By Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishioner "After I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints I cease not to give thanks for you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe… far above all principality and power and might and dominion…not only in this age but also in that which is to come." ~Ephesians 1:15-21 As we approach Holy Week, the vision of Christ’s suffering on the cross and the ultimate victory of His resurrection on Easter Sunday, this compilation of several century old hymns mixes the beauty, suffering, and miraculous fulfillment of ancient scripture. Jesus alerted the disciples of the inevitability of this event…but the disciples were either blind or in denial as they did not want their teacher and rabbi to depart under such painful circumstances. Note the lyrics “…sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” Anthem Lights is a quartet of talented “Twenty-something” men from Nashville that combine impeccable harmony with inspirational music, founded in 2007 by Chad Graham (tenor). They were awarded K-Love “Song of the Year” three consecutive years (2014, 2015, 2016). This cut was released on Easter Sunday, 2018. They rarely tour, but concentrate on social media (YouTube, Instagram, etc) for their popularity. Cut: “Cross Medley (Jesus Paid It All/The Old Rugged Cross)” Artist: Anthem Lights CD/Album: Hymns Vol. 2 I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small,
“child of weakness watch and pray, “find in Me thine all in all.” Jesus paid it all…all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame. And I love that old cross, where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain. So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown. And when, before the throne, I stand in Him complete. Jesus died, my soul to save, my lips shall still repeat, Jesus paid it all…all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.
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By Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishioner This first cut (“acoustic”) is a rare acoustic recording by Elevation Worship, led by Elevation Worship's lead singer, Chris Brown. No heavy metal band backup…no throngs of worshippers listening…no light show…just a simple, pure message. The second cut (“worship version”) features Brandon Lake as lead with Elevation Worship. A somewhat different interpretation of a moving message. Cut: “There Is A King” Artist: Elevation Worship CD/Album: Graves Into Gardens There is a King seated amongst us. Let every heart receive Him now.
Where there is praise, He will inhabit, and there will be grace and mercy all around. Every burden will be lifted in His presence. Every trophy will be laid down at His feet. There is a name that reigns above all others: Jesus Christ, the King above all kings. Unto the Lamb honor and glory. Worthy is He who overcame. Buried in shame, risen in power. He is alive and the stone is rolled away. All our worship will belong to Him forever. Death is conquered and our Savior holds the keys. There is a name that reigns above all others: Jesus Christ, the King above all kings. It won’t be long, we will behold Him. And every tear He’ll wipe away. We’ll be at home, the war will be over. Soon we will meet our Saviour face to face. And every burden will be lifted in His presence. Every trophy will be laid down at His feet. There is a name that reigns above all others: Jesus Christ, the King above all kings. And all our worship will belong to You forever. Holy, holy, for all eternity. Yours is the name that reigns above all others: Jesus Christ, the King above all kings. Jesus Christ, the King above all kings. Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishioner Following the most significant week of the Christian year (Holy Week/Easter), we now follow the church calendar into a season of celebration and recommitment. Where are we going as followers of Christ? Do we share that lifestyle with others (directly or indirectly)? Who am I:
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Corinthians 15:19-22 Anthem Lights is a quartet of talented “Twenty-something” men from Nashville that combine impeccable harmony with inspirational music, founded in 2007 by Chad Graham (tenor). They were awarded K-Love “Song of the Year” three consecutive years (2014, 2015, 2016). This cut was released on Easter Sunday, 2017. They rarely tour, but concentrate on social media (YouTube, Instagram, etc) for their popularity. Cut: “Easter Medley”
Artist: Anthem Lights CD/Album: Hymns Vol. 2 Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know my Redeemer lives, I know my Redeemer lives. All of creation testifies, this life within me cries: I know … He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives. The very same God that spins things in orbit, runs to the weary, the worn, and the weak. And the same gentle hands that hold me when I’m broken, they conquer death to bring me victory. Arise, my love. Arise, my love, the grave no longer has a hold on you. No more death’s sting, no more suffering, arise…arise. Well I know, my Redeemer lives, I know my Redeemer lives. All of creation testifies, this life within me cries: I know my Redeemer lives. And life is worth the living just because He lives. By Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishoner "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, be made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." Colossians 2:15 Another selection from Selah (Todd Smith, Allan Hall, & Amy Perry). As we experience the Passion of Christ, this music focuses on the dichotomy of “the Cross”: so inhuman and cruel, yet so life-giving and redemptive to us sinners. Cut: “Beautiful Terrible Cross” Artist: Selah CD/Album: You Deliver Messians, chapter 2; v. 15:Colossians, chapter 2; v. 15: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold, from your vain manner of life received by tradition from your fathers, But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot…" 1 Peter 1:18-19 As you may have surmised