There is No Place like Home (Part 7): Stairway to Heaven

There is No Place like Home (Part 7): A Study of Heaven
Stairway to Heaven
Jeff Garrett

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven
And when she gets there she knows if the stores are closed
With a word she can get what she came for
And she's buying a stairway to heaven

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
And you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook there's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
And she's buying a stairway to heaven

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
And she's buying a stairway to heaven

And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forest will echo with laughter

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May Queen
Yes there are two paths you can go by
but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on

Your head is humming and it won't go in case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady can't you hear the wind blow and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
And she's buying a stairway to heaven (Led Zepplin, 1971 Stairway to Heaven)

What does that mean? I have no idea. It’s popular and many people can sing the words– it just sounds so good but it is poetic nonsense. I want to tell you about four stairways. Like the song – they’re popular, sounds good, and many people know every word but its theological non-sense.

Four Dead-end Stairways

Stairway #1 - Materialism – is preoccupation with your possessions and a disinterest in spiritual things. That’s what the song is about. Even Led Zepplin knows you can’t buy your way into heaven. Matthew 16:26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? We are not saved by silver and gold but by the precious blood of Jesus (1 Peter 1:18-19). When you are on your death bed, about to take your last breath, you are not going to ask for the balance of your bank account. You’re not going to call 5th Third Bank. You’re going to call on God.

Stairway #2 - Universalism – is the doctrine that emphasizes the universal fatherhood of God and the final salvation of all souls regardless of their faith. But Jesus said in John 5:28 …a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

Stairway #3 - Humanitarianism – is concerned wholly with the welfare of the human race – the doctrine that humankind may become perfect without divine aid. e.g., Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have given billions of dollars to find cures for diseases that impoverished nations. But as admirable and generous as they are, Paul said 1 Corinthians 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. I’m not questioning the motives of Gates and Buffett. After listening to their interview on PBS I am sure that they love people, I just never heard them mention the name of Jesus. re that loving Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.

Stairway #4 - Legalism – is the doctrine that salvation is gained through good works i.e., being saved depends on your ability to keep law. Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! Romans 3:10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." Everybody does good things but doing good things doesn’t make you a righteous person anymore than putting on a white jacket makes you a physician. Everything that you’ve done has been compromised by the bad things you’ve done and when you mix the two together it does not result in right standing with God. You can’t get to heaven by being your morals.

Does the Bible talk about a stairway to heaven? Yes, but it is unlike the ones I’ve just described. You don’t climb this stairway to heaven by human effort. God does all the work.

Genesis 28:10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."

18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel [i.e., house of God].

Notice – Jacob did not do anything. He did not climb the stairway to heaven. Jacob was asleep. The Lord was at the top of the stairs and he repeated his promise as the angels were ascending and descending the stairway. God did not bless Jacob because he was good. At this time Jacob was running from home because he brother was plotting to kill him.

God sometimes shows up at the strangest times – in the middle of our sin and depravity. God shows up when we are running away from home and makes wonderful promises and reminds us of the covenant he made to bless us. God does it all! We don’t scale the steps. We are asleep – even more – we are dead in our sin. While we are lying down on the ground, God descended the stairway to become human, completed the work of redemption on a cross and after his resurrection He a carried us home!

You see, we didn’t do anything – God did it all while we were sleeping. Jesus Christ descended down the stairs of heaven and became one of us. He died for our sins and rose from the dead so that we could live in heaven with him. The promise God gave Jacob is the same promise he extends to you and me - Galatians 3:29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. We are like Jacob. We are dead in our sins. It’s like we were asleep at the bottom.

I picture Jesus at the top of the stairs looking down on our sinful condition which is described in Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

This was Jesus’ view of us as he stood at the top of the stairway to heaven. Jesus saw us for what we really are – dead in sin, objects of wrath. What made Jesus descend the stairway? The next few verses answer that question. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Our stairway to heaven is Jesus Christ and his amazing grace.

Video – Are You Amazed? [purchased from http://www.ignitermedia.com/]

Max Lucado told a story that he came across when he was a missionary in Brazil. Her name was Maria. When her daughter Christina was just an infant her husband died. Maria was a noble, hard working woman. She took a job as a maid to support her little girl. She didn’t have much more than a little hut and a couple of pilots and a pot to cook in. But Christina wanted more. She grew up to be a very beautiful girl and she often talked about leaving home and going to the big city. And it would always make Maria nervous because Christina had no skills to survive in the big city and Maria knew what happened to young girls move to the city with no skills. She knew what it would take to survive.

