The word Carol today refers to a joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ.
The ancient word Carol referred to “Dancing and Singing songs of praise and happiness”. Not necessarily Christmas songs. A Fourth Century Pope declared December 25 to be Christmas. After this some secular songs were adapted for songs celebrating the birth of Jesus. Church leaders frowned on this and took control of Christmas music for the next 1200 years or so. You were only allowed to sing the songs designated by the Church. Those songs were in Latin and the common people did not understand them. They brought no Joy. Music through the Dark Ages was rarely associated with Christmas.
The first Nativity scene showed up in 1223 A.D. St. Francis of Assisi built the scene right outside of his church. He invited children to view his vision of what the first Christmas looked like and to join him in the midst of the display singing Christmas songs. He taught them songs in their own language. These children standing outside in the cold were probably the first Christmas Carolers.
The Nativity grew more ornate and complex every year and evolved into actual plays about Christmas. The Carols, which consisted of a Psalm put to music, were sung between scenes. This became popular and spread thru-out Europe. Christmas had come outside the walls of the church and common people were beginning to understand and even embrace the holiday.
The songs were put to the tunes of common melodies. Amateur musicians were using common folk melodies so that common people could easily sing along. This shocked church leaders so much that they began to try to ban songs written by anyone but trained clergy. The attempts by the church to snuff out Christmas Carols didn’t work. This new movement was too strong and people ignored the attempted ban.
Soon professional and amateur carolers could be found throughout Europe. They entertained audiences with a new type of singing during the month of December. When the troubadours moved on to the next town the carols stayed behind.
Church leaders felt that by losing control of Christmas music they were losing control of their faith. So the church continued to fight the spread of Christmas music.
In the 16th Century Martin Luther embraced Christmas Carols. George Frederic Handel, also a German, composed The Messiah in 1741. This began to change the churches opinion of Modern Christmas Music.
Then in Austria a priest name Joseph Mohr and a schoolteacher named Franz Gruber put their talents together to create “Silent Night”. The Church then began to accept Carols in earnest. Silent Night has now become the most recorded song in history. Christmas Carols finally became fully accepted as Christmas history when Queen Victoria married her cousin Prince Albert of Germany in 1840. The royal family loved Christmas music. In an effort to charm the royals, church groups would go to Windsor Castle to serenade the Queen and her family. Soon Victorian Carolers made their way thruout London.
The new age of Caroling had also brought a sincere expression of faith and joy. In the United States the Methodists were the first to introduce carols. The Lutherans were a close second. They brought organized street carolers to their own towns. By the end of the Civil War, thousand of churches were using carolers to reach the lost.
Caroling became a way to spread the Gospel throughout the land. Today it is accepted not only in Christian culture but also in secular culture. I recently went to Disneyland and found myself in the midst of an incredible Christmas concert in the main town square of the “Happiest Place on Earth”. It was a full-blown Gospel presentation set to Christmas Carols and narrated by Dick Van Dyke. It was amazing. It became, for some people, a worship service right on Main Street USA. For others it was just a concert with Christmas songs. A Christmas song is a song about Christmas. A Christmas Carol is joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ. What is the difference? The difference is in the word Joyful! For the believer we hear the news of a savior coming for us and we experience Joy! The difference is not in the song but in the heart of the singer.

I remember as a high school student going to Penguin Ice Cream here in Turlock. There was a wheel that you could spin and if you were lucky you would get great nourishment at a low price. It seems like every time I was there I would run into a Christian gentleman that was about 15 years older than me. I know that he was a Christian because he told me. The first time I saw him at Penguin he was a stranger to me. I simply said hello and how are you? His reply was, “Thankful!!!” No joke about the exclamation point. He definitely said “Thankful” with enthusiasm. The next time I saw him I just thought he was strange. Don’t get me wrong. I liked the guy and I would visit with him almost weekly but it just seemed weird. Sometime if I said “How are you?” he would say “Rejoicing!” I had never met anyone like this guy. He would actually answer the question “How are you?”. It felt so strange to me that I started to find other ways to greet him. I guess it made me feel like I was not a good Christian because I was “Fine Thank You”. (Note, no exclamation point)

Thankful! Could someone be thankful all the time? I guess it all depends on what you are thinking about. Yesterday was my daughter’s anniversary. Robin and I watched her wedding video. I saw myself walking my Princess down the isle and I blurted out how thankful I am that I was alive and able to make that walk on her wedding day. (About 4 years ago I almost checked out but God was not ready for my Earthly departure yet.)

