An Unfinished Story: The Seventh Lesson

The seventh lesson: the shepherds go to the manger

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.  Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in highest heaven,
    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.  All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.  The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
(Luke 2:8-20, NLT)

Angels We Have Heard on High

The Piano Guys

(This is one of my favorite groups - not traditional, but definitely beautiful)

Angels we have on heard high

Sweetly singing ore the plains

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains 

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo 

Come to Bethlehem and see

Christ whose birth the angels sing

Come adore on bended knee

Christ the Lord the newborn King 

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo 

See him in a manger laid

Whom the choirs of angels praise

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid

While our hearts in love we raise 

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria, in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo

"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa.  I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm.  I edited to make it more modern.

An Unfinished Story: The Sixth Lesson

And now, after a brief interlude of family and food, I will continue with the unfinished story.  It seems to me appropriate to continue this after Christmas, after the commercialism has reached it's peak, after our attention moves away from lights! sweets! gifts!  Although it is still the same story that has been broadcasted for the last six weeks, year after year, don't allow yourself to become tired of it.  It is so important, no matter what time of year we tell it!

The sixth lesson: Luke tells of the birth of Jesus

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.  She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

(Luke 2:1-7, NLT)

Away in a Manger

Casting Crowns

Away in a manger, 

No crib for His bed 

The little Lord Jesus 

Laid down His sweet head 

The stars in the bright sky 

Looked down where He lay 

The little Lord Jesus 

Asleep on the hay 

The cattle are lowing 

The poor Baby wakes 

But little Lord Jesus 

No crying He makes 

I love Thee, Lord Jesus 

Look down from the sky 

And stay by my side, 

'Til morning is nigh. 

Be near me, Lord Jesus, 

I ask Thee to stay 

Close by me forever 

And love me I pray 

Bless all the dear children 

In Thy tender care 

And take us to heaven 

To live with Thee there

"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa.  I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm.  I edited to make it more modern.

An Unfinished Story: The Fifth Lesson

The fifth lesson: the angel Gabriel salutes Mary

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.  What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.  For nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
(Luke 1:26-38, NLT)

A Baby Changes Everything

Faith Hill

Teenage girl, much too young

Unprepared for what's to come

A baby changes everything

Not a ring on her hand

All her dreams and all her plans

A baby changes everything

A baby changes everything

The man she loves she's never touched

How will she keep his trust?

A baby changes everything

A baby changes everything

And she cries!

Ooh, she cries

Ooh, oh

She has to leave, go far away

Heaven knows she can't stay

A baby changes everything

She can feel He's coming soon

There's no place, there's no room

A baby changes everything

A baby changes everything

And she cries!

And she cries!

Oh, she cries

Shepherds all gather 'round

Up above the star shines down

A baby changes everything

Choir of angels sing

Glory to the newborn King

A baby changes everything

A baby changes everything

Everything, everything, everything

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

My whole life has turned around

I was lost but now I'm found

A baby changes everything, yeah

A baby changes everything

"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa.  I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm.  I edited to make it more modern.

An Unfinished Story: The Fourth Lesson

The fourth lesson: The prophet Micah foretells the glory of little Bethlehem

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you,
    one whose origins are from the distant past.
The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies
    until the woman in labor gives birth.
Then at last his fellow countrymen
    will return from exile to their own land.
And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
Then his people will live there undisturbed,
    for he will be highly honored around the world.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Phillip Brooks, 1867

O little town of Bethlehem

How still we see thee lie

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by

Yet in thy dark streets shineth 

The everlasting light

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in thee tonight.

O morning stars together

Proclaim the holy birth

And praises sing to God the King 

And peace to men on Earth

For Christ is born of Mary

And gathered all above

While mortals sleep, the angels keep

Their watch of wond'ring love.

How silently, how silently

The wondrous gift is given

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of his heav'n 

No ear may hear his coming

But in this world of sin

Where meek souls will receive him still

The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem

Descend to us, we pray

Cast out our sin, and enter in

Be born in us today

We hear the Christmas angels

The great glad tidings tell

O come to us, abide with us

Our Lord Emmanuel!

"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa.  I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm.  I edited to make it more modern.

An Unfinished Story: The Third Lesson

The third lesson: The prophet Isaiah foretells the coming of the Savior

The people who walk in darkness

    will see a great light.

For those who live in a land of deep darkness,

    a light will shine.

You will enlarge the nation of Israel,

    and its people will rejoice.

