O Father, We Are Yours

I want to share a song with you that my sister and I have been working on.  Sarah is a wonderful poet who has written many poems in her own private worship.  She has shown me a few of them which I hope to set to music soon.

In October, I sent Sarah the chorus of this hymn text and asked if she would write a poem based on John 13-17 to go with it.  A couple weeks later, she wrote back with these three stanzas.  I've written a tune for it but unfortunately I am not able at this time to upload audio...maybe later!

May you be encouraged--as I believe the disciples were by Christ's departing words to them--in your earthly pilgrimage as you fight the spiritual battle knowing that Christ is strong and His strength is in you!  May we all be challenged this coming year to testify of the Father revealed in Jesus Christ.

O Father, We Are Yours

O Father, we are Yours, to Christ we now belong,

And in this earthly pilgrimage we are weak, but You are strong!

Entrusted with Your Word, we have a message to proclaim,

And though the world reject us, keep us faithful to Your name!

Chorus:

By Your truth sanctify

Our hearts to testify

Of the Father shown,

In the Son made known:

Of the love of Jesus Christ!

We dwell in hostile land, with evils all around,

Relentless is our enemy, this life a battle ground;

Protect us, Father, by Your truth and keep our eyes on You,

And to the One Who sent us may our hearts be every true!

Oh may our hearts be one in purpose and in love,

Reflecting that which You Yourself have shown us from above;

That by our unity we might bear witness to the truth,

And of Your love in Jesus to the world we might be proof.


Edit:

Alright, I figured out one way to get the audio on here for you... it's not ideal but it'll do for now.

Right click on this link and open it in a new tab/window, then you can look at the text as the music plays.  Thanks for bearing with me as I figure this out!

Christmas Hymn from Getty/Townend

As you take time this year to wonder at the mystery of Christ's birth and all that the incarnation means, I hope it causes your heart to swell with gratitude and awe at the mystery of God's plan for our redemption!  Keith Getty and Stuart Townend have written a hymn text that captures the mystery of Christ's birth as the "mighty Prince of Life shelters in a stable."

Take a moment to reflect on this text and praise God that the "babe in Bethlehem" is in truth "the Lord of history" born for your eternal salvation!


Joy has dawned upon the world,
Promised from creation—
God's salvation now unfurled,
Hope for ev'ry nation.
Not with fanfares from above,
Not with scenes of glory,
But a humble gift of love—
Jesus born of Mary.

Sounds of wonder fill the sky
With the songs of angels
As the mighty Prince of Life
Shelters in a stable.
Hands that set each star in place,
Shaped the earth in darkness,
Cling now to a mother's breast,
Vuln'rable and helpless.

Shepherds bow before the Lamb,
Gazing at the glory;
Gifts of men from distant lands
Prophesy the story.
Gold—a King is born today,
Incense—God is with us,
Myrrh—His death will make a way,
And by His blood He'll win us.

Son of Adam, Son of heaven,
Given as a ransom;
Reconciling God and man,
Christ, our mighty champion!
What a Savior! What a Friend!
What a glorious myst'ry!
Once a babe in Bethlehem,
Now the Lord of hist'ry.

Old Hymn/New Tune

So, it's been way to long since I've posted.  I'd like to use as an excuse the fact that I am a busy seminarian with loads of reading and projects looming, but that is hardly adequate.

Soon, I would like to post more substantially, but for now this will have to suffice.

Last Sunday, I sang this hymn by Anne Steele (1716-1778) that has recently been set to music by Kevin Twit, founder of Indelible Grace Music.  If you have not heard of Anne Steele, it may benefit you to research her life.  Having written 144 hymns in her life time, Anne is considered one of the foremost English Baptist Hymn writers. 

The story of her life is anything but inspiring.  Losing her mother at age 3, she was left to the care of her father, a timber merchant who also was a lay pastor in their church in Broughton.  At age 19, she became an invalid.  Furthermore, the man to which she was engaged to be married drowned the day before the wedding.  Anne was no stranger to trials, yet from her hand flowed numerous hymns of praise to God.

