What do we sing when evil seems to be rampant and ongoing? This past Sunday Christians across the world observed a Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Over 200 million Christians daily face oppression, discrimination, torture, or worse, simply because they own the name of Jesus. In addition to taking time to pray for persecuted Christians, oppressive rulers, and the rest of the church, we expressed our prayers using Stuart Townend’s song, “How Long.” Those words echo the Psalmist’s struggle with God’s seeming unresponsiveness to the present prosperity and triumph of the wicked. How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile …
Archive | —Choosing Songs
Songs for the Hard Times, Pt. 1
I recently heard someone comment that modern worship songs only cover about 3% of the topics found in Scripture. I don’t think that’s entirely accurate, but we surely lack contemporary songs that help the church respond appropriately to disasters and tragedies such as 9/11, the tsunami, or the recent hurricanes. Fortunately, that’s changing. Over the next few days I’m going to highlight some of the songs we’ve used in my home church to give voice to the confusion, sorrow, and hope we experience during these times. I first heard the hymn God Moves in a Mysterious Way (William Cowper 1731-1800) at a conference sponsored by John Piper’s church, …