Videos

God’s Own Fool

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

It seems I’ve imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God’s Holy wisdom is foolish to men
He must have seemed out of His mind

For even His family said He was mad
And the priests said a demon’s to blame
But God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane

Chorus:

When we in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
When we in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong
And so we follow God’s own fool
For only the foolish can tell-
Believe the unbelievable
And come be a fool as well

So come lose your life for a carpenter’s son
For a madman who died for a dream
And you’ll have the faith His first followers had
And you’ll feel the weight of the beam
So surrender the hunger to say you must know
Have the courage to say “I believe”
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see

Chorus:

When we in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
When we in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong
So we follow God’s own Fool, For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable, And come be a fool as well

Come Worship the Lord

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Come, worship the Lord
For we are His people, the flock that He shepherds
Aleluia

Come, let us sing to the Lord
And shout with joy to the Rock who saves us
Let us come with thanksgiving
And sing joyful songs to the Lord

The Lord is God, a mighty God
The great King o’er all the gods
He holds in His hands the depths of the earth
And the highest mountains as well
He made the sea; it belongs now to Him
The dry land, too, was formed by His hand

So…

Come, let us bow down in worship
Bending the knee before the Lord our Maker
For we are His people
We are the flock that He shepherds

So…

Aleluia, Aleluia

The Gospel of Mark by Max McLean

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

If you have not seen the Bible brought to life through one of Max McLean‘s performances you have missed out. I first saw him when he came to chapel while I was a student at Reformed Theological Seminary. McLean is an acclaimed thespian who lends his substantial talents to verbatim oral interpretation of Books of the Bible, among other roles.

I learned from Justin Taylor that McLean’s live portrayal of John Mark, author of the Gospel of Mark, from the show run last year in the Chicago Theatre District, is now available on DVD.  I also leaned that it is available free online.

Click the chapters and watch McLean bring the Gospel of Mark to life, word-for-word:

Try reading along to dramatize your Devotional time for several days.

Things We Leave Behind

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

There sits Simon foolish and wise
Proudly he’s tending his nets
Jesus calls and the boat drifts away
All that he owns he forgets

More than the nets he abandoned that day
He found that his pride was soon fading away

It’s hard to imagine the freedom we find
From the things we leave behind

Matthew was mindful of taking the tax
Pressing the people to pay
Hearing the call he responded in faith
And followed the light and the way

Leaving the people so puzzled he found
The greed in his heart was no longer around

Every heart needs to be set free
From possessions that press in so tight
Freedom is not found in the things that we own
It’s the power to do what is right

With Jesus our only possession
Giving becomes our delight
We can’t imagine the freedom we find
From the things we leave behind

We show a love for the world in our lives
Worshipping goods we possess
Jesus said lay all your treasures aside
And love God above all the rest

When we say no to the things of the world
We open our hearts to the love of the Lord

Song by:

Power of the Cross

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

Oh, to see the dawn of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:

This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain written on your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought, Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees; Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two, Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry.

Oh, to see my name written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:

This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

How Deep

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

You were broken that I might be healed
You were cast off that I might draw near
You were thirsty that I might come drink
Cried out in anguish that I might sing

How deep is Your love
How high and how wide is Your mercy
How deep is Your grace
Our hearts overflow with praise
To You

You knew darkness that I might know light
Wept great tears that mine might be dried
Stripped of glory that I might be clothed
Crushed by Your Father to call me Your own

© 2006 Sovereign Grace Music (BMI).

From Valley of Vision 

Voicing Displeasure

/ Dennis Griffith / 2 Comments

Philippians 2.14 says: “Do everything without complaining…” 

I wonder if the Apostle Paul would make any exceptions for entertainment value.

Perhaps not.

But there is a growing trend around the world that is adding creativity to complaining. They are calling themselves Complaint Choirs.  Complaint Choirs are groups of people who blend their laments into humorous songs.  Most are then “airing” their gripes on YouTube.

The first complaint choir was established in Birmingham, England. Since then they have spread across Europe to Canada (the above video), the US, Singanpore, etc. New choirs continue to spring up around the world. 

Now a web site has been developed – Complaints Choirs Worldwide –  with a locator map to track these expanding groups.  The site even has a link that allows viewers to rate thier favorite choirs. 

NOTE: Listen to the NPR interview with a leader of the Helsinki Complaints Choir: Voicing Displeasure