Archive for the ‘Worship’ Category

What a Friend we Have in Jesus

Posted in Christian, Hymns, inspirational, Praise, Worship, tagged , , , , , , on January 25, 2010| 3 Comments »

We sang this in church yesterday and the words just made my heart leap with joy that we have such a wonderful, trustworthy friend in Jesus.  The words are more than beautiful.  If you want to hear the music just click on MIDI.  –  Bonnie 

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

  “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Charles C. Converse (1834-1918)

Words: Jo­seph M. Scriv­en, 1855. Scriv­en wrote this hymn to com­fort his mo­ther, who was across the sea from him in Ire­land. It was orig­in­al­ly pub­lished anon­y­mous­ly, and Scriv­en did not re­ceive full cred­it for al­most 30 years.

Music: Erie, Charles C. Con­verse, 1868 (MI­DI, score). In World War I, the tune was paired with the words to “When This Bloody War is Over.” Al­ter­nate tunes:

If you have ac­cess to a better pho­to of Jo­seph Scriv­en or Charles Con­verse that we could put on­line, please click here.

Joseph M. Scriven (1819-1886)

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

Shqip | Creole | Español | Français | Русский | 汉语 | Yorùbá

   Provided my NetHymnal at: http://www.nethymnal.org.

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Day by Day

Posted in American culture, Christian, Faith, Hymns, inspirational, Worship, tagged , , , , , on December 7, 2009| 1 Comment »

See more from Cyberhymnal here!

To think of the agony this woman must have gone through as she watched her own father drown.  So many times tragedies bring out the most beautiful inspiring songs.  The words to this hymn are very inspiring and uplifting to all who are down but love the Lord.–Bonnie  
P.S. If you click on MIDI below you can hear the music too.  
“As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” Deuteronomy 33:25

Lina was the daugh­ter of Jo­nas San­dell, pas­tor of the Lu­ther­an church in Fröd­eryd. At age 26, she ac­com­pa­nied her fa­ther on a boat trip across Lake Vättern to Gö­te­borg, dur­ing which he fell over­board and drowned be­fore her eyes. The tra­ge­dy pro­found­ly af­fect­ed Lina and re­port­ed­ly in­spired her to write hymns. Known as the Fan­ny Cros­by of Swe­den, she wrote 650 hymns. She mar­ried Stock­holm mer­chant C. O. Berg in 1867, but con­tin­ued to in­i­tial her hymns “L. S.”

Lina Sandell (1832-1903)
 Words: Kar­o­lina W. San­dell-Berg, 1865 (Blott en dag, ett ögon­blick i sän­der); trans­lat­ed from Swed­ish to Eng­lish by An­drew L. Skoog (1856-1934). Music: Blott en Dag, Os­kar Ahn­felt, 1872 (MI­DI, score).

Oskar Ahnfelt (1813-1882)

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He Whose Name is Counselor and Power;
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
Ever to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

Монгол хэл | Svenska

 

08/07/2007 06:40:13

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Citizens of Heaven

Posted in Bible Study, Christian, devotional, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, Worship, tagged , , , , on September 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Friends, we are different when we become Christians.  God in His mercy and love has given us such great benefits that we need to learn what they are so we can appreciate what we got.  Sometimes, it is as if we’ve been given a gift that we’ve never opened to see what is inside.

When a person becomes a believer they also become a citizen of heaven.  What a privilege this is!

Php 3:20(a) NASB “For our citizenship is in heaven,…”

The Greek word, “politeuma”, means citizenship; “is” in the Greek means, “has it’s existence.” So, we can see that our citizenship is right now in heaven.  We are God’s children!

Isn’t it a huge thought to ponder the fact that our true (spiritual) citizenship is in heaven?  Here we are on this little earth.  We did not ask to be born.  Have you ever wondered why you were born? Or why you were born in a certain country and to a certain family?  I have.  I’ve never figured out the answer to that except that I know God is sovereign and it was in His sovereignty that I was born who I am and where I am.  I was born a citizen of the United States of America.  And, I’m happy with that. But, I’m also a citizen of heaven! That is amazing!

