05/08/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

More great GRACE songs

Here are two GRACE-filled songs, both with a lively tempo, for you to try with your church family. The first is “Grace has now Appeared” from a recent Christmas album, ADVENT by EMU Music. I think this would be very suitable to sing all year, since we celebrate the grace that comes to us in Christ every day. It is a joyful song, full of gospel riches. The second is an older song with a simple chorus, made popular by Chris Tomlin, “Your Grace is Enough” (album: ‘Arriving’). (Click on any of the titles to listen.)

Grace has now appeared

See the love of God the Father for our lost and desperate race
Sending to our world a Saviour, full of truth and grace
People who once walked in darkness now are dwelling in the light
Undeserving of His kindness, Blindness turned to sight
Dead have come to life

Glory to our God in heaven, Celebrate the Saviour’s birth
Joyful news for all the people, Hope has come to earth
God has comforted His people, Come to drive away our fear
Born for us in David’s city, Grace has now appeared

See the grace of our Lord Jesus who was rich but became poor
In our place He pays our ransom, Satisfies the law
Giving up His life for sinners, Banishing our guilt and shame
Pouring out for us His life-blood, Freeing us from blame
This is why He came

See the Holy Spirit’s power overshadow Mary’s womb
Come upon the suffering servant, Raise Him from the tomb
He has come to dwell within us, Bringing us from death to life
Giving us the hope of glory, Making us like Christ
Shining forth His light

Your Grace is enough

Great is Your faithfulness O God, You wrestle with the sinner’s restless heart
You lead us by still waters into mercy, And nothing can keep us apart
(PRE-CHORUS)
So remember Your people, Remember Your children, Remember Your promise O God
Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough for me

Great is Your love and justice God of Jacob, You use the weak to lead the strong
You lead us in the song of Your salvation, And all Your people sing along
(Chorus 2)
Yeah Your grace is enough, Heaven reaches out to us
Your grace is enough for me
God I sing Your grace is enough, I’m covered in Your love
Your grace is enough for me for me

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My Hope in God’s grace

29/07/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

The unexpected timing of God’s grace

From Tim Keller:

God’s sense of timing will confound ours, no matter what culture we’re from. His grace rarely operates according to our schedule. When Jesus looks at Jairus and says, “Trust me, be patient,” in effect he is looking over Jairus’ head at all of us and saying, “Remember how when I calmed the storm I showed you that my grace and love are compatible with going through storms, though you may not think so? Well, now I’m telling you that my grace and love are compatible with what seem to you unconscionable delays.”
It’s not “I will not be hurried even though I love you”; it’s “I will not be hurried because I love you. I know what I’m doing. And if you try to impose your understanding of schedule and timing on me, you will struggle to feel loved by me.”

(Kings Cross, pg. 63)

19/07/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Bags and Bags and Bags of Grace

Sharing today an encouraging post from The Blazing Center, which describes the overflowing mercy God shows us. . .

“Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” Psalm 31:19

A local coffee roaster has bags and bags and bags of coffee beans stacked up in his warehouse, waiting to be roasted. God has bags and bags of grace and mercy stored up in his heavenly warehouses for his children (John Bunyan). Not just a little bit of goodness – abundant goodness. God doesn’t just give us enough grace to barely get by. He blesses us lavishly. He opens the storehouses of heaven and pours out blessings we can’t contain.

After feeding the multitude there were 12 baskets of bread left over. There was more bread afterwards than he had to start with. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:6)

Is this how you think about God and your life? Do you have a goodness and mercy mindset? Can you see God’s goodness and mercy on your tail when you look back? I feel like I can’t keep up with all God’s mercies to me. I can’t keep track of them all. God’s thoughts toward us are too many to number. His steadfast love for us is higher than the heavens are above the earth. He removes our sin as far as the east is from the west. God gives us these poetic pictures that we might grasp that his goodness toward us is infinite beyond measure.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

God’s riches of grace in Christ to us are so “immeasurable” they will take “the coming ages” for him to lay them out for us. Did you hear that? He didn’t say he’d be showing us his riches of grace for the next 1000 years – it’s going to take him the next 1000 ages. For all eternity God will give us one long pleasure cruise tour of the storehouse of his kindnesses to us.

Ok, my brain just shut down. I can’t comprehend ages and ages of God showering me with his kindness. I can’t even take that in. Given all the goodness God has stored up for us, we should never have a mentality that we won’t have enough. That God somehow won’t meet our needs or supply all we need. He’s a generous, lavish God who anxiously waits to pour out his kindness on us.The God who dresses the lilies of the field more stylishly than Solomon will surely meet all the needs of those who take refuge in him.

http://www.theblazingcenter.com/2012/06/bags-and-bags-and-bags-of-grace.html

14/07/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Grace has come – new Sovereign Grace album

If you are the person who chooses new songs for your church, (like me) you may be very excited by the announcement of a new album from Sovereign Grace (August 1). “Grace has come: Songs from the Book of Romans”looks sure to be a treat! Sovereign Grace certainly has figured out a good recipe for singable Gospel songs garnished with much grace! The sample track is based on Romans 8:31-39 – Nothing can tear us from the everlasting love of Christ.

