How deep the Father's love for us!

We will lift up "How deep the Father's love for us!" as our anthem this Sunday. As we know, it will be Father's day. I would like to remember and celebrate our heavenly Father and His love through this music. 12 people will leave right after the second service to Lake Junaluska to attend "Music and liturgical Arts week". Please pray for our trip!

Here is the lyric of the text.

How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure that he should give his only Son to make a wretch his treasure. How great the pain pf searing loss. The Father turns his face away as wounds which mar to Chosen One bring many sons to glory. How high, how wide, how deep the Father's love for us. Behold the Man upon a cross, my sin upon his shoulders. Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished; his dying breath has brought me life. I know it is finished. How pure, how strong, how deep the Father's love for us. I will not boast of anything: no gifts, no power, no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ: His death and Resurrection. Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer. But this I know with all my heart:his wounds have paid my Ransom. How high, how wide, how pure, how strong, How deep the Father's love for us!

It has been an year already!

It has been an year since I opened this blog. I opened it for sharing our trip to Lake Junaluska, and will attend again this year from next Sunday. Even though there will be half of youth members, total twelve people will attend this year including my mom. Most of our members will be in the handbell choir in the morning for two and half hour rehearsal, and most of youth will be in the orchestra in the afternoon. I will be in the chamber choir again in the morning and various different seminars in the afternoon. I am excited about especially the world premiere of a children's musical by Allen Pote who was a composer of the ninth hour from our Lenten cantata. He is coming for the musical and my Christine will join the group to perform. Also, we have two adult choir members going with us; Barbara Kirschner and Dawn Pape. I am glad that both of them can come with us. Especially for Barb, she is very interested in making stools and gowns for our church and there will be many seminars for that subject. I am looking forward to learning more new music and knowledge and want to get challenged by seeing and observing people who are eager to serve the Lord with their whole hearts and talents. Please join us in prayers that we will be filled by the Holy Spirit throughout the week, safe trip, and being nearer to the Lord through the week. Especially, I have been praying that our youth can open their eyes to see and learn how to serve the Lord with their whole hearts and having more love to the Lord. I will share every moment from next Sunday night.

The Gift of Love

Summer is hard to have full members in our choir. People need to have a time off for their summer vacation. I agree. Nevertheless, we are singing for every Sunday worship service. As a director, it is very hard to choose a anthem each week with unpredictable small number of singers. Thankfully, I have always a few people can come on Sunday. ^^ I believe that our hearts are the most important matter to worship the Lord.

We are lifting up " the gift of love" as our anthem this week. It has a wonderful text and melody to think about our Christian life with love and without love.

Though I may speak with bravest fire, and have the gift to all inspire, and have not love; my words are vain, as sounding brass, and hopeless gain.

Though I may give all I possess, and striving so my love profess, but not be given by love within, the profit soon turns strangely thin.

Come, Spirit come, our hearts control, our spirits long to be made whole. Let inward love guide every deed. By this we worship and are freed.

There shall be shower of blessing

I take a walk with my dog, Angie, at least once a day. When I walked this morning, a hymn was from my heart. "There shall be shower of blessing~!" of course in Korean. As Korean version of the hymn has a different meaning of text. The first verse starts with "Like dried weary field, my soul is dried and weary. I am longing for the Holy Spirit to overflow and wet my soul." The refrain is also different: Like rain after the drought in the land, please pour your Holy Spirit to our soul, and give the new life!" I like the Korean version of the hymn. Whenever I hear or see raining out side, I remember the hymn and sing. So, I sang on the way home from the walk and at our sanctuary after I read the bible. I was praying that May the Lord pour His Spirit to all of us and fill the Spirit in this place so, we can get overflowed by His Spirit! Ah, How much I am thirsty for His Spirit! I have been praying that all people can feel their thirst for the Lord, and long for it with their hearts.

Come Holy Spirit

This week is the Pentecost Sunday. As I have been reading Acts from the New testament, I could feel how powerful and real the Holy Spirit is. I believe that the Holy Spirit still is powerful and real. I do desire to have that experience like early churches. I have been praying that we all get to have an experience of the Holy Spirit filling us during our services. As I shared with the choir last night, we, ourselves, have fear or are afraid of having real experience of the Holy Spirit. Amazingly, the Holy Spirit never forces people to accept Him, so it does not happen when people are afraid of. Let's open our hearts and mind to accept the Holy Spirit.

Here is the text of our anthem, "come, Holy Spirit."

1. The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, He came in mighty fulness then; His witness thru believers won the lost, And multitudes were born again. The early Christians scattered o'er the world, they preached the gospel fearlessly; those some were martyred and to lions hurled, they marched along in victory!

Refrain:

Come Holy Spirit, dark is the hour. We need Your filling, Your love and Your mighty power; Move now among us, stir us we pray, come Holy Spirit, revive the church today!

2. Then in an age when darkness gripped the earth, "The just shall live by faith" was learned the Holy Spirit gave the Church new birth as reformation fires burned. In later years the great revivals came, when saints would seek the Lord and pray; O once a again we need that Holy flame to meet the challenge of today!

We are the church

This Sunday will be our heritage Sunday. We will have a moment to think back our heritage and history of our church. The chancel choir will lift up "We are the church" as our anthem for this Sunday. I have prayed that we are one as church to serve the Lord and show the world God's love through our church!

Here is the text.

We can feel God's love around us in this warm, familiar place, where our friends in Christ surround us, joined as one within His grace. Let this fellowship which unites us be a gift for all to share. As we go forth, let us show the world God's love is everywhere.

Refrain: We are the church, we are God's people, and His word we faithfully proclaim. We will join our hearts and hands as one to see His work is done, and we will serve together in His name!

Let us join with one another, for we each have heard His call. Let us stand and work together as we reach beyond these walls. For we know the Lord will sustain us. He will be our constant guide as we go forth into all the world, our voices raised on high.

Gracious Spirit dwell with me

The chancel choir will lift up "Gracious Spirit dwell with me" as our anthem, and the youth handbell will play two songs for musical offering.

The anthem is simple but very flowing and beautiful! I have prayed that we all get filled with the Holy Spirit!!

Here is the text.

Gracious Spirit, dwell with me, I would gracious be; Help me now thy grace to see, I would be like thee; And, with words that help and heal, thy life would mine reveal; And, with actions bold and meek, For Christ, my Savior, speak.

Truthful Spirit, dwell with me, I would truthful be; Help me now thy truth to see, I would be like thee; And, with wisdom kind and clear, thy life in mine appear;And, with actions brotherly, Speak Christ's sincerity.

Holy Spirit, dwell with me, I would holy be; Show thy mercy tenderly, Make me more like thee; Separate from sin, I would And cherish all things good, And whatever I can be give him who gave me thee.

Mighty Spirit, dwell with me, I would mighty be; Help me now thy power to see, I would be like thee; Gainst all weapons hell can wield, be thou my strength and shield; Let thy word my weapon be, Lord, Thine the victory.