​For some nursing-home residents, being unable to attend church regularly is among the toughest losses they’ll experience in this life. That’s why the best facilities go to great lengths to address their residents’ spiritual needs, providing a full slate of worship activities in-house – everything from Bible studies to hymn sings to one-on-one visits from men and women representing specific denominations. 

​At “my” nursing home, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to this effort via a monthly Christian Music Hour – an hour-long hymn sing that has evolved into something more over the last 15+ years, with the addition of an outstanding message delivered by an excellent lay preacher from my church.   

Each month, we flank his message with a dozen favorite old hymns. We produce booklets displaying the lyrics for this month’s songs in 18- or 20-point type; other volunteers from my church (including our preacher’s wife and children) are on hand to gather our congregation beforehand, to turn pages, to hand out gospel tracts, and to bring the worshipers to lunch following the service.  

We launched a recent Christian Music Hour with several songs exalting the Lord for who He is:

• Holy, Holy, Holy
• Praise to the Lord
• O God, Our Help in Ages Past (click on the video below to hear a particularly lovely version of this wonderful Isaac Watts hymn)

Next, we sang about the salvation, assurance and sanctification He offers everyone who repents and trusts in Jesus:

• Jesus Paid It All
• Blessed Assurance
• Whiter than Snow

​
After another gripping message from our preacher, we lifted our voices in praise of His faithfulness to us:

• How Firm a Foundation
• Great Is Thy Faithfulness
• I Know Whom I Have Believed

Finally, we expressed our gratitude for the land He has blessed us with:

• America the Beautiful
• God Bless America
• The Battle Hymn of the Republic 

If you'd like to present such a program at your local nursing home, great! Let me know if I can be of any help -- providing typed-up lyrics, for instance, song lists, or recommendations on the best recordings I've found to date. 

​

So many mornings, when the sun peeks through our neighbor's European spindle trees at just the right angle, I am reminded of one of my favorite passages of all time: 

"There you are, standing at a window watching oak leaves flutter down from dark boughs, and without warning your whole body fills with a longing for something you can't name, something you've lost but never had, that you're nostalgic for yet don't remember. You sense a joy so huge it breaks you, a sorrow so deep it cleanses."

It's from Mark Buchanan's five-star book Things Unseen: Living in Light of Forever -- the title of which refers to one of my favorite passages in the Bible: 

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) 

What a wonderful message for all of us -- and especially for those who are standing on the cusp of eternity with joyful anticipation.

Adapted from a post published 9/27/13

If you've wrestled with the question of suffering and its role in the believer's life, here's a book you won't want to miss: Suffering Well: Job’s Stubborn Faith is a uniquely uplifting exploration of the fascinating, important, and for some of us, frightening, Old Testament book of Job.

Seasoning his highly readable prose with contemporary analogies and personal stories, author Joshua King guides us through Job chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Along the way, he calls our attention to points we ordinary Bible students might too easily overlook – including, to cite just one example, the fact that Mrs. Job suffered trials as crushing as her husband’s; that in spite of her notorious Chapter 2 rant, she stayed with Job through tragedies that would have sent other women packing; and that in the end, the Lord restores them both with abundant blessings. 

King also gives us compelling insights into Job’s four friends and the flaws in their theologies, in the process exposing many of our own errors and fears. But most enlightening is the author’s analysis of our hero Job, his stubborn faith in his “intimate friend,” and the true longings of his heart.  

Bottom line: King has given us a commentary that invites us to learn critical lessons about our relationship with the Lord. He shows us how crucial it is to elevate our focus above the “why” questions of life, and to simply trust the One whose infinite love and mercy will see us through our deepest sorrows. 

Suffering Well has given me a better understanding of Job, his wife, his friends, and God Himself – and a new view of human suffering. Highly recommended!

You'll find Suffering Well online at Amazon.