Worship is a way of life that takes place not just at 11:00 on Sunday morning, but every other hour of the week (John 4:20-24). Through this “Call to Worship,” we want to share some thoughts about worship, scripture verses, hymns, and songs to teach and encourage you as you seek His face daily and then hopefully together with us on Sunday!
Maria Currey, Assistant Director of Music – Traditional
Hymn Highlight – “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven” by Henry Francis Lyte
Henry Francis Lyte, the author of this hymn, didn’t have an easy life. His father abandoned the family while Henry was still a boy. Then Henry’s mother and brother died, leaving Henry an orphan at age nine. A Christian couple, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Burrows, learned of his circumstances, took him in, and provided for his education.
Lyte studied for the ministry, was ordained, and served several small churches—the last in Brixham on the English Channel—a pleasant fishing village where he served for 23 years. While at Brixham, he formed a Sunday school that enrolled 800 children.
While at Brixham, Lyte wrote a great many hymns based on the Psalms. “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven,” based on Psalm 103, is one of those. Queen Elizabeth had it sung as the processional for her coronation. Another of Lyte’s hymns, “Abide with me,” was the favorite hymn of King George V.
Lyte suffered ill health for most of his life, and died at age 54. He had been a humble village pastor, but he enriched the lives of all those in his community—and the 800 children in his Sunday school—and the sailors for whom he carried on a special ministry — and all of us who enjoy his hymns.
Perhaps no one would have been more surprised than Henry Lyte to learn that one of his hymns was the favorite of King George and another was sung at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. That is often how God works—using people whom we might think to be ordinary to give us extraordinary blessings.
“Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven”
Read Psalm 103 and listen to the hymn link above – and soak in the beauty of God’s promises for you today!
Adapted by Maria Currey – Copyright 2007 Richard Niell Donovan
Kerri Roberts, Assistant Director of Music – Contemporary
Great is Your love for us, and great are the things You’ve done,
and praise is the offering we bring to You!
Over the last few weeks we have been exploring some of the Hebrew and Greek words in scripture for worship and praise. If you missed the previous ones, you can read them here and here.
This Sunday we will begin our contemporary worship service by declaring the words above. Because of His great love and all the great things He has done, we bring to Him an offering of praise. Truly the only offering we are capable of giving to Him is our lives and our praise. According to the original Hebrew, there are several ways that we can offer praise to the Lord. This week I’d like to highlight one of the Hebrew words translated “Praise” in our English scriptures. The word is YADAH, as found here in Psalm 7:17:
I will praise (yadah) the LORD according to his righteousness:
and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.
YADAH is a verb with a root meaning, “the extended hand, to throw out the hand, therefore to worship with extended hand, to lift the hands.”
We see that lifting our hands to God in praise is not merely an individualistic display of expressive worship. It is, in fact, one of many specific ways that scripture exhorts us to praise!
Give thanks (yadah) to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Chronicles 20:21So I will bless thee as long as I live; I will (yadah) lift up my hands in Thy name.
Psalm 63:1Oh that men would praise (yadah) the Lord for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to the children of men.
Psalm 107:15
Other references: Genesis 29:35, 49:8; 2 Chronicles 7:3,6; Psalms 67:3, 108:3; Isaiah 12:1,4; Jeremiah 33:11
In our worship this Sunday we will focus on what God has done for us through Jesus, the Light of the World. Let us praise Him for the riches of His love toward us!
You are more, You are more than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord all creation will proclaim
You are here, You are here in Your presence I’m made whole
You are God, You are God of all else I’m letting goI’m running to Your arms, I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace, Light of the world forever reign