4 Worship Fridays: WQOTW

4 Worship Friday

I'd like to share a website with you - Worship Quote of the Week.  I usually learn something new, am moved by something inspiring, or see something in a new light.  Below is from his post last week:


You may remember that John Newton was a slave trader whom the Lord graciously rescued and converted to a life of faith in Christ and service to the His kingdom. Newton's most famous hymn, "Amazing Grace," was a originally titled "Faith's Review and Expectation" and was written to accompany his study of 1 Chronicles 17:16-17. Today's WORSHIP QUOTE, "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds," is another great hymn text by this same eighteenth-century pastor-poet. He links the poem to a Scripture fragment from the Song of Solomon 1:3 ("Your name is like perfume poured out"). Try reading this out loud.


HOW SWEET THE NAME OF JESUS SOUNDS
How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
’Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary, rest.

Dear Name, the Rock on which I build,
My Shield and Hiding Place,
My never failing treasury, filled
With boundless stores of grace!

By Thee my prayers acceptance gain,
Although with sin defiled;
Satan accuses me in vain,
And I am owned a child.

Jesus! my Shepherd, Husband, Friend,
O Prophet, Priest and King,
My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
Accept the praise I bring.

Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.

Till then I would Thy love proclaim
With every fleeting breath,
And may the music of Thy Name
Refresh my soul in death!

— John Newton (1725-1807), from OLNEY HYMNS (London, 1779). Lots of good things here: www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/n/e/w/newton_j.htm. And here: www.ccel.org/ccel/newton/?show=biography. In addition to the setting that is used in many hymnals, we often use this version by Indelible Grace: www.igracemusic.com/ig2/ (click on #5, free lead sheet at www.igracemusic.com/hymnbook/lead/howsweetthename.pdf)



It makes the wounded spirit whole,
Have you been wounded by someone?  How sweet the name of Jesus to heal you & make you whole.

 And calms the troubled breast;
What troubles weigh you down? How sweet the name of Jesus to calm & comfort


’Tis manna to the hungry soul,
What does your soul search for to satisfy its hunger, only to hunger more?  How sweet the name of Jesus to feed you til you're stuffed


And to the weary, rest.
Have you worn yourself out trying to do things YOUR way?  How sweet the name of Jesus to give you rest when you give yourself over to Him


For more posts in this series click here.

Travis Cottrell book on worship

You can preorder a book by my favorite worship leader to be released on October 8, 2010. 

Click on the pic to get yours!

Having Fun and Ruminatin'

I have been having fun playing around with design on here - creating buttons, grabbing buttons, making headers, etc. etc.  But I realized I haven't gotten anything with any 'meat' on here for you to chew on in awhile. 

That reminds me of this horrible steak I once had.  I only had a fairly 'small' piece of it.  But once I got it in my mouth it felt GINORMOUS and boy, was it tough.  And by tough, I mean like chewing on a piece of leather kind of tough! 

I chewed and chewed and chewed and CHEWED on that piece of meat until I felt like my jaw was going to lock shut!  Do you know what ruminate means?  It's what cows do when they're chewing their cuds. 

It's what I was doing to that piece of tough meat. 

It's also what we're supposed to do with God's word. 

We're supposed to ruminate on God's words and turn them over and over in our heads.  You know, like how you do when you're obsessed with a problem you have with someone, replaying conversations with them over and over in your head.  Or when you can't stop thinking about a trial someone is facing.  Or maybe when YOU'RE in the trial and it's all you can see, covering over you like a heavy wool blanket, making it hard to breath. 

Meditating on God's word is not an emptying of the mind like Eastern Meditation is, but is instead a filling of the mind with the things God wants us to remember when the going gets tough.  Focusing on things like His character, His promises, and His works helps us take the focus off ourselves and our own temporary struggles.

So why not grab a piece of 'meat' in God's Word and chew on it today!



What do you find troublesome about meditating on God's Word? 
What takes up most of your thoughts during the day and how can you take steps to meditate more on God?