A Hymn for Easter : 'Bells Are Ringing!'

Bells are Ringing!   878 10

Bells are ringing, people singing,

Glorious news on Easter day!

Jesus Christ, our blessed Saviour,

Is the life, is the Life, the Truth, the Way.

Bells are ringing, people singing,

Telling of Christ’s victory.

How He brings us true forgiveness;

How He comes, how He comes to set us free.

Bells are ringing, people singing,

Loudly now their voices raise.

Telling of this great salvation;

Singing out, singing out their songs of praise.

Bells are ringing, people singing,

Hear with joy the things they say;

Jesus Christ, our blessed Saviour,

Is alive, is  alive this Easter day!

© 2007 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Christ is Risen, Hallelujah!

CHRIST IS RISEN, HALLELUJAH!

.

Because Jesus Christ overcame death and the grave I, and the billions more who have accepted Him as their Saviour and Lord down through the ages since that black day al those centuries ago, have the hope of eternal life spent in His presence, according to His word.

The promise that Jesus made to return for the believers is firm and true because we know that God, and hence Christ, cannot lie.

.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The perfect hideaway for the Easter holiday!

 Looking for the perfect hideaway to take the one you love this Easter. Well, here's a few suggestions for you!

A new Worship Song for Easter

Here is a new song for Easter, called 'He Came.' Sorry, I haven't scored the music as yet.

He Came
He came,
To bring
New life for all mankind.

He came,
To save
The lost, the lame, the blind.

He came,
To earth
Salvation to impart.

He came,
For man
But man just broke His heart.

The people turned their back on Christ,
Upon that fateful day;
With iron nails and crown of thorns
They killed God’s chosen Way.

They nailed Him there upon the tree
High on Golgotha’s mound
And yet, although He died that day,
In Him no sin was found.

They brought Him down and gently laid,
His body in the grave;
They wrapped Him round in linen cloth,
This man who came to save.

He came,
To bring
New life for all mankind.

He came,
To save
The lost, the lame, the blind.

He came,
To earth
Salvation to impart.

He came,
For man
But man just broke His heart.

On the third day as morning broke,
The tomb was open wide;
The grave-cloth lay all neatly wrapped,
Yet Christ was not inside.

And now, because He rose again,
The prophets to fulfil,
The hope of all mankind was born,
According to God’s will.

Now we can call upon His Name,
The ever-living Word;
One day He will return for us,
Shout praises to our Lord!

He came,
He brought
New life for all mankind.

He came,
He saved
The lost, the lame, the blind.

He came
To earth
Salvation to impart.

He came
For us
God’s great love to impart.
© 2013 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Pasg hapus! : Happy Easter!

I wish all of my readers a very happy and peaceful Easter from the beauty of North Wales! I hope that you all have a great holiday, but most of all I hope that you draw closer to the Lord Jesus Christ whose sacrifice we remember at this time, and whose promise of eternal life is the gift that none of us deserve and yet all of us can claim.

Hallelujah! My Redeemer Lives!

Great Quotes for Good Friday

Mark 14:36 He said,"Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want." 

Gethsemane is where He died; the cross is only the evidence. 

- Leonard Ravenhill

No pain, no palm;

no thorns, no throne;

no gall, no glory;

no cross, no crown. 

- William Penn

Good Friday is the mirror held up by Jesus so that we can see ourselves in all our stark reality, and then it turns us to that cross and to his eyes and we hear these words, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." That'sus! And so we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. We see in that cross a love so amazing so divine that it loves us even when we turn away from it, or spurn it, or crucify it. There is no faith in Jesus without understanding that on the cross we see into the heart of God and find it filled with mercy for the sinner whoever he or she may be. 
- Robert G. Trache 

Does God really love us? I say look to the crucified Jesus. Look to the old rugged cross. By every thorn that punctured His brow. By every mark of the back lacerating scourge. By every hair of his beard plucked from his cheeks by cruel fingers. By every bruise which heavy fists made upon His head. God said, "I love you!" By all the spit that landed on his face. By every drop of sinless blood that fell to the ground. By every breath of pain which Jesus drew upon the cross. By every beat of His loving heart. God said, 'I love you.' 
- Billy Lobbs 

'Easter' : New Hymn for the Easter Service

Celebration C.M.

TUNE: Nativity

Sing out your praises to our King

This happy Easter day!

Lift up your voice and join the throng

That praises God today!

