Gloria in Excelsis Deo (song)

 The wonder and mystery of the Incarnation is always so startling and overwhelming when I truly contemplate it. Romans 5:8 is a Bible verses that always blows me away when I consider its truth. "But God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." It's crazy to think that God Almighty Himself loves us all so much that He would deign to lower Himself in such great humility and strap on human skin and bones for 33 years! One of my favourite Christmas carols captures it well. "Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown when Thou camest to Earth for me. But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room for Thy holy nativity! O come to my heart, Lord Jesus! There is room in my heart for Thee." ("Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne" by E.S. Elliot) It's amazing to think that God would leave His throne and set aside His glory in Heaven and come to Earth for me! Thank You, Lord Jesus for coming to save me from my sins so that I could be born again! Thank You that are risen and returning as well! That kind of amazing love and grace drives me to sing with the angels, "Gloria!" All glory to Lord Jesus! Grazie, Signore! 

"Gloria in Excelsis Deo" (parody of "Gloria" as performed by Laura Branigan; written by Umberto Tozzi, Giancarlo Bigazzi and Trevor Veitch) (copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/16/2020)
(Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2, Genesis 3:15, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-56, Luke 2:1-21)

Story of what took place with God's Son now
Coming after prophecy
Isaiah 7:14 (now)
1 Matthew's got this quote now
The Lord Himself foretold it
Virgin gets pregnant- forthcomes Babe out
So the angel said to Joseph
He nearly broke it off with her
But he stuck with Mary instead
And her Boy's God Incarnate
Called Emmanuel! God with us!
Going to save us from sin!
And Mary's God's servant- cool!
Got visit by angel Gabriel in
Luke in the first chapter
Read where she then magnified
Oh-oh-oh, Holy Lord our God!
Magnificat! (Background Vocals: Magnificat!)
Decree says go be numbered
(BGV: Go read up!) 5:2 Micah- birthplace (of) Jesus
(BGV: Word of God!) But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah
(BGV: You're little!) But you shall bring forth Israel's ruler
Joseph's from line of David
Got no choice 'cause inn's full- then- swaddling cloths, manger
Ah-ah-ah! Ah-ah-ah!
Glory of Lord our God- it shone 'round
Shepherds keeping watch that same night
Oh, still Bethlehem's 'bout to be loud!
Time's due- Mary births God's Son- read
Take a look there in Luke chapter 2
"Fear not!" angel said (to) shepherds who quake
"For all people, I'm bringing Good News!
Unto you this day is born a Saviour
Well, He's born in city of David
Christ The Lord- sign you'll get- swaddling cloths, manger"
Gloria (BGV: Gloria) Angel is joined by numbers
(BGV: Gloria) They speak to God these praises thus
(BGV: Gloria) Luke 2 verse 14- (thanks, Linus)
(BGV: Gloria) "To God glory in the highest
Peace on earth, good will to men
On whom God's favour rests"- calling Gloria!
(BGV: Gloria) (x3) 
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We are the Reason for the Season

        In the hustle and bustle of this busy holiday season, it's easy to get overwhelmed. There are so many activities and traditions to keep up with at Christmas. It's easy to forget what it's all about and why we do the celebrations we do. But, of course, in the course of it all, we should always remember the reason for the season- us. If not for us, there would be no Christmas- there'd be no need. It might seem weird to say Christmas is all about me and you but in a sense it certainly is just that. In the same way that police and fire fighters and superheroes are out of work without villains to stop and people to save, the birth of Christ would not be necessary except for us. We, the pinnacle of God's creation, went astray like sheep. We have all sinned and are all villains. But instead of sending us to the Phantom Zone, God found a way to save us from our Kryptonite that had killed us. The real life Superman came to earth, rocketed out of Heaven and arriving via the miracle of the Incarnation. He was raised by a carpenter and his wife in a small town, not too unlike Jonathan and Martha raising Clark Kent in Smallville. Joseph and Mary raised Jesus Christ in Nazareth later on after His spectacular birth in Bethlehem, which was reserved for only a few shepherds to first know about and view the manger.
       And like the meek and mild-mannered reporter, Jesus humbled Himself and disguised His superpowered self in the form of a bondservant for the planet daily for 33 years. And ultimately, He showed us that He is the one true real Superhero because He did what only He could do for the sake of the people- He gave His life to save all of humanity. He paid the price for all of our wrong deeds once for all time. And then He proved He is God over all ultimately by defeating the great enemy no one else could defeat- He beat death, sin, Hell, the devil and his demons all in one blow! He rose again from the grave!
      And He did it all to save us! If we put our faith in Him to save us, He gathers us in His arms and no scheme of Lex Luthor can ever shake us loose. We are saved forever from the sin that had entangled us and we are freed to live for Jesus and have an assurance of eternity with Him in Heaven.
And that's the meaning of and reason for Christmas. Yes, Jesus is still always the reason for the season but as David Meece reminds us, we are the Reason for Jesus coming! He loves us and wants to save us! That's why we can celebrate Christmas and that's ultimately what we celebrate- the advent of our salvation culminating and fulfilled in Easter!
      And as we celebrate the joy to the world The Lord's first coming brings, we also look forward to the joy to the world (for those in Christ) that The Lord's second coming brings. :-)
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman- fully God and fully man! The Saviour has come and The Saviour's coming again! Hallelujah!
Merry Christmas and Happy (First and Second) Advent! :-)

