Wednesday, April 22, 2026

God Is Calling the Prodigal

1

God is calling the prodigal, come without delay,

Hear, o hear him calling, calling now for thee.

Tho' you've wandered so far from his presence, come today,

Hear his loving voice calling still.

2

Patient, loving and tenderly still the Father pleads,

Hear, o hear him calling, calling now for thee;

Oh, return while the Spirit in mercy intercedes,

Hear his loving voice calling still.

3

Come, there's bread in the house of the Father, and to spare,

Hear, o hear him calling, calling now for thee;

Lo, the table is spread and the feast is waiting there,

Hear his loving voice calling still.

REFRAIN

Calling now for thee,

O weary prodigal, come;

Calling now for thee,

O weary prodigal, come.


Charles Hutchinson Gabriel 1889

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lQRMrQcGqE&list=RD6lQRMrQcGqE&start_radio=1

Luke 15: 18, 20

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee... And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

Here's the whole story of the prodigal son:

LUKE 15

11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. 29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.


Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Praise Him, Praise Him

 1   
Praise him, praise him!  
Jesus, our blessed redeemer!   
Sing, O earth, his wonderful love proclaim!  
Hail him, hail him!  
Highest archangels in glory!  
Strength and honor give to his holy name!  
Like a shepherd,  
Jesus will guard his children.  
In his arms he carries them all day long.  
Praise him! Praise him!  
Tell of his excellent greatness.  
Praise him! Praise him! ever in  joyful song.
2   
Praise him, praise him!  
Jesus, our blessed redeemer!  
For our sins, he suffered, and bled, and died.  
He our rock, our  
Hope of eternal salvation,  
Hail him, hail him! Jesus, the crucified.  
Sound his praises,  
Jesus who bore our sorrows,  
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong.  
Praise him! Praise him!  
Tell of his excellent greatness.  
Praise him! Praise him! ever in  joyful song.
3   
Praise him, praise him!  
Jesus, our blessed redeemer!  
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!  
Jesus, Savior,  
Reigneth forever and ever!  
Crown him, crown him! Prophet, and priest, and king!  
Christ is coming,  
Over the world victorious.  
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.     
Praise him! Praise him!  
Tell of his excellent greatness.  
Praise him! Praise him! ever in  joyful song.  

Author: Fanny Crosby    


Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. ~Psalm 150:6

Psalm 150:1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord!    

Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

Monday, April 20, 2026

Hold to God's Unchanging Hand

 

1

Time is filled with swift transition

Naught of earth unmoved can stand.

Build your hopes on things eternal,

Hold to God's unchanging hand.

2

Trust in him who will not leave you

Whatsoever years may bring,

If by earthly friends forsaken,

Still more closely to him cling

3

Covet not this world's vain riches

That so rapidly decay,

Seek to gain the heav'nly treasures,

They will never pass away.

4

When your journey is completed

If to God you have been true,

Fair and bright the home in Glory

Your enraptured soul will view.

CHORUS

Hold to his hand, to God's unchanging hand

Hold to his hand, to God's unchanging hand

Build your hopes on things eternal,

Hold to God's unchanging hand.


Jennie Wilson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=navP_n3mtH0&list=RDnavP_n3mtH0&start_radio=1

Malachi 3:6

For I am the Lord, I change not.

Matthew 6:19-21

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Hebrews 13:5

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

John 14:1-3

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.


Sunday, April 19, 2026

When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder

 

1   

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound  and time shall be no more,  

And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;  

When the saved of earth shall gather  over on the other shore,  

And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.  

  

On that bright and cloudless morning  when the dead in Christ shall rise,  

And the glory of his resurrection share;  

When his chosen ones shall gather  to their home beyond the skies,  

And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.  

  

Let us labor for the Master  from the dawn till setting sun;  

Let us talk of all his wondrous love and care.  

Then when all of life is over  and our work on earth is done,  

And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.     

Refrain:  

When the roll is called up yonder,  

When the roll is called up yonder,  

When the roll is called up yonder,  

When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.

 

Author: James M. Black (1893)   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LjZfjuOASs&list=RD_LjZfjuOASs&start_radio=1

1 Corinthians 15:52 

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.    

1 Thessalonians 4:16 

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.


Saturday, April 18, 2026

Heaven Holds All to Me

 

1
Earth holds no treasures but perish with using,
However precious they be;
Yet there's a country to which I am going,
Heaven holds all to me.
2
Out on the hill of that wonderful country,
Happy, contented and free,
Loved ones are waiting and watching my coming,
Heaven holds all to me.
3
Why should I long for the world with its sorrows,
When in that home o'er the sea,
Millions are singing the wonderful story,
Heaven holds all to me.
CHORUS
Heaven holds all to me,
Brighter its glory will be;
Joy without measure will be my treasure,
Heaven holds all to me.

Tillit S. Teddle


Here's a congregational recording of this song, so you can hear what it usually sounds like in church.

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. 
~Matthew 6:20

Matthew 6:19-21
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Revelation 7:9-17
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Friday, April 17, 2026

The Old Rugged Cross

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

the emblem of suffering and shame;

and I love that old cross where the dearest and best

for a world of lost sinners was slain.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,

has a wondrous attraction for me;

for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above

to bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,

a wondrous beauty I see,

for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,

to pardon and sanctify me.

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,

its shame and reproach gladly bear;

then he'll call me some day to my home far away,

where his glory forever I'll share.

Chorus:

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,

till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

and exchange it some day for a crown.


Author: George Bennard (1913)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2opnMAmnXE&list=RDk2opnMAmnXE&start_radio=1



Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ~Mark 8:34


2 Corinthians 13:4

4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.


1 Peter 2:23-25

23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.


Hebrews 12:2

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.


John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.


Philippians 3:10

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;


Galatians 6:14

14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Come To the Feast

 1  
"All things are ready," come to the feast!  
Come, for the table now is spread;  
Ye famishing, ye weary, come,  
And thou shalt be richly fed.  
2  
"All things are ready," come to the feast!  
Come, for the door is open wide;  
A place of honor is reserved  
For you at the Master's side. 
3  
"All things are ready," come to the feast!  
Come, while He waits to welcome thee;  
Delay not while this day is thine,  
Tomorrow may never be.  
4  
"All things are ready," come to the feast!  
Leave ev'ry care and worldly strife;  
Come, feast upon the love of God,  
And drink everlasting life.   
Refrain:  
Hear the invitation,  
Come, "whosoever will;"  
Praise God for full salvation  
For "whosoever will."    

Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (under the pseudonym Charlotte G. Homer)


Revelation 22:17 
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Revelation 3:20 
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.  
  
Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb... 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.    

John 4:5 
Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.