Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore! Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love and power. I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in his arms, In the arms of my dear Savior – O, there are ten thousand charms. Let not conscience let you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness he requireth Is to feel your need of him. Come ye weary, heavy laden,... Read more
This morning, I read about a miracle. No, nobody turned water into wine. Nobody calmed the raging sea. Nobody rose from the dead. Nobody fed 5,000 from a Dairy Queen lunch basket. No, I read about a church that gave up their alternative worship service and began worshiping together once again. That’s right. Just a few weeks ago, they were two congregations divided by worship, divided by theology, divided by mission. They were arbitrarily labeled “contemporary” and “traditional” though those... Read more
O wondrous type, O vision fair of glory that the church shall share, which Christ upon the mountain shows, where brighter than the sun he glows! From age to age the tale declare, how with the three disciples there, where Moses and Elijah meet, the Lord holds converse high and sweet. The law and prophets there have place, two chosen witnesses of grace; the Father’s voice from out the cloud proclaims his only Son aloud. With shining face and bright... Read more
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life: such a way as gives us breath; such a truth as ends all strife; such a life as killeth death. Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength: such a light as shows a feast; such a feast as mends in length; such a strength as makes his guest. Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart: such a joy as none can move; such a love as none can part; such a heart as... Read more
Lord, enthroned in heav’nly splendor, first-begotten from the dead, Thou alone, our strong Defender, liftest up Thy people’s head. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Jesus, true and living Bread! Jesus, true and living Bread! Prince of Life, for us Thou livest, by Thy body souls are healed; Prince of Peace, Thy peace Thou livest, by Thy blood is pardon sealed. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Word of God in flesh revealed, Word of God in flesh revealed. Paschal Lamb! Thine off’ring finished once for... Read more
The Eucharist is “the point where [the finished work of Christ] is constantly renewed to the Church, as those who have already been buried and raised with Christ in baptism come to share in the broken body and outpoured blood of him whose crucified and life-giving body they are called to be.” “This is the crucible of the new creation, in which God’s new world is continually being fashioned out of the old, as ordinary men and women are renewed... Read more
I know it’s too late for this year, but yesterday I had this great idea! Let’s see if we can make Valentine’s Day cards using modern “worship” song lyrics. We all know that they don’t belong in, you know, actual corporate worship, but I think we can still salvage them. I’d hate for the 5 minutes it took to write them to go to waste. Here’s what I came up with. Read more
Dear Lord and Father of mankind, Forgive our foolish ways; Reclothe us in our rightful mind, In purer lives Thy service find, In deeper reverence, praise. In simple trust like theirs who heard, Beside the Syrian sea, The gracious calling of the Lord, Let us, like them, without a word, Rise up and follow Thee. O Sabbath rest by Galilee, O calm of hills above, Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee The silence of eternity, Interpreted by love! With... Read more
[W]hat we wear, where we stand, how we move (vesture, posture, and gesture) all matter, not because we are ritualists but because this is God’s drama and we can easily get in the way. When those leading worship stand to one side, this makes the point dramatically; when worship-leaders, including musicians, assemble directly in front of a congregation like a rock group at a concert, this can make exactly the wrong point. There is, no doubt, a sense among many... Read more
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post in which I suggested much of contemporary megachurch-style pop worship could be called “masturbatory.” Then last week, I gave a rather extreme example from Bethel Church of what this kind of gathering would look like. Let’s just say that now a lot of people are unhappy with me. Again. The account found in 2 Samuel 6 of David dancing nearly naked before the Ark of the Covenant has long been used by pop... Read more
Ponder Anew
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