This particular song gives testimony to her sweet spirit amidst life's trials.  It was a challenge to me--I hope it is to you.

Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On Thee, when sorrows rise
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies
To Thee I tell each rising grief,
For Thou alone canst heal
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,
For every pain I feel

But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,
I fear to call Thee mine
The springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust
And still my soul would cleave to Thee
Though prostrate in the dust

Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace,
Be deaf when I complain?
No still the ear of sovereign grace,
Attends the mourner's prayer
Oh may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there

Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet,
Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet 

You can find the music here.  As of yet, I have not found a quality recording, so if you find one let me know in the comments section!

O Sacred Head Now Wounded

Here is an arrangement of O Sacred Head Now Wounded that I wrote for string quartet. This summer, I got a quartet together and we played this as part of the Fourth of July program at Fourth Baptist Church in Plymouth, MN.

The text, attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, expresses the sinner's sorrow mixed with joy at the thought of Jesus' amazing love demonstrated by willingly enduring unspeakable suffering for him.  The last stanza rises to intense praise where no language is adequate to express love for the One who showed us what love truly is (1 John 3:16).

(Text below)

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine.

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."  John 15:13

Psalm 73 - Sonnet

Asaph's first psalm (73) of the eleven in the Hebrew Psalter (73-83) has been one of my favorite psalms.  It is a good psalm for renewing a godward perspective on life.  At first, Asaph, in brutal honesty tells of the doubts raging in his mind as he observes the prosperity of the wicked and the apparent injustice that they are not punished for their wickedness.  But when Asaph seeks the presence of the Lord, his mind is renewed, his perspective is changed and he realizes the uncertainty of this life and the hopelessness of temporal pleasure.

What follows is a paraphrase of Psalm 73 in sonnet form.  If you are familiar with sonnet form, you know that a sonnet is a 14-line poem comprised of 8 lines describing the conflict followed by 6 lines of resolution.  This form fits the composition of this psalm of Asaph nicely.  Lines 1-8 follow verses 1-16 of the psalm and lines 9-14 follow verses 17-28.

Read Psalm 73 then read this sonnet and renew your perspective to trust in your God!

The Lord indeed is good to those who seek

And love Him with a heart to see His hand

But I despaired to see and understand

That proud men prosper far beyond the meek

They live their lives of comfort and of ease

And mock the God that gave them breath of life

But have no retribution for their strife

While righteous writhe in spite of their good deeds

But when I sought the presence of the Lord

Then He made clear to me their dire end

Their judgment is as sure as God’s command

Eternal suffering is their just reward

Lord, Whom have I in heaven above but You?

You are my God, I’ll tell of all You do!

What's That?

We're all familiar with this...

But what's going on here?

I think the answer to this question describes some of the differences we see in philosophies of worship in our churches today.

Let me explain...

I recently read Louie Giglio's book, The Air I Breathe, in which he describes what he believes to be true worship.  In this book, he talks about the excitement displayed in an audience during a concert or a crowd at a game.  He says:

"Some of the purest forms of worship are found outside the walls of the church and have no reference to the God of all creation.  All you have to do is drop in on a concert at the local arena or go to a sporting event at a nearby stadium to see amazing worship...the same expressions of worship that God desires and deserves."

Someone taking Giglio's point would argue that such an audience is doing what they were naturally created to do: worship.

Natural conclusion: we need that type of excitement, expression, and abandon in corporate worship.  If an audience can worship a rock artist with that much passion how much more passionately should we worship our God?

Here's my problem...

I agree with Giglio that worship is natural to the human being.  I also agree that when audiences attend a concert, they tend to act in a way that agrees with their nature.

But I also believe that unregenerate man is naturally sinful.  I have a hard time seeing unregenerate man's expression of worship (whatever he/she may be worshiping) and saying it is "the same expression of worship God desires and deserves."

