Christmas Communion & Dinner Fun

Dad
April 4, 2003

—By Father DavidFrance 24/12/79DFO1122

(—Just thought you'd get a kick outta this homey scene!—Have Christmas with us! GBY! WLY!

1. (DAD SINGS:)

"O WE PRAISE THEE‚ O GOD,

FOR THE SON OF THY LOVE,

FOR JESUS WHO DIED & IS NOW UP ABOVE!

Hallelujah, Thine the glory!

Hallelujah, amen.

Hallelujah‚ Thine the glory

We praise Thee again.

A-a–a–a-a-amen!"

TYL!

"Glory glory to the Father!

Glory glory to the Son!

Glory to His Holy Spirit,

Glory to the Three in One!

I will praise Him!

I will praise Him!

Praise the Lamb for sinners slain.

Give Him glory all ye people,

For His blood has washed away each stain!"

2. I THINK IT WOULD LOOK LOTS PRETTIER WITHOUT THOSE BLARING LIGHTS—MORE ROMANTIC & CHRISTMASY‚ PTL? Amen! TYJ! PTL! Well, we're going to have Communion first, where we can thank Him for the Lord's Supper, just like we thank Him for every supper, amen? As we thank Him together:

"Thank You Jesus for this food

And for our home so fair!

Help us, Lord, to do some good

And keep us in Thy care!

And bless our loved ones everywhere,

In Jesus' name. Amen."

3. AND HE TOOK BREAD & GAVE THANKS, & WHEN HE HAD GIVEN THANKS, HE BRAKE IT, & SAID, "TAKE, EAT. THIS IS MY BODY BROKEN FOR YOU." Thank You, Lord‚ for this bread representing Thy body broken for us & our physical health, in Jesus' name, amen. Why don't we just pass it around & you can each break off your piece—by faith, by faith, by faith amen? TYL! (Sings:)

4. "BREAK THOU THE BREAD OF LIFE,

DEAR LORD TO ME,

As Thou didst break the loaves

Beside the sea;

Beyond the Sacred Page

I seek Thee, Lord‚

My spirit pants for Thee,

Thou Living Word!"

Amen, PTL! You get the point? The bread represents His body, as well as His Word, because He is the Word, amen?—And from Whom we feed. PTL! TTL!

5. SO WE PARTAKE TOGETHER, & IF YOU'RE SICK OR SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH YOU, CLAIM IT BY FAITH FOR THE LORD TO HEAL YOU. When you partake of the bread it shows you have faith that His body was broken for your health, so claim it by faith when you partake, amen?—PTL! GBY! In Jesus' name, amen. And you don't have to hold it on your tongue without dissolving for 24 hours to become a saint! He said, "Take, eat!"—That didn't sound like sucking on it! TYL!

6. AFTER THE SAME MANNER HE TOOK THE CUP SAYING, "THIS IS MY BLOOD SHED FOR THE REMISSION OF YOUR SINS—DRINK YE ALL OF IT!" So this represents what?—Salvation! And the bread represents what? (Family: Healing.)—He's a whole Christ for the whole man, amen? TYJ! In Jesus' name, amen. I don't know which way to pass it, but I don't know which way to pass it, but I don't think it makes any difference. Pass it to the right, we're all saved through the same blood, PTL! (Sings:)

7. "WOULD YOU BE FREE FROM YOUR BURDEN OF SIN?—

THERE'S POWER IN THE BLOOD, POWER IN THE BLOOD!

Would you o'er evil the victory win?

There's wonderful power in the blood!"

—You've already won it, He won it!—

"There is power, power‚ wonder-working power‚

In the blood, of the Lamb!

There is power, power, wonder–working power

In the precious blood of the Lamb!"

8. NOW IF YOU'VE RECEIVED JESUS YOU WANT TO BE SURE YOU DRINK FROM THE CUP. Davida, did you have some? Don't anybody pass it up if you're saved!—And don't anybody pass up the bread if you want to be healed. PTL! (Sings: )

"What can wash away my sins?—

Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

What can make me whole again?—

Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

O, precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus!"

—Good, you're learning all those little songs!

9. I HOPE YOU'RE HAVING COMMUNION FREQUENTLY. You can have it every night or once a week or once a month or once a year like some of them do. He said, "But as oft as ye do it‚ ye do it in remembrance of Me." So the oftener you do it‚ the oftener you're being a testimony & doing it as a remembrance of Him. Of course here we can't very well be a testimony outside us, but we can be a testimony to each others of our faith in the Lord, PTL? So that's it!

