Day: April 6, 2012

There is a Fountain Filled With Blood

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
shall never lose its power
’till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.
’till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
thy flowing wounds supply,
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.

Words: William Cowper

Video: Red Mountain Music

5 Songs for Good Friday

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

With Easter coming Sunday, the MOST Holy day on the Christian calendar, it is easy to overlook or undervalue Good Friday.  But to do so deprives us of great opportunity to glory in the Cross.

When I was a kid, I remember asking my mother one day: “Why do they call it Good Friday, if that’s the day they killed Jesus?”  My mother, who is not a theologian, gave the best answer she could: “Well, I guess it because we know he rose again.”

My mother was right. No doubt the death of Jesus cannot be considered apart from the Resurrection that was to follow.  All our blessings are wrapped up in these two inseparable events.

But there is even more to it than that. The death of Christ itself, not alone but as a distinct redemptive act, carries it’s own beauty when viewed from this side of the Cross.  It was Jesus’ blood shed on the Cross that paid the debt for all my depravity, and set my sin into remission.  It is by Jesus’ voluntary death that we most vividly view the love of God – that we most clearly see nearly all of God’s attributes, really.

So with this in mind, and in hope to redeem the day for our greatest good, here are 5 songs for Good Friday that focus us on the blessing of that GREAT first Good Friday:

NOTE: All songs played on MOG. You may have to sign up for this free app to listen. But once you listen, you’ll agree it was worth it.

Crucifixion & Resurrection

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Here is a reflection, taken from Valley of Vision, for Good Friday:

O Lord,
I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate,
be crucified, dead, and buried.

The sepulchre calls forth my adoring wonder,
for it is empty and thou art risen;
the four-fold gospel attests it,
the living witnesses prove it,
my heart’s experience knows it.

Give me to die with thee that I may rise to new life,
for I wish to be as dead and buried to sin, to selfishness, to the world;
that I might not hear the voice of the charmer,
and might be delivered from his lusts.

O Lord, there is much ill about me – crucify it,
much flesh within me – mortify it.
Purge me from selfishness,
the fear of man, the love of approbation,
the shame of being thought old-fashioned,
the desire to be cultivated or modern.
Let me reckon my old life dead
because of crucifixion,
and never feed it as a living thing.
Grant me to stand with my dying Saviour,
to be content to be rejected,
to be willing to take up unpopular truths,
and to hold fast despised teachings until death.
Help me to be resolute and Christ-contained.
Never let me wander from the path of obedience to thy will.
Strengthen me for the battles ahead.
Give me courage for all the trials,
and grace for all the joys.
Help me to be a holy, happy person,
free from every wrong desire,
from everything contrary to thy mind.
Grant me more and more of the resurrection life:
may it rule me,
may I walk in its power,
and be strengthened through its influence.