I woke up this morning, Thanksgiving Day, 2012, thankful to be able to spend another holiday with my family. It just takes a little bit of thought to be thankful. Sometimes my thoughts don’t lead to thankfulness. It’s because I am too busy grumbling to myself about stuff. Small stuff. Stuff that does not even matter in the long run.
So here is a thought for Thanksgiving Day, 2012.
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Philippians 4:8 (MSG)
Today Let your mind go to these places and you will find yourself thankful like my friend at Penguin Ice Cream.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Pastor Morri

Anthony Showalter, the author of our Foundation hymn for June 17, 2012 taught singing in an Alabama Church. One day after singing school was over he went to his office and found two notes from men he once taught. Both men had lost their wives. He knew they must have been in great agony so he sought to give as much comfort as he could. Showalter turned to Scripture for this comfort in the midst of their grief. Deuteronomy 33:27 speaks of the everlasting arms of our God. “, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms ….” He began to write a letter to each man. At the end of each letter he included the verse encouraging them to seek refuge in the everlasting arms. As he wrote, the phrase “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” came to his mind. He immediately knew he had the chorus of a hymn but no verses. He sent the new chorus to his friend Elisha Hoffman and Elisha wrote back with the now famous verses to Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. We don’t know the impact that these letters had on the two men who lost their wives but we know the hymn has impacted Christians since it was written in 1887. “What have I to dread what have I to fear leaning on the everlasting arms!”
As we lean on the everlasting arms we are also Standing on the Promises of God. Safe and secure, God always keeps his promises. And through these promises we have Victory in Jesus! We will also be affirming what we believe this Sunday morning in song. Starting with Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty and You are Holy (Prince of Peace). Then we will sing a statement of faith, I Believe in Jesus, followed by our voices joined together reading the Apostles Creed. Finally we will sing You are My All in All written by Dennis Jernigan. Dennis wrote this song as a testimony of how God delivered him from a life of sin.
You are my strength when I am weak. You are the treasure that I seek.
You are my all in all. Seeking You as a precious jewel.
Lord to give up I’d be a fool. You are my all in all.
Taking my sin my cross my shame. Rising again I bless Your name.
You are my all in all. When I fall down You pick me up.
When I am dry You fill my cup. You are my all in all.

Last week I talked a little bit about “No Turning Back”. This week I want to talk about “Turning Back”. Many people find themselves in a time away from God. Sometimes it sneaks up on you and for others it is very intentional. Have you ever found yourself in a time where you realize you have gotten away from God?
As I read the Old Testament I found where Hezekiah gave us a pattern to follow for returning to God. When Hezekiah became King,
2 Chronicles chapter 29, he wanted to return the people of Israel to God. The first thing he did was cleanse the Temple. (2 Chronicles 29. The next thing he did was to celebrate the Passover. Found in 2 Chronicles chapters 29 and 30. The third thing he did was purify the Temple (Found in 2 Chronicles chapter 31). And finally he commanded to people to give gifts to the Levites and priests (2 Chronicles 31:5,12).
What does this mean to us? If you have been away from God the first thing you should do is:

1. Turn back to God. In the Old Testament God resided in the Temple. Now, we are the Temple of God, 1 Corinthians 6:19. The Holy Spirit is in each one of us. So where do you go to meet God again? Go back to the foot of the cross.

2. Worship Him! This was interesting to me because Hezekiah put worship before purifying the temple. Why? Let me ask you, do you have to get cleaned up to take a bath?

3. Purify the Temple. During your time of worship the Holy Spirit will convict you heart and He will clean you up. Be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

4. Give to God. Show your love and commitment to God. He says in Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

Here is another interesting thought. From my experience this works in the opposite direction for those who are walking away from God.
• 1st, they stop giving to the ministry of the Church.
• 2nd, they begin to allow things into their lives that are not pure in God’s eyes.
• 3rd, they stop worshipping Him because of the guilt that they feel.
• 4th, God is finally ignored.

So where do you find yourself today? I hope this challenges you to either stay close to God or to turn back to him. Hezekiah gave us this formula thousands of years ago and it still works, both ways!

