Does Jesus Care?

There is an old song that many churches no longer use, but its message is as timely today as when it was first written.

Composer Frank Graeff was born on December 19, 1860, in Tamaqua, PA. He became a Methodist minister. His bright outlook on life and his optimistic personality earned him the nickname “The Sunshine Minister.” He was known for his love of storytelling. Children and adults alike were drawn to his ministry. During his lifetime, he wrote about 200 hymns.

Like many Christians, Frank Graeff experienced spiritual struggles. During a particular rough time in his life he experienced physical problems, along with spiritual doubt and depression. Fortunately, he turned to the scriptures for answers and came upon a verse in I Peter.

“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” (I Peter 5:7)

Not only did this verse help him through his rough time, but it also inspired him to write the song “Does Jesus Care?”

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained Too deeply for mirth and song;

As the burdens press, and the cares distress, And the way grows weary and long?

Does Jesus care when my way is dark With a nameless dread and fear?

As the daylight fades into deep nightshades, Does He care enough to be near?

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed To resist some temptation strong;

When for my deep grief I find no relief, Tho’ my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care when I’ve said goodbye To the dearest on earth to me?

And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

O yes, He cares; I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares.

Reflections on Another Year Is Dawning

Another year is dawning! Dear Father, let it be In working or in waiting,

Another year with Thee; Another year of progress, Another year of praise,

Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, Of faithfulness and grace, Another year of gladness,

In the shining of Thy face; Another year of leaning Upon Thy loving breast,

Another year of trusting, Of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, Of witness for Thy love, Another year of training

For holier work above; Another year is dawning! Dear Father, let it be,

On earth, or else in heaven, Another year for Thee.

January has always been a time of reflection for me. As I think back over my past, I am amazed at what God has done in my life. Just like the poem “Footprints” when we look back over rough times in our lives we can see the hand of God and the places where He even carried us through.

Frances Havergal, the author of this hymn was a well known British hymn writer in the 1800’s. Not caring for the verses and sayings on greeting cards, she had a tradition of writing her own poems to send to her friends and family as greeting cards. Written near the end of 1873, she penned the words to this great hymn of our faith and sent it out as a special greeting card for the New Year of 1874.

As the old hymn states, as this year dawns, let us look forward to another year of service to God. Let us commit anew to following the Master, keeping our focus on Him and Him alone. As I reflect on over 30 years of ministry, I also look forward to future ministry until the Lord returns. As we look ahead to the year 2012, I pray that Christians everywhere will take the words of this hymn to heart as we pray: “Another year is dawning! Dear Father let it be, on earth or else in heaven another year for thee.”

My Resolution

Last night we saw the movie Courageous for the second time. We were privileged to preview the movie back in August. Prior to even seeing the movie our church staff was inspired to make the same resolution that the men in the movie made. I signed this resolution and gave it to Sue on the morning of our 28th wedding anniversary. There are two framed copies of this resolution, one hangs in our living room and the other hangs in my office.

This resolution is not an easy resolution to uphold and there are times that I am sure that I have already failed and will fail again. But as a husband and father, it is my God given duty to do my best to take responsibility for how I treat my wife and children (even as they have entered adulthood).

My
RESOLUTION

I DO solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself,
Sue, Steven, and Rebecca.

I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them
the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.

I WILL be faithful to my wife, Sue, to love and honor her,
and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me.

I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with
all of their hearts, all of their minds, all of their soul, and all of their strength.

I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly.

I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy.

I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion.

I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.

I WILL forgive those who have wronged me
and reconcile with those I have wronged.

I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins,
and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God.

I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to
His church, obey His Word, and do His will.

I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides
to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.


George Samuel Stack
On Our 28th wedding anniversary the 25th day of JUNE in the year 2011


As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

Music Wars 101

Many churches today either have experienced or continue to experience what many have termed Music Wars. Many people think that this is a new phenomenon across the land of Christendom, but it is a battle that has gone on for many generations. Since Paul instructed the early church to sing to one another in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, the church has had conflict over this simple task. Paul places this instruction in two separate letters to the church. It often makes me wonder if these two early churches were already fighting over the musical style of their worship. In both letters Paul adds these instructions in passages about living out the Christian Faith.
In Ephesians we find the instructions alongside instructions dealing with the imitation of Christ:

1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light." 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. Eph 5:1-21 (NKJV)

In Colossians we find the same instructions in a similar passage:

1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Col 3:1-17 (NKJV)

As a student of Music History and a former teacher and adjunct music professor, I have studied this controversy as it rolled through the ages. Let me give a very brief overview of this history.

