As a worship team we always walk through the lyrics of new songs, pondering them, talking about them, and recalling the Scriptures that inspired them.
Our newest song, “Living Hope,” finds its origin in 1 Peter 1:3-5:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
The first verse of this song reminds us of the truth that our separation from God, because of sin, was nothing that we could fix! The chasm was too great, the mountain too high for us to get to God. Our sin, no matter how small or big in the world’s eyes, caused a separation between our Maker and us.
“In desperation, I turned to heaven and spoke Your name into the night” - This next line feels like so many of the Psalms where the Psalmist calls on the name of the Lord for salvation, and also reminds me of Acts 2:21 which says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Thank God that he even gave us the ability to call upon him!
The verse continues describing how the loving kindness of Jesus, shown through the finished work on the cross, tore through the darkness of our souls and saved us!
The second verse reminds us of how unbelievable the good news is! “Who could imagine so great a mercy, what heart could fathom such boundless grace?” Our eternal God left his glorious position in heaven to come down to earth and take our sin upon him! That is ridiculous and doesn’t make any sense to me, but I believe it! Not only did He forgive us through the cross, but also He calls us His own, and nothing can change that forever!
Then the third verse describes Easter morning when Jesus arose and claimed victory over death, proving that he was God and could in fact provide atonement for our sins!
I want to quickly point back to the scripture in 1 Peter chapter 1. Look what Peter writes right after describing this living hope and our glorious inheritance in heaven: “In this you rejoice!”
You see, this living hope we have in Jesus is cause to rejoice! It’s cause to sing “Hallelujah”!
Appropriately, the chorus rings out triumphantly, “Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free! Hallelujah death has lost its grip on me! You have broken every chain! There’s salvation in Your name! Jesus Christ, my living hope!”
I pray that this song will fill the church facility on Sunday mornings as well as our homes throughout the week to remind us of the incredible hope we have in Jesus!
Looking forward to rejoicing with you on Sunday!
Pastor Kyle
PS, My RightNow Media pick of the month is a great study on Judges from JD Greear!
