Powerline Evangelical Theatre (P.E.T) Group

Far From Home – The Parable of the Loving Father, or The Waiting Father

2019-02-08T13:06:00.003+01:00

One thing you may or may not know about pastors is that we are ALWAYS on the look out for good sermon illustrations. We maintain this CONSTANT search because we know how valuable…how precious…a REALLY good story is when it comes to making a sermon understandable. I counted this week and discovered that in my own library I have twelve different dog-eared books of sermon illustration collections that I have gathered over the years. I also own a computer program called Biblical Illustrator, that contains over 3,000 illustrations carefully catalogued according to topic. I even subscribe to Preaching Today….a computer Internet service that has over 6,000 illustrations arranged by topic or Biblical text. I constantly scan periodicals and listen to the nightly news in the hopes of finding illustrations. I will gladly pay $20 for a book even if it only has one good illustration within its pages. I go to all this expense and trouble because a really GOOD story is like a “WINDOW” to the truth I want to convey in my messages.

Its like a “picture” of the point I’m trying to make. You know better than I do that sermons can be very dry without stories from life to open the mind of the target audience. Hopefully the words I’ve spoken up until this point have helped you to SEE that even an illustration about illustrations can be illustrative of important truth.

Now, as THE Master Teacher, Jesus of course knew how powerful good stories are and He used them frequently in His teaching ministry. Today we refer to His “sermon illustrations” as “Parables” and throughout the upcoming summer months I want us to take our sermon time to examine several of these stories — these PARABLES OF JESUS. Today we will study one of Jesus’ most popular stories: THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON. And, as we do, lets see what truth we can “see” by looking through it’s “windows.” This parable is found in Luke 15 and it comes after two other parables-the story of the shepherd who lost one of his one hundred sheep AND the story of the widow woman who lost one coin. Now, you might wonder why Jesus told three stories in a row that deal with the same issue-“lostness”- and the answer to that “wondering” is found in the context of this teaching. You see, in Jesus’ day there was a polarization between religious folks and the people who weren’t religious. Our Lord very quickly became known for His compassion for the irreligious people. They were attracted to Him like ants to a picnic. And Jesus obviously enjoyed their eagerness to feast on His messages for He went to their parties, and ate in their homes. In fact, according to the “religious” people of the time, Jesus spent far too much time with these whom they labeled as the worst kind of people. In verses 1 and 2 of this chapter it says that when the Pharisees saw Jesus in the center of a crowd of sinful, irreligious people they muttered critically, “This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them!” So, it was in response to their ridicule that Jesus told these three parables — three sermon illustrations ABOUT lostness.

And it is at this point that we find our first WINDOW TO TRUTH. You see, the main message Jesus was trying to get through the thick skulls of the overly pious Pharisees was that lost people (sinful people) matter to God. They are precious to Him. And when they repent and return to Him, He rejoices, as did the shepherd who found his sheep, the widow who found her coin and the father who found His son. And, lest we become too judgmental of the Pharisees, we should remember that we too often grumble and mumble about sinners. In fact, in our haste to point out the sins of others, many of us have created a similar polarization these days between Christians and non-Christians,a real “us-them” mentality. Joseph Stowell writes, “[Christians] are perceived to be long on madness and short on mercy, to be more committed to our consternation than we are to compassion.” If you doubt this, read the newspapers for if you do, you will notice that born again believers are often pictured as the enemy…much as the Pharisees were in Jesus’ day. Instead of being seen as dispensers of grace we are pictured as the critics — the people who hate both sin AND sinner, and many times we deserve this label. One thing this parable should teach us is that Christ has called us not to avoid…but to love and minister to the sinful people of the world. We need to look at sinners like God does-not with criticism but compassion-not as the enemy but as the wounded. Remember, Jesus said, “I have come to seek and to save that which was lost.” And before He ascended to heaven, He said to all Christians, “As the Father sent me, so send I you.” The tragic truth is that many Christians seem to be more on a search-and-destroy mission than a seek-and-save mission.

You know here in America we call tow trucks, “wreckers.” But in England these kind of trucks all have one big word stenciled on them: “RECOVERY” Same vehicle, same mission-but a totally different perspective. We say, “There goes a wrecker.” and the English say, “Here comes recovery.” I share this to illustrate the truth that a lot of people in the Body of Christ move like a wrecker, forgetting that Christ came on a recovery mission. THAT’S why Jesus was in the midst of sinners and this is why He calls us to be in their midst as well.

Now, as I said, this morning I want us to focus our study on the last story in this trilogy of parables, the story of the Prodigal Son. So, take your Bibles and turn to Luke 15 and follow along as I read this story in verses 11-24:

11 – “There was a man who had two sons.

12 – The Younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 – Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

14 – After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.

15 – So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.

16 – He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 – When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!

18 – I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

19 – I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’

20 – So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 – The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 – But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

23 – Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.

24 – For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’

Now anytime you hang with sinners-as Jesus did-you run the risk of looking like you are soft on sin… And the beginning of this story shows that Jesus certainly was not because He pointed out three ways the prodigal son offended his father — three ways he sinned.
1. First of all the prodigal asked for his inheritance EARLY.

Now, as the younger son, he would be entitled to one third of his father’s estate upon his death.

But in the Palestinian culture you didn’t make that kind of request BEFORE your father died, because it would be similar to wishing your parents were already dead. It was the deepest offense a child could impose on a parent and the Pharisees understood that. It would be like saying, “Dad, could you take a loan out NOW on the life insurance we will collect when you keel over and go ahead and give me my share?” We aren’t told why the younger son made this rude request. Perhaps he felt like the low man on the totem pole in his household. Maybe he had a passion to make a name for himself. Maybe the older brother was hassling him. Maybe he was just bored. But for whatever reason, he wanted what was coming to him. He thought it would be to his advantage to take his inheritance early and leave.

And at this point we can look through ANOTHER window to truth. For, this part of the story serves to remind us that whenever we think we need more than God or more than what He has provided for us we are in trouble. The very essence of sin is drawing pleasure from anything other than God or His provision. Remember, this was the gist of the message Satan conveyed to Eve in the Garden of Eden. he told Eve-and this is a paraphrase, “To continue to be completely loyal to God will result in your life being less than it could be, in fact less than it should be. What God has permitted is not only manipulatively restrictive, it just plain isn’t enough. Your life could be richer, more satisfying, and more complete if you were not bound by loyalty to Him or His rules.” We always are headed in the wrong direction when we think that things will be better for us away from God — that life is somehow more fulfilling away from His presence. Well, for whatever reason, his father granted the request and gave his son what he wanted. Perhaps he knew his boy well enough to realize that the only way he was going to learn in life was the HARD WAY. And God is like that father in that He gives us the freedom to accept or reject Him, to follow His guidance or to make our own way in life.
2. The second offense against the father that Jesus pointed out in His story was when He told of the son, “gathering all that he had.”

In other words the son not only received his portion of the estate (the land and livestock that was coming to him). He sold it. He turned it into cash. You see, unlike today, the father’s estate was not measured in stock portfolios, bonds, money market funds, and cash. Instead, wealth was measured in livestock and land. And in the Palestinian culture, you didn’t sell land that belonged to your family. Land was a valuable family heritage. It was part of the family identity. To liquidate it was a huge insult to the entire clan. But the son did this.
3. And then his final offense was that he squandered his inheritance in loose living.

In this day and age the land and flocks were part of the family’s social security system. Aged parents made it through the end of their lives by living off the estate. So when the rebellious son sold part of the estate, he was cutting off his father’s resources. He took something that his father would need later in life and according to verse 13, “WASTED it in RIOTOUS living.” The word “riotous” here means “loud” or “wild.” It suggests a life of wild parties, loud music, and bright lights. And, the word “wasted” means “to blow away.” It was the same word that was used to describe the winnowing process used on grain. You should remember from our study of Gideon’s life that once the grain was harvested from the fields it was placed on a stone or wooden threshing floor. Animals were then led ’round and ’round over the grain, and the pressure of their hooves trampled the grain and pressed the kernels from the husks. Then on a windy day, the farmer, using a wooden paddle much like a shovel, would toss the grain up into the air. The wind would blow the lighter husks away, and the heavier grain would fall back onto the floor. By repeating this process hundreds of times the husks were soon all blown away and nothing but pure grain was left on the floor. This was called “Winnowing” because the wind was used to blow away the husks. AND that’s what the young man did with his family inheritance. He literally “Blew” it all on wild living. Now some of us might say, “Well boys will be boys! And you know, boys do tend to sow their wild oats.” But you know when we SOW wild oats that is all we REAP!

Looking through THIS window of the story reminds us that when we disobey God we always come back worse than when we left-scarred by sin with the memory of wasted years. You always pay a PRICE for sowing wild oats as the prodigal soon discovered. Verse 14 says that he quickly spent everything-the BILL for all his “wild living” was his entire inheritance.

This should remind us that sin is an EXPENSIVE business! It is never an investment. When we sin, we always SPEND relationships, health, time,things we never get back again. Verse 14 also says that after he had wasted all his money, there arose a severe famine in the land, and he fell into abject poverty. When this happened this lost son lost two things. First he no doubt lost his “Far Country-fair weather” friends. This, reminds me of Proverbs 14:20 where it says, “The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.” And he also lost his self-respect. As a last resort he took a job which would be equivalent to cleaning cesspools today.

