Just Give Give It All Give Him All From Pocket to Plate Chordiels Honors 2015 New Audio CD from Chordiels Chordiels Christmas Tour 2015
Vol.: 4, Issue: 4, Oct-Dec 2015
Give them all Give them all Give them all to Jesus And he will turn your sorrow into joy.
Welcome Hi Friends, Glad to greet you in His Wonderful Name. These past months we were blessed with so many concerts, honoring senior musicians in Gospel Music, bringing out a new CD in the remembrance of Emil Annan, and getting ready for Christmas tours. We are at the time of the year when we think about helping, sharing and thanksgiving. These things can be summed up as ‘Giving’ - to the poor, love to the mankind, them all to Jesus. We were also privileged to give our love and respect to three individuals and two senior gospel bands, honoring them for their pioneering works in the field of Gospel Music. Also we gave our musical tribute by recording the songs of our dear Emil Annan, who has devoted his life for the cause of Gospel work. We are happy to remember his life and his songs. ‘Giving’ is always happy, and has been our responsibility. This issue of the magazine focuses on ‘Giving them all’, covering articles, poems and photos. So don't miss a page to read and be blessed. We would like to hear from you your experience on giving. We wish you all a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2016.
God Bless. Chordielly in Christ,
Dr. S. Justus is the Founder-Director of Chordiels Music Group. He is a singer, composer and songwriter who is passionate in the creative art form of music, and in promoting Gospel Harmony Music. His interests varies across all genres of music, and loves to experiment them in his music presentations. He is a fulltime Professor working with the School of Computing Science, VIT University.
Chordiels Magazine Vol. 4, Issue 4,
In this Issue
Oct - Dec 2015
Editors Dr. S. JUSTUS Prof. V. IMMANUEL Associate Editor Ms. ADINA ABRAHAM ROLANDS Head Publishing Shri. L. CHARLES SELVARAJ
Article Contributors Dr. Justus S Rev. Ruby Lawrence Dr. Prathiba Nalini Mr. Immanuel
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Just Give For what and why, Justus answers
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From Pocket to Plate Rev. Ruby Lawrence writes about giving
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It Got Started in... Making of the new CD - stories behind
17
He gave His Heart A Gospel Poem
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Giving for the Ultimate Gain Dr. Prathiba thoughts on giving
CHORDIELS MAGAZINE Published as e-Magazine in www.chordiels.com and www.issuu.com Published by: Chordiels Music | Handel Music Series Santhosapuram, Chennai 600073, TN, India All Rights Reserved. Copyright Š November 2015 www.chordiels.com www.store.chordiels.com www.facebook.com/chordiels.music www.twitter.com/justuscq www.youtube.com/chordielsmusic www.issuu.com/chordiels
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Give it All to Jesus Adina Shares thoughts on giving it all to Jesus
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Chordiels Honors 2015 Profile of the Recipients
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Give Him All Immanuel writes on Full-time Evangelism
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Christmas Concerts & Tours of Octet Cantabile, Cherubim Singers & Chordiels
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Christmas Wish from all of us @ Chordiels Music
Send your articles, stories, testimonies, poems, photographs to chordiels@gmail.com. Don't forget to send us your feedback about the blessings you’ve received from this issue of Chordiels Magazine to chordiels@gmail.com
During Chordiels Honors 2015 with Dr. Ananthi Emil Jebasingh
Just Give
Give what, why, when and how? Plenty of questions need answers. However, we are invited to give them all to Jesus, as He turns our sorrows into joy. Just give them all.
