Welcome! We’re so glad you’re here. Please enjoy this album as our gift to you!

Each underlined song title below are individual download links. Lyrics and commentary on each song can also be found below the song downloads!

 
 
 

It is Finished

VERSE ONE
All the treasures of this world
All the good that I might do
Cannot repay the debt I owe
Here I stand with empty hands
And no other hope but You
Set my heart on fire to know

CHORUS
It is finished (2x)
From the Cross, my Lord, You cried
(REPEAT)

VERSE TWO
Finished are the shadows of
The ceremonial law
Finished are my guilt and fears
Ruined lives, so loved by Christ
Forgiven in His blood
Your triumph rings through endless years

BRIDGE
Now the night is gone
Now the morning dawns
All my sins are washed away
Now from death I rise
To everlasting life
All my sins are washed away

ENDING
It is finished
It is finished
It is finished
Amen

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
CCLI# 6185385
© 2011 Abe & Liza Philip
songsfromscripture.com

Vocals, Words & Music by Abe & Liza Philip

These were Jesus' last words on the cross recorded in John 19:30.

"It is finished!" comes from the Greek τετέλεσται, meaning (a) I end, finish, (b) I fulfill, accomplish, (c) I pay.

I will never forget a veterinarian speaking in church who left his career to become a missionary. As he was preaching, he broke down in tears as he was considering the enormous bloodshed and pain of the countless hundreds of thousands or millions of animals sacrificed in Old Testament temples prior to the coming of our Savior.

"For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered?...But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. (Hebrews 10:1-2,4)

But "we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10)

There is much discussion on exactly what those words, "it is finished," meant, but one thing we can know with certainty - Jesus was declaring a dual truth: His work was completed and the Scriptures were fulfilled.

Here are just a few times in the Gospels that Jesus emphasizes that the prophecies and promises of Scripture will INEVITABLY and ALWAYS be fulfilled.

But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
Matthew 26:56

I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”
Mark 14:49

So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”
Mark 15:28

And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:21

Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
Luke 24:44

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
John 17:12

They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
John 19:24

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!”
John 19:28

For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”
John 19:36

"It is finished" is the solid ground on which all believers stand (Romans 5:2). Not everyone would agree with this, but I remember meeting an Anglican priest who had τετέλεσται tatooed onto his wrist as a permanent reminder. τετέλεσται is a window into the Gospel because it is not about what we have accomplished or done for God but what God has done for us, the lost, the least and the last, in Christ.

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5).

"It is finished!", τετέλεσται, means there is nothing left - no ritual, no sacrament, no sacrifice, no payment, no work - there is nothing left to do to accomplish salvation.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:18)

"And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.

For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin." (Hebrews 10:11–18)

τετέλεσται!

It is finished! 

Jesus, Thy Blood And Righteousness

VERSE ONE
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress
'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed
With joy shall I lift up my head

VERSE TWO
Bold shall I stand in Thy great day
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully absolved through Thee I am
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame

VERSE THREE
Lord, I believe Thy precious blood
Which at the mercy seat of God
Forever doth for sinners plead
For me, e'en for my soul, was shed

VERSE FOUR
When from the dust of death I rise
To claim my mansion in the skies
Then this shall be my only plea
My Savior lived and died for me

VERSE FIVE
O let the dead now hear Thy voice
Now bid Thy ransomed ones rejoice
Their beauty this, their glorious dress
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
Public Domain
Translator: John Wesley (1738)
Author: Nicolaus Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf (1739)
© 2023 Abe & Liza Philip (Melody and Verse 4 altered lyrics)

Vocals & Music by Abe Philip
Guest Vocals: Zoe Philip

The beauty of the Gospel is that it's not about us. And if it's not about us, we can't mess it up. It is an announcement of what God has done that we could never do.

In 1 Corinthians 15 we find the Gospel defined for us:
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...

