Comfort, Comfort All My People

On Sunday our Epiphany Ensemble and our Sunday School children and Teens sang a Koine version of “Comfort, Comfort, All My People." Here is Koine's version

 "Comfort, comfort all my people; Speak of peace," so says our God.
"Comfort those who sit in darkness, Groaning from their sorrows' load.
Speak to all Jerusalem Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell them that their sins I cover, That their warfare now is over."

 All their sins our God will pardon, Blotting out each dark misdeed;
All that well deserve his anger He no more will see or heed.
They have suffered many a day; Now their griefs have passed away.
God will change their aching sadness Into ever-springing gladness.

 John the Baptist's voice is crying In the desert far and near,
Calling people to repentance For the kingdom now is here.
Oh, that warning cry obey! Now prepare for God a way;
Let the valleys rise to meet him And the hills bow down to greet him.

 Straighten out the crooked highway; Make the rougher places plain.
Let your hearts be true and humble, Ready for his holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord Now o'er earth is spread abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token That his word is never broken.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Max Lucado - False Doctrine

I love the way author Max Lucado writes. He is a great storyteller and a fantastic wordsmith. I have a number of Lucado's books on my shelves and receive his daily paragraph devotions. However, as popular as he is, as many books as he has sold, as many lives as he has touched with the Gospel, he still proclaims false doctrine. I still remember being told at the Seminary that you can generally tell a pastor's theology based on the kind of books he has on his shelves. Though our WELS pastors may have a few books by Lucado, Covey or even some fiction by Peretti, they had better have the majority of their books be sound, Lutheran, biblical doctrine. Martin Luther, The People's Bible commentaries, The Book of Concord, People's Bible Teachings, C.F.W. Walther, Francis Pieper, Werner Franzmann, etc. I mention this because of the devotion I received via email from Max Lucado on Friday, June 12 entitled "Saved by Faith." In the devotion he calls communion and bapti...
Read more

Jesus has prepared a place for you - A funeral sermon for Jim Hermann

Image
John 14:1-4 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  2  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  4  You know the way to the place where I am going.” “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Did you catch the difference between what I read just now and what I read in the Gospel lesson? The Gospel lesson was from the NIV. The second verse I read was from the King James Version. If you’re older than 50, that’s the version of the Bible that you heard in church and learned in catechism class. But, even if you’re older younger than 50, you know about the mansions. “The mansions of heaven” is a term Christians use pretty...
Read more

Water into blood and water into wine

Image
Here are some thoughts that didn’t make it into Sunday’s sermon. The Old Testament lesson for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany is the account of Moses turning the water of the Nile River into blood. The first of the ten plagues God used to get the Israelites out of Egypt. Exodus 7:14-24 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened. 17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not ...
Read more