Imagine her horror when she came home from work, just after Christina turned 16, and Christina had left a note. Maria grabbed what little money she had, put it in her purse, and before she bought a bus ticket to Rio she went to the local drug store and she went into one of those photo booths where you can take little pictures of yourself. And she spent all she could to get as many pictures of herself as she could. And she went to Rio and she knew where to look. She went to the area where there are Brothels and strip clubs and street walkers and prostitutes. She began to tape her pictures on hotel lobby mirrors and phone booths and bulletin boards in night clubs. And when she had tape all her pictures and spent all her money, heartbroken she got on the bus and went home.

Three weeks later Christina was descending the stairs of a cheap hotel after another night in bed with a strange man. She didn’t look so young any more. She had lost the sparkle in her eyes and her smile was long gone. She had thought a thousand times about that little pilot with her mother but home seemed so far away. But when she got to the bottom of those stairs and there in the mirror in the lobby was a picture. She got closer and she recognized that it was her mother. And she pulled it off and she turned it over and she read these words: “Whatever
you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter. Please come home.”
She did.

And that’s what you God is saying to you this morning. “Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter. Please come home.”

Prayer Time

There’s No Place like Home (Part 6): Thank You

There’s No Place like Home (Part 6): A Study of Heaven
Thank You
Jeff Garrett

This is the 6th in a series of sermons called “There’s No Place Like Home: A Study of Heaven.” A few weeks ago I read some passages which picture animals in heaven and somebody asked if there were going to be cats in heaven. I am beginning to believe there because of the true story that I am going to share.

A pastor had a kitten that climbed up in a tree in his backyard in a tree and was afraid to come down. He tried to call him, offered him warm milk, but the kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and drove away so that the tree bent down he could then reach up and get the kitten. So that’s what he did – very carefully, checking the progress – he figured that if he went just a little bit further the tree would be bent sufficiently so that he could reach the kitten. But as he moved the car further forward the rope broke the tree went bong and the kitten instantly sailed through the air out of sight.

Well, the pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they had seen the little kitten. But no one had seen a stray kitten. So he said a little prayer for the cat and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store and met one of his church members. He happened to look in her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. Now this woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it. So he ask her “Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much.

She replied, “You won’t believe this.” And he told him how her little girl had been begging for a cat but she kept refusing. And her little girl kept begging. And a few days before her little girl was begging and her mom finally told her “Well, if God gives you a cat I will let you keep it.”

She told the pastor “I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, ask God for a cat and Pastor you won’t believe this but I saw it with my own eyes – a kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky with paws outspread and landed right in front of her. I’m not sure whether than proves that cats will be in heaven or if heaven is just getting rid of cats.

I love the words to Ray Boltz’s song “Thank You.”

Thank You (Ray Boltz)

I dreamed I went to heaven
And you were there with me
We walked upon the streets of gold
Beside the crystal sea
We heard these angels singing
Then someone called your name
You turned and saw this young man
And he was smiling as he came
And he said friend you may not know me now
And then he said, but wait
You used to teach my Sunday School
When I was only eight
And every week you would say a prayer
Before the class would start
And one day when you said that prayer
I asked Jesus in my heart

Thank you for giving to the Lord
I am a life that was changed
Thank you for giving to the Lord
I am so glad you gave

Then another man stood before you
And said remember the time
A missionary came to your church
And his pictures made you cry
You didn’t have much money
But you gave it anyway
Jesus took the gift you gave
And that’s why I’m here today

One by one they came
Far as your eyes could see
Each life somehow touched
By your generosity
Little things that you had done
Sacrifices you made
They were unnoticed on the earth
In heaven now proclaimed

And I know that up in heaven
You’re not supposed to cry
But I am almost sure
There were tears in your eyes
As Jesus took your hand
And you stood before the Lord
He said, my child look around you
For great is your reward

I am so glad you gave. [Ray Boltz]

This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. At the end of this lesson Matt is going to sing “Thank You” and you’re going to see some pictures of people in our church doing the things that Ray Boltz dreamed. Then we are going to bring up thanksgiving baskets which will be given to needy families. Giving thanks and sharing with others are directly related to your treasures in heaven.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

How do you store up treasures in heaven? By loving people and meeting their needs. The rewards you receive in heaven are based on how you love people on earth. Matthew 10:42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

This world is not our home. This world its present form is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31). Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). 2 Peter 3:13 … In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. We are pilgrims. A pilgrim is a traveler, one who journeys through foreign lands. As we journey through this world we will show people we are Christians by our love. Watch this video and I think you’ll understand.

