Welcome Emmanuel!

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."

Isaiah 7:14 (NASB)

TWW visits Emmanuel Baptist Church, Enid, OK

 

Today we are celebrating Christmas with our blog family. We will not post again until next Wednesday, giving ourselves one day off to enjoy the season. I also apologize for my lack of participation in the discussions. I am about three weeks behind in my emails. We are doing some major renovations to our house. This coupled with our wonderful trip to visit with Wade Burleson in Enid, Oklahoma, some family obligations, visitors for Christmas, etc., have left me in over my head. Hopefully, I will catch up by next Wednesday. Thank you for bearing with me, and special thanks to Deb for picking up some of the slack.

He Is…

We were blessed to see the Christmas pageant at Emmanuel Baptist church in Enid. This is not one of those “bring in the professionals and charge money" type of pageants. Instead, it is fully directed and performed by the congregation of the church. They even take turns sharing some of the solo numbers since the pageant is performed and repeated over 4 days.

It is a much anticipated event in the Enid community, which turns out in full force, necessitating police to direct the traffic. There is no charge to attend. Folks, this is a real pageant, not some Hollywood show. I loved watching the little children playing the angels and the star. The people dressed as camels really hammed it up, making everyone laugh. It was real — kind of like a Baby born in a manger, not in a sterile hospital.

The event brought tears to my eyes as I wished that more mega-churches would see the value of a heartfelt body of believers pulling together as opposed to a PR spectacular. I met a janitor at the church the next day. She told me how much she enjoys being a part of the pageant each year. This pageant was about community, not performance, although the production was well done and the music was wonderful. Kudos to all of the performers!

Here is a shout-out to Wade. Keep doing this — it is real, beautiful, funny, and profound, tied up with a Holy Spirit bow. Merry Christmas to the family at Emmanuel! Thank you for the present of the pageant.

At the end of the Christmas pageant, I got goosebumps as Wade very dramatically spoke the following words. They are adapted from a song called "He Is". (link)

Here are the words that Wade spoke so eloquently.

“Jesus the Christ truly is the Creator, Sustainer, and the Accomplisher. He is the Word of God made flesh. And I can see so clearly how God the Father has spoken to us of Him from the very beginning. He is revealed to us, every step of the way; the reality of Jesus Christ in all of His glory.

You see…
In Genesis: Jesus is the Ram on Abraham’s altar;
In Exodus: He is the Passover Lamb;
In Leviticus: He is the High Priest;
In Numbers: He’s the Cloud by day and the Pillar of fire by night;
In Deuteronomy: He’s the City of our refuge;
In Joshua: He’s the Scarlet Thread out Rahab’s window;
In Judges: He is our Judge;
In Ruth: He is our Kinsman Redeemer;
In 1st and 2nd Samuel: He’s our Trusted Prophet;
In Kings and Chronicles: He’s our Reigning King;
In Ezra: He is our Faithful Scribe;
In Nehemiah: He’s the Rebuilder of everything that is broken;
In Esther: He is the Mordecai sitting faithful at the gate;
In Job: He’s our Redeemer who ever liveth;
In Psalms: He is my Shepherd and I shall not want;
In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes: He’s our wisdom;
In the Song of Solomon: He’s the Beautiful Bridegroom;
In Isaiah: He’s the Suffering Servant;
In Jeremiah and Lamentations: It is Jesus who is the Weeping Prophet;
In Ezekiel: He’s the Wonderful Four-Faced Man;
In Daniel: He’s the Fourth Man in the midst of a fiery furnace;
In Hosea: He is my Love who is forever faithful;
In Joel: He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit;
In Amos: He is our Burden Bearer;
In Obadiah: Our Savior;
In Jonah: He is the Great Foreign Missionary who takes the Word of God into all the world
In Micah: He is the Messenger with beautiful feet;
In Nahum: He is the Avenger;
In Habakkuk: He is the Watchman who is ever praying for revival;
In Zephaniah: He is the Lord, mighty to save;
In Haggai: He is the Restorer of our lost heritage;
In Zechariah: He is our Fountain;
In Malachi: He is the Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings;
In Matthew: He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God;
In Mark: He is the Miracle Worker;
In Luke: He is the Son of Man;
In John: He is the Door by which every one of us must enter;
In Acts: He is the Shining Light that appears to Saul on the road to Damascus;
In Romans: He is the Justifier;
In 1st Corinthians: He is our Resurrection;
In 2nd Corinthians: He is our Sin Bearer;
In Galatians: He redeems us from the law;
In Ephesians: He is our Unsearchable Riches;
In Philippians: He supplies our every need;
In Colossians: He is the Fullness of the Godhead Body;
In 1st and 2nd Thessalonians: He is our Soon Coming King;
In 1st and 2nd Timothy: He is the Mediator between God and man;
In Titus: He is our Blessed Hope;
In Philemon: He is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother;
In Hebrews: He is the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant;
In James: He is the Lord who heals the sick;
In 1st and 2nd Peter: He is the Chief Shepherd;
In 1st, 2nd and 3rd John: He has the tenderness of Love
In Jude: He is the Lord coming with 10,000 saints;
In Revelation: Lift up your eyes, Church, for your redemption draweth nigh!