10. COMMUNION DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SOME BIG LONG DRAWN OUT AFFAIR THAT TAKES HOURS & HOURS, but it an be just like this! TYJ! But remember what He said, don't ever partake of it unworthily. How can you be worthy?—Only because you're saved, because He's worthy, amen? But if you don't, if you don't do it by faith‚ He said some are sick & some have even gone to sleep with the Lord!—They didn't have the faith to trust God for their healing through the bread. (1Cor.11:27-30.)

11. I THINK PROBABLY IN EVERY CHURCH THROUGHOUT THE WORLD THERE ARE PEOPLE PARTAKING OF COMMUNION WHO ARE NOT EVEN SAVED! Think of it! And when they do, it's a lie & hypocrisy! It's a false witness if they partake of these elements & of the wine representing His blood, which is testimony that you have received Jesus' blood for your salvation. If they partake of these elements unworthily—in other words, they have not received Jesus—then He says they drink to themselves damnation, or judgment.—They're giving a false witness, & false testimony, because they're not really saved.

12. THANK GOD WE'RE ALL SAVED HERE TONIGHT! We're all giving a true witness because we love the Lord & we've received His body & His blood for our health & salvation, PTL? (Family: Amen!) My, you all look so beautiful, I don't think I ever saw you so beautiful! What have you been doing, Path, making lots of love?—I bet they've really been keeping you busy! You're gong to have a lot of help tonight‚ boys, we're going to have real come-union, PTL?—Lord willing, God willing! Well, is everybody happy? (Sings:)

13. "I'M SO HAPPY & HERE'S THE REASON WHY,

JESUS TOOK MY BURDENS ALL AWAY!

Now I'm singing as the days go by,

Jesus took my burdens all away!

Once I was so heavy with the load of sin,

Jesus took my burden, gave me peace within.

Now I'm happy as the days go by,

Jesus took my burdens all away!"

Very good! You guys are getting downright dramatic! PTL! TYL! GBY all! Well, you haven't forgotten those little songs, that's good. Maria & I have got to make a chorus tape. There are a lot of these little choruses that I don't think the kids know because a lot of them have never been to church. (Sings:)

14 "LET'S TALK ABOUT JESUS,

THE KING OF KINGS IS HE,

The Lord of Lords supreme

O'er all Eternity,

The great I Am, the Way,

The Truth, the Life, the Door,

Let's talk about Jesus more & more!"

I think we haven't sung these enough! (Sings: )

"Isn’t He wonderful‚

Wonderful, Wonderful.

Isn't Jesus my Lord wonderful?

Eyes not seen, ears not heard

What's recorded in God's Word,

Isn't Jesus my Lord wonderful!"

15. "WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL, JESUS IS TO ME!

COUNSELLOR, PRINCE OF PEACE‚ MIGHTY GOD IS HE!

Saving me, keeping me, from all sin & shame,

wonderful is my Redeemer, praise His name!

Praise Him! Praise Him!

Praise Him in the morning,

Praise Him in the noontime,

Praise Him! Praise Him!

Praise Him when the sun goes down!

Down in the dumps I'll never go,

That's where the Devil can't keep me low!

I'll praise with all my might

And keep my armour bright,

So down in the dumps I'll never go!—

But if you go‚ to all the way,

Walk with Jesus everyday!

Keep your eyes upon the goal

And the victory in your soul,

If you go, go all the way!"

PTL! TYL!

16. THOSE ARE LITTLE SONGS YOU CAN REMEMBER EASILY, that series, because the last word of each song is the first word of the next song; or the last idea of each song is the first word of the next song. PTL! Hallelujah! My, some of you remember some of those old choruses‚ TYL! There's a different way of singing "Everyday with Jesus", you can sing it antiphonally.—You answer back & forth.

17. AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER WAY TO SING WHERE YOU SING IN STEPS. That's the one that my Daddy wrote. It's an old tune actually, about the day. How did it begin, anybody remember? Let's see if I can remember it now. We've got to get all these on tape‚ Honey, so we don't forget them.—I'm going to forget them myself! (Dad sings the tune.) (Family: "O praise the Lord for another day of life!") That's it! All the boys begin singing it & then the girls start on the next phrase:

18. "O PRAISE THE LORD FOR ANOTHER DAY OF LIFE!

O praise the Lord for His promises as bright!

I will praise the Lord with heart & soul & might,

And give Him glory glory glory, from morning `til night!"

Very good! You guys did real good! It makes beautiful harmony as you go along‚ & you can actually go on singing that as long as you want to. We've gone on for I don't know how long sometimes singing that!

19. HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW, "WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS"? That's good one! There are two ways to sing it, but we'll just sing it the regular old-fashioned way first, OK? (Sings:)

"What a friend we have in Jesus‚

All our sins & griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,

Oh, what needless pain we bear—

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer."