Video – The Spirit of Thankfulness (Jars of Clay) [purchased from http://www.bluefishtv.com/]

Matthew 25.31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Three characteristics of Disciples of Jesus

Their work is simple

Listen to what he says, “ you gave me food,---drink, invited me in, ---clothes, ---you cared for me,---visited me. He doesn’t say, you built me a hospital, you started a new well-fair system, you wrote a commentary series. There are people who do great things like that. But most of us can’t do that, can we? But the work that Jesus gave us is simple. You can visit and share and give something and you do …

• Paul Thomas and Rick Slack take loaves of bread to our first time visitors.
• Ralph Larue and Bob Dozier take Panera Bread to Hospitals and the City Mission and MU students and fire stations every Tuesday and Friday.
• Tommy Gwyn visits to jail.
• The ladies work in the food pantry – this year over 200 families have been fed.
• With the money you give we pay utility bills for single Mom’s and families so that their children will keep warm during cold winter nights. With the money you give we provide help to victims of floods, fires and other emergencies
• You provide scholarships for kids who need a helping hand for church camp or youth outings.
• We fed 150 visitors supper and provided a safe environment for trick or treat at our annual trick or trunkin’
• With the money you give we help people with transportation and medical bills.
• You buy Christmas gifts for needy children through our Joy In A Box
• Our teens work each summer doing mission work whether at an Indian Reservation or restoring houses for needy families at the Parkersburg work camp
• Our Campus group is involved in Mission work as a whole and individually sending students to other parts of the world to spread the word of God
• We provide diapers and formula to needy families for their babies

Their work is significant.

Why is it significant? Because Jesus said in v.40 I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. People are important because they belong to God. I know how to win over a parent; spend time with his children. If I want to really impress you I’ll take your kid out for ice cream. If you want to love God and show God that you care then you love his children. That work is significant because God is in every person meet. Nothing you do goes unnoticed.

God notices when …
• The ladies ministry provides showers for new brides and new moms.
• Jon and the youth volunteers spend time with teenagers
• Jay ministers to college students
• Shepherds care for hurting people in our church
• Sonshiners provide snacks for the Hospice House, serve meals at the City
Mission, and take fruit baskets to our shut-ins.
• Our small group bond together in love.
• Harley and Kim work hard to take care of our buildings and grounds.
• Martha passes our bulletings.
• God notices our Sunday school teachers who work with our children and when Jay leads college students.

Their work is sincere.

I love v.37. 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

Their work is simple, it’s significant and it’s sincere. And you will be rewarded for all the good things you do in heaven.

Matt sings – Thank you (by Ray Boltz)

Thanksgiving Baskets are brought to the stage.

Prayer Time

There's No Place like Home (Part 5): The Best of Both Worlds

This sermon was preach as a dialogue between Jay Barrow and myself. I do not have the manuscript at this time. Jay wrote most of the sermon.

There’s No Place Like Home (Part 4): Tears in Heaven

There’s No Place Like Home (Part 4): A study of Heaven
Tears in Heaven
Jeff Garrett

Eric Clapton’s song “Tears in Heaven” captures the heartache and grief of a parent who lost a child. He wrote the song about his four year old son Connor who died when he fell 53 stories from an open window in. Clapton was recently interviewed on Larry King Live and he talked about his death. I love Eric Clapton’s music, and I love his story of recovery from drugs and alcohol. He had three years of sobriety when Connor died. Larry King ask him if it was difficult to maintain sobriety while he was grieving and Clapton said he did not drink after his son died. He stead sober. And one wonderful way he expressed his grief was through this song.

Would you know my name, If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same, If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong, And carry on, 'Cause I know I don't belong, Here in heaven.

Would you hold my hand, If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand, If I saw you in heaven?
I'll find my way, Through night and day,
'Cause I know I just can't stay, Here in heaven.

Time can bring you down,
Time can bend your knees.
Time can break your heart,
Have you begging please, begging please.

Beyond the door, There's peace I'm sure,
And I know there'll be no more, Tears in heaven. [Eric Clapton]

But there are plenty of tears on earth. Some of you know what its like. Some of you have suffered more than others. You’ve lost your husband or your wife or a child or some significant person and it’s left a hole that you cannot fill. Helen Keller said “With the death of every one I love a part of me is buried but their influence remains to sustain me in an altered world.”

