I’ve been wanting to resurrect this occasional series, looking at the theme of hope in Christian hymns and songs. Do we sing about going ‘home’ to heaven when we die, and remaining there for ever? Or do we sing about Jesus appearing on the earth in glory to reign in his kingdom, about the bodies of the dead being brought back to life again and glorified, and about the whole created order being made new?
Sadly it’s often the former!
In the posts listed below, I’m trying to do two things. First, I want to draw attention to those hymns and songs that do an excellent job at expressing our hope for the future. And, second, I want to see whether those songs that fall short in this respect can themselves be ‘renewed’, so that they help us to look forward to the coming of Christ’s kingdom (rather than looking forward simply to getting out of here!).
I never created an index for the series, so here goes…
- King of the ages (Feb 2012)
- There is a day (Feb 2012)
- It is well with my soul (Feb 2012)
- Creation sings (Jun 2012)
- When the roll is called up yonder (Aug 2012)
- Hail to the Lord’s anointed (Oct 2012)
- For all the saints (Aug 2013)
- God is working his purpose out (Nov 2013)
- Lo! He comes (Nov 2015)
- Amazing grace (Dec 2015)
Any requests? Mention them in the comments…