Monday, July 08, 2002 AD Blessed Be... Jenn mentioned that Mark had started a sermon series on Ephesians and had preached on 1:3-12 yesterday. Though I love that passage now, it used to give me hives. A little over two years ago, a dear friend -- also, coincidentally, named Mark -- had just begun a sermon series on Ephesians and I was rather dreading this passage. I'd been struggling with this whole Calvinism thing for about 4½ years and just didn't relish another sermon on predestination. But somehow, before it arrived, I finally "got it." Something in a different context finally jolted me into swallowing the TULIP bulb. So when Mark got to those verses, instead of the anticipated torment, there was great sweetness in the hearing of those sermons. And practically my first act as a Reformed Christian was to write this song:
To the Praise of the Glory of His Grace
April 2000
(Wish I could post the tune!)
Blessed be the Father, who has blessed us
In Christ with every blessing from above;
Who chose us to be holy and be blameless;
Whose pleasure was adopting us in love;
Who planned before the world began
By His good will that we should stand
Before Him face to face
To the praise of the glory of His grace.
Blessed be the Son, who has redeemed us;
Whose blood, for our forgiveness has been spilled;
Who lavished grace, so rich and free, upon us;
Who showed to us the mystery of His will;
Whose kind intent made wisdom known;
Who’s made us heirs of all He owns;
In whom our hope is placed
To the praise of the glory of His grace.
Blessed be the Spirit who sustains us;
The promised One in whom we have been sealed;
Who tuned our hearts to hear salvation’s message;
By whom the Gospel’s truth has been revealed;
Whom God gave as a guarantee
That whom He owns, He will redeem;
Who stirs our hearts to faith
To the praise of the glory of His grace.
Blessed be the Father who has blessed us,
Blessed be the Son who shed His blood,
Blessed be the Spirit who sustains us,
Blessed be the Lord our God. Posted by Valerie (Kyriosity) at 7/08/2002 10:35:00 PM
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