‘Giving’ is no ordinary theology or an action. It involves character, maturity, faith, trust and above all unconditional, unending love. During these days of Advent and Christmas we tend to help the needy and the poor by giving food, clothing and sweets. Then we forget those people for the rest of the year. Giving has become seasonal. Let us step forward and enjoy giving and helping at any time of the year. But how about giving to God? I always wonder why God should be interested in our giving. What are we expected to give to God? What will we have if we give Him everything? Just a few thoughts to ponder during this season of thanksgiving and holidaying for winter vacation. His Expectations Just give Him everything. This is what is expected of us. We tend to give certain things, our time, money, talents for the glory of His Name. But have we given our lives, our heart, finances, problems, blessings, children, our knowledge, our qualifications, status and work designation? Honestly, it is very hard to give all of them. I am learning to give them all. When we face financial crisis in our family, all these years my wife and I have asked God to solve the problem. But lately when we put everything, our expenses, our savings, EMIs and our personal needs in His hands, we experienced that He leads us every day, satisfied completely. We have not been so happy before giving all to Him. We will also have peace when we put all our problems into His hands. We never worried about them after we have placed in His hands. You know, He surely solved all of our problems. We were calm and He fought our battles. I am personally experiencing the joy in giving to everything Him. He is interested He is very interested that we give Him everything. Why? My little boy was trying to build a model of a windmill for his science project. He collected some things, and had some tools and was trying to make something. Every time he tried to fix the model, the worse it got. I was watching this, and decided to help him. I sat on the floor, asked him to bring some more materials, scissors, gums, tapes and some coloring sketches. He gave everything to me and was watching me build something. He believed that I could give him the best model. Indeed, I did my best to make my son happy, and there was an all colorful, working windmill. He was happy and hugged and kissed me. We think we can do things on our own. But the Father is watching, waiting, and interested to get His hands into the work and finish everything on our behalf. Finally we are the best of the bests. Have Everything What will I have if I give Him everything? We will have everything, according to His will. I was highly impressed by these lines by Corrie Ten Boom, I have had many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that, I still possess. At the end we will possess all things that we have given to Him. He is gracious to bless us with the things that we have surrendered to Him. The Lord give s back to us according to His will and the plan that He has for us. So Give. Just give to Him. Give and see that the Lord is good. Most of our seniors, parents, grandparents, God-fearing great men have experienced this. Let us also follow in the footsteps of these wise men and stay blessed.
A New Audio CD from
Chordiels Music 11 memorable songs of Dr. Emil Jebasingh Original Music, Lyrics, Tune, Pitch and Tempo. Used with permission from KAIROS MULTIMEDIA INTERNATIONAL
Sung by: Chordiels - Justus, Manley, Vasanth, Leeban Mr. Solomon Abraham (London, UK) Mr. Billy John (Octet Cantabile) Ms. Beryl Natasha Mrs. Judith Reuben, Ms. Shobi Prarthana
Available at www.store.chordiels.com
from Pocket to Plate
A Pastor announced to his congregation. “I have a good news and a bad news, Church. Which one do you want first?” the Church said “Good News”. The Pastor replied, “We are planning to build a Parsonage, and the funds are being raised for this. The good news is we have got all the resources need for this Project.” The Church shouted “Praise the Lord, Hallelujah”. The Pastor continued, “The bad news is, all the resources are in your pockets”. Dear Friends, the thought for this occasion is From the Pocket/Purse to the Plate on the Altar. In Mark 12:41, 'Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put, and He watched.' He is watching our attitude of Giving. The two precious offerings are Thanks giving and Thanks living..
Give Honestly: What do we have in our pockets and purses? All that is in it are from above, the blessings the Lord has given us. 1-Chronicles 29:11,14,16 say ‘All that is in heaven and earth is yours. Everything is a gift from you and we give back what is yours already’. We are not or we can never become wealthy by our own power, strength or toil. It is purely by the grace of God that we are blessed. He is still faithful to bless you. All He needs is your honesty in giving. He is watching. Jesus looks at your purse. He does not see how much you give, but how much you keep for yourself after giving. Zacchaues gave 50% of all he has, not 10%. The old poor widow gave 100%.
