August 17, 2022 - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, August 17.
My pastor and I meet each Tuesday morning to evaluate the past week, plan for the future, and prepare the next Sunday’s service. Yesterday, he asked me to include the gospel hymn “At Calvary” in our service. Here’s the story behind that song.
A troubled and unruly teenager can be a great challenge for a parent. In the late 1800’s, an Ohio pastor had just such a teenage son. The father wrote to the dean of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, asking that his boy be taken in as a student. The dean reminded the dad that Moody Institute was designed to prepare pastors and missionaries for ministry - it wasn’t a reform school. But the father would not take no for an answer, and finally the dean agreed - but with a long list of rules and expectations for the son.
The boy's progress was slow - one step forward / two steps back - until, one day, he burst into the dean's office and joyfully announced that he had given his life to God and had accepted the saving grace of Jesus. After that, real change began to occur. He graduated with honors from Moody Institute, became a pastor, and, eventually, returned to Moody as a professor. One day, he taught a class about the crucifixion. The next hour was his planning period and he used the time to jot down a few verses on an old envelope. In the school hallway he ran into the dean of music, handed him the envelope, and asked him to see what he could do about writing a melody. That afternoon, the two men sat at a piano and sang the new song for the first time.
Most songs about the cross tend to be slow and melancholy - sometimes written in a minor key. In contrast, "At Calvary" is full of joy - just like the young teenager's testimony on that day many years before. As we sing it this Sunday - as you sing it today - it will be our testimony to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Years I spent in vanity and pride
Caring not my Lord was crucified
Knowing not it was for me He died at Calvary
Mercy there was great, and grace was free
Pardon there was multiplied to me
There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
