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Sunday, August 26, 2012

How great Thou art...

I don't know if there is a way to share with you the way I felt in the worship part of our service today. Our family goes to the contemporary service at our church and I love it! It is so very different from the way I grew up, but I love this music and the way it speaks to me. Please don't misunderstand - I love hymns as well. I grew up on them, singing them and playing them at our church on the piano or organ. And every once in a while, our worship leader takes a hymn and puts together an arrangement with it that makes me think back to my childhood days in a small baptist church back home.

This morning was one of those mornings. We had such a great worship service going and then our worship leader started strumming the opening chords of "How Great Thou Art", which is probably one my favorite hymns for many different reasons. Without a doubt this was one of my grandmother's favorite songs! I always think of her when I hear it. We also had a small praise band (before the term praise band was ever formed) and playing this song with them always gave me chills. We played this song gathered around a flagpole at our high school over 20 years ago when "See Ya at the Pole" rallies were just getting started. I remember I wore out that page in my hymnal and I would sit in wonder as our church pianist would play it for her offertory.

But this morning, as I sang those words for probably the thousandth time in my life, I just thought to myself how very true the lyrics of this song have become in my life. The third stanza is my favorite and here is what is says:

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.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great thou art!

He gladly bore my sin and my shame and let me tell you all that was some kind of burden! I stumble and I fall and I am so undeserving of His mercy and grace. But this morning I was reminded of how thankful I am for His love that stretches out to me through nail scarred hands.






I hope today you can sing this powerful old hymn and that the words will penetrate your heart so that you too can say to God, "how great Thou art!"

5 comments:

  1. Thnx sister, that and the old rugged cross are the best!

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  2. Great blog today - so thankful for daughters that serve the Loed!

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  3. love our contemporary worship service! i do miss the old hymns somedays, but the contemporary music does speak to my heart! today, our praise team played big daddy weave's new song "redeemed." i have to sing that one out extra loud...thank God, redeemed.

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  4. That's my new favorite song too, Kasey! Love it when it comes on the radio! Those hymns are such a great way to worship the Lord some days too

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  5. well you made me cry on that one. that is one of the first songs i learned to play when i took lessons from Lenita Chapman and i still have the sheet music with all the runs she wrote on it. i am so thankful for you and your family and so proud that all 3 of you girls are wonderful mothers, daughters, wives, sisters and nieces! love, aunt pam

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