Give Consciously: First, remember what God has done in our lives, and praise Him according to Psalms 103:1,2. Praise God and do not forget all that He has done. In Deu 16:16,17, People of Israel came to worship God and each brought gifts as they were able in proportion to the blessings received. None came emptyhanded before the altar. We also cannot go before His presence emptyhanded, because we have received much and its time to repay. 2-Chronicles 31:10, when you give gifts for God, you will be filled and blessed in abundance. Don't give out of compulsion, give cheerfully for God loves a cheerful giver.
Give your heart: Jesus accepts the person first before he accepts the offering. He looks into your heart. In Mathew 15:8, He says, “they honor me with their words, but their hearts are really far from me.” Gen 4:4, God saw Abel's heart and accepted him and his sacrifice, but he rejected Cain and his offering, because Cain's heart was far from God. We cannot just give our gifts and go away, we need to offer our hearts, our bodies, our thoughts and mind. He needs our life more than our gifts. So let's present our bodies as living Sacrifice (Rom 12:1), holy and pleasing to God, this is your Spiritual act of worship. Now when we transfer from our pockets to the plate at the altar, here is the promise 2-Corinthians 9:8 - And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Prayer: Oh Lord Jesus, I give myself to you as a living sacrifice at the altar. Nothing do I have than my heart for you. Please accept me as I come, and
Rev. Ruby Lawrence the Presnyter of CSI. St. Luke’s Church Santhoshapuram, Chennai. A Dynamic young Pastor who can teach on theology, Spirituality and practical common man’s life. An anointed person of faith who speaks on practical matters more authentically with several quoted examples.
2013. It was too shocking to hear our dear Emil Annan went Home. A great missionary, visionary, simple leader, song-writer, composer, singer, and what not, a true servant of God. All of us would have been moved by his songs that were recorded since the 1970s. Powerful songs calling each person to the great missionary work in the Lord’s field. The 1970s and 80s saw a great revival in Tamilnadu, where thousands of youngsters submitted their lives for the Great Work. Gospel reached the unreachable, miracles happened among the non-believers, Churches built, and the people were baptized. If you honestly ask a missionary in the fields, they would surely say, all this was because of FMPB and Vishwavani.
Mandhayil Sera Aaduhaley (A Musical Tribute to Dr. N. Emil Jebasingh)
An Audio CD published by Chordiels Music, with original music, lyrics, & tune used with permission from Kairos Multimedia Pvt., Ltd., New
Emil Annan and some of his like-minded friends formed the FMPB, and later Emil Annan founded Vishwavani in 1981. The rest is history. Songs and music has become the spine, next to prayer, for the growth of these organizations. Emil Annan has written over 135 plus songs, which were recorded by him and his friends in Tamil Gospel Music. We grew up listening to those wonderful songs. While he was still alive during July 2012, we had an oral approval from Emil annan himself for recording his songs by Chordiels Music. So Justus flung into action and started tracking music scores and background music for 12 songs that were originally recorded in the first few LP gramophone records. The music was all ready now. At this time Emil annan entered into Glory, and we suspended the project. We were praying and waiting for the Lord’s time to resume this work and then publish a CD in remembrance of our dear Emil Annan.
In the meantime, Chordiels rehearsed their parts for three songs, and were already singing them in some concerts. On one fine Saturday morning, Justus received a call from Dr. Ananthi Emil Jebasingh, wife of Emil Annan. She was so surprised that she wanted to listen to the music works that Chordiels had done so far. After listening to the music, she was impressed and gave a formal approval to publish the songs. Work was resumed. Vasanth, Leeban and Manley finished their recording in 10 days. Then Mr. Billy John of Octet Cantabile came and finished his song. Berly Natasha, a professional vocalist, came and recorded two songs. Earlier Mr. Solomon Abraham, the Solo Bassist, from UK had already finished recording two songs. Three new friends joined hands with Chordiels Music as producers & sponsors for this CD album. As things were going well, Justus developed a viral infection in his throat, and he was unable to sing. None of the medication helped. Every time he tried to sing, his windpipe got chocked, and he would stop in the middle of the track with embarrassment. The whole Chordiels family prayed to the Lord that the chains be broken, and set the vocal cords set free from pain. Tears and prayers, and the passion to sing Emil annan’s song were the highest priority Justus has set during these days of struggle. The Lord answered all prayers in His time. With the gained strength in his vocals, Justus recorded three solos. Hence this has become a year-long project for Chordiels Music - started in 2014 and completed in 2015. We enjoyed every recording session, and the Lord blessed the songs and the final product. We pray that the Lord will make these songs reach the needy hearts and souls.