by now, Selah is one of my favorite Christian Praise music vocal groups, lead by Amy Perry whose beautiful voice is complimented seamlessly by Todd’s tenor and Allan’s keyboards. Their music is characterized by beautiful harmonies and not by heavy metal arrangements. This offering seems appropriate for Holy Week. Cut: “O the Blood” Artist: Selah CD/Album: You Amaze Us By Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishoner “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 This particular passage from John’s gospel is perhaps one of the most commonly repeated of Jesus’ quotes, recorded during a conversation with Nicodemus. Simple and impossible to misinterpret. We The Kingdom is a contemporary Christian music band consists of multiple generations of the Cash family. Ed Cash, the recognized leader, is well known for his songwriting abilities. Prior to the formation of WTK, Ed penned music for the likes of Chris Tomlin. The lone female vocalist, Franni Rae Cash, is Ed’s daughter; the drummer is Ed’s son; the lead guitarist is Ed’s brother; the keyboards are played by Ed’s nephew. The youth of Grace Memorial attended a We The Kingdom concert in Hattiesburg, MS, in March, 2022. Cut: “God So Loved” Artist: We The Kingdom CD/Album: Live at the Wheelhouse Come all you weary, Come all you thirsty, Come to the well That never runs dry
Drink of the Water, Come and thirst no more Come all you sinners, Come find His mercy, Come to the table, He will satisfy. Taste of His goodness, Find what you’re looking for. For God so loved The world that He gave us, His one and only Son to save us. Whoever believes in Him Will live forever. Bring all your failures, Bring your addictions, Come lay them down At the foot of the cross. Jesus is waiting there With open arms. The power of hell forever defeated, Now it is well, I’m walking in freedom For God so loved…God so loved the world. Praise God, Praise God, From whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, Praise Him, For the wonders of His love. Bring all your failures, Bring your addictions, Come lay them down At the foot of the cross Jesus is waiting, God so loved the world. By Jeanne VoorheesI was the Director of the Youth Service Bureau for 30 years. One of our several programs was Discovery/ Renew, which now greatly benefits from the GMEC Pumpkin Patch and Grace Baskets Ministries.
Our Grace Basket Ministry at Grace was born many years ago when one of the families served by Discovery/Renew was in crisis. Their children were in danger of being removed by the state because they were not able to provide a clean and safe home environment for them. The case worker was coming soon, and they needed help. Since I had a few hours available, I went to their home to see if I could help them with the cleaning. When I arrived, I asked if they had a broom. They showed me a handle with a plastic cap on the bottom, which had once held the bristles. There were tiny nubs where the bristles belonged. So I asked if they had a mop, or sponges, or paper towels, or disinfectant, or dishwashing soap - or any kind of soap! Sadly, they had none of those things. I looked under the kitchen sink, and it was bare. All they had were rags, which were old clothes with holes in them. The only thing I could do at the time was to help them straighten up the house. The staff then purchased the needed supplies and helped the family clean the home. The children were not removed. These were not lazy people nor neglectful parents- they deeply loved their children. The problem was extreme poverty. I was the Outreach Ministries Coordinator for Grace at that time, so I brought the problem to Father Paul. Soon thereafter, the Grace Basket Ministry was hatched! Initially, we filled actual laundry baskets full of a wide assortment of cleaning supplies to give to families in this kind of crisis. After many years of trying to carry 20 to 30 heavy, filled laundry baskets, we decided to collect funds and donate them to the program to use as needed for the purchase of cleaning supplies for families in need. It has been a powerful program that has helped many families, giving them the resources, encouragement, and morale boost they needed to tackle the many challenges in their lives with the help of the Renew/Discovery staff. In Tangipahoa Parish, 19% of our residents live below the federal poverty line- that’s almost 1 in 5! Those of us who are blessed to have a broom and some soap can deeply bless those who do not, through this powerful ministry. By Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishioner Selah is an internationally acclaimed Christian music trio (Todd Smith, Allan Hall, & Amy Perry) formed in 1997. The group took their name from the ancient Hebrew word “selah”, the exact meaning of which has been lost in antiquity. The word “selah” appears over 70 times in the Psalms…it is surmised by some theologians that its meaning is similar to “amen” in that no viable English synonym exists. Selah has sold more than 4 million albums resulting in 8 Gospel Music Association “Dove Awards”, and 8 #1 singles. Cut: “Wonderful, Merciful Saviour” Artist: Selah CD/Album: Press On Wonderful merciful Savior, precious Redeemer and Friend,