For, the prodigal ended up working for a Gentile, feeding pigs-a task that was forbidden to a Jew because the law plainly said, “Cursed is he who feeds swine.” But the son sank even lower still. He got so hungry that he longed to eat the pigs’ food and, as you know, pigs will eat just about anything! Some of us have been there. We have felt the degradation of sin and sought for something to satisfy us. The problem is the longer we sin…the longer we stay in the “far country”…the longer we rebel against God….the emptier and hungrier we feel. This should help us see that when the Lord is our shepherd, we do not want. But when we forsake Him we always want. His way is always best — always the most satisfying. Now, up until this point the Pharisees probably liked this story Jesus was telling. They were no doubt forming an “AMEN corner” thinking, “Right on Jesus! Exactly! These people hanging around You are sinners.

They’ve offended God just like the prodigal did his father. They’re degraded. They deserve their punishment! Preach that sermon! Turn or burn! Forsake or bake! We love this kind of stuff!” But Jesus didn’t stop there…as He continued to teach, He said that the prodigal decided to go home again. And I imagine the “AMEN corner” began to quiet down at this point of the story.

Here Jesus used His story to open another window to truth for us for, just as the boy took steps AWAY from his dad there were steps BACK to him. And, this helps us to see that when we take steps away from God, there are steps back to Him as well-the same steps in fact..
1. And the first step is the step of RECOGNITION.

Look at verse 17. It says that the prodigal awoke to his condition and “came to himself.” He finally began to recognize things as they really were. He realized that he had been acting like someone who didn’t have “both oars in the water.” And you know, ALL sin is really a form of insanity. Anyone would be crazy to give up a relationship with God for the pleasures of this world. We would be foolish to give what we cannot LOSE to gain what we cannot KEEP! But, many times in life we become deluded or demented enough to forget this. We come to believe that sin is good — that disobeying God will lead us to experience some joy we are missing. That is what had happened to the prodigal. He apparently thought that things would be better away from His father’s influence — that the joys of the FAR COUNTRY would be greater than the pleasure to be found in His father’s presence. When his money began to run out he no doubt told himself that his hard times were only temporary and that his “ship” would soon come in. He imagined he still had friends. Even when he had to take a job with a detested pig farmer, at first he probably thought he was only doing it a short term basis…to keep body and soul together until his bad fortune changed. Maybe he told himself not to worry…that he would make it big in pigs…you know be the Bob Evans or Jimmy Dean of the Far Country. It was only when he got to the point of starvation and recognized that no one, not even his former friends, would give him anything…it was only then that he “came to his senses” and acknowledged that he would be better in his father’s house as a hired servant. Sometimes, like the prodigal, WE have to learn the hard way that God’s way is best. King David wrote of his gratitude for this…the school of hard knocks…in Psalm 119:67,71 . He said to God: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now [after I have encountered tough times] I obey Your word…It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees.” So, the first step back to God for all prodigals is recognition — a realization that you are indeed going the wrong way in life….that you need to turn back to God.
2. And the second step is CONFESSION.

The son had sinned and now, having come to his senses, in verses 18 & 19, he acknowledged his sin and said: “I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.” Notice that he didn’t excuse his behavior as understandable “youthful wild oats,” He didn’t blame others as Adam had blamed Eve or Eve the serpent. No, he confessed his sin AS his sin, because he had come to see himself and his offenses clearly. Further, he confessed that it was sin against heaven as well as against his father and that gave sin an even greater seriousness. You know we often stumble in THIS step back to God, for too often we start out confessing our sin and end up excusing it. A few years ago THE TORONTO SUN ran an article in which they printed a list of some of the unbelievable excuses people turn in when they fill out car insurance accident claim forms. Listen to a few of them:
“In an attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a light pole.”
“I turned to look at my mother-in-law and then lost control of my car.”
“The telephone pole was approaching fast. I was attempting to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end.”

I doubt that many insurance companies took these excuses very seriously and God doesn’t take our excuses for sin very seriously either. The word “confess” means “to call it the same thing.” In other words, when we sin, we don’t need to make excuses, or blame somebody else, or try to wiggle out of it. We need to say, “God this was sin. You call it sin. I confess it as sin…and that’s all there is to it. Please forgive me.” Confession isn’t the same thing as being sorry we were caught. It is being sorry we sinned. To confess means to own up to the fact that our behavior wasn’t just the result of bad parenting, poor genes, jealous siblings, or a chemical imbalance from too many Twinkies. Confession means saying that a choice was made…and it does not need to be excused, explained or even understood. After his sin with Bathsheeba, King David admitted to God, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You and You only have I sinned.” (Psalm 51:4 ) We should note that the son showed that he saw his actions as sinful because he planned to go home and ask to be a hired servant and a hired servant was not only less than a son but less than a slave. A slave at least had security. But a hired servant could be dismissed from his position. So the son asked not for the best but for the least in his father’s house. But, when the prodigal got home, he even abandoned THIS request. In verse 21 he said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” He didn’t ask to be made as one of the hired servants. He just confessed and threw himself on his father’s mercy. And THIS is true confession….no deals…no negotiations….no strings attached.
3. This leads us to the third step that all returning prodigals must make: REPENTANCE.

Verse 20 says that having seen himself as he was and having confessed his sin as sin, the prodigal “got up and went to his father.” He repented. He turned from his sinful choices and headed home. You see, thinking alone did not save him, accurate though his thinking was. Confession alone did not save him, though he had much to confess. He needed to turn around and return to his father. And that is what he did. To return to God, we too have to take this final step…we must turn and make a complete break with what has been. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his transgression will not prosper, but he who confesses AND FORSAKES THEM will find compassion.” You see, forsaking sin always follows a genuine confession of sin. Well, he headed home….and as he turned up the last road the prodigal was probably surprised because his Father came running down the road to meet him. Verse 20 says, “…while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” This would indicate that the father regularly looked for his son’s return…every day he probably went for long walks on his estate keeping his eyes on every road that led to the family home. My Grandfather Adams had a farm in Mississippi and the drive way was about a mile long, covered with gravel. You could hear someone coming for a long time. So whenever we pulled into the front yard each summer he and grandmom would be standing there waiting for us. They’d come running down and open the car doors and grab grandkids in their arms, welcoming us home. This is the picture we have here: a loving father looking for his son to come back and when he did, running out to meet him. In this story, the father symbolizes God and in all of Scripture this is the only time we see God hurrying at anything — hurrying to welcome a repentant sinner back into His presence. This “window” in the story reminds me of James 4:8 where it says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you….He will run to be near to you!”

Now, the father’s behavior at this point would have shocked the Pharisees-I imagine their mouths were hanging open-for a kiss in Palestinian culture is a sign for full acceptance and friendship. And the father didn’t stop with a kiss and a hug. He called for a robe, a ring, and sandals. That robe stands for honor; the ring stands for authority-for if a man gave to another his signet ring it was the same as giving him the power of attorney. The shoes stand for a son as opposed to a slave, for children of the family were shod and slaves were not. Remember, the slave’s dream in the Negro spiritual was of the time when “all God’s chillun got shoes,” for shoes were the sign of freedom. Now, if it had been my son, I would have said, “Let’s go home. Wait till your mother sees you! She’s going to be so happy! And by the way I’m glad to welcome you back but you’re on probation for six months.” But not this father! He simply welcomed him and issued no punishment. Someone asked Abraham Lincoln toward the end of the Civil War, “How are you going to treat the rebellious Southerners when the war is over?” He replied, “I will treat them as though they have never been away.” That’s what the father did. That’s what God does. You know only two on the farm were sad to see the prodigal return: the elder brother and the fatted calf. And the Pharisees would have empathized with the elder brother. They would have felt that he should not have been welcomed home…that he deserved punishment instead. But that is the main truth that this story illustrates. It is as Philip Yancey says, “God is like a love-sick Father….” who cares more about us than our sin. He longs to welcome us home and restore us to full sonship. When we recognize our sin, confess it, forsake it and return to our Heavenly Father, He “restores the joy of our salvation.” (Psalm 51:12 ) and “redeems us so that we can receive the full rights of sons.” (Galatians 4:5 )

You may remember that during the imprisonment of fifty-two American hostages in Iran, it became popular to wear or display yellow ribbons as expressions of our joy in welcoming the released hostages back home. The use of the yellow ribbon grew out of the following true story: A group of college students were en route from New York to Florida for a weekend. As their bus passed through New Jersey a man dressed in a plain, ill-fitting suit sat down in front of them. He never moved his dusky face or said much. He just chewed the inside of his lip a lot, frozen into a personal cocoon of silence. As they traveled together the young people introduced themselves to him and began to learn his story. He had been in a New York jail for the past four years, and now he was going home. For the past three and one-half years he had had no contact with his wife or children.

At the beginning of his imprisonment he had written his wife, telling her only that he was going to be away for a long time; and that if she couldn’t stand it, she could merely forget him and marry someone else. He would understand. Now, for all he knew she might have done that. One of the young people replied, “And are you going home now not knowing?” “That’s right,” he said. Then he told them that the week before, when he was sure that his parole was coming through, he wrote his wife again. There was a big oak tree on their place near the highway, and he wrote her that if she’d take him back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree. Then he would get off and come home. If she didn’t want him, she should forget it-put no handkerchief on the tree, and he’d pass on through. By this time the bus was twenty miles from his home, and all six of the young people were caught up in anticipation. They took over the window seats on the right side of the bus, waiting for the view of that oak tree. The bus acquired a dark, hushed mood, full of the silence of absence and lost years. The man stopped looking, fortifying himself against still another disappointment. The bus drew nearer his home-ten miles and then five. Then, suddenly, all the young people were up out of their seats, screaming, shouting, and crying, doing small dances of exultation. All except the man. He sat there stunned, looking at the oak tree. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs-twenty of them, thirty of them…maybe hundreds. The tree stood like a banner of welcome blowing in the wind! As the young people shouted, the former con rose from his seat, and sidled to the front of the bus. He was going home again.

