God in All Things

I went back to the little town where I was born. I saw the friends of my childhood, and later I went out to God’s acre. There stood the little schoolhouse, and the old academy. The great oak-trees swayed above the house where I was born. The little brook still rippled over the stones; once more the fruit was ripe in the orchard and the nuts brown in the forest trees; again the shouts of the old companions were heard on the hillside and the laughter of the skaters filled the air; and yet all was changed. Gone the old minister, who baptized me! Gone the old professors and teachers who taught us. In the little graveyard slept the fathers. The stars shone over the mounds, the graves were silent, but God was over all. And all is well. For our times have been in God’s hands. –N. D. Hillis.

Related articles

• “God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” ~~Jesus (mww1954.wordpress.com)
• God Delights In His Son (pttyann2.wordpress.com)
• Did God Cause Kids to Die in Connecticut? (gregoryccochran.com)
• Glory To God (cherilynclough.com)
• Daily IN-spiration ~ December 19th (revsandy.wordpress.com)
• (God =Love )+ (Love = 1 Corinthians 13:3) = Character of God (michellehudlin.wordpress.com)
• Does God Exist? (bibledonate.wordpress.com)
• How Evil Changes Everything (theologyaspoetry.wordpress.com)

Who Art In Heaven?

      “Dwellers on the Mississippi and Missouri, and in the back woods of Canada and the prairies of the West, are there. Millions from the Andes and the isles of the Pacific, from the mountains of Thibet and the cities of China; from every jungle of India and from every pagoda of Hindostan, the untutored Arab and the uncultivated Druse, and the ‘tribes of the weary foot,’ the children of Salem are there,  *  *  and Augustine and Luther are there also, and many, we in our uncharitableness, or bigotry, or exclusiveness, or ignorance, excluded from Heaven, will be there also; and our sires and sons and babes and parents will be there, completed circles never again to be broken, and their united voices will give utterance to their deep and enduring gratitude “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and that hath made us kings and priests unto God, even the Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Rev. Dr. Cumming.

Related articles

• A Heaven In His Eyes (thewaywardwonderer.wordpress.com)
• Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever 121612 (carrlanebaptist1988.wordpress.com)
• A poem for the victims loved ones in memory of heavens newest angels (ireport.cnn.com)
• Tears in Heaven…. (menopauselsupermodel.wordpress.com)
• A human expression (room4truth.com)
• Memorial to the fallen in Newtown, Conn: Tears in Heaven (guardianlv.com)
• Trust in The Lord * Psalm 115 [KJV] | Bible Resources (spiceofyourlife.wordpress.com)
• The Arts (historiccoastmagazinefl.com)

Faith Fulfilled By Works

A youthful owner of swine had a wealthy uncle. His uncle cribbed corn for the market. One day he told his nephew that he could have all the corn that he could carry in a blanket from the cribs, where the men were shelling, across the alley to the barn where the swine were kept. To his uncle’s surprise and delight, the boy took him at his word, and carried corn all day. The boy did this because he had faith in his uncle’s word. The nephew’s faith pleased him when he sow how much corn he had. It the boy had professed belief in his uncle’s promise without acting upon it, there would have been intellectual assent but no real faith.

This is a type of our relation to God. Faith takes God at his word. “His divine power hath given us all things that pertain to life and Godliness through the knowledge of Him who hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.” Every gift of God that we accept and use for Him is a new proof of our faith.

More Links To Faithfulness:

• Great Is Thy Faithfulness
• Faithfulness a Sermon
• Faithfulness Sermon Illustrations
• The God You Can Trust

“The Old Rugged Cross”

George Bennard (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“The Old Rugged Cross” is a popular Christian song written in 1912 by evangelist and song-leader George Bennard (1873-1958).

