Category Archives: The Passion Of The Christ

He’s Alive!

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Believe It!!

And Base Your Whole Life Around That Truth!

(We did a human video drama of this song for Fine Arts Competition several years ago…)

So Powerful!!

John 19:35

“The man who saw it

has given testimony,

and his testimony is true.

He knows that he tells the truth,

and he testifies so that you also may believe.”

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The gates and doors were barred
And all the windows fastened down
I spent the night in sleeplessness
And rose at every sound
Half in hopeless sorrow
And half in fear the day
Would find the soldiers breakin’ through
To drag us all away

And just before the sunrise
I heard something at the wall
The gate began to rattle
And a voice began to call
I hurried to the window
Looked down into the street
Expecting swords and torches
And the sound of soldiers’ feet

But there was no one there but Mary
So I went down to let her in
John stood there beside me
As she told me where she’d been
She said they might have moved Him in the night
And none of us knows where
The stone’s been rolled away
And now His body isn’t there

We both ran toward the garden
Then John ran on ahead
We found the stone and empty tomb
Just the way that Mary said
But the winding sheet they wrapped Him in
Was just an empty shell
And how or where they’d taken Him
Was more than I could tell

Oh, something strange had happened there
Just what I did not know
John believed a miracle
But I just turned to go
Circumstance and speculation
Couldn’t lift me very high
‘Cause I’d seen them crucify Him
Then I saw Him die

Back inside the house again
The guilt and anguish came
Everything I’d promised Him
Just added to my shame
When at last it came to choices
I denied I knew His Name
And even if He was Alive
It wouldn’t be the same

But, suddenly the air was filled
With a strange and sweet perfume
Light that came from everywhere
Drove the shadows from the room
And Jesus stood before me
With His arms held open wide
And I fell down on my knees
And I just clung to Him and cried

Then He raised me to my feet
And as I looked into His eyes
The love was shining out from Him
Like sunlight from the skies
Guilt in my confusion
Disappeared in sweet release
And every fear I’d ever had
Just melted into peace

He’s Alive!  Yes, He’s Alive!
Yes, He’s Alive, and I’m forgiven
Heaven’s gates are open wide
He’s Alive!  Yes, He’s Alive!
Oh ,He’s Alive, and I’m forgiven
Heaven’s gates are open wide
He’s Alive!  Yes, He’s Alive!
Hallelujah!!  He’s Alive!
He’s Alive, and I’m forgiven
Heaven’s gates are open wide
He’s Alive!  He’s Alive!  He’s Alive!
I believe it!!  He’s Alive!
Sweet Jesus!!

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John 20:19

“On the evening of that first day of the week,

when the disciples were together,

with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders,

Jesus came

and stood among them and said,

‘Peace be with you!’

After He said this,

He showed them His hands and side.

The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”

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Acts 1:8-11

“But you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit comes on you;

and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem,

and in all Judea and Samaria,

and to the ends of the earth.

After He said this,

He was taken up before their very eyes,

and a cloud hid Him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going,

when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

‘Men of Galilee,’

they said,

‘why do you stand here looking into the sky?

This same Jesus,

who has been taken from you into Heaven,

will come back

in the same way you have seen Him go into Heaven.’”

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Acts 2:33

“Exalted to the right hand of God,

He has received from the Father

the promised Holy Spirit

and has poured out

what you now see and hear.”

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Revelation 1:18

“I am the Living One;

I was dead,

and now look,

I am alive for ever and ever!

And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

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He’s Our Risen Savior!

Allow Jesus To Be Alive In Your Life!!

Amen!

Yes, I Am

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Who Are You, Lord????

John 8:56-58

“Your father Abraham

rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day;

he saw it and was glad.”

“You are not yet fifty years old,”

they said to Him,

“and you have seen Abraham!”

“Very truly I tell you,”

Jesus answered,

“before Abraham was born,

I Am!”

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Think about it…

He Is…

Maker of the Heaven  

Bright and Morning Star  

Breath of all Creation

Who Always Was

And Is To Come

One Who Walked on Water  

One Who Calmed the Seas  

Miracles and Wonders

So Come and See

And follow Him

You will know

Fount of Living Water
Risen Son of Man
Healer of the Broken

And When You Cry…

Your Savior and Redeemer
Who Bore the Sins of Man
The Author and Perfecter
Beginning and the End

He Is

Spirit Deep Inside You
Word Upon Your Heart
One Who Even Knew You

Before Your Birth
Before You Were

Before the Earth
The Universe
In Every Heart

Where You Are
The Lord of Love
The King of Kings
The Holy Lamb

Above All Things!

