I just finished reading Brennan Manning‘s book “The Ragamuffin Gospel” (which I hope to review in coming weeks) and also heard this song by Lecrae recently and it struck me that “Take Me As I Am” is in many ways Manning’s book rapped out.
But, you can judge for yourselves.
Posted in Art and Media Wednesday
Tagged Brennan Manning, God's Grace, Jesus, Lecrae, Ragamuffin, Rap, Rich Mullins, Salvation
Sermon Title – “Christian Unity and the Pastoral Ministry #1”
Sermon Text – Ephesians 4:7-16
Preacher – Pastor Larry Vincent
In Jesus Christ we have our Head
Our slain and living King
He bled and died, the Church to save
Our feeble praise we bring
As Head our Lord has gifted us
By Grace the Church is made
We’ve gifts to build and edify
The Bride who Jesus saved
Our King has conquered sin and death
And ground our stony hearts
He fights against our enemies
His grace to us imparts
Our bruised and broken Potentate
Our Groom of love and grace
Has won our hearts, securing life
Our hope in Christ is placed
The gifts we have, the lives we live
Are from and for our Lord
So we can glorify our King
Our Kind, Eternal Word
Through blood we’re cleansed, by death we live
We’re ragamuffins all
Yet Jesus gifts the Church, His Bride
We Stand, men of the Fall
In Christ we strive to honor God
Because we’re saved by Grace
To follow Him in Word and Deed
In Christ we run our race
We run as one, the Bride of Christ
In Jesus unified
We’re called to run and love and live
The Body justified
In Christ we’ve men who preach the Word
Equipping saints to serve
By heralds’ voice the Word is told
The Words of Christ are heard
The gifts of Christ are ours to use
With liberality
The Body lives, the Body serves
In Christ the Bride is free
In unity we all obey
Our Christ, our living Head
And to each other we submit
In praise to He who bled
We’ve gifts to build the Bride of Christ
To glorify our King
We live and love, rejoicing Christ
As One, His praise we sing
Posted in Sermon Poems
Tagged Gifts, God, Jesus, Poetry, Preaching, Salvation, The Church
Sermon Poetry, 20 December 2009
Sermon Title – “Christ’s Incarnation and God’s Eternal Purpose”
Sermon Text – Ephesians 3:11
Preacher – Pastor Larry Vincent
Through blood and through water our Savior was born
A baby both naked and cold
‘Twas beautiful screaming the first sounds he made
From Mary he suckled and fed
He came as an infant, a babe born to die
The Suffering Servant and King
He came in humanity, Savior in deity
His praises His people e’er sing
Christ came for a reason, to rescue His Bride
For sinners from every tongue
The Babe in the Manger, the Man on the Tree
Salvation by Jesus is won
The Father is faithful, His promises kept
In Jesus the Scriptures fulfilled
The Man of all Sorrows, the Prince of all Peace
For us Christ our Savior was killed
The Savior was born into poverty strong
Despised and rejected by men
In Christ’s incarnation poor sinners are saved
In Christ we are made into sons
Praise Jesus our Savior, our Shepherd, our King
Praise Him all you sinners and saints
Praise Jesus for coming, a babe born to die
Come all, lift your voices and praise
Posted in Sermon Poems
Tagged Christmas, God's Grace, Incarnation, Jesus, Salvation, The Gospel
Sermon Poetry , November 15, 2009
Sermon Title – “God and Adam in the Garden”
Sermon Text – Genesis 2:15-17
Preacher – Dr. Jim Renihan
In all of Creation was beauty to see
More lovely than can be designed
The Garden of Eden was perfectly made
Both lovely and wildly refined
The crowning achievement of all that was made
Was Adam in image of God
‘Twas beauty in Adam, in form and in heart
And lovely morality strong
Yet there in the Garden lived two comely trees
From one Adam never could eat
Consumption of one eternality gave
To eat of the other gave death
Required of Adam to perfectly live
Submission to Yahweh as Lord
With foul disobedience Adam would die
To follow or not Yahweh’s Word
With nasty rebellion, pure Adam chose death
And sin entered into the Earth
And sad separation between God and man
Brought death and much sorrow to birth
But even in sorrow a blessing proclaimed
A promise of Jesus the Lord
The Savior of many, the Ultimate Man
Who gave us salvation by works
In Adam humanity failed in the Fall
We shattered the promise of works
But now in our Adam, our Savior, our Christ
We’re saved by His grace in His works
Praise Father from whom all our blessings do flow
Praise Him all you Creatures below
Praise Him now you angels, the heavenly host
Praise Father, the Son and the Ghost
In Christ our salvation is won on the Cross
Through death do we sinners find love
In Christ we are chosen, foul worms are we all
In Christ we are made into sons!