We celebrate the risen Lord

With heart and voice and soul;

For He has overcome the grave

So we can be made whole.

His victory is ours to share,

His prize is ours to claim!

Now we can spend eternity

To praise His holy name!

So now with joyful hearts sing out!

Sing loud and true and long.

We celebrate this joyful day,

With thankful praise and song.

© 2008 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

A Hymn for Easter: 'Victory'

Victory  87 87 D

TUNE: Autumn

 In Christ we have the victory,

For the battle has been won!

Grace and mercy ours to claim now,

Through the power of the Son!

      Raise your arms to highest heaven,

      For the battle has been won,

      Death has surely been defeated,

By the vict’ry of the Son!

Christ has overcome the grave now,

He has conquered death and sin!

And the gates of heaven are open,

Through Him we can enter in!

Raise your arms, . . .

On the cross He hung and suffered,

So that all might be forgiv’n.

With the pow’r of sin defeated,

Vict’ry has been won for heav’n!

Raise your arms, . . .

 © 2011 :  Colin Gordon-Farleigh 

Poem for Today : 'The Empty Cross'

The Empty Cross

I see the empty cross,

and in my mind

I see

the bloodstains 

where they nailed You there

to die;

to die the cruellest death

of all,

in agony and pain.

The perfect sacrifice

who hung and suffered there for me

to pay the highest price

for mankind's sin.

I see the empty cross,

and in my heart

I know

that when You died

that day,

and when You cried

that day,

"It is finished!"

it was not the end

but the beginning;

and in that beginning 

I have found my purpose.

I see the empty cross,

and in my mind

I see

the empty tomb

where once You lay.

But by the grace of God

He lifted You,

and you were raised

on that first Easter Day

triumphant

from the grave;

a conqueror.

Now we praise and sing

to worship You as King!

 © 2011 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Easter Hymn: 'Have You Heard?

Have You Heard?  8787

Have you heard the news of Jesus,

How He came the lost to save;

Dying on the tree of vict’ry,

Overcoming death and grave?

Now we celebrate that victory

On this glorious Easter Day!

Praising Christ, the blessed Saviour,

He’s the Truth, the Life, the Way.

Praise Him now, in celebration

Of Hi vict’ry over sin;

He has overcome the darkness,

Letting light come flooding in.

Lift your voices now in worship

On this sacred Day of Days:

Glorify our blesséd Saviour,

Sing in everlasting praise!

© 2007 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

What is Maundy Thursday about?

Maundy Thursday - also called Holy Thursday is the feast or holy day on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.

The Last Supper
On this day, Christians remember the Last Supper. During the meal Jesus took bread and wine and shared them with his disciples. Christians continue to share bread and wine as part of their worship in church.

The Last Supper was probably a Passover meal – the meal which Jewish people share together to celebrate the time when God delivered Moses and the people from slavery in Egypt.

The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday. It is one of the lesser known days of the Christian calendar.
The name 'Maundy' is derived from the Latin word “mandatum”, meaning a commandment. Jesus Christ, at the Last Supper, commanded:

'And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.' John 15:12

Maundy Thursday Ceremony
In Britain today, the Queen follows a very traditional role of giving Maundy Money to a group of pensioners. The tradition of the Sovereign giving money to the poor dates from the 13th century, from the reign of Edward I.

At one time recipients were required to be of the same sex as the Sovereign, but since the eighteenth century they have numbered as many men and women as the Sovereign has years of age.

Every year on this day, the Queen attends a Royal Maundy service in one of the many cathedrals throughout the country. 'Maundy money' is distributed to male and female pensioners from local communities near the Cathedral where the Service takes place.

The Service
Yeomen of the Guards carry the Maundy Money in white and red leather purses on golden alms trays on their heads.

From the fifteenth century, the amount of Maundy Money handed out, and the number of people receiving the coins, is related to the years of the Sovereign’s life.

In 2008, the white leather purse contained silver Maundy coins matching the Queen's age in pence - 82p, while the red purse contains ordinary money.

In 2009, each recipient will be given two purses – a red purse containing a £5 coin celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Accession of Henry VIII and a 50p coin to mark the founding of Kew Gardens, and a white purse containing 83p in Maundy coins because the Queen is 83 years old this year.
The men and women who receive the coins are all retired pensioners recommended by clergy and ministers of all denominations, in recognition of service to the Church and to the community.