They will rejoice before you

    as people rejoice at the harvest

    and like warriors dividing the plunder.

For you will break the yoke of their slavery

    and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.

You will break the oppressor’s rod,

    just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.

The boots of the warrior

    and the uniforms bloodstained by war

will all be burned.

    They will be fuel for the fire.

For a child is born to us,

    a son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders.

    And he will be called:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace

    will never end.

He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David

    for all eternity.

The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies

    will make this happen!

(Isaiah 9:2-7, NLT)

Messiah (For Unto Us a Child is Born)

Handel, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis

"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa.  I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm.  I edited to make it more modern.

An Unfinished Story: The Second Lesson

The Second Lesson: God promises to faithful Abraham that in his seed shall all the nations of the Earth be blessed.

     Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. "This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.  And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

(Genesis 22:15-18, NLT)

Who But You (Abraham & Sarah)

Various Artists
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEmnjRKitFA

Too little too late, his time has come and gone

Is that what they say when I walk by?

I've got a little more grey, my steps are slow and long

And the promise you've made fades in the moonlight

I see a star; You see the Milky Way

I see one man counting sand

But you see generations

Who, but You, would ever choose

To dream Your dream in me?

Tell me who, but You, would dare me to

Believe what I can't see

Who, but You?

You'd think by now, it wouldn't bother me

The hush from the crowd when I walk by

And you'd think somehow, I'd let my heart believe

It's time to let go of lullabies

I see a star; You see a galaxy

There's just one hope, just one way

These arms will not stay empty

Who, but You, would ever choose

To dream Your dream in me?

Tell me who, but You, would dare me to

Believe what I can't see

Who, but You?

So call me crazy, call me a fool

You alone can do the things You promised to

You are Yahweh, I'm just a man

I'm counting tiny grains of sand

Placing every promise in Your hand

Who, but You, would ever choose

To dream Your dream in me?

Tell me who, but You, would dare me to

Believe what I can't see

Who, but You? 

Great and mighty God, I believe, I believe You

Keeper of the stars, I believe, I believe You

"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa.  I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm.  I edited to make it more modern.

An Unfinished Story: The First Lesson

     I must first start with a disclaimer: this was not an original idea of mine.  "An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa.  I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm.  I edited to make it more modern.

The First Lesson: Humankind rebels and is separated from God

      When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.  Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
     He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
     “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
     The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
     Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

     Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, you are cursed
    more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
    groveling in the dust as long as you live.
And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
    and you will strike his heel."

     Then he said to the woman,
“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
    and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
    but he will rule over you.”

     And to the man he said,
“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree
    whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
    All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
    though you will eat of its grains.
By the sweat of your brow
    will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
    from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
    and to dust you will return.”
(Genesis 3:8-19, New Living Translation (NLT))

Remember, O Thou Man 

by Thomas Ravenscroft, 1611

 Remember, O thou Man, 

O thou Man, O thou Man, 

Remember, O thou Man, 

Thy time is spent. 

Remember, O thou Man, 

How thou camest to me then, 

And I did what I can. 

Therefore repent. 

 Remember Adam's fall, 

O thou Man, O thou Man, 

Remember Adam's fall 

From Heaven to Hell. 

Remember Adam's fall, 

How we were condemned all 

To Hell perpetual, 

There for to dwell. 

 Remember God's goodness, 

O thou Man, O thou Man, 

Remember God's goodness 

And promise made. 

Remember God's goodness, 

How his only Son he sent 

Our sins for to redress. 

Be not afraid.

For the Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth,

for the beauty of the skies,

for the love which from our birth

over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

this our grateful hymn of praise.

For the beauty of each hour

of the day and of the night,

hill and vale, and tree and flower,

sun and moon, and stars of light,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

this our grateful hymn of praise.

This hymn has just been running through my head these last couple of days.  I look around me and I see so much beauty.  I'm driving along and I think OH I wish I had my camera.  So here's a couple instances when I did.

 Lamppost silhouetted by the sunrise

 Frost over the water at sunrise

 Sun shining through the forest along a undeveloped road

 Green moss on a tree in the forest

 Frost on a rosebud with a lamppost behind

 Frost on the roses in the gray dawn 

 Frosty grass in my lawn

 Water from snowmelt trickling over a cliff

Icicles and hanging moss

This is my last reflective post until after the holidays.  I'll be posting a series called "An Unfinished Story" in preparation for Christmas, so keep an eye out!