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Tuesday, November 20, 2012
We passed this old frame farmhouse in upstate New York, now occupied by an Amish family. I was intrigued by the wagonload of firewood for sale directly in front of their front porch.
Listen to this message on your
audio player.
"Pilgrims On The Earth"
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of [them], and embraced [them], and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13). "Dearly beloved, I beseech [you] as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11). (From the 1599 edition of the Geneva Bible used by the Pilgrims.)
Many of you likely sang "Come Ye Thankful People, Come" in
your congregations this last Lord's Day. Henry Alford penned this hymn in 1844. Consider this
unusual statement written on a gravestone describing the Christian on a pilgrimage: "An Inn of
a Pilgrim Traveling to Jerusalem." That was the message on Alford's tombstone!
The Miller family are friends who reside in Peoria, Illinois and have been a part of the Daily Encouragement list for many
years. Several years ago they were travelling through the east and stopped to have dinner
with us. They homeschooled all five of their daughters and are
committed to the Lord and Biblical values as pilgrims on the earth.
A license plate on their car expresses who they are (though their
number has now increased since one daughter is now married with a baby
son on the way).
Around Thanksgiving season Brooksyne shares a program about the Pilgrims and their perilous journey to America in 1620 leading up to the first Thanksgiving feast held in mid-October of 1621. These pilgrims were initially referred to as Separatists and Saints. She did extensive research on this subject while we lived in Massachusetts.
She shares the story in a historically accurate, non-revisionist manner, with an emphasis on presenting the deep Christian convictions the Pilgrims held. Brooksyne presented this program in the public schools in Massachusetts when we lived there. You might imagine the vast sea of historical ignorance, deception, and denial her contrasting message brought in a heavily secularized Massachusetts school district only 25 miles from Plymouth, where the Pilgrims first settled!
Most of their treasures were left behind, but one treasured possession that pilgrim families refused to leave in Holland was their copy of the Scriptures. Its message would strengthen and guide them as they endured the mockery and ridicule from bawdy, foul mouthed sailors on their treacherous Mayflower voyage; it would anchor them over the long hard winter; it would sustain and console them as over half of their fellow pilgrims and family members would perish within a few months.
One of the great Biblical themes that deeply impacted these early settlers was the sense that they were pilgrims (hence their name!) They used this term not only in regard to their pilgrimage from the old world to the new, but in a much greater sense in regard to their spiritual pilgrimage. John Bunyan's classic allegorical novel, "Pilgrim's Progress", reflects this sense.
Both daily Scripture texts were surely held dear by these people and the 1599 Geneva Bible, the version used by the pilgrims, translates these verses using the word "pilgrim", as the KJV also does.
Still today, each of us are pilgrims on our earthly journey. May those who follow find us faithful!
Be encouraged today on your pilgrimage,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
since this pilgrimage on earth is all we've known since birth, far too
often we consider it a permanent dwelling. But the prophet Isaiah gives
us a true perspective of our transient life when he writes, "The grass
withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of the Lord endures
forever." Help us to lift our eyes to the heavens and place our
affections on the eternal truths of Your Word. We, as Your redeemed
children, desire to be faithful as we walk this pilgrim pathway
watching expectantly and longing for Your soon return. Amen.
Note from Brooksyne: In light of our message today the words of Gov. William Bradford come to mind when he was describing the scene of the pilgrims boarding the ship in Holland for their voyage to the New World on July 22, 1620, "So they left that goodly and pleasant city which had been their resting place [Leiden, Holland] for twelve years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and looked not much on those things, but lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits.…and then with mutual embraces and many tears they took their leave one of another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them." What a proper perspective we do well to attain in our Christian pilgrimage, living in such a way that reflects our dearest country is not here and now, but that which is to come.
An online version of the Geneva Bible is here.
Here's an outline of Brooksyne's message on the Pilgrims
Our church provided this material as a bulletin insert Sunday for an historical perspective on Thanksgiving. Pastor pointed our when he was young this material was taught in public schools but not anymore.
This Thanksgiving, we are given another opportunity to examine our
hearts and ask ourselves what we are truly thankful for. As American
Christians, we can surely thank God for our abundant harvest. Despite
difficult economic times that have dragged on for years, America's
farmers, by God's grace and their own untiring labors, have continued to
bring forth the bounty of the earth. For this we should be profoundly
grateful. Yes, this year's Thanksgiving feast will be a bit more expensive than last year's. But at an estimated $50 to feed a table of ten, this dinner is truly a wonder.
Simply to gather around a holiday meal and not have to hide, not have to close the shutters, is a blessing. For millions of our fellow Christians, this is not possible. Around the world, in North Korea, China, and especially in the Bloody Crescent, too often the breaking of bread is accompanied by the breaking of heads. We at Family Research Council will pause in our celebrations to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in other lands. Our hearts are attuned to the cry of the martyrs.
