Sunday School Olympiad 2016

The Horeb Mar Thoma Church conducted the 3rd Olympiad on Sat, June 18 and it was wonderful to see all the talents that God has provided our children and being used for His Glory.



Celebrating Vacation Bible School (VBS) at Horeb

The Horeb MTC celebrated the VBS at the church from July 31-Aug 3rd of 2014. The theme of this year was “Jungle Safari” where kids learned about God as the Creator, Provider, Protector, Savior and King. There were special sessions for adults also. Thanks to all the coordinators, teachers, volunteers, donors and especially the kids for their very energetic participation during this year’s VBS.



Alone Yet Not Alone

Oscar Nominated Song Surprises the Nation

Lights, glamour, indulgence, actors, these are a few of the words that might come to mind when we think of the Oscars. In March, one of the most coveted nights in Hollywood will include big names, glitz, and a low-budget, obscure Christian film — Alone Yet Not Alone.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has nominated “Alone Yet Not Alone” for best original song, taking everyone by surprise, including its singer, Joni and Friends Founder and CEO, Joni Eareckson Tada. “When I heard the news I thought they were kidding,” said Tada.

Set in the mid-1700s and based on a true story, Alone Yet Not Alone depicts a family fleeing religious persecution in Germany to America. The movie was adapted from a book by Tracy Leininger Craven. The Oscar nominated song (also by the same name) captures the vision of the struggle the family endured while living during that era. The lyrics of “Alone Yet Not Alone” also captured the heart of Tada.

“I really resonated with the words – after all, I sit down in a stand-up world and often feel ‘alone;’ but of course with my faith in God, I’m never really alone! The Bible is filled with stories of God picking ill-equipped, unskilled people for places of great influence – that’s how I feel, me, a quadriplegic, singing an Academy Award nominated song.”

Tada, 64, is the Founder and CEO of Joni and Friends International Disability Center, a Christian organization dedicated to advancing disability ministry within churches and assisting families affected by disability around the world. Joni and Friends was founded in 1979, 15 years after Tada, then 17, suffered a diving accident leaving her a quadriplegic.

Friday morning while preparing for the day, Tada’s phone rang and on the other end was her long-time friend. “(On Thursday) my good friend Bobbie Wolgemuth called while I was still getting up and shared with me about the academy nomination. It takes me about two hours to get up in the morning. I have women who help me,” she said. And though mornings can be arduous for Tada, this one was special, “It was quite a fun way to start the day. I thought they were kidding. Christian films are never given that platform and that this little film would beat out Taylor Swift. Wow.”

Last year, while speaking at the closing session of the National Religious Broadcasters’ Convention, Tada was spotted by representatives of Enthuse Entertainment, the producer of Alone Yet Not Alone, and asked to consider singing the theme song of the movie. During her session, Tada intertwined singing hymns as she spoke, which caught the producer’s attention.

“When I heard the simple, humble song, I wanted to record it,” she said, “I’m over the top about what God is doing. It is a little Christian film and here it is, up for an academy award.

As news broke about the Best Song nominations, People Magazine featured all five songs on their website, including video of the performances. Shocked to see this, Tada reflected on watching the song and her prayer offered prior on a secular magazine site.

“People Magazine posted the video of me singing the song and offering up a prayer in the beginning. In that prayer I’m speaking of the Lord’s power in my life. And to think of how many people will see that. God did that. I’m excited.”

Tada’s prayer begins with acknowledging her limitations and dependence on the Lord: “We are the ones that run to you when we are weak. And, uh, you know this body, you formed this body. This is a quadriplegic body. That is broken. My lungs are limited. But there’s this fine balance with presenting to you all of my weakness and thinking that it can’t be done. I don’t want to think that it can’t be done. So Father, I pray that you will mitigate any crackiness in my voice . . . and so, give me your strength.”

Admittedly, Tada is not a professional singer and because of her limited lung capacity, she has a difficult time staying on pitch and hitting high notes. She has, however, previously recorded songs available for purchase on her website.

“Upon hearing the news, I kept thinking of the millions of singers who would want to be in my shoes,” she said, “I’m not a professional singer. Though this doesn’t mean as much to me as to some, I’m not cavalier. This is a huge surprise. Extremely honored.”

Each year the Oscars feature the nominated songs throughout the evening. Although Tada is unsure whether she will be singing, Christianity Today reported that the song will indeed be performed live during the televised awards night.

