Music Mondays: “Our Great God” by Fernando Ortega and Mac Powell

Music Monday posts highlight the music which touched my heart on Sunday. I pray the message of these songs will help us all to live in the spirit of Worship all week long.

Today’s song is one I’ve enjoyed for quite some time now, since I first heard it in church maybe a year or so ago. It speaks of who God is, and calls all of creation to praise His name. I pray it will encourage you this week in your walk with our great God.

Our Great God

Words & Music by Fernando Ortega & Mac Powell

Eternal God, unchanging, mysterious and unknown
Your boundless love, unfailing, in grace and mercy shown
Bright seraphim in ceaseless flight around Your glorious throne
They raise their voices day and night in praise to You alone

Chorus:
Hallelujah! Glory be to our Great God!
Hallelujah! Glory be to our Great God!

Lord, we are weak and frail, helpless in the storm
Surround us with Your angels, hold us in Your arms
Our cold and ruthless enemy, his pleasure is our harm
Rise up, O Lord and he will flee before our Sovereign God

Let every creature in the sea and every flying bird
Let every mountain, every field and valley of the earth
Let all the moons and all the stars in all the universe
Sing praises to the Living God who rules them by His Word

 ©2002 Word Music.

You can listen to the entire song by watching this video clip. The song is also available for a free listen at rhapsody.com. Sheet music can be previewed (and purchased) easily at this link, and a guitar sheet is available for free here (.pdf).

Abortion… As Unthinkable as Racism

John Piper has some great remarks on the connection between racism and abortion. The link between the two gives hope that as the one used to be accepted and now is unthinkable, so the other will fade away as well.
clipped from www.desiringgod.org
We should seek to stigmatize abortion by associating it with racism as closely as the truth warrants.
People today don’t oppose the enslavement of blacks merely because they think it’s wrong.
It’s easy to oppose it because to do so is fashionable.

That’s a good thing. It always helps when the right thing happens to be P.C.

So let’s be wise in showing the way abortion is closer to racism and slavery than people see.

The Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case of 1857 held that black slaves were property without rights as persons, yet today we view that as unthinkable. So the Supreme Court in the case of Roe v. Wade (1973) held that the unborn did not have rights as persons, yet we should hope and work that the day may come when that too is viewed as unthinkable.
Between 1882 and 1968, 3,446 black people were lynched in America. Today more black babies are killed by white abortionists every three days than all who were lynched in those years (L.E.A.R.N.).
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Free ESV Study Bible, with Subscription to World Magazine

I thought this was a pretty good deal. Subscribe to World magazine for 1 year ($49.95) and get a free hardcover copy of the new ESV Study Bible (retail price $49.95 / $31.49 on Amazon).

I subscribed to World for a couple years or more, and really enjoyed their magazine. It’s a Christian news magazine similar to Time. It isn’t just Christianized, fluff reporting– World is a serious, professional read. Very well done, indeed.

I’ve trumpeted the ESV Study Bible in the past on my blog: here, and here. It didn’t win Bible of the Year and Book of the Year honors from the ECPA for nothing. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my copy, and I have no qualms in claiming it is the best single study Bible available hands down.

So go ahead and take advantage of this doubly good deal, and introduce yourself to World magazine as you enjoy a new ESV Study Bible.

Announcing: Transformed by Grace

Some reforming fundamentalist friends of mine and I have got together and founded a new online social media site called Transformed by Grace. We are a community of former legalists and reforming fundamentalists, continually allowing God’s grace to bring us closer to Christ.

Using a free social media site provided by Ning.com, we have built a site that allows members, forums, groups, personal blog posts & pages, and lots of interaction. Think of it like a bigger Facebook group or a mini version of something like Sharper Iron. It actually has more capabilities than either Facebook or a typical forums site, and offers a lot of flexibility in how one can use it.

Our goal is to bring together other like minded reforming fundamentalists, particularly those who are familiar with the more conservative wing of Independent Baptist Fundamentalism. We hope to encourage one another, talk through remaining questions and problems, and forge relationships. And we hope to offer some help to those who are beginning their journey within fundamentalism. We want to help them learn and grow in a non-threatening environment. We don’t pressure anyone necessarily to follow a particular path out of fundamentalism, some of our founding members are happy within the IFB tent. We hope to challenge each other and grow in grace.

So, please go over and check out our site: http://reformedfundamentalism.ning.com.

Feel free to join the group or just lurk for a while. Bookmark us and come back in a few months, as I’m sure there will be more activity by then. If you have a blog that’s somewhat devoted to these issues, feel free to let us know and we’ll add it to the blogroll and possibly send some visitors your way. Above all, let us know if there’s something we can help you with. That’s what we are hoping to accomplish.

My King James' Journey

My new King James Only Blog is up and running. Check out my post over there: “A King James’ Journey — Bob’s Story“. While you’re there, check out Damien’s story, too. Add a link from your blog to our site, and subscribe. At the least the discussion there will be lievely and intriguing!