Photos From top right (clock-wise): Beryl Natasha, Billy John, Justus, Leeban, Vasanth, Manley, Shobhi, Judith, Selva Durai, with Billy Annan, Discussion with Dr. Ananthi Emil Jebasingh and team.
Lyrics & Tune: Dr. N. Emil Jebasingh Music Direction: Dr. S. Justus Sung by: Solomon Abraham, Billy John, Beryl Natasha, Judith Reuben, Shobi Prarthana, Chordiels - Justus, Vasanth, Leeban, Manley Drums: Charles Rajan Tabla: Selva Durai Recorded at Handel Studio, Chennai Produced by: Mr. Rivington, Dr. Joseph Daniel, Dr. Davidson Executive Producers: Dr. S. Justus & Mr. Charles Selvaraj
He loved us before we knew Him, He knew us before we were formed in mother’s womb, He first heard our voice of praise while still unborn. He heard our first cry, and still hears our every cry. He knew we are weak, that we fall in sin again. He understands we are but a dust, that returns to dust when our life is gone. He finds our inability to save ourselves, so decided to come down to our level, to save us from our mortal characters. Born to a virgin without sin when the world is dark in sin, Lived a Pure and Holy life, Hated sin, loved the sinner, Rebuked the wicked, loved the humble.
Healed the sick, saved the sinner, Taught life, performed miracles. At last, we betrayed Him, got Him arrested, Mocked, spit and beaten, Finally we nailed Him to the cross. He became sinful for us, Took my punishment for my sins, Shed His pure blood for my life. He gave His body to be beaten, And to die on the cross. He gave His heart, soul and body, For us, for everyone of us. He gave everything, His glory, His life Throne, Father’s love and the praises of the Angels. He rose again to live with us, ready to give us everything we need. But asks us only one thing, ‘Our Heart’. Are we ready to give Him our heart?
Giving for the Ultimate Gain by Dr. Prathiba Nalini
“I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” Philippians 3:4 This verse manifests the extremity of submission of one of the most learned and highly knowledgeable people who learnt the Scriptures directly from the most revered Gamaliel. He was a person who held great authority, a person who had a lot of things to boast over including his dual citizenship due to his birth in Tarsus, and all the more a person who had a direct revelation from Jesus Himself! It is none other than our dear Paul. Despite all these feathers on his cap, Paul considers everything as loss and as rubbish. He gives it all away to gain Christ. It often makes me wonder how such a great person who had a host of people obeying his orders allowed himself to be subjected to be bound in chains, to be put in prison, to be mocked and even to be threatened to death. How could Paul yield to such a humble submission? Paul allowed God to work in him, to make his transformed life a testimony by this complete submission and rejoicing in the new joy he gained through Christ. Everything else seemed meaningless to him and the only ultimate focus was Christ. When Christ revealed Himself to Paul, Paul taken over by the great glory in this new experience turned an instant Christian a sincere follower of Christ, bearing His image and carrying His witness. If we bear the image of Christ it means we are not just going to fancy and talk about Christ, but we are also going to be followers and imitators of Christ. My dear friends, if you and I boast of being a Christian, is it not this humble submission of giving all that we have to gain Christ, be our motto? For, this is what our dear Lord Jesus' Christ did. He gave up all the riches of His kingdom to be born in a lowly manger; He gave up His authority and was baptized by a man born of woman; He gave up His shame to bear our burdens, He gave up His holiness to take upon our curse and most of all, He gave up His life so that we may live. If this is the Lord we imitate, we love, we adore and follow Is there anything more important than Him to hold on?
