This was my tribute to the 10 years of ministry of New Song Church. 10 years ago, I was searching and praying for a church home. I received a phone call to come and play the piano for a Lutheran Church that didn’t even have a building. I was told that I would just be needed for 2 weeks. Well, I am still there 10 years later and I am so grateful that God has answered my prayers. I have been able to grow in my faith and relationship with Christ because of this congregation and my pastors. They have guided and nurtured me as a child of God and I will forever be thankful and humbled to worship Him alongside this congregation. Thanks be to God!
I’ve always loved this classic praise song as it truly helps me to just be in His presence. “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” – Psalm 24: 4
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thank You for being all that You are. Thank You for bringing back hope and joy. Thank You for showing us just how much we are loved by Almighty God. We ask for patience and guidance throughout this life. Take away the doubt and fear that the world throws at us and let our faith in You be the firm foundation that our life is built upon. Help us to let go of grudges or any ill will against our brothers and sisters knowing that we are all sinners and saints. Let us give the same compassion, kindness, forgiveness and love that is given to us from the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. To You alone we live and give all that we have knowing that because Christ lives we can live, confident and free, knowing that this world is not our home.
Lord God, thank You for allowing us to come into Your presence and experience Your grace, mercy and love. You are in the business of changing the world and changing lives. We ask that You would change whatever needs to be changed in our hearts and minds so that we can be the people that You made us to be: People of compassion, forgiveness and hope. And even though we may wander, just help us to listen and hear Your constant voice that will always lead us back to You. Bring back joy into this life. Bring back hope. And bring back the love that we should have for each other. Clear away any of the nonsense that would distract us from accessing our faith so that we can live this life confidently knowing that this world is not our home because we have been promised a life after this in eternity with the Heavenly Father through the sacrifice of His only Son and by the power of His Holy Spirit we have all been saved forever.
This song is truly an anthem for my faith and it touches my heart each time I hear it. My sister from another mother, Mrs. Jennifer Fancher, didn’t just sing this song…she shared her whole soul, heart and faith in Christ. I will forever be grateful that we were able to share this moment with the King. Blessings!!!
What a blast it was to be part of this amazing and Spirit filled celebration of the birth of the Savior. I will treasure our tenth anniversary concert for the rest of my life. Praise be to God and Hallelujah!!!
This is one of my favorite songs from our first Christmas Concert 10 years ago. It is based on the Magnificat which is one of the most ancient Christian hymns from the Gospel of Luke where Mary sings that her soul “magnifies the Lord.”
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Northridge, California.
Lord Jesus, thank You for the miracle of life and the blessing of this moment where we can come together in Your presence. We search for peace where there is no peace in things that are only of this world. But You are not of this world. You are everything. You are Hope and You are truth. So step into our lives so that we can go beyond the typical and be transformed from the ordinary into the extraordinary possibilities of God. The problem is we believe too much with our eyes and not enough with our faith. Help us this season to look past the Santa’s and the gifts. Show us how to give what You have given to us: never ending unconditional love, mercy and grace. Help us to see You. Help us to experience You as never before. So that the words of the Gospel will be true for us: that we are all made new in Christ because the former self and all of our past mistakes and successes are shed away by the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thank You for being the truth, the light and the way. So here is Your church, Your body here on earth. We pray that You would unify us with the power of Your Holy Spirit by coming into a world that hungers for hope. Come into our lives, which so desperately needs Your presence. We need You. We need You ever hour and every moment to shine the light of eternal truth into the darkness of this world and our hearts. As the years fly past us, You remain the only constant in our lives so let us be open to hearing Your word. Let us be open to learning from Your truth by helping us to step into the story that changed the world. The story that reveals the never ending truth of the gospel that God so loved all of us that He came near to us, as one of us, to let all people know that there is hope, there is mercy and that there is love through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Emmanuel, God with us. You fulfilled the promise of the Eternal One, that God will not forsake us, and even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will not fear because God is always with us.
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