Tinney Chapel Today

Click on any image above to view it in larger format and/or click on the arrow below to view the video of Georgia Goggans' sermon for kids on Christmas Day, 2011.



Georgia Goggans bases her sermon for kids each week on the same Scripture(s) used by the Pastor for the adult sermon. This week's Scriptures:

Isaiah 52:7-10
Hebrews 1:1-4

See separate Weblog post on Tinney Chapel Pastor Sue Gross' sermon based on these Scriptures.

Click on any image above to view it in larger format, and/or click on the arrow below to view Pastor Sue's Christmas Day sermon, "Thank You For Coming."



"Thank You For Coming" Preached Here
By Pastor Sue Gross
Tinney Chapel UMC, the quintessential country church

Isaiah 52:7-10 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

7 How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.
When the LORD returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.
9 Burst into songs of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD will lay bare his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.

Hebrews 1:1-4

New International Version (NIV)

Hebrews 1
God’s Final Word: His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Resource pages above from BibleGateway.com

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Click on any image above to view it in larger format and/or click on the arrow below to view most of Pastor Sue's Christmas Eve message. (Our server limits video posts to 100 mb.)



Jesus: The Light Of Christmas
Preached by Rev. Sue Gross

Isaiah 9:2-7

New International Version (NIV)

2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
the rod of their oppressor.
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be calledhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Luke 2:1-14

New International Version (NIV)

Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Footnotes:

Luke 2:2 Or This census took place before


Resources above from BibleGateway.com

Click on any image above to view it in larger format, and/or click on the arrow below to view most of the Holy Communion and Candlelight ceremonies. (Our server limits video posts to 100 mb.)



A Super Spiritual High: Communion and Candlelight!

A service that combines both Holy Communion and a Candlelight Ceremony is about as good as it gets, spiritually speaking.

That's what folks got at Tinney Chapel UMC, the quintessential country church, on Christmas Eve.

After a powerful message by Pastor Sue Gross, "Jesus, The Light Of Christmas," the focus moved quickly to Holy Communion during which the congregation recited Confession & Pardon, The Great Thanksgiving and the Prayer After Receiving, after which Pastor Sue broke the bread and filled the cup. Everyone was served the meal during Holy Communion.

Immediately, the lights went out and previously distributed candles were in the hands of the entire congregation, each lighted from a neighbor with the first lighting by Pastor Sue and the Christ Candle.

During the congregation's rendition of "Silent Night," the service ended and the congregation departed in silence.

It was, indeed, a silent, holy night to remember!

Click on any image above to view it in larger format, and/or click on the arrow below to view and hear most of Lay Speaker David Stanton's Advent Sermon on God's Gift Of Love.

Click on any image to view it in larger format.

Live Poets Society Meets For the Final 2011 Session
At The Winnsboro Emporium on North Main Street
In Beautiful Downtown Winnsboro, Texas

Four stalwart members of the Live Poets Society (LPS) met to exchange readings and discuss the Winnsboro Arts Scene tonight, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011.

Angela Wylie, LPS's most decorated poet, read two original poems written just for this meeting, both tributes to the beauty and blessings of Nature: Sparkles In The Dark and Frost.

Conrad Wolfman read an original poem, My Special Day, which recounted his remembrance of times past, when he was a boy sharing a special day arranged for him by his parents in New York. Conrad also shared a later original poem, Too Good For This Place.

Ayne Agassi arrived without portfolio, but quickly composed and recited an extemporaneous poem on the spot: Have You Found The Peace You Have Been Searching For. The rest of us were suitably impressed.

Joe Dan Boyd (not pictured in this post) read a prose piece by the late Jack Bickers, a close friend and professional compadre from both of their days at Farm Journal Magazine: Can We Save This Vanishing American? It was a tribute to the mule, which Joe Dan followed with a CD track by the late Ken Curtis ("Festus" of TV's Gunsmoke fame): Ode To A Mule (about the famous mule named Ruth that his Festus character rode in the long-running television series).

Live Poets Society meets every third Friday of each month at Conrad Wolfman's unique venue, The Winnsboro Emporium, the jewel of Winnsboro's North Main Street. All are invited to attend future meetings, either to read or to listen or both.

Click on any image to view it in larger format.

Click on any image above to view it in larger format.

"Joy Unspeakable" From 1 Peter 1:8 Is Topic for Advent Service Wednesday,
Dec. 14 @ 6 pm By Certified Lay Speaker Joe Dan Boyd

Not only will Joe Dan proclaim the Scripture:

"...rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:"--KJV

But he will also perform excerpts from two related hymns, accompanying himself on ukulele and banjo:

Joy Unspeakable

and

Give The World A Smile

explaining and demonstrating their relationship to the overall topic title.