"We are the reason that He gave His life. We are the reason that He suffered and died. To a world that was lost He gave all He could give to show us the reason to live." ...."He is my reason to live!" :-)
- "We Are The Reason" by David Meece

(Philippians 2, Galatians 4:4, Psalms 98, Mark 4:41, Colossians 1:15-23, Romans 5:6-8, John 1:1-18, John 1:29, John 1:43-51, John 3:13-21, 1 John 4:7-21, Hosea 11:8-9, Hosea 2:16-23, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Revelation 22:16-21) (Action Comics by DC Comics publishing and David Meece's 1980 "Are You Ready?" album from Myrrh Records for all the rest ;-))

Read 1st. John (song)

As Christmas approaches this year, the classic Christmas song that I have thought about a lot that I think really sums up the main point of the holiday so well comes to mind- "Love Came Down at Christmas". Indeed, God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (See John 3:16) There is no greater love than the love God has for us all. He proved that by sending Jesus to die for our sins and rise again. (Romans 5:8) And some of the most verses we have about love in The Bible come from the books of 1st. John, 2nd. John and 3rd. John. I have a trilogy of song parodies I've written about each book and I wanted to post that as a Christmas gift here this year. Funnily enough, I wrote them in reverse order- a song about 3rd. John, then one about 2nd. John and then one about 1st. John. They're all from the 1970s and so there's that theme common to them along with the theme of Love Divine. Read 1st. John and listen to this song and may the God Who holds the earth in His hands, moves and works in us like the wind blows where it wants to go and lights a fire in us as the Great Consuming Fire envelop you in His love. Merry Christmas!

Read 1st. John
(parody of "Sing a Song" by Earth, Wind and Fire; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 2/17/2017)
(1 John)

Sin concealed found you out
Read 1st. John 1:9- pray and He forgives- yeah, yeah
If you're in Christ, walk it out
(2:6) 1st. John- liars don't obey
Sometimes it's hard to care
(2:9) 1st. John- brother, hate's not The Way
Desires of world fade here
2 in 1st. John- 17- God's way

3:1 1st. John
See what love!
God gives us!
We're His sons! (and daughters too)

Love's not talk but good deeds then
3 in 1st. John- 18- our lives we lay- yeah, ah
Christ's love showing out's our reassuring
(3:20) 1st. John- condemnations fade
God is love- 4:8 reads
4:1 1st. John- Test spirits- many fakes
Liars hate bros they can see
(4:20) 1st. John- Christians, love all peeps

(5:13) 1st. John
Believe on
Son of God
Know you've got
Eternal long
Life with God
Just like John
Sing and praise God!

You need to read 1st. John today
Jesus Christ is The Way

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Christ is the Reason (for the Season) (song)

Here's a late Christmas present for you! (Of course, since scholars think Jesus was probably born closer to April than December, it still seems a fitting time.) Of course, any time is a good time to celebrate Christ's birth. And when it is that time of the season, there are lots of fun things to enjoy- Christmas carols, cookies, church services, presents and family time- but the greatest gift of all is the salvation God sent us through Jesus' death and Resurrection. He paid for all our sins so that when we were wandering through life like zombies- the living dead, as we were dead in our sins- we could have the chance to be truly alive with abundant life in the here and now and eternal life in Heaven instead of hell as we deserve. Just as Jesus came at the right time (as Galatians 4:4-5 say), in that sense Time adopted the Eternal One and Joseph adopted Mary's Son born of the Immaculate Conception through The Holy Spirit's work. (To be clear, I know the "Immaculate Conception" term is used in reference to Mary; while I don't agree with that doctrine, I am using the term here to refer to Jesus Christ being kept free from original sin by His virginal conception. ;-)) And in turn, Jesus redeemed those under the law so that He could adopt us as well! Praise God for His love! Merry Christmas! Happy Easter! God loves you! :-)