Should our corporate worship include emotion?  One hundred times, YES!!  But will we express it in the same way?  Probably not. (Psalm 51:17; Psalm 29:2)

So...should our worship look like this...

or like this...

or is there a better way?

These are some of the things that have been occupying my thoughts over the past couple days.  It helps to write them down.

Any ideas?  What should our worship look like?

Incomprehensibility

Here are some verses I was meditating on recently.

     Oh, the depth of the riches
    both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable His judgments
    and untraceable His ways!
 
    For who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been His counselor?
    Or who has ever first given to Him,
    and has to be repaid?
 
    For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
    To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

    Romans 11:33-36

It is impossible to worship that which I understand, and I praise God that He is beyond comprehension.  If I think I know all of Who God is, I have ceased to worship God and am worshiping another poor substitute.

Hymn of the Week

Here's a song that struck me the other day.  I think it would make a good song for a missions theme.  Our goal as we reach out to the world around us is to show the compassion of Christ to those that need it.  And at the same time we are worshiping because we are emulating Christ and His servanthood (Mark 10:45).

Compassion Hymn

There is an everlasting kindness  

You lavished on us 

When the Radiance of heaven Came to rescue the lost; 

You called the sheep without a shepherd 

To leave their distress

For your streams of forgiveness 

And the shade of Your rest.    

And with compassion for the hurting, 

You reached out Your hand 

As the lame ran to meet You 

And the dead breathed again; 

You saw behind the eyes of sorrow 

And shared in our tears, 

Heard the sigh of the weary, 

Let the children draw near.    

CHORUS 

What boundless love, 

What fathomless grace 

You have shown us, O God of compassion! 

Each day we live 

An offering of praise 

As we show to the world Your compassion.     

We stood beneath the cross of Calvary 

And gazed on Your face 

At the thorns of oppression 

And the wounds of disgrace,

For surely You have borne our suffering 

And carried our grief 

As You pardoned the scoffer 

And showed grace to the thief.    

How beautiful the feet that carry 

This gospel of peace 

To the fields of injustice 

And the valleys of need— 

To be a voice of hope and healing, 

To answer the cries 

Of the hungry and helpless 

With the mercy of Christ.  

Words and Music by Keith & Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townend 

Copyright © 2008 Thankyou Music   

"Religion versus Worship"

Probably by far my favorite author on the subject of worship is A. W. Tozer.  Right now, I am reading through The Purpose of Man: Designed to Worship.  If you are skeptical about the book, I would advise you to start with chapter 5 and I think you will want to read the rest.

In this book, Tozer describes the origin of religion as coming from Eden.  When Adam and Eve sinned, they formed coverings for themselves of fig leaves.  What Tozer calls "Fig-Leaf Religion" is man's vain attempt to correct his relationship with God by external means.

In chapter 5, Tozer further evaluates misguided religion:

"If we do not know how to worship through Jesus Christ, our Lord, the human heart will break out somehow like a flood that pours over the riverbanks and it will worship.  If it does not get going in the right direction, it will go in the wrong direction but it will worship."

So countless religions are born from man's observation of the world around him and worship of it exchanging God's glory for images (Romans 1:21-25).  Religion is stuck on the externals because that is man's confused response to God's revelation of Himself.

Christ taught that true worship is in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  This is the right response to Who God is.  "God is spirit; therefore God is everywhere, and we do not worship in places any more."

Today I went outside and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.  I worshiped God for His beauty, majesty, and incomprehensibility.  I didn't have to make a sacrifice or bow to an idol.  I didn't even have to run to the church and conduct a "worship service".  I just had to be in awe and worship in spirit and truth.

That's what God made me to do.

For Your Gift of God the Spirit

One of the subjects that hymnody lacks is that of the Holy Spirit.  Check your hymnal.  If you are discerning, I'm guessing you'll find many of the hymns about the Holy Spirit present some biblical issues in their theology or are simply lacking in content altogether.

I think it is a shame that we should let the Pentecostals, who have a very misguided, superficial idea of the Spirit's work in the life of a Christian, dominate in the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.  The Bible is not silent concerning His work in our lives and neither should we be.