Dr. Prathiba Nalini is a Nantechnologist working with VIT University, Chennai. She is passionate about Children’s Ministry and is also a lover of Music. She is also a web evangelist with www.myjourneywithjesus.com and www.whydoilive.com, where she is involved in writing short devotions , poems and in Biblical Web-based counseling.
All Music Products Available at www.store.chordiels.com
Give it all for Jesus In the current world, giving money to charity and helping others is drummed into us. Many people say that 'if you give, then God will bless you'. I believe Christianity is not about performance or a set of rules governing us. It is about our heart's attitude. Compassion is an outworking of the Love of Christ that has been placed in our hearts. Like the song goes, if we allow Jesus to open the eyes of our hearts, then there is no longer the issue about how much or what is our responsibility. It is about letting the Holy Spirit work in your heart and be moved with compassion for people who are less fortunate than us. Growing up in England has meant that I am given a large number of opportunities to use the talents that I have to help the less fortunate. For example, performing in charity concerts with my band 'Triple Treble' that helps to raise money for projects across the world.
I quite like the story of the little boy who gave up his lunch of five barley loaves and two fish for Jesus to perform one of His fascinating miracles that we read about in all four gospels of the Bible. Maybe not much is known about the boy other than the fact that in the innocence of a child, he was willing to offer his food to Jesus and he himself was willing to go hungry. I am sure many others in the crowd there would also have brought some food just adequate for them hence they would have hesitated to come forward and offer up their food. But the young boy had compassion in his heart and gave what he had. Little would he have known that he was in centre stage and was witness to a miracle that we still talk about even after two thousand years! Just imagine the story he would have taken home that day for it to be retold again and again over the dinner table to his friends and family all through his life. My Dad often tells us stories from his childhood. One of his favourite stories is how he used to fish from the breakwaters of Tuticorin Harbour. Each time he tells it, the fishes he caught keep getting bigger and bigger! I am sure the little boy's stories also got better and better with the passing of time. After all, he was not a mere witness to this miracle but it was his willingness to give away his food that helped Jesus to bless the multitude. I am sure that if someone had interviewed the little boy when he was no longer little, he would have said how lucky he was that he had something to offer that day, how fortunate he was that he acted on his instinct to give up his food and how honoured and privileged he was to have played a part in it all. If I am in a position to give, I would consider myself lucky as God has blessed me enough for me to be able to give to others. If I do manage to help someone, I would consider myself fortunate that God has touched my heart and worked through me. If my actions have helped someone, I would consider myself privileged and honoured that I was able to touch somebody's life. My parents have always taught me that I should do what I can for others and always give to those in need because the Lord has blessed us with the ability to help others and so we should use this talent to the best of our ability. A memory I have that has remained with me from when I was younger is when we went to Paris and saw a man rummaging through the bins for food. It struck me as shocking that there are people without the basic necessities that have to go to extreme measures in order to get the simple things that we can sometimes take for granted.
My dad immediately went up to the man and offered to buy him a sandwich and even though the man did not speak a word of English his gratitude was evident. This story has always reminded me that though the cost of a sandwich may not mean a lot to us it could mean a lot to someone who doesn't have much. If you are a student and still dependent on your parents like me, we may not be in a position to financially help the needy directly. But there are other means by which we can still play a part in helping others. While there are old age homes to look after the elderly, many spend days on without talking to friends and family. Just spending one hour a week visiting an old people home near you can bring so much of happiness and joy to the residents. When my grandmother was staying on her own in a flat in Chennai, we knew how grateful she was for the help and visits by a handful of relatives and friends. Just giving our time and a willing ear can also be blessing to all concerned. In the Spider-man movie, Uncle Ben tells Spider-man that with great power comes great responsibility. We may not have great power like spider man but we still have the power to change lives and what a great power that is to have. We do not need to swing from building to building with a spider web but with what little God has given us, we can still change lives. I recently read an article in the newspaper that reminded me of the simple things we can do to touch people's lives. It was written by a woman who was trying to thank a man who gave her 20 pence in a hospital car park when she was short of change to pay for a parking ticket. The simple generosity of this kind-hearted stranger meant that the woman was able to see her father for the last time before he passed away later that afternoon. It makes me wonder how many people would have been willing to help out a complete stranger whom they knew nothing about. This story showed me that even the simplest of things that we do have the ability to touch people. I believe that God understands the intentions of our heart. We should not give because we feel it is our duty, but instead because it is a privilege that we are fortunate to be in the position to give. Giving does not have to mean giving money but also time and love to those around us are just as important. Let us humbly ask God to open the eyes of our hearts and let us be privileged this Christmas.
