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    Family Song: All Hail King Jesus

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    With Easter just around the corner, our next family song is one that magnifies the power and glory of Christ’s death and resurrection. For the month of April, we will be singing the song All Hail King Jesus by Jeremy Riddle. This song gives a powerful reflection of the resurrection story, and leads us to fully worship Jesus Christ as Lord.

    Below you will find the lyrics, related passages of Scripture, and links to recordings and devotionals that you can use at home, in your car, or anywhere else you might be!

    Parents: we hope that these resources will be helpful for you and your children. Especially as we approach Easter, we want you to be able to share with your kids the importance of Christ’s death and resurrection and celebrate that with them! As usual, we will be playing this song in our service before we dismiss the kiddos to children’s church. So, we look forward to singing it with you and the young ones each week!

    If you don’t have kids, we invite you to dive deep into these powerful lyrics and meditate on their richness we sing this song each week this month.

    Blessings,


    Ben Parks

    All Hail King Jesus
    Written by Ran Jackson, Peter Mattis, Jeremy Riddle, and Steffany Gretzinger

    Verse 1
    There was a moment when the lights went out
    When death had claimed its victory
    The King of Love had given up His life
    The darkest day in history

    There on a cross they made for sinners
    For every curse His blood atoned
    One final breath and it was finished
    But not the end we could have known

    Pre-Chorus 1
    For the earth began to shake
    And the veil was torn
    What sacrifice was made
    As the heavens roared

    Chorus
    All hail King Jesus
    All hail the Lord of Heaven and earth
    All hail King Jesus
    All hail the Savior of the world

    Verse 2
    There was a moment when the sky lit up
    A flash of light breaking through
    When all was lost He crossed eternity
    The King of life was on the move

    Pre-Chorus 2
    For in a dark, cold tomb
    Where our Lord was laid
    One miraculous breath
    And we’re forever changed

    Bridge
    Let every knee, come bow before the King of Kings
    Let every tongue, confess that He is Lord
    Lift up your shout, let us join with all of Heaven
    Singing Holy, Singing Holy
    Cry out Holy, Cry out Holy

    Scripture Passages:
    Crucifixion Story - Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23
    Resurrection - Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24
    Philippians 2:5-10
    Zechariah 9:9
    Revelation 4:8; 17:14 (Isaiah 6:3)

    Recordings:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZubjsB_KLg 
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIYPeWYx4qI

    Devotional Links:

    Jesus, the Only King - Michael Youssef, Ph.D.
    Jesus, the Savior of the World - Hernandes Lopez

    Posted by Ben Parks with
    in Family Song

    Family Song: Before the Throne of God Above

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    Ben Parks here, worship leader at Harbor City Church. In January, we sent out a survey to get feedback about our Family Songs. The responses are very helpful—so thank you for taking the time to respond! We were overjoyed to learn that families and individuals have been benefiting from this. The goal of these songs is to (1) equip parents to use the songs we sing to disciple their kids, and (2) help us all meditate more deeply on the words we sing. So, to see that this is actually happening is pretty rad! Let's keep it up!

    For the month of February(ish), we will sing Before the Throne of God Above. I chose this hymn because of its rich theology and emphasis on the immovable assurance we have in Christ as our intercessor. This hymn was written in the 1860’s by Charitie Lees Bancroft, the daughter of an Irish minister. This hymn, originally titled “The Advocate,” is perhaps her best-known hymn, and is still sung by many around the world today.

    We hope that this song helps you go deeper in your fellowship with the Lord. Below I have included the lyrics, relevant passages of Scripture, a few YouTube links of the hymn, and a short devotional geared for kids (but hopefully helpful for adults too!). We look forward to singing this song with you this month!

    In Christ,

    Ben Parks
    Assistant Worship Leader
    Harbor City Church  |  
    Before the Throne of God Above
    By Charitie Lees Bancroft, 1860s

    Recordings:
    Sovereign Grace feat. Kristyn Getty
    Piano Instrumental
    Shane & Shane

    Related Scripture: Lyrics:
    Before the throne of God above
    I have a strong, a perfect plea:
    A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
    Who ever lives and pleads for me.
    My name is graven on his hands,
    my name is written on his heart;
    I know that while in heaven he stands
    no tongue can bid me thence depart.

    When Satan tempts me to despair,
    and tells me of the guilt within,
    upward I look, and see him there
    Who made an end of all my sin.
    Because the sinless Savior died,
    my sinful soul is counted free;
    For God, the Just, is satisfied
    to look on him and pardon me.

    Behold him there, the risen Lamb!
    My perfect, spotless Righteousness,
    The great unchangeable I AM,
    the King of glory and of grace!
    One with Himself, I cannot die;
    My soul is purchased by his blood;
    My life is hid with Christ on high,
    with Christ, my Savior and my God.


    Kids’ Devotional:
    When we've been selfish or mean to someone, the best thing to do is to come to that person and say “I'm sorry,” and, “Please forgive me.” Then the person we hurt can say, “I accept your apology, and I forgive you!”

    It's the same with God. When we've been selfish or mean to Him, the best thing to do is to say to Him, “I'm sorry,” and, “Please forgive me.” But since we can't see or hear God, how can we know He accepts our apology and forgives us? How can we know He still loves us?

    In the Old Testament of the Bible, the High Priest had a very important job. He was the “bridge” between God and the people of Israel. In order to say, “I'm sorry” and “Please forgive me” to God, people had to make sacrifices. The High Priest would bring these “I'm sorry” and “Please forgive me” sacrifices into God's holy presence, and then tell the people, “God accepts your apology and He forgives you!” But every sacrifice had to be perfect, and every time they were selfish or mean, people had to make another sacrifice. Even the High Priest had to make sacrifices—because sometimes he was selfish and mean, too!

    But when God's own Son Jesus came to earth, he was never selfish or mean—He was perfect in every way. Yet He willingly died on the cross as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. After he rose from the dead, Jesus ascended into heaven into God's holy presence, where he is always reminding God of the perfect sacrifice He made on our behalf (Rom. 8:34).

    Because of this, Hebrews 4:14 can declare that Jesus is our Great High Priest—He is the best “bridge” we could ever hope for! Because Jesus was perfect, we know His sacrifice is “a strong, a perfect plea,” and “my sinful soul is counted free.”  Because Jesus is God's own Son, we know that God always listens to Him as he “ever lives and pleads for me,” and that “while in heaven He stands, no tongue can bid me thence depart.” Because Jesus conquered sin and death, we know that “my soul is purchased by His blood” and, “One with Himself I cannot die” (spiritually).

    God doesn't ever want us to doubt that He accepts our apologies and forgives us and loves us. Because of Jesus, we can have confidence that our names are “graven on His hands” and “written on His heart”—fancy ways of saying that God loves us, no matter what we've done, or how we feel, or what circumstances we face. As Hebrews 4 says, we can “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

    Whenever you sing Before the Throne of God Above, let it fill you with this joyful confidence: that you have full assurance of God's acceptance and love because of your Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.
    Posted by Ben Parks with
    Tags: children, family, god, jesus, jesús, king, family song

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