Julie Hibbert

‘Father God I Wonder’

I first heard this song when my daughter was at college and this song was played at her Baptism service and later at her wedding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMuvGb7KDE8

‘I Am A New Creation’
This is a family favourite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwjOLFMZhQo

John Gay. Part3

Pop song? Very difficult indeed, but I am going to go for 'Let love be your energy' by Robbie Williams. Robbie is one of my favourite theologians because he asks awkward questions about God. No other pop star mentions God, Jesus, angels, sin, Mary etc. as much as he. Robbie is a sinner and he knows it and in his songwriting struggles with it but he loves his Lord and I am sure knows the mercy of his God. His heart is in the right place. I think I am beginning to fill up again!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywL_mnIe4uc

Good Friday

We Sang this at the Maunday Thursday Service.

"From heaven you came"

Words:
http://www.topchristianlyrics.com/2009/12/02/graham-kendrick-the-servant-king-lyrics/

Muisic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwIukabdw3E&feature=related

John Gay. Part 2

My contemporary song is difficult, there are several. I am going to choose 'We give you praise' by Delirious? because I would like it to go out to at my funeral. It very much reflects my belief that death is not the end but only the beginning point of new life for those who believe in Jesus Christ and follow him. Again I will end up in tears of joy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo8lex1Td_g

John Gay. Part1

'All my hope on God is founded' is one that seems to have followed me about since April 21 1991 at around 12.00 midday. I am that precise because the day before Lucy and I had gone to Twickenham to watch Corrnwall win the County Championship for the first time since 1908. The game was tense with Cornwall 16-3 down with 15 minutes to go. They equalised with a try in the last minute of normal time, missed the conversion and went on to win 27-20 after extra time. Much celebration!

The next day at church, (St Nicholas, Abingdon) this was the last hymn. As the last verse came around with those words 'Christ doth call, one and all, ye who follow shall not fall' it all got too much and I burst into tears, 'One and All' being the Cornish motto.

But actually the whole hymn reflects how I feel about God and how much I love and trust him and have confidence in his care for me. It needs to be the traditional words though. The modern version does not convey the same meaning. With the Trad version it is Christ doing the calling and it is up to us to respond. the other version says 'Hear Christ's call' putting the obligation on the listener not the caller. Not the same thing at all. The modern version reads awkwardly too.

A very close second is 'Guide me O thou great Jehovah'. does this need explaining!!

Lyrics:
http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/a/a133.html

Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2oYTtyBSxk

John Page

No 3 - Love divine, all loves excelling

Again, its the Welsh in me ! ..... wonderfully deep spiritual words, and again one of the best tunes in the book !!

Lyrics:
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/d/ldalexcl.htm

Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ8JgGqkaj4

John Page

No 2 - "Jesu, lover of my soul"


Being Welsh of course, I cannot hide my deep affection for all the great Welsh hymns ! .... and this one is at the top of my "all-time" list ..... the words are so powerful and emotive, and the tune Aberystwyth is simply fantastic.

Words:
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/l/jlmysoul.htm

Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjnspkVAGRM

John Page

No 1 - "Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us"


I always chose this one as the very first hymn on our first Sunday at sea ...... and it still evokes strong stirring memories of setting out from our home port for long deployments overseas, especially across the North Atlantic where you certainly need all the "leading and protecting" you can get !

Lyrics and Music:
http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/l/l018.html

Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc-XpUcGS6k

Chris Howse

I knew two song choices were not going to be enough so have taken the opportunity whilst there is a lull in entries to have another song.

Over the Rhine: Jesus in New Orleans

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=-FyOqECvDZw&feature=related

Lyrics (scroll down)
http://www.overtherhine.com/words/lyrics/index.html#Anchor-Jacksie-33869

Love the song, love voice and love the opening lines:

“The last time I saw Jesus I was drinking bloody Mary’s in the South”

The song reminds me that you can meet Jesus anywhere not only in Church on Sundays. I had better be ready.

Ruth Buller. Part 3

Morte Christe (When I Survey the Wondrous Cross)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CwYA7k5zxI

My final choice is this version of ‘When I Survey’. The words show us of just what Jesus did for us all by dying on the cross and I find the final verse so incredibly moving in that it shows us how we should respond to this amazing sacrifice.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small,
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life , my all.

Ruth Buller. Part 2

You Raised Me Up – Westlife (Lyrics by Josh Groban)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1_MydgRFZw

This is a secular song but one which I feel has a true Christian message. It gives me great confidence to know that no matter how down and weary I may be feeling God will always be there to raise me up. This song also reminds me of Lee Abbey where a DVD of people there was made to the words. It showed the beauty of the Lee Abbey Estate ending with the estate manager lifting a new born lamb onto his shoulders at the three crosses.

Ruth Buller. Part 1

Could have been another three on another day but these are my choices for today!!

Build This House – Lou Fellingham

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryip0dD1uoo

The words of this song remind us of how everything we have comes from God and how we need to be grateful for the things that we have and not be envious of others. As we go about our lives we need to put God at the centre of all we do and give Him the glory.

Hilary Howe

Like several others I have many favourite hymns, and it all depends on the mood of the moment, or circumstances in which the hymn is being sung which one is currently top of the list. I also often use favourite hymns as prayers. However the one that never fails to move and inspire me is “Oh Lord My God”. The four verses are a wonderful expression of faith - the awesome power of God in creating the universe, the wonder of nature on earth, the reminder of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice and the promise and reassurance of the life to come. The chorus is an amazing, moving praise of thanks to God, added to which the music is powerful and uplifting.

