The great hymns of the church are on the way out. They are not gone entirely, but they are going and in their place have come trite jingles that have more in common with contemporary advertising ditties than the psalms. The problem here is not so much the style of the music, though trite words fit best with trite tunes and harmonies. Rather it is with the content of the songs. The old hymns expressed the theology of the Bible in profound and perceptive ways and with winsome memorable language. Today’s songs are focused on ourselves. They reflect our shallow or nonexistent theology and do almost nothing to elevate our thoughts about God. Worst of all are songs that merely repeat a trite idea, word, or phrase over and over again. Songs like this are not worship, though they may give the church-goer a religious feeling. They are mantras, which belong more in a gathering of New Agers than among the worshiping people of God.

James Montgomery Boice

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Grains, Dairy		Desserts, Nuts, Snacks, Valentine’s	60	Pieces

INGREDIENTS

1	c	Semisweet chocolate chips
1/4	c	Lightbrown sugar
2	tb	Soy milk
1/2	c	Oatmeal
1/3	c	Peanut butter, room temp.

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine chocolate, sugar & soy milk in a steaming bowl
& place in a larger pot with some water in it.  Cook
over low heat until the chocolate has been smoothly
melted.  Stir in the oatmeal.  Drop the peanut butter
in by rounded teaspoonfuls.  Swirl it around until it
is evenly distributed but not blended in. Line a
small, shallow baking dish with wax paper.  Pat the
chocolate mixture in with the help of a cake spatula.
Refirgerate for several hours until chilled & firmly
set.  Cut into 1" squares.
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

A Message from our Provider:

“How can a moral wrong be a civil right?”

The cross…always has its way. It wins by defeating its opponent and imposing its will upon him. It always dominates. It never compromises, never dickers nor confers, never surrenders a point for the sake of peace. It cares not for peace; it cares only to end its opposition as fast as possible. With perfect knowledge of all this, Christ said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” So the cross not only brings Christ’s life to an end, it ends also the first life, the old life, of every one of His true followers. It destroys the old pattern, the Adam pattern, in the believer’s life, and brings it to an end. Then the God who raised Christ from the dead raises the believer and a new life begins. This, and nothing less, is true Christianity… We must do something about the cross, and one of two things only we can do – flee it or die upon it.

A.W. Tozer