Who would have thought that a Lamb could rescue the souls of men… O, You rescue the souls of men. Counselor, Comforter, Keeper, Spirit we long to embrace, You offer hope when our hearts have hopelessly lost our way… O, we’ve hopelessly lost the way. You are the One that we praise, You are the One we adore, You give the healing and grace our, hearts always hunger for… O, our hearts always hunger for. Almighty infinite Father, faithfully loving Your own, Here in our weakness You find us, falling before Your throne… O, we’re falling before Your throne. You are the One that we praise, You are the One we adore, You give the healing and grace our, hearts always hunger for… O, our hearts always hunger for. You are the One that we praise, You are the One we adore, You give the healing and grace our, hearts always hunger for… O, our hearts always hunger for. Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishioner We The Kingdom is a contemporary Christian music band consisting of multiple generations of the Cash family. Ed Cash, the recognized leader, is well known for his songwriting abilities. Prior to the formation of WTK, Ed penned music for the likes of Chris Tomlin. The lone female vocalist, Franni Rae Cash, is Ed’s daughter. “Arrows” was written by Ed Cash and recorded in 2021. It is simply a meditation reminding us during this Lenten season that we are embraced and protected by the Savior. Cut: “Arrows” Artist: We The Kingdom [with Bethel Music] CD/Album: Peace By: Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishioner Saul was a leader of the fundamental Jewish faith at the time of Jesus. He was apparently well-educated (fluent in Greek, Latin, and Aramaic), and probably a man of significant wealth (evidenced by his Roman citizenship…an “honor” bestowed upon him by the occupying Roman government). He was devoted to Jewish law and bitterly opposed Christianity until his miraculous conversion shortly after Christ’s resurrection. “Saul” became Paul, and set out to travel around the Mediterranean basin preaching the gospel and helping to establish and nurture the early Christian church. St. Paul was a prolific and gifted writer, having authored more New Testament books than any other (16 books of the New Testament are attributed at least in part to St. Paul). He also was instrumental in breaking down the barrier to allowing “Gentiles” to become Christians, as many of the early followers of Christ (most notably St. Peter and St. James, the brother of Jesus) were initially reluctant to allow non-Jews to follow Christ. One of arguably the most inspirational passages authored by St. Paul is found in the book of Romans. Paul wrote his letter to the infant Christian church in Rome during his third visit to the new Christian church in Corinth. “What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, shall be able to separate us from the love God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~Romans 8:35-39 During Lent, some invariably are embarrassed by their shortcomings and unworthiness: a natural result of inward reflection and honesty. The message of the following music is that God accepts us as we are, warts and all! Ryan Stevenson is Christian musician and songwriter from Oregon. His formative years were spent in the Navy (as a Corpsman) followed by a 7 year civilian career as a paramedic. Since he launched his music career in 2003, he has placed 6 songs on the Billboard charts, including “No Matter What” in 2018. Cut: “No Matter What” Artist: Ryan Stevenson A lot of us grew up believing, At any moment we could lose it all.
And at the drop of a hat, God might turn His back, and move on, A lot of us feel like we blew it, Thinking that we're just too far gone. But I want you to know…There's still a hope for you now. No matter what you've done…You can't erase His love. Nothing can change it, You're not separated, No matter what. There's never been a better time to get honest…There's never been a better time to get clean. So come as you are, Run to the cross and be free (oh, be free). No matter what you've done (no matter what you've done)…You can't erase His love (you can't erase His love) Nothing can change it, You're not separated No matter where you run (no matter where you run)…He's always holding on (He's always holding on) You're still a daughter, you're still a son, No matter what (no matter what) Don't know what you've been taught, Don't know what you've been told All I know is my God Will never let go of you, no I don't know what you've seen, Don't know what you've been through All I know is my God Will never let go of you…He'll never let go! He'll never, never, never let you go, oh No matter what you've done (no matter what you've done)…You can't erase His love (you can't erase His love) Nothing can change it, You're not separated No matter where you run (no matter where you run)…He's always holding on (He's always holding on) You're still a daughter, you're still a son, No matter what (oh, no matter what) You're still a daughter, you're still a son…No matter what Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishioner This is another “hit” performed by Mac Powell and Third Day. (It might now be evident that our Youth frequently dissected Third Day music). “Born Again” is about birth as a spiritually inspired Christian, evidenced by physical baptism and the effects on one’s soul "There came a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; The same came to Jesus by night and said unto Him, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Jesus answered, “ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” ~John 3:1-5 Cut: “Born Again”
Artist: Third Day CD/Album: Revelation Today I found myself, After searching all these years, And the man that I saw, he wasn't at all who I'd thought he'd be. I was lost when You found me here, And I was broken beyond repair, Then You came along and You sang Your song over me. It feels like I'm born again…It feels like I'm living…For the very first time…For the very first time, In my life. Make a promise to me now, Reassure my heart somehow, That the love that I feel, is so much more real than anything. I've a feeling in my soul, And I pray that I'm not wrong, That the life I have now, It is only the beginning. It feels like I'm born again…It feels like I'm living…For the very first time…For the very first time It feels like I'm breathing…It feels like I'm moving…For the very first time…For the very first time Wasn't looking for something that was more, Than what I had yesterday, Then You came to me, Then You gave to me, Life and a love that I've never known, That I've never felt before It feels like I'm born again…It feels like I'm living…For the very first time…I'm living for the first time It feels like I'm breathing…It feels like I'm moving…For the very first time I'm living for the first time, In my life. |
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