide." As we look at the evolution of the church and worship we see the truth that can all too often be found in this statement dating back throughout the centuries. After all many of the gospel hymn standards were considered radical in the 1800's. Many of the songs from the 60's, 70's, and 80's was new and radical at the time, but can now be found in our hymnals. The evolution of music and it's impact on worship styles is nothing new.

Combined worship!

That is why Sunday worship at Emmanuel this past week was so exciting. As a part of "Project Connect Sunday" which focused on our youth and the new space, we joined together with our adult and youth choir filling the choir loft, members from the Refuge leadership team, joining with our worship pastor and a members of the orchestra's rhythm section and we worshipped!

It was glorious. There is nothing like uniting all the forces and worshipping the One True God. As we continue to worship each week, with our services reverting to their regular schedules, it is our goal that every week we will always remain united in worship even as we worship in different services and regardless of the style!

Let’s worship!

And we're home . . .

Last ride with Mario

Australia was an experience of a lifetime. We each had different opportunities, different experiences, but we all had a wonderful trip and we each saw God at work in the lives we encountered and in our own lives, too. Today was departure day and we got up this morning, loaded Mario's "coach" one last time, and headed to Sydney Airport.

Today was all about lines and sitting and waiting, more shopping, card playing, cat naps, snacking, loading planes, sitting, sleeping, standing in lines, etc. We even managed some plane watching! You get the picture.

Looks like we have a LONG way still to go!

Our itinerary said we would depart Sydney at 1:25 p.m. on Saturday, July 21, and arrive at DFW at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 21, which we joked about frequently since that twenty minutes actually translated into 15 hours and 15 minutes! Crossing the International Dateline certainly made life interesting the entire time we were gone as we would discuss things in Australia and at home and never knew whether we were talking about yesterday, today, or tomorrow!

After the 15+ hours flying back from Sydney, we weren't finished yet! We still had to fly from DFW to OKC, and then we boarded the "bus" (we were back in Oklahoma, now!) and drove on into Enid. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. We did have two couples who somehow didn't have seat assignments at Dallas so they were forced to sit . . . in first class! I don't think they were complaining about anything!!

At last . . . it is good to be home (even though it IS hot!) and we look forward to returning to worship at Emmanuel, but Australia will not be soon forgotten. The trip made a deep impact on ALL of us and as we reflect on the trip, the lives, the experiences, this trip to Sydney will continue to live on for a long time to come.

Semper Gumby!

Margie Mathison and Mario with his "coach"

We were introduced to the phrase "Semper Gumby!" as our motto for the week when we first arrived in Australia and today we practiced it as best laid plans had to go to Plan B, then Plan C, and we sort of lost count! Originally, Mario was going to drop us off to take the ferry to Manly and then pick us up in Manly later in the day. However, there was no power at the Manly ferry dock so the ferry couldn't run, so Mario to the rescue drove us to Manly (about 45 minutes). Then we were going to take the ferry back to Darling Harbour, but . . . they couldn't guarantee it would be running, so Mario to the rescue again as he agreed to hang around and take us back! Times kept changing with each new plan, but in the end, we had a delightful time in Manly for all our last minute shopping and we had a gorgeous view of the ocean . . . and the sounds of the surf . . . it was great. There was even a whale swimming around for a while so a few got to see a whale without paying for "whale watching!"

After lunch, we loaded up and headed back to Darling Harbour for part of the group who had tickets to go to the "World's Largest IMAX" to watch the new Batman movie, while others opted to return to the hotel for more shopping, sightseeing, and packing before heading to Congress Hall for our "Farewell Dinner."


We had a fabulous meal from Ash and his crew . . . again . . . and then we received our last minute instructions to hopefully get us home in one piece! But then we began to share about highlights and experiences and we again affirmed that "Semper Gumby" rules! You see, the ministry parts of this trip have had to be as fluid and flexible as the tourist parts. We left Oklahoma with a tentative plan, an order of worship . . . that we never totally followed! We met some great people and we discovered that God had brought us to this time and place with a real purpose. In every venue we would watch as people's body language would change from the closed off crossed arms to a more relaxed posture to one of out and out worship. The people who spoke each time we sang varied primarily between Steve, as our past-president, and John, as our missions pastor. They never really knew what they were going to say. Everything was fluid, but somehow it was always right. Bonds were formed on many levels based on different triggers. Some were drawn to smiles, some to common interests, some to common hurts, but all were drawn by God to a divine appointment that included us as we all worshiped together.

In the end, I am one who was pushed out of my comfort zone. I didn't even have a passport until about four months ago. I'm not adverturous by nature (and that hasn't changed). I like to hide in my corner and do what I know how to do. But I would not have missed this for the world. God is so good.

Our final request would be that you continue to pray, obviously for us as we travel home on Saturday, but even after we're safely home and far from this beautiful country please pray for the people we have met in Australia. Pray for Pastor Steve Hales and the people of West Ryde Baptist Church here in Sydney. Pray for the efforts of the Salvation Army in Sydney through their weekly worship services; for the individuals at the Elder Care Facility who lit up our lives; for each person at the William Booth Center, the employees, the volunteers, and the clients battling addictions of all sorts. And pray for Ian and Carolyn Altman and the Lithgow Baptist Church. Pray for the sweet lady who had to be rolled in to hear us sing at the Elder Care facility, but came in singing "How Great Thou Art." Pray for the new father struggling with issues in his own father's health and for the young lady who had just returned from the unexpected death of her mother to hear Steve share about the loss of his dad at an early age and the change it had on his life. Pray for each of us as participants in this journey that we will always look back and remember we were a part of God's plan for the people of Australia this past week.