The good news this story of Jesus illustrates is that you and I can go home again. We were created for fellowship with God. Sin….our sin….broke that fellowship and separated us from our Heavenly Father. But, in spite of our rebellion, God still loves us and through the death of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross, He made provision for our forgiveness and our return. We can go home again. We can return to the open, waiting arms of our Heavenly Father.

Now as you have looked through the windows of this story, what truths have you seen? Perhaps you’ve seen that you are like the prodigal. You have rebelled against God and you see your need to return. Maybe this story has shown you your need to be less like the Pharisees and reach out in compassion to the lost of the world. You may feel led to join this church…in it’s ministry. If you have a decision that you wish to make public, I would invite you to walk the aisle and share that decision with me as we stand and sing. I’ll we standing here at the front…waiting.

Tribute to my beloved Mother - Sister Enewan Davis Akpan

2018-10-10T13:08:00.000+01:00

Tribute to my beloved Mother 

Mma, My heart desire was to be with you and share all those loving memories we have had together. You were more than a mother… you were friend, a confidant and someone who gave me courage whenever I needed it.

I still remember those good old days when you use to tease me with you loving words of encouragement and I miss the sound of your voice whenever you call me by these names “Ekpedeme… Eyen Ima Mmi” and “Udeme Obong Mmi”. 

You often say to me, “You are one in a million – Eyen Kiet Ebed Eka Inwang” and this make me see how important, to the world I was. 

Mother, I wish I could hold you back but you have gone, and our heart is heavy and here I stand now… being robbed of the one person I cherish most by DEATH But according to the scripture, Eccl. 3 vs 1-2, To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven, Time to be born and a time to die…

I will miss those twinkles that sparks life in your eyes whenever you smile and the comfort I feel from those beautiful songs and hymns you used to sing when we were together.

But Most of all, I miss your LOVE and It is for this reason that many are gathered here today because your life became the source of comfort to all who knew you.

Mma, I am not here to wish you farewell or say good bye for we have not lost HEART yet because we will see you again on that glorious day when all the saints shall be assembled in the heavens. 

I wish you eternal rest.

Mma Esiereoo, Tutu Ke Usiere Ukot Owo, 

Your Beloved Daughter

Ekpedeme/Udeme-Obong-Mmi

Welcome

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Gallery

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Handbill

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P.E.T Academy Brochure

2016-01-12T19:07:00.001+01:00

Loving God with All Your Strength

2014-09-12T12:37:00.000+01:00

Loving God with All Your Strength

Loving God with all your strength means having an intimate relationship with Him and having that constant awareness that we are walking with Him. We should go through our day with the awareness of serving and pleasing Him. We should offer ourselves as living sacrifices and not be conformed to this world.

Romans 12:1-2 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Loving God with all your strength means to worship Him. Worship reminds us of our insignificance and helplessness apart from God (Psalm95). It is an expression of our gratitude and awe in thought, words, song and deed. It is adoration. It is a loving response to the living God who has made Himself known to us.

Loving God with all your strength means keeping His commandments (1 John 5:3–5) “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

No matter what circumstances you’re going through today, if you will allow this kind of love to be worked in your life, you will be better off. If you turn away from anger, revenge, hatred, bitterness, envy, jealousness, rebellion and etc, in favor of walking in Christ’s love, you will be emotionally healthier. If you embrace these bad attitudes, they will debilitate you emotionally and physically. God doesn’t want that in your life. He wants to continue to refine us, strengthen us and draw us closer to Him.

Remember, when we’re busy dwelling in negative emotions Satan uses those emotions to drive a wedge between God and us. He accomplishes this by making us think that our sins are too great for God to forgive or by making us feel condemned for sins that have already been forgiven.

Loving God with all your strength means lifting your head during trials and leaving your problems in His hands, trusting the outcome to Him. Deuteronomy 30:20 “That you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days….”

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 gives the most beautiful definition of love. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself; is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Isn’t that beautiful? Now try to replace the word “love” in the passage above with your name and read it out loud to yourself. I feel so convicted when I do this. This puts me in check and reminds me how much more I need to grow, how much pride I still have and how much more I need the Lord in my life.

“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Sunday 17th August 2014

2014-08-15T20:06:00.001+01:00

THE NEXT BIG "ACT"….

2014-08-15T19:36:00.001+01:00

All my life I have been a follower of faith...

I believe I am Destined for Bigger Things

But if the truth be told...

“Nobody knows what the next big thing is going to be..."

It’s all just mere speculations.

My goal is to build a team of no less than twelve people.

All young and vibrant CHRISTIANS with a proven track record in EVANGELISM...

Evangelical Areas includes, (Song, Stage, Dance, Script, ART), to create the next big "ACT" ever recorded in the history THEATRICAL EVANGELISM....

Whatever it may be....

Whenever and Wherever it will hold...

IT WILL DEPEND ON YOU....

Artist of the WEEK ... EBEN... ALL THE WAY

2014-07-17T14:57:00.001+01:00

Now Christian rock artistes like Frank Edwards, Joe Praise and Eben are joining the forum of Good gospel artistes. Frank Edwards which is the hottest of them all and can be called the best gospel artiste in Nigeria for now is making waves with his music as he brings people to another dimension of rock and worship with his songs. Nigeria's Gospel music is still rising fast with the emergence of gospel artistes like Psalm Ebube, Tb one, to mention a few...
However today our emphasis is on EBEN...
enjoy!!!

Beating the POWER of STAGE FRIGHT

2014-07-17T14:40:00.000+01:00

Stage fright has a way of impeding you from giving your best when you are in front of an audience. We often hear other people say that fright is all in the mind.

The very fact that more people are actually more frightened of being in front of an audience than the fact that they will be facing death means that you are not the only person who suffers from stage fright.

It is very easy to suggest that you have to believe in yourself but let’s face it—this does not always work. Overcoming stage fright is a process. This is easier said than done. One reason why people are frightened of being on stage is the possibility that they could commit a mistake. What would help you overcome stage fright?

Building Your Confidence

If you are confident about your craft, then you know that there is nothing that will faze you when you are already acting behind the camera or if when you are acting on stage. You need to practice on your piece over and over again. Knowing that you have memorized your lines really well will in fact make you feel more confident.

Be In The State Of Public Solitude

Public solitude is the state where an actor appears to be “private” when he is on public. This concept was thought of by Stanislavski. Strasberg on the other hand was the one who developed an exercise based on this concept. Acting schools now employ the use of this exercise to help students get over their stage fright.

Basically, this trains you to block the other people present in the room or any space. It helps you be in sync with your character and not concentrate on the other people who are watching you. It is very crucial for an actor to put his focus on his character and not get drowned by the attention of the crowd around him. It would also help if you prioritize what you need to happen the moment you are acting your part. For example, you want to feel comfortable while you do your part while setting aside your worst fears like forgetting your lines or messing up.

Stay Positive At All Times

Negativity is your worst enemy and it is the main reason why you are frightened in the first place. Your mind could either make you think positively or negatively. The problem with the mind is that it manages to manifest our thoughts. If you constantly think that people will not like your acting, chances are, you will not be giving your best performance since your mind keeps on telling you that you will not gain praises anyway. The good news is that, you can make yourself think positively if you want to. Do this not only when you are about to go on stage but make it a habit even with the other things that you do. This way, it will become a habit and you would be wearing this attitude like a second skin.

You see, stage fright may prevent you from becoming an effective actor. You must find the confidence that nothing will go wrong once you are in front of an audience.

NOW... I BELIEVE

2014-07-01T18:16:00.000+01:00

FROM DEEP WITHIN MY GUTS, I STARTED FEELING THE FROST COMING
SITTING STILL ON THE COLD GROUND, I MADE GREAT IDEAS FROM NOTHING
IN THIS JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE (I WILL SURVIVE)
HELPING OUT WHEN EVER I CAN TO FIGHTING OFF THE STRIVE
I WAS ALL GOOD GAINING (EVANGELICAL) GROUNDS ON THE STREET

I HAVE BEEN THROUGH MANY FIGHTS AND EVEN NOW, I HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE HEAT
I HAVE HEARD THE DRUM BEATS
I HAVE FELT THE UNUSUAL MIX
NOW, I AM OBSERVING THE WORLD GOING THROUGH A CULTURAL (AND RELIGIOUS) TWIST
BUT STILL, I SURVIVE BECAUSE I BELIEVED

NOW I SEE LIGHT GETTING BRIGHTER
NOTHING MATTERS MORE TO ME THAN THE LIFE I AM LIVING FOR HIM (MY GOD) EVERY HOUR
THROUGH THICK AND THIN I DID PREVAILED
BECAUSE OF YOU(MY GOD), I AM BOUND TO EXCEL
JUST SEE ME FLOATING WITHIN YOUR (GOD'S) DIVINE SPELL

WITH ROYAL BLOOD FLOWING IN MY VEINS
YET MY ENEMIES TRIED ALL THERE WAYS FOR ME TO BE DETHRONED
I WAS CASTED AND REJECTED FROM THE PLACE I CALL HOME
AND THEN I FOUND MY SELF ALL ALONE.... BUT I NOW
I HEARD A VOICE IN MY HEART
CALLING TO ME

SAYING "MY SON COME TO ME AND YOU WILL FIND GRACE ABUNDANT IN THIS PLACE (CHURCH)"
"YOU WILL EXPERIENCE A CHANGE SO OVERWHELMING"
"YOU WILL BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE"

NOW... I BELIEVE

WORDS OF PREJUDICE & SACRIFICE

2014-05-02T13:07:00.000+01:00

Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery.
Bravery leads to the spirit of self-sacrifice.
The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of love.
And Love supersedes all that is righteous...