My life could have gone on, and I could have died and only been a citizen of the USA. Then, I would have been buried in the grave and that would have been the end of anything good that had happened up to that point.  Then, in the future I’d go before the Lord and be judged for my unbelief and would have been sentenced to live eternity apart from God in a place called Hell.  That would have been a horrible existence.  I’m so grateful that the Lord allowed me another way, even though I am a sinner, saved by grace, and don’t deserve it.

But, now that I’ve been born again by the Holy Spirit of God and am adopted into His family, God has made me a citizen of heaven.  Praise the Lord!  This is wonderful news!  My future is glorious.  I will be living in the New Jerusalem and serving along with Jesus Christ for eternity.  That boggles my mind!  You can read about the New Jerusalem in Revelation Chapter 21.  I love that section.  It shows us what our new home will be like. It’s very exciting and gives us something else to look forward to.

Php 3:20(b) NASB “… from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”

Heb 9:28 LITV so Christ having been once offered “to bear the sins of many,” Christ shall appear a second time without sin to those expecting Him for salvation. Isa. 53:12

It gets even better. Christ is coming again for us.

Php 3:21 NASB  who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Mat 17:2 NASB And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

When Christ comes for His own at the Rapture, we will be caught up to meet Him in the air and our bodies will be transformed into a glorious body like His. (If we are still alive at that time, otherwise, we will rise out of the graves and meet Him in the air.)

As for me, I’m really looking forward to that day when I get rid of this old worn out body that has given me so much trouble through the years, and I’ll put on a body of glory, perfect in every sense, without sin, and beautiful beyond belief.  No more sin, dieting, exercise groups, aches, pains, surgeries, diseases, blindness, panic attacks, anxiety, agoraphobia, or any of the other things that haunt us today.

Yes, it is true right now we still live in this fallen world.  But, God has told us we should set our affections on things above.  We should be consumed with thoughts about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Word.  We want to think about what it’s going to be like there and how we will praise God and worship Him. We want to live our lives in a way that is honoring to Him.

Col 3:1-4 NASB Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (2) Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (3) For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (4) When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

What a marvelous promise this is!

Can you see what a difference there is in us from unbelievers?  Can you see why it is sometimes hard for us as we travel this world?  Can you see how others do not understand us?  We ARE different!  We have been born from above by God’s grace and mercy, and we are very different then we were. 

In light of that fact, ask yourself this question:  How have I changed in my own life since I became a Christian?  There must be a transformation because when we are truly saved we are changed on the inside.  We will still be tempted to do things that are not honoring to God, but He has given us the strength and courage to resist and turn from those things.  We may stumble once in a while, but we are not seeking perfection, but the right direction toward being more like Christ. 

Sometimes even for true believers the pressure from the world around us draws us to it.  There are times when we are in the certain company and we are uncomfortable because the Holy Spirit who lives in us pricks our conscience.  We don’t always recognize that as the reason for being uncomfortable.  There are places we shouldn’t go anymore.  There are friends that are not good for us anymore.  Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you.

Because we are different, and because we have been chosen by God, we need to stand up for God as a citizen of heaven and be a witness of the goodness He has bestowed on us.

Psa 73:24-26 NASB With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. (25) Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. (26) My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

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Christian Living Sermons

Posted in Bible Study, Christian, Scripture, Worship, tagged , , on June 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Check out the messages by Pastor Bob in the Sermon section of this site.

If you want to hear the Word taught verse by verse so you can get a good understanding of how God wants us to live, these are for you.

https://hatchcreek.com/sermons/

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Like a River Glorious

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Christian, Faith, Hymns, inspirational, Religion, Worship, tagged , on May 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

 We sang this hymn in church yesterday and it truly blessed my soul.

If we could only grasp how much God loves us and wants us to live in perfect peace with Him, how wonderful it would be! 

“I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream.” Isaiah 66:12

Words: Fran­ces R. Ha­ver­gal, 1876; first ap­peared in Hymns of Con­se­cra­tion and Faith. Music: Wye Val­ley, James Mount­ain, 1876 (MI­DI, score).   Click on MIDI to hear the music.