Now we can wear forgiveness and everlasting life like a robe and crown given to us by God our Father and King as His dearly loved children.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)

As the first verse so beautifully portrays, we joyfully wear our Savior's blood and righteousness which cleanses and sanctifies us not just in this life but in whatever worlds may be in the ages to come:

Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress
'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed
With joy shall I lift up my head

There is One Body (Ephesians 4​:​1​-​6)

VERSE ONE
Let us live a life worthy
Of the calling we have received.
And preserve the Spirit’s unity
Through the bond of peace

CHORUS
There is one body, one Spirit
One glorious future, one Lord
There is one faith and one baptism
One God and Father of all
Only one God and Father of all

VERSE TWO
Let us walk with humility
With all patience and gentleness
Let us bear with one another
In love and thankfulness

BRIDGE
He is over all
He is through all
He is in all
Amen
(REPEAT)

CHORUS - quieter on first 2 lines

END WITH BRIDGE

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
CCLI# 7052440
© 2004 Abe & Liza Philip
songsfromscripture.com

Vocals, Words & Music by Abe & Liza Philip

Scripture quotations adapted or taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This passage serves as a perfect "therefore" to follow "It is Finished." Simply put, because He died for us we must live for Him.

The word "one" is repeated over and over in the chorus, based on verses 4-6.

"One" is a beautiful word but it has been demonically hijacked by New Age and Eastern religions to collapse the distinction of Creator and creation where "all is one" means "all is God" and therefore "we are God or a piece of God." But this is not the oneness of Scripture.

The goal of Satan is to destroy distinctions and collapse boundaries, which ultimately, like a cell losing its membrane, leads to death. The mission of God is to bring the Spirit's unity while maintaining the diversity of distinctions He established in His omniscient wisdom. He is in the business of creating order out of chaos and beauty out of ashes (and judgment to the unrepentant).

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). The Creator and the created are not the same and never will be. We are called to become like God, but never to become God (as if such a thing were possible! - the uncreated God has no beginning so all others are disqualified by defintion).

So this is what "one" means in this passage of the Bible:

1
ONE body of Christ - the invisible church bought with His blood that spans through all nations and every generation through the centuries
2
ONE Holy Spirit who brings unity and peace
3
ONE glorious hope and future
4
ONE Lord Jesus Christ who died for us and our salvation
5
ONE faith, that is ONE Gospel by which all Christian are saved
6
ONE baptism in which we confess our ONE faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and engage ourselves to Christ (these verses are also a lesser known proclamation of the Triune God in that they mention all Three Persons in the Godhead)
7
ONE God (there are not many gods, but only the singular complex monotheism of the Triune God) and ONE Father of all - in a limited sense, He is the Father of all by creation, but for all believers, He is especially and most gloriously...our Father.

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2) 

My Faith Has Found A Resting Place

VERSE ONE
My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed:
I trust the Everliving One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

CHORUS
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

VERSE TWO
Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him,
He'll never cast me out.

VERSE THREE
My heart is leaning on the Word,
The living Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior's name,
Salvation thro' His blood.

VERSE THREE
My great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave.

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
Public Domain
Words: E. E. Hewitt (1891)
Music: Norweigian folk melody, Arr. William J. Kirkpatrick (1891)

© 2023 Abe & Liza Philip (arrangement)
Vocals by Liza Philip
Music by Abe Philip

A hymn of assurance worth memorizing. We chose it because it perfectly summed up the theme and title of this album, "It is Finished."

"It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me."

If you can say those words and believe it, you have nothing to fear in life or in death.

My God Shall Supply All Your Needs (Philippians 4​:​19​-​20)

VERSE
My God shall supply all your needs
From His riches in glory
(REPEAT)

CHORUS
Now to our God and Father
Be the glory forever and ever
Now to our God and Father
Be the glory forever and ever
Amen.
Amen.

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
CCLI# 4943581
© 2001 Abe & Liza Philip
songsfromscripture.com

Vocals, Words & Music by Abe & Liza Philip

Scripture quotations adapted or taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

To be human is to be in need.

