KINGDOMS

Ransom

False gods

I see

False gods

Within my heart

I see false gods

I keep seeking castles of wood and rock

You build Kingdoms of living stone

I look to food to satisfy

You give bread of eternal life

Ransom me!

What was it like to walk with You?

What was it like to see You on that tree

What was it like

To see that stone be rolled away

Hope has dawned (x2)

Though I deny You

You ransom me

Though I deny You

You paid it all

Mark 10: 35-45, Romans 3: 21-26, 1 Peter 2: 24-25, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Mark 5: 1-20, Galatians 4:8, 1 Thesalonians 1: 9-10, Romans 5: 12-21.

Sojourn

Fall off the edge

Of the Earth

You’ve chased after

The Wind

You climb

To reach the highest peak

You reach

You grasp at nothing

Your works

Cant save

And yet you seek

After

All that

Cannot save

You say

Truth is yours

But truth is

Universal

What is

True for you

Must be

true for me

It is not fluid

It does not shift

Why can’t you see

You must change

You don’t belong here

You don’t belong

You keep on searching
This place is not your home

You’ll never find

Where you belong

Apart from him

You can’t belong
You’ll never find

Where you belong

Apart from him

You can’t belong

Why don’t you open your eyes?

You can have peace

His mercy is as vast as the sea

Death is the last

Great adventure

Find your assurance

In Christ, the King
Death is the last

Great adventure

Find your assurance

In Christ the King

Stop building upon

Things that will fall

And storing your treasure

Where moth and rust destroy

Stop twisting truth

To meet your desires

God is truth

His word is truth

Matthew 6:19-24, John 14:1-6, John 1, Leviticus 22:17-18, Isaiah 16:4, Deuteronomy 10:17-22, Deuteronomy 27-28, Deuteronomy 14:28-29, Genesis 26:3, Ruth 1:1, Hebrews 11:9, 1 Peter 1:13-23, Ephesians 2, Romans 5: 1-8, Romans 9: 14-16, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Timothy 1: 15-16, Exodus 33:19, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:24, Titus 2:11.

Hosea 1

I have to tell you bad news before I tell you good news, you see sin is not safe in God’s presence. God, will destroy our kingdoms that we build to protect ourselves from his righteous judgement. And as C.S. Lewis beautifully gets as the Kids are going to meet Aslan they ask “Is he safe?” "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.” You see the Promise made to Ahab for worshipping Baal, would come to completion here in Hosea’s time. God would destroy the false worship of Baal in the very place Israel worshipped Baal, the valley of Jezreel. You see as we continue to build our own kingdoms God will destroy them, he will tear them apart brick by brick because he is not interested in our false worship.

So how does the book of Hosea point to Christ here? Christ is the true son of God. Just as Jezreel is Hosea’s. Christ by his blood will set his people free from the false idols that they worship, and though they have been unfaithful, Christ was faithful even to the point of death on the Cross. You see Jezreel means God sows, referring to the fertility of the land the abundance of life, and in John 15: 1-17 Jesus teaches us that life is in him. That in him is the abundance of life in him is love. On Christ, the wrath of God is poured out for the sins of those who believe in him. Just as the Valley of Jezreel would be the place in which God’s wrath is poured out against sin, Christ is the place in which God’s wrath is poured out on sin for our sake.

You see those of you who do not belong to Christ, who are not sons or daughters, you are not adopted in the same way but you can be. It’s by faith and faith alone, through grace alone, by Christ alone, that you can be saved. You can know a Father who loves you, who isn’t safe, but is King.

Healer

Make way

I’ve got to see this king

But the pressure

Keeps building

They’re pushing

And shoving me

I can hardly see

I can hardly breathe

Darkness closes in

They are all surrounding me

If only I could get to him

To touch a section of his robe

I’ve heard that he’s a healer

At least I sure hope so

To look upon his splendor

This great physician

I need only to touch a thread

Of his long and tattered robe

Oh God man will you heal me?

I know you’re the king of kings

And before Abraham was

The great I am you have been

Though I am sick and dying

Though I should be cast off from the clean

You have walked among me

You can make me clean

The crowds do not marvel

His friends do not stop

Focusing on the task at hand

This Son of Man has healed me

He brings Sons and Daughters home

By his blood he’ll adopt me

He will never let me go

I need more than physical healing

I need you to save my soul

Though the price is high

You have paid it all

John 8: 57-59, Luke 8: 43-48, Mark 5: 21-34, Matthew 9:18-26, Exodus 3: 10-16, Psalm 103, Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24, Psalm 147:3, Psalm 107: 19-20.