Yes, He Is!

Almighty God Your Father
Risen Son of Man
Healer of the Broken

And When You Cry…

Your Savior and Redeemer
Who Bore the Sins of Man
The Author and Perfecter
Beginning and the End

He Is

Right there beside you!!

Amen!

Comforting, huh???

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My Savior!! Loves! Lives! My God!! He Was! He Is!

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We’re not skilled to understand…

God’s will and His plan…

Only know at His right hand…

Stands the One who is your Savior!!

Take Him at His word and deed…

Christ died to save you, you can read…

In your heart there is a need…

For Him to be your Savior!!

He left His place on high…

To die for sinful man…

Seemed strange…

Before I knew my Savior

My Savior Loves!

My Savior Lives!

My Savior’s always there for me!

My God He Was!

My God He Is!

My God He’s always gonna be!

He who lives to be my King…

Once died to be my Savior!!

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Zephaniah 3:17

“For the Lord your God is living among you.   

He is a mighty Savior.

He will take delight in you with gladness.   

With His love, He will calm all your fears.   

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

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Romans 8:29-30

“For God knew His people in advance,

and He chose them to become like His Son,

so that His Son would be the firstborn

among many brothers and sisters.

And having chosen them,

He called them to come to Him.

And having called them,

He gave them right standing with Himself.

And having given them right standing,

He gave them His glory.”

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Romans 8:38-39

“For I am convinced

that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future,

nor any powers,

neither height nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us

from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

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Jesus is our Savior.

Nothing can separate us from His great work on the Cross…

From His love!

That truth…

That promise…

Is at the core of who we are as Christians!!

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Savior…

Thank You for Your Abundant Love

Displayed through Your Sacrificial Life

So the God Who Was

Is Now Our God Who Is!

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Jeremiah 32:17

“Ah, Sovereign Lord,

You have made the Heavens and the earth

by your great power

and outstretched arm.

Nothing is too hard for You.”

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Romans 4:21

“He was fully convinced that

God is able to do whatever He promises.”

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Amen!!!

Nicaragua

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Our friends from church,

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Mike and Janene Harper and their family (Brittany, Bethany, and Nataley)

are in Nicaragua working with

YWAM (Youth With A Mission)

http://www.ywam.org/

for about 10 days.

Many in our church family have helped sponsor and support them

on their last couple of trips.

Our Pastor shared last Sunday

about being the “Salt & Light” of the World…

Now they’re sharing the Light of Christ in Nicaragua.

He asked for prayer for them and the team that is there,

along with the country they’re serving…

Prayer for their safety,

for the people there who do not know Jesus,

and that lives will be forever changed!

Here’s the latest update from the Harper’s

and it’s truly amazing to read.

“Boy, are we beat!

 

We spent yesterday in the town of Masatepe learning the town.

 

We began prayer-walks all over the city that we’ll distribute Bibles in.

 

They’re hard covered whole Bibles,

 

and the people are so excited we’re coming.

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The churches were asked to respond, if they wanted to help.

 

Over 35 churches and 180 people responded! 

 

Amazing!

 

Today our 4 teams of 12 will start distribution.

 

My team will be at the construction site

 

and at the YWAM base, building a home,

 

 and working on updating the base.

 

This town is Dirambe. 

 

It’s a very poor area,

 

where the base started its vision in 1996

 

of getting a Bible into the hands of every Nicaraguan family by 2020.

 

This first city reached, has seen dramatic changes in crime and violence.

 

They have become a city with Hope!

 

 They love Jesus!

 

And now reach other cities!

 

I can’t wait to visit this city again.

 

Kelly, the director, should be there today.

 

 He has been a missionary in Nicaragua

 

through YWAM for a long time.

 

We’ve worked with him before,

 

so it’s nice to know a face there.

 

The YWAM school we are considering is his school.

 

It’s a bilingual school.

 

 My husband, Mike, preached last night

 

for about half an hour

 

on the importance of relationship with Christ,

 

and allowing that overflow to pour out to others.