(And as a special bonus with this song, my brother Kevin and I have collaborated to provide for an audio file that you can stream or download for free, thanks to Karaoke Version and Tency Music, who provided the excellent karaoke tracks that we used! :-) Stream or download the song for free at Kevin Ludwick's Bandcamp page! And while you're there, check out some other collaborations Kevin and I have done (including original songs) and Kevin's collection of his own original songs.) You can also listen to it from this blog in the player below!

"Christ is the Reason (for the Season)"
(parody of "Time of the Season" by The Zombies; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 8/31/2016)
(Galatians 4:4-5, Romans 5:8, Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2, Mark 1:1-3 and 14-15, John 1:1-29, 1 John 4:19)

(Ah!) (x4) (Repeated after first 4 lines and in-between verses)

It's the time of the season
When God sent Christ
Christmastime- sing and let's be jolly
The light still shines in darkened lands
To save you by The Son for Promised Land
Go 4:19 1 John
It says Christ is the reason for loving

(Ah!) (x4)

Jesus came (Jesus came)
Who's His Daddy? (Who's His Daddy?)
(He is rich) He's the richest King (the richest King)
(But He laid) But He laid it all aside (it all aside)
And though He was God, became servant
Saviour meek and lowly
Showed us how love really ought to go
When He died- that's His reason for coming!

(Ah!) (x4)

What a Name! (What a Name!)
Man of Sorrows! (Man of Sorrows!)
(Yet He's the King) Yet He's the King of Kings! (King of Kings!)
(In Galatians) In Galatians 4:4- Time (4:4- Time)
(And Joe) And Joseph adopted God's Kid

He and Mary obeyed
Christ adopts the redeemed from the law
Christmastime! Happy Easter- God loves us!
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released January 15, 2017
Singing, mixing/mastering: Kevin Ludwick
Lyrics: Nathan Ludwick
Music: Karaoke Version (www.karaoke-version.com) and Tency Music (www.tencymusic.com)

God's Child in The Temple (song)

Childhood is such a creative and imaginative time, full of wonder and growth and learning. Children get plenty of nicks and bruises along the way of learning, but eventually they take those experiences and get shaped to be the grown-ups they become in the end. "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways." (1 Corinthians 13:11) In the same way that we grow physically from children to adults, we grow in the faith spiritually from newborn babes to mature believers in Christ. (1 Peter 2:2-3) Just as The Bible tells us through the gilded pages, we must learn to grow more and more like Jesus. And if God's Child's in the temple and in the Scriptures and in prayer, how much more must we be!

"God's Child in The Temple"
(parody of "Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/7/2015)
(Luke 2, 1 John 1:6, Acts 4:27, 1 Samuel 2:26, 1 Corinthians 13:11, 1 Peter 2:2-3)

Manger- where they laid down God's own Child
Saviour- dressed in swaddling clothes- meek and mild
Go on, bro- Luke 2 is just what this is based on
Mary and Joseph- they gave Him- for presentation

God's Child's in the city
God smiled on ol' Simeon
Saw God's Child- Anna's on (the) scene
Yeah
God's Child got a blessing

So long! He cut loose out on His own
Young Boy! Feast is done, they take off for home
When Jesus is found, the priests all stop and stare
While search is going down, they gawk- tween Jesus schooled 'em there
Yeah

God's Child's in the city
God's Child has gone missing
(They're) runnin' wild and looking for Him
Yeah
God's Child's in Dave's city

When He's found at God's House, baby- they balk at this stunt
"Knowest thou not My place must be (My) Father's House?"
(Dad's on the brain for Jesus) God's Child's on a mission! God's Child's in the city!
God's Child- He went missing! (Found Child) Found God's Child- just look in temple
(Found Child at the temple) God's Child 's in (the) vicinity!
(God's Child left with family) God's Child left with family
(God's Child was submitting) God's Child was submitting
(Grew wise and in favor) Grew wise and in favour
( (So) God's child- grow like Saviour!) - (So) God's child- grow like Saviour! (Oh!)
(God's Child!)
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The Sunrise Dawns (poem)

