“For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.” (Psalm 96:5-6)

Idols are those made-up things that get in the way of the truth that You alone are above all things. Lead me, O Lord, in the goodness of Your presence that I would now and always live according to Your Word and Your way. All splendor and majesty are Yours, O Lord, for everything You created reflects the truth of Your presence, purpose and will. Help me now and always to walk according to Your ways that I would live in the truth.

True God who is above all things, You have made Yourself known to the ages through Your Word and the Word made flesh. Lift me above the cacophony of noise that is in this age that I may see more clearly the truth that You alone are God. Keep me from the idols of this age to worship and praise You alone and above all things. You are God and greatly to be praised.

Lord Jesus, You have taught us to worship the LORD with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Lead me in the way I should go in this age that I would live in the truth of creation with all of my being. Help me now and always to see in You the truth of reality and the eternal way of things. Guide me, O Lord, by Your grace to live this day and everyday in the truth of Your salvation. Amen.

A few years ago, I was transfixed and moved by the story of the 20 Christian martyrs who were beheaded by Islamic terrorists in Libya by the shore of the sea. Their crime: Refusing to curse Christ. There were some powerful things I learned about these brave men.

First: they were, as Christians, only allowed to work in certain jobs, mostly menial. But one of the men captured, imprisoned, and killed wasn’t Christian. He was a Muslim from a neighboring country. Not speaking the language well, he, too, was forced to take menial work.

When the captors learned this, they begged their “brother” to reassert his faith in Allah and Mohammed. He refused. While in prison, he was amazed by the faith and the compassion of his cellmates. There with freedom being offered on a platter, he shook his head, pointed to the others, and said, “Their God.”

Finally, some folks wondered why there was only video, no audio, of the actual beheading. The sound was turned off deliberately – for one thing, that brave Muslim had just confessed faith in Jesus. And only skilled lip-readers in their language could make out what the martyrs were saying in their last seconds of life. They were not cursing God – or their captors. They were not begging for mercy. Their words were, “O Jesus! Lord!” Their executioners thought that confession of faith could be silenced by flicking a button. It could not!

The Holy Spirit inspired me to write a poem-hymn in their honor. Only after I’d finished it did I wonder if it fit any halfway familiar, suitable hymn tune! Actually, there are TWO. The first is less familiar but very powerful. It would be perfect for a choir to sing as an anthem. The tune is “Das Neugeborne Kindelein,” and its most familiar use is in the beautiful Communion hymn, “Victim Divine, Your Grace We Claim.” The other is Melita, AKA the Navy Hymn, most familiar to most Lutherans in the hymns “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” and “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less.”

I think the Holy Spirit knew those melodies, associated with such noble hymns already, would be perfect for this new  hymn.

Download “O Jesus, Lord” (Tune: Das Neugeborne Kindlein) here.

Download “O Jesus, Lord” (Tune: Melita) here.

You’ll see that I have “recycled” the words from the Advent Nunc Dimittis by setting them to a different tune: Von Himmel Hoch, or “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.” What would a Lutheran choral setting of the liturgy be without a tune by Martin Luther, after all?! And I try to stay pretty faithful to the classic texts for these principal parts of the service, so I don’t get real “creative!” But since many hymns share the same “meter” (the number of beats, or syllables, per line), it means that one set of words can be used to different hymns, depending on the season of the church year and the familiarity of a given tune. Now you know my secret.

Download it here. 

The “OLD Red Hymnal,” AKA SBH, AKA Service Book and Hymnal, was where I first encountered the lovely Christmas carol, “Love Came Down at Christmas.” The tune is a gentle Irish lullaby. The words were from a poem of, I believe, Christina Rosetti, a renowned 19th century poet. Go look it up if you’re not familiar with it. Anyhow, with this paraphrase of the Agnus Dei, I had a wonderful excuse to highlight a lovely tune.

Download it here.

I think this was the first hymn paraphrase of the liturgy that I ever did, and it was for a Christmas Eve service at the church where I was the associate pastor. I’ve always loved the tune “Divinum Mysterium,” better known as the hymn, “Of the Father’s Love Begotten.” Simple, meditative, and lovely, it seemed the perfect melody for my paraphrase of the Sanctus. The only catch: trying to score it was more difficult than anticipated, so I just kept the melody line!

Download it here. 

I had fun with this. You can use this as the Prayers of the Church, or as an extended Kyrie, especially on the Sunday after Christmas (when many congregations have a services of lessons and carols anyway). It’s set to the tune, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” (a sadly overlooked carol in politically correct times!).  The petitions are sung by the cantor, assisting minister, or someone else who can enunciate and get the words out briskly. The refrain is done by the whole assembly. It’s written so that almost every syllable has its very own note, until the refrain, so that even though the words certainly march along, the cantor doesn’t have to think hard about what syllable goes with what note!

Download it here.

