Neo-hymn: Wondrous love

The author of this song remains anonymous, but it’s known as a traditional American folk hymn, first published in 1811. The text has remained basically untouched since it was first made popular by the Sacred Harp shape singers in 1844. Camp meeting attendees during the Second Great Awakening would sing the hymn to popular melodies. (The song is sung in Dorian mode, giving it a haunting quality.) Today, it is still a commonly sung hymn for Lent. It starts by reflecting on the wondrous love of Jesus for us. As Psalm 17:7 says,

Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand…

Verse 1: What wondrous love is this,
O my soul! O my soul!
What wondrous love is this!
O my soul!
What wondrous love is this!
That caused the Lord of bliss!
To bear the dreadful curse,
For my soul, for my soul!
To bear the dreadful curse
For my soul!

The second verse takes us to the point of God’s wrath before salvation…when we were powerless, dead, sinking down…

…At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:6

Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:5b-8

Verse 2: When I was sinking down,
Sinking down, sinking down;
When I was sinking down
Sinking down
When I was sinking down,
Beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown
For my soul, for my soul!
Christ laid aside his crown
For my soul!

After that, we go straight to the worship of heaven around the throne of God in Revelation! John tells us…

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

Revelation 5:13

Verse 3: To God and to the Lamb,
I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb,
I will sing–
To God and to the Lamb,
who is the great I AM,
while millions join the theme,
I will sing, I will sing!
while millions join the theme,
I will sing!

The arrangement we sing, by the Journey Collective, adds a chorus. I think it comes from the Psalms and the Song of Songs…

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:11-12

…love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

Song of Songs 8:6

Chorus: Oh how high, oh how wide
Oh how deep is your love
Oh my soul, set on fire
By your wondrous love for us

Worship leader Laura de Jong, writes a moving story about singing the last verse of this hymn around Good Friday…”Each year Calvin College hosts a Good Friday service for students and local churches. I’ve had the privilege of helping to lead a number of these, but there is one service in particular that I will never forget. This was the second year that we had used the first two lines of “What Wondrous Love” as a refrain sung throughout the service after each Scripture reading. As we heard and reflected on the last hours of Christ, each time we sang this refrain it was more and more powerful. Near the very end of the service, an older visitor slumped against his wife, having just suffered a fatal heart attack. The congregation sat in tears and prayer as campus safety administered CPR and a defibrillator, to no avail. In the midst of this reflection on Christ’s suffering for our sake, this man had gone home to be with his Savior. As I left that place, the last stanza of the hymn came to mind: “And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be, and through eternity I’ll sing on.” Indeed, what wondrous love this is, that frees us from the fear of death, and causes us to lift our voices in wonder at the love of the Lamb.”
Verse 4: And when from death I’m free,
I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And when from death I’m free,
I’ll sing on.
and when from death I’m free,
I’ll sing and joyful be,
and through eternity
I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
and through eternity
I’ll sing on.

New Song: Christ our Hope in life and death

You may or may not have heard of the Heidelberg Catechism, but it’s first question frames our whole life here on earth. It says,

What is your only comfort in life and death?

We don’t talk about death much, but that shifted for me when I was diagnosed with cancer. I was suddenly aware of how fragile we all are. One phone call or conversation today could change the rest of your life. Being diagnosed with any serious disease helps you remember that. It also helps me appreciate the answer to the previous question.

ANSWER: That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.

Five songwriters, Keith Getty, Matt Papa, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Boswell, and Matt Merker were also struck by this answer and joined together to write a modern hymn that gives us words to sing as we remember and praise God for that hope. The song starts with the exact question from the catechism…

Verse 1
What is our hope in life and death?
Christ alone Christ alone
What is our only confidence?
That our souls to Him belong

At this point, we are singing the gospel, right? Jesus is the only way of salvation…the song continues…

Who holds our days within His hand?
What comes apart from His command?

This is a tricky line, but I think the answer to the song writer’s question is “sin”. When we disobey his commands, our lives fall apart.

