Category: Jesus

We praise your name

Ruth Kirk

1. Father,
May we praise your name –
To love you
Is our highest aim.

2. Jesus,
May we bear our cross –
Ready to accept
Each loss.

3. Spirit,
May we welcome you –
By serving God
In all we do.

4. Mary,
May we know your Son –
Of woman born,
God’s Holy One.

References

1. The Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is his name (Luke 1:49; NIV).

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind (Luke 10:27; NLT).

2. Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24; NLT).

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised (Job 1:21; NIV).

3. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; NLT).

You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him (Luke 4:8; NLT).

4. When the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law (Galatians 4:4; NLT).

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35; NLT).

Help us sinners

Ruth Kirk

We know what sinners we are.
(Isaiah 59:1; NLT).

1. Father,
Help us sinners
To trust in you today,
So none of us will grieve:
My hope is gone!

2. Mary,
Help us sinners
To turn to God and pray,
So none of us will sigh:
I am alone!

3. Jesus,
Help us sinners
To find your narrow way,
So none of us will weep:
There is no gate!

4. Spirit,
Help us sinners
Each time we start to stray,
So none of us will cry:
I am too late!

References

1. We have become old, dry bones – all hope is gone (Ezekiel 7:11; NLT).

2. I am alone and in deep distress (Psalm 25:16; NLT).

3. The gateway to life is very narrow and the road difficult, and only a few ever find it (Matthew 7:13-14; NLT).

4. When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late (Luke 13:25; NLT).

Abba, Father

Ruth Kirk

1. Abba, Father,
I love you.
Never changing,
Always new.
Wrapped in darkness,
Shining bright:
Abba, Father,
You are light.

2. Yeshu, Jesus,
I love you.
Never changing,
Always new.
Clothed in power
From your youth:
Yeshu, Jesus,
You are truth.

3. Ruach, Spirit,
I love you.
Never changing,
Always new.
Robed in glory
From above:
Ruach, Spirit,
You are love.

 

References

1. God is light (1 John 1:5; NLT).

2. Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6; NLT).

3. God is love (1 John 4:16; NLT).

Notes

1. Abba means father in Aramaic.

2. Yeshu means Jesus in Aramaic.

3. Ruach means Holy Spirit (or breath), in Aramaic.

Unavoidably imperfect

Ruth Kirk

1. You give us all an earthly father,
Unavoidably imperfect;
But you also give yourself:
Flawless, Lord, in every way.

2. You give us all an earthly mother,
Inescapably imperfect;
But you also give us Mary,
Spotless, Lord, in every way.

3. You give us all an earthly ruler,
Undeniably imperfect;
But you also give us Jesus,
Sinless, Lord, in every way.

4. You give us all a sense of selfhood,
Necessarily imperfect;
But you also give your Spirit,
Faultless, Lord, in every way.

References

1. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them (Ephesians 6:4; NLT).

Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God (Isaiah 41:10; NLT).

2. Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? (Isaiah 49:15; NLT).

Here is your mother (John 19:27; NLT).

3. The rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them (Matthew 20:25; NLT).

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NLT).

He [Jesus Christ] is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world (Revelation 1:5; NLT).

4. Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof (Matthew 8:8; NLT).

If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Luke 11:13; NLT).

Without you

Ruth Kirk

I am nothing but dust and ashes (Genesis 18:27; NIV).

1. Without you I  am nothing, Father –
Finite flesh and fragile bone.

2. Without you I am nothing, Mary –
Motherless, and all alone.

3. Without you I am nothing, Jesus –
Sinful, weak, condemned to death.

4. Without you I am nothing, Spirit –
You alone give life and breath.

References

1. You lived in this world without God and without hope (Ephesians 2:12; NLT).

We ourselves are like fragile clay jars (2 Corinthians 4:7; NLT).

2. He said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home (John 19:27; NLT).

3. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23; NLT).

4. The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life (Job 33:4; NLT).

Be mine

Ruth Kirk

Be mine,
By loving me completely;

Be mine,
By following my Son.

Be mine,
By caring for your neighbour;

Be mine,
By loving everyone.

Be mine,
By seeking me each morning;

Be mine,
By searching for my face.

Be mine,
By growing more like Jesus;

Be mine –
And share the riches of my grace.

References

They shall be mine, says the Lord of Hosts (Malachi 3:17; ESV).

Follow the way of love (1 Corinthians 14:1; NIV).

In him we have redemption through his blood […] according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us (Ephesians 1:7-8; RSV).

Perspective

Ruth Kirk

1. To say: Lord God, you love me,
And: Father, I love you,
Shows only my perspective,
So it’s time for a review.

2. Instead: We love each other,
And: Father, we are one –
These words show we’re united
Through the life of your dear Son.

3. To say: Lord God, you love me,
And: Jesus, I love you,
Shows only my perspective,
So I need a wider view.

4. Instead: We love each other,
And: Jesus, we are one –
These words show we’re united
By the death of your dear Son.

5. To say: Lord God, you love me,
And: Spirit, I love you,
Shows only my perspective,
So I need a fuller view.

6. Instead: We love each other,
And: Spirit, we are one –
These words show we’re united
In the heart of your dear Son.

References

1. He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT).
I love you, Lord (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

2. Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6; NLT).

4. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us (Revelation 1:5; NLT).

6. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me, Father, and I am in you.  […] I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one (John 17:21-2; NLT).