The trouble is I get so choked up with emotion that I can’t sing it!

Lyrics:
http://www.rwlswann.org.uk/archive/songs/hymns/o/olordmygod.htm

Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHqgQjJrxI8

Yvonne Haggett

As I was walking home after lunch, the first line of this hymn just popped into my head. I find it has not been used before, so I will make it my suggestion.

God is working his purpose out as year succeeds to year,
God is working his purpose out and the time is drawing near:
Nearer and nearer draws the time, the time that shall surely be,
When the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.

I like it because is reminds me that even if we can't see progress being made, God knows what he is doing and one day the earth will be filled with the glory of God.

Words and music
http://www.hymnswithoutwords.com/hymns/God_is_working_his_purpose_out

Jenny Jeffery

At different times and seasons I have different “favourites” and even then I keep adding to them. Somehow “Be thou my vision” is never far from my thoughts nor “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”

However right now I am choosing “In Christ Alone” words by Stuart Townend and music by Keith Getty ( Stuart Townend also wrote a great new tune to the words of the 23rd Psalm, The Lord is my Shepherd, with a chorus that begins “And I will trust in him always” with a second part descant that fits over the top of the tune. He also wrote the words to “How deep the Father’s love for me”)

However "In Christ Alone” is based on words from Ephesians I:4-7He is my light, strength, cornerstone, comforter, my All in All As the title suggests the words form the basis of our Christian faith. In Christ alone my hope is found. Jesus – the Incarnation -The Cross – Resurrection- Eternal Life are all there in the words. The song was written just before the 9/11 bombings and has a very powerful line in the last verse......”no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His (Christ’s) Hand” There has been some controversy over the line in verse two which reads “The wrath of God was satisfied” some have preferred the line to read “The price of sin was satisfied” What do you think?

The song can reduce me to both tears of sadness and tears of joy.
I love the crescendo in verse 3 ....then bursting forth in glorious day up from the grave he rose again!”

I’ll leave you with the last two lines.
“Till he returns to call me home, here in the power of Christ I stand”




In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my all in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save;
Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of god was satisfied-
For every sin on him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I Live.

There in the ground his body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from his hand;
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand.

Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMtz1fJv340

Anna Oliver

As many have been agreeing, choosing just one song/hymn is very difficult, as so many are appealing depending on how I am feeling at any time. However I find the ‘Make me a channel for your peace’ is a very focussing hymn/prayer that reminds me of what I should be striving to do with God’s help.

Music and Lyric:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM3tAGU1Kn0&feature=related

Judith Pickles

Shine Jesus Shine - Graham Kendrick

I have chosen this for 2 reasons. Firstly, in the early 70s Graham and I were fellow students in London. Over the years I have enjoyed watching the way his life has developed and singing his songs. In the 80s we went to the Billy Graham mission in Norwich where Graham led the worship, a far cry from student days.

Secondly, our daughter Laura danced to this song (with the St George's dance group) in Wells Cathedral and two years ago chose it as one of her wedding hymns, so it has very happy memories as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlKChQ2IYZo

Hilary Mckegney

A number of people said that they liked my prayer/poem on Sunday. I thought it might be good to put it on the Lent Blog.

GARDENING GOD'S WAY IN THE 'SPRING' OF LENT

Plant three rows of peas:
Peace of mind
Peace of heart
Peace of soul

Plant four rows of squash:
Squash gossip
Squash indifference
Squash grumbling
Squash selfishness

Plant four rows of lettuce:
Lettuce be faithful
Lettuce be kind
Lettuce be obedient
Lettuce really love one another

Plant three rows of turnips:
Turnip for meetings
Turnip for service
Turnip to help one another

Water freely with patience and cultivate with love. There is much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow.

To conclude our garden
We must have thyme:
Thyme for God
Thyme for study
Thyme for prayer

Ruth Taylor

Among my many favourite hymns I have chosen ‘All my hope on God is founded’ which we sang recently in church: MP 292; AMNS 336.

It brings back strong memories of a warm July evening in 1997. I was surrounded by family, friends, and a very welcoming crowd. It was the occasion of Nick’s Induction Service as Team Rector and Vicar of St. George’s.

We had chosen this hymn because of its message of love, hope, and encouragement, at a time of new beginnings. In the first verse are the lines:

‘He doth still my trust renew.
Me through change and chance He guideth
Only good and only true’.

These words have helped me especially in the years since that night. Through many times of joy and some of sadness, I have recalled the following lines:

‘Daily doth the Almighty Giver
Bounteous gifts on us bestow’.
And the verse finishes with the reassuring:
‘Love doth stand at His hand,
Joy doth wait on His command’.
Sometimes the future can seem an uncertain place, but the final line of this hymn helps to reassure me, as the first line did:

‘Ye who follow shall not fall’.

Music and Lyrics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2oYTtyBSxk

Chris Howse

Meekness and Majesty

This song reminds me that we don’t get all the answers in this life.

I love the imagery of meekness and majesty: A King born in a stable. The Saviour who rides a donkey not a war horse.

Music and lyrics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tK1hQpacs8