And what will keep us to the end?
The love of Christ in which we stand

Sidenotes: I think it’s interesting to see the song writer’s process here. Keith and Kristyn Getty co-wrote In Christ Alone w/ Stuart Townend in 2001. It was a huge song inside the church. This song was written in 2020 and uses a similar line here at the end of the verse. Anyway, moving on…

The chorus starts with the compound Hebrew word, “Hallelujah”. “Hallelu” meaning “a joyous praise” and “jah”, means YHWH. When you put them together, it means that we are singing praise to the only God. In this case, we are singing for our eternal, living hope in Jesus. We are also singing it now and into eternity because we are promised eternal life with him…

Chorus 1
O sing hallelujah
Our hope springs eternal
O sing hallelujah
Now and ever we confess
Christ our hope in life and death

Onto verse 2…

Verse 2
What truth can calm the troubled soul?
God is good God is good
Where is His grace and goodness known?
In our great Redeemer’s blood

This can sound trite at times, but after going through the past two years and watching the situation in Ukraine, we need to remind our souls that God IS good and his mercy endures forever. This isn’t trite. It’s true. Our current circumstances don’t change the character of God. Many times we see that in retrospect. However, the ultimate example of this is the blood of Jesus, that was shed for us…

Where is His grace and goodness known?
In our great Redeemer’s blood
Who holds our faith when fears arise?
Who stands above the stormy trial?
Who sends the waves that bring us nigh?
Unto the shore the rock of Christ

Jesus is our refuge is, but he is also the rock of our faith…he died for us and continues to protect us…

Verse 3
Unto the grave what will we sing?
Christ He lives Christ He lives
And what reward will heaven bring?
Everlasting life with Him

They have been quoting scripture all the way through the song, but here, we end the final questions with 1 Corinthians. Paul says,

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” and

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.“
Another sidenote: I find it interesting that this whole song is based on a catechism, which is basically a series of questions and answers. Up to this point, the whole song has followed that model. Question. Answer. Question. Answer. But at this point, as we look to the end when Jesus comes again, all questions are gone and we only sing statements of faith and future fact…

There we will rise to meet the Lord
Then sin and death will be destroyed
And we will feast in endless joy
When Christ is ours forevermore!

New Song: The Passion

The song, “The Passion” took 5 years to write. It was one of those songs that took awhile to come together…but it’s a powerful song because it’s a profession of faith…it reminds us of the work of Jesus.

We need songs like this because it’s a response to the Word of God that connects believers across time and space. It’s a witness to something greater than ourselves. It’s also a reminder of our baptism and commitment to Jesus. As someone in the persecuted church said, it’s a universal song…it’s not just a song for the church in the west, but the churches across the world.

As we jump into the first verse, it’s good to remember that “the passion” of Jesus doesn’t mean his emotion, although he experienced emotions just like us. That phrase means the last week of his life as he ate the Passover meal with his disciples, gave them Holy Communion and then suffered, died and rose again. So the first line of the song tells us that this song starts in the last week of Jesus’ life…

VERSE 1:
The passion of our Savior
The mercy of our God
The cross that leaves no question
Of the measure of His love

It’s good to remember that sin ties us up as if we were chained hand in foot or as if we were personally millions of dollars in debt. That is why Psalm 107 says,

He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.

It’s also why Jesus says this after a woman pours perfume on his feet and then washed them with her own hair and thankful tears…

I tell you, her many sins (debts) have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. -Luke 7:47

So like the woman who whose many sins were forgiven we sing…

CHORUS:
Our chains are gone
Our debt is paid
The cross has overthrown the grave

Jesus rose from the dead and rose again. If we believe in him, Paul tells us that…

if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.-Romans 6:5

For Jesus’ blood that sets us free
Means death to death
And life for me

You might not know it, but the second half of this chorus is echoing a similar praise from the book of Revelation…

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…to him be glory and power for ever and ever!-Revelation 1:5, 6b

We praise him because “we know that we have passed from death to life…”-1 John 3:14 The song continues using the image, from the Bible, of a court room where we are on trial and Jesus, “the innocent” takes our place and dies in our place so we can be free!

VERSE 2:
The Innocent judged guilty
While the guilty one walks free
Death would be His portion
And our portion liberty

Is there a word in that verse that jumps out at you? For me, it’s “portion”. We don’t use that word a lot in everyday language so the writer must have added it on purpose. “What does ‘portion’ mean in the Bible?” I’m glad you asked!