George Bennard, was a native of Youngstown, Ohio but was reared in Iowa. After his conversion in a Salvation Army meeting, he and his wife became brigade leaders before leaving the organization for the Methodist Church. As a Methodist evangelist, Bennard wrote the first verse of the gospel song, “The Old Rugged Cross” in Albion, Michigan, in the fall of 1912. Charles H. Gabriel, a well-known gospel-song composer helped Bennard with the harmonies. The completed version was first performed on June 7th, 1913, by a choir of five in Pokagon Michigan. Published in 1915, the song was popularized during Billy Sunday evangelistic campaigns by two members of his campaign staff, Homer Rodeheaver (who bought rights to the song for $500) and Virginia Asher, who were perhaps also the first to record it in 1921. The Old Rugged Cross uses a sentimental popular song form with a verse/chorus pattern in 3/4 time, and it speaks of the writer’s Christian experience rather than his adoration of God. Bennard retired to Reed City, Michigan, and the town maintains a museum dedicated to his life and ministry.

“The Old Rugged Cross” remains enormously popular and has been performed by some of the twentieth century’s most important recording artists, including: Al Green, Anne Murray, Brad Paisley, Chet Atkins, Elvis Presley, Floyd Cramer, George Jones, Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Kevin Max, Mahalia Jackson, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Ray Price, Ricky Van Shelton, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Statler Brothers, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, and George Beverly Shea. The song was also sung on “Gridlock,” an episode of the long-running sci-fi drama series Doctor Who.

Lyrics

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.

More links about George Bennard:

• George Bennard 1873-1958
• Classical Hymns by George Bennard

Youtube video of “The Old Rugged Cross:”

• “The Old Rugged Cross” by Alan Jackson
• John Berry sings “The Old Rugged Cross”
• Brad Paisley sings “The Old Rugged Cross”
• “The Old Rugged Cross,” by Johnny Cash
• Lewis George performs “The Old Rugged Cross”

Related articles

• Miracles and Wonders Never Cease (churchpianoplayer.com)
• holding a nail… (trishborgdorff.wordpress.com)
• Sound Doctrine is a Must! (writethesongs101.wordpress.com)

Introduction to The 7 Days of Creation

Title: Introduction to The 7 Days of Creation

Subject: God created the world

Brief Description: Stories from the Bible that are adapted for specific age groups. (This is a common practice for children who do not read or who do not understand advanced vocabulary.)

Grade Level: preschool -2^nd grade

Goals/Objectives:

• Students will listen and respond to the story of creation derivative from the first chapter of Genesis. 
• Students will cut and paste images under specific categories discussed during the lesson.

Resources:

• A printed copy of this lesson plan by Charlotte M. Yonge
• A Bible

Supplies Per Student:

• Magazines and pictures for students to cut from that represent animals, people, places and things that were created by God
• Washable white glue or paste stick
• Age appropriate scissors (rounded edges, easy grip handles)
• Five 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of copy paper folded in half and stapled together to make a ten-page book per each student.

The Main Activity: Listening to a Bible Story

Biblical Reference: Genesis 1:1-31

First Reading:

In the Bible we are told how God made this earth we live on. Sunday is the earth’s birthday, for on the first day of the week the Creation began.

The world was all one mass dark, empty, and shapeless till God made the light by His Word, and said that the light was good. Without light we could not live: even the very trees and flowers would die. When we have been in the dark, how glad we are to see light come back, even if it be only one grey line beginning in the sky! This shows how blessed is this gift. It was good, too, that we should have quiet dark night for rest and stillness.

The second great change enclosed the earth in an outer ball of air, which we call the sky or firmament. That is the deep blue into which we look up and up. The water rises up from the earth and makes the clouds that take such strange shapes, sometimes dark and full of rain to water the earth, sometimes shining white, or pink and golden with morning or evening light.

The third great change was, that water filled the deep hollows of the earth, while the hills rose up dry above them, with rivers and streams running down their slopes into the deep seas below. God did not leave the land bare and stony: He clothed it with green fresh plants and herbs, with leaves and flowers, and trees to give us their fruit or their wood, and filled even the sea with plants formed to live under water.

Questions:

1. Who made the world?
2. What was the first thing that God made?
3. What is the book from the Bible that tells us about how the earth was made?

Quick Assessment: Observe and listen for understanding and general happiness among student participants. Encourage students to listen to the story as it progresses so that they will know the answers to your questions when you ask. This is an important technique used in classrooms everywhere that promotes comprehension in children. Take your time with the technique and make sure all of your students learn “how” to listen carefully. Smile as you go.