Last year, we saluted the Romeike family of Tennessee. These Christian home schoolers came to our shores to escape from the unjust laws in their native land-- Germany. We welcome this dear family because we see in them the proper descendants of those first English Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. For millions of immigrants arriving here under our protection and under our laws, religious freedom is that beacon of light that draws them here. Ironically, it was German Chancellor Angela Merkel who just weeks ago captured the attention of the world by saying it was Christians who are the most persecuted on earth. We thank God for Chancellor Merkel's courage. We note that this pastor's daughter has been willing to speak out when many of her male colleagues have cowered and denied the obvious truth.
Caring for our dear fellow Christians undergoing tribulations does not mean we do not care for those in other communities. Our hearts go out especially to the Jews in Israel, who daily endure rocket attacks. Their harvest celebrations are too often punctuated by the wail of an air raid siren. They must grab their toddlers and their gas masks and head for the bomb shelters. The Baha'i in Iran, the Buddhists in Tibet, and the Huigars in Xinjiang Province in China, each of these religious minorities faces cruel oppression. When we pray for our fellow Christians, we are not unmindful of friends in other religions who are likewise endangered.
We also recognize that while we as Christians are not yet meeting in catacombs in America, this home of freedom, there is growing intolerance for the public profession of our faith. FRC has raised the banner of belief. We have sounded the bell of freedom to warn of mounting threats to our free exercise of religion. This Thanksgiving is a good time to pray that we will see a revival of the faith in America and a renewal of our country's commitment to its First Freedom. We ask for the freedom to worship, to be sure. But we will press for more. We will assert our rights as citizens of this Great Republic. We will insist upon the right to witness for Christ in the public square, knowing we must obey God rather than men.
We have recently celebrated the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. This magnificent work has done so much to shape our language, our thoughts, and our very image of our Lord. Still, it was this same King James of England and Scotland who threatened those long ago Pilgrims. "They will conform or I will harry them out of the kingdom," he decreed. King James thought he could force these Christian dissenters to attend his church and pay taxes to support his clergy.
It was from resistance to this idea--that the government can dictate to the consciences of the people--that America was born. The Pilgrims' Thanksgiving feast of 1621 would never have happened had they stayed at home in England and bowed their necks to the king's yoke.
Thanksgiving is thus for us as American as the Fourth of July, as American as apple pie. And it is a special day for Christians to remember whom we thank for the blessings of liberty. Now thank we all our God.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Wandering Pilgrim" Video Twila Paris
"Come Ye Thankful People Come" Video Traditional version
Contemporary version but thankfully maintaining same tune and lyrics Video
Yesterday we shared a photo of a dog sitting in the driver's seat waiting for its owner at a shop. Sam, a reader friend, suggests this caption: "I'm getting tired of waiting, but she took the keys with her."
We appreciated singing several traditional Thanksgiving hymns in our church service. Here are several classics that you may or may not have heard.
"Thanksgiving Medley" (We Gather Together, For The Beauty Of The Earth, Come Ye Thankful People Come) Video Studio Musicians
"Give Thanks" Video Don Moen
"Thank You Lord" Video Community choir at a Lancaster Day of Prayer event in 2008.
"Thank You Lord For Saving My Soul" Video Holland Davis
"Thankful For The
Thorns": A
family reading and exercise that is a
wonderful way to give a thoughtful focus around your Thanksgiving
Table. The
Thanksgiving celebration typically includes family coming together for
a huge meal and hopefully a heartfelt prayer of thankfulness. However
it can often be difficult to have a spiritually oriented conversation.
Why not add some stimulating discussion about the ways
God has worked in your life over the past year! Some of
you are not in charge and are only visitors at your Thanksgiving
gathering, but if it is possible share together
around
the table the theme of "Thankful for the Thorns" (printable webpage).
"A Thanksgiving family exercise" (pdf) We have used this questionnaire as a stimulus for discussion among family members in the past in our home. We encourage you to share results around the table at Thanksgiving before or after the meal.
A Thanksgiving prayer: Written by Joe Sherer, a pastor friend of ours and shared as the benediction at our community Thanksgiving Eve service several years ago. (printable webpage) For those who enjoy written prayers this would be a beautiful prayer to read together at the Thanksgiving table.
A Thanksgiving Scripture reading: A selection of Old and New Testament readings dealing with thankfulness appropriate for church, family and personal readings. (pdf) (Suitable for printing out and copying.)
<Previous Message Next Message>
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
We passed this old frame farmhouse in upstate New York, now occupied by an Amish family. I was intrigued by the wagonload of firewood for sale directly in front of their front porch.