What is Maundy Money?
Maundy coins are specially minted for the occasion and are legal tender and, as they are produced in such limited numbers, they are much sought after by collectors.

(Acknowledgements to Woodlands Junior School in Kent (UK)who always have a lot of interesting information on their website.)

He Is Risen!

No matter what the weather brings today, sun or rain, warm or cold, even the snow that's been forecast for some parts of the UK, there is absolutely NOTHING that can detract from the most exciting news that ever reached the ears of mankind:

Jesus Christ is the Risen Lord!

Today we celebrate His victory over sin, over death, and over the grave.

Sin could not trap Him!

Death could not destroy Him!

The grave could not Hold Him!

He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Today, as every day, I proclaim Him to be my Saviour and my Lord.

I pray that you will join me in that proclamation and proclaim Him anew as your Saviour and your Lord!

HAPPY EASTER!

Easter's Message

Easter's message can be summed up in the following words:

Good is stronger than evil.

Love is stronger than hate.

Light is stronger than darkness.

Life is stronger than death.

Throughout today I will be preparing myself for the Easter Service tomorrow. Although there are many special days in the Christian calendar, I think that Easter Sunday is the most important of all, for that's the day when we celebrate the greatest miracle of all --- Jesus Christ's resurrection. Because of this one miracle we know that death has been defeated and that it can have no hold over us. Much more than that even, as if that were not enough in itself, is the fact that we have the opportunity to be redeemed to God when we accept Jesus for who He was and is, claiming the gift of salvation in His name.

The Easter message is one of Love, of Light, of Life. We have the LOVE of God demonstrate to us by Jesus on the cross, the place where love and mercy meet; Jesus the LIGHT of the world, whose brilliance will move every bit of darkness; and LIFE everlasting through Jesus.

Have you logged on to the Voice Ministries website yet to see and hear the Ester message? If you haven't then you need to go there in the next couple of days before it comes off the site. Just follow the link!

I wish you all, dear readers, a truly blessed Easter.

Spring has Sprung - well almost!

Traditionally the first day of Spring starts on the night of 20th/21st March, despite the fact that many will try to convince you that it really commences on March 1st. Right now, as I write this post, it's almost 7.00 am, and cold. It doesn't feel too much like Spring, but that's probably because we have an idealised view of what we expect Spring to feel like. As in so many other instances, we expect Spring to feel like we want it to, rather than as it is.

Now yesterday was different altogether, because it was sunny and reasonably warm, and felt exactly like we think a Spring day should be like.

I wonder what you think about dear reader, when you think of Spring? One of the things that nearly always (well, OK! always) comes to mind for me is a little rhyme that I remember from childhood. It was one of Jimmy 'Schnozzle' Durante's,and it goes like this:

Spring has sprung,

the grass has riz,

I wonder where the boidies is.

The boids is on the wing ---

but that's absoid ---

I always thought

the wings was on de boid!

I moved to my current location ten years ago from Wales, which is a land of culture, magnificent singing, rugby, nationalistic fervour, and sheep. When I say that there are sheep in Wales, I don't mean that there are a few, or even quite a few. It's estimated that the sheep population far exceeds the human one. Of course, where there are sheep it means that there are lambs, and what better sign of Spring than lambs in the fields, frolicking about as though they had springs inbuilt into their legs.

One of the highlights of Springtime for me when I worked at Lake Vyrnwy about 20 years ago as a candle maker, was driving to work through the Dyfnant Forest in the early morning, the early-morning mist often hanging in the trees, and seeing the banks of primroses and the other Spring flowers along the roadside. It never failed to speak to me of the perpetuation of life, for I would ponder so often on the fact that there were flowers there long before I existed, and that they would still be there long after I've ceased to exist, at least, ceased to exist in this life.

Thinking about all of this brings me to thoughts of life's ever-turning cycle. Things grow from seed, bloom for their allotted span and then die, only to be resurrected the in following due season, fresh and new. Roadside flowers that had been spotted and stained by passing traffic, or damaged by insects, are reborn, pristine and excitingly new.

People are like this as well, aren't they. The Easter story of Christ's death and resurrection, of His victory over sin and the grave, reminds me that we too come from a tiny seed. We grow and bloom for our allotted span and then we die. Because of Christ's victory at Calvary we have the opportunity to live again, to be resurrected to a pristine and exciting new life. We don't know the way it will be, but one thing is certain. It will be glorious! All that's asked of us is that we acknowledge Him and give our lives to Him, living life the way that He leads us.