 

The Nicas “Amend-ed” and agreed! 

 

He had a translator, who is our team leader.

 

She’s from Spain.

 

Her name is Gail.

 

They worked great together.

 

The church was an Assembly of God.

 

It was a whopping 1 1/2 hour worship time.

 

Wow! 

 

We sang,

 

‘Open The Eyes Of My Heart, Lord’

 

in English and Spanish

 

Wow! 

 

How it pleases God’s heart to hear our worship!!

 We’re all still well, so far.

We’ve eaten many foods and styles of foods.

It was hard on the tummy at first,

but it’s getting better.

We’ve had an amazing several days.

God’s given the girls great boldness in witnessing.

We’ve been distributing Bibles with churches.

My team has 2 precious Nica ladies.

They helped me lead a family

to Jesus, who

they had never even heard of.

I got to tell them the whole story.

They cried,

and were excited to give their lives to Christ.

When we left,

we saw them reading the Bible already.

Amazing!

Their names were taken down by the local church,

who saw many families already added to their numbers.

The church had new people show up for the Wednesday service to hear more.

The Pastor could not stop thanking us,

and the people in America who sent us.

It put feet to the ministry God started for him.

Some locals and our team ministered at the dump with about 100 children.

I met Eduardo (an 8-year-old boy) there,

and again God allowed my heart to break.

Oh, my heart!

We fed them and played with them.

It was such a day!

I so could have packed him up and kept him.

I could have kept all of them!

Today was distribution and school ministry.

The Principal allowed us to minister to 250-300 kids.

This was a public school!

It was unheard of before.

We went from class to class with the Gospel.

Only God allowed such favor!

We talked to the children about how the world labels us,

and how Jesus cuts those labels off,

and calls us His children!

Each of us spoke.

Brittany gave the Gospel to high schoolers.

What boldness!

Please keep praying.

When I felt very low and overtired,

I prayed,

and God revealed to me

that there are so many lifting us to the Father

right at that moment!

I so needed that.

Thank you for agreeing to do that for us.

We love you

and thank you all for believing in this mission.

Live from Nicaragua (Tuesday PM)

“Today was a very long day for us,

but we saw God do great things.

We had the privilege of teaming up with several local churches

to hand out Bibles door to door.

We told many people the Gospel,

encouraged them to read their shiny, new Bibles,

and laid hands on the sick.

Many gave their lives to God!

In spite of our poor attempts at the Spanish language,

God still used us to do great things!

Later in the day, 

we went to one of the city dumps,

where many families live by digging through the garbage for their food and belongings.

One person said it well, 

‘It was hard for us to take, but it was well received by them.’ 

We fed them,

demonstrated God’s love for them,

and made them feel important.

Here, many consider them ‘garbage.’ 

Yesterday, we helped build a house for a needy family,

did some much needed painting at the YWAM base here in Nicaragua,

and did street ministry.

We are definitely not sitting around wasting time

and, as you can see, neither is God!! 

He is answering your prayers,

working in our hearts

and moving in Nicaragua! 

He is a great God to say the least!!

Love, Janene and familia”

 

Please pray for our friends…

For the children and people of Nicaragua…

That Jesus would become real to them!!

Isaiah 52:7

“How beautiful on the mountains  

are the feet of those who bring good news,

who proclaim peace,   

who bring good tidings,   

who proclaim salvation,

who say to Zion,   

‘Your God reigns!'”

Amen!

 

Freedom’s Never Free!

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“We will always remember.

We will always be proud.

We will always be prepared,

so we may always be free.”

-Ronald Reagan

“My favorite thing about the United States? 

Lots of Americans, one America.”

  -Val Saintsbury

God Bless America!

Praying you had a blessed 4th of July!

And that you are free indeed!

Standing on a hillside
Where the river meets the sea
White crosses without number
Line the fields of peace
And each one a silent witness
Staring back at me
Every cross a story
Of another place in time
Where young men thought it worthy
To give their life for mine
And for the sake of honor
Left their dreams behind
And for the price they paid
I’m forever in their debt
Their memory will not die
‘Cause I will not forget
I will stand and hold my head up high
I will dedicate my life
To the glory of the ones who had to die
I will live, live what I believe
If for no one else but me
To remember
That freedom’s never free
It was on another hillside
Outside the city gates
The battle lines were drawn
As soldiers took their place
The Father watched in silence
As a cross was raised
With freedom drawing closer
He took His final breath
He drank our cup of guilt
And took the sting from death
Heaven’s Finest Soldier
Clothed in human flesh
And for the price He paid
I’m forever in His debt
The cross will never die
‘Cause I will not forget
I will stand and hold my head up high
I will dedicate my life
To the glory of the One who had to die
I will live, live what I believe
If for no one else but me
I will remember that
Freedom’s Never Free
I will walk free
I will stay free
I will live free
I will die free!