Listen to this message on your
audio player."Pilgrims On The Earth"
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of [them], and embraced [them], and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13). "Dearly beloved, I beseech [you] as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11). (From the 1599 edition of the Geneva Bible used by the Pilgrims.)
Many of you likely sang "Come Ye Thankful People, Come" in
your congregations this last Lord's Day. Henry Alford penned this hymn in 1844. Consider this
unusual statement written on a gravestone describing the Christian on a pilgrimage: "An Inn of
a Pilgrim Traveling to Jerusalem." That was the message on Alford's tombstone!The Miller family are friends who reside in Peoria, Illinois and have been a part of the Daily Encouragement list for many
years. Several years ago they were travelling through the east and stopped to have dinner
with us. They homeschooled all five of their daughters and are
committed to the Lord and Biblical values as pilgrims on the earth.
A license plate on their car expresses who they are (though their
number has now increased since one daughter is now married with a baby
son on the way).Around Thanksgiving season Brooksyne shares a program about the Pilgrims and their perilous journey to America in 1620 leading up to the first Thanksgiving feast held in mid-October of 1621. These pilgrims were initially referred to as Separatists and Saints. She did extensive research on this subject while we lived in Massachusetts.
She shares the story in a historically accurate, non-revisionist manner, with an emphasis on presenting the deep Christian convictions the Pilgrims held. Brooksyne presented this program in the public schools in Massachusetts when we lived there. You might imagine the vast sea of historical ignorance, deception, and denial her contrasting message brought in a heavily secularized Massachusetts school district only 25 miles from Plymouth, where the Pilgrims first settled!
Most of their treasures were left behind, but one treasured possession that pilgrim families refused to leave in Holland was their copy of the Scriptures. Its message would strengthen and guide them as they endured the mockery and ridicule from bawdy, foul mouthed sailors on their treacherous Mayflower voyage; it would anchor them over the long hard winter; it would sustain and console them as over half of their fellow pilgrims and family members would perish within a few months.
One of the great Biblical themes that deeply impacted these early settlers was the sense that they were pilgrims (hence their name!) They used this term not only in regard to their pilgrimage from the old world to the new, but in a much greater sense in regard to their spiritual pilgrimage. John Bunyan's classic allegorical novel, "Pilgrim's Progress", reflects this sense.
Both daily Scripture texts were surely held dear by these people and the 1599 Geneva Bible, the version used by the pilgrims, translates these verses using the word "pilgrim", as the KJV also does.
Still today, each of us are pilgrims on our earthly journey. May those who follow find us faithful!
Be encouraged today on your pilgrimage,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father,
since this pilgrimage on earth is all we've known since birth, far too
often we consider it a permanent dwelling. But the prophet Isaiah gives
us a true perspective of our transient life when he writes, "The grass
withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of the Lord endures
forever." Help us to lift our eyes to the heavens and place our
affections on the eternal truths of Your Word. We, as Your redeemed
children, desire to be faithful as we walk this pilgrim pathway
watching expectantly and longing for Your soon return. Amen.Note from Brooksyne: In light of our message today the words of Gov. William Bradford come to mind when he was describing the scene of the pilgrims boarding the ship in Holland for their voyage to the New World on July 22, 1620, "So they left that goodly and pleasant city which had been their resting place [Leiden, Holland] for twelve years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and looked not much on those things, but lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits.…and then with mutual embraces and many tears they took their leave one of another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them." What a proper perspective we do well to attain in our Christian pilgrimage, living in such a way that reflects our dearest country is not here and now, but that which is to come.
An online version of the Geneva Bible is here.
Here's an outline of Brooksyne's message on the Pilgrims
Our church provided this material as a bulletin insert Sunday for an historical perspective on Thanksgiving. Pastor pointed our when he was young this material was taught in public schools but not anymore.
Now Thank We All Our God
Written by FRC Senior Fellow Bob Morrison
This Thanksgiving, we are given another opportunity to examine our
hearts and ask ourselves what we are truly thankful for. As American
Christians, we can surely thank God for our abundant harvest. Despite
difficult economic times that have dragged on for years, America's
farmers, by God's grace and their own untiring labors, have continued to
bring forth the bounty of the earth. For this we should be profoundly
grateful. Yes, this year's Thanksgiving feast will be a bit more expensive than last year's. But at an estimated $50 to feed a table of ten, this dinner is truly a wonder.Simply to gather around a holiday meal and not have to hide, not have to close the shutters, is a blessing. For millions of our fellow Christians, this is not possible. Around the world, in North Korea, China, and especially in the Bloody Crescent, too often the breaking of bread is accompanied by the breaking of heads. We at Family Research Council will pause in our celebrations to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in other lands. Our hearts are attuned to the cry of the martyrs.
