Milo

May

• Creation and Nature • Christ’s Ascension and Exaltation • Pentecost and the Holy Spirit • Trinity Sunday• Christian Home • National Holiday/Memorial Day

1.

The Spacious Firmament
2.

This Is My Father’s World
3.

All Creatures of Our God and King
4.

Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
5.

Fairest Lord Jesus!
6.

How Great Thou Art!
7.

Unto the Hills Around Do I Lift Up
8.

His Eye Is on the Sparrow
9.

Day Is Dying in the West
10.

Look, Ye Saints! The Sight Is Glorious
11.

Crown Him With Many Crowns
12.

Golden Harps Are Sounding
13.

Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus!
14.

Hark! Ten Thousand Harps and Voices
15.

Thine Is the Glory
16.

Rejoice—The Lord Is King!
17.

The Comforter Has Come
18.

Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart
19.

Gracious Spirit, Dwell With Me
20.

Holy Ghost, With Light Divine
21.

Breathe on Me, Breath of God
22.

Blessed Quietness
23.

Holy Spirit, Faithful Guide
24.

Even Me
25.

Praise Ye the Triune God!
26.

Come, Thou Almighty King
27.

Happy the Home When God Is There
28.

O Perfect Love
29.

America the Beautiful
30.

Battle Hymn of the Republic
31.

My Country, ’Tis of Thee

April 30
ACCORDING TO THY GRACIOUS WORD
James Montgomery, 1771–1854
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26)
Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face; here would I touch and handle things unseen, here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace, and all my weariness upon Thee lean. Here would I feed upon the bread of God, here drink with Thee the royal wine of heav’n. Here would I lay aside each earthly load, here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiv’n.
—Horatius Bonar
In His sovereign wisdom our Lord knew that His followers through the centuries would need a continual reminder of the essential truths of their faith—the sacrificial death, the triumphant resurrection, and the victorious return of Christ. For His disciples, Christ shared the Last Supper and introduced the signs of the new covenant—His broken body and shed blood—symbolized by the bread and the cup. With this supper as the model, He then gave instructions that this feast of remembrance should occur regularly in our worship of Him until He comes. After that, it will culminate in heaven with the saints of the ages in the Wedding Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7, 9). Not only should the communion service serve as a backward and forward reminder of what Christ has and will do for us, but it should also cause us to look within ourselves —“A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28).
“According to Thy Gracious Word” by James Montgomery recounts vividly the sacrificial atonement of Christ and the believer’s response to Christ’s command in Luke 22:19—“This do in remembrance of Me.”
According to Thy gracious word, in meek humility, this will I do, my dying Lord: I will remember Thee.
Thy body, broken for my sake, my bread from heav’n shall be; Thy testamental cup I take, and thus remember Thee.
When to the cross I turn mine eyes and rest on Calvary, O Lamb of God, my sacrifice, I must remember Thee—
Remember Thee and all Thy pains and all Thy love to me; yea, while a breath, a pulse remains will I remember Thee.
And when these failing lips grow dumb and mind and mem’ry flee, when you shalt in Thy kingdom come, Jesus, remember me!

For Today: Matthew 26:26–29; 1 Corinthians 10:16–21; 11:23–28

Reflect on this: Am I truly willing to take the backward, forward, and inward looks as I anticipate the next Communion Service? Use this musical reminder to help—

April 29
WORTHY IS THE LAMB
Words and Music by Don Wyrtzen, 1942–
You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being. (Revelation 4:11)
Come, let us join our cheerful songs with angels round the throne;
Ten thousand thousand are their tongues, but all their joys are one.
“Worthy the Lamb that died,” they cry, “to be exalted thus.”
“Worthy is the Lamb,” our lips reply “for He was slain for us.”
The whole creation joins as one to bless the sacred Name
Of Him that sits upon the throne, and to adore the Lamb.
—Isaac Watts
Heaven will be a place of great singing as we join voices with the angels and saints of the ages in praising the One who made it all possible.
This popular contemporary hymn is based directly on a text of Scripture that could well be the believers’ theme throughout eternity:
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. (Revelation 5:12)
Don Wyrtzen, author and composer of this hymn and one of the outstanding gospel song writers of our day, recalls:
In 1970, I was in Mexico City assisting evangelist Luis Palau conduct a series of crusades. Because the messages were in Spanish, I spent the time during the sermons writing new songs. One day I became particularly impressed with the great truth of Revelation 5:12, and I thought how effective this verse could be, if only the proper music was used to enhance it. I thought about the music used in the secular song “The Impossible Dream” and decided that a similar musical style would work well with these words. God has used this song to bless and inspire His people during these past years perhaps more than any other work I have been privileged to write, for which I will be eternally grateful to Him.