This... this was what made life:
a moment of quiet, the water falling in the fountain, the voice of wisdom calling forth...
a moment of captured beauty.
He who is truly wise will never permit such moments to escape...
for this is the true moment that exists only once in a while... it is.

Salvation Steps

2014-05-02T12:26:00.002+01:00

Salvation Steps

God, in His infinite grace, has provided a plan of salvation/redemption for all of us:

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the only means of salvation.

John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 4:12
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

The steps to accept this wonderful gift and be received into the family of God are:
1. Realize that you are a sinner.

Romans 3:23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5:12
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Timothy 1:15
15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

2. Repent for the forgiveness of your sins.
NOTE: The English word “repent” is translated from the Greek word “μετανοέω [metanoeo /met·an·o·eh·o/],” which is comparatively rare in both classical and Hellenistic Greek. The most common meaning of this Greek word is “to change one’s mind.” If the change of mind comes from a recognition that the previously held view was improper, then there is a sense of regret or remorse.

Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 6:12
12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

Luke 13:3
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 15:7
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Luke 15:10
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Luke 24:46-47
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 2:38
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 3:19
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Acts 17:30
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Acts 26:20
20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

3. Believe in and receive Jesus Christ.

John 3:36
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Acts 10:43
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Romans 10:9
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Galatians 3:22
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

John 1:12
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Romans 5:11
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Romans 5:17
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Colossians 2:6
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. So, if you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, do not delay.

2 Corinthians 6:2
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Isaiah 55:6
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

1 Timothy 6:7
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible unless noted otherwise.

After His PAIN... After His PASSION... Cometh his PROMISES

2014-05-02T12:26:00.001+01:00

I have always been a fan of anything unique and special...
I've had the opportunity to be part of an era where stories were told to depict the values of a well fulfilled life by upholding the belief in ones own ability to make things happen...
In most cases, I often find myself holding on to these stories because of the way the that villain is always being conquered by the hero...
But of all this stories, I could only remember one...
one that is true...
one that was fulfilling...
one that was stunningly crafted to instill upon our minds the essence of the universal form of LOVE...
one though tragic, But still, proclaims the victory of CHRIST in his redemption quest for all of mankind...
This Story actually began at the very end of it when the words..."IT IS FINISHED"... was spoken by Christ himself to confirm his humanly death on the CROSS...
Now this story keeps unfolding still bringing a certain form of unity to the scenery portrayed in the entire script set aside by GOD in order to fulfill; his will and show forth his EXTRAVAGANCE Grace and LOVE for MAN...
The CLIMAX became a weapon for every christian...
the actual interpretation of the institution of BAPTISM...
Being dead... in order to be RESURRECTED, CHRIST PROVED TO THE WHOLE WORLD THAT HE IS INDEED THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

Salvation Steps

2014-05-02T12:26:00.000+01:00

Salvation Steps

God, in His infinite grace, has provided a plan of salvation/redemption for all of us:

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the only means of salvation.

John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 4:12
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

The steps to accept this wonderful gift and be received into the family of God are:
1. Realize that you are a sinner.

Romans 3:23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5:12
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Timothy 1:15
15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 6:12
12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

Luke 13:3
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 15:7
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Luke 15:10
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Luke 24:46-47
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 2:38
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 3:19
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Acts 17:30
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Acts 26:20
20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

3. Believe in and receive Jesus Christ.

John 3:36
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Acts 10:43
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Romans 10:9
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Galatians 3:22
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

John 1:12
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Romans 5:11
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Romans 5:17
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Colossians 2:6
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. So, if you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, do not delay.

2 Corinthians 6:2
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Isaiah 55:6
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

1 Timothy 6:7
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible unless noted otherwise.

Artist of the WEEK... Ajuju - Chante Halleluyah feat. Ola Omega

2014-05-02T12:22:00.000+01:00

Artist Bio

Originally born Anthony ‘Ajuju’ Ojeah, from the oil rich Delta State of Nigeria was a member of the choir growing up as the lead vocal singer and hence fell in love with music, this led to him writing his own music and training his musical skills as he grew until he was involved in a competition in 2006 where he had to write a song with the theme ‘More’ which he did but didn’t win for political reasons.

In January 2008 he went into partnership with Homeland Entertainment after they had listened to his single ‘MORE’ and fell in love with his raw talent. In turn the song became his first hit single.

The video was shot in South Africa in order to be sure of the best quality. This single debuted on MTV ÉXCLUSIVE’ and was on the show for 2 weeks and was no.3 on the Soundcity countdown for 2weeks, top 5 videos on NTA & Silverbird.

The video can be viewed on the url;

Ajuju debuted as a performer on the stage of the Calabar Cultural Carnival which holds every December in Cross Rivers State in the year 2007 and got off stage with a standing ovation, since then he has mounted the stage for other performances in South Africa and Nigerian based shows such as ‘Rhythm unplugged’ Xmas show 2008, ‘Live with AY’ December 2008, ‘AQUA SELECT’ swim suit model search in March 2009, ‘Green White Green’ Democracy Day Carnival May 2009 and is also in talks with Guiness to go on a nationwide tour of 26 states in Nigeria and also a line up of shows in the UK and America later on this year.

Songs by Ajuju can be heard on radio stations such as Cool Fm(Dj Manny), Inspiration Fm(Shola Thompson), Rhythm Fm(Bigtyme), Top radio(Tosyn Bucknor), Wazobia Fm(Matse), only to name a few. His songs are on the charts on all these stations.

Salvation Steps

2014-04-14T12:10:00.003+01:00

Salvation Steps

God, in His infinite grace, has provided a plan of salvation/redemption for all of us:

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the only means of salvation.

John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 4:12
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

The steps to accept this wonderful gift and be received into the family of God are:
1. Realize that you are a sinner.

Romans 3:23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5:12
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Timothy 1:15
15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 6:12
12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

Luke 13:3
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 15:7
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Luke 15:10
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Luke 24:46-47
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 2:38
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 3:19
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Acts 17:30
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Acts 26:20
20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

3. Believe in and receive Jesus Christ.

John 3:36
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Acts 10:43
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Romans 10:9
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Galatians 3:22
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

John 1:12
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Romans 5:11
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Romans 5:17
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Colossians 2:6
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. So, if you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, do not delay.

2 Corinthians 6:2
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Isaiah 55:6
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

1 Timothy 6:7
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible unless noted otherwise.

10 Steps To reaching E.E.T Status (Empowered Evangelical Team) - Part 2

2014-04-02T13:54:00.000+01:00

From the last article on this topic, we found out that there isn't any thing new in the challenges that are being faced by Team leaders when it comes to actually managing an evangelical team. however, some of this issues are posed by the leaders in ability to cast a vision, ask for help when necessary and lastly identify the genius of the group.
No leader is isolated in this context as this applies to all irrespective on who, where you are leading.
today, we will continue into the issues discussed in PART 1 and try to see if there new tips needed for the leaders to actually attain their E.E.T Status (Empowered Evangelical Team)...

Delegate others to complete parts -

No single person has the time, energy or talent to make things happen alone. Breaking the work down into parts and then asking others to complete that part makes the work much easier to accomplish.
It also gives team members the opportunity to take part in team projects or events. If your group has never gone on location to shoot a movie, it will be seen as big success when it achieves the movie shooting success and those who played a part in making that happen, will see the success a huge reward!
When you delegate parts to create a win, it causes others to feel like they are needed and appreciated. This in turn will cause your team to want to do something greater the next time your vision is cast.

Allow for mistakes and guide the process -

People are going to make mistakes this makes them human but when ever this happens, as the team leader, correct them by stopping them from doing more mistakes and guiding them back on track.
Without making them feel unwanted or showing your superior knowledge by taking ownership of the process, ask them some questions and allow them to answer in order to get them back on track and in the direction they need to be going.
By the way, just because it's not the way you would do it, does not mean it is being done wrong. Let them find their way...

Ask questions -

This is fun. Most people are so used to someone telling them what to do that they become used to not contributing at all towards a project discussion and planing. They prefer standing around and allow others to do the talking even though they have something important enough to contribute but after the meeting they tell you that they had something to say but where not sure whether to say it or not.
It is the job of the team leader to see how he can carry such team members along and this can only be done when we encourage them by telling them how liberating it is to share an idea and how this will help enable them to feel appreciated and needed.
If you will lead a meeting by only asking questions (Instead of doing all the talking.) you will enable your team to show you their genius. This means that you are going to have to be willing to let them do 95% of the talking.

Remember:

One crucial message Jesus wanted his disciples to grasp is that in God’s kingdom leaders are servants.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45 (NIV)

At P.E.T Group, as God’s followers, we aspire to be more like our Savior, Jesus Christ, in who we are and what we do by taking into our MINDS and BODIES the teachings of "Servant leadership" which requires us to surrender our will for God’s will. It requires confession and seeking God’s power to transform us with His servant heart.

10 Steps To reaching E.E.T Status (Empowered Evangelical Team) - Part 1

2014-03-27T16:36:00.004+01:00

It feels like my team is struggling to get things done?
It Looks like no one who is seriously trying to complete the projects of your Group and overseeing every Program?
It seem like there is never enough time to get all that you need done, even though you are not doing nearly what your vision would require?

In the end, you are tired and feeling used up and exhausted?

You are not alone! Many leaders (especially myself) has crossed that intersect at one point in their life time.

There are many reasons for this but...

One of the reasons is because we are not very good at utilizing the talents and strengths of others. Here are 10 ways you can begin utilizing the people in your group to create a more resourceful and accomplished team goal.