And now in our Savior, we’ve life to obey
His righteousness covers our sins
Once sinners of darkness, now children of light
In Jesus, salvation is won
Posted in Sermon Poems
Tagged Jesus, Poetry, Preaching, Salvation, Sermons, Sin, The Fall, the Garden
Sermon Poetry, 1 November 2009
Sermon Text – Genesis 13
Preacher – Pastor Matthew Brennan
Lord give me wisdom to live for You
So that Your name is praised
Your glory loud proclaimed
Please give me strength to plant the seeds
Of Jesus’ Gospel sweet
So men Your mercy see
So sinners might be saved
Lord give me strength to live for You
I am a sinner small
I live with sinners lost
The sins around oppress my heart
Your name is never praised
Few sinners ’round are saved
Pour out Your lovely grace
Lord give me strength to rest in You
The sin about is dark
From dark and rocky hearts
Lord give me speech to speak Your Truth
Come save the sinners’ hearts
Your grace to men impart
Come raise from death to life
Lord give me strength to trust in You
To save the sinners’ hearts
Christ’s righteousness impute
I cannot save the sinners ’round
I just proclaim Your Truth
So men might worship You
Lord thank You for Your Grace
Lord give me strength to mercy show
To others never judge
To trust Your sovereign love
Please sensitize my sinful heart
To think on Holy things
To ponder Jesus’ Grace
To be like Christ my King
Sermon Poetry, 11 October 2009
Sermon Title: “Resurrected and Reconciled to Worship”
Sermon Text: Ephesians 2:19-22
Preacher: Pastor Larry Vincent
I once was dead, I’m now a saint
In Christ I’m made alive
No growth exists where death is king
In Christ does life now thrive
In Christ, the Jew and Pagan live
His Grace is large and wide
So all who do believe in him
Might live in Jesus Christ
In Christ the Gentile and the Jew
Are saved and made as one
We are the Church, the Bride of Christ
The Body of the Son
Of every tribe and race and tongue
Are men and women saved
To glorify our God above
And worship all our days
United are the Father’s Own
In Christ our hearts remade
To join the worship of the Lamb
By Him our souls are saved
Preacher – Dr. Tom Ascol
The Father is seeking and saving and loving
To save all His children He loves
He sent Christ tas Savior to bleed and to suffer
So sinners like us might be saved
He loves us with fervor, ’tis shown on the Cross
christ died so that sinners might live
He sought us as rebels and loves us as son
The Father His Grace to us gives
We’re called as the Body to go to the World
And tell of the Gospel of Christ
We’re called on a Mission, to tell of the Savior
So sinners like us might be saved
Dear Father, please help us to speak of Your Son
To family and friends all around
To witness of Jesus and of our salvation
So sinners once lost might be found
Oh Father, come finish Your plan of Salvation
Your Spirit come send to convert
So sinners believing might have Christ’s Salvation
Together we worship Your Name
Posted in Sermon Poems
Tagged Evangelism, Grace, Jesus, Love, Missions, Salvation, The Church
Sermon Poetry – “Lord, Help Me”
Sermon Title – “Preaching Christ to the Natural Man”
Preacher – Dr. Tom Ascol
We live in a time where there’s gods all about
We’re proud of our pluralist ways
The people don’t know of the God of the Word
Ignoring the Ancient of Days
Lord help me when walking in markets and ways
When working among fellow men
Lord help me to preach Jesus Christ to the lost
To sinners, the lost and the damned
Lord help me be faithful to rightly engage
The culture in which I am pleased
To study and know it and judge it by truth
Lord help and show me Your Grace
Lord help me remember the sin of my heart
The sin that enslaves these around
Lord help me to love You and love neighbors too
A sinner was lost, now I’m found
In me light a fire that burns for Your Name
Your honor and glory proclaim
In culture around me, your honor to seek
Proclaiming Your glorious fame
Lord help me to study Your Scripture of Truth