The early years of known music history date back to around 800 AD. The music of the church was confined to the Catholic Church and was what we now call Gregorian Chant. The music was sung by the priests and had only a melodic line. Toward the end of this Medieval time period, other melodic lines were added to the chant line. Controversy soon erupted over this ‘change’ in music.

From around 1420 to 1600 AD music styles changed again. This period was called the Renaissance. Intricate part singing was found in the music; yet again there arose controversy in the church. A council of church leaders got together and wrote out guidelines for composers to follow when writing music for the church. During this time period, there was little distinction between ‘secular’ and ‘sacred.’ Common practice was to borrow tunes from what we would now consider secular music. Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” for example borrowed a tune from a secular source.

From 1600 to around 1750 the period was called the Baroque period. It was during this time period that a real division between ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ music became evident. In England laws were written that outlawed most Operas because of the secular content. Composers like George Frederick Handel wrote Oratorios which had the musical format of the Opera but had a Biblical theme. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote music for the church as did Vivaldi.

From 1750 – 1820 AD, the Classical Period, the lines between ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ widened. Again in the Romantic period from 1820 – 1900 AD, the lines continued to diverge. Up until the end of this period, the practice of borrowing musical lines from other composers was still common. Much of the church music of this time reflected the musical styles of the period. From 1900 to the present, many musical styles have evolved. Much music written today reflects many of the different styles of music from our rich heritage of music.

Across this land, on any given Sunday, we can find a wide variety of musical styles being used in the church. Some churches use choirs, orchestras, and organs. Other churches use piano only, while some use drums and guitars. There are some denominations that only use voices and forbid the use of instruments.

I have overheard conversations on the subject of music within the church that I am sure breaks God’s heart. He wants to hear His people sing His praises regardless of the style of the song. When we do otherwise, we put our preferences above our Lord. I have heard people complain about what they see as a current trend to add verses and choruses to older familiar hymns.

This is not a current trend, but a practice that has been around for hundreds of years. There are numerous ‘old hymns’ in our hymnals that are perfect examples of this. Ralph E. Hudson the arranger of “Blessed Be the Name” took Charles Wesley’s hymn “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing” altered the words and added a chorus. Both of these hymns grace the pages of hymnals in our churches today. “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks” is found in several hymnals with different choruses. These are just a few examples of this trend from over a hundred years ago.

So what does this mean for the church of today? First of all we must be aware that the controversy over musical styles has been with the church since the beginning. We must remember that Satan, our enemy, will use every tool available to damage the church. We must remember that musical style is a preference, not a Biblical mandate. The Bible does not contain written music, but does contain instructions on how our attitude must be toward one another, re-read the above passages. As Christians, we should not let our musical preferences get in the way of our worship of the Lord God Almighty. After all, worship is not about us, it is not for us. Worship is our gift to the Lord and our attitude matters to God. The Song writers, worship leaders and Ministers of Music of the church today all have one goal for our times of worship. That goal is to praise and worship the One who created us, who loved us so much that He died and rose again for us. God is not pleased when we fuss and fight over things that don’t matter. So as you come into your worship services, I plead with you to come with a new and Godly attitude in your worship. As Paul further instructs in the letter to the Colossians:

23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. Col 3:23-24 (NKJV)

Why Christians Need Theology

The word theology has gotten a bad rap over the last few years. I maintain that all Christians need Theology. The word comes from two Greek words theos meaning God and logos which means rational utterance or understanding.