Adina Abraham Rolands Adina is a student living with her parents in England. She is currently a grade 7 singer and grade 7 pianist who also plays the guitar for her group 'Triple Treble'. She also sings in the church choir and is a part of Kent Gospel Band with her father, Solomon Abraham.
Chordiels Music Player Collection of 30 songs in Tamil and English from old/new Gospel albums Listen to your favorite songs from your favorite groups Uninterrupted Live streaming of songs
www.chordiels.com/cqplayer
List of Songs
List of Groups
Lesaana Kaariyam Unnathamaanavarin He is watching Anbulla Swamy Rejoice in the Lord Heaven came down Kaakum Karangal
Helen Satya Classic Hymns Octet Cantabile Chordiels Quartet New Covenant Singers Lutheran Men’s Voices
Digital Downloads of three albums: Visit: http://chordiels.com/digital_downloads.php Get the mp3 of the songs through email.
Shri. Samuel Abeysekara When he was 8 years old(1946), Shri Samuel Abeysekara, joined the Choir of Royappa Wesley Church, and passionately started singing, which was the start of his music formation years. In 1969 he along with some of his friends, he formed the group called “The 3Chords”. They have sung all over south India, and are well-known for their tight-harmony renditions of original Tamil tunes. Three men singing in harmony, accompanied by Mr. Samuel on the piano, is the look of the group on stage. They have four audio tape cassettes published. Shri. Samuel has written and composed more than 85 tamil songs through which he has contributed to the Tamil Gospel Music community. Some of his well-known songs are “Kulla Saheyu miha nalla Saheyu”, “Dhevan Illai Endru”, “Neer thantha Indha Naalai”, “Dhaaveedhin Kathayai Kelunga”. Easy to sing, simple to harmonize, easy on the ears, but touches the soul with the Spiritual touch.
Shri. C. Athickaraj Joined st. John’s Cathedral Choir in 1955, and since then he has been actively involved in Choral activities in several churches. He is a self-taught, and a self-disciplined musician who takes every piece of music work to heart and teaches his choristers with passion. He has been associated with singing, training, and directing Church Choirs for over 35years, including John the Baptist Church Choir, Cunnoor, and several choirs in Trivandram. He is a member of the Choristers Association, Trivandram. Since 2001 till today he has been directing and training CSI st. Luke's Church Choir, Santhoshapuram, Chennai. His passion for Western Classical Music is explicitly shown as he trains the choir to sing the works of Handel, Bach, among others. In the period of over 35years he has been conducting more than 8 church choirs and has taught music theory and the organ to more than 50 students. Even today he is the guest member of the Nazareth Cathedral Choir.
Shri. Winfred Chelliah An academician, teacher, leader, and musician, is Prof. Winfred Chelliah, who has been involved in several professional & music activities for the past 38 years. Professionally he has worked with MCC, Ryan International School, Hindustan University, St. John's International Residential School and other educational institutions in several positions from teacher to Director. He underwent a trimester program on Church Music, Organ, Piano, Choir Conducting and Composition Analysis in one of the oldest Universities in Germany. He was the Organist and Choir Director of Madras Christian College Choir for 28 years and trained numerous students in Choral singing. At that time he was also directing the MCC Alumni Choir, St. Mathew's Church Choir, Madras Marthoma Church Choir, Emmanuel Marthoma Choir, and Lutheran Church Choir in Tambaram. Presently he is the Choir Director of Egmore Wesley Church Choir.Cathedral Choir.