Early this year, I found this hymn text on the Holy Spirit by Margaret Clarkson, one of the excellent hymn writers of the twentieth century.  I was amazed at the doctrine in the text and the good grasp of the Holy Spirit's work in the life of the believer.


1 For your gift of God the Spirit,
pow'r to make our lives anew,
pledge of life and hope of glory,
Savior, we would worship you.
Crowning gift of resurrection
sent from your ascended throne,
fullness of the very Godhead,
come to make your life our own.

2 He, who in creation's dawning
brooded on the lifeless deep,
still across our nature's darkness
moves to wake our souls from sleep,
moves to stir, to draw, to quicken,
thrusts us through with sense of sin;
brings to birth and seals and fills us--
saving Advocate within.

3 He, himself the living Author,
wakes to life the sacred Word,
reads with us its holy pages
and reveals our risen Lord.
He it is who works within us,
teaching rebel hearts to pray,
he whose holy intercessions
rise for us both night and day.

4 He, the mighty God, indwells us;
his to strengthen, help, empower;
his to overcome the tempter
ours to call in danger's hour.
In his strength we dare to battle
all the raging hosts of sin,
and by him alone we conquer
foes without and foes within.

5 Father, grant your Holy Spirit
in our hearts may rule today,
grieved not, quenched not, but unhindered,
work in us his sovereign way.
Fill us with your holy fullness,
God the Father, Spirit, Son;
in us, through us, then, forever,
shall your perfect will be done.

Notice the doctine of the Holy Spirit in these stanzas...

1 - Regeneration, guarantee (Eph. 1:14), deity
2 - Work in creation (Gen. 1:2), conviction, seal (Eph. 1:13), filling (Eph. 5:18)
3 - Author of Scripture (2 Peter 1:21), illumination, help in prayer and intercession (Rom. 8:26)
4 - Deity, indwelling, help in the spiritual battle (Eph 6)
5 - Prayer for the Spirit's control

If you found anything else, let me know!  I think teaching this text would be a great way to get people to think about the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives in a biblical way.

It can be sung to the tune HYFRYDOL, most commonly sung with Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners

What is Worship?

"Worship..."

It's a buzz word in our Christian culture.  We are bombarded with terms such as "contemporary worship", "traditional worship", "worship wars", "worship music", and this list goes on.  But despite the popularity of these catch-phrases, I fear we are still often at a loss as to what the true nature of worship is.

We go to church and sing, pass the offering plate, endure 20-30 minutes of preaching, talk to our friends and go home unchanged and unaffected.  We do all these things because that is what church is supposed to be.  Why?  Because that's how we've always done it.

The rest of the week is no different.  We crack open our Bibles for 10-15 minutes before eating breakfast and forget it all as soon as we get into the car and turn on the radio.  At work, everyone knows we are a Christian, but we never have the courage to talk to them about Christ.  We don't want to offend anyone or lose our reputation with our coworkers.  We get home, turn on the TV, and turn off our minds.

Isn't there more to being a Christian?  What distinguishes us from those that are perishing without Christ other than our "ticket to heaven" Christianity?

Here's the clincher... what sets us apart from the world has to be Who we worship.  Humans are worshiping beings.  From the moment we were born we were worshiping something or someone--most often, ourselves (Ephesians 2:1-3).  When we were born again by the Spirit of God, the object of our worship changed.
  
¹ Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:1,2 HCSB

Paul described to the Corinthians what their response to God's mercy shown in salvation was to look like.  The Christian's spiritual act of worship is to affect every aspect of life: thinking, talking, loving, desiring, doing.  A true Christian must be characterized by worship of God.

So what is worship? Worship is a lifestyle, not a music style.

Here's a working definition...  Worship (of God) is the Christian's response to Who God is (His divine attributes) and what He has done (His divine works) that ascribes ultimate worth to God, delights in Him alone, and involves every aspect of his/her life.