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 – “God of our Fathers”
Words by Daniel C. Roberts, Music by George Warren
Approaching Memorial Day, our thoughts turn to those who have offered the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy in America. The cost of our liberty extends far beyond our borders, reaching to myriad burial sites abroad. It is estimated that 125,000 American heroes lie in other nations where they fell.
Several of our patriotic songs have stood the test of time.
For many years, and all too often, we sing them glibly and without the real sincerity deserved. Our thoughts may be twofold as we sing our songs of patriotism, as experienced under the watchful eye of our heavenly Father. First, we sing in gratitude unto Him who gave us life and liberty, and secondly, in remembrance of those who have paid an extreme, personal price for our freedom.
Daniel C. Roberts, the author of the patriotic song, “God of Our Fathers,” was born on Long Island in New York. However, he was educated in Ohio, so when the Civil War started he joined the Union Army as a member of the 84th Ohio Volunteers.
In 1876, when our nation was preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Roberts, who was at that time serving as pastor in a church in Brandon, Vermont, was asked to write a song for the people to sing during the celebration. He agreed to do so and the result was “God of Our Fathers.” George Warren, an organist, later wrote another musical accompaniment, which is used today.
Because of its use in that national celebration, the song became widely known among Americans. As hymnals are being published, most of them include “God of Our Fathers.” The three-part fanfare at the beginning of each verse and during each interlude adds greatly to the spirit of the song.
This Memorial Day 2017, use “God of Our Fathers” to reflect on the ultimate sacrifices made to offer and maintain our liberties – both as Americans and, in the grander view, as Christians, freed by Christ’s ransom paid on the cross – as He fills our lives with love and grace divine!
By Lindsay Terry, Adapted by Maria Currey
Kerri Roberts, Assistant Director of Music – Contemporary
Jesus Paid it All
I hear the savior say, thy strength indeed is small
Child of weakness, watch and pray, find in me thine all in allJesus paid it all
All to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snowLord, now indeed I find thy power and thine alone
Can change the leper’s spots and melt the heart of stoneJesus paid it all
All to him I owe
My sin had left this crimson stain, he washed it white as snowAnd when before the throne I stand in him complete
“Jesus died my soul to save” my lips shall still repeatJesus paid it all
All to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snowOh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead, Jesus!
“Worship is our response, both personal and corporate, to God for who He is and what He has done expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live.”
In order for us to be able to respond to God personally and corporately we must be able to see who He is and what He has done. God has given us an exact representation of Himself in His Son, Jesus.
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3).
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation….For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:15, 19).
Additionally, everything God has done hinges on what Jesus has done on the cross. Our identity, ultimate provision, eternal security, healing, well-being, indeed our very hope, are all based on the fact that our sin debt has been paid in Christ and we have been raised to life in Him!
“God made [us] alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).
The goal in our Sunday morning services is to lift high the cross – to spotlight who God is and what He has done so that we can respond together in worship. This week in Contemporary Worship our hearts can be united in the joy that God is with us through Jesus, that He has given us His Spirit to lead us, change us, and make us brave for the journey of life. That Jesus has no rival; His name is above every name! And that we owe absolutely all to Him! Let us see and sing!