Thursday, December 11, 2008

A Note from My Pastor

Every week, my pastor sends a note to all who are in his congregation. This is fairly common practice for some in the ministry, but my pastor sends the best letters! (I am biased, I know) Below is this week's note. I found it to be such a blessing and such an encourgment that I felt it might be fun to share with you!

Pray for our spiritual leaders. I love to hear testimony of God's blessing upon the one's He calls into full time ministry. I am personally blessed to have this man as my pastor.

Hallelujah!!!!!


THE VILLAGE CHURCH
December 2008 Issue #2

Good Morning,
On Tuesday night this past week, I had the privilege of going to Bass Hall in Ft. Worth to see "Handel's Messiah." I have heard a lot about this oratorio but had never seen it personally. At the end of the second act they sang the "Hallelujah" chorus and the crowd stood to its feet. Afterwards, I had to search Wikipedia to figure out what was going on. Here's what it says:"Tradition has it that King George II rose to his feet at this point. As the first notes of the triumphant Hallelujah Chorus rang out, the king rose. Royal protocol has always demanded that whenever the monarch stands, so does everyone in the monarch's presence. Thus, the entire audience stood too, initiating a tradition that has lasted more than two centuries. It is lost to history the exact reason why the King stood at that point, but the most popular explanations include:
As was and is the custom, one stands in the presence of royalty as a sign of respect. The Hallelujah chorus clearly places Christ as the King of Kings. In standing, King George II accepts that he too is subject to Lord of Lords.
He was so moved by the performance that he rose to his feet."The music during this chorus is big and stirring and thousands of people standing to their feet create a lot of energy, but it's the words to "Hallelujah" that I found to be profound and moving. The words are taken from three passages from the book of Revelation (
19:6, 11:15, 19:16). The words are:
"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."
"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever."
"And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." During all of this, I couldn't help but think about what it might be like at the consummation of all things. When the real King of Glory will be visible and fully present and the voices of the multitude of all the saints will sing these words for real. This weekend we will finish what we started this past weekend in Luke 10. When you get a chance read verses 3-10.

I love you and look forward to seeing you.
For the joy of all people,
Matt Chandler
Lead Pastor

4 comments:

Pamela (His maidservant) said...

Great note from your pastor! I have a hard time singing and sitting at the same time. Standing and praising in song seeems so natural!!

Have a blessed holiday!

In His Graces~Pamela

Carol said...

This is great. I love that Halleluja Chorus gives me chills.

I love that your pastor takes the time to write a note to everyone every week. What a blessing that is.

It is essintial to pray for our church and the leadership, they are under attack all the time.

Thanks for sharing that.

Carol:)

Laura said...

What a lovely and informative letter! I had heard about the standing bit before, but don't think I have ever read the words. Isn't that amazing? Such a moving piece and I didn't even know the words!

Your pastor seems like a special man.

Blessings,
Laura

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