Abide

How can I be saved

When I have a long list of sins

When my works don't work

And I wear my sins like tattoos on my skin

I guess this is what you call Grace

And how can I be forgiven

When I struggle to forgive others

Of the same things that I have been forgiven of

In bitterness is where I live

I’ve been bought for something else

And how am I not condemned

When I’ve committed the crime

Over and over again

And it’s clear that I am guilty

And yet someone died in my place

How do you love me

When daily I reject you

And my love grows cold for you

And I lose sight of who I am in you

And who I am, is not who I want to be

Thanks be to God

Salvation is all on You

Trust in the Lord

Call upon his name

You can’t save yourself

You can’t repay all your sins with how

Holy you try to be

Look to the Lord

He’s your strength and shield

He can fix the most broken of vessels

Call upon His name

I’ve spent my life

Only serving myself

Whatever I can do

For my own kingdom

But I’m tired of looking in this mirror

Seeing a man who claims one thing

With his lips

And with his actions spreads death

Oh great Vinedresser

Do not cast me off

Shepherd of my soul

Mend my heart

Make me whole

I’ve been seeing the

World in black and grey

Give me eyes to see

The complexities of grace

How deaf must I go

I hear of your love for me

I forget your face

Make me whole

John 15: 4-11, John 8:3, 2 John 1:19, 1 John 2: 24-28, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 3: 17-19, 1 John 3:24, Proverbs 3: 5-6, Psalm 37:4-6, Psalm 33:20, Isaiah 26:3, Psalm 56:3, Jeremiah 17:7.

Stoneheart

I can’t deny
something plagues my people

A sickness so down deep
it disgusts me

It’s so unlike me

Though it seems natural

Your bodies will decay

Your hearts will be black

I did not cause you
to be this way

Though I will allow it

To show you the way

I must become the monster whom I am seeking to destroy

I will enter the fire

To show you what you mean to me

My justice will be done

My righteousness I will trade

I’ll use the old accursed tree

To manifest my grace

I will crack the sky,
the day they pierce my side

Mercy has not been known before

In such a way as the cross

I will break my body

I will spill my blood

So you can be my people

And I will be your God

Stone heart

I will remove your

Stone heart

I will remove your

Stone heart

At the foot of that cross

The serpent was crushed

At the foot of that cross

You bought a people for yourself

At the foot of the cross

You set the captives free

At the foot of the cross

You saved me!

Ezekiel 11: 19-20, Ezekiel 36: 26-28, Ezekiel 37: 27, Jeremiah 24:7, Jeremiah 31:33, Jeremiah 32:40, Hebrews 8:10, 2 Corinthians 3:3, Deuteronomy 30: 6, 1 Peter 2:9, Titus 2: 11-14, Zechariah 8:8, Hosea 2: 23, Matthew 27, John 14:6, Genesis 3:16

Psalm 126

Don’t Waste Your Suffering there is something produced in us in the midst of suffering and the Psalmist indicates one way we can waste our stuffing is not laboring for joy. When we refuse to pray, we are not laboring for joy. When we are not reading our Bibles regularly, we are not laboring for joy. When we are not meeting with God’s people to seeking to serve one another, we are not laboring for joy. And through patient endurance and humility before your king, God is producing in you a realization of eternal joy. That is why men and women throughout church history have faced death, singing songs of praise, because, despite their circumstances, Christ Jesus is their joy. And we live in a culture of instant gratification, and despite having what we want now, we continue to ask for more.

And what is peculiar about joy in Christ is this, he has already provided you a means to lasting joy by his perfect life, his death, and resurrection on your behalf. But there is even greater things to come when he returns. So fight for joy, daily! That’s what the Psalmist wants us to see, fight for joy in the midst of suffering because the suffering we experience makes our joy in Christ all the more sweet. You will never have joy in Christ in the midst of your suffering in the midst of your impatience with God, and you will not see your impatience for what it is, without humility. And so, All three of these points are linked together, so if you have no joy in Christ ask yourself “In what ways do I need to patiently wait on the Lord?” And, “In what ways do I need to humble myself and Come before the Lord for help, comfort, peace, and joy?”

Don’t give up, don’t waste your suffering. Despite your suffering in the year, God has been gracious to give us work to do. He has given us children to raise, Wives to lead, husbands to help, brothers and sisters to care for, a body to serve, friends who need to know Jesus, family members that need to know Jesus. We work through tears remembering the hope of the Gospel that Christ is coming back, that he will wipe away every tear from our eyes,

http://www.wvcrossroads.com/project/lessons-learned/ps-126

The Divide

Why is there not Unity Among ourselves

Why are we always Fighting

Why is there not Unity Among ourselves

I want to keep it to myself

And never speak out

About my sin within and those around me

So many times I have felt the hurt

I keep on pushing Everyone away

It keeps on leaving A Crimson stain

I keep on searching For affirmation

I keep on longing For Friendship

And every time Someone walks away

That’s another person I can’t help but chase

Open my eyes to see my sin

Bring my brothers back

Jesus Friend of sinners

You’re all we need

As I wait Patiently

I’ll turn the other cheek

Waiting for you to see

Christ has bought you and me

Because of him we are free

So I’ll turn the other cheek

Waiting for you to see

Christ has bought you and me

Kingdoms

Who’s Kingdom am I building?

