Atonement

Come home prodigal.
Come home sinner.
Come home for dinner.

Come home brother and sister.
Come home those who are heart sick.
Come home quick.

Refrain:Oh, I am lonesome for my precious children.
They live so far away.
Oh, may they hear my calling, calling
And come back home some day...

Come home to the Father.
Come home all who are lost.
Come home by the way of the cross.

Come home where love lives.
Come home those in pain.
Come home and out of the rain.

Refrain:Oh, I am lonesome for my precious children.
They live so far away.
Oh, may they hear my calling, calling
And come back home some day...

Refrain - Calling My Children Home (Trad.)

Putting new wine in old wineskins

Inside I am like bottled-up wine,
like new wineskins ready to burst. (Job 32:19 (NIV))

Joseph thought
what anguish this voice had brought.
Put the Law of Moses aside
and make Mary my bride.
“Oh Lord, forgive my doubt.
How is this going to turn out?”

Nicodemus thought
what anguish Jesus’ answer brought.
Put the Law of Moses aside
and let the new be born and the old denied
“Oh Lord, how can this be?
I thought only through the Law are we free.”

Peter thought
what anguish His Lord’s statement brought.
Putting Israel’s expectations aside
saying the Messiah will have to suffer and die.
“Oh Lord, You’re describing a pariah
not Israel’s Messiah.”

Thomas thought
what anguish their statements brought.
Putting all known science aside
saying that He is alive.
“Oh Lord, if this is true,
what is the world going to do?”

For the Sake of its Kingdom

Grace
is a gift
that causes a shift
of what the world requires
and what God desires.

The world uses sex for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace works in love for the sake of its kingdom.

The world exercises its power for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace humbly submits for the sake of its kingdom.

The world seeks peace for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace has the peace the world wants for the sake of its kingdom.

The world requires the books to be balanced and kept for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace takes pity and cancels the debt for the sake of its kingdom.

The world separates the haves and have-nots for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace invites all to celebrate for the sake of its kingdom.

The world writes off the one that is lost for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace goes after the one that is lost for the sake of its kingdom.

The world constructs the wide road for the sake of its kingdom.
and looks with contempt at Grace’s narrow path.

Amen.