And study the culture around
Respecting the sinner and loving the lost
In Christ, make the lost sinner found
And finally, Father, Your Truth will I tell
I haven’t the strength on my own
Please make me committed, Your glory to seek
Save sinners in Jesus the Son
Posted in SBFCSW 2009, Sermon Poems
Tagged God's Grace, Gospel, Grace, Preaching, Salvation, Sin, Tom Ascol
Posted in Live Video Feeds
Tagged Baptist, Christ, Foolishness, Founders, Fred Malone, God's Grace, Preaching, Salvation, SBC, Southern Baptists, Tom Ascol
Sermon Title – “Christian Liberty #4: Christ Our Only Lord”
Sermon Text – Romans 14:1-9
Preacher – Pastor Steve Garrick
Jesus is Lord, the Savior who came
Who stooped, who bled and who died
He rules as our King, His praises we sing
The perfect and pure sacrifice
Our worship we offer unto Him
Salvation is in and is through Him
The Kingdom is for and is by Him
All worship our Savior and King
Jesus is King, He rules over all
He followed the Will of the Lord
He rules over earth, o’er stars, over us
His right and His sure reward
All peoples will bow down before Him
All nature is subject unto Him
Our lives and our glory is for Him
All worship our Savior and King
Jesus the Son submitted in death
The Father’s good will He obeyed
He bled on the Cross, entombed in the grave
In three days our Savior was raised
All things have been given unto him
The Father is satisfied with Him
This plan through the ages was for Him
All worship our Savior and King
Jesus alone is the King over all
Our liberty’s given by him
Our freedom is bought by blood and a Cross
His Law alone dictates our sins
Salvation is by and is for Him
Obedience is by and through Him
Our hearts are bought and owned for Him
All worship our Savior and King
Jesus my King, my heart is in pain
I’m sinning and breaking Your Law
I know that I’m bought, I know that I’m saved
In grief, my heart’s hurting and raw
I know Jesus, healing is in You
My savior, I worship and love You
Please give me the strength to obey You
I worship my Savior and King
Posted in Sermon Poems
Tagged Christian Liberty, God's Grace, Grace, Jesus, Salvation, The Kingdom
(set to the tune of “Do You Hear the People Sing”, from “Les’ Miserables”)
Have you heard the martyrs sing, singing the praises of the Lord
It is the music of a people who have followed Jesus’ Word
By His blood they have been bought
It is by Jesus they’ve endured
Throughout the peoples of the earth they have praised the Lord!
Have you heard the stories of
The martyrs who have bled for Christ
They have died with Jesus’ love
They witnessed by their sacrifice
Now look at them, ready to pay the penultimate price!
Do you hear the martyrs sing, singing the praises of the Lord
It is the music of a people who now follow Jesus’ Word
By His blood they have been bought
It is by Jesus they endure
Throughout the peoples of the earth they now praise the Lord!
Do you pray for those abroad
Who now today might die for Christ
They will walk that lonely road
Today they’ll give their sacrifice
Be ready to go and to die for the glory of Christ!
Will you hear the martyrs sing, singing the praises of the Lord
It is the music of a people who will follow Jesus’ Word
By His blood they have been bought
It is by Jesus they’ll endure
Throughout the peoples of the earth they will praise the Lord!
Go you Christians, go and sing, singing the praises of the Lord
Go now ye out into the earth and spread the message of the Word
By His blood you have been bought
It’s for His glory you endure
Throughout the peoples of the earth tell of Christ the Lord!
Posted in Art and Culture, My Writings, Poetry
Tagged Evangelism, Jesus, Matrydom, Missions, Obedience, Poetry, Salvation
Lord, why do babies have to die?
Why do the mothers have to cry?
Why are they killed to ease our pain
So we can live our lives our way?
Why do the young ones perish
The children that we cherish
No chance to live and learn and love?
