Hymns

3055) An Illegal Hymn

 **************************************      One of the best known of all hymn verses is what is often called the Doxology, written in 1674 by Englishman Thomas Ken (1637-1711): Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.      Many […]

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2912) Beneath the Cross of Jesus

Elizabeth Clephane  (1830-1869)      Jesus said (Mark 8:34):  “If anyone would come after me he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”  Take up your cross, Jesus said.  Those words have led to an expression Christians often use when speaking of their troubles.  “It is my cross to bear,” many will

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2868) Treasures in Heaven

     When you think about what you will give to the Lord’s work each week, you should consider your offerings from the perspective of eternity.  Let me tell you what I mean.      Several years ago, in the old American Lutheran Church, the Division for Missions had a program by which congregations here

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2852) “Were You There…?”

     A friend of mine once described to me a way that he would pray sometimes without words.  Instead of using words, he prayed in images, or, I should say, he imagined himself right in a Bible story with Jesus.  So if he was feeling overwhelmed by his troubles, he would close his eyes

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2837) Marveling

     Georgia preacher Fred Craddock describes how his ancestors used to go out walking, usually on a Sunday afternoon back when the stores were closed that day; and they called it “going marveling.”  Marveling.  They would look for unusual rocks, pretty little wild flowers, shells, four-leafed clovers, brightly colored bird feathers, maybe even a

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2501) Soon

    On November 10, 2020 I wrote: “I will be back soon.  Thank you for reading.  –Pastor Leon Stier”       Sorry it took so long.      I hope you are all still there.  It has been a while since I posted one of these.  I had some computer and website issues that needed fixing,

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2425) “Ain’t God Good, Boys?”

“My Siblings Died — And My Dad Sang This Song” by Joshua Rogers, posted August 17, 2020, at:  http://www.joshuarogers.com —————      The phone rang and my mom answered.  She never imagined the horrific news my grandfather was about to share.  My dad’s two children from his first marriage had died in a plane crash.

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2408) May the Lord Bless You and Keep You

From ‘The Blessing’ Sung Around the World: 100 Virtual Choirs Spread Worship Anthem:  How a familiar Old Testament benediction became a viral hit during the pandemic.  By Megan Flower, July 29, 2020, at:  http://www.christianity.com ————————————————      Just a couple of weeks before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the US, Kari Jobe held a songwriting

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2355) Johnny Cash’s Favorite Album

     Johnny Cash (1932-2003) recorded almost one-hundred albums in his long career.  Of all those many albums, he said his favorite was the last one he did, released just a few months before he died.  None of his best-known songs are on this album, none of the songs in that album were written by

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2351) Amazing Grace, Amazing Video

“Amazing Grace Sung by Believers from 50 Different Countries, United by Jesus,” posted June 5, 2020 at:  http://www.epm.org , by Randy Alcorn.  Pastor and author Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries and the author of more than 50 books.  For more on this subject, see Randy’s devotional Grace: A Bigger View

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