In the Bible, a portion means a “part” or a “piece” of something. However, it also was used in terms of “inheritance”. The tribes of Israel were given “portions” of the promised land and this land was passed on from generation to generation. The exception was the Levites. As the ASB translation says, “Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance…” (Deuteronomy 10:9) David echos this when he writes, “Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.” (Psalm 16:5). The important thing to note here is that our “portion” is the inheritance of a son or daughter. We now are free and have an inheritance of life, because Jesus died in our place…and that leads us to respond with our lives…

BRIDGE:
I give my whole life
To honor this love
By the Lamb who was slain
I’m forgiven

The sinner’s Savior
Crown Him forever
For the Lamb who was slain
He is risen

Up until this point, the song has been a report of what happened during the last week of Jesus’ death and how that has impacted our lives. In other words, Jesus died and now we can live. Great! So now what? Again, I’m glad you asked! The bridge tells us that the liberty we have in Jesus, we give up freely to “honor this love”. This is our true response. We offer our lives and worship “the lamb who was slain” with all of heaven. He is risen.

New Song: Battle Belongs

At the beginning of June, a young woman, who goes by the stage name Nightbirde, walked onto “America’s Got Talent” and sang a song called, “It’s Ok” about the last year of her life. As she walked off stage, in a shower of gold glitter, Simon Cowell wiped his eyes. If you haven’t seen it, take a few minutes and watch this. It’s worth your time…

“It’s Ok” by Nightbirde

“It’s Ok” might sound like a trite song title until you realize that, at 30 years old, Nightbirde is battling cancer for the 3rd time and has a 2% chance of survival. So how can she say that her life is “ok”?

She knows Jesus.

I have the temptation, and maybe you do too, to classify moments in life as either a “victory” or “defeat”. I get fixated on those categories. I try to maximize the “victories” and minimize the “defeats”. But the truth is that life is full of both and God is at work in both. And, in fact, most times he turns those categories upside down.

“When all I see is a cross
God, You see the empty tomb“

This line, from our new song “Battle Belongs”, connects with Hebrews 12:2 which says, “For the joy set before him he [Jesus] endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

In other words, Jesus experienced the greatest pain and also the greatest victory. As we sing this song, I want us to remember Nightbirde. As we sing this song, I want us to remember Jesus. Yes, God goes ahead of us (Has not the Lord gone ahead of you? -Judges 4:14b) and he has defeated sin and death. However, many times the way we see “victory” is by enduring, not escaping, pain and suffering, and all the while looking forward in faith.

Verse 1: When all I see is the battle
You see my victory (2 Chronicles 20:1-30)
When all I see is the mountain
You see a mountain moved (Matthew 17:20)
And as I walk through the shadow
Your love surrounds me (Psalm 23:4)
There’s nothing to fear now
For I am safe with You (Psalm 27:1, Psalm 56:3-4)

The song sets up the metaphor in the first line. All we see is “the battle”. But for Phil Wickham, the song writer, this is MORE than a metaphor. He was inspired by the amazing story in 2 Chronicles 20, where the people of God are attacked by their surrounding enemies. King Jehoshaphat doesn’t know what to do so he calls the people to cry out to God. God then sends his answer through a Levite man who stands up and says,

‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s…Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you…

The story gets better…

Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

But wait, the story gets better…

After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his love endures forever.”

Did you catch that? The King appointed men to sing out in front of the army as they went into battle. The amazing connection here is about the way that worship (prayer and singing) is one of the main ways God calls us to fight.

Chorus: So when I fight I’ll fight on my knees (Psalm 5:7, Psalm 95:6-7, Psalm 66:3-5, Psalm 138:1-3)
With my hands lifted high (Psalm 28:1-2, Psalm 63:3-5, Psalm 88:9, Psalm 134:1-3, Psalm 141:1-2, Psalm 143:5-6)
Oh God the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet
I’ll sing through the night
Oh God the battle belongs to You

In the Bible, people fall on their knees in awe and honor before God. In the Bible, people raise their hands to God in desperation and/or praise. I think you could safely say that kneeling and raising hands are both symbols of prayer and praise. In other words, similar to the people in the day of King Jehoshaphat, we fight battles through worship. The difference is that our battles are not against people. Our battles are spiritual. Or as Paul writes,

…Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

–Ephesians 6:12

Verse 2: And if You are for me
Who can be against me (Romans 8:31)
For Jesus there’s nothing
Impossible for You (Mark 10:27)
When all I see are the ashes
You see the beauty (Isaiah 61:3)
When all I see is a cross
God You see the empty tomb (Hebrews 12:2)

As you can see, Verse 2 carries on the theme, but puts it in the context of the New Testament for us today.

