On 29th April, eight convicted drug traffickers, including the two ring-leaders of the so-called ‘Bali Nine’, were executed by firing squad.
All except one of the eight had turned to Christ during their years in incarceration. Their lives had been transformed, and they had been transforming other peoples’ lives, writes Joy Tibbs.
Charles Wesley’s famous hymn ‘And can it be?‘ is still sung from time to time today, even though many of the other hymns that were still popular when I was a Methodist teenager have fallen into neglect. It is a shame, although I think that the vigorous tune Sagina prompts us to sing it more lustily than the awe-struck words suggest. At any rate, we would reflect the words better if we didn’t crank the volume up until we reached the bit about ‘my chains fell off’.…
I’m afraid this is going to be an insufferably sniffy and snobbish post.
A list has recently been compiled of the most played classical music over the past 75 years.
The top ten is
The list was compiled for BBC Radio 2 based on music played on TV, radio, online streaming and public places such as shops.…
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
This hymn, by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92), often features in the top two or three in polls of favourite hymns, both in the UK and in the US.
Hearing the hymn sung again recently with the usual lusty enthusiasm caused me to reflect on how singularly usuitable it is to be sung as a hymn at all.…
Holy Trinity, Norwich, was the venue last night for a concert from Stuart Townend and band. Our church was packed, with tickets having sold out well in advance.
Stuart is, of course, one of the most celebrated contemporary Christian song-writers and worship leaders.
Special guest Mark Edwards on keyboard was supported by Mike Haughton on saxes and other wind instruments, Julian Ferraretto on violin, a superb bassist (and trumpeter!) whose name escapes me for the moment, and 18-year-old Joseph Townend doing sterling work on drums.…
In addition to our plentiful resources of contemporary hymns and worship songs, we have a rich and varied heritage of traditional hymnody to draw on for our public worship.
The principle of modernising the language of older hymns is a sound one. Such modernisation has the potential not only to improve comprehensibility but also to reflect important changes in language usage (including inclusive language, where this is compatible with our understanding of scriptural theology). Modern language can also help to convey the important sense that God belongs to today as well as to yesterday.…
I like a couple of illustrations that Philip Yancey uses to explore what God might think of the church, with all its imperfections:-