1 Cast a vision - The next time you get up to announce a new project, project and forcus into the future, in order to predict the end... this is casting a vision. Share with your team the end result. You don't have to tell them all of what it is going to take to get there, just tell them the end result. e.g "We will be shooting an evangelical movie this year"

2 Ask for help - Acknowledging you need help is liberating for the leader! it is also a grand opportunity for the team to feel like they are coming alongside their leader. Asking for help is not becoming vulnerable, it is being honest. It is also being responsible. God gave you your team for a reason. That reason is so that you can utilize their talents, knowledge and energy to accomplish the work of Dramatic Evangelism Ministry God has envisioned you with. "Would you consider working together with me to achieve this movie project?"

3 Allow the Genius of the group to be found - The smartest person in the room is not you the leader. Nor is it any one other person in the group. The Genius in the room is always the sum of all of those who are on your team. If allowed to be heard, there are people on your team who have ideas and experiences that can advance your vision much better than you can by yourself. e.g "What are some of the things that we could do to raise fund and cause our movie project to succeed?"

Remember:
An evangelical team is an amazing resource for any pastor or ministry leader. It is not only a Think Tank, but it is also a tremendous supply of labor, passion and energy to make the ministry happen. The reason so many Drama Ministry seldom surpass their attendance and financial goals is because the leaders try to do everything themselves.... but remember, Ephesians 4:11 says, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:"

Notice that he gave the leaders of the church so that they would perfect the saints to do the work of ministry. If you are trying to do all the work of ministry by yourself, your church will only grow as big as your time, giftedness and energy will allow.

Ask yourself

2013-12-02T16:48:00.004+01:00

Do I want to take the gospel outside to the world?

Do I want to make a difference and create impact on people’s lives?

Do I want a sense of belonging and love among my fellow evangelist?

Do I want to help to build a new concept of evangelism channeled towards Christian DRAMA, SONGS and POETRY

Then, PowerLine Evangelical Theatre (P.E.T) Group will provide you with this opportunity.

The benefits of BONDING with PET will outweigh any other short term internship. PET will teach you how to build your confidence in taking the POSITIVE initiative, learn how to AVOID making mistakes, spot opportunities and learn to how collaborate and build strong relationships with different types of young people to win souls and keep making friends in Christ.

What is trending in the world of Christendom is constant change in the aspect of praise, worship, teachings, preaching and of course, EVANGELISM. This has lead to added responsibilities and rising expectations being pilled upon the shoulders of the long suffering EVANGELIST.

It is the duty of the evangelist to sound loud the trumpets of salvation calling to repentance the lost souls that have wandered afar of and in order for this to be actualized by them, they will need to stay alive and active in the spirit, you have to do the following:

· Increase your spiritual flexibility...

· Expand your biblical skills...

· Close the vanity gaps.

You need to become a multidimensional Christian.

In short you must invest the gospel of Christ into yourself and then unto your people.

In my terms, you must become the “MAD PROPHET” crying loud with a strange voice from the wilderness saying “make straight the path for the king of kings comes soonest...”

In your presence... I AM FREE

2013-11-26T12:52:00.000+01:00

In your presence Lord I am at peace.
The peace you promised me even in my time of grieve
In your presence Lord I am forgiven.
It is the gift you give to me and I to another will indeed forgive
In your presence Lord I am loved.
It is the completeness of your love that gives me life, and the courage to love others
In your presence Lord I am free.
Your strength frees me from worry and doubt and any chains of CAPTIVITY

THE APOSTOLIC POWERLINE BIBLE CHURCH INC. CONVENTION RECAP

2013-11-26T11:59:00.000+01:00

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”

This Convention, I had the opportunity to serve in two amazing OFFICES, The Drama Leader P.E.T and the Camera man.

Amazing Grace - the STORY behind the SONG

2013-11-23T11:28:00.001+01:00

"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807), published in 1779. With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed (forced into service involuntarily) into the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel so severely that he called out to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual conversion. However, he continued his slave trading career until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and began studying Christian theology.

Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poetWilliam Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses; it may have simply been chanted by the congregation. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper'sOlney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States however, "Amazing Grace" was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today.

Author Gilbert Chase writes that "Amazing Grace" is "without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns,"^[1] and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that it is performed about 10 million times annually.^[2] It has had particular influence in folk music, and has become an emblematic African American spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. "Amazing Grace" saw a resurgence in popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century, occasionally appearing on popular music charts.

John Newton's conversion

"Amazing Grace" is John Newton's spiritual autobiography in verse.^[4] In 1725, Newton was born in Wapping, a district in London near the Thames. His father was a shipping merchant who was brought up as a Catholic but had Protestant sympathies, and his mother was a devout Independent unaffiliated with the Anglican Church. She had intended Newton to become a clergyman, but she died of tuberculosis when he was six years old.^[5] For the next few years, Newton was raised by his emotionally distant stepmother while his father was at sea, and spent some time at a boarding school where he was mistreated.^[6] At the age of eleven, he joined his father on a ship as an apprentice; his seagoing career would be marked by headstrong disobedience.

As a youth, Newton began a pattern of coming very close to death, examining his relationship with God, then relapsing into bad habits. As a sailor, he denounced his faith after being influenced by a shipmate who discussed Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, a book by the Third Earl of Shaftesbury, with him. In a series of letters he later wrote, "Like an unwary sailor who quits his port just before a rising storm, I renounced the hopes and comforts of the Gospel at the very time when every other comfort was about to fail me."^[7] His disobedience caused him to be pressed into the Royal Navy, and he took advantage of opportunities to overstay his leave and finally deserted to visit Mary "Polly" Catlett, a family friend with whom he had fallen in love.^[8] After enduring humiliation for deserting,^[a] he managed to get himself traded to a slave ship where he began a career in slave trading.^[b]

Newton often openly mocked the captain by creating obscene poems and songs about him that became so popular the crew began to join in.^[9] He entered into disagreements with several colleagues that resulted in his being starved almost to death, imprisoned while at sea and chained like the slaves they carried, then outright enslaved and forced to work on a plantation in Sierra Leone near the Sherbro River. After several months he came to think of Sierra Leone as his home, but his father intervened after Newton sent him a letter describing his circumstances, and a ship found him by coincidence.^[c] Newton claimed the only reason he left was because of Polly.^[10]

While aboard the ship Greyhound, Newton gained notoriety for being one of the most profane men the captain had ever met. In a culture where sailors commonly used oaths and swore, Newton was admonished several times for not only using the worst words the captain had ever heard, but creating new ones to exceed the limits of verbal debauchery.^[11] In March 1748, while the Greyhound was in the North Atlantic, a violent storm came upon the ship that was so rough it swept overboard a crew member who was standing where Newton had been moments before.^[d] After hours of the crew emptying water from the ship and expecting to be capsized, Newton and another mate tied themselves to the ship's pump to keep from being washed overboard, working for several hours.^[12] After proposing the measure to the captain, Newton had turned and said, "If this will not do, then Lord have mercy upon us!"^[13]^[14] Newton rested briefly before returning to the deck to steer for the next eleven hours. During his time at the wheel he pondered his divine challenge.^[12]

About two weeks later, the battered ship and starving crew landed in Lough Swilly, Ireland. For several weeks before the storm, Newton had been reading The Christian's Pattern, a summary of the 15th-century The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. The memory of the uttered phrase in a moment of desperation did not leave him; he began to ask if he was worthy of God's mercy or in any way redeemable as he had not only neglected his faith but directly opposed it, mocking others who showed theirs, deriding and denouncing God as a myth. He came to believe that God had sent him a profound message and had begun to work through him.^[15]

Newton's conversion was not immediate, but he contacted Polly's family and announced his intentions to marry her. Her parents were hesitant as he was known to be unreliable and impetuous. They knew he was profane, but they allowed him to write to Polly, and he set to begin to submit to authority for her sake.^[16] He sought a place on a slave ship bound for Africa, and Newton and his crewmates participated in most of the same activities he had written about before; the only immorality from which he was able to free himself was profanity. After a severe illness his resolve was renewed, yet he retained the same attitude towards slavery as was held by his contemporaries.^[e] Newton continued in the slave trade through several voyages where he sailed up rivers in Africa – now as a captain – procured slaves being offered for sale in larger ports, and subsequently transported them to North America. In between voyages, he married Polly in 1750 and he found it more difficult to leave her at the beginning of each trip. After three shipping experiences in the slave trade, Newton was promised a position as ship's captain with cargo unrelated to slavery when, at the age of thirty, he collapsed and never sailed again.^[17]^[f]

Olney curate[edit]

The vicarage in Olney, where Newton wrote the hymn that would become "Amazing Grace"

Working as a customs agent in Liverpool starting in 1756, Newton began to teach himself Latin, Greek, and theology. He and Polly immersed themselves in the church community, and Newton's passion was so impressive that his friends suggested he become a priest in the Church of England. He was turned down by the Bishop of York in 1758, ostensibly for having no university degree,^[18]although the more likely reasons were his leanings toward evangelism and tendency to socialize with Methodists.^[19] Newton continued his devotions, and after being encouraged by a friend, he wrote about his experiences in the slave trade and his conversion. The Earl of Dartmouth, impressed with his story, sponsored Newton for ordination with the Bishop of Lincoln, and offered him the curacy of Olney, Buckinghamshire, in 1764.^[20]

Olney Hymns[edit]

Main article: Olney Hymns

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be forever mine.