20. NOW HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW HOW TO SING IT THE ECHO WAY? You sing it the regular way, & then you'll hear me do the echo, & if you feel like you could follow, do you know how? (Family: No!) All right, sing it again & I'll do the echo. (Dad & Family sing it once through.) That might be too hard for you, I don't know! Maybe not all of you even know the hymn too well, so we'll have to have some more practice on it.

21. YOU CAN SING "EVERYDAY WITH JESUS" ECHO TOO! Let's try it together first, shall we? (Sings:)

"Everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before!

Everyday with Jesus, I love Him more & more!

Jesus saves & keeps me, & He's the one I'm looking for!

Every day with Jesus, is sweeter than the day before!"

There's a whole series you can sing, so...

22. "I LOVE HIM BETTER EVERY DAY!

I love Him better every day.

Close by His side, I will abide,

For I love Him better every day.

So be a blessing to someone today,

Be a blessing to someone today,

Be a blessing to someone today.

Tell them the story how Christ came from glory,

And be a blessing today!"

That makes a nice little series, right? Little choruses you can sing one after the other.

23. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A HYMNBOOK, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE IN CHURCH‚ you don't hardly have to know them‚ you can just sort of pick them up as you go along. Don't you know these‚ David? Haven't you sung these for him? (Maria: He knows quite a few of them!) I wonder why he's not singing tonight? The Lord's been so good to him today & gave him all those cars! (Sara: That's true!)

24. HE SHOULD SING & PRAISE THE LORD & THANK HIM FOR HOW GOOD HE IS TO US, & singing is one way to do it. I saw Davida singing them all! (Maria: Should they bring the food in?) Any time, any time! We're just filling up space with glory! PTL! Well now‚ you know the simplest way to solve the problem about which piece to choose? Have you heard that one? My Mama taught me! (Maria: Do you know, David, which piece of chicken you're supposed to choose from the platter?)

25. YOU DON'T KEEP TURNING THE PLATTER AROUND & AROUND LOOKING FOR YOUR FAVOURITE PIECE, YOU JUST TAKE THE PIECE CLOSEST TO YOU! So when somebody's handing you the platter, you've surveyed it very well already & you manage to whirl it around so the piece you want is closest to you!—Ha!—At least that's what us kids used to do after Mama taught us that! We had our eye on the piece we wanted & we always made sure that when we took the platter, somehow or another it rotated & the piece that we wanted was closest to us!

26. WELL, PTL! HERE IT IS! SO TAKE THE PIECE THAT'S CLOSEST TO YOU! Looks like I'm going to get a wing!—Ha! (Family: We'll turn it around.) That's not fair, I've got to set a good example & take the piece that's closest to me! Mama, that's closest to you. Alfred, you grabbed the piece that was closest to me!—That's favouritism! That's not right! (Alf: It was closer to me!) Well, I guess if you want to take the piece that's closest to you & give it to me, maybe they'll forgive you!

27. IT'S NICE TO HAVE THE LIGHTS OUT, THAT WAY MAYBE YOU WON'T EVEN KNOW THAT PIECE YOU'RE GETTING!—Ha! Who likes the skin?"—"Skin, skin, what will not a man give for his skin!" My mom always loved the skin, & Mama Eve loved the skin too! Here's a piece of skin‚ I want to give it to Sara. You don't want to waste the skin!

28. I'LL HAVE TO TASTE A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING, OF COURSE! Thank you, Path‚ you know what I like! This little girl, we got her for a secretary & she's turned out to be one of the best cooks we've ever had! Boy, these Pisces make the best cooks & secretaries I ever saw! One of the few I heard of so far that ever had a child is Ruthie, how about that? The Lord doesn't want to get them too busy with children because they have so much trouble taking care of us big babies!

29. I NEVER SAW SUCH BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE IN MY WHOLE LIFE! TYL! Isn't this wonderful? TYL! The Lord is good to us. (Maria: And we're all together, what a blessing!) Amen! Mmmmm! It's so good! My oh my‚ I never saw so many good cooks in one Family! Hallelujah! GBY all! Everybody getting enough? It's getting awful quiet in here all of a sudden. As my Swedish Grandmother used to say when we children were too loud & & talked too much at the table, "Let the food close the mouth!"

30. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL, FOLKS, GBY ALL! (Family: Thank you for coming!) (Maria: thank you for your invitation!) Yes, that cute little invitation! That's the first time I've had an invitation to come to any place for a long time—I'm a little more used to them inviting me to go!—You must not be church people!—Ha! TTL!

31. (P.S. 1981: WELL‚ PTL! GBY ALL!—And may you have a very Merry Christmas & an extremely Happy New Year!—WLY! GBAKYAMYAB!—Forever!—In Jesus' name, amen!)

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family