I’ve always loved the text to the old hymn “He Giveth More Grace” by Annie Johnson Flint, and the story behind it too. Annie endured incredible physical suffering throughout her life, and clung to God’s inexhaustible grace through it all. This hymn is a profound acknowledgement of the heaviness and burdens of this life – and a wonderful proclamation of the great power of God, and His generous grace in Jesus Christ that are available to us.
I wrote a new melody for this hymn a few years ago, and since then I’ve been amazed at how these lyrics have blessed people who have heard and/or sung it.
Below you’ll find a video of me singing the song, along with links to a free chord chart, and lead sheets as well. I hope this song is a blessing to you!
He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater He sendeth more strength as our labors increase To added afflictions He addeth His mercy To multiplied trials He multiplies His peace
When we have exhausted our store of endurance When our strength has failed ere the day is half done When we reach the end of our hoarded resources Our Father’s full giving is only begun
Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision Our God ever yearns His resources to share Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing The Father both thee and thy load will upbear
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure His power no boundary known unto men For out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again
With His Stripes – intaglio – From the Florence. By Edward Knippers
On Monday I posted my thoughts on why and how worship leaders should regularly and consistently point people to Jesus Christ in such a way that helps remind us that he’s beautiful. One of the ways to do that is to point to his suffering. When we look at the cross, we see a Savior who endured the worst kind of suffering imaginable, beckoning us to run to him in our suffering, and reminding us that one day he will end suffering without ending us.
We behold the beauty of Jesus in his suffering. And we behold his beauty in his sacrifice.
If you’re anything like me, one of the parts of the story of Jesus’ death that has always particularly unsettled me is the part about Barabbas. A convicted murderer, on death row, due to be crucified on Good Friday, Pilate concedes to the demands of the crowd and lets Barabbas go, so that he can crucify Jesus instead.
Barabbas deserved to die. He was guilty. Jesus didn’t deserve to die. He was innocent.
And that’s the point.
On the cross, the guilty go free. The Innocent is crucified.
Worship leaders have a responsibility to remind people of the sacrifice of Jesus. The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus in our place.
And the sacrifice of Jesus was not only substitutionary. It was final.
In Mark 15:37, Jesus breathes his last breath. In the very next verse (15:38), our attention is immediately drawn to the ripping of the temple’s curtain (“from top to bottom”). No man could rip this massively thick curtain. Especially not starting at the top. This is a monumentally powerful display of the immediate institution of the new covenant – instantly – and with finality. It was done.
God in Christ did what no man could do for themselves. Now, because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, “we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh…” (Hebrews 10:19-20).
When worship leaders allow services, and weeks, and even months to go by without drawing their congregations back to behold the beauty of Jesus in his sacrifice, we allow a certain level of arrogance to develop in our worship that we are able to approach God on our own. We’re not. It’s only because of Jesus’ sacrifice – his final, in-our-place, once-and-for-all sacrifice – that we can draw near with confidence.
Jesus is worthy of our praise. Never forget it, worship leader. And never let your congregation forget it either.
“ECCE HOMO (Christ Before the People)” by Edward Knippers.
A few nights ago I was about to head out to choir rehearsal for a few minutes before doing a couple of errands around town – when I decided to ask my oldest daughter (Megan) if she wanted to stay up late and come with me. Of course she responded enthusiastically. Staying up late – and going out when it’s night – is one the best things in the world for a six-year-old.
When we were about to leave she came around the corner wearing a new jacket that Catherine had bought her the week before. I hadn’t seen her wearing it until that moment. And when I looked at her, in that cute brown jacket, I thought (and I said) “Oh my goodness. You are beautiful.”
It stopped me in my tracks.
I was reminded of how beautiful she is. It’s not that she hadn’t been beautiful in the first place, but it’s that I had just grown accustomed to it. I had gotten used to it. I was taking it for granted. I see it every day!
This happens on a regular basis with me. One of my three daughters, or my wife Catherine, will come around the corner sometimes and I’ll just look at them, reminded of something I had forgotten: They’re beautiful.
Do you ever have this experience?
We get used to beautiful things and we don’t remember they’re beautiful anymore. They don’t take our breath away.
We need to be reminded.
And that’s why worship leaders have a responsibility to point people to Jesus every Sunday. To center their songs and their leadership around the clear proclamation of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
Worship leaders need to beckon their congregations to hear the Gospel again. To consider the cross again. And to behold the beauty of Jesus again.
This week I’d like to highlight some attributes of Jesus that should be prominent when we point people to him during corporate worship.
The agonies of God’s Son were incomparable. No one ever suffered like this man. No one ever deserved suffering less, yet received so much. The stamp of God on this perfect life is found in two words: ‘without sin’ (Hebrews 4:15). The only person in history who did not deserve to suffer, suffered most. ‘He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth’ (1 Peter 2:22). None of Jesus’ pain was a penalty for His sin. He had no sin.
He was betrayed, arrested, mocked, tortured, beaten, whipped, scourged, spat upon, and subjected to the very cruelest form of execution ever known to man. His physical suffering is impossible for us to fathom.
But beyond his physical suffering – is his spiritual suffering. And his spiritual suffering far outweighs his physical suffering, if that’s even possible.
Because on the cross:
All of the sin, suffering, betrayal, woundedness, evil, darkness, sickness, terminal illnesses, fear, twisted perversions, and heartache was laid squarely on Jesus.
The airplanes flying into the twin towers. Bodybags coming out of yet another school. Bombs claiming 100 lives at a rally for peace in Turkey. All of it was laid squarely on Jesus.
Jesus cries out on the cross: “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)
No one has ever suffered like Jesus.