John Newton, Olney Hymns, 1779

Olney was a village of about 2,500 residents whose main industry was making lace by hand. The people were mostly illiterate and many of them were poor.^[2] Newton's preaching was unique in that he shared many of his own experiences from the pulpit; many clergy preached from a distance, not admitting any intimacy with temptation or sin. He was involved in his parishioners' lives and was much loved, although his writing and delivery were sometimes unpolished.^[21] But his devotion and conviction were apparent and forceful, and he often said his mission was to "break a hard heart and to heal a broken heart".^[22] He struck a friendship with William Cowper, a gifted writer who had failed at a career in law and suffered bouts of insanity, attempting suicide several times. Cowper enjoyed Olney — and Newton's company; he was also new to Olney and had gone through a spiritual conversion similar to Newton's. Together, their effect on the local congregation was impressive. In 1768, they found it necessary to start a weekly prayer meeting to meet the needs of an increasing number of parishioners. They also began writing lessons for children.^[23]

Partly from Cowper's literary influence, and partly because learned vicars were expected to write verses, Newton began to try his hand at hymns, which had become popular through the language, made plain for common people to understand. Several prolific hymn writers were at their most productive in the 18th century, including Isaac Watts — whose hymns Newton had grown up hearing^[24] — and Charles Wesley, with whom Newton was familiar. Wesley's brother John, the eventual founder of the Methodist Church, had encouraged Newton to go into the clergy.^[g] Watts was a pioneer in English hymn writing, basing his work the Psalms. The most prevalent hymns by Watts and others were written in the common meter in 8.6.8.6: the first line is eight syllables and the second is six.^[25]

Newton and Cowper attempted to present a poem or hymn for each prayer meeting. The lyrics to "Amazing Grace" were written in late 1772 and probably used in a prayer meeting for the first time on January 1, 1773.^[25] A collection of the poems Newton and Cowper had written for use in services at Olney was bound and published anonymously in 1779 under the title Olney Hymns. Newton contributed 280 of the 348 texts in Olney Hymns; "1 Chronicles 17:16–17, Faith's Review and Expectation" was the title of the poem with the first line "Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)".^[4]

Critical analysis[edit]

The general impact of Olney Hymns was immediate and it became a widely popular tool for evangelicals in Britain for many years. Scholars appreciated Cowper's poetry somewhat more than Newton's plaintive and plain language driven from his forceful personality. The most prevalent themes in the verses written by Newton in Olney Hymns are faith in salvation, wonder at God's grace, his love for Jesus, and his ebullient exclamations of the joy he found in his faith.^[26] As a reflection of Newton's connection to his parishioners, he wrote many of the hymns in first person, admitting his own experience with sin. Bruce Hindmarsh in Sing Them Over Again To Me: Hymns and Hymnbooks in America considers "Amazing Grace" an excellent example of Newton's testimonial style afforded by the use of this perspective.^[27] Several of Newton's hymns were recognized as great work ("Amazing Grace" was not among them) while others seem to have been included to fill in when Cowper was unable to write.^[28] Jonathan Aitken calls Newton, specifically referring to "Amazing Grace", an "unashamedly middlebrow lyricist writing for a lowbrow congregation", noting that only twenty-one of the nearly 150 words used in all six verses have more than one syllable.^[29]

William Phipps in the Anglican Theological Review and author James Basker have interpreted the first stanza of "Amazing Grace" as evidence of Newton's realization that his participation in the slave trade was his wretchedness, perhaps representing a wider common understanding of Newton's motivations.^[30]^[31] Newton joined forces with a young man named William Wilberforce, the British Member of Parliament who led the Parliamentarian campaign to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire, culminating in the Slave Trade Act 1807. However, Newton became an ardent and outspoken abolitionist after he left Olney in the 1780s; he never connected the construction of the hymn that became "Amazing Grace" to anti-slavery sentiments.^[32] The lyrics in Olney Hymns were arranged by their association to the Biblical verses that would be used by Newton and Cowper in their prayer meetings and did not address any political objective. For Newton, the beginning of the year was a time to reflect on one's spiritual progress. At the same time he completed a diary — which has since been lost — that he had begun 17 years before, two years after he quit sailing. The last entry of 1772 was a recounting of how much he had changed since then.^[33]

And David the king sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God.

1 Chronicles 17:16–17, King James Version

The title ascribed to the hymn, "1 Chronicles 17:16–17", refers to David's reaction to the prophet Nathan telling him that God intends to maintain his family line forever. Some Christians interpret this as a prediction that Jesus Christ, as a descendant of David, was promised by God as the salvation for all people.^[34] Newton's sermon on that January day in 1773 focused on the necessity to express one's gratefulness for God's guidance, that God is involved in the daily lives of Christians though they may not be aware of it, and that patience for deliverance from the daily trials of life is warranted when the glories of eternity await.^[35] Newton saw himself a sinner like David who had been chosen, perhaps undeservedly,^[36] and was humbled by it. According to Newton, unconverted sinners were "blinded by the god of this world" until "mercy came to us not only undeserved but undesired ... our hearts endeavored to shut him out till he overcame us by the power of his grace."^[33]

The New Testament served as the basis for many of the lyrics of "Amazing Grace". The first verse, for example, can be traced to the story of the Prodigal Son. In the Gospel of Luke the father says, "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found". The story of Jesus healing a blind man who tells the Pharisees that he can now see is told in the Gospel of John. Newton used the words "I was blind but now I see" and declared "Oh to grace how great a debtor!" in his letters and diary entries as early as 1752.^[37] The effect of the lyrical arrangement, according to Bruce Hindmarsh, allows an instant release of energy in the exclamation "Amazing grace!", to be followed by a qualifying reply in "how sweet the sound". In An Annotated Anthology of Hymns, Newton's use of an exclamation at the beginning of his verse is called "crude but effective" in an overall composition that "suggest(s) a forceful, if simple, statement of faith".^[36] Grace is recalled three times in the following verse, culminating in Newton's most personal story of his conversion, underscoring the use of his personal testimony with his parishioners.^[27]

The sermon preached by Newton was the last of his William Cowper heard in Olney for Cowper's mental instability returned shortly thereafter. Steve Turner, author of Amazing Grace: The Story of America's Most Beloved Song, suggests Newton may have had his friend in mind, employing the themes of assurance and deliverance from despair for Cowper's benefit.^[38]

Dissemination[edit]

An 1847 publication of Southern Harmony, showing the title "New Britain" and shape notemusic.

Although it had its roots in England, "Amazing Grace" became an integral part of the Christian tapestry in the United States. More than 60 of Newton and Cowper's hymns were republished in other British hymnals and magazines, but "Amazing Grace" was not, appearing only once in a 1780 hymnal sponsored by the Countess of Huntingdon. Scholar John Julian commented in his 1892 A Dictionary of Hymnology that outside of the United States, the song was unknown and it was "far from being a good example of Newton's finest work".^[39]^[h] Between 1789 and 1799, four variations of Newton's hymn were published in the U.S. in Baptist, Dutch Reformed, and Congregationalist hymnodies;^[34] by 1830 Presbyterians and Methodists also included Newton's verses in their hymnals.^[40]^[41]

The greatest influences in the 19th century that propelled "Amazing Grace" to spread across the U.S. and become a staple of religious services in many denominations and regions were the Second Great Awakening and the development of shape notesinging communities. A tremendous religious movement swept the U.S. in the early 19th century, marked by the growth and popularity of churches and religious revivals that got their start in Kentucky and Tennessee. Unprecedented gatherings of thousands of people attended camp meetings where they came to experience salvation; preaching was fiery and focused on saving the sinner from temptation and backsliding.^[42] Religion was stripped of ornament and ceremony, and made as plain and simple as possible; sermons and songs often used repetition to get across to a rural population of poor and mostly uneducated people the necessity of turning away from sin. Witnessing and testifying became an integral component to these meetings, where a congregation member or even a stranger would rise and recount his turn from a sinful life to one of piety and peace.^[40]"Amazing Grace" was one of many hymns that punctuated fervent sermons, although the contemporary style used a refrain, borrowed from other hymns, that employed simplicity and repetition such as:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.

Shout, shout for glory,
Shout, shout aloud for glory;
Brother, sister, mourner,
All shout glory hallelujah.^[42]

Simultaneously, an unrelated movement of communal singing was established throughout the South and Western states. A format of teaching music to illiterate people appeared in 1800. It used four sounds to symbolize the basic scale: fa-sol-la-fa-sol-la-mi-fa. Each sound was accompanied by a specifically shaped note and thus became known as shape note singing. The method was simple to learn and teach, so schools were established throughout the South and West. Communities would come together for an entire day of singing in a large building where they sat in four distinct areas surrounding an open space, one member directing the group as a whole. Most of the music was Christian, but the purpose of communal singing was not primarily spiritual. Communities either could not afford music accompaniment or rejected it out of a Calvinistic sense of simplicity, so the songs were sung a cappella.^[43]

"New Britain" tune[edit]

William Walker, the composer who first joined John Newton's verses to "New Britain", to create the song that has become "Amazing Grace"

When originally used in Olney, it is unknown what music, if any, accompanied the verses written by John Newton. Contemporary hymnbooks did not contain music and were simply small books of religious poetry. The first known instance of Newton's lines joined to music was in A Companion to the Countess of Huntingdon's Hymns (London, 1808), where it is set to the tune "Hephzibah" by English composer John Jenkins Husband.^[44] Common meter hymns were interchangeable with a variety of tunes; more than twenty musical settings of "Amazing Grace" circulated with varying popularity until 1835 when William Walker assigned Newton's words to a traditional song named "New Britain", which was itself an amalgamation of two melodies ("Gallaher" and "St. Mary") first published in the Columbian Harmony by Charles H. Spilman and Benjamin Shaw (Cincinnati, 1829). Spilman and Shaw, both students at Kentucky's Centre College, compiled their tunebook both for public worship and revivals, to satisfy "the wants of the Church in her triumphal march." Most of the tunes had been previously published, but "Gallaher" and "St. Mary" had not.^[45] As neither tune is attributed and both show elements of oral transmission, scholars can only speculate that they are possibly of British origin.^[46]