NOTHING IN ALL THE EARTH

(click title to listen)

VERSE 1
What shall separate us from Your love?
Can years of sorrow break eternal bonds?
Can condemnation ever raise its voice?
Against the pardon of the blood of Christ?
Though our journey here is long
This will be our triumph song

CHORUS
Nothing in all the earth
Not any height above
Could ever tear us from Your everlasting love
Nothing in all the earth
Not any height above
Could ever tear us from Your everlasting love

VERSE 2
What shall separate us from Your love?
For now the sting of death is overcome
And all the powers of this world must fall
Before Your feet because You rule them all
And though our journey here is long
This shall be our triumph song

BRIDGE
Nothing in all the earth
Could ever tear us from
Your everlasting love

http://sovereigngracemusic.bandcamp.com/album/grace-has-come-songs-from-the-book-of-romans

13/06/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Future Grace by John Piper The Purifying Power of the Promises of God – Desiring God

Here is a review of a book I hope to read in near future, Future Grace by John Piper. Here is a taste.
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/books/future-grace

“By future I do not merely mean the grace of heaven and the age to come. I mean the grace that begins now, this very second, and sustains your life to the end of this paragraph. By grace I do not merely mean the pardon of God in passing over your sins, but also the power and beauty of God to keep you from sinning” (p. 5).

In Future Grace, author John Piper helps readers discover the key to overcoming sin and living a life that honors God. Many men and women attempt to walk upright out of gratitude for what Christ did in the past, but Piper encourages believers to look ahead to the grace God provides for us on a day-by-day, moment-by-moment basis—putting faith into action by laying hold of God’s promises for the challenges we face.

No one sins out of duty. We sin because we want to. Sin promises happiness, and we buy the lie. So how can the root of sin be severed in our lives? The penalty of sin must be paid by the righteous blood of Christ. And the power of sin must be broken by banking on the promises of Christ.

John Piper’s meditations are rooted in rock-solid biblical reflection. Chapter by chapter—one for each day of the month—he reveals how, by cherishing the promises of God, you can break the power of anxiety, despondency, covetousness, lust, bitterness, impatience, pride, misplaced shame, and more.

First Edition 1995; Revised Edition 2012
Multnomah Books (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

02/06/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

This is Amazing Grace

Just sharing the lyrics for this great new song from my last post, THIS IS AMAZING GRACE by Jeremy Riddle at Bethel Music (2012) from the album “For the Sake of the World”.

Click here for a pdf of words and chords. Here is a clip with song lyrics included (and they are included below also). This is why we sing! Amazing Grace!

This is Amazing Grace

Who breaks the power of sin and darkness
Whose love is mighty and so much stronger
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder
Who leaves us breathless in awe and wonder
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

Chorus:
This is amazing grace
This is unfailing love
That You would take my place
That You would bear my cross
You would lay down Your life
That I would be set free
Jesus, I sing for all that You’ve done for me

Who brings our chaos back into order
Who makes the orphan a son and daughter
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

Who rules the nations with truth and justice
Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

Bridge:
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Worthy is the King who conquered the grave
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Worthy is the King who conquered the grave

CCLI # 6333821 Josh Farro, Phil Wickham, Jeremy Riddle
© 2012 Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. (ASCAP)/Seems Like Music (BMI)/Phil Wickham Music
(BMI) (admin by Simpleville Publishing, LLC)/Bethel Music Publishing (ASCAP).

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What is so amazing about “Amazing Grace”? Keep your ears tuned to the Gospel of grace

01/06/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Riddled with Grace

29/05/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

God graciously works through the weak and unimpressive

I’m sharing today something encouraging I found over at the Blazing Center blog. If you want to read the whole post you can visit there, but this is the heart of it:

“God often does his most powerful work through those who are weak and unimpressive.

John Flavel says:

How the weak have been used for the good of the church! Christ did not choose eloquent orators, or men of authority in the courts of kings and emperors, but twelve poor labourers, and fishermen. This is the most ridiculous course that can be imagined, in appearance, for such a design. And yet, in how short a time was the gospel spread in all the kingdoms of the world. (Voices From the Past, 140)

Jesus established his kingdom on the shoulders of fishermen, tax collectors, and prostitutes. He chose Peter to lead the charge out of Jerusalem. Peter, the guy who denied Jesus three times. Peter, the guy who gave up gospel ground to the Judaizers. Peter, the guy whose mouth seemed to always run ahead of his brain.

Jesus could have chosen the most articulate orators as his spokesman. He could have chosen great war heroes, or political superstars. He could have built a campaign of shock and awe and power. Instead he chose fisherman. Guys with cracked hands, plain speech, minimal learning, and the constant aroma of raw fish. The disciples were not power players in the Roman world.

God will not allow us to receive any of the glory, so he builds his kingdom through and in spite of our weakness. If your worship team is mediocre, don’t freak out. Instead, work toward excellence and trust that God will use your weak, halting efforts for his glory. If you stutter and stammer when sharing the gospel, don’t get discouraged! Seek to improve your gospel communication, but more importantly, trust God to use your stutters and stammers to bring salvation to the lost. If your sermons feel like duds, don’t sink into despair. Improve your sermons and improve your confidence in God. If you feel like a constant parenting trainwreck, seek to grow in your parenting and trust God to use your trainwreck efforts to work in your children.”

27/05/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

More Sheer Grace from Tim Keller

How do you feel when you’re given good advice on how to live? Someone says “Here’s the love you ought to have, or the integrity you ought to have,” and maybe they illustrate high moral standards by telling a story of some great hero. But when you hear it, how does it make you feel? Inspired, sure, but . . . do you feel your burdens have fallen off? Do you feel as if something great has been done for you and you’re not a slave anymore? Of course you don’t. It weighs you down: This is how I have to live. It’s not a gospel. The gospel is that God connects to you not on the basis of what you’ve done (or haven’t done) but on the basis of what Jesus has done, in history, for you. And that makes it absolutely different from every other religion or philosophy.

from Tim Keller “King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus” (2011)
For my first post on this book click HERE