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Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive: Power and riches and wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing! Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, worthy is the Lamb!

For Today: John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; Revelation 5:6–13; 13:8; 17:14

What is your response to the resurrected and now reigning Christ? Are you living daily in the awareness of His life-giving power? Are you joyfully anticipating the day when you will join the heavenly chorus extolling the One who alone is worthy of all praise? Why not begin even now?

April 28
WERE YOU THERE?
Spiritual
It was the third hour when they crucified Him. (Mark 15:25)
Folk songs are generally described as songs of which the origins have been lost but which express the heartfelt traditions and experiences of a particular culture or people. Therefore, they become greatly cherished by each succeeding generation.
The Negro spirituals represent some of the finest of American folk music. These songs are usually a blending of an African heritage, harsh remembrances from former slavery experiences, and a very personal interpretation of biblical stories and truths. They especially employ biblical accounts that give hope for a better life—such as the prospects of heaven. They symbolize so well the attitudes, hopes and religious feeling of the black race in America.
To better understand a Negro spiritual, one must feel even as a black singer does that he or she is actually present and very much involved in the event itself. The event being sung—in this case the story of Christ’s suffering, death, and ultimate resurrection—becomes a very intensely emotional experience. It is told with much feeling and freedom of spirit, generally without any instrumental accompaniment.
The lesson for each of us to learn from a Negro spiritual like this is that truths such as the redemptive work of Christ must have much more than just our mental assent. The biblical account must become a very personal conviction in our lives, and our very souls should be gripped by its emotional power.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they pierced Him in the side?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when God raised Him from the dead?
Sometimes I feel like shouting glory, glory, glory! When I think how God raised Him from the dead!

For Today: Isaiah 53:4–12; Matthew 20:28; 1 Peter 2:24; Revelation 1:5, 6

Imagine yourself standing at the foot of the cross when Christ was tortured and crucified. Then place yourself outside the empty tomb when the angelic announcement “He is not here … ” was given. Try to relive the emotional feelings that would have been yours. Allow this song to minister to you as you go through the day—

April 27
ABIDE WITH ME
Henry F. Lyte, 1793–1847
But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to tarry with them. (Luke 24:29 KJV)
Yes, life is like the Emmaus road, and we tread it not alone
For beside us walks the Son of God, to uphold and keep His own.
And our hearts within us thrill with joy at His words of love and grace,
And the glorious hope that when day is done we shall see His blessed face.
—Avis Christiansen
The author of this text, Henry F. Lyte, was an Anglican pastor. Though he battled tuberculosis all of his life, Lyte was known as a man strong in spirit and faith. It was he who coined the phrase “it is better to wear out than to rust out.”
During his later years, Lyte’s health progressively worsened so that he was forced to seek a warmer climate in Italy. For the last sermon with his parishioners at Lower Brixham, England, on September 4, 1847, it is recorded that he nearly had to crawl to the pulpit. His final words made a deep impact upon his people when he proclaimed, “It is my desire to induce you to prepare for the solemn hour which must come to all, by a timely appreciation and dependence on the death of Christ.”
Henry Lyte’s inspiration for writing “Abide with Me” came shortly before his final sermon, while reading from the account in Luke 24 of our Lord’s appearance with the two disciples on their seven mile walk from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus on that first Easter evening. How the hearts of those discouraged disciples suddenly burned within them when they realized that they were in the company of the risen, the eternal Son of God!
Abide with me—fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens—Lord, with me abide; when other helpers fail and comforts flee, help of the helpless, O abide with me!
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away; change and decay in all around I see—O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
I need Thy presence ev’ry passing hour—What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r? Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be? Thru cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy word before my closing eyes. Shine thru the gloom and point me to the skies; heav’n’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee—In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

For Today: Psalm 139:7–12; Luke 24:13–35; 1 John 3:24

Relive the thrill expressed by the two Emmaus disciples when their spiritual eyes were opened and they first realized that they were in the presence of their risen Lord. Use this hymn to help—