 If you have ac­cess to a pho­to of James Mount­ain that we could put on­line, please click here.

Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.

Refrain

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Refrain

Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do.
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

Refrain

 Taken from Cyber Hymnal.org   They have many more wonderful hymns for your enjoyment.

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Audio Sermons

Posted in Audio Sermons, Bible Study, Christian, devotional, Gospel, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, Worship, tagged , , , , , on April 1, 2009| 1 Comment »

 

bible2s

Pastor Bob O’Leary has given us many wonderful sermons over the past few years and I would like to share many of them with you.

The first ones I’ve put up are on the Book of Colossians.  This book was written by Paul the Apostle to correct the false teaching that was infiltrating  the church. 

The theme of Colossians is the complete adequacy of Christ as contrasted with the emptiness of mere human philosophy.

Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

As you listen to these sermons I guarantee that if you take them to heart and put them to work in your own life you will see growth in Christ.

Click here to listen to our Audio Sermons

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The Obedient Christian

Posted in Bible Study, Christian, devotional, Faith, inspirational, Scripture, Worship, tagged , , , , , on January 16, 2009| 1 Comment »

February2008 037

Do you realize that God has plenty to say about how we live our Christian lives?  He wants us to obey Him in every area.  We will look at the Bible and see some of the scriptures that shows us that.

2Co 13:5 NASB  Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test?

God tells us to examine ourselves to make sure we are truly Christians. If we have Jesus Christ in us, then we are a new creation.  We should be able to look back on our lives and see a transformation since we were saved. 

The way our lives become transformed is by the study of the Word.  We can then apply it to our lives as we live in obedience to it.  That changes us.

God talked about obedience back in the Old Testament.

Deu 7:9 NASB  “Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

God is faithful and keeps his promises, and lovingkindness.  But, note, it is to those who love Him and keep His commandments. 

Neh 1:5 NASB  I said, “I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

Here the Psalmist says that he delights in God’s commandments and actually loves them.  Can you say the same?  Psalm 119 is an awesome Psalm.  It would be good to go ahead and read the whole thing.  There is so much in it about God’s Word and how it is sweet as honey.

Psa 119:47 NASB  I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love.

Here Christ tell’s us that if we love Him we will keep His commandments.  That is the acid test of our love of God.  Do you love Him?  Do you obey Him?

Joh 14:15 NASB  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Look at this next verse.  It is wonderful!  If we keep God’s commandments it shows that we love Him.  It says, if we love Christ we will be loved by His Father.  Not only that, but Jesus will love us and actually disclose Himself to us.  Yes, He does that as we read and study the Word.  He allows our minds to be opened to take in and understand what He wants us to know.

What a privilege it is to be loved by Jesus and God.  What a privilege to have a personal relationship with the creator of the universe!  (If we obey Him.)

Joh 14:21 NASB  “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

Again, “if” we keep His commandments, we will abide in His love.  Jesus Himself set the example as He obeyed His Father’s commandments, even to death on the cross.  Could we do that? 

Joh 15:10 NASB  “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

When we love God and obey Him, we also know that we love other believers in Christ.  God’s love is this:  We keep His commandments, and they are not burdensome.  In other words, we are pleased to keep them.  The older I become as a Christian the more I see the wisdom in God’s commandments.  They are given to us for our own good.  The only thing that could keep us from obeying them is our own pride.

1Jn 5:2-3 NASB  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.  3  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

And to say it again.  We show our love of God when we obey Him and follow His commands. 

2Jn 1:6 NASB  And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

I pray this little study in obedience has helped you realize that you are not your own.  He is our Lord and has every right to command us in our walk.  He owns us; He died for us; He paid the penalty of our sins.  We are His and as such we must bow the knee to his Lordship over our lives.  If He tells us something is wrong that we are doing we’d better pay attention. 

Trust and obey, for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

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A Thankful Heart

Posted in Bible Study, Christian, devotional, Faith, Gospel, inspirational, Scripture, Uncategorized, Worship, tagged , , , , , , on November 10, 2008| Leave a Comment »

God's Handiwork 08

God’s Beautiful Handiwork!