Unlike God, we need oxygen, water, food, shelter, sleep, safety, money, relationships and on and on. It's very easy to worry and wonder if and how things will work out with every challenge life throws at us.

But we have here in Philippians a promise that not some, not most, but rather all our needs, every single last one, will be supplied in Christ by our Almighty Father who knows all things and loves us.

Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. (Psalm 86:1)

And He always will. To Him be the glory forever and ever.

Jude Doxology (Jude 1​:​24​-​25)

VERSE
Now to him who is able
To keep you from falling
And present you faultless
In His glorious presence
With exceeding joy

CHORUS
To the only God our Savior
And through Jesus Christ our Lord

Be the glory, majesty,
power and authority
Be the glory, majesty,
power and authority

Before all ages
Now and forever
Amen

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
CCLI# 4943622
© 2001 Abe & Liza Philip
songsfromscripture.com

Vocals, Words & Music by Abe & Liza Philip

Scripture quotations adapted or taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

An ethereal setting to the final verses of the Book of Jude.

Though this short book is filled with harsh rebukes and earnest warnings about infiltration from false teachers, it culminates on a magnificent and otherworldy mountain peak. These verses teach us to look to Jesus and not on ourselves. They fill our hearts with assurance that by faith in Christ we will not fall but will at last on that great Day stand flawless and with unspeakable joy in His presence forever.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11

I Am the Good Shepherd (John 10​:​9​-​10​,​14​-​16)

VERSE ONE
I am the good Shepherd
I know my sheep
And My sheep know me
As the Father knows me
And I know the Father
My sheep know me

CHORUS
And I lay down my life (3x)
For the sheep
And I lay down my life
Yes, I lay down my life
I lay down my life for the sheep

VERSE TWO
I have other sheep
Who are not of this fold
I must bring them too
They shall hear my voice
There shall be one flock
With one Shepherd

BRIDGE
I am the Door
All who enter through Me
Will be saved
I came that you may have
Life to the full
And be saved

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
CCLI# 7075049
© 2016 Abe & Liza Philip
songsfromscripture.com

Vocals, Words & Music by Abe & Liza Philip

Scripture quotations adapted or taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

These were Jesus' last words on the cross recorded in John 19:30.

"It is finished!" comes from the Greek τετέλεσται, meaning (a) I end, finish, (b) I fulfill, accomplish, (c) I pay.

I will never forget a veterinarian speaking in church who left his career to become a missionary. As he was preaching, he broke down in tears as he was considering the enormous bloodshed and pain of the countless hundreds of thousands or millions of animals sacrificed in Old Testament temples prior to the coming of our Savior.

"For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered?...But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. (Hebrews 10:1-2,4)

But "we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10)

There is much discussion on exactly what those words, "it is finished," meant, but one thing we can know with certainty - Jesus was declaring a dual truth: His work was completed and the Scriptures were fulfilled.

Here are just a few times in the Gospels that Jesus emphasizes that the prophecies and promises of Scripture will INEVITABLY and ALWAYS be fulfilled.

But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
Matthew 26:56

I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”
Mark 14:49

So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”
Mark 15:28

And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:21

Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
Luke 24:44

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
John 17:12

They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
John 19:24

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!”
John 19:28

For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”
John 19:36

"It is finished" is the solid ground on which all believers stand (Romans 5:2). Not everyone would agree with this, but I remember meeting an Anglican priest who had τετέλεσται tatooed onto his wrist as a permanent reminder. τετέλεσται is a window into the Gospel because it is not about what we have accomplished or done for God but what God has done for us, the lost, the least and the last, in Christ.

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5).

"It is finished!", τετέλεσται, means there is nothing left - no ritual, no sacrament, no sacrifice, no payment, no work - there is nothing left to do to accomplish salvation.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:18)

"And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.

For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin." (Hebrews 10:11–18)

τετέλεσται!

It is finished! 