Bridge: Almighty Fortress You go before us (Psalm 46:7-11)
Nothing can stand against
The power of our God (Job 41:9-11, Romans 8:31, Ephesians 6:10-11)
You shine in the shadow (Luke 1:79)
You win every battle
Nothing can stand against
The power of our God

This is all true, but how does he “win every battle”? Well, at the end of time, Jesus will come and win every battle by defeating his enemies (sin, Satan, sickness, suffering, death, and anything that defies his perfect plan). In the meantime, we remember the girl named Nightbirde. She is able to say that having a 2% chance of beating cancer is better than a 0% chance because she knows Jesus. Or as she writes,

I am still reeling, drenched in sorrow. I am still begging, bargaining, demanding, disappearing. And I guess that means I have all the more reason to say ‘thank you’ because God is drawing near to me. Again. Again. Again.

Like Nightbirde, we can sing and know that it’s going to be “ok”. It’s not “ok” because life suddenly gets easy. It’s “ok” because, God, the battle belongs to You.

New Song: Good God Almighty

The truth is that we need to remind our hearts that God is both powerful and good. It’s easy to fall into thinking that God is all-powerful, but doesn’t care. It’s also easy to fall into thinking that God cares for us, but is powerless to help.

Both are lies.

As song-writer, David Crowder, has written,

I’ve been writing songs…that remind me that it is the God of Abraham and Isaac, the God of Jacob, Moses and David, the God who promised a Savior and a way back to Him, it is He that we follow and He has not left us alone. On the other side of the desert is a land of covenant promise – where the blind see, the lame walk, the tears are dry, the lamb and the lion are like best buds and we see face-to-face the One who made us. In between captivity and promise, we need to be reminded.”

In other words, we want to sing “Good God Almighty” because it was inspired by God’s promise from the book of Exodus . We also want to sing it because it reminds us of who God is…and lastly because it has some good old-fashioned group singing in it too! It comes from this specific passage:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”

God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty…

Exodus 6:1-3a

You don’t know it, but you probably already know the Hebrew behind the English phrase, “God Almighty”! The Hebrew is “El Shaddai”. Now, there is a lot of disagreement among scholars as to what Shaddai means. And while there may be different aspects to the meaning of El Shaddai, the idea of power is critical. So when we sing, “Good God Almighty”, we are actually singing to our Good God of power and might.

If that is true, what does the name GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY means for us today? I think there are two things to remember:

1. Power-We have a God who is ALL-powerful and that should give us a healthy sense of awe and wonder to the point of fear. We need a God who can fight our battles. We need a God who not only created the universe, but can also defeat the powers of darkness. That level of power should take our breath away and, like Job, leave us speechless.

2. Protection-It also means that if you take your place under the shadow of the ALMIGHTY (see Psalm 91), you are protected by his awesome power. There is a level of perfect and unending security in God’s protection.

Now instead of sharing scriptures line by line through the song, I’m simply going to let you read it (With a couple additions. Sorry, I couldn’t resist!). As you read, remember that God is your ultimate power and protection. He is our Good God Almighty…

VERSE 1: I can’t count the times I’ve called Your name some broken night
And You showed up and patched me up like You do every time

I get amnesia
I forget that You keep coming around
Yeah, ain’t no way You’ll ever let me down

This is a chronic problem for God’s people and also a critical difference between us and God. We ALWAYS forget God and he NEVER forgets us. I believe this is one of the reasons we sing together in worship. It helps us remember. The melody worms it’s way into our hearts and minds so we can hold onto the truth of who God is. Lord, help us remember!