John 8:36

“So if the Son sets you free,

you will be free indeed.”

Psalm 119:45

“I will walk in freedom,   

for I have devoted myself

to your commandments.”

2 Corinthians 3:17

“Now the Lord is the Spirit,

and where the Spirit of the Lord is,

there is freedom.”

“Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant

and the rule of law under God

is acknowledged.”

-Ronald Reagan

 “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God,

then we will be a nation gone under.”

-Ronald Reagan

Amen!

Jesus, You’re The Lover Of My Soul!!

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“Jesus, Lover of My Soul”
Middle Church Jerriese Johnson Gospel Choir
Tina Cernero, solo (My sister!!)
music by Bach/Wesley
arr. P. Williams-Jones
To learn more about Middle Church visit:
http://www.middlechurch.org

Lyrics to the old hymnal, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” by Charles Wesley, pub. 1740

  1. Jesus, lover of my soul,
    Let me to Thy bosom fly,
    While the nearer waters roll,
    While the tempest still is high.
    Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
    Till the storm of life is past;
    Safe into the haven guide;
    Oh, receive my soul at last.
  1. Other refuge have I none,
    Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
    Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
    Still support and comfort me.
    All my trust on Thee is stayed,
    All my help from Thee I bring;
    Cover my defenseless head
    With the shadow of Thy wing.
  1. Wilt Thou not regard my call?
    Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
    Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—
    Lo! on Thee I cast my care.
    Reach me out Thy gracious hand!
    While I of Thy strength receive,
    Hoping against hope I stand,
    Dying, and behold, I live.
  1. Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
    More than all in Thee I find;
    Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
    Heal the sick, and lead the blind.
    Just and holy is Thy Name,
    Source of all true righteousness;
    Thou art evermore the same,
    Thou art full of truth and grace.
  1. Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
    Grace to cover all my sin;
    Let the healing streams abound;
    Make and keep me pure within.
    Thou of life the fountain art,
    Freely let me take of Thee;
    Spring Thou up within my heart;
    Rise to all eternity.

“The lyrics speak of a personal and intimate relationship with Christ.

Revealing Jesus as Lover, Protector, and Provider.

Do you know Jesus that intimately???

Are you filled with His Love???

Can you feel His Protection???

Do you rely on Christ’s Provision???” *

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Hymnal Bible Verse References:

“Praise be to God

 and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

 the Father of compassion

 and the God of all comfort.”

 2 Corinthians 1:3

  “…and from Jesus Christ,

 who is the faithful witness,

 the firstborn from the dead,

 and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

 To Him who loves us

 and has freed us from our sins by His blood…”

 Revelation 1:5

 “You have been a refuge for the poor,

a refuge for the needy in their distress,

a shelter from the storm

and a shade from the heat.

For the breath of the ruthless

is like a storm driving against a wall…”

Isaiah 25:4

 “Truly my soul finds rest in God;  

my salvation comes from Him.

Truly He is my rock and my salvation;   

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

Psalm 62:1-2

 “My salvation and my honor depend on God;    

He is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in Him at all times, you people;    

pour out your hearts to Him,    

for God is our refuge.”

Psalm 62: 7-8

 “Praise the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits

who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Psalm 103:2-5

“For the director of music.

Of David the servant of the Lord.

He sang to the Lord the words of this song

when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies

and from the hand of Saul.

He said:

 ‘I love you, Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,   

my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,    

and I have been saved from my enemies.'”

Psalm 18:1

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“Jesus is the lover of my soul

Jesus is my only refuge.

Jesus Christ fulfills all our needs and wants.” *

My Lord is the lover of my soul!

*   http://biblestudies.stores.yahoo.net/jloofmyso.html

For more history about Charles Wesley go to:

http://suite101.com/article/jesus-lover-of-my-soul-a70344