Faithful God to the Faithless (2 Timothy 2​:​13)

VERSE ONE
Father to the fatherless
Defender of the weak
Comfort to the broken heart
Savior of the world
Remember me

CHORUS
Faithful God to the faithless
Merciful and True
You will never forsake us
Who is like You?

VERSE TWO
Beautiful in holiness
Eternal majesty
From my pride and sinfulness
Savior of the world
Deliver me

BRIDGE
Who is like the God who saves
And finds us when we’ve lost our way
Who is like the Lord our God?

Who is like the God of all
Mindful when a sparrow falls
Who is like the Lord our God?

Who is like the God who loves
And gave his only Son for us
Who is like the Lord our God?

Who is like the Lord our God?

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
CCLI# 7052445
© 2004 Abe & Liza Philip
© 2022 Bridge added by Abe & Liza Philip
songsfromscripture.com

Vocals, Words & Music by Abe & Liza Philip

Scripture quotations adapted or taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God cares about the broken...which means He cares about you and me.

This is a tender song that reminds us that neither our pain and trials (verse 1) nor our sins (verse 2) will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. "A bruised reed He will not break..." (Isaiah 42:3).

The end of verse one is meant to bring to mind the thief on the cross which is the place where we all are or need to be: helpless and looking to Jesus.

“Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

In English, the verse says “never” twice which serves to underline the point that God has promised to always be with us.

But what caught my imagination is what is actually present in the original Greek. Instead of 2 negatives as in our English translations, there are actually 5 negatives present!

Here it is in the Greek: Οὐ μὴ σε ἀνῶ οὐδ’ οὐ μὴσε ἐγκαταλίπω

And a literal (and awkward) translation might go something like this:

“NEVER NOT will I leave you and NEITHER NEVER NOT will I forsake you.”

It struck me as an overwhelmingly affectionate reassurance from a God who knows how weak we are and how much we need to know that He constantly remembers and cares for us. So in His great kindness He took the trouble to inspire the author of Hebrews to say it over and over (and over!) again.

There is no one like Him!

Verse 2 starts with a reference to Psalm 96:9: "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." We live in a time where holiness is considered legalistic, stifling, judgmental, soul-crushing and anything but beautiful.

But God is never called with the three identical words, "Love, Love,
Love" or "Truth, Truth, Truth" but rather "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8). And if He is by definittion the True, the Good and the Beautiful, then so is His holiness.

Lord, take my faithlessness that I might love and live in Your holiness.

Psalm 117 (Praise the Lord, All You Nations​!​)

VERSE
Praise the Lord all you nations!
Praise Him, all you people of the earth!
(REPEAT)

CHORUS
For He loves us with unfailing love! (2x)
Yes, He loves us with unfailing love!
And the faithfulness of the Lord
Endures forever
Praise the Lord! (4x)

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
CCLI# 7075161
© 2002 Abe & Liza Philip
songsfromscripture.com

Vocals, Words & Music by Abe & Liza Philip

Scripture quotations adapted or taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

An energetic setting of a Psalm loved by God's people through the ages. With just two verses, Psalm 117 is both the shortest psalm as well as the shortest chapter in the whole Bible.

This Psalm prophetically calls not just Israel but every nation in the world to lift their praises to Yahweh, the covenant name of the God of Israel. Through the inspiration of the omniscient Holy Spirit, this Psalm looks forward to a day when people from every nation could be saved and by faith in Jesus be called His dearly loved children and praise Him!