CHORUS: Good God Almighty
I hope You’ll find me
Praising Your name no matter what comes

‘Cause I know where I’d be
Without Your mercy
So I keep praising Your name at the top of my lungs

I love this next call and response part of the song. This pattern has been followed for thousands of years by God’s people. Again, it’s a way for us to remember as a people. The leader calls out and the people respond…

POST-CHORUS: Tell me is He good? (He’s good)
Tell me is He God? (He’s God)
He is, Good God Almighty

This next verse is also tied to the name and nature of God. We see this all through the Bible and especially in the book of Psalms. However, it’s again in the book of Exodus,

“Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin…” 

VERSE 2: You say Your love goes on forever, that Your mercy never stops
So why would I assume You’d be somebody that You’re not?

Like sun in the morning
I know You’re gonna be there every day
So what on earth could make me be afraid?

BRIDGE 1: Praise Him in the morning
Praise Him in the noon time
Praise Him when the Sun goes down

Love Him in the morning
Love Him in the noon time
Love Him when the Sun goes down

BRIDGE 2: Jesus in the morning
Jesus in the noon time
Jesus when the Sun goes down

New Song: You Keep Coming After Me

My son is four years old. For him, the whole world is a wonderland of beauty and possibility. That involves life in general, but also the stories from the Bible. The good guys always win and the bad guys always loose.

And we are all like children when we first come to Jesus, no matter our physical age, right? But at some point, the pain of life hits us hard.

The Shock of Sin and Suffering

For me, it was getting cancer at age 30. My shock wasn’t just that my cells had revolted and were attacking me. My greater shock was that God would allow someone who had grown up in the church, lived a “good life” and was serving as a pastor to get cancer.

I was angry.

I was depressed.

I was low…

You would think that someone who had read the book of Job would have a better perspective on pain…but I didn’t. This song speaks to the way we naively follow God thinking life will be an easy road. However, God wants more for us…for me…for you. He wants to take us on a journey that starts in that place…

[Verse 1]
When my heart is low
And I cry for help
You hear me and You’ll keep coming after me
When Your kindness comes
With a gentle tone
You tell me that You’ll keep coming after me

I didn’t like it. But it was in the midst of cancer and chemo that I found this to be true:

God Loves the Lowly

This is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Isaiah 57:15

[Chorus]
You find me in the depths
You take me to the heights
Just to tell me that Your love will never ever, ever change

Isn’t it amazing that the Psalmist already sang this idea a few thousand years ago? No matter where we are…”If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there…even there your hand will guide me…” (Psalm 139:8, 10)

It is in the depths and the heights that the psalms remind us,

His love endures forever

Psalms

The song then gives a couple metaphors to illustrate this. First, God is with us in the wind. Wind in scripture can be a picture of life situations that are unpredictable and uncontrollable(except by God himself). The wind scorches, confuses, and carries us away. Second, we see the metaphor of fire. Fire in Scripture is a picture of testing. The most famous story of testing by fire belongs to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. You know them as Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. They were thrown in a fiery furnace for not worshipping an idol of the king. Jesus joined them in the fire and they walked out of the fire without even the smell of smoke on them.

Jesus is also with us in the wind and fire of our own lives…
You’re with me in the wind
You’re faithful in the fire
You keep coming after me

Verse 2 talks about how God is greater than our sin and He calls us his own. However, the lyric “fury of your grace” jumps out at me! Have you ever thought about how God’s FURY and LOVE are connected? Think about it this way…God is love and He made everything perfectly to reflect that love. Sin is the thing that corrupts and twists all the things God loves. He is full of wrath because of it. He is full of grace because of it. He hates sin so much that he died to redeem his creation. He hates sin so much that he will come again in wrath to destroy it…

[Verse 2]
My sin cannot outrun
The fury of Your grace
You chase me and You’ll keep coming after me
‘cause I belong to You
And this will never change
I am Yours and You’ll keep coming after me

And even if we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we belong to Jesus and that will never, ever change! We are those who have been saved by Jesus!

Save me, I am yours-Psalm 119:94

The bridge continues…

[Bridge]
So keep on moving
Keep on speaking
Keep on turning my eyes
To see what You see
I am listening
I am learning
That I am Yours

So how is God moving, according to the Bible? Job 9:5 tells us that “He moves mountains without their knowing it” and he also “will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:27). God has all power to move mountains and your heart!