He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords!”

 

The Baby God Man invades the silent planet

So, in the shadow of Herod’s palace, in a cave that housed livestock, the Light of the World was born. People were going about their business: registering for a census, herding sheep, collecting taxes and purchasing food, totally unaware that, in the split second of a Baby’s cry, the game had changed.

Angels appeared to shepherds who were the lowest of the low in terms of societal influence. The angels could have called out to kings; God had them call to the "unimportant." It was they who hurried to worship the Baby King. 

And over the next two years, some wise men named Melchoir, Caspar and Balthazar, tracked down this child and gave Him gifts:
 

Gold – A gift for kings

Frankincense – In recognition of Jesus’ divinity. It was burned as a pleasant fragrance in prayers

Myrrh – Used in embalming the dead-A recognition of His eventual suffering.

Many believe that they were Zoroastrians, not even Jews! Their visit was a hint of things to come. Jesus was about to reach into every corner of this dark world with His light.

Imagine a God invasion today. Here is what happened in a food court.
 

 

 

TWW leaves you with a Christmas pageant video — New Zealand style. May God bless you with the joy of His presence during this season. Merry Christmas. We’ll be back next Wednesday.


 

Lydia's Corner:    Job 31:1-33:33    2 Corinthians 3:1-18    Psalm 43:1-5    Proverbs 22:8-9

Comments

Welcome Emmanuel! — 22 Comments

  1. We loved hosting our two North Carolina friends! Merry Christmas to you both, and to your lovely families!

    I have a few ask me periodically, “What is the difference between the spelling of Immanuel and Emmanuel?” My answer: In the English translations of the Old Testament Hebrew scriptures the translators chose Immanuel (see Isaiah 7:14 above). The Greeks of the New Testament time period (the Septuagint version) chose to translate the Hebrew word immanu (with us) el (God) as Emmanuel.

    I like to say Emmanuel is a New Testament church. Laughing.

  2. A. Amos Love and Our Loyal TWW Family,

    We are both humbled and blessed that you would faithfully read the posts of two ordinary wives and mothers. May you have a Christ-filled Christmas and the very best of New Years!

    Here is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Enjoy the incredible computer graphics!

    O Come O Come Emmanuel

  3. Have a lovely Christmas ladies! May peace, contentment and a sense of being bathed in Divine Love rest upon you and your families over the holiday period.

    Blessings

    Dylan

  4. Joyeux Noël, feliz Natal, feliz Navidad, a most merry and blessed Christmas (“Christ’s Mass”) to all at TWW!

    (Wish I knew how to say this in more languages, but hey – that’s why we have Google! ;))

    hugs to all,
    n.

