CHRISTIAN SONG LYRICS - GIVE US SOMETHING MORE

My spirit desires lyrics to newer songs of worship to God, to appropriately reflect his excellence, his holiness. I need songs that incorporate theological truth. I can accept that songs should incorporate the vernacular and speak to newer generations using new idioms, yet I question what seems a default composer habit of converting transcendence to familiarity, privilege to banality. Some songs typify this for me. Even a good composer like Chris Tomlin puts out a song like 'In The Secret,' that assumes through capitalized pronouns that we should know to whom we are singing, although there is no reference to that person.  And yet we sing the chorus of words, "I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more. I want to touch You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You more." And I cannot escape the feeling that I am singing about adolescent love. Perhaps it's just me, yet I hope you can understand my preference for thinking of the sovereign 'otherness' of God and of Jesus, the uniqueness, the distinctiveness.

If I never sing the lyrics of the emotion evoking, 'One thing Remains,' I can be content. The refrain is, "Your love never fails, never gives up, Never runs out on me," to be repeated three times, after each of three verses, and likely a couple of more times for good measure. The thematic content is something that I myself have prayed with thanksgiving to God so the lyrics are not fundamentally flawed. The song itself is simply thin theologically and not worth my time, specially when married to the tune which becomes vexing, because it is repeated so often. Yet, that's why many people love the song. So, again, perhaps it's just me. It feels to me like discount worship, bargain stuff.

As a balance to my view, I am quoting a friend who has written recently a counter point. I am impressed. Bryan Swash "The ever ending critique and misunderstanding of current worship expression. 1. As for repetition ever read Psalm 136? 2. As for no mention of God. Ever read the book of Esther? The context of those songs is the worship service. If someone's mind goes to their teenage crush it says more about them then the song. 3. The purpose of the song is to engage a left brain encounter, a part of us that Jesus drew attention to in Matt 22:37. 4. No one song says it all. Like no one scripture says it all. Again balance is important. The psalms often declare one aspect of a truth but need further scriptures to balance the truth out. 5. Let's rejoice a new generation is seeking to draw near to God (James 4:8) and discovering he is drawing near to them. A very sacred desire and privilege. Is Psalm 134 a ditty? 3 verses only! Blessings all…."

THE EMBRACE

THE EMBRACE

From the pen and paintbrush of artist Chris Hopkins, comes this compelling invitation to forgiveness, valid anytime.

Sin is inevitable. No one is exempt. No matter if one is a powerful executive from a reigning world power or a struggling mother from a third world country or a person stumbling with life's choices. We simply cannot escape the traps of our own sins. It is for this moment of forgiveness and redemption that God came to earth in the form of flesh and bone. It is for this moment that The Son of God suffered and triumphed over all of our temptations, desires and physical sufferings. It is for this moment that the tears of Heaven were shed and Christ bled the cross of Calvary red as He paid for our sins. God has given every single one of us this precious gift of forgiveness and redemption through the blood and love of His Son, Jesus. God's love for us is far and away beyond any human understanding. All we have to do is come to Him and receive the forgiveness He purchased at so high a price.

THE EMBRACE

TRUE WORSHIPPERS

TRUE WORSHIPPERS

19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." 25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he." John 4: 19-26

God is spirit.

Worship of God must be offered in spirit.

God deserves to be worshipped and he seeks to be worshipped.

God the Father seeks true worshippers.

True worship only emerges from and is offered by true worshippers.

God is Father.

True worshippers know God and know him as Father.

God the Father has revealed himself and his salvation, only through his true story with the Jews.

True worshippers are defined as recipients of salvation from the Father.

Worship is true only when it is directed to God who revealed himself through the story of the Jews.

Whereas worship was once associated with a city and a building and ritual, True Worship is not identified with specific geographic location or facility.

True worship is not chiefly defined by ritual, style, standard, posture, vocal, spoken, music, drama, reading, prayer or volume.