You don’t have to be a seminary or Bible college graduate to be a theologian. Whether we admit it or not, every Christian is already a theologian. In an article on his website author and pastor Bob Kauflin writes: “…are you a good theologian or a bad one? We’re good theologians if what we say and think about God lines up with what Scripture says and affirms. We’re bad theologians if our view of God is vague, or if we think God doesn’t really mind sin, or if we see Jesus as a good example and not a Savior, or if we think our God is too small to overcome evil or too big to care about us.” (worshipmatters.com)

In the book Worldliness, Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World, author and pastor C. J. Mahoney discusses the sad fact that many Christians mentally cut and paste sections of the Bible to make their own personal scripture. If they don’t like what the Bible says they simply choose to ignore it (clip it out). This is the reason that Christianity in America is loosing ground. We say that we are a people of The Book, but the majority of Christians spend very little time reading let alone studying the Bible.

In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul writes: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
This single verse has a great deal of truth in it. First of all it tells us to study. Not only must we read the Bible, we are to study it. We are to study it because God approves. He wants us to know and understand Him through His written word. By reading and studying the Bible we gain an intimate knowledge of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that we will be workers that are not ashamed of the Gospel when we follow this direction. Notice how the scripture instructs us to not only study the Bible, but also to understand how the Bible fits together (rightly dividing).

I encourage each of us to look at our personal Theology. Is our Theology good or shaky? As we enter the New Year at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, we need to examine ourselves as individuals and ask God to guide us as we strive to follow Him daily. I pray that each of us will give careful attention to our reading and study of God’s Word. If you don’t already read your Bible each day, I encourage you to make that a New Year’s resolution.

How Firm A Foundation

One of my favorite hymns is “How Firm a Foundation.” This hymn was first pub-lished in a 1787 in “Selection of Hymns,” a hymnal published by John Rippon, a Bap-tist minister in London. Many hymnals list the author of the text as “K.” It is now believed that the author was John Rippon’s assistant, Robert Keene.

I have loved this hymn since I was a young child. As an older child learning to play the piano, I was attracted to the music. It was simple enough for me to learn to play. Along with “Just As I Am” and “Nothing But the Blood,” it rounded out the first songs that I ever played in church.
As I have became older, I have come to realize the depth of meaning in the verses of this great hymn. Like many great hymns of the faith, this song is a sermon in a nut-shell.

Verse 1 is an affirmation of the truth established in the Bible, God’s Holy Word.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Verse 2 is based on Isaiah 41:10 and is God’s promise to always be with us.
Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

Verse 3 is based on 2 Corinthians 12:9 and is the promise that God’s grace is sufficient for all of our trials and heartaches.
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to remove and thy gold to refine.

Verse 4 is my favorite and is based on Hebrews 13:5. This is God’s promise that He will never leave or forsake us.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!

As we enter this new phase in the life of Pleasant Valley, I pray that each of us turns our heart toward Revival. I pray that each of us reaffirms our trust in the firm Foundation of God’s Word. I look forward to the days ahead as we move forward under the leadership of Bro. Keith.

The Quilt

The ladies from the sewing ministry wanted me to share the story behind the beautiful quilt that they presented to Sue and me last Sunday.

The story begins over 30 years ago. My grandmother used to make a lot of clothes for my mother. I remember many days as a child playing at my grandmother’s house as she measured and pinned up dresses for my mom. During this time, my mother and grandmother found some material for a dress. Over time they were never able to find a dress pattern that was just right for the material. As time went on my grandmother was no longer able to sew, so the material was put away.

Several years passed. I married Sue and then our family grew to include Steven and Rebecca. My grandmother sent the material to Sue’s mom and suggested that she make dresses out of the material for Sue and our Rebecca. Really by this time Sue’s mom had stopped sewing as well, so the material was once again put away. Several years ago, Sue’s mom gave us the material thinking Sue could do something with it. Since Sue doesn’t have time to sew, we put the material in a closet and forgot about it.

This brings us to the present time. When the ladies started Aunt B’s sewing ministry, I reminded Sue of the material sitting in our closet. We decided to donate it to the ladies to use in the ministry. They decided that the material we gave them would go into a quilt. Each week as they worked, I would stop in and visit with them as they worked on quilts and dresses. If you weren’t here last week and heard the figures, this ministry has already completed over 100 dresses and 9 quilts. I had no idea that early on they had decided to give the quilt to us.

This has really been a blessing to us and we wanted to share the story with the church.