Next, how is God speaking, according to the Bible? That could be an entire book, but here’s the short version: God has been speaking since he spoke the world into existence. He spoke to the Patriarchs and then the people of Israel. Then Jesus, the Word made flesh, came to earth and spoke directly to us. He said, “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” (John 14:10) We also know that God continues to speak through his Word which is “alive and active.” (Hebrews 4:12). God has never stopped speaking. In fact, he is speaking to you right now…

Lastly, how does God turn our eyes, according to the Bible? First, he can turn our eyes away from worthless things; preserve our life according to His word. (Psalm 119:37). He can also open our eyes and turn us from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God! (Acts 26:18). Open our eyes, Lord!

So whatever happens on this road of life, we are seeing, listening and learning that,

“Our joy is not naively in an easy road, but in the steadfast, pursuing love of God, who keeps coming to finish what He began.”

Jon Dansby, Austin Stone Church

New Song: Death of Death

What is death?

Death is when you stop breathing. Death is when your heart stops beating. Death is when your brain stops sending electrical signals. Death is when your soul leaves your body. Death is when all vital functions stop.

But, there is another meaning. Death is also the cause of your loss of life. And what is the ultimate cause of death? It’s not a heart attack or cancer or Covid or a bullet or your parachute not opening. No, the ultimate cause of death is sin and separation from God. That’s important to remember as we jump into our new song, “Death of Death”…

Chorus: It was the death of death when You rose to life
When the dark surrendered to the risen light

Death is many times personified as a cloaked skeleton with a sickle. But what we are talking about is more than the end of life. What we are talking about is the end of sin and shame and because of that, believers no longer die in their sin. Or as Paul said to Timothy…

This grace…has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

-2 Timothy 1:9b-10

And that dark shadow of death is already passing away and Jesus, the “risen light” is already shining! Or as John says,

The darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

-1 John 2:28

Oh, praise the Savior, Jesus Christ
The death of death is Your victory

Amen. But let’s go back to the moment when Jesus died…

Verse 1: God and man were crucified
The day the Promised One had died

I love that the song starts out by affirming that Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. That might sound like it should equal 200%, but it’s true. Paul affirms that when he writes to his spiritual son, Timothy…

There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.

-1 Timothy 2:5-6

But Jesus didn’t just pop onto the scene in Matthew 1. No, he was the one promsed from the first book of Genesis. It comes more into focus as the Bible progresses and by the time we get to the book of Acts, Peter is putting the pieces together. He says,

God had promised him [David] on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he [David] spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he [Jesus] was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.

-Acts 2:30-31

So Jesus was the “Promised One”, but he was also “Heaven’s love”…

It seemed that Heaven’s love had lost
As Jesus hung upon the cross

That might sound like an ambiguous phrase, but the song writer means “The Father in heaven”. Look at what the Father says after Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan River…

And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

-Mark 1:11

But we are still singing about the bad news, right? The “Promised One” who is “Heaven’s love” died on the cross. It was a violent death where his body was first beaten before it was nailed to the tree.

Verse 2: His beaten body laid to rest
As Earth was filled with hopelessness

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas…

-Psalm 65:5

So was the Earth filled with hopelessness? I think you have to take things back to the point of conflict. Peter, James, John and the other disciples didn’t know that Jesus would rise from the dead three days later. Even then, Mary was at the tomb looking for the body because she didn’t understand either. We also see that the rocks broke open, the earth shook, it rained and the sun turned dark. So the hope of the earth that we see in the Psalms seemed to be dead. It seemed like the plan of God had failed, but…

‘Til the Son of Man began to wake
And the tomb became an empty grave
Oh, the tomb became an empty grave

Wait…did Jesus just wake up? No, not exactly. To explain, Jesus was dead dead. He wasn’t asleep. This is a metaphor. And it’s a metaphor that Jesus used when he raised a little girl from death and then Paul uses for us in Ephesians 5 and here…

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:20

For believers, dying is NOW like falling asleep. We don’t need to be afraid of it. We can be assured that because Jesus rose again first, we too will rise, as from sleep, and see his face. The song moves onto us today…

Verse 3: The war is won, the work is done
And hope for all the world has come

War? What war? Well, now we are going back before the creation of the world. After Satan decided that he wanted to be like God, Revelation tells us that…

…war broke out in heaven…

-Revelation 12:7

You might not realized it, but you are apart of a cosmic battle that has been going on between Satan and God from before the Creation of the world. The Fall was just one battle. The next big battle happened at the cross when Jesus said,

“It is finished.”