Ah, Easter! What a wonderful time in the Christian calendar it is, for it's the time of the year when, more than any other, we think of the sacrifice that was made for us because God --- our God --- loves us so much!

Tomorrow is Good Friday. Tomorrow we will think of the pain and the suffering, the tears and the crying. But tomorrow will pass and then we will come on Sunday to a time of immense joy as we celebrate the Risen Christ and all that His victory means for those who choose to follow Him. I can't think of a better fanfare for Spring, can you?

Every blessing to you, dear reader, over this Easter period. May it be a time of new life and renewal for you and yours.

Easter

Blood-red On Green
High on the hill see the cross,
flanked by thieves on either side:
sobbing flesh and crying souls,
out of the dark my Lord’s voice cried:
“Father, forgive them,
they know not what they do”
from He who gave His life for you.
darkness deepens to the end,
yet still I see no tears,
only tears of blood and sweat
that, throughout the coming years,
we all may look and not forget.
Please say that it was not in vain
that God should give His Son,
to cleanse our guilt, to heal our pain.
Please let it be, lest I forget,
that on my knees, in looking down
in all humility, may I look up
and say,
“My God, will you forgive me still?”
© Copyright 2006 Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Holy Week

Good Friday 4.7.4.7.

This darkest day,
So full of deepest sorrow;
Yet all was giv’n
That we might live tomorrow.
My Lord hung there,
Upon the cross at Calv’ry;
He bled and died,
To pour on us His mercy.

Man’s darkest deed,
God’s plan for man’s redemption;
Christ’s dying breath,
Forgiveness and exemption.
The world stood by,
His body cut and bleeding;
His mother watched
And heard His final pleading.

How could they know
That God had planned this dying?
As they gazed on
Through eyes so dim with crying.
The skies went dark,
It seemed sin won the vict’ry;
Oh, darkest hour,
Upon the cross at Calv’ry.

Yet now we know
That death was there defeated;
For sin had lost,
Lord Jesus was triumphant.
Upon that day,
That dark day full of sorrow,
Our Saviour died,
That we might live tomorrow.

© 2008 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh (March 2008)

So, what does it mean to you?

This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, and all that it implies to Christians around the world. Here in the UK many churches and chapels will greet visitors to their services who feature in the lists of those who attend only on what they regard as 'Special Occasions', yet is it not true that EVERY service is a special occasion?

Of course nowadays the numbers get fewer rather than increase, largely because of the efforts by successive governments to secularise society and sideline Christianity in their attempts to win the votes of the huge numbers of non-Christians, particularly amongst the immigrant population. The fact that our society has a Christian-Judeo base seems to be irrelevant.

A week today will be Good Friday. When I was growing up, and indeed for much of my life, this was always a day when shops were closed and it was treated as the Holy Day that it is. It's the occasion for the world to remember all that God has done for mankind; the occasion when He suffered the most abominable pain at the hands of His own creation --- man; the occasion when God's love was poured out upon the world in a demonstration of utmost sacrifice. This was not for the benefit of the few but of the many, for God's love embraces mankind in its entirety. Jesus died to conquer sin for everyone, believer and non-believer. The difference comes when people choose to acknowledge Him as their Saviour and accept Him as their Lord. God's forgiveness is not selective. It offers people of every race, every colour, every religious group, the same opportunity to come to Him through Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

How sad then, that so much of what is regarded as the 'civilised' world chooses to reject God's undeserved offer of reconciliation and redemption. This Good Friday the shops will open across the United kingdom by and large, and their owners will be rubbing their hands together to the tune of the cash tills as people rush to spend, spend, spend. Many stores will have 'Special Offer' signs plastered across their windows, in the stores, and in their advertising programmes in the lead-up to Holy Week. Many of their customers will be the same people who pay a guest visit to church on Easter Sunday. Make of that what you will!

As we celebrate Palm Sunday we will recall Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the way in which the people waved palm branches as they shouted out 'Hosanna!' at the top of their voices. They feted Him as a king on that day, yet only a few days later the same people were almost certainly amongst those who cried at again at the top of their voices, only this time it was the phrase 'Crucify him!' that spewed out of their mouths.

So, here's a thought or two for the coming week:

What does it all mean to you, personally?

What will you be (metaphorically at least) shouting out on Palm Sunday?

What will you be doing this Good Friday?