“What has happened to Christmas? – It is now a holiday that is worshipping anything but what Christ had to say, obeying anything but what Christ had to say, doing everything but following the humble steps of Christ who met the needs of others each day. It is a Christ they celebrate who does not even exist, never lived, never walked on this Earth. Not only is it not Christ, it is the opposite of Christ. It is a Christ that has allowed overeating, applauds over-shopping, overindulging, all the abominations to the true Jesus Christ and what He represented. Instead of the meek working out their salvation with fear and trembling, bowing low before the manger, there is over-spending, over-gifting, overeating, and overdrinking with a different joy to the world – and a different kind of rocking around the Christmas tree where people are trapped behind the bars of self. Instead of celebrating freedom from sin that Christ brought, the world of false religion celebrates a lie that Jesus came to cover the freedom to sin – or they give no thought to the real Christ at all.
Unfortunately for many children, more will be known about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer than the humble, suffering, obedient Christ, who lived and breathed to do the will of God. Enough already. This Christmas and every Christmas we will spread the Truth…Christ came to earth to set us free from satan and self. Jesus Christ… what a powerful and mighty light – bright, clear and brilliant! It is time to fight for the restoration of the true meaning of Christmas! Christ is the light of this Earth and the light that points us to the one Source and great light, God Almighty. Jesus was sent to illuminate a dark world…” – Gwen Shamblin – Remnant Fellowship Festival of Lights Sabbath Assembly – Saturday, December 15th 2012
WOW! – Now THAT is the perspective that every true Christian should have as we find ourselves in the thick of this “Christmas season.” Those few sentences shared by Gwen this past Sabbath Day, during our “Festival of Lights” Assembly, only represented a few MINUTES of the powerful message that this Church enjoyed during an incredibly memorable day. 
However, even if you missed the Assembly…and all that you read was the paragraph listed above, you would have a WEALTH of knowledge and a completely different viewpoint (from the rest of the world) of what this season is really about. Praise GOD for His clear messages that He is pouring out through His servant Gwen Shamblin! They are constantly encouraging us to CHANGE…to be more Christ-like every day…in words, in thoughts, in eating and drinking, in motives, in work ethic, in honesty, in mercy, in friendship, in holiness, and in righteousness. The Sabbath message gave us our charge and perspective for the season, and the rest of the evening was FILLED with many other Heavenly SIGHTS and SOUNDS…coupled with Godly fellowship and great celebration.
The SIGHTS – Our Sanctuary was covered, from floor to ceiling, in beautiful LIGHTS. Red and green decorations, gorgeous foliage, and other ornamental creations lit up the room everywhere you turned. The Saints dressed in their finest Christmas attire to honor GOD Almighty, His only Son Jesus Christ, and to acknowledge the beauty and sanctity of this special season. The Stage was adorned in trees and lights, with snowflakes hanging from up high. Saints also brought plenty of BRANCHES with them to wave during our worship music, along with CANDLES to light in unity before the Lord…showing that our HEARTS and MINDS shine for Him and Him alone! Our CHILDREN and YOUTH Choir shared the stage and showed, even with their presence alone, that this message is being passed down to a pure-hearted generation of young Saints who will carry it forward as they grow into adulthood. The SIGHTS, suffice it to say, were amazing, and they glorified GOD in every way!
The SOUNDS – We are very humbled and blessed here in the Remnant Fellowship. Beginning with Michael Shamblin and spreading out to our Praise Band, Choirs, Chamber Orchestra, Bell Choir, Youth Choirs, and many other individual singers and instrumentalists, this Church is fortunate to have an enormous amount of MUSICAL gifts within our own membership…with the vast majority of our music being ORIGINAL and DIRETLY INSPIRED by this message, the lessons we hear regularly from Gwen, and the impact that has had on our own changed lives. Each and every Sabbath and Wednesday…along with our Weddings, special concerts, and other fellowship events…is filled with glorious music from the Heavens! This definitely was true during the Festival of Lights, as our “opening music” ALONE exhibited seven moving songs of praise! We featured Michael Shamblin with a beautiful Christmas song, “Let GOD Lead Us,” that he re-wrote to have a 100 percent Godly focus and perspective. Our Bell Choir played a gorgeous rendition of “Do You Hear What What I Hear?” Andrew Mornout displayed precision and skill as he shared a classical-acoustic version of “Away In A Manger.” Uly Pacheco’s vocal soared as he performed a stirring version of “O Holy Night.” The men’s trio of John Weber, Robie Bass, and David Martin belted out an a cappella rendition of “We Three Kings.” 
Our Choral Group performed a cappella as well…sharing a powerful piece from Handel’s Messiah, “And The Glory Of The Lord.” And the lead-in to our Assembly featured a large production, as our Bell Choir, Middle School Choir, and Choral Group performed “Carol Of The Bells.” And surrounding the message…both before and afterwards…the worship music and ending musical segment of seasonal songs to CELEBRATE our MESSIAH was both uplifting and powerful. It is a pure JOY to praise the Father and His Son with the Saints…and the fellowship that continued into the evening proved to be a fitting ending and sweet memory for everyone. As you will see in the clip below, our Festival of Lights and Messiah Celebration was one for the ages, and the pictures throughout this article speak volumes. GOD is amazing, and His Son Jesus Christ has paved the way for us to follow in His footsteps…and love and obey GOD with ALL of our hearts, souls, minds, and our strength! Praise GOD for this beautiful celebration and time of year!
1 Comment
This was truly an amazing worship service!!! Giving God Almighty praise!