  5. numo,

    God Jul! That’s Merry Christmas in Norwegian. My mom hails from Norway, so I have Viking blood flowing through my veins…

  6. The first announcement of the birth to the shepherds was a blow for egalitarianism. They were the least and they received the great good news. As Jesus said in Luke 4, he came to free the oppressed! And it started with the angels announcing to shepherds.

    BTW, why did the angels rejoice and sing? After all, God was leaving heaven to live as a human in poverty, in a world of oppression, disease, death and religious hypocrisy. A world that would reject him and crucify him in an ignominious and horrible death. Why rejoice at this turn of events?

    Because of us. That is, by God leaving heaven and coming to die for us, we can be adopted into the heavenly family. The angels were rejoicing, not at the birth of a baby, but at the beginning of an important phase in our salvation. They sang because our salvation would become possible. And so we should sing as well, in praise, adoration and thanksgiving. Praise God, salvation is ours for the accepting of His great gift.

  7. Wade,

    I far prefer “Emmanuel”. Glad your church spells its name that way. There can be no doubt that God is with your congregation.

    Blessings to you, Rachelle, and your family for a joyous Christmas.

  8. Thanks dear Pastors!! Merry Christmas to you and your families!! And thanks for posting the flashmob…3 seconds into the chorus, I had tears streaming down my cheeks! How thrilling!!

  9. jack allen,

    We’re already in enough trouble with the Calvinistas because we refuse to be silent. Your addressing us — two ‘gullible and easily deceived’ women — as pastors is blasphemy in their view. 🙂

    In all seriousness, I’m grateful that we are an encouragement to you, even if we are just women.

    Merry Christmas Jack! God bless you.

  10. Deb,
    about 30 years ago, a cantata I sang in had a carol that had these words (in part):

    And the heavens exploded with music in the air. And the Father rejoiced because He did not lose His Son, but He gained to Himself those who would come!

    That is us. So the angels sang in rejoicing over our rebirth that evening long ago in the hills over Judea.

  11. Dee and Deb and everybody, Merry Christmas! Thanks for emphasizing the point that the message of Christ is interwoven from the beginning through the last chapter of the Bible. And to think that over 333 prophecies concerning Christ in the Old Testament find their fulfillment in the New! It’s stunning and proves full evidence that Christ is our Savior and Lord.

  12. Eagle –

    Thanks for the music . . . and welcome to God’s country as some would say! I still miss the midwest and real trees!

  13. Deb,
    About 30 years ago, a cantata I sang in had a carol that had these words (in part):

    “And the heavens exploded with music in the air. And the Father rejoiced because He did not lose His Son, but He gained to Himself forever those who would come!”

    That is us. So the angels sang in rejoicing over our rebirth that evening long ago in the hills over Judea.

    I have never been able to sing it without choking up a bit.

  14. Merry Christmas to Deb and Dee and all the commentors. May God bless you all. Thanks for all for the thought and effort you put into TWW. You are all such an encouragement to me through your writing.

  15. Arce,

    Those words are beautiful! Thanks for sharing them.

    Ted said:
    “And to think that over 333 prophecies concerning Christ in the Old Testament find their fulfillment in the New! It’s stunning and proves full evidence that Christ is our Savior and Lord.”

    Ted,

    I think of those fulfilled prophecies often. Jesus Christ is who He says He is.

    Eagle,

    You are special to us! Enjoy your stint in California. I’ve only made it to the left coast once. My husband qualified for a very special trip, and his employer treated us to several days at St. Regis, Monarch Beach in Dana Point. It was fairly new and an incredible place to stay. Take care, friend.

    Abby,

    You are very kind. Merry Christmas!

  16. Merry Christmas ladies! Thanks much for all that you both do keeping people informed of the non-sense that is taking place these days in the American church. Wish you all the best in 2012!