-John 19:30

What was finished? His work was finished and while he didn’t end the war entirely, the end was written already. Jesus had won and because of that the whole world as hope.

The Victor never lost His crown
‘Cause hell and grave can’t hold Him down
No, hell and grave can’t hold Him down

In this cosmic battle, Satan won control of the Earth at the Fall when Adam fell into sin. However, God was still the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Remember, he had earlier thrown Satan out of heaven. But, Satan was defeated at the cross when he died and rose again. As Jesus himself says,

“I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne…I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades“

-Jesus in Revelation 3:21, 1:18

But it wasn’t just a cosmic victory that Jesus was pursuing. It was you.

It was the greatest gift, Your life for mine
Fear is finished, my future bright

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Romans 6:23

What can we say, but, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15). The rest of the line says that the future is bright. It’s easy to think that we have to wait until heaven. But the truth is, that “bright future” begins when we place our faith in Jesus. We can live as children of the light NOW!

You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

Ephesians 5:8

And You gave it all, my heart the prize
The death of death is our victory
Oh, the death of death is our victory

God wants all of us: heart, soul, mind and strength. But, we talk most about the heart/soul because that is the central part of us. Everything emanates from that central part of what we want and love. The people throughout all history, including Israel and US, have struggled to love God with their whole hearts. God said, “Their hearts are far from me”. (Isaiah 29:13)

However, David was a man after God’s own heart. He knew that God loved a broken and contrite heart that was turned towards him. So David simply said,

I love you, Lord…

Psalm 18:1

It was the death of death that made all of this possible, but may “I love you, Lord” be our heart’s song.

New Song: God So Loved

It’s easy to forget. Sometimes, I think that I would forget my own head if it wasn’t attached to my head. Growing up in the church, it’s easy to become numb to the scriptures and forget the truth of what God has said.

But as we begin this year, I want us to remember the basic truth of our faith. For example, the most famous verse in the Bible is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave us his one and only son…” The song we next song we are going to learn comes directly from this verse and reminds of us of the truth. But, it starts with an invitation…

[Verse 1]
Come all you weary, come all you thirsty
Come to the well that never runs dry
Drink of the Water, come and thirst no more“

This verse is taken from the words of Jesus. He invited the weary, burdened, tired and hungry when he said,

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. -Matthew 11:28

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.-John 7:37b

And then later in the book of Revelation we hear the same language…

“Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. -22:17

The second verse echos the same language…

[Verse 2]
Well, come all you sinners, come find His mercy
Come to the table, He will satisfy
Taste of His goodness, find what you’re looking for

Come near to God and he will come near to you… -James 4:8a

And then we return to food…before it was water and now Jesus tells us, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry“. -John 6:35a. We see this same theme in the psalms too!

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8

Jesus has invited the weary and the sinners, but now he invites the addicts. It’s easy for me to think of this in terms of drug use, but the truth is that we are all addicted to something. Some of us are addicted to success. Some of us are addicted to what people think on social media. Some of us are addicted to porn. Some of us are addicted to food. The list goes on and on…but whatever you’re addicted to now, Jesus is waiting with open arms…

[Verse 3]
Bring all your failures, bring your addictions
Come lay them down at the foot of the cross
Jesus is waiting there with open arms

And then we come to the chorus that states that basic truth of our faith. The same God who made the world sent his only Son to save the world. And that means me…what is interesting to me is the concept of freedom. The truth is that we are free from sin, but we aren’t free to do whatever we want to do. In fact it’s just the opposite. We are free from sin, yes, but now we are free to give ourselves away in the service of King Jesus…the one who loved the world so much that he died.