True worship has only two descriptors; it is in spirit and in truth. 

True worshippers are defined as those who worship in spirit and truth.

The Father's true story with the Jews projects the Messiah, who is Jesus, called Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life.

Bible translation brings the truth about God to indigenous people worldwide. Their forms of worship expression differ. Yet it is true worship, and they are true worshippers, if, they have subscribed by faith in Jesus who is presented through the Father's salvation story that began with Jews. Each nation, each people group, each generation will employ traditional or innovative preferences to express its worship of God, and it will qualify as true worship when it is in spirit and in truth, that is, when it tells the truth and nothing but the truth about God. They are then true worshippers.

A LOT OF MALARKEY

How ironic is the surname of the principle players behind this story?

Alex Malarkey was paralyzed at the age of 6 as a result of a vehicle accident. He spent two months in a coma. He is now a teenager, sixteen years of age. He is listed as co-author together with his father, Kevin Malarkey, of the book entitled 'The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven', published by Tyndale in 2010. This was followed by a movie version in 2014 called 'Heaven is for Real.' Alex and his siblings live with their mother Beth Malarkey. Beth and Kevin are divorced. She claims that Alex has not been receiving profits from the book. Tyndale has pulled the plug on the book because earlier this week, Alex wrote an open letter in which he recanted his testimony about his trip to heaven and back. It was posted on the Pulpit and Pen Web site.  Alex states flatly: “I did not die. I did not go to Heaven.”

CHRISTIANITY

Let me tell you what it is not and then what it is.

Christian faith is not primarily about the sacrifice that believers make for Jesus in order to become Christian, but rather about the sacrifice that he made for us. Christianity is not about intensified devotion, trying even harder, doing better and being better, proving ourselves. No, no. Its essence is not doing something for Jesus but rather it is Jesus accomplishing something in us. His sacrifice once, and his ongoing work in us now. That is something that people find attractive because that is not religion. It is relationship. This is not about performance with respect to a faith system that legislates morality. A heavy-handed condemnation has resulted from that model and people have walked away from Jesus when they should have walked away from that specific model of Christian expression. Jesus' proclamation was good news. It was good news to good people and to bad people, to free people and prisoners, to healthy and diseased people, to sighted people and blind people. It was good in the first century and it is still good today because is about God's mercy to every last one of us, each of whom is naturally undeserving. Yet we are invited into relationship through faith in Jesus, Son of God, Lamb, Saviour, King, and endorsed a member of God's family.

SCRIPTURE-FREE

Canadians and Americans live in an increasingly scripture-free public space. More disturbing is the reality that most Christians live in a scripture-free personal and family space. Within the general population it can be assumed there will be misperceptions and ignorance about the Bible. However, we must waste no more time advocating or condemning either traditional or emerging churches when the scandal is really the emerging biblical illiteracy among professing Christians. It can now be assumed that Christians don't know much about the Bible.

image by Aidan Hart

Marriages of Christian couples are dissolving at the same rate as marriages of non-believing people. Christians participate in interpersonal conflicts and churches endure internal power struggles with the same frequency as irreligious individuals and organizations. The light emitted by Christians in communities shines no brighter than the lives of agnostics or other faith groups.

To any thoughtful student of Christian faith, this is not merely curious, it is shocking. Christians espouse Christ, the Son of God as their Saviour, King, Lord. Christians speak of an inside-out transformation, a conversion, a personal rebirth. Christians understand that God's own spirit, the Holy Spirit, Deity himself, resides within them to teach them, and to reproduce within them an unmistakable resemblance to Christ. Can we appreciate the reasons for suspicion and cynicism among observers when our best evidence for the truth is falling so abysmally short of convincing? The credibility of the Christian gospel hinges upon the product, the professing follower, the so-called disciple.

If all else fails, read the instructions.
Christians don't read their Bibles. It is therefore unlikely that they will live as followers of Christ.