We sang a song in church this morning that goes right along with our reading in Luke for today! There’s a link to the video below, but I want to give you the lyrics first interspersed with passages from Luke 22.
King of Kings, by Hillsong
“In the darkness, we were waiting
Without hope, without light
‘Til from Heaven You came running
There was mercy in Your eyes
To fulfill the law and prophets*
To a virgin came the Word
From a throne of endless glory
To a cradle in the dirt”
*”Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true” (Luke 22:37 NLT).
Chorus: “Praise the Father, praise the Son
Praise the Spirit, three in one
God of glory, Majesty
Praise forever to the King of Kings”
“To reveal the kingdom coming ^
And to reconcile the lost
To redeem the whole creation
You did not despise the cross ♥
For even in Your suffering †
You saw to the other side ª
Knowing this was our salvation
Jesus for our sake You died” ‡
^ “And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:29-30).
♥ “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people–an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you” (Luke 22:20).
† “He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood” (Luke 22:43).
† “The guards in charge of Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and said, ‘Prophesy to us! Who hit you that time?’ And they hurled all sorts of terrible insults at him”(Luke 22:63-65)
ª “But from now on the Son of Man will be seated in the place of power at God’s right hand” (Luke 22:69).
‡“For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die” (Luke 22:22).
“And the morning that You rose
All of Heaven held its breath
‘Til that stone was moved for good
For the Lamb had conquered death
And the dead rose from their tombs
And the angels stood in awe
For the souls of all who’d come
To the Father are restored
And the church of Christ was born
Then the Spirit lit the flame
Now this gospel truth of old
Shall not kneel, shall not faint
By His blood and in His name
In His freedom I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ
Who has resurrected me”
And that, my friend, gives us abundant reason to celebrate this special time of Christmas! For without Christ’s birth, death and resurrection, we would be lost forever in the darkness of our sin. “But when the right time came, God sent his Son!” (Galatians 4:4)
“Praise the Father, praise the Son
Praise the Spirit, three in one
God of glory, Majesty
Praise forever to the King of Kings!”
Photo by Sean Wells on Unsplash
Lauri Hawley 