And Jesus didn’t deserve any of it. Only he had lived a perfect, blameless, holy, morally upright life. And yet he suffered more than anyone has ever – and will ever – suffer.
Isn’t Jesus amazing?
The suffering of Jesus teaches us that: Jesus knows what it’s like to suffer. And we can run to him.
And even though we might not know the answer to why he allows it – we know that:
It can’t be that he doesn’t love us. It can’t be that he is indifferent or detached from our condition. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself. … So, if we embrace the Christian teaching that Jesus is God and that he went to the Cross, then we have deep consolation and strength to face the brutal realities of life on earth.” (Tim Keller, Reasons for God)
And that’s the beauty of Jesus in his suffering. We see the vileness of evil in all of its wretchedness. And we see the fullness of love in Jesus. What a wonderful Savior.
Worship leaders: don’t shy away from singing songs that deal with the suffering of Jesus.
It helps stop people in their tracks and see again the beauty of Jesus that we all far too easily forget.
At some point in ministry you come to the terrifying realization that your personal issues are not as easy to hide as you’d like them to be.
Whether or not you use Crest or Colgate might not affect your worship leading (unless you use neither) but whether or not you’re short tempered sure can make things awkward at a rehearsal or service when someone crosses you at the wrong time.
Whether or not you eat your vegetables might not effect your worship leading, but whether or not you’re arrogant sure can ruin a relationship with your pastor.
One issue that can sink worship leaders is a lack of confidence. And when I say “confidence” I mean a confidence in the power of God’s call on you, the power of the Spirit within you, and the power of the gospel no thanks to you.
If you’re not confident that God has called you, that the Spirit has equipped and anointed you, and that the gospel will prevail in spite of you, then you’ll be walking around on shaky knees, making a mess, and allowing your “issues” to manifest themselves in some unhealthy ways.
Here are some ways a lack of confidence can manifest itself in a worship leader:
Hunger for the spotlight Your name, your face, your time, your title, your platform, and your fame will become really important to you when you lack the assurance of who you are in Christ.
Resistance to sharing the spotlight Instead of seeing and appreciating other people and their gifts around you (and wanting to prop them up for the glory of God and the building up of His Church), you will see them as threats to be neutralized.
An insatiable appetite for praise The needy worship leader is a praise vacuum. He sucks it all up for himself and is always hungry for more. The applause of an audience becomes more to him than the assurance of the perfect love of Jesus. A confident worship leader doesn’t heed “man’s empty praise”.
An overreaction to criticism A worship leader who finds his grounding and identity in Jesus will view criticism through the confident lens of a well-loved son, able to shake off what he needs to shake off, and learn whatever needs to be learned. A worship leader without this confidence will be crushed by criticism.
Impatience A worship leader who lacks confidence is impatient because he self-centeredly thinks that every service, every performance, and every thing that he’s involved in is ultimately a verdict on his worth as a person.
People-pleasing There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have people on board with your vision. That’s a good thing. But there is something wrong with wanting to make everybody like you. Having people on board with your vision and having everyone like you are two very different quests. When you lack confidence you forget the difference.
As long as you’re in ministry you’ll be battling these symptoms of a lack of confidence in the God who has called you and gifted you for ministry. They can be frustrating! But they can also good reminders from God himself to keep you humble and dependent on him.
A God-rooted, gospel-informed confidence will enable you to survive in ministry for the long-haul, and will enable others to survive under your leadership as well.
This past August, during two weeks’ vacation, I had the wonderful experience of actually sitting with my family during church, not leading any songs, not being up front, and being the one to do the nursery and Sunday school drop-off/pick-up. It was great.
And whenever I get to experience church as a someone in the pews (or comfortable padded chairs), I’m reminded of how helpful it is when the worship leader begins with the beginning and ends with the ending.
Here’s what I mean.
On those Sundays, when I had finally gotten my kids signed up for Sunday school, dropped my 21-month-old at nursery (and left her crying), convinced my 4-year-old that the donuts she just saw were not for her, and figured out that my 6-year-old had a very specific seating chart in mind (in between me and Catherine), the opening song was already halfway done, and I needed to get my bearings.
Kindly, the worship leader had chosen opening songs that focused me upward. He helped me get my bearings on just who this God is that I’m singing to, and some of the countless reasons why he’s worthy of my worship.
This is good worship leading: it’s thinking through how to pastorally guide people, as distract-able and weary as we’re all prone to be, to behold again (and again, and again) the God who has revealed himself to us, principally in the person of Jesus Christ.
But all too often, worship leaders don’t begin at the beginning. Instead, they begin at the ending. And to make things clunkier, they end with the beginning.
When the opening songs have to do with sending, going out into the world, or songs of mission, your congregation might be saying “but I just dropped my crying kid off at nursery, and I’m not even sure I remembered to lock our front door when we left the house…” It’s good to sing these kinds of songs, but it’s a better idea to sing them after you’ve laid a little bit of groundwork first.
Wait until people have gotten their bearings, heard the Good News, and had God’s Word opened to them before singing songs about the implications of it all.
Songs that articulate a response, and a willingness to go out in mission to the world are good and necessary (and rare), but usually work a whole lot better at the ending. And this way, you can begin with the beginning: consistently calling people to look upwards, before calling them to look outwards.
At some point in ministry you come to the terrifying realization that your personal issues are not as easy to hide as you’d like them to be.
This past August, during two weeks’ vacation, I had the wonderful experience of actually sitting with my family during church, not leading any songs, not being up front, and being the one to do the nursery and Sunday school drop-off/pick-up. It was great.
Worthily Magnify 