Some songs are composed in a sudden gush of inspiration. But others spring from a deep well of personal experience. The song “Abide with Me” is one of those. It was written by an Anglican pastor named Henry Lyte who knew what it means to abide with Jesus in life’s darkest moments.

For almost 25 years, Lyte had pastored the blue collar sailor families of Devonshire, England, in spite of his poor health. Finally, his tuberculosis and other ailments became intolerable, and doctors instructed him to move to a milder climate. In 1847, Lyte prepared for his final sermon. Some friends begged him not to preach, warning that his health was simply too poor. But on September 4, 1847, with the help of his parishioners, Henry Lyte ascended to his pulpit for the last time.

As Lyte stood, he said, “Oh, brethren, I stand here before you today, as alive from the dead, if I may hope to impress upon you and get you to prepare for that solemn hour which must come to all. I plead with you to become acquainted with the changeless Christ and His death.” As the sermon concluded, amid great tears, Lyte celebrated one final communion with his flock, and then left for France where he died from a seizure soon after.

During those final days in Devonshire, Lyte wrote one of our most treasured hymns, “Abide with Me.” It was composed by a man who knew the shortness of life, the pain of suffering, and the comfort of Jesus Christ. The final verse is a wonderful prayer of hope: “Hold Thou Thy word before my closing eyes. Shine thru the gloom and point me to the skies; heav’n’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee—In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.”

Stained by blood, sweat, and tears, such hymns have withstood the test of time and are still worthy of our worship services today. A band called Page CXVI (‘one-sixteen’) is arranging these great hymns of the faith into a fresh, new style for a younger generation. We invite you to hear their music at First Southern Baptist on Friday, May 14. Our free BBQ begins at 6 pm. Please join us.

This article first appeared as a Minister’s Message in our local newspaper, the Hi Desert Star.

Photo credit: mondays child

Imagine if we pooled the leading minds of every field to invent a new religion. All the Fortune 500 CEOs.  Presidents of our most prestigious Ivy League universities. Neuro-surgeons and astro-physicists. Artists, philosophers, and New York Times bestselling authors. All these people are gathered together and commissioned to invent a new religion. They would need to design a God and determine what he would be like. They would need to write a holy book and determine a whole system of ethics.

After much research and discussion, what would they come up with? It would be interesting to see if they could arrive at any consensus at all. But one thing’s for sure: they wouldn’t invent Christianity.

As we saw last Sunday, the message of a crucified Messiah defies all human wisdom and understanding, and yet it is the only message with the power to save us from sin. We saw three elements that make the gospel unique:

1. A pathetic cross (1 Cor. 1:18-23). To unbelievers, the cross appears ‘foolish’ (moria, from which we get our word moronic!). Devout Jews continue to stumble over the message of a cursed, crucified Messiah. Philosophy-loving Greeks find the message utterly absurd. In the first century, the Roman author Pliny called Christianity “a perverse, extravagant superstition.’ Two thousand years later, Christopher Hitchens says, “Christianity is a wicked cult, and it’s high time we left it behind.” The US Army’s recent decision to disinvite Franklin Graham from the National Day of Prayer is just one more proof that this world wants nothing to do with a crucified Christ who demands our exclusive faith.
2. A powerful Christ (1 Cor. 1:24-25). Though the cross is pathetic from a human perspective, to those who believe it is a powerful message that saves. The cross is powerful because Jesus conquered death, and because He can forgive and radically change us. The cross is wise because it was the only way to judge our sin and yet simultaneously show mercy. As the hymn says, that old rugged cross has a ‘wondrous attraction’ to us.
3. A profound cause (1 Cor. 1:26-31). Why would God use such an unconventional means to save us? So that we would have no cause for boasting. Christ will not tolerate proud people in His kingdom. When people trust in their own wisdom and good works, man gets the glory. But when we humble ourselves and look at a bloody cross for salvation, God gets all the glory. Thus, forever and ever, we will boast in the Lord and celebrate His sovereign grace in saving us.

Questions for thought and discussion:

• How do you know for sure you are saved? Are you relying on anything besides a crucified Christ?
• How did you view the cross before you were saved?
• Should we grow discouraged or stop sharing when people sometimes reject the Gospel?
• How do churches sometimes ‘water down’ the gospel or turn to pragmatic methods to make the cross more appealing to unbelievers?
• Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 again, noting every time Paul says ‘to’ or ‘so that.’ According to these phrases, why has God chosen to save through a cross?
• How does this gospel provide a powerful antidote against the pride and quarrels mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:11-12?

Sunday’s sermon is available for free download on our podcast site.