Second Reading:

Next, God allowed the rays of the sun to gladden the earth, and let it see the moon lighted up by the sun, as well as the stars far beyond our firmament.  We count the months by the changes in the moon; and our earth s journey round the sun marks our years and seasons. We all rejoice in a bright sunny day, though the sun is too bright and glorious for us to bear to gaze at him; and how lovely the moon looks, either as a young crescent, or a beautiful full moon!

The waters began to be full of live things, that swam, or crept, or flew; fishes, and birds, and insects. By that time this world was nearly as we see it, and a beautiful home for us to live in. Then God made the four-footed beasts sheep and cows, horses, dogs, cats, elephants, lions all that we use or admire; and, last of all, when He had made this earth a happy, healthy place, He planted the Garden of Eden, and put in it the first man and woman, the best of all that He had made; for though their bodies were of dust, like those of the beasts, yet their souls came from the Breath of God. They could think, speak, pray, and heed what is unseen as well as what is seen.

Questions:

1. What is there in the sky that God made?
2. What is there on the earth?
3. What do you see round you that He made?
4. Can we make birds, or beasts, or flowers?
5. Or could we make them live?
6. Who makes them and us live?
7. Where does all our food come from?
8. Who gave us corn?
9. What must we ask God to do for us?
10. What must we thank Him for?
11. Do you not think it would be pleasant to whisper to yourself, when you see a pretty flower, or a beautiful sky, or when the sun shines bright and warm, “Thank you God for being so good to me”?

Quick Assessment: Observe and listen for understanding and general happiness among student participants. Encourage students to listen to the story as it progresses so that they will know the answers to your questions when you ask. This is an important technique used in classrooms everywhere that promotes comprehension in children. Take your time with the technique and make sure all of your students learn “how” to listen carefully. Smile as you go.

Supporting Activity: Students will cut and paste pictures that represent all that God created in the first chapter of Genesis. Teachers should cut and paste or write by hand the Bible memory verse for this lesson on the front cover of each student’s booklet. Teacher’s may choose to number the order of the pages to correspond to the days of creation.

Step-by-step:

1. Welcome the students into your room with warm smiles and enthusiasm.
2. Seat students on a large area rug along with Sunday school volunteers.
3. Sit on a low stool or chair and hold a Bible opened to the book of Genesis. Tell the children that the story your going to share comes from the Bible.
4. Give the first reading. Make eye contact frequently with every child and smile. Ask the first set of questions and wait patiently for young students to respond.
5. Give the second reading by the same method.
6. Gather children around a low table to cut and paste the pictures representing the days of creation from the story after passing out the blank books one per child.
7. If the students are very young you may not choose to remind them of the specific days or order of creation. Students in older grade levels should be able to remember more specific information.  It is up to the Sunday school teacher to assess the aptitude of her students during the readings in order to determine how much of the story students have retained.
8. Remind the children that their memory verse is included with their book so that their parents may “listen” to their own accounts of the lesson while looking at their new book.
9. Close the lesson with the prayer included below.

Closing Activity: Prayer Time

There are many, many lessons to be learnt from this wonderful story. Let us try to take home one of them:

 “Father let the ground below, the light above, the sky and sea, the sun and moon, the trees and flowers, the birds and beasts, and Your holy day of rest,  remind us that they come from You. Help us to be very thankful for all the wonderful parts of creation that You have blessed us with. Amen”

Memory Work:

” In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

More Introductory Lessons to The Creation Story:

• Book of Genesis: Chapter 1
• Creation Resource from akidsheart

The Apostle Peter

Then, after that, as Jesus with

His twelve disciples walked

To Caesarea Philippi,

And gravely with them talked,

 * * *

He asked them who the people said

The He, Himself, might be;

They answered John, Elias , and

The prophet Jeremy.

 * * *

He saith: “But whom say ye am I,

Who long with you have trod?”

Peter exclaimed : “Thou art the Christ,

Son of the living God!”

 * * *

Then Jesus answered him : “How blest

Simon Bar-jona, thou,

For flesh and blood hath not revealed

What thou, from heaven, dost know.

* * *

“And I say also unto thee,

That thou art Peter sure,

And on this rock I’ll build my church

From gates of hell secure.

* * *

“Keys of authority and truth

Shall unto thee be given;

What thou dost bind or loose on earth

Is bound and loosed in heaven.”

