Because He Loves You; Because He Loves You…
Aug 11, 2009
I mentioned two songs this week during the message…neither of which did I know much about. Funny, I know, but I just don’t recall much in the way of music. Can’t remember artists; Can’t remember titles; Often, I cannot remember tunes 10 minutes after I’ve listened. The first song I mentioned, I listen to almost every week on my way from the office to church…it means a lot to me. It reminds me that the preaching of God’s Word is not about my ability, my feelings of adequacy, my confidence, etc, but about God forgiving me, using me in spite of myself, taking my life and using it somehow for his benefit and glory. Having preached nearly 140 messages at Vista, I suspect I’ve listened to this song over 100 times. I understand that it originated on Third Day’s first album, but the version I listen to comes off of their CD, Offerings II , and the track is titled, Take My Life. The second song I referenced I hadn’t heard before Sunday morning. As I said, Tammy selected it for us during the drive over. It not only hit the spot in my needy soul, but filled a gap in the message. Sunday, I wrongly credited Brian Houston, the senior pastor of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. It was, in fact, Graham Cooke. I don’t know much about Graham, but I sure connected with what he said in that song/message compilation. The musical artist is Jonathon David Helser…don’t know much about him either…but I enjoy hearing worship that seemingly comes from the gut…from the soul. If you’d like to enjoy the entirety of the song I shared, in part, Sunday, it’s called Inheritance. I hope and pray that this week a glimpse of God comes to your soul, and that you are burdened by an increasing sense of how He loves you…because He loves you; because He loves you; because He loves you…
August 13th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Thanks for including the titles of the songs Mike! I’ll have to check them out. Thanks for being honest Sunday about your “bad morning” … not wanting to get up. Thanks for being real and open. The last thing we need nowadays is a bunch of “canned stuff” and Sunday entertainment … none of which comes from you. Appreciate you!
August 13th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Oh I am so glad you told us the titles of the song! I have been wondering all week! Great job last week!
August 16th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I can’t believe you talked about Inheritence when we weren’t there!! It’s one of our favorites. I listen to it a few times a week–Jonathan David Helser is amazing, and that rendition with the “Because He Loves You” sermon is something I find so inspiring, and just literally 10 minutes ago quoted in an e-mail to my spiritually thirsty friend. I think God is definitely trying to tell me something through this song… I’m going to go have another listen… thanks, Mike, we love you and appreciate your stance at the intersection of real life and Jesus (even when we’re not there to hear your sermon because we’re on our honeymoon
August 22nd, 2009 at 1:22 pm
This discussion lead me to thinking about Christian music in general. Looking through an old hymnal I found hymns as old as 340 AD. My thought was; what blessing, insights and truths have we left behind in our move to virtually exclusive modern music? My second thought was why does Christian music dove tail completely (musically speaking) off of secular pop/rock. If we worship the creator of the universe then shouldn’t it follow that our music would be the innovators not the “worlds” music? Just a couple of random thoughts….. God bless
August 24th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I, too, at times wonder about the wolrd of Christian music (as recently as this morning). I have to remember that when the “old hymns” were first played in churches, they, like today’s music, were considered to be “contemporary” and mirrored the music of the day. The old hymns are rich in truth which then begs the question, why do churches tend to only sing the 1st, 3rd and 4th verse. Is there something wrong with the 2d verse? Unfortunately, I believe that we fall victim to the need to start and finish a service on time. If the Holy Spirit leads the worship (or the pastor’s message) to “go long” who am I to argue with Him? Here’s a little convicting message I received while listening to a wonderful arrangement of “Sweet Hour of Prayer”…when’s the last time I spent a sweet hour in prayer. I pray daily and often, but an hour? Hmmm…which dovetails with Pastor Mike’s message this past week regarding vacations…when have I ever taken a vacation day from work to just spend with the Lord?
August 24th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
One last add-on to my previous post…there is a reason why many old hymns were never published in a hymn book…and there are reasons why many of today’s contemporary Christian music will not endure. The “classics” of the ages will endure and I’ve found they have several things in common. The most telling is that each possesses a strong biblical truth that speaks to our hearts throughout the ages whether it’s Handel’s “Messiah”, “How Great Thou Art,” “Alpha and Omega,” or “Ancient of Days”. If we exclude the great hymns of the past, we will be depriving ourselves of some of the really great truths that they contain (even those truths hidden in the 2d verse that nobody’s sung in ages).
Blessings.