"Amazing Grace", with the words written by Newton and joined with "New Britain", the melody most currently associated with it, appeared for the first time in Walker's shape note tunebook Southern Harmony in 1847.^[47] It was, according to author Steve Turner, a "marriage made in heaven ... The music behind 'amazing' had a sense of awe to it. The music behind 'grace' sounded graceful. There was a rise at the point of confession, as though the author was stepping out into the open and making a bold declaration, but a corresponding fall when admitting his blindness."^[48]Walker's collection was enormously popular, selling about 600,000 copies all over the U.S. when the total population was just over 20 million. Another shape note tunebook named The Sacred Harp (1844) by Georgia residents Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha J. King became widely influential and continues to be used.^[49]

Another verse was first recorded in Harriet Beecher Stowe's immensely influential 1852 anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. Three verses were emblematically sung by Tom in his hour of deepest crisis.^[50] He sings the sixth and fifth verses in that order, and Stowe included another verse not written by Newton that had been passed down orally in African American communities for at least 50 years. It was originally one of between 50 to 70 verses of a song titled "Jerusalem, My Happy Home" that first appeared in a 1790 book called A Collection of Sacred Ballads:

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise,
Than when we first begun.^[51]^[52]

	Shape note version of "Amazing Grace" recorded by Alan and John Lomax in Birmingham, Alabama, 1942 MENU 0:00 This version also includes Newton's sixth verse, which is uncommon in recordings. This recording was made for the American Folklife Center and is in the U.S. Library of Congress
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Amazing Grace" came to be an emblem of a Christian movement and a symbol of the U.S. itself as the country was involved in a great political experiment, attempting to employ democracy as a means of government. Shape note singing communities, with all the members sitting around an open center, each song employing a different director, illustrated this in practice. Simultaneously, the U.S. began to expand westward into previously unexplored territory that was often wilderness. The "dangers, toils, and snares" of Newton's lyrics had both literal and figurative meanings for Americans.^[49]This became poignantly true during the most serious test of American cohesion in the U.S. Civil War (1861–1865). "Amazing Grace" set to "New Britain" was included in two hymnals distributed to soldiers and with death so real and imminent, religious services in the military became commonplace.^[53] The hymn was translated into other languages as well: while on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee sang Christian hymns as a way of coping with the ongoing tragedy, and a version of the song by Samuel Worcester that had been translated into the Cherokee language became very popular.^[54]^[55]

Urban revival[edit]

Although "Amazing Grace" set to "New Britain" was popular, other versions existed regionally. Primitive Baptists in the Appalachian region often used "New Britain" with other hymns, and sometimes sing the words of "Amazing Grace" to other folk songs, including titles such as "In the Pines", "Pisgah", "Primrose", and "Evan", as all are able to be sung in common meter, of which the majority of their repertoire consists.^[56]^[57] A tune named "Arlington" accompanied Newton's verses as much as "New Britain" for a time in the late 19th century.

Two musical arrangers named Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey heralded another religious revival in the cities of the U.S. and Europe, giving the song international exposure. Moody's preaching and Sankey's musical gifts were significant; their arrangements were the forerunners of gospel music, and churches all over the U.S. were eager to acquire them.^[58]Moody and Sankey began publishing their compositions in 1875, and "Amazing Grace" appeared three times with three different melodies, but they were the first to give it its title; hymns were typically published using the first line of the lyrics, or the name of the tune such as "New Britain". A publisher named Edwin Othello Excell gave the version of "Amazing Grace" set to "New Britain" immense popularity by publishing it in a series of hymnals that were used in urban churches. Excell altered some of Walker's music, making it more contemporary and European, giving "New Britain" some distance from its rural folk-music origins. Excell's version was more palatable for a growing urban middle class and arranged for larger church choirs. Several editions featuring Newton's first three stanzas and the verse previously included by Harriet Beecher Stowe in Uncle Tom's Cabin were published by Excell between 1900 and 1910, and his version of "Amazing Grace" became the standard form of the song in American churches.^[59]^[60]

Recorded versions[edit]

	"Amazing Grace" a cappella, lined out by three singers in long meter MENU 0:00 This recording was done for the Archive of American Folk-Song in Livingston, Alabama in 1939, and is in the U.S. Library of Congress
Problems playing this file? See media help.

With the advent of recorded music and radio, "Amazing Grace" began to cross over from primarily a gospel standard to secular audiences. The ability to record combined with the marketing of records to specific audiences allowed "Amazing Grace" to take on thousands of different forms in the 20th century. Where Edwin Othello Excell sought to make the singing of "Amazing Grace" uniform throughout thousands of churches, records allowed artists to improvise with the words and music specific to each audience. Allmusic lists more than 7,000 recordings—including re-releases and compilations—as of September 2011.^[61] Its first recording is an a cappella version from 1922 by the Sacred Harp Choir. It was included from 1926 to 1930 in Okeh Records' catalogue, which typically concentrated strongly on blues and jazz. Demand was high for black gospel recordings of the song by H. R. Tomlin and J. M. Gates. A poignant sense of nostalgia accompanied the recordings of several gospel and blues singers in the 1940s and 1950s who used the song to remember their grandparents, traditions, and family roots.^[62] It was recorded with musical accompaniment for the first time in 1930 by Fiddlin' John Carson, although to another folk hymn named "At the Cross", not to "New Britain".^[63] "Amazing Grace" is emblematic of several kinds of folk music styles, often used as the standard example to illustrate such musical techniques as lining out and call and response, that have been practiced in both black and white folk music.^[64]

Those songs come out of conviction and suffering. The worst voices can get through singing them 'cause they're telling their experiences.

Mahalia Jackson^[65]

Mahalia Jackson's 1947 version received significant radio airplay, and as her popularity grew throughout the 1950s and 1960s, she often sang it at public events such as concerts at Carnegie Hall.^[66] Author James Basker states that the song has been employed by African Americans as the "paradigmatic Negro spiritual" because it expresses the joy felt at being delivered from slavery and worldly miseries.^[31] Anthony Heilbut, author of The Gospel Sound, states that the "dangers, toils, and snares" of Newton's words are a "universal testimony" of the African American experience.^[67] In the 1960s with the African American Civil Rights Movementand opposition to the Vietnam War, the song took on a political tone. Mahalia Jackson employed "Amazing Grace" for Civil Rights marchers, writing that she used it "to give magical protection — a charm to ward off danger, an incantation to the angels of heaven to descend ... I was not sure the magic worked outside the church walls ... in the open air of Mississippi. But I wasn't taking any chances."^[68] Folk singer Judy Collins, who knew the song before she could remember learning it, witnessed Fannie Lou Hamer leading marchers in Mississippi in 1964, singing "Amazing Grace". Collins also considered it a talisman of sorts, and saw its equal emotional impact on the marchers, witnesses, and law enforcement who opposed the civil rights demonstrators.^[3] According to fellow folk singer Joan Baez, it was one of the most requested songs from her audiences, but she never realized its origin as a hymn; by the time she was singing it in the 1960s she said it had "developed a life of its own".^[69] It even made an appearance at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 during Arlo Guthrie's performance.^[70]

	Sample of Judy Collins' version of "Amazing Grace" MENU 0:00 Collins transitions from her solo voice to the chorus backing her up Sample of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards' version of "Amazing Grace" MENU 0:00 A lone bagpipe transitions to a chorus of pipes and drums, similar to Collins' version
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Collins decided to record it in the late 1960s amid an atmosphere of counterculture introspection; she was part of anencounter group that ended a contentious meeting by singing "Amazing Grace" as it was the only song to which all the members knew the words. Her producer was present and suggested she include a version of it on her 1970 album Whales & Nightingales. Collins, who had a history of alcohol abuse, claimed that the song was able to "pull her through" to recovery.^[3] It was recorded in St. Paul's, the chapel at Columbia University, chosen for the acoustics. She chose an a cappella arrangement that was close to Edwin Othello Excell's, accompanied by a chorus of amateur singers who were friends of hers. Collins connected it to the Vietnam War, to which she objected: "I didn't know what else to do about the war in Vietnam. I had marched, I had voted, I had gone to jail on political actions and worked for the candidates I believed in. The war was still raging. There was nothing left to do, I thought ... but sing 'Amazing Grace'."^[71] Gradually and unexpectedly, the song began to be played on the radio, and then be requested. It rose to number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the charts for 15 weeks,^[72] as if, she wrote, her fans had been "waiting to embrace it".^[73] In the UK, it charted 8 times between 1970 and 1972, peaking at number 5 and spending a total of 75 weeks on popular music charts.^[74]

A Canadian bagpiper playing "Amazing Grace" during a memorial service, October 29, 2009, at Forward Operating Base Wilson, Afghanistan

Although Collins used it as a catharsis for her opposition to the Vietnam War, two years after her rendition, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, senior Scottish regiment of the British Army, recorded an instrumental version featuring a bagpipe soloist accompanied by a pipe and drum band. The tempo of their arrangement was slowed to allow for the bagpipes, but it was based on Collins': it began with a bagpipe solo introduction similar to her lone voice, then it was accompanied by the band of bagpipes and horns, whereas in her version she is backed up by a chorus. It hit number 1 in the UK singles chart in April 1972, spending 24 weeks total on the charts, topped the RPM national singles chart in Canada for three weeks,^[75] and rose as high as number 11 in the U.S.^[76]^[77] It is also a controversial instrumental, as it combined pipes with a military band. ThePipe Major of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards was summoned to Edinburgh Castle and chastised for demeaning the bagpipes.^[78] Funeral processions for killed police, fire, and military personnel have often played a bagpipes version ever since.