The Gloria in Excelsis is the quintessential Christmas carol, being sung over shepherds and flocks near Bethlehem the night of Jesus’ birth. This paraphrase of the Gloria (pretty much the exact same version as for Advent) now uses, appropriately, the tune “Carol,” usually known as “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.” Enjoy!

Download it here.

JESUS WELCOMED LITTLE CHILDREN
Devotional for October 7, 2018 based upon Mark 10: 13-16

The Gospel writer Mark tells us, “People were bringing little children to (Jesus) in order that He might touch them” (10: 13), but the disciples spoke sternly to them. In contrast to the attitude of the disciples, Jesus welcomed little children. I can think of at least three reasons why.

First, JESUS WELCOMED LITTLE CHILDREN IN ORDER TO SHOW THEIR GREAT WORTH. The disciples were trying to keep people from bringing their children to Jesus. They may have resented this imposition upon the Master’s time and energy. They may have made the tragic mistake of believing that the needs of children are not very important. Which is amazing when you remember that just a few days before Jesus had told them how important it is to welcome children. In the previous chapter – in response to their arguing over who was the greatest – Jesus had taken a little child and said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me.” (9: 37) The way we treat children is the way we treat God.

But here the disciples were acting as if they neither heard nor remembered anything of what Jesus had said. Mark tells us that when Jesus saw the disciples’ attempts to keep children away, He was indignant. It displeases Jesus very much whenever we stand in the way of children coming to Jesus, for children are very important to Jesus. And so I believe that this story is telling us that whether or not we are parents or grandparents or great grandparents, and whether or not our own children or grandchildren or great grandchildren attend the church that we attend, all of us need to be investing time and energy in making sure that our church has ministry for children. We need to be a part of letting children know that we love them and how much God loves them.

Second, JESUS WELCOMED LITTLE CHILDREN IN ORDER TO BLESS THEM. It was very common in Jesus’ day for parents to bring their children to a godly rabbi and ask him to bless them. With the teaching and miracle ministry of Jesus, it was no doubt an exciting prospect for parents to have their children blessed by the Master.

Christian counselors agree on the importance of receiving your parents’ blessing. Christian author and psychologist Gary Smalley speaks of two kinds of people – blessed people and unblessed people. He tells of the good things that happen to people who have received their parents’ blessing and the bad things that happen to people who have not. No wonder Esau became so upset when he realized that his brother Jacob had tricked their father Isaac into giving him the blessing.

Third, JESUS WELCOMED LITTLE CHILDREN IN ORDER TO TEACH ABOUT SALVATION. A Christian organization that works with children estimates that 85% of Christians come to faith in Jesus before the age of 21. This is a staggering statistic. And many of those who come to faith in Jesus later in life do so as a result of seeds that were sown during their childhood. What childlike – not childish but childlike – characteristics did Jesus have in mind when He said, “Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it”? (10: 15) I can think of three.

First, HUMILITY. I believe that it is no coincidence that Luke records this incident of Jesus and the children right after the story of the Pharisee and the sinner. The Pharisee was self-righteous, so therefore not at all righteous in the sight of God. The sinner humbly confessed his condition to God, so Jesus said that he was forgiven.

Second, children possess a simplicity of FAITH. They have a wonderful ability to trust and then to act on that trust. But those of us who are older have been lied to and manipulated and taken advantage of and taken for granted so many times that we have developed a tendency to doubt and be cynical and skeptical.

Third, children are WILLING TO RECEIVE A GIFT without suspecting that there may be strings attached. In contrast, adults do not want to be beholden to anyone. Adults do not believe that there really is such a thing as a free lunch – there really is such a thing as a “something for nothing” gift.

Parents were bringing little children to Jesus in order that He might touch them. This morning Jesus wants you to come to Him in order that He might be able to touch your life. Will you come to Him in humility and with a simple, child-like faith? Will you come and receive His love, forgiveness, and grace?

Dennis D. Nelson
Director of Lutheran CORE

“Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.” (Psalm 96:3-4)

How does one come to realize that in comparison to the Lord everything else pales? Why does the world carry on as if the Maker of all things is just a side note? Come into the truth of reality and praise the One who made all things. It is He alone who holds all power and authority. He is the One who is the center of all things. Come to Him and praise Him for His might and glory.

Lord, You are the greatest in all creation, for creation is Yours and You made it. Guide me, O Lord, in the way I should go that I would now and always walk according to Your never-failing love and purpose. Lead me in the right way to live that I would fear, love and trust You above all things. You are God. Teach me to praise You in all circumstances and for all things.

Holy Spirit, lift my heart to see the truth of the reality of creation and Your center in it. Lead me away from the distraction of this age which focuses upon things rather than the Creator of all things. Teach me to be a person who is filled with praise and thanksgiving for all of the goodness that comes in knowing the truth. Lead me through the difficulties of this life knowing that You are with me always. Amen.

Editor’s note: The article below by Pastor Brett Jenkins originally appeared in the July 2018 newsletter.

Click here to read this very short and helpful article.