1Pe 1:8 whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

"rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; with a joy in believing on him, which is better experienced than expressed; a joy that not only strangers intermeddle not with, know nothing of, which entirely passes their understanding, but is such as saints themselves cannot speak out, or give a full and distinct account of; they want words to express it, and convey proper ideas of it to others:

and it is a joy that is glorious; there is a rejoicing that is evil and scandalous; but this is honourable, and of which none need be ashamed; it is solid and substantial, and the matter of it always abiding, when the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment;

it is a joy on account of the glory of God, which the believer lives in the hope and faith of; and it is a beginning, a presage and pledge of it; it is a glory begun here; it is the firstfruits, and a part also of it; and by it saints may know a little what heaven itself will be." --Commentator John Gill

All are invited to this Advent Service:

Wednesday, December 14, 6 pm, Tinney Chapel UMC sanctuary.

Click on any image above to view it in larger format and/or click on the arrow below to view a portion of the choir's presentation of "Color It Christmas," a truly moving musical experience.

All photos are via available-light: Can you tell the difference?









Click on any image above to view it in larger format and/or click on the arrow below to view the video of the final song in the concert by the Southern Plainsmen and the closing prayer by Pastor Sue Gross at Tinney Chapel UMC.



Crowd-Pleasing Southern Plainsmen Group Makes Fourth Appearance At Tinney Chapel

The touring Southern Plainsmen Quartet, Marcelle Slaughter (high tenor), Tim Crosby (replacing Jordan Mothershed as lead singer), Allen Doyle (baritone and occasionally bass) and Aaron Allen (former soundman, now a singer-soundman), in their second 2011 appearance at Tinney Chapel, sang to a sparse but sensitive congregation tonight, Saturday, December 10, at a somewhat impromptu concert in the family life center of the quintessential country church.

In what has become a bit of a musical tradition at this church, the Southern Plainsmen quickly moved into their patented, jazzed-up, syncopated version of "Love Lifted Me," an old, but unique number they have truly made their own, and used to warm up the quintessential country church several times before and which never grows old here.

As the concert program began to unfold, with Allen Doyle leading his memorable version of “Sweet Beulah Land” and the group's equally memorable "A Personal Savior," tonight’s congregation was firmly under the musical spell of this enthusiastic example of Southern sacred group harmony, which has now made its fourth appearance here. Once again, many in this United Methodist congregation had ample reason to think of John Wesley, Methodism's founder, when the Plainsmen sang its distinctive version of "It Is Well With My Soul."

This time, let’s just say that their rousing version of “I Know A Man Who Can”—a song which could function as the Plainsmen’s group testimony--compensated for any lack of direct reference to the "Original Methodist," John Wesley.

Two key people who have contributed to the group's previous outstanding performances, lead singer Jordan Mothershed and basso-profundo Mike Burkhalter, each received high praise for past efforts from long-time Plainsmen group leader Slaughter. Mothershed is busy finishing up his college work and Burkhalter has found other opportunities.

Among the many memorable performances of this evening: “Where The Roses Never Fade,” “Mansion Over The Hilltop,” “I'm Getting Ready To Leave This World,” and, one of their special numbers “Jesus Is The Lighthouse.”

Marcelle Slaughter, a veteran of 33 years with this group, and the only remaining member of the original aggregation, is the Plainsmen's first tenor, or as they used to say in the old days of gospel quartets, the "high tenor," reminiscent of the sound once championed by "Sister" Loy Hooker, a much earlier exponent. In a post concert conversation nearly three years ago, Slaughter admitted to remembering Hooker, but added: "That really was a LONG time ago!" And, indeed it was.

In a humorous introduction of Slaughter this past February, Plainsmen bass singer Mike Burkhalter said, among other things, that “Marcelle sings the little girl’s part real well.” But this was said not only as humor but also with a great deal of musical respect, as vocalists with Slaughter’s range are few and far between, and his fellow quartet members appear to understand this very well and also to respect him as the group’s business manager.

Group leader Slaughter later told the congregation how to follow the Plainsmen on the Internet:
http://www.southernplainsmen.com/index.html "and we take donations, which may be made via Pay Pal via our website," added Slaughter. “If you are on Facebook, we now have a Facebook page called, "Southern Plainsmen," where you may 'like' us,” he concluded.

But, as always with this group, no report of their concert would be complete without mention of the marvelous, unforgettable song, led by Allen Doyle, called “Faces,” which tells us that when we all see Jesus, one of the things He has in store for us is a kind of PowerPoint collage of all the faces each of us have influenced in some Christ-like manner during our Christian walks on this earth.

As if saving the best for last, the final song was a truly over-the-top and very fast-moving song, “Meet Me At The Table Of The King,” that highlighted all harmonic vocal parts of the group.

It was indeed a concert to remember, including their hymn-book reading of several Christmas carols ("Silent Night," "Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem," and "From A Star To Stripes," which included some history of Betsy Ross' contribution to our Stars & Strips flag of the U.S.).

You can view a small part of this event via the video provided elsewhere on this Weblog post.