God has given us all things to enjoy and my heart is thankful.  When I look around me I am very thankful for the wondrous beauty God has created.   The beauty of Fall in my part of the country can almost take your breath away.  And, yet, when we think about it, the Bible teaches us that we live in a cursed world, where even nature is cursed.  If this is what cursed looks like I often ponder, “How magnificent Heaven must be!”

Every year at Thanksgiving people stop to thank God for the things that matter most to them.  Usually we thank God for the things here on earth like our families, homes, cars, money, and all the material things we have.  We also stop and thank him for providing for us.  We thank him for the Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings we indulge in on that special day. 

This year my heart is thankful for those things, but even more, I’m thankful for my salvation.  I realize that if God had not in his mercy and grace chosen to adopt me into his family, I’d be on my way to spend eternity in Hell.  That is a scary thought! 

“Oh, God, how gracious you were to call me.  I am not worthy.  I am only a fallen, wicked, imperfect, sinner, whom you loved enough to include in your plan of salvation.  You even sent your only Son to take on my sins and die on the cross and endure the wrath of sin I deserved while He paid the penalty for me.”  That is truly amazing!

I ask.  “Why me Lord?”  “Why me?  I’m not worthy to be part of your family.”  I’ve come to realize that it wasn’t up to me.  I didn’t choose God, He chose me. 

Ephesians 1-4 says, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…”

That boggles my mind! To realize that our most Precious God chose me way back in the past before He even created the world. He knew me and chose me to be one of His own.  Isn’t that a tremendous thought?

Again I say, “Why me God?”  God is Sovereign and Righteous.  He can do whatever He wants to.  He could have just as easily passed me by.  And, if He did that would not diminish Him one iota.  He would still be God in all of His fullness.  He didn’t have to chose me, but He wanted to.

My heart is thankful for God’s wonderful creation all around us; it is thankful for my undeserved salvation; and it is thankful for the future God has in store for me.

This is just the beginning, and it is going to get better and better as we spend eternity with our Lord and Savior. 

We will have troubles here on earth as we attempt to live out our daily lives.  But we must realize that those problems are for a purpose.  God is Sovereign and He is in control.  Nothing comes our way without Him allowing it.  Look at Romans 8:28.

Rom 8:28-29 NASB  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 

I realize that there is a purpose for everything.  Even when I’ve suffered many health problems throughout my life, there was a purpose in it.  Praise God for that! 

He goes on to say in Romans 8:29  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

I realize God’s purpose in my sufferings in this life is to make me more like Christ.  That is the purpose for you too if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  He wants to shape us and mold us so that we become more and more like Christ.  We will not get there completely until we reach Heaven.

1Jn 3:2 NASB  Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

We will be like Him.  What a thought!  We will be made complete in Jesus in the future.  Isn’t that another amazing thought, and something to look forward too.  My eyes are turned to the future; not on the past.  Listen to this:

2Co 5:21 NASB  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

We are not just declared righteous when we become saved, but we have the hope that when we enter into Heaven we will become the righteousness of God in Christ.  We will become as holy, just, and righteous as God Himself.  That blows my mind away.  How can it be?  Only through God’s wondrous grace and mercy!

Below is a picture of the Second coming of Jesus Christ.  He comes out of Heaven as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to set up his Kingdom.  He is coming in judgement on mankind.  We will be following Him.  We will be riding white horses as He is, and we will be clothed in fine linen.  We are part of the armies of Heaven which is shown to us here. 

Rev 19:11-14 NASB  And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.  12  His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.  13  He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  14  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

Now my heart is just about busting open with thankfulness!  We have a wonderful, exciting, beyond our imagination or comprehension,  future with our Lord Jesus.  We can’t even fathom  the things to come.  Believe me the future won’t be boring. 

Oh, Lord, thank you for saving my soul!

Thank You Lord for saving my soul,
Thank You Lord for making me whole.
Thank You Lord for giving to me,
Thy greatest salvation, so rich and so free.

thankful

 

 

 

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