Here's a Christmas poem to remember the sacrifice made to save us all- the sacrifice that extended beyond the cross and empty tomb- the sacrifice that started when Thou didst leave Thy throne, Lord Jesus. You stepped down and clothed yourself in human flesh and became a little Baby Boy in Bethlehem. You grew up to be the paragon of human existence, living a perfect life and dying a perfect death on the cross and then having a perfect Resurrection. You are perfection itself. Thank You for loving such imperfect people like me and coming to save us- and make us to be like You.

"The Sunrise Dawns"
(copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/26/2015)
(Luke 1-2, Matthew 1-2, John 1:1-18, Mark 1:1-11)

The Way in a manger
The Truth in a stable rude
The Life descends on a midnight clear
The Word resounds on a silent night
The Light of the world shines in thy dark streets, O Bethlehem
The Prince of Peace born by a pauper's means
The King of Kings crowned with hay for a wreath
The Lord of Lords with no glory to behold, by animals and shepherds adored
The Mighty God a tiny, helpless Babe
The Wonderful Counselor consoles Israel but not Himself
The Everlasting Father becomes the Only Begotten Son
The Seed of the woman planted for a tree
The Second Adam here to erase the curse of the first Adam
The Door of the sheep found only a door for sheep
The Desire of Nations had no beauty that we should desire Him
The Good Shepherd is The Lamb of God fit for the slaughter
The Holy Child comes to us lowly and mild
The Bright and Morning Star made a new star to shine with hope
The Beloved Son grows up to be a despised Man of Sorrows
The Author of Eternal Salvation writes Himself into our story
The Bread of Life is broken for us
The New Wine is spilled as blood for us
The Creator takes the punishment for His created
The Great High Priest becomes a curse for us
The Messiah comes to be our Passover
We find our rest in the New Sabbath
The Son of God becomes the Son of Man as well
So that the sons of earth might become sons of God too
Hallelujah, for The Saviour is born and we can be born again.
The Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings lifts us up as eagles
The Resurrection and The Life resurrects our lives with new life.
The Rose of Sharon blooms forevermore
And one day The Witness will see us witness to the great glory
of The Lord of Glory as we praise the Lord of all forever
All thanks to Immanuel who has made God with us our reality once more.
Let the Amen be raised in praise for endless days.

White as Snow (song)

There is a funny contradiction in the world today. On the one hand, some people want to keep insisting that all human beings are essentially good, though some make mistakes at times. But in the end, it's all like a Disney movie with some villians, of course, but ultimately most people are good overall. Of course, it seems that some of the same people who make these claims also shake their fists at God in Heaven and blame Him whenever evil erupts its repulsive ooze over humanity once again- and people suffer and lives are lost. Then the question is raised for me- how could a good people allow evil in the world? And when we're standing there, frozen in shock, maybe that's when we can come to recognize the truth- there is evil in this pervasive world- and we're it. We were all made to be good- made in God's image, Who is perfection itself- but we made the fatal choice to rebel against The Lord through Adam and Eve's sin- and now the world is under the curse of sin. Thankfully, God Himself has provided the remedy for sin. Though it stains us scarlet red, God can forgive our sins and make them white as snow. They've all been paid for by Jesus' death and Resurrection. We must take all our sin and let it go- leaving it nailed to the cross and put our faith in Jesus and live for Him instead. Thank God for His love and forgiveness!

"White as Snow" (parody of "Let It Go" from Disney's "Frozen" by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 5/29/2015)
(Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 45:21-25, Isaiah 64:6, Psalms 14:3, Psalms 53:3, Romans 3:1-20, Romans 3:23-26, Romans 6:23, Proverbs 20:9, John 1:29, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 1:7, John 3:16-21, John 14:6, John 10:1-18, John 6:35-40, Hebrews 10:10-12, Colossians 1:15-20)

Verse 1
.............
The snow glows white in Wisconsin tonight
What a fitting Christmas scene
The winter brings transformation
The fall looks like it's washed clean
Our sin is howling like a swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep from sin; Heaven knows we tried
Won't let Him in
But think He's pleased
If you're good, girl; boy, always keeping clean
Conceal evil
Don't let it show
Well, on our own...