When someone dies we wonder what to say. Sometimes we say the wrong thing like “I understand what you are going through” or “God needed your child more than you so God took your baby – he needed one more angel in heaven.” Don’t say things like that. Sometimes it’s best to just be there and say nothing. It’s best to just help them cry. A little eight year old girl named Jill was visiting a neighbor friend and she was late coming home. When she walked in the door her mother said “Jill, why are you late?” She said “Susie’s doll broke. Her doll’s arm came off” Her mom said, “Well, did you help her fix it?” She said, “No but I helped her cry.”

I did a study on tears in the Bible this week and learned four things about how much God loves you. I learned that God …

God sees our tears - Hezekiah was on his death bed crying but God saw Hezekiah’s tears and said to Isaiah in Isaiah 38:5 "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.

God bottles our tears – One time David was grieving and said in Psalm 6:6 I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. Then, David said in Psalm 56:8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. (NLT)

God shed tears with us - One time Jesus was called to the grave of a friend named Lazarus and John 11:32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. 35 Jesus wept.

God will wipe away our tears – John said that one day - Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

God sees our tears, he bottles our tears, he sheds tears with us and one day he will wipe away our tears. That’s what Clapton sings – Beyond the door, There's peace I'm sure, And I know there'll be no more, Tears in heaven. But, at the same time, the song asks important questions that nearly everyone has asked.

Would you know my name, if I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same, if I saw you in heaven?
Would you hold my hand, if I saw you in heaven?

Will we know each other when we get to heaven? Of course we will. In fact, I don’t believe we will really know each other till we get to heaven. On earth, in our present state, we have so many insecurities and fears and defense mechanisms and we often hide certain aspects of ourselves from each other. But when we get to heave all those insecurities will be gone and we will finally be open and transparent and we will have a closer relationship than ever before.

But will you really know my name if I saw you in heaven? Of course you will and I don’t know why we think otherwise. Maybe our concept of heaven has been so distorted because we are getting our information from the wrong source. The myth is – when you die you loose your name and identity. When you go to heaven it will be like you never existed. You’ll have eternal amnesia. You won’t even recognize your children’s names. That’s not true. That’s comes from books and movies, not from the Bible.

Jesus is going to prepare a place for you – Jesus said in John 14:2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You will be you in Heaven. Who else would you be? If Matt is no longer Matt when he gets to Heaven, then Matt did not go to Heaven. If when I arrive in Heaven I'm not the same person with the same identity, his¬tory, and some memory of it then I didn't go to Heaven. Job said, "In my flesh I will see God; ... I, and not another" (Job 19:26-27). The risen Christ said, "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself? Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24:39). Your identity, your memory, and the relationships that you have on earth will carry over into heaven and that’s why Psalm 126:5 says Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

Jesus is going to reward you – Jesus said in Matthew 10:42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." If we weren't ourselves in the afterlife, then we couldn't be held accountable for what we did in this life. The Judgment would be meaningless. If Vicky Hall is no longer Vicky Hall, she can’t be rewarded for anything she did. The doctrines of judg¬ment and eternal rewards depend on people's retaining their distinct identities from this life to the next. Death will not destroy us! Death is not going to wipe out our identity.

Jesus said your name is written in heaven – Luke 10:20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Your name is written in a book that belongs to Jesus (that’s why it’s called the Lamb’s book of Life – Revelation 21:27). Jesus called people in Heaven by the name they had on earth, including Lazarus who is in the present Heaven (Luke 16:25) and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the eternal Heaven (Matthew 8:11). When Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17 – Guess what there names were? Moses and Elijah! When Saul call Samuel up from the dead what was his name? Samuel! The names of the twelve sons of Israel and of the apostles, apparently the same names we know them by, are written on the city's gates and the foundations of its walls (Revelation 21:12-14). Our names reflect our indi¬viduality. To have the same name written in Heaven that was ours on Earth speaks of the continuity between this life and the next.

In addition to our earthly names, we'll receive new names in Heaven (Isaiah 62:2; 65:15; Revelation 2:17; 3:12). New names don't invalidate the old ones. Many people had multiple names in Scripture: Jacob is also Israel; Simon is also Peter; Saul is also Paul. A name is connected to a distinct identity, an individual. The fact that people in Heaven can be called by the same name they had on Earth demon¬strates they remain the same people In Heaven I'll be Jeff Garrett without the bad parts-forever. You'll be you-without the bad parts-forever.

Think about the joy of being reunited with your loved ones why you get to heaven. Knowing that you have a future together in heaven helps you cope with the pain of being separated on earth.

Video Presentation - 99 Balloons. [purchased from http://www.ignitermedia.com/]

Prayer Time 

Prayer …Blessed Be Your Name [by Matt Redman]

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name