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KIDS TALK: HOW GREAT THOU ART!

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Hymn of the Month – How Great Thou Art!

Powerpoint Pictures: Grand Canyon; Sunset; Football Goal; Orchestra

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There are lots of things that might make you go “Wow!”

The grandeur of creation or the beauty of creation.

Something incredible you see or hear like a great achievement or a moving piece of worship.

But “Wow!” shouldn’t just be our response.  It should be “Wow!” Isn’t God great?”  Isn’t God so amazing that He would create a world which is so vast and wonderful and where people can do incredible things?

Now there are other things that should make us go “Wow! Isn’t God great?”

Like Jesus’ death on the cross – that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

And how one day Jesus will return to take all His people to live with Him in heaven.

Should they make us say “How great and glorious and good God is”?

To worship Him because as Deuteronomy 10:21 reminds us “He is your praise and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awe-inspiring works your eyes have seen.”

And there is a great hymn to help us to do that, which is going to be our hymn of the month, and it would be really great if we all could learn it, so that we can use the words to glorify our great God  for what He has done.

It goes like this:

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

This verse reminds us of the power of God seen in creation.  The vastness of the universe, the thunder echoing through the mountains.  But His greatness also comes through in the gentleness of the breeze and the songs of the birds, and the next verse reminds us.

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.

The hymn then shifts our gaze from creation to the cross.  To our sins and God’s solution to them.

And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

What beautiful words to praise God our Saviour for His grace and mercy that He should send His Son to be the perfect sacrifice to take away the sins of who trust in Him.

And because of what Christ has done, look at the hope His followers have which the hymn ends with.

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, My God, how great thou art!

Our God will make all things new when Jesus returns and then we will be home.  “Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee: How great thou art!  How great thou art!”

So, How great Thou art! is our hymn of the month.  Let’s use the words to sing and praise God for His greatness seen in His creation, Christ’s cross, and His coming again.

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More talks from The Hymn of the Month series can be found HERE.

(Photo: Aaron Burden)

HYMN OF THE MONTH – HOW GREAT THOU ART!

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“Pastors, parents, worship leaders: Are you teaching any songs that can be sung acapella around a hospital bed in 50 years?” (Kevin DeYoung)

Taking inspiration from Getty Kids Hymn of the Month, we’re doing our own version at Banstead Community Church.

Each month I’ll choose a hymn and do a kids talk based on it and encourage all the church to learn it.  The hymns old and new will be those that can be sung acapella around a hospital bed!

This month – How Great Thou Art! – below are some great versions of the hymn.

Phil Moore

Reawaken Hymns

Shane and Shane

Anthem Lights

(Photo: Aaron Burden)

KIDS TALK: THERE IS A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD

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Hymn of the Month – There is a fountain filled with blood

Powerpoint Pictures: Soap or Hand Sanitiser; Shampoo & Shower Gel; Daz Powder; Cillit Bang

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What do the following items clean?

Soap or hand sanitiser?  Been using this a lot over the last 5 months – it’s your hands.

Shampoo and shower gel?  Hair and body.

Daz – famous for its door step challenge?  Clothes.

Cillit Bang – Bang!  And the dirt is gone.  Different parts of the house.

Those items clean different things.  But there’s something else that cleans.  That makes things that are filthy, white as snow.

And that’s blood.

Blood.

Not any kind of blood.  The precious blood of Jesus can make people who are filthy before God because of their sins, clean and acceptable to Him.

Look at this verse from Revelation 7.  “They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)

If we trust in Jesus, His death on the cross will wash away all our sins, every single one of them will be forgiven, and God will not punish us for them.

Isn’t this brilliant news something to sing about?

And there is a great hymn to help us to do that, which is going to be our hymn of the month, and it would really good if we could all learn it, so that we can use the words to praise God for Jesus’ blood without which our sins could not be forgiven.

It goes like this.

There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel’s veins
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.

That verse is saying that If we trust in Jesus, His blood, His death will remove our sin and guilt before God.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day
And there have I, though vile as he,
washed all my sins away.

One person who trusted Christ and had his sins washed away was the thief who died beside Him.  And like him, we who are sinners too can have sins removed by Jesus.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
shall never lose its pow’r
Till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more

Here we have the reminder that Christ’s precious blood is powerful.  That it doesn’t just save everyone who trusts in Him from death and hell, it saves them to live holy and obedient lives following Christ.

E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die

Once we see what Jesus has done to save us, nothing should be more important to us, and that will be true even when we have died and gone to heaven because there we will be singing our praise to Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave
Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing Thy pow’r to save

So, There is a fountain filled with blood is our hymn of the month. Let’s use the words to sing and praise God for Jesus whose blood can wash away our sins if we repent and believe in Him.

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More talks from The Hymn of the Month series can be found HERE.

(Photo: Aaron Burden)

HYMN OF THE MONTH – THERE IS A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD

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“Pastors, parents, worship leaders: Are you teaching any songs that can be sung acapella around a hospital bed in 50 years?” (Kevin DeYoung)

Taking inspiration from Getty Kids Hymn of the Month, we’re doing our own version at Banstead Community Church.

Each month I’ll choose a hymn and do a kids talk based on it and encourage all the church to learn it.  The hymns old and new will be those that can be sung acapella around a hospital bed!

This month – There is a Fountain Filled with Blood – below are some great versions of the hymn.

Norton Hall Band

Together for the Gospel

Shane & Shane

(Photo: Aaron Burden)

TWO GREAT HYMNS TO SING ON REFORMATION SUNDAY

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LutherIt is Reformation Sunday today.

Here are two great hymns – one old, one new – to be singing at your church service.

1) A Mighty Fortress is our God (Martin Luther) – listen to a new arrangement HERE.

2) Glory be to God Alone (David L. Ward) – lyrics and suggested tune HERE.

SONGS ARE SERMONS

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1374033_79721327Matt Boswell:

“Songs are sermons.

They don’t work like homiletical exegesis, but they articulate, exegete, and pronounce biblical truths.

Our hymns teach and shape the way people view God, man, Christ, and how we are to live in light of the gospel.”

(Photo: ba1969)

Missing Verses to ‘O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing’

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Last Sunday morning we closed the service by singing the great Charles Wesley hymn ‘O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing’.  He wrote this hymn to commemorate the first anniversary of his conversion to Christ.

What I didn’t realise is that there are lots of verses to the hymn that we don’t usually sing.

Here are some of my favourites:

Then with my heart I first believed,
Believed with faith divine,
Power with the Holy Ghost received
To call the Savior mine.

I felt my Lord’s atoning blood
Close to my soul applied;
Me, me He loved, the Son of God,
For me, for me He died!

See all your sins on Jesus laid:
The Lamb of God was slain,
His soul was once an offering made
For every soul of man.

Harlots and publicans and thieves
In holy triumph join!
Saved is the sinner that believes
From crimes as great as mine.

Murderers and all ye hellish crew
In holy triumph join!
Believe the Savior died for you;
For me the Savior died.

There is a fountain filled with blood

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I sang this hymn by William Cowper for the first time at EMA yesterday – and love it!

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
and there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away.
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

O Lamb of God, your precious blood shall never lose its power,
till all the ransomed church of God, be saved to sin no more.
Be saved to sin no more, be saved to sin no more.
Till all the ransomed church of God, be saved to sin no more.

And since, by faith, I saw the stream your flowing wounds supply,
redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die.
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave,
then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing your power to save.
I’ll sing your power to save, I’ll sing your power to save.
Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing your power to save.