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A MONTHLY HYMN FOR YOUR FAMILY TO LEARN AND SING TOGETHER


IN CHRIST ALONE

 
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April - “In Christ Alone”

Lyrics


In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.

(Keith Getty & Stuart Townend, 2002)


 
 

April Bible Memory Verse

Colossians 1:19-20 (ESV)

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.


 

Keith Getty discusses 20 years of In Christ Alone

 

Story Behind the Song

Keith met Stuart Townend in the year 2000. They decided to try and write a hymn together. Keith used to write melodies on any piece of paper he could find as they came to mind! The melody he sent Stuart he re-discovered on the back of an electricity bill. He recorded a piano part and set it to an old hymn lyric. They wanted to write a song that focused on the gospel story and the centrality of Christ and the cross to all of life.

Stuart tried to carefully take these big thoughts and craft them into each line. For example, taking the big complex idea of Christ’s full deity (He is fully God) and His full humanity (He is fully man) he wrote the line ‘fullness of God in helpless babe.’ The melody and words work hand-in-hand to lead you through the story of Christ, the journey of the song.

When ‘In Christ Alone’ was finished, Stuart taught it for the first time at a Christian festival in England. At the end of the service, a line of people formed asking for the sheet music. It took on a life of its own and travelled far! Today it is sung by millions of people in many languages in many countries all over the world.


 

Keith & Stuart Townend

 

Something to Think About

I have sung this song more than any other song! I am so grateful as a singer that this is so. I’m even more grateful as a follower of Christ. For the promises that fill these words I need to remember every day.

I became a Christian when I was very little and so really can’t remember not knowing about the Lord. But I have discovered over all these years that so much of the Christian life is remembering over and over the same key things - holding fast to the truth of Christ and His life, death, and resurrection. In Christ Alone has helped me to remember for the last 20 years!

When you are going on a big trip or vacation do you get flustered by all the organizing? Or perhaps you just see your parents get flustered! I can often get overwhelmed at all the packing and planning that goes into the many tours and long-distance trips we take. Keith always likes to say ‘remember at the end of the day all we need is our travel documents!!’ We have a small zipped orange case that holds our passport and tickets and other important information. I can forget toothpaste and shoes and books but if I have the orange case we can get on the plane! The rest we can figure out.

In a much bigger and deeper way, the theme of this hymn is similar. There are many things that bring comfort, many good things we can do, many wonderful experiences and friendships we can have, but these all take second place to knowing and following Christ. Only in Christ and in no one or nothing else do we have forgiveness for our sins and everlasting life. I hope you will always be able to sing to remember this!


Prayer

Father in heaven,

Thank you for the good news of the Lord Jesus. He has become our strength and our song! Like the sun that fills the sky and gives light and life to everything, so is Christ even more, for all our lives.

Please use the learning of this hymn to remind us that our hope is only in Christ. Use it also to give us words to share that hope with others. May families take comfort and courage in these sung promises that they might reflect your great light in this world.

In Jesus name,

Amen


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