Every line of this song is so deeply impacting to me. It is wonderful to listen to again and again.
One verse in particular:
He is the hope of the hungry
He is the Lord of the feast
Our Father’s house always opens wide
To welcome refugees
The vast love of the Savior
When I have come to the end of Ephesians Chapter 3 each time I slow walk through Ephesians, I am left in awe. I am left in wordless awe. A deep praise that takes me into depths I cannot describe. As I walk through Ephesians, and have come once again to the end of Chapter 3, there I am again. Without words. Yet, profound worship.
O the deep, deep love of Jesus
Vast unmeasured, boundless, free
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me
Underneath me, all around me, is the current
Of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to
Thy glorious rest above
The beauty and comfort of the Body of Christ
It’s been a week since my father-in-law passed away. I give thanks for the Body of Christ.
Read moreFormation through the practice of liturgy
I am working my way through Simon Chan’s great book, Liturgical Theology: The Church as a Worshiping Community again. This was a key book years ago when I was in the Assemblies of God. I’ve picked it up now as someone who has joined the Anglican Communion, so I’m reading it with a renewed passion.
Read moreThe power of praise
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph. 5:18-20)
Some thoughts on the need for praise in music from NT Wright:
Read moreOne of the beauties of liturgy
One of the things that may confound some folks who wonder about me leaving the Pentecostal denomination I grew up in is how I go to a place that has liturgy. I mean, it “repeats” every Sunday! Where is the moving of the Spirit?
(Of course, no one actually asks me these things. Silence is the code these days.)
Read moreNarrow Little Road
I believe in the love of God
It is an orphan’s wildest dream
It is a narrow little road
It is an ever-widening desert stream
Refrain:
Oh I, and I
I will leave this road
For the narrow
It is portrayed in the bread and wine
Let it fortify my bones
It is more than just a sign
It is the fountain from that desert stone
It is the path where the humble go
It is the narrow not the broad
It is the pathway down the hill
To the graveyard of the living God
The love of God is the hymn of hope
Let the needy join the throng
Let the widow hear and cope
Let the crippled rise to sing this song
— Mo Leverett, 1995, Justice Road Productions.
Listen to this powerful song HERE.
Worship TOGETHER is important
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:9-10)
Before the Throne of God Above
This song was sung in our worship service yesterday. It’s words soak into my spirit and lift me up!
The reminder of who we are as the church
In worship yesterday our song of procession was Luther’s great hymn: “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” What a beautiful reminder of who we are as the Church of Christ! Read more