Lutheran Men’s Voice (LMV) was started in October 1975 by eight talented and committed youngsters from the Adaikalanather Lutheran Church in Tana Street, Purasawalkam, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India and has been performing continuously, singing the glory of God. The long years of singing has only added experience and colour to their singing and they are still contributing with the same fervour, commitment, dedication and perseverance. Lots of new talents have been roped into LMV in its long musical journey with utmost care and screening, taking into account, not only their musical talents but also their commitment and perseverance. LMV performs throughout the year, and occasionally travels to other states and countries, and sings anywhere, without any denominational barriers or limitations. They have got three audio cassettes and four audio CDs to their credit. LMV celebrates its 40th anniversary this month.
Harmonics The legendary Male Vocal Quartet, The Harmonics, based out of Chennai is celebrating its 40 years of faithful journey and singing together in harmony, and proclaiming the Good News of our Lord, and passing the message of living in Harmony & Peace. Born in the mid 1970s, the Harmonics was one of the earliest products of this movement. The group evolved through the passage of time taking many shapes as members joined and left. Eventually in the Nineties, it began to acquire a recognizable identity as a niche player in the harmony business. Though not given to traveling wide and far, the group has nevertheless become the toast of connoisseurs in several places, especially in southern India and in Mumbai where its brand of tight harmony with bare voices blending together, is greatly appreciated. A bit of Sunday School, Rock and Roll, Spirituals, Country and Jazz make up the group's overall repertoire; currently a quintet, its mission is to glorify God through music in whatever form, and convey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in song.
Chordiels Honor 2015 Bestowed on three Individual Senior Musicians and two Senior Vocal Groups in Gospel Music. Chief Guest: Dr. N. Emil Jebasingh (Director Good Samaritans & Kairos Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi)
Date: 18th, Oct, 2015 Venue: TELC Adaikalanathar Lutheran Church, Purasavakkam, Chennai Time: 6:30pm
The Need for Full-time Evangelism by Prof. V. Immanuel
I was recently listening to famed American preacher Paul Washer as he said, 'Jesus Christ will either be the God of everything, or He will be God of nothing'. There is no middle path in it. These are days when I am trying to understand from God's word what people popularly call, 'full-time ministry'. Ever since the Lord led me into this thought, I see several references both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament about 'giving all to Jesus and serving Him with all that we have'. Here, the word 'all' would only mean our life, our prospects, and our future without any reservation. One of the outstanding characteristics of God is His tremendous sense of possessiveness. He is right in it because everything rightfully belongs to him. Right through the Bible, He reiterates, “You are my people and I am your God”. Interestingly enough, when God sent Moses to Pharaoh, the first message that Pharaoh received was, “Let my people go, that they may serve me”-Exo: 5.1. If there is a question why Egypt was destroyed, the answer should be that the king denied their right to serve God. The Bible also warns us of the “King's loss”-Esther 7.4 and the Lord is never willing for the loss since He has paid a huge price to redeem the world. C.S. Lewis' “Screwtape Letters” is about giving Christians Jesus plus something. The devil tries to tell that God is possible only with something else- an attempt to believe that not all can be given to God. It is interesting to read what Jesus told the devil who tempted Him, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”-Luke 4.8. Imagine God telling this to a devil. If a man thus behaves, the answer should be no different than what was given to Satan. It is agreed that man has to work, take care of his family, have a house, a car and all that he needs. But the question is how much and how long? There are many friends who left to the western world to live better. Obviously, they earned sufficient for a few years that would take them their entire lives. But nothing satisfies a greedy heart. When Lot started to live in Sodom, it was difficult even for the angels to take him out of Sodom. They had to drag his family out. One of the reasons that the church went beyond repair is that, people who were saved did not live worthy of salvation. Jesus became a mere accessory in their lives, a person of brand value, someone who helps them lead better lives. Consider a span of 10 or 15 years in your church. Calculate the number of engineers, doctors and various other expertises and compare it with devout men and missionaries raised in those years. I am cautious that I don't get sentimental or over-spiritual here. What does the world need today? Scientists or evangelists? This tragedy has occurred in the house of God because, people gave little thought to it. It tells of the value they have over Gospel in their own lives. Paul exhorting young Timothy writes, “no one engages in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this world” II Tim: 2.4. May be, those involving in spiritual warfare can understand what it takes to be alienated from a secular hold as it is “difficult to serve two masters.” He who preaches gospel finds his livelihood in gospel. The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. I Cor: 9.14. Like the order of day and night, this also is a natural law. Jesus calling people to work in the vineyard said, “You will be justly paid-Mat 20.7. Sure it may not be like what we earn in the secular world. He doesn't pay enough to buy two houses, because He had already said, “woe to him who adds house after house”-Is.5:8. What we need as ambassadors of God, He will sure provide. Again St. Paul consoles that “the labourer is worthy of his wages”.
