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Seek God: Find God
SEEK GOD: FIND GOD “If with all your hearts ye truly seek me, ye shall ever surely find me,” thus saith our God. (paraphrase of Jeremiah 29:13) This is a powerful line from Felix Mendelssohn’s great oratorio ELIJAH. The scene is one of famine and misery for the people of Israel—no rain, no water, no food. The suffering people sing, “HELP, LORD! Zion spreadeth her hands for aid but there is neither help nor comfort.” Things are looking bad, really bad. But the prophet Obadiah comes and points them in the right direction. “Ye people, rend your hearts and not your garments. For your transgressions, the prophet Elijah hath sealed the heavens through the word of God. I therefore say to thee, ‘Forsake your idols. Return to God for he is slow to anger and merciful and kind and gracious, and repenteth him of the evil.’” Then comes the fabulous tenor aria, “If with all your hearts . . .” (See above). What a moment! Well, not many of us are experiencing hunger due to famine. And when we hear “Forsake your idols,” we’re not thinking of the bronze sculpture on the mantle piece. But there are so many areas in our lives where we need to “return to God” and “seek Him with all our hearts,” knowing that he is slow to anger and merciful and kind and gracious. WOW! AN INVITATION: If you live anywhere near Louisville, Kentucky, you may be interested in our upcoming performance of Mendelssohn’s ELIJAH—two hours of biblical drama set to beautiful (and powerful) music. Hard to beat! ELIJAH, by Felix Mendelssohn The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Oratorio Chorus & Seminary Orchestra Carl Stam, conductor (that’s me) Michael Lancaster as Elijah Tuesday, May 4, 7:30 P.M. Alumni Memorial Chapel 2825 Lexington Road Louisville, Kentucky FREE ADMISSION Tell a friend! For more information, please call 502-897-4115. Have a great week, Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.carlstam.org www.sbts.edu/icw =========================== WORSHIP QUOTE OF THE WEEK: To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view a complete index of worship quotes, please visit http://www.wqotw.org =========================== |