Let us Talents and tongues employ~!

This is our communion Sunday. The chancel choir will lift up "Let us talents and tongues employ" as our anthem and the children's chimer will play "Brightly Sound the chimes" as a musical offering. Let's praise the Lord with joyful heart!

Let us Talents and Tongues Employ

Let us Talents and tongues employ, reaching out with a shout of Joy: bread is broken, the wine is poured,Christ is spoken and seen and heard.

Refrain:

Jesus lived again earth can breathe again pass the word around: loaves abound!

Christ is able to make us one. at the table he sets the tone. Teaching people to live to bless, love in word and in deed express. Jesus lived again earth can breathe again, pass the word around: loaves abound!

Jesus calls us in, sends us out bearing fruit in a world of doubt, gives us love to tell, beard to share: God Immanuel everywhere!

Amazing Grace, My chains are gone~!

The chancel choir will lift up "Amazing grace, my chains are gone" as our anthem. Our old time favorite "Amazing grace" is arranged with a new song " my chains are gone" in this song. It is a beautiful and inspiring song for sure. I have prayed that we all lift up our hearts to the Lord with the music.

The youth handbell will play two uplifting songs also.

This week is our church picnic Sunday. I hope I can see you all at the service as well as the picnic. God calls us as "His family" and it will be a wonderful family picnic.

Here is the wonderful text of our anthem.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found; was blind, but now I see.

T'was grace that taught my heart to fear; and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.

My chains are gone, I've been set free. My God, my Savior ransomed me, and like a flood His mercy reigns, unending love, amazing grace.

The Lord has promised good to me; His Word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun will cease to shine. But God who called me here below, will be forever mine, will be forever mine.

He is Risen!

I know that Easter is passed already but I could not stop saying " He is risen!" He did give us the victory for us! He did not need to have the victory because He is the Son of God. However, he sacrificed himself to give us total victory. It seems hard to see visually the victory in our daily life but it is the truth that He won the battle and gave us the victory. Let's spread our hands to the Lord and shout "He is risen! Hallelujah!" Let's go forward and nearer to the Lord!

The Holy Week

We finally have entering the Holy week. We are easily distracted by too much to things to do during this week. However, we should remember that all we do is for Jesus. And remaining focus on Him is the most important matter during this week. I myself, have countless things to do during this week but have tried to be connected to Jesus in every moment.

On Wednesday night, the chancel choir and handbell choir will present the Lenten Cantata "At the Ninth Hour" at 6:30 in our church. We will hear the passion story from the gospel Mark and have time to think about Jesus' last week and what God is telling us to do. "Forgiveness" is our theme for the night. I have prayed that God will send people who especially have been hard time with their lives because they could not forgive themselves or others. God forgave us totally through Jesus. If He did it, we have to forgive. Please pray for the night that God be with us to leave the unforgiving minds in front of the Cross.

On Thursday night, we will have the Holy communion. We share the Lord with other as His family.

On Friday, we have seven services from 5:00 to 8:00 divided with seven last words on the cross. We will have a moment to deeply think about Jesus.

On Easter Sunday, the youth ensemble, the children's choir, and the chancel choir will lift various Easter music during Sunday services. Please join us with big "Hallelujah!!"

Palm Sunday

As a music director, it is not easy to decide music for Palm Sunday. Even though it is Palm Sunday, we enter the Holy week on the Sunday with Jesus. Mostly we focus on “Palm Sunday” but we could not ignore the following week. Personally, Palm Sunday gives me two different images to think about. Jerusalem, a donkey, Palm leaves, and people’s exciting voices with Hosanna are first things when I think about Palm Sunday. Palm trees were representing of victory and trimph in Israel. “Hosanna” means “please save”, or” save now!” in Hebrew. So, the whole scene was occurred with excitement that Jesus would save them as a “King” politically. On the contrary, the scene reminds me the last scene on the Good Friday. Jesus did not ride a donkey but instead carried a cross on his back, people shouted “crucify!” instead of “hosanna!” and there was none palm tree leaves on the road toward Calvary. What a contrast! However, as we all know, the later one was the true King’s apperance; being sacrificed for His people to save them. I honestly can not understand Jesus’ way most of times but I do believe that His way is the right way. He showed us how to live in this world, totally; Love your enemy, serve others, and believe what we can’t see. It seems that He asks us to live total “opposite ways “to the World.
The adult handbell will play “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” as a musical offertory and the chancel choir will praise “Hosanna” from the cantata this Palm Sunday. I have prayed that we will have time to think about these two contrasting images and follow what Jesus told us to live for our lives. I know it is not possible without Him.

When Jesus Wept

This Sunday is the fifth Sunday of Lent. We are going to sing a song based on an old canon, "When Jesus wept". The composer describes drops of Jesus's tear with descending dotted notes. It is very simple melody but stays in your hearts longer than any other songs. I have prayed that we can have some time to think about Jesus and His tears and suffering. He did for us not for him.

The children's choir will lift up their hearts with "Feed my lambs" for musical offering. I have learned through them a lot why Jesus loves them so much.

When Jesus wept the falling tear, in mercy flow'd beyond all bound. When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear seized all the guilty world around, around.

O come, and mourn with me awhile, and linger here beside, o come together, let us mourn; O Jesus, our Lord, is crucified.

Prayer request for our Lenten cantata on April 8th.

Time certainly flies fast. We are heading to 5th Sunday of the Lent. The chancel choir has been preparing our Lenten cantata “At the Ninth hour”. It will be lifted up on April 8th Wednesday at 6:30. The cantata tells a vivid story beginning with Jesus entering into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and ending with His suffering, and crucifixion based on the gospel Mark. While I was praying what we need to focus on for this year, God led me to think about “forgiveness”. Even though we believe and know that we are forgiven by God’s grace through Jesus, I sometimes have hard time to forgive others with a small thing. Like a debtor story; a debtor was redeemed all his enormous debts but he could not redeem a small debt of his friend and being mean to. I would like to ask you all to pray for our Lenten Cantata on April 8th. I do not know how God will lead us through the night but I would like to pray especially for people who have been angry or depressed by any relationship with God or people around them. And may God bring them to the church to feel and hear God’s love and forgiveness through the service, so we all can love and forgive each other through His love. It is just thirty minute words and music but I have prayed that the Lord will use it as a chance to restore our relationships with Him as well as each other. Please join us on April 8th!!And bring your friends, family, and neighbores! With much love, Yoon