Aretha Franklin and Rod Stewart also recorded "Amazing Grace" around the same time, and both of their renditions were popular.^[i] All four versions were marketed to distinct types of audiences thereby assuring its place as a pop song.^[79] Johnny Cash recorded it on his 1975 albumSings Precious Memories, dedicating it to his older brother Jack, who had been killed in a mill accident when they were boys in Dyess, Arkansas. Cash and his family sang it to themselves while they worked in the cotton fields following Jack's death. Cash often included the song when he toured prisons, saying "For the three minutes that song is going on, everybody is free. It just frees the spirit and frees the person."^[3]

The U.S. Library of Congress has a collection of 3,000 versions of and songs inspired by "Amazing Grace", some of which were first-time recordings by folklorists Alan and John Lomax, a father and son team who in 1932 traveled thousands of miles across the South to capture the different regional styles of the song. More contemporary renditions include samples from such popular artists as Sam Cooke and The Soul Stirrers (1963), The Byrds (1970), Elvis Presley (1971), Skeeter Davis (1972), Mighty Clouds of Joy (1972), Andy Williams (1972), Amazing Rhythm Aces (1975), Willie Nelson (1976), The Lemonheads (1992) and Dropkick Murphys (2005).^[63]

Popular use[edit]

Somehow, "Amazing Grace" [embraced] core American values without ever sounding triumphant or jingoistic. It was a song that could be sung by young and old, Republican and Democrat, Southern Baptist and Roman Catholic, African American and Native American, high-ranking military officer and anticapitalist campaigner.

Steve Turner, 2002^[80]

Following the appropriation of the hymn in secular music, "Amazing Grace" became such an icon in American culture that it has been used for a variety of secular purposes and marketing campaigns, placing it in danger of becoming a cliché. It has been mass-produced on souvenirs, lent its name to a Superman villain, appeared on The Simpsons to demonstrate the redemption of a murderous character named Sideshow Bob, incorporated into Hare Krishna chants and adapted for Wicca ceremonies.^[81] The hymn has been employed in several films, including Alice's Restaurant, Coal Miner's Daughter, and Silkwood. It is referenced in the 2006 film Amazing Grace, which highlights Newton's influence on the leading British abolitionist William Wilberforce. The 1982 science fiction film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan used "Amazing Grace" amid a context of Christian symbolism, to memorializeMr. Spock following his death,^[82] but more practically, because the song has become "instantly recognizable to many in the audience as music that sounds appropriate for a funeral" according to a Star Trek scholar.^[83] Since 1954 when an organ instrumental of "New Britain" became a bestseller, "Amazing Grace" has been associated with funerals and memorial services.^[84] It has become a song that inspires hope in the wake of tragedy, becoming a sort of "spiritual national anthem" according to authors Mary Rourke and Emily Gwathmey.^[85]

Modern interpretations[edit]

	"Amazing Grace" (string version) MENU 0:00 "Amazing Grace" string version by the United States Air Force Band, Strolling Strings
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In recent years, the words of the hymn have been changed in some religious publications to downplay a sense of imposed self-loathing by its singers. The second line, "That saved a wretch like me!" has been rewritten as "That saved and strengthened me", "save a soul like me", or "that saved and set me free".^[86] Kathleen Norris in her book Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith characterizes this transformation of the original words as "wretched English" making the line that replaces the original "laughably bland".^[87] Part of the reason for this change has been the altered interpretations of what wretchedness and grace means. Newton's Calvinistic view of redemption and divine grace formed his perspective that he considered himself a sinner so vile that he was unable to change his life or be redeemed without God's help. Yet his lyrical subtlety, in Steve Turner's opinion, leaves the hymn's meaning open to a variety of Christian and non-Christian interpretations.^[88] "Wretch" also represents a period in Newton's life when he saw himself outcast and miserable, as he was when he was enslaved in Sierra Leone; his own arrogance was matched by how far he had fallen in his life.^[89]

The communal understanding of redemption and human self-worth has changed since Newton's time. Since the 1970s, self-help books, psychology, and some modern expressions of Christianity have viewed this disparity in terms of grace being an innate quality within all people who must be inspired or strong enough to find it: something to achieve. In contrast to Newton's vision of wretchedness as his willful sin and distance from God, wretchedness has instead come to mean an obstacle of physical, social, or spiritual nature to overcome in order to achieve a state of grace, happiness, or contentment. Since its immense popularity and iconic nature, "grace" and the meaning behind the words of "Amazing Grace" have become as individual as the singer or listener.^[90] Bruce Hindmarsh suggests that the secular popularity of "Amazing Grace" is due to the absence of any mention of God in the lyrics until the fourth verse (by Excell's version, the fourth verse begins "When we've been there ten thousand years"), and that the song represents the ability of humanity to transform itself instead of a transformation taking place at the hands of God. "Grace", however, to John Newton had a clearer meaning, as he used the word to represent God or thepower of God.^[91]

The transformative power of the song was investigated by journalist Bill Moyers in a documentary released in 1990. Moyers was inspired to focus on the song's power after watching a performance at Lincoln Center, where the audience consisted of Christians and non-Christians, and he noticed that it had an equal impact on everybody in attendance, unifying them.^[22] James Basker also acknowledged this force when he explained why he chose "Amazing Grace" to represent a collection of anti-slavery poetry: "there is a transformative power that is applicable ... : the transformation of sin and sorrow into grace, of suffering into beauty, of alienation into empathy and connection, of the unspeakable into imaginative literature."^[92]

Moyers interviewed Collins, Cash, opera singer Jessye Norman, Appalachian folk musician Jean Ritchie and her family, white Sacred Harp singers in Georgia, black Sacred Harp singers in Alabama, and a prison choir at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. Collins, Cash, and Norman were unable to discern if the power of the song came from the music or the lyrics. Norman, who once notably sang it at the end of a large outdoor rock concert for Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday, stated, "I don't know whether it's the text — I don't know whether we're talking about the lyrics when we say that it touches so many people — or whether it's that tune that everybody knows." A prisoner interviewed by Moyers explained his literal interpretation of the second verse: "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved" by saying that the fear became immediately real to him when he realized he may never get his life in order, compounded by the loneliness and restriction in prison. Gospel singer Marion Williams summed up its effect: "That's a song that gets to everybody".^[3]

The Dictionary of American Hymnology claims it is included in more than a thousand published hymnals, and recommends its use for "occasions of worship when we need to confess with joy that we are saved by God's grace alone; as a hymn of response to forgiveness of sin or as an assurance of pardon; as a confession of faith or after the sermon.

Doing something Crazy for Christ

2013-11-23T11:15:00.001+01:00

Are you different from the pack. Do you see things differently. off course you are not fond of rules. A times they say that you have no respect for the status quo. Are you always revered, disagree with, or even being vilified.

Then that means there is something special about you... You can't be ignored because you change things. Though some may see you as being crazy , see yourself as a genius. Because the people who are TRY DOING SOMETHING CRAZY FOR CHRIST (P.E.T)

Post by Powerline Evangelical Theatre (P.E.T) Group.

Powerline Evangelical Theatre (P.E.T) Group

Far From Home – The Parable of the Loving Father, or The Waiting Father

Tribute to my beloved Mother - Sister Enewan Davis Akpan

Welcome

Gallery

Handbill

P.E.T Academy Brochure

Loving God with All Your Strength

Sunday 17th August 2014

THE NEXT BIG "ACT"….

Artist of the WEEK ... EBEN... ALL THE WAY

Beating the POWER of STAGE FRIGHT

NOW... I BELIEVE

WORDS OF PREJUDICE & SACRIFICE

Salvation Steps

Salvation Steps

All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible unless noted otherwise.

After His PAIN... After His PASSION... Cometh his PROMISES

Salvation Steps

Salvation Steps

All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible unless noted otherwise.

Artist of the WEEK... Ajuju - Chante Halleluyah feat. Ola Omega

Artist Bio

Salvation Steps

Salvation Steps

All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible unless noted otherwise.

10 Steps To reaching E.E.T Status (Empowered Evangelical Team) - Part 2

Delegate others to complete parts -

Allow for mistakes and guide the process -

Ask questions -

Remember:

10 Steps To reaching E.E.T Status (Empowered Evangelical Team) - Part 1

Ask yourself

Do I want to take the gospel outside to the world? Do I want to make a difference and create impact on people’s lives? Do I want a sense of belonging and love among my fellow evangelist? Do I want to help to build a new concept of evangelism channeled towards Christian DRAMA, SONGS and POETRY

Then, PowerLine Evangelical Theatre (P.E.T) Group will provide you with this opportunity.

In your presence... I AM FREE

THE APOSTOLIC POWERLINE BIBLE CHURCH INC. CONVENTION RECAP

Amazing Grace - the STORY behind the SONG

John Newton's conversion

Olney curate[edit]

Olney Hymns[edit]

Critical analysis[edit]

Dissemination[edit]

"New Britain" tune[edit]

Urban revival[edit]

Recorded versions[edit]

Popular use[edit]

Modern interpretations[edit]

Doing something Crazy for Christ

Do I want to take the gospel outside to the world?

Do I want to make a difference and create impact on people’s lives?

Do I want a sense of belonging and love among my fellow evangelist?

Do I want to help to build a new concept of evangelism channeled towards Christian DRAMA, SONGS and POETRY