Jesus At Your Name

Yes, Lent has started. When I sat and watched you all coming down to the front to get ashes, my heart was filled with indescribable warmth and excitement. I can’t describe it well enough, but I could feel deep joy and expectation from the Lord. Even though Lent is the most solemn and reflective time, I am very excited for the journey that takes us deeper to taste and see how the Lord is good.

This year’s Lenten series is on the Lord’s Prayer. I have prayed and chosen music to be prayerful along with the series. You will hear, “The Lord’s Prayer” in various forms and languages during Lent in our worship services.  For this first Sunday of Lent, our men’s quartet group, “Call to Harmony” will lift up “The Lord’s Prayer” as an offertory at the 11:00 AM service, and the Sanctuary Choir will lift up, “Jesus, at Your Name” as an anthem at 11:00 AM. Through Jesus’ name we restore our relationship with Abba, our Heavenly Father, and the anthem proclaims the promise given by Jesus.

At the 8:00 AM service, I will share a song as an offertory based on Micah 6:6-8:  “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

In addition, before I share the lyrics for this week’s  anthem, I would like to remind you all that the Lenten Cantata Choir’s Sunday rehearsal starts this Sunday right after the 11:00 AM service in the music room on the second floor. If you haven’t been able to join our Wednesday night rehearsal, this is a great chance to join. Please come without hesitation!

Here are the lyrics to this week’s anthem. I pray that we all experience of power of Jesus’ name, especially this Lent.

Jesus, at Your Name

1.       Over all the heaven’s bliss Jesus chose birth like this, laid aside a royal crown, the Son of mercy traveled down. No feather bed on which to lie, instead this Christ born to die.

Refrain: Jesus at Your name every knee will bow, Jesus at Your name every tongue confess, Jesus at Your name every voice proclaim that You are Lord of all! O Jesus, at Your name.

2.       Pilate set Barabbas free, but You, they hung for all to see. A cross, a spear, a thorny crown became Your emblems of renown. Faithful to Your final breath, obedient even unto death.

Let this mind be now in you that though Christ owned the earth, He laid aside His very life to embrace this humble birth!

All hail the power of Jesus’ name!