I have met pastors in North India who live in deplorable conditions all the days of their life and still want their children to be missionaries. William booth, the founder of Salvation Army could accomplish so much globally, because, he said, 'Lord, I surrender my life completely to you'. I am always reminded of what a renowned professor said towards the end of his career, “I have lived and earned for thirty years only to find I have two accomplishments, a bungalow and a car”. The question is, should it take thirty years for a Christian to own a house. The reason is: what God wanted to give us when we were 40 or 50, we tried right when we were 30. When manna started to pour, the Lord clearly said, “do not collect it for tomorrow”. He only taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”. I am convinced in many ways this becomes the reason why we are not able to fight against evil in our lives. It is a sad thing to see young people in our churches die. Young fathers die. Just married men and women die. Cancer has absolute sway in our families. Read the book of Jeremiah. Page after page, the Lord comes out with this accusation; “they followed the dictates of their heart”. This becomes a predominant reason for God to desert them and to leave them in the hands of Babylon. The imminent need in our spiritual life is to break the routine. Pharaoh said, “You make them rest from their labour”. Exo: 5.5. The devil succinctly understood what the Lord wanted of His people: to rest from labour. When God prepared the feast, of the many who gave reasons, the second category is pretty interesting. “He wanted to test his oxen”, a man who did not want to break the routine. (Luke 14.19). Possibly, one of the major problems that stultify Christian work is the routine. For most nominal Christians, the routine stops only when they are over sixty or when their health fails and become dependent on others' prayers having never interceded for anyone when “they felt secure and prosperous”. Jer.22.21 It is utterly hypocritical to hear of people who sense the call of God to serve Him towards the end of their lives, when they have given away all their time, energy and strength to the world. Of course, God might call some at the “eleventh hour”, but what about being willing slaves to the world and mammon when all is well. Choosing to serve God after retirement is in a way, “spiritual recreation” to many. When your health and your mind stay unfit, you can be satisfied by unproductive exercises. It is wrong to trust a surge of spiritual drive which has never been your 'decisive' consideration at the time of your youth. However, there are always exemptions because He doesn't reject two fish, since there are only two. Let us not fool ourselves claiming to have given all for Christ when we have just shared a meal with someone, or having helped a few homeless kids and did something that “did not cost us anything” (I chro.21.24). Look at how God gave. Rom 8.32- “He who spared not his own son but gave him up for us all.” Heaven parted with its very best. In one of the universities in the United States, a student asked a preacher, how does the death of one man save the life of everybody in the whole world? The preacher solemnly replied, “because, this one person is more precious than all human beings put together”. Interesting. Very true. We pray the church will wake to the cry of God, “lift up your eyes and look on the fields”. (John 4.35)
Prof. V. Immanuel is teaching English in Loyola College, Chennai. He is a writer, preacher, orator and a good friend. He writes and delivers speeches in conferences of International ministries. Write to immanuel1982@gmail.com
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