Redeemer Lutheran Church
As promised, Pastor Petersen has put together a schedule of summer Bible readings and hymns to sing. Below is his explanation from our newsletter, followed by links to the schedule and the hymns.
A Reading and Singing Plan for the Summer
This past Lent we provided you with a reading plan to learn or relearn the most important Bible stories from the Old Testament. We need to know these stories because the history of Israel is our history. It is rife with lessons, examples, and inspiration for faith. What we tried to do during Lent was to hit the key events in the history of Israel in chronological order. Much was left out. So now we are going back and trying to fill in the holes from Genesis up to David’s coronation.
In Lent we tried to hit all the truly major events from each epoch. Thirty three of those readings are between Creation and David’s coronation. If you follow this plan and add what we have already read, by the end of the summer you will be more than ⅔ through the Old Testament narratives and will have read 123 Bible stories this year. I am not including what we did in Lent on the schedule, but I am putting it alongside in chronological order so that you can see it and pick it up if you missed it, or get curious.
Dealing with failures, vacation, etc.
If you miss some days for weakness, laziness, or lack of zeal, or even if you miss because you are sick or travelling, don’t quit. Just pick up the schedule again according to the calendar day. Recommit and start over. We are all weak at times and we all have busy lives. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Something is definitely better than nothing. Even if you only read one day a week, you will be far richer than if you did nothing. Your flesh will be weakened by it and your soul strengthened. And over time, you will find peace in it and courage.
Singing
Singing can more than invigorate. It can entertain, comfort, and teach. It rarely does only one thing. But for this summer I am interested in invigorating, encouraging, exciting. I want to us to make deliberate use of godly praise for salvation to excite our faith. I believe singing good hymns can bestow perspective, calling us back from worry and obsession over this world to what is real and eternal. We were lost, but we are found. We were dead, but we live. We have been rescued. We rejoice in this whatever the circumstances of our lives. Singing about it straightens our backs, restores strength and courage. This praise gives us the joy we need to do our duty. It enables us to face our foes with confidence even when outnumbered or when the injustices and pain are great or even when they kill us. Our Jesus is the propitiation of Blood. He lives and He loves us. If He is for us, who can be against us? .
To this end, I want to pair the implanted word with some singing of the best of Christian praise. I am asking you sing three hymns of praise this summer: Sing, My Tongue the Glorious Battle (LSB 454 but with the addition of missing stanzas), O Little Flock Fear Not the Foe (LSB 666), and I Walk in Danger All the Way (LSB 716).
There are different hymns for different occasions. These aren’t necessarily the same hymns I would pick for a funeral or a wedding or even for in-depth doctrinal content. These are hymns for war. These aren’t the only hymns that fulfill this function, but they are certainly in the top 10. When we sing them we are filled with militant joy and confidence, with the peace that passes all understanding. They prepare us to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from the faith.
So I am asking you to sing (or listen to) Sing My Tongue the Glorious Battle once a day every day in June along reading with the Bible readings. You don’t have to do it at the same time but I’d like you to try to do it every day. Then do the same with O Little Flock for July and I Walk in Danger for August.
“Sing unto the Lord a new song” isn’t a suggestion. If we do this together it will change us. It will help us be better witnesses in the world. It will give us joy and courage, changing us from the inside out. These hymns will put not just sorrow in its place. They will also put the devil in his.
Here is a link to the reading schedule.
Here is a link to an MP3 of each hymn: Sing My Tongue the Glorious Battle, O Little Flock Fear Not the Foe, I Walk in Danger All the Way
Here is a link to a video of each hymn being sung: Sing My Tongue the Glorious Battle, O Little Flock Fear Not the Foe, I Walk in Danger All the Way
Here is a link to the words of each hymn: Sing My Tongue the Glorious Battle, O Little Flock Fear Not the Foe, I Walk in Danger All the Way (The rest will be up on Monday.)
