As promised, I've compiled a brief sample from my "worship" playlist--either songs my husband and I have used when leading worship, or songs that have always made my heart sing, when it feels like it or not; these songs aren't about "us," or our response to God so much as they are about God himself, about the glory of the cross, and about Christ's redeeming work. When they are "about us," they serve primarily as a reminder of our constant need for such a glorious Savior.
* "Sing to the King," by Billy Foote
I love this song for this reason--even though it's a call for US to praise, it clearly focuses that praise on the person and work on Jesus Christ. It's a song full of rich truths--"Life and salvation/His empire shall bring/And joy to the nations when Jesus is King/...'cause Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King." Satan is VANQUISHED. He no longer has any power. Christ has won the battle, and He is returning to bring life and salvation to those who believe. What a powerful truth to proclaim!
* "Come Thou Fount," by Robert Robinson and John Wyeth
This classic hymn has regained popularity over the past few years, and though some prefer to "modernize" the words, I prefer the original, with powerful phrases like, "Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I come./And I hope by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home./Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God./He to rescue me from danger interposed his precious blood." The blood of Christ offends people. The cross of Christ offends people. But without the blood, without the cross of Christ, Christianity is meaningless. We should SING about His blood, about His PRECIOUS SACRIFICE, about how apart from Him and His GRACE, we can never truly live.
* "Offering," by Paul Baloche
This song was actually sung by my uncle at our wedding. It boldly proclaims that nothing can compare to the love of Christ, and that it's ONLY THROUGH HIS BLOOD that we can approach the throne of God.
* "Before the Throne of God Above," words by Charitie Bancroft; music by Vikki Cook
This beautiful song has been a wonderful reminder of great Scriptural truth--and because it's such a singable song, it's easy to remember, even when verses of Scripture escape my recollection. Every word, every line points back to Christ--the great High Priest, the sinless Savior, the risen Lamb, the great unchangeable I AM, the King of Glory and grace. My favorite lines are, "When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see him there who made AN END of all my sin."
Other Favorites:
* "A Mighty Fortress," by Christy and Nathan Nockels
* "Sweet, Sweet Sound," by Sarah Reeves and Ed Cash
* "It is Well," by Horatio G. Spafford
* "Blessed Be Your Name," by Matt Redman
* "In the Valley," by Bob Kauflin
* "Blessed Assurance," by Fanny Crosby and Phoebe Knapp
* "Blessed Assurance," by Fanny Crosby and Phoebe Knapp
* "Worthy of Worship," by Mark Blankenship
* "Your Grace Still Amazes Me," by Shawn Craig and Connie Harrington
* "You Are God Alone (Not a God)," by Billy and Cindy Foote
And honestly, I could sit here all morning adding songs to this list. This really is just a small sampling. Again, I'll open up the floor for comments--what are the songs on your playlist?
2 comments:
Hi, I notice that you are discussing the throne of God. We have been led to believe by our ancestors that when Jesus was resurrected he went up to a throne in heaven. However I just read a fascinating book by the New Testament scholar Stephan Huller that in earliest Christianity that the original gospel writer (St. Mark) might have had a physical throne ON THIS EARTH in mind - one which originally sat in Alexandria and which he rediscovered in Venice - see the photos of the object in the Basilica di San Marco which Italian sailors stole from the Church of St. Mark in Alexandria along with the body of St. Mark in 828 AD - see photos of the throne here - http://www.therealmessiahbook.blogspot.com.
The point of Huller's book is that St. Mark was the first Pope and that Jesus ruled 'on his right hand' as he sat on this throne (it is a universally acknowledged - albeit ignored - fact that the title 'Papa' or Pope was originally associated with St. Mark rather than St. Peter and with Alexandria rather than Rome; the bishop of Rome only acquired the title after the fifth century).
I was really fascinated by this book. It wasn't anything like what I had been taught in Sunday school. It really made me think and learn about the language that Jesus and the original gospel writer (St. Mark) spoke.
For instance in Hebrew or Aramaic (the language of Jesus) there would be no way to distinguish the concepts of 'divine throne' or 'heavenly throne' - i.e. it would be easy for white Europeans to get misled or confused (like the Gospels of Matthew and Luke speaking about 'the kingdom of heaven' and 'God' even though the Aramaic would be one and the same).
It is an amazing book and here is some background information on the author http://www.stephanhuller.blogspot.com/
Just thought I would pass this along
Peace
Jacob
Hi, I notice that you are spamming people's blogs promoting Stephan Huller's idiotic book. I just read and picked apart his book and found it to be full of half-truths, obfuscations, poor reasoning, and insufficiently documented claims. A bunch of us are discussing Huller's nonsense here:
http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/showthread.php?t=130969
The point of the thread is to expose Huller as the fraud that he is. Huller is a circus performer by trade, and we can believe that, given the sort of gymnastics he uses in the book.
I was really disgusted by his book. It wasn't anything like what serious scholars have to offer, which I guess is why he can only get fringe nutcases like Robert Price and Robert Eisenman to endorse it. It really made me think Huller needs some psychotherapy and exposure to serious historical scholarship and critical thinking.
It is a goofy book and it belongs in the trash can.
Just thought I would pass this along
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