Category Archives: theology

God of my life, to Thee I call,
Afflicted at Thy feet I fall;
When the great water-floods prevail,
Leave not my trembling heart to fail!

Poor though I am, despised, forgot,
Yet God, my God, forgets me not:
And he is safe, and must succeed,
For whom the Lord is sure to plead.

Friend of the friendless and the faint,
Where should I lodge my deep complaint,
Where but with Thee, whose open door
Invites the helpless and the poor!

That were a grief I could not bear,
Didst Thou not hear and answer prayer:
But a prayer-hearing, answering God
Supports me under every load.
–William Cowper, as arranged on This Breaks My Heart of Stone

I am rejoicing for Jana and Michael tonight, as their long wait for a referral is finally over.

It is such a comfort to me that the goodness of the Lord is seen in the land of the living tonight, and that I can share in the joy of two people so many miles away, about a child half a world away. I do wonder when our time will come, something almost foolhardy to do at this point in our family adventure. Someday…

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

We believe, only help our unbelief.

“It is finished!” Sinners hear it;
Tis the dying Victor’s cry;
“It is finished!” Angels bear it,
Bear the joyful truth on high:
“It is finished!” Tell it through the earth and sky!

Justice, from her awful station,
Bars the sinner’s peace no more;
Justice views with approbation
What the Savior did and bore;
Grace and mercy now display their boundless store.

“It is finished!” All is over;
Yes, the cup of wrath is drained;
Such the truth these words discover;
Thus the victory was obtained;
‘Tis a victory none but Jesus could have gained.

Crown the mighty Conqueror, crown him,
Who his people’s foes o’ercame!
In the highest heaven enthrone him!
Men and angels sound his fame!
Great his glory! Jesus bears a matchless name.
–Thomas Kelly, 1769-1855

There is a land of pure delight,
where saints immortal reign,
infinite day excludes the night,
and pleasures banish pain.

Could we but climb where Moses stood,
and view the landscape o’er,
not Jordan’s stream, nor death’s cold flood,
should fright us from the shore.

There everlasting spring abides,
and never-withering flowers:
death, like a narrow sea, divides
this heavenly land from ours.

O could we make our doubts remove,
those gloomy thoughts that rise,
and see the Canaan that we love
with unbeclouded eyes!

Isaac Watts, via This Breaks My Heart of Stone

I’ve been reading the Bible every day since the new year started. This is a pretty big deal for me. I started reading through the Bible every year at a young age and was struggling with quiet time righteousness and so at one point in college I thought it would be good to break the cycle and take some time off. It’s been a long time. I still don’t know if I’ll ever get over all my issues, but I figure that it’s a good thing to read the Bible, and I ought to do it, and in doing, I might find the desire for it that I long for.

Our church uses the Godly Play curriculum for children’s church (during the sermon, for ages 3-8ish.) I really enjoy serving as a storyteller. The props and stories are well done, and they emphasize wonder rather than the right answers. And I think wonder is a right feeling to cultivate in our children when they think of God. I hope it serves as a good balance to catechism in our children’s hearts.

I’ve blogged this one before, but I’ve been singing it so much this week. I need to sing it to myself to believe it sometimes.

We travel through a barren land,
With dangers thick on every hand;
But Jesus guides us through the vale;
O, The Christian’s hope can never fail.

Huge sorrows meet us as we go,
And devils aim to overthrow;
But vile infernals can’t prevail;
O, The Christian’s hope shall never fail.

Sometimes we’re tempted to despair,
But Jesus makes us then His care;
Though numerous foes our souls assail;
O, The Christian’s hope can never fail.

We trust upon the sacred word,
The oath and promise of the Lord;
And safely through each tempest sail;
O, The Christian’s hope can never fail.
–from the Gadsby Hymnal

FUNERAL WORTHY HYMNS
All the Way, My Savior Leads Me
Be Still, My Soul
By Grace I Am An Heir of Heaven
For All the Saints (Ralph Vaughn Williams tune – sung at the end, triumphantly.)
Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
Hark the Voice of Love and Mercy/It is Finished
I Belong to Jesus (someone arrange this one – great for kids and adults)
My Jesus I Love Thee
On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand
The Sands of Time are Sinking
This Joyful Eastertide (if it is the season of Easter, especially)
Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand

I am always coming up with more hymns that I want sung at my funeral. As if it’s going to be some gigantic sing-along. I guess I can’t imagine anyone eulogizing me, so I imagine lots of songs? Whatever. But as we were singing “Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand” tonight, I felt like it had to be included also. At least all of my hymns are thematically about death and bodily resurrection, I’m tidy that way.

We had a congregational meeting Sunday, following worship, and it got me thinking about the presbyterian form of church government. Honestly, I am not that married to it, I think it works well enough, but I’d say the say thing about an episcopal system, as long as churches have regional and national accountability, I’m pretty satisfied. Anyhow, congregational meetings at our church are rather interesting. They are hands-down the most participatory and interactive of any church I’ve attended. In some ways, that is very good. But there is this interesting dynamic, pretty unique to our church, that I can’t put my finger on. I think it may be one part congregationalism, another part national politics, and a healthy shake of skepticism but it seems to manifest itself in asking hard (sometimes borderline inappropriate for the context) questions of our leaders.

But in the end, votes still occur and business gets done. And now we can get about the business of being thankful we called a new senior pastor in record time. Many thanks to friends on the Pastoral Search Committee: your hard work did not go unnoticed by us. We’re grateful for you.