Oh Holy Night

Enjoy a holiday song by us
Trevor Chin-keys & arrangement
Melissa Chin-Vocals
Marc Scott-Trombone

Christmas Sermon

I got the opportunity to preach our Christmas service; Micah 5:1-5. Listen in! Merry Christmas!

The Peace Bringer, and The Peace Maker

Draw Nigh, Draw Nigh, Emmanuel

For a brief history, this song was known to be a song of the “Great Antiphons”.  Originally written in Latin, it was translated by John M. Neale, translated as ‘Draw Nigh, Draw Nigh, Emmanuel. The original version was sang on the last 7 octaves, or days, before Christmas, singing one verse per day (December 17-23 with Christmas eve being the final day). The verses were to paint a series of biblical prophesies that were continually fulfilled when Christ was born. 

In the first verse, you see Isaiah 7:14 as well as Matthew 1:23 mirrored in this verse.  This verse defines the idea of Emmanuel, God with us, and showing Israel being held captive, awaiting their Messiah. 

In verse two you see the wisdom of God adored. In verse three, you see the mirror of Isaiah 11, talking about the righteous reign of the branch, and this rod is a representation of Christ. In this chapter, as mirrored through verse 3 of the song, it shows that Christ is the ruler, and He is the only one that can defeat Satan and grant eternal life. The next verse you see shadowed in Malachi 4:2, “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings…” Just as the sun comes and brings daylight to night darkness, so will the Son come that we may not be left in darkness and gloom, but bring us to his eternal light.  We move to the next verse, speaking of the Key of David, tying with Isaiah 22:22. “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and non shall shut, and he shall shut, and non shall open.” This verse exclaims that this Messiah holds the key to the Kingdom and no one can access it but through Him. In singing these verses, we see the multiple prophecies that were fulfilled! Each verse is another fulfilled prophesy! 

In conclusion, the song was taken, as mentioned earlier, from “O Antiphons” also known as “The 7 O’s”. Again, this song was sung the 7 days before Christmas Eve. Here are the 7 O’s, with Latin word with them:

WISDOM, (Sapientia) 

LORD (Adonai) AND RULER 

ROOT (Radix) OF JESSE, 

KEY (Clavis) OF DAVID, 

DAWN/LIGHT FROM THE EAST (Oriens), 

KING (Rex) OF THE GENTILES 

EMMANUEL, (Emmanuel) 

In taking the first letter of each word backwards, it spells “ERO CRAS”, meaning in Latin, “TOMORROW I WILL COME”. I beg of you now family, rejoice, rejoice, for our Emmanuel has come! He is our wisdom, our Lord and Ruler, the Root of Jesse, the Key of David, the light from the east, the King of the Gentiles, He is God with us! On this Christmas Eve, let us rejoice in these truths, in these prophesies that were fulfilled through his birth, and the truth that remains and stands solid today. 

Merry Christmas

Here are the Lyrics

1. O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

2. O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,

Who orderest all things mightily;

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

3. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;

From depths of hell Thy people save,

And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

4. O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

5. O come, Thou Key of David, come,

And open wide our heavenly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Refrain 

6. O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,

An ensign of Thy people be;

Before Thee rulers silent fall;

All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

6. O come, O come, great Lord of might,

Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height

In ancient times once gave the law

In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

Chin's In Camden

SUPPORT US

in our desire to reach the lost and see folk move from spiritual death to spiritual life. 

What Am I Doing Here?

In 2012, Camden, NJ was ranked the poorest city in America with 42.5% of the population living in poverty. Also this year Camden, NJ had the highest crime rate per capita in America, breaking its all time record for murders

    But yet, we cling to the calling of Christ to see the invisible kingdom made visible by the preaching of the gospel in the city of Camden. Your support aids me in weekly discipleship of young men, preaching in rotation along side Pastor Doug Logan & leadership team, leading in worship, small group, and set up on Sunday's. Me and Melissa are blessed to serve EFC and the city to the glory of God. 

How can you help?

•Prayer: Pray for the broken hearts of the city to be mended by the gospel.

•Partnership: Please consider how you might be able to assist us through your profession and skilled hobby.

•Purse: As I seek to come to full support, your tax deductible financial gifts will be a huge blessing to our mission

Please make checks payable to:

Epiphany Fellowship of Camden

With ‘Trevor Chin” in the memo line

P.O. Box 465, Camden, NJ 08104

-OR-

You can give online by:

epiphanycamden.org

‘give online’ tab

                                                             staff support, and click ‘Trevor Chin

GIVE ONLINE HERE!

Why Epiphany Camden?

The ruggedness of the inner-city makes it very easy for people to become isolated and disconnected. The Church not only proclaims the Gospel, it provides community, a welcoming people who embrace one another with the love of Christ. At Epiphany Fellowship of Camden there are several ways to begin to explore biblical community and to connect with others through, hanging out, lunches, and our various neighborhood gatherings.  However, our primary expressions are our weekly worship gathering, Discipleship Groups and Community Groups.

The fact is, Camden is in desperate need of a true gospel witness.  Through the Father’s eternal plan, the Son’s magnificent cross-work, and the Holy Spirit’s power, we aim to invade the darkness of the city with a full orbed gospel mission.  More importantly, the word of God compels us to move forward in this endeavor.  As the city of Camden now loses its entire police force, and under the influence of a violent and thug-driven culture, Camden has been darkened to the gospel in recent decades. We long to see the reality of the reign of Christ be realized in Camden.   Here we are Lord-Send us!

Our Desire

·       Lost young adults passionate about Christ

·       People in our target area walking to church

·       The Church of Jesus Christ regaining community credibility and impacting the overall Kingdom of Christ

·       Solid and Relevant Bible teaching being applied to the lives of disciples on a grass roots level

·       The lives of those impacted becoming Irresistible Influences where they live and dwell

• Hitting the Streets and engaging the Culture

Book Bag Drive!

On August 25^th we partnered with one of our beloved partner churches, Covenant Doylestown, for our second annual Bookbag Drive.  We recognize the felt needs of such a poor, hurting city, so at our Bookbag Drive, we wanted to aid the families in our local neighborhood of Fairview with bookbags and clothing for kids as they go back to school, while also providing them with food during a cookout for the block after the giveaway.  We served and prayed for kids, drug addicts, Muslims and single moms, all of whom have now heard and been impacted by the Gospel, and consider that day a great day in their life and time on the block.  

It was a great day for engagement...As I was walking down the block, telling folk to come get some food and book bags, I ran into a young man that was sitting on his steps. When I told him that we were giving out book bags, he asked how much? I told him, "man don't even worry about it, just come down, grab you a book bag and a plate for you and the family." He looked at me and told me that he had 4 kids, his girlfriend, who was the mother of his kids, was murdered earlier this year to senseless violence, and he did not know how he was going to feed his family today and surely didn't know how he was going to get them school supplies. He was so overwhelmed and couldnt believe 'the church' would do something like this without making us go to service first. 

 When you hear stories like this, it gives such an encouragement. Epiphany Fellowship of Camden gives not trying to lure someone in to church, or trick them into membership to show off numbers, but to show off the love of Jesus, give freely, and build relationship. 

Continue to pray for the Chin's in Camden, that we may be the salt and light to a city that thinks they have no hope. Pray that the gospel would go forth clear and Jesus is proclaimed in our city, giving them hope not in the city, but hope in Jesus Christ. Thank you guys again!

Support the Chin's on the right side of the page, if you feel led, click donate, and it will take you directly to our pay-pal page. This will also be tax deductible for the end of the year. Thank you all. 

Grace and Peace,
Trevor & Melissa Chin