Posted July 10th, 2003
This is a song of gratitude to God for all that He has done for us. God has restored our soul, removed our tears, showered us with His love, even given us His Spirit! How else can we feel but overwhelmed by all that God has given us. As we sing this song, let our prayer be that of the hymn author's - may my life show honor to the God to whom I owe everything.
Continue reading...
Posted July 10th, 2003
Another song of love for the Lord Jesus, "For I am His" explains why He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). Because He drew us, suffered for us, and is so gentle and wise, our heart's desire is to give Him our lives. May we say with the song, "For I am His".
Continue reading...
Posted July 10th, 2003
There are many contemporary worship songs that we could consider "love" songs to Jesus. While we should certainly pour out our hearts in love to our Savior, most of these songs communicate a mere sentimental love that hardly surpasses the "love" our culture sings about and advertises to every day. What a joy to find a love song that shows WHY we love Christ, and the fact that our love drives us to want to be like Him more and more. Songs like this will help our people to know and feel the love of Christ - both His love for us and our love for Him.
Continue reading...
Posted July 10th, 2003
This song is based on Psalm 90, and reminds us that, while our lives are but temporary, God is the Rock of Ages. We desire to know this Lord of all our days, and to have our faith's endeavor crowned with glory when we see Him face to face in heaven. This song is a bit challenging for a congregation, but we have enjoyed much success with it at Calvary. We often have the guitar player only play some of the chords, as a piano player is able to handle the amount of chords better.
Continue reading...
Posted July 10th, 2003
This beautiful hymn expresses our desire as believers to give all of who we are to gain all of who Christ is, dying to self and living for Christ. Whether it is our time, our body, love, voice, money, will, or heart - we offer ourselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) to worship the God who gave us these things to begin with.
Continue reading...
Posted July 10th, 2003
The doctrine of election is one of the most precious to believers. The fact that God would choose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, not based on anything he would forsee we would do, but simply because of the kind intention of His will (Ephesians 1:5), is overwhelming. Even more amazing is the truth that God did this knowing full well that we would despise Him - His character and His word. He loved us while we shook our fist in His face and cursed Him by our thoughts, words, and deeds. The chorus lyrics are original and were written to compliment and summarize the two existing verses.
Continue reading...
Posted July 10th, 2003
This is another well-known hymn proclaiming the fact that we stand on the solid rock of Jesus alone. Whether it is for our justification or for safety in time of danger, both spiritual and physical, we find that Christ holds us fast in His powerful, loving arms. The words have been altered slightly to make them more clear and avoid words and word forms that are archaic, plus another line was added to the chorus to fill it out. May we sense our continued dependency on Christ as we approach Him in worship!
Continue reading...
Posted July 10th, 2003
Another song about singing (these seem to be particularly precious), "Songs of Praise" is a wonderful hymn about when, where, and how God will receive songs of praise. Whether it is here on earth or forever in heaven, God's people will forever praise His name.
Continue reading...
Posted July 10th, 2003
This hymn is based on Psalm 81 and comes from the Psalms and Hymns of Reformed Worship collection (edited by Peter Masters). These beautiful lyrics express our desire to always obey our Lord, with gladness walking with Him all the days of our life. The motive for this obedience is seen in the verses of the song - because of our salvation we are set free to be holy and happy. May God grant us continued victories of grace in our lifelong battle against sin!
Continue reading...
Posted July 10th, 2003
Another well-known hymn, "Rock of Ages" expresses the fact that our salvation from sin is entirely God's work. Even if we could strive with unending zeal, give our best effort at repentance from sin, or bring our richest treasure, we can not atone for our sin before a Holy God. It is only by the work of Christ on our behalf, as the hymn writers says "Simply to Thy cross I cling". How powerfully does the last verse explain the depths of our sinfulness when the writer exclaims "Foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me, savior, or I die." Our worship will brim over in thankfulness as we dwell on all that God has accomplished on the cross!
Continue reading...