My idols grow day by day
Consuming me

Who’s Kingdom am I building?

My idols grow day by day

Who’s kingdom am I building?

Mine is not here to stay

Lord, break these idols and watch them fall.

Sustain my soul and be my all

When I write these songs of praise

Is it for you or me?

Raised altars to my own name

They crumbled at your feet

You prayed “on earth as is above”

Father, you sent your Son in love

Though I still fail everyday

you saw it fit to give me grace

I built towers and monuments (of all my achievements)

When shown your righteousness (I see the truth)

I can’t save myself (no matter what I do)

These towers can’t hold me up to you

Lord, break these idols and watch them fall

Sustain my soul and be my all

You prayed “on earth as is above”

Father, you sent your Son jin love

Though I still fail everyday

you sought fit to give me grace

Who’s Kingdom am I building?

My idols grow day by day
Consuming me
Who’s Kingdom am I building

My idols grow day by day

Who’s kingdom am I building?

Mine is not here to stay

I built towers and monuments (of all my achievements)

When shown your righteousness (I see the truth)

I can’t save myself (no matter what I do)

These towers can’t hold me up to you

1 Chronicles 28: 1-8, 2 Chronicles 13, Matthew 6:33, 1 Chronicles 29: 1, Matthew 4:17, Luke 12:32, John 3:3, Ephesians 2:19-20, Zachariah 14:9, Mark 1:15, Matthew 5.

Lights

These lights surround me

I’m to blind to see

I’ve been in the dark for too long

I’ve been looking at the sky

Trying to find my place

I keep thinking that the world

Revolves around me

Living like I am a king

Trying to find my place

I keep thinking that the world

Revolves around me

I’ve been walking around so blind

But my soul

Thirsts for salvation

I know I need something

More than myself

I thought I was new

But I feel the same

I can feel your warmth

You grow near to me

Return to me

I hear you calling my name

Return to me

You bring me peace

Light of the world

Shine on me

Light of the world

Shine on me

I’ve been walking around so blind

But my soul

Thirst for salvation

I know I need something

More than myself

I thought I was new

But I feel the same

Rejoice O downcast heart

Rejoice again I say rejoice

For the sins of your youth

Will not be remembered

Lights II

Light of the world

By Darkness slain

Nothing could compare

To this grace

The debt of your soul

Has been paid in full

By the all powerful creator

All that is needed

Has been granted to you

All that is old

Has been made new

Rejoice

It’s by grace alone that I’ve been saved

I was walking around so blind

But now in You Lord my hope lies

God You have given me life

Now use me Lord to be your light

John 8, Matthew 25:14-16, Psalm 27:5, John 1:14, John 12: 27-50, John 3: 14, John 6: 60-71, John 5: 18-47, Ephesians 2, Romans 3: 23-26, John 1:1-4, Hebrews 1: 1-4, Genesis 1-3.

Maranatha

You came for me when I was lost

Wandering in the darkness

Never counting the cost

Of my sin against you

I couldn’t call to you

On my own

Because of sin

I was separated

from you

You sought me out

To call me a son

You spilled your blood

You gave your life

And what more words can I say

And what more things can I do

You paid it all for me

And Now I praise you

And what more words can I say

And what more things can I do

You paid it all for me

And Now I praise you

My peace is found

In the one Who is

and was and is to come

My hope renewed

I was lost and now I’m found

I’ve found the truth

Your word gives me life

Now I know true comfort

To live for you

Grace and peace be multiplied to you

Maranatha

Lord Jesus come

You will end all my suffering

You will make all things new

Maranatha

Lord Jesus come

You will end all my suffering

You will make all things new

Grace and peace be multiplied to you

1 Corinthians 16:22-24, Matthew 16: 27, Matthew 24: 42-44, Matthew 25:31, Matthew 26:64, Mark 8:38, Luke 21:25-27, John 14 1-6 Philippians 3:20, Philippians 4:5, 1 Thesalonians 1:10, 1 Thesalonians 4:13-17, 1 Thesalonians 5:1-3, 1 Timothy 6: 13-15, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 9: 28, 2 Peter 3:4 2 Peter 1:2, 2 Peter 3:18, John 14: 25-31