Our foundation hymn for Sunday, April 22, 2012 is “All Creatures of Our God and King”. Saint Francis of Assisi wrote the words in 1225. As a young man he was said to be quite indulgent but he reformed his ways after a time as a soldier. At age 25, he made a decision to be like Christ. This was not a casual thing to Saint Francis. When he made this decision to be like Christ it was a serious life change for him. He chose to be selfless as Jesus was selfless. He denounced his family’s possessions and wealth. He lived with only the absolute necessities of life.
I remember reading the classic book, “In His Steps”. The main character is the Rev. Henry Maxwell, pastor of the First Church of Raymond, who challenges his congregation to not do anything for a whole year without first asking: “What Would Jesus Do?” What kinds of things would change in our lives if we asked this same question? Our second song, Holiness (Take My Life), is also about life change.
So take my heart and form it.
Take my mind transform it.
Take my will conform it.
To Yours oh Lord
“Holy is the Lord” and “How Can I Keep from Singing” are songs about praising our Holy God. Our last congregational song is an old chorus. It is a song of commitment to God. “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” may seem like a simple camp song but this morning I pray that it will have a powerful impact on each of us. Just think of the power of these words. “I have decided to follow Jesus” then the next phrase, “No turning back”.
I pray that we will sing these words with conviction in our hearts. No turning back, no turning back.

My prayer for this Sunday; Lord this morning as I sing these songs I ask that you would let my heart focus on you. Let the words not just escape from my lips but also penetrate my heart. As I sing of your creation let me feel the presence of the Creator. As I sing of giving you my heart, mind and will I pray that I would not take them back when pressed by this world. As I sing of Your Holiness, let me experience the Joy of the Lord! Let this joy never escape me and always flow out of me. Lord, when I make decisions in Your name, let there be no turning back.

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God was written by Martin Luther. It’s based on Psalm 46 and is the most powerful and inspiring hymn written during the movement started by Luther when he nailed his ninety-five theses to the Cathedral of Wittenberg, Germany. This hymn became the battle cry for the Protestant Reformation.
Think of this song in light of the world that we live in. Luther tells us that our God never fails. He points out in verse two that if we try to live by our own strength we will fail. In verse three he states that we have no need to fear the devil, our enemy. “One little word shall fell him.” Finally, no matter what comes our way, even if they kill this body, God’s truth remains steady and His Kingdom will last forever! This hymn, in my opinion, remains the most powerful hymn of the Church.
His Kingdom is forever and “His Love Endures Forever“. That is a line from our second song of the morning. Also this morning, I would like to teach you a brand new song. I am very careful about what songs I introduce to the body of Christ. I heard this song for the first time three weeks ago. It is called, “Jesus, Son of God”. The chorus says,
“On the altar of our praise
Let there be no higher name
Jesus Son of God
You laid down Your perfect life
You are the sacrifice
Jesus Son of God
You are Jesus Son of God”
Think about your “Altar of Praise”. We each have an altar of praise. We place the things most important to us on this altar. What is on your altar this morning? What are the most important things to you? Is there a name higher than Jesus on your altar? Do you lift the name of Jesus higher than any other name? I pray that this new song will be as meaningful to you as it is to me.
Before Pastor Al prays for us we will sing Mighty to Save and O How He Loves You and Me. Then the choir will sing Holy Holy Holy.
Let’s lift the name of Jesus Higher than any other name! Let His name be louder than any other name! There is no power that can come against His love for us. The power of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was enough to carry us through whatever trials or tribulations we face each day. The Cross is enough! The Cross is enough!

“Jesus is Alive” is a song written by Ron Kenoly in 1987.
“Hallelujah Jesus is alive! Death has lost its victory and the grave has been denied.
Jesus lives forever He’s alive, He’s alive!
He’s the Alpha and Omega the first and last is He.
The curse of sin is broken and we have perfect liberty.
The Lamb of God has risen He’s alive, He’s alive!
Hallelujah Jesus is alive”
These are words of hope. The resurrection of Jesus gives us hope. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned”. That means me and you and everyone you see in this room this morning. It does not matter how much we go to church, we are all sinners according to the Bible.
Romans 6:23 says, ” The wages of sin is death”. Death, eternal separation from God, is our punishment. There is nothing we can do to get around the punishment for our sinfulness. But there is more to Romans 6:23 than I just told you. The rest of it says, “But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
When I was a young man someone asked me if I thought I would go to heaven when I died. I said, “I think so”. I decided I wanted to know for sure. What about you? If you suddenly died would you go to Heaven? If you want to know for sure then all you have to do is pray this prayer.
“God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin. However, I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness. I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! Amen!”
If you prayed that prayer today I would love to know about it. You can come and speak to me this morning or you can email me at pastormorri@crossroadsturlock.com
This morning we will sing Jesus is Alive, He Lives and Christ Arose. These are songs of praise to our risen Lord and Savior that all speak of the resurrection of the Lamb of God. Then we will sing “God of Wonders“. This is a song that helps us realize that everything we see and touch is part of the wonderful creation of God.
Hallelujah! Jesus is alive!
“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” John 1:12-14 NLT