[Chorus]
For God so loved the world that He gave us
His one and only Son to save us
Whoever believes in Him will live forever
The power of hell forever defeated
Now it is well, I’m walking in freedom
For God so loved, God so loved the world

The bridge is a change up. In some ways, it’s simple. But, it echos the traditional doxology used in Protestant churches since 1674. It gives us a sense that this gospel message isn’t something that we created. It’s the message of hope that the church has been singing for over 2,000 years!

[Bridge]
Praise God, praise God
From whom all blessings flow

Or as God told the people of Israel,

All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God…-Deuteronomy 28:2

Praise Him, praise Him
For the wonders of His love

The wonders of his LOVE…where does that come from? We find it multiple places, but in the psalms we find that when David was trapped and thought he was cut off from the Lord he wrote,

” Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love…-31:21

This is a song that reminds us of the basics of our faith. The band that wrote it, We The Kingdom, said this about it…

“Our prayer today is that we would all recognize and stand in absolute awe of the image of God inside each person that we meet. God is amazing. His love is amazing. His people are amazing. Praise God, praise God from Whom all blessings flow…”

May that be our pray too…

NEW SONG: CHRIST BE MAGNIFIED

Is it just me or does it seem that recently there have been a line of people who have renounced their faith?  Various pastors, worship leaders and authors have made public statements about how they are deconstructing their faith and finding their “own truth”.  Songwriter, Cody Carnes, was thinking the same thing last year.  He says,  

“At that time there were quite a few people of faith who were denouncing their faith.  People who had believed in Jesus and wrote songs about it for years and were saying, ‘I don’t believe this anymore.’  And that was really heavy on my heart.  I wanted to write a song that said, ‘I’m all in on this.  I’m committed.  I believe this.  I believe in you, Jesus, and I want to worship you with my whole life.’”

And we shouldn’t be surprised, right?  Peter told us this very thing would happen.  Two thousand years ago he wrote,

“…There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow…” -2 Peter 2:1-2a

This is a song of commitment.  And it begs the question, “What does it mean to worship Jesus with your whole life?”  If you boil it down, it’s about you and I becoming less so that Christ’s glory becomes more and more. 

The song starts with creation singing God’s praises…

Were creation suddenly articulate

With a thousand tongues to lift one cry

Then from north to south and east to west

We’d hear ‘Christ be magnified!’

However, it’s not just the rocks, trees and rivers that praise God.  We need to remember that WE are part of the creation.  We are created beings.  We are joining the song that is happening all around us.  All of God’s creation is crying out in praise and we were created to lead that “native cry”.

When every creature finds its inmost melody

And every human heart its native cry

O then in one enraptured hymn of praise

We’ll sing ‘Christ be magnified!’

O be lifted high, Jesus

The chorus starts with the word, “O!”.  I love that.  How many songs written these days have an “O” in them?  Not many.  Yet, it’s a word believers have used to express emotion.  The line “Christ be magnified” is the song of all creation, but the line “from the alter of my life” makes it personal for us.  As John the Baptist said, “He must become greater; I must become less”.  We are called to sacrifice, but we are given something so much greater.  We are given Jesus himself.

O! Christ be magnified!

Let His praise arise

Christ be magnified in me

O! Christ be magnified!

From the altar of my life

Christ be magnified in me 

The bridge is basically a statement of faith.  The story behind it is in Daniel 3.  It’s the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  The three young men are told to worship the gold idol that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.  They refuse.  And because of that refusal, they are thrown into the fiery furnace.  The King is amazing because he knows that he had 3 men thrown into the fire, but he sees a fourth man who looks like “a son of the gods”.  We believe that person was the pre-incarnate Jesus.  So we sing…

I won’t bow to idols, I’ll stand strong and worship You

And if it puts me in the fire, I’ll rejoice ’cause You’re there too

As Peter tells us, we can be formed by all kinds of things, but we hold fast to God’s truth.

I won’t be formed by feelings, I hold fast to what is true

The next part comes straight from Romans 6,

If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

If the cross brings transformation then I’ll be crucified with You

‘Cause death is just the doorway into resurrection life

And if I join You in Your suffering then I’ll join You when You rise

The song ends by pointing us to the coming return of Jesus and reminding us that our lives will be singing the same song we sing now:  “Christ be magnified in me”.

And when You return in glory with all the angels and the saints

My heart will still be singing and my song will be the same…