Chorus 1
...............
We're evil! We're evil!
(I) can't hope to match up to The Lord
Yes, we know we're evil
Turn away and seek The Lord!
Isaiah 64:6 says
All good deeds we've done-
The Lord says they're rotten filthy rags anyway

Verse 2
..............
It's funny how resistance
Makes everything His fault
And we feel He's hidden- if only
He'd let us see Him all
The Christ revealed that wish for you
Jesus- God's image- Way, Life and Truth
He died for wrongs
And rose so we'd
Be free!

Chorus 2
................
All evil
In one go-
Christ has won over sin for all time!
Let Him go
Save your soul
You need to receive Christ
Hear what God says in Isaiah
Let's read 1:18

Bridge
.............
Like how snow flurries through the air into the ground
Our souls can be washed clean though our sin's scarlet- hear God now
"Come use thought- realize this- I can wipe (out) all bad!"
Though all you've known is black, the cross has changed all that!

Chorus 3
................
White as snow!
White as snow!
(My) sins are white like wool thanks to God!
White as snow!
White as snow!
That perfect Lamb of God!
Here I stand- by The Christ I'm saved
Like it says in 1st. John
Behold how The Father's loved (in) 3:1- yay!

Message in The Bible (song)

Just like the Coast Guard rescues stranded castaways from a desert island after finding their message in a bottle and just like the police come in to save the day and stop the bad guys- The Lord has come to our rescue to bring us salvation. He gave us a message in The Bible through the years that prophesied of His plan of salvation- all the way back to the Garden. From the first moment that man fell into sin, God was there with His rescue plan- just see Genesis 3:15- the seed of the woman will come and crush the serpent's head. But even before that-even before sin ever came into the world- God already had The Lamb slain- before the foundation of the world! (Revelation 13:8)
      Ultimately, Easter is when the plan was fulfilled- when Jesus came and died on the cross and rose again to pay for all sins. And this is really what we celebrate at Christmas- the promise fulfilled when Jesus came to be born to a virgin, laid in a manger in a stable, worshipped by shepherds and angels and grow up as the perfect Son of God. The Prince of Peace salvation brings- let loving hearts enthrone Him. And He has brought us peace with God- and He will one day come again and bring peace on earth permanently when He reigns supreme and ultimately takes us to Heaven. Merry Christmas and Happy Easter. :-)


"Message in The Bible"
(parody of "Message in a Bottle" by The Police; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/13/2014)
(Luke 1-2, Matthew 1-2, Mark 1:1, John 1:1-18, John 1:29, John 3:16, Isaiah 9:2, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6, Romans 10:9, Galatians 4:4, Acts 4:12, Genesis 3:15, Revelation 13:8, John 20:30-31, 1 John 5:13)

Just a captive, hey- in a land (of) darkness deep, oh
So Father shone The Way- a glowing light so great, oh
So go read this- Isaiah 9:2, yeah
Rescue me, oh Lord- I call on You, Messiah!

I'll send an S.O.S. to The Lord
I sent my S.O.S. to The Lord
I know that Yahweh hears me
I hope He comes soon- Lord's Christ
God told (me) He comes ere I die
Simeon's what I'm called, yeah
Luke 2 in The Bible, yeah

In time's fullness sending forth God's Son
In 3:15 Genesis- right from the start
The virgin conceives Immanuel
Lamb will save our lives but
Lamb was slain before start
Christ slain before the start of the world
It's in 13:8 Rev. in The Word
God wrote down so many signs
Recorded by prophets through time
Foretold so we would believe

Message in The Bible, yeah
(The) Message in The Bible, yeah
20:31 [three one] John wrote, yeah

On Christmas morning (The) Word became flesh and blood
1:14 John's Gospel- watched glory of The Lord
Means we're not alone- Thou didst leave Thy throne
John 3:16- God just gave His kid for our souls
God sent His S-o-n to the world
God sent His S-o-n to the world
I know that no one else saves
I know salvation comes by
Our hope in God's Son for Life
Romans 10:9 Paul told (how)
All sins have been paid (in) full, yeah
Message in The Bible, yeah
Christmas- birth of our Hope, yeah

Sending out J-E-S-U-S
Sending down J-E-S-U-S
Sending out J-E-S-U-S
Sending down J-E-S-U-S
Sending out J-E-S-U-S
Sending down J-E-S-U-S
(repeat many times)

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