“Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendour”

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9 The lyrics of Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendour were written in China by Frank Houghton, an Englishman. The words, […]

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Messiah!

When I was growing up we attended a church with a large music program, and I first sang in a choir as a young child. Our minister of music frequently had us sing the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s Messiah during December. The adult choir was at the front of the church behind the ministers, while […]

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O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

During that turbulent year of campus riots in 1970, on July 16, I became a Christian. Just over a month later I went to a camp with other college students from the Southeast for three weeks (in case you’re wondering, this wasn’t one of the many cults of that day), and for the first time […]

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1 Kings 5–9: The Temple & Its Dedication

Read the Bible in 2011 ◊ Week 23: Tuesday “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to […]

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Who Are These Guys?

You may be wondering why I quote men who lived a century of more before us.  It’s certainly not to bore you stiff!  There are numerous reasons I could give you about why it’s worth the effort to read authors who use a different language style and unfamiliar words.  I could say it’s because I […]

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A New Year’s Anchor of Hope

I wrote this post for New Year’s Day 2011. I’ve revisited it and revised it yet again for clarity because it continues to be read as people search for hope. I’ve left this one up so that if it turns up in a search, the link won’t lead to a page that says error, but […]

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Hallelujah!

When I was growing up we attended a church with a large music program, and I first sang in a choir as a young child.  Our minister of music frequently had us sing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah during December.  The adult choir was at the front of the church behind the ministers, while […]

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Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendour

Carol of the Bells featured a hand bell choir in Taiwan.  The lyrics of Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendour were written in China by Frank Houghton, an Englishman.  The words, the music and the story behind the writing of this hymn make this song one of my favorite Christmas carols. “…This hymn was […]

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