Joni Eareckson Tada - Timeless Hymns for Family Worship: Bringing Gospel-Centered Moments into Your Home

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

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Timeless Hymns for Family Worship

Copyright 2021 by Joni Eareckson Tada and Robert D. Wolgemuth

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97408

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-8338-9 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-0-7369-8339-6 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021934270

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Look for a moment at the cover of this special book. Youll see the name of my friend and coauthor, Bobbie Wolgemuth. For years, people called Bobbie and me the hymn ladies. And for a good reason. Every time we got together, we sang the timeless hymns in this bookand many more.

Bobbie and I had such fun putting together this book about our favorite hymns. She and I had learned many by heart when we were kids ourselves! And as adults, we taught these hymns to all the young people we knew. In this book, Bobbie researched and wrote about the history of the hymns (who wrote them and why). I wrote the devotionals (except one, as youll notice later). We were so excited when this book was first released.

But then my friend was diagnosed with a very serious cancer. During her treatment, Bobbie strengthened her spirit by singing the hymns she had memorized. Several had to do with heaven, and those became her favorites. Whenever she received chemotherapy, Bobbie would come home, put on her sneakers, and walk up and down her neighborhood. As she passed by, neighbors would open their windows to hear her lovely voice.

Bobbie did not survive her battle against cancer. But she was able to keep her bright smile and her strong faith because she trusted Jesus, her Lord and Savior. Did Jesus fail Bobbie because she died? Not at all. It was simply time for her to go home to heaven, and she was satisfied with Gods plan. Bobbie Wolgemuth was so content with Gods timing that she continued to sing until the day she entered heaven.

I dont know if my friend can peer over the edge of eternity to hear these melodies, but if she is able to, I just bet shes adding lots of harmony.

Thank you, Bobbie, for helping a new generation of boys and girls learn the hymns that you and I treasured for so many years. Im looking forward to singing with you again in heaven!

Come, let us sing for joy to the L ORD ;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving

and extol him with music and song.

P SALM 95:1-2

When I was your age, my parents taught me the old hymns of the Christian faith. We sang these hymns around the campfire or while hiking or even at the dinner table after we finished our meal. We sang them so often that I easily memorized all the words.

It was a good thing. When I was a teenager, I dove into shallow water, broke my neck, and became paralyzed. When I learned Id be in a wheelchair all my life, I felt sad and anxious. But when my family visited me in the hospital, they always cheered me up by singing our favorite hymns!

These hymns comforted me because they reminded me of Gods greatness. And they also shared great truths about God and His love for me. After hospital visits were over for the day, I sang these hymns at nighttime when I couldnt sleep. While I sang, I focused on the wonderful themes of trusting Gods Word, holding on to His promises, and looking toward heaven. Soon my sadness and anxiety disappeared.

That all happened a long time ago, but Im still singing all my favorite hymns, and now Im sharing them with you in this book. You can imagine how happy I am that you now have a chance to sing hymns with your family. Im hoping youll sing them so often that you too will learn all the words by heart. And I pray that each word of every hymn will comfort you as it has me!

All of us have grown up with images of heaven in our minds. Whether those images are of golden streets and pearly gates or tropical beaches and peaceful forests, weve all wondered what heaven will actually be like. And even though we may not want to admit it, weve probably secretly wondered if heaven will be a little bit boring. After all, if the worship time in church is limited to twenty minutes of singing, wont we get tired of praising God after a few hundred years?

The Bible says that the seraphimthe big angels that surround Godcall out day and night, Holy, holy, holy! Thats because God is so great and so glorious that no onenot even the highest order of angelscan ever run out of reasons to praise Him. Theres always something new to discover about God, which means there will always be something new to discover about heaven. Heaven will be a new adventure every day!

Think of a huge mountain so tall, you could never climb to the top. Or a massive lake so wide, you could never paddle all the way across. Or a sprawling garden where an endless variety of plants and flowers grow. The longer you look and explore and take it all in, the more you realize there is to discover. You will never, ever be able to see it all. I can picture the seraphim catching a glimpse of God from one angle and gasping, Wow! God is awesome! But then they see some other aspect of God and shout again, Whoa, we had no idea You were