Category: Music and Film

A Christian Home

My grandmother, Barbara Bennett Hart, wrote this hymn.

O give us homes built firm upon the Savior,
Where Christ is Head and Counselor and Guide;
Where every child is taught His love and favor
And gives his heart to Christ, the crucified:
How sweet to know that tho his footsteps waver
His faithful Lord is walking by his side!

O give us homes with godly fathers, mothers,
Who always place their hope and trust in Him;
Whose tender patience turmoil never bothers,
Whose calm and courage trouble cannot dim;
A home where each finds joy in serving others,
And love still shines, tho days be dark and grim.

O give us homes where Christ is Lord and Master,
The Bible read, the precious hymns still sung;
Where prayer comes first in peace or in disaster,
And praise is natural speech to every tongue;
Where mountains move before a faith that’s vaster,
And Christ sufficient is for old and young.

O Lord, our God, our homes are Thine forever!
We trust to Thee their problems, toil, and care;
Their bonds of love no enemy can sever
If Thou art always Lord and Master there:
Be Thou the center of our least endeavor-
Be Thou our Guest, our hearts and homes to share.

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, dear Lord, close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Unknown author

Love’s Redeeming Work Is Done

Love’s redeeming work is done,
Fought the fight, the battle won.
Death in vain forbids Him rise;
Christ has opened paradise

Alleluia, Alleluia!
Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King;
Where, O death, is now thy sting?
Once He died our souls to save,
Where thy victory, O grave?

Soar we now where Christ has led,
Following our exalted Head;
Made like Him, like Him we rise,
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies.

Charles Wesley, 1739
Listen here.

Lead Me To Calvary

King of my life, I crown Thee now,
Thine shall the glory be;
Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow,
Lead me to Calvary.

Refrain:
Lest I forget Gethsemane,
Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.

Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid,
Tenderly mourned and wept;
Angels in robes of light arrayed
Guarded Thee whilst Thou slept.

Let me like Mary, through the gloom,
Come with a gift to Thee;
Show to me now the empty tomb,
Lead me to Calvary.

May I be willing, Lord, to bear
Daily my cross for Thee;
Even Thy cup of grief to share,
Thou hast borne all for me.

Jennie Hussey, 1921

Listen here.

Behold The Man Upon A Cross: Songs For Holy Week


These songs have been leading me into the wonderful mystery and tragedy of holy week:

  1. In Christ Alone by Bethany Dillon and Matt Hammitt
  2. O Love That Will Not Let Me Go by Chris Rice
  3. How Deep The Father’s Love For Us by Buddy Greene
  4. Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus / Nearer My God To Thee by Elvis Presley
  5. Nothing But the Blood / Jesus Paid It All by Mosaic
  6. The Wonderful Cross by Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman
  7. O Sacred Head, Now Wounded by Greg Wilson
  8. Dust We Are and Shall Return by The Brilliance

Listen here.

Authentic Love, Kierkegaard, and U2

A brief but insightful article on Kierkegaard’s and U2′s common understanding of love:

What does it mean to “never take a chance of losing love to find romance”? Bono is recognizing that the authentic love present within a strong marriage relationship cannot be had in a mere romantic affair.  Such thinking may be foreign to the person whose highest goal in life is personal pleasure. Why commit to one person, when a variety of self-gratifying pleasurable experiences can be had with many different people?  Those who have truly integrated erotic love and divine love understand that committed married love is valuable for human existence in ways that the person who merely seeks personal pleasure cannot experience or understand.  But this kind of love is deeply satisfying and fulfilling, and offers pleasure as well. So we shouldn’t trade authentic love for an inferior counterfeit; we shouldn’t risk losing love to find romance.

And incidentally, this concept is also reflected in Tim Keller’s new book, The Meaning of Marriage.

‘Til All That Remains Is the Arms of the Angel

I ask myself, Why do I love post-apocalyptic, dystopian literature and film? Isn’t it depressing or even revolting, or at least grim? The answer is that I find most other types of stories distracted–by overemotionalism, by luxury, by self-serving consumerism. I dislike movies in which the main character winds up “getting the girl” and living in an uncomplicated American Dream materialist Utopia. Why do I dislike those stories? Because they’re a myth. They are a “chasing after the wind.”

I appreciate that 90s worship song that begins, “when the music fades… and all is stripped away…” Like the intention of that song, there is a bareness to dystopian tales. There is an honesty about the (stark) human condition. When we remove all of the stuff we’ve piled up around us–those luxuries we can’t afford–it’s just us, and God. In most post-apocalyptic stories, there’s just us, and God, and zombies. But in the best ones, it’s just creatures and Creator.

This is why I love the post-apocalyptic story on the latest album from The Decemberists. It’s called Calamity Song, and it opens with these lyrics:

Had a dream
You and me and the war of the end times
And I believe California succumbed to the fault line
We heaved relief as scores of innocents died

And the Andalusian tribes
Setting the lay of Nebraska alight
‘Til all the remains is the arms of the angel

It’s a grim scene, for sure. California is falling into the sea and scores of people are dying. So why is the singer heaving relief? Because, finally, there is a realization of desperate need, and all that remains is the arms of the angel. For some of us, it might take such loss for us to really understand our need for a Savior. Until then, we distract ourselves with gadgets, aspirations, alcohol, whatever. But the reality–whether or not our physical world is sinking into the sea–is that without those open arms of our Creator, we drown.

“Come to me…” –Jesus