* * *

From that time forth the Lord began

To tell, and to explain

To His disciples, how He should

Be killed, and rise again.

* * *

But Peter said : “Nay, nay, my Lord

This, surely, shall not be;

Such treatment of the Prince of Life–

Were great indignity.”

* * *

But Jesus turned and said to him :

“Satan, get thee behind,

Thou savorest not the things of God,

But pride of carnal mind.”

* * *

And then said Jesus to them all :

“Who will my servant be,

Must deny self, take up his cross,

And humbly follow me.

* * *

“For who soe’er will save his life,

Shall lose it in the end;

But he who yields it for my sake,

To life in heaven shall tend.

* * *

“For what is a man profited

If he shall gain the whole

Of this world’s pompous wealth and

power,

Yet lose his own poor soul?”

Jesus Teaches Humility

One day while Jesus sat at rest

He asked the twelve to say

What was it they disputed, as

They walked along the way.

* * *

But they replied not, for they had

Disputed which should gain

The greatest rank and power, when

Their Lord should come to reign.

* * *

Then Jesus said : “If any man

Desire the highest place,

He shall be last, and servant, too,

Within the realm of grace.”

* * *

He set a child in midst of them,

Then took him in His arm,

And said : “Whoso receiveth such,

And shieldeth him from harm,

* * *

“Receiveth me, if, with true love,

He does it in my name,

And not only receiveth me,

But Him from whom I came.”

At Bethany

And as they went, He and the twelve,

Along the public road,

They entered into Bethany,

Where Martha, kind abode;

 * * *

Who hospitably welcomed Him

Into her house to rest,

Then hastened to provide for Him

Refreshments of the best.

 * * *

Meanwhile her sister Mary,

Who long had wished to meet

The gracious Lord and hear His voice

Sat meekly at His feet.

 * * *

But Martha, cumbered and perplexed

With anxious, household care,

And wishing for her welcome Guest

A banquet to prepare,

* * *

Entered the room where Jesus sat,

And said : “Lord, dost Thou know

My sister lets me serve alone?

Bid her some help bestow.”

* * *

And Jesus answered in a tone

Of grace yet king concern,

“O, Martha, Martha, good and true,

Thou something hast to learn.

 * * *

“Thou careful art, and troubled much

All good things to enjoy,

And that thy friends may feast full well

Thy time and means employ;

 * * *

“And yet there’s but one needful thing,

Worthy thine utmost thought,

And that good part is Mary’s choice,

Which from her take thou not.”

The Lord’s Prayer

Again, did Jesus journey on,

When, in a certain place,

He lifted up His voice in prayer

With unction, power and grace.

 * * *

When He had ceased on of the twelve

Said :”Lord, teach us to pray,

As John taught those who followed him,

“We wish to do as they.”

 * * *

He taught them then that form of prayer

Which pure devotion is;

Known a The Lord’s Prayer ever since,

Because the words are His.

* * *

Then on He went, and preached the truth,

Along each country road,

And taught the people, high and low,

The love and fear of God;

* * *

And told them how God answers prayer.

If prayer be warm and true–

With far more loving, swift response

Than earthly parents do.

The Woman With an Infirmity

Now, in a synagogue, as He

One Sabbath day did preach,

Behold a woman, quite bowed down

And listening to His speech,

* * *

A poor, afflicted sufferer,

Who bore with groans and tears,

A spirit of infirmity

For fully eighteen years.

 * * *

Upon her Jesus laid His hand,

And, suddenly made straight,

She rose and glorified her God,

Whose mercies are so great.

* * *

The ruler of the synagogue,

Indignant the the Lord

Upon the Sabbath day had wrought

This healing by His word,

* * *

Unto the people said : “There are

Six days in which you may

Do all your works;–in them be healed–

Not on the Sabbath day.”

* * *

Then Jesus answered : “Hypocrite,

Doth not each of you think

It right, on Sabbath day, to lead

His beast away to drink?

* * *

“And ought not this poor woman, who

Is Abraham’s daughter, be

Made loose from pain she bore so long

Through Satan’s tyranny?”

* * *

And all His adversaries were

Ashamed when thus He chid,

While others wondered are rejoiced

For all the works He did.