When asked what she would say if the “Alone Yet Not Alone” received the coveted award Tada said, “If it did win, it would be a miracle. If I were ever asked to share my thoughts, I would paint a quick picture of God’s heart and what he wants to see done with this marvelous themed movie. What God wants to see happen. I’d make much of the miracle of this simple little story. He’s saying something, so we should listen.”

Alone Yet Not Alone releases on June 13 and is set to release in 185 cities per the website. This is the second Academy Award nomination for Bruce Broughton, the composer of “Alone Yet Not Alone”. He was previously nominated for: Silverado (1985) – for Music (Original Score).

 

Along with leading Joni and Friends, Tada has written over 70 books including When God Weeps (Zondervan, 2010) and her latest along with her husband, Ken Tada, Joni & Ken: An Untold Story (Zondervan, 2013).



Christmas in Dark Places

Christmas in Dark Places

It used to be summer when Christmas came round,
Neath tall southern skies, over sun-scorched ground,
With the backyard cricket, the barbies, the beach,
And munching on mangoes to watch the Queen’s Speech.
The slatherings of sunscreen, the glorious glare
And toasting the glow in the warm evening air.

It used to be summer… when I was young.
A golden age in a land far flung.
But there came a point, I crossed a divide,
Went up in the world and summer had died.
December is dark now, the nights close in,
So we huddle together as kith and as kin.

It’s winter now when Christmas rolls round,
We celebrate still though with different surrounds.
We mull the wine and strike the matches,
Light the fires, batten the hatches,
Gather around the warming beam
Of family love or a TV screen.
So safe inside, no place to go,
We toast marshmallows and let it snow.

Our summer’s gone, if you’ve been around,
you’ve felt the fall: life’s run aground.
We’ve gone up in the world, seen summer die.
So what’s our hope? The dark defy?
Stoke the hearth? Retreat indoors?
Rug up warm with you and yours?
The shadow reaches even here,
But THIS is the place for Christmas cheer.

It’s dark, in the bible, when Christmas is spoken.
Always a bolt from the blue for the broken.
It’s the valley of shadow, the land of the dead,
It’s, “No place in the inn,” so He stoops to the shed.
He’s born to the shameful, bends to the weak,
becomes the lowly: the God who can’t speak!
And yet, what a Word, this Saviour who comes,
Our dismal, abysmal depths He plumbs.
Through crib and then cross, to compass our life.
To carry and conquer. Our Brother in strife.
He became what we are: our failures He shouldered,
To bring us to His life: forever enfolded.
He took on our frailty, He took on all-comers,
To turn all our winters to glorious summers.

It’s Christmas now… whatever the weather,
Some soak in the sun, some huddle together.
But fair days or foul, our plight He embraces.
Real Christmas can shine in the darkest of places.



O Holy Night: Kings College, Cambridge



Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree

His beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know, but ne’er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree

For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought
I missed of all; but now I see
‘Tis found in Christ the apple tree

I’m weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest a while
Under the shadow I will be
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree



O Holy Night | “Believe Again”

Dianne Tubbs’s rendition of “O Holy Night” that’s part the Christmas special “Believe Again.” After hearing the way she sang the Christmas classic, the producer was moved to consider that this version actually captures what the song is really about: the night of Jesus’s birth.



Angels we have heard on high

“Glory to God, Glory to God,” are the first words in the video, sung quietly by the artists as they play a piano in a most unique fashion. The video, “Angels We Have Heard on High (Christmas w/ 32 fingers and 8 thumbs),” features four musicians grouped around a piano, each playing a different part of the instrument.



O Come, Emmanuel

An excellent piano and cello version of O Come, Emmanuel by the Piano Guys.
(Note: Enjoy the music, no endorsement of Morman Church).
 

 



How Long (Love Constrained to Obedience)

 

A wonderful hymn by William Cowper sung by Pacific Gold

WWW.WAYFARERHYMNS.COM

 

Love Constrained to Obedience

To see the law by Christ fulfilled
And hear His pardoning voice,
Changes a slave into a child,
And duty into choice.

No strength of nature can suffice
To serve the Lord aright:
And what she has she misapplies,
For want of clearer light.

How long beneath the law I lay
In bondage and distress;
I toll’d the precept to obey,
But toil’d without success.

Then, to abstain from outward sin
Was more than I could do;
Now, if I feel its power within,
I feel I hate it too.

Then all my servile works were done
A righteousness to raise;
Now, freely chosen in the Son,
I freely choose His ways.

“What shall I do,” was then the word,
“That I may worthier grow?”
“What shall I render to the Lord?”
Is my inquiry now.

William Cowper