Why is there so much bloodshed
Young lives unlived and unled?
Please answer, Father God above
Lord, why the battles and the wars
The bloodied bodies on the floors?
Why do the young men have to die?
While broken families mourn and cry
Why do we hate our brothers
And take the lives of others
So we can right the mournful wrongs?
Such promise burned and wasted
Once love, now turned to hatred
Lord, hear my sad, lamenting song
Lord, why are women raped and killed
To satisfy the sinner’s thrills?
A girl’s sweet innocence is lost
None to repay that awful cost
They’re haunted by the darkness
They feel adrift and helpless
What’s lost can never be regained
Lord, come and hold your children
To know your mercy for them
To see our Savior King who reigns
Lord, why must people starve and die?
Their famined lands are scorched and dry
They haven’t food to fill their guts
They live in shoddy shanty huts
The poor and weak and homeless
Are dying by the thousands
Their lives are full of grief and loss
They need the hope of Jesus
The one who saves the helpless
Our homeless Savior on the Cross
Lord, why do Christian’s separate?
Why all the fighting and the hate?
Why can’t your people unify
Together worship Jesus Christ?
Why are there wars and schisms?
We fight with judging prisms
Not recognizing liberty
We take the truth and skew it
And hate our brothers through it
We soon forget that we are free
Lord, why are sinners lost to Hell?
Your wrath and judgment on them fell
They die without the hope of Christ
They try to pay the sinner’s price
They need to hear of Jesus
Our Gospel Savior near us
In Christ our sins are washed away
In Christ we have redemption
His blood is our salvation
For sinner’s souls do Christians pray
Lord, why the sin within my frame?
I’ve none but me to point the blame
Your holy Will I long to do
To glorify and honor You
But still, the sin and darkness
It seems to grow and flourish
I want to do what I don’t do
Jesus, I need your mercy
To fight the sin within me
My lovely Savior kind and true
Posted in Poetry
Tagged Abortion, Christianity, Jesus, Murder, Rape, Salvation, Schism, The Church, War
Preacher – Jarrett Downs
Sermon Title – “Christian Liberty #2 – Freedom from the Law”
Sermon Text – Romans 7
It’s not freedom from the Law
In that I need not keep its word
Or trust emotions faint
Or do what’s right in my eyes
It fills my mouth with praise
To honor Christ as King
My bloodied Savior Lamb
My King and Perfect Potentate
Apart from Christ I am wed
To the Law I cannot keep
Perfection is Required
Then alas I am a whore
I need to be wed to Christ
The One who has kept the Law
Perfection He performed
In Christ, this sinner is freed and cleansed
This dirty prostitute
Is clothed in righteousness
The works of Jesus Christ
I now have freedom to obey
A means to sanctify
The Law is now to me
I’m freed from saving self
In Christ my heart is free
In Christ I can obey
To be like Jesus Christ
The Law is not my master
I’m wed to Jesus, my loving King
Outside of Christ we’re slaves
The Law’s an unforgiving master
Its requirements cannot be kept
As slaves, we are all rightly damned
But in Christ, our Righteous Lamb
We’re freed from the Law’s demands
We’re saved with Grace so free
We’re free in Christ to Live
Posted in Sermon Poems
Tagged Grace, Jesus, Love, Redemption, Salvation, Sin, The Cross, The Law
Posted in Live Video Feeds
Tagged Grace, Heritage Baptist Church, Jesus, Live Stream, Salvation, The Church, Worship
Come oh Jesus, save Your children
Please forgive us when we fall
We are saved by grace abundant
By Your love, our All-in-All
Help us to now learn repentance
Help us know the depths of grace!
When we fail Lord, keep us focused
On the beauty of Your Face
Come oh Jesus, save Your children
There’s a battle we must win
There are enemies surrounding
Ones who love to see us sin
Our foul culture hates Your children
Satan hates Your chosen ones!
And we have our sins to battle
Help us see by blood You’ve won
Come oh Jesus, save Your children
Free us from this shortest life
We dwell here with sin and sorrow
We dwell here with pain and strife
Oh my Savior, we look upward
To the hope of heav’n with Thee!
Come down with the sound of trumpets
Come and take us, make us free