Last year, we saluted the Romeike family of Tennessee. These Christian home schoolers came to our shores to escape from the unjust laws in their native land-- Germany. We welcome this dear family because we see in them the proper descendants of those first English Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. For millions of immigrants arriving here under our protection and under our laws, religious freedom is that beacon of light that draws them here. Ironically, it was German Chancellor Angela Merkel who just weeks ago captured the attention of the world by saying it was Christians who are the most persecuted on earth. We thank God for Chancellor Merkel's courage. We note that this pastor's daughter has been willing to speak out when many of her male colleagues have cowered and denied the obvious truth.
Caring for our dear fellow Christians undergoing tribulations does not mean we do not care for those in other communities. Our hearts go out especially to the Jews in Israel, who daily endure rocket attacks. Their harvest celebrations are too often punctuated by the wail of an air raid siren. They must grab their toddlers and their gas masks and head for the bomb shelters. The Baha'i in Iran, the Buddhists in Tibet, and the Huigars in Xinjiang Province in China, each of these religious minorities faces cruel oppression. When we pray for our fellow Christians, we are not unmindful of friends in other religions who are likewise endangered.
We also recognize that while we as Christians are not yet meeting in catacombs in America, this home of freedom, there is growing intolerance for the public profession of our faith. FRC has raised the banner of belief. We have sounded the bell of freedom to warn of mounting threats to our free exercise of religion. This Thanksgiving is a good time to pray that we will see a revival of the faith in America and a renewal of our country's commitment to its First Freedom. We ask for the freedom to worship, to be sure. But we will press for more. We will assert our rights as citizens of this Great Republic. We will insist upon the right to witness for Christ in the public square, knowing we must obey God rather than men.
We have recently celebrated the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. This magnificent work has done so much to shape our language, our thoughts, and our very image of our Lord. Still, it was this same King James of England and Scotland who threatened those long ago Pilgrims. "They will conform or I will harry them out of the kingdom," he decreed. King James thought he could force these Christian dissenters to attend his church and pay taxes to support his clergy.
It was from resistance to this idea--that the government can dictate to the consciences of the people--that America was born. The Pilgrims' Thanksgiving feast of 1621 would never have happened had they stayed at home in England and bowed their necks to the king's yoke.
Thanksgiving is thus for us as American as the Fourth of July, as American as apple pie. And it is a special day for Christians to remember whom we thank for the blessings of liberty. Now thank we all our God.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Wandering Pilgrim" Video Twila Paris
"Come Ye Thankful People Come" Video Traditional version
Contemporary version but thankfully maintaining same tune and lyrics Video
Yesterday we shared a photo of a dog sitting in the driver's seat waiting for its owner at a shop. Sam, a reader friend, suggests this caption: "I'm getting tired of waiting, but she took the keys with her."
Special Thanksgiving Resources
We want to offer these resources to families and church leaders to enrich the spiritual impact of the Thanksgiving holiday. We will post these resources through Thanksgiving Day here in the US (November 22).
We want to offer these resources to families and church leaders to enrich the spiritual impact of the Thanksgiving holiday. We will post these resources through Thanksgiving Day here in the US (November 22).
We appreciated singing several traditional Thanksgiving hymns in our church service. Here are several classics that you may or may not have heard.
"Thanksgiving Medley" (We Gather Together, For The Beauty Of The Earth, Come Ye Thankful People Come) Video Studio Musicians
"Give Thanks" Video Don Moen
"Thank You Lord" Video Community choir at a Lancaster Day of Prayer event in 2008.
"Thank You Lord For Saving My Soul" Video Holland Davis
"Thankful For The
Thorns": A
family reading and exercise that is a
wonderful way to give a thoughtful focus around your Thanksgiving
Table. The
Thanksgiving celebration typically includes family coming together for
a huge meal and hopefully a heartfelt prayer of thankfulness. However
it can often be difficult to have a spiritually oriented conversation.
Why not add some stimulating discussion about the ways
God has worked in your life over the past year! Some of
you are not in charge and are only visitors at your Thanksgiving
gathering, but if it is possible share together
around
the table the theme of "Thankful for the Thorns" (printable webpage)."A Thanksgiving family exercise" (pdf) We have used this questionnaire as a stimulus for discussion among family members in the past in our home. We encourage you to share results around the table at Thanksgiving before or after the meal.
A Thanksgiving prayer: Written by Joe Sherer, a pastor friend of ours and shared as the benediction at our community Thanksgiving Eve service several years ago. (printable webpage) For those who enjoy written prayers this would be a beautiful prayer to read together at the Thanksgiving table.
A Thanksgiving Scripture reading: A selection of Old and New Testament readings dealing with thankfulness appropriate for church, family and personal readings. (pdf) (Suitable for printing out and copying.)
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
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