"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12)

He is Alive

VERSE ONE
The Father gave His Son
A dying world to save
They nailed Him to a cross
And laid Him in a grave

Darkness filled the sky
Every hope had passed away
But the angel of the Lord
Said, “Do not be afraid”

PRE-CHORUS
Death could not hold Him
Jesus is risen

CHORUS
He is alive
Never to die again
Let praises rise
His kingdom will have no end
He is alive

VERSE TWO
Now to live is Christ
And to die is gain
Lift your weary eyes
The Lord will come again

Through the breaking clouds
The Sun of Righteousness
Will come to bring us home
To everlasting bliss

PRE-CHORUS / CHORUS

BRIDGE
Let us wonder, love and sing
Glory to the Risen King!
(REPEAT)

ENDING CHORUS
He is alive
Never to die again
Let praises rise
His kingdom will have no end
He is alive
Never to die again
Let praises rise
His kingdom will have no end
He is alive
He is alive

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
CCLI# 5665349
© 2009 Abe & Liza Philip
songsfromscripture.com

Vocals, Words & Music by Abe & Liza Philip

Is there a better story than the one that actually happened?

A thousand plots of books and movies serve as distorted mirrors and imperfect signposts living in the shadows of our incomparable Savior.

The storyline often goes like this: there are ancient prophecies that tell of a Promised One and out of complete obscurity an unlikely character rises over insurmountable odds to unexpectedly lay claim to victory over all his enemies and save the world.

But unlike the world's myths, this one is true.

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. (Romans 6:9)

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

Christianity may be one of the only belief systems to clearly annouce its potential fatal flaw or hypothetical weakness: an unrisen Savior is no Savior at all, thereby disqualifying Christianity as a valid truth claim.

"...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope[b] in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15: 17-19)

Many powerful works have been written from every branch of Christianity defending the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It is a surprisingly and overwhelmingly defensible as a historical fact and well worth exploring if you have the desire to learn more.

If you want some ideas of what to read, here are a few suggestions:

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus
Gary Habermas and Michael Licona

The Case for the Resurrection: A First-Century Investigative Reporter Probes History’s Pivotal Event
Lee Strobel

Handbook of Christian Apologetics
Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli

Did the Resurrection Happen?: A Conversation with Gary Habermas and Antony Flew
Edited by Daivd J. Baggett

Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Figment?: A Debate Between William Lane Craig & Gerd Ludemann
Edited by Paul Copan and Ronald K. Tacelli

The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach
Michael Licona

And if you're feeling especially ambitous!:

The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, Vol. 3)
N.T. Wright

But after you're done reading any and all of the above works, open to John 11:25-26 and hear Jesus ask you directly what he once asked of Martha:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 

Put On the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13​:​11​-​14)

VERSE
Now the hour has come
For us to awake from our sleep
For salvation is nearer to us
Now than when we first believed

PRE-CHORUS
The night is far gone
And the day is at hand
(REPEAT)

CHORUS
Let us cast off the works of darkness
Let us put on the armor of light
Not in lust or in drunkenness, envy or strife
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ
Put on the Lord Jesus Christ

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
CCLI# 7052445
© 2004 Abe & Liza Philip
songsfromscripture.com

Vocals, Words & Music by Abe & Liza Philip

Scripture quotations adapted or taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

There is a righteousness that we possess purely by faith (Romans 3::22). This is the Gospel of what Christ has done, winning for us forgiveness and everlasting life in his death and resurrection.

But there is also an essential "lived-out" righteousness that follows. It teaches us to increasingly cast aside the worthless things of this world and learn to live a life marked by love (Romans 13:8).

We strive by the Holy Spirit to live a holy life because a holy God sent our holy Savior to die on a holy cross that we might one day live forever in a holy heaven to see and be with the One who is "Holy, Holy Holy" (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8).

In August 386 AD, Augustine wrote in his "Confessions," that after a long life of paganism and debauchery, he heard a child's voice chanting "take up and read." He responded by picking up a collection of Scriptures and randomly opened to Romans 13:13–14 which marked his conversion. He was both a genius and a deeply imperfect man, both before and after his conversion. Almost every Christian will disagree with him on at least something in his vast writings. But he is easily one of the most influential voices in the entire history of the Christian West.

This is just one story among millions of the power of God working through the Scriptures. It happened many centuries ago and the same Word continues to pierce through the darkness with divine power to change my life and your life today.

We live in the natural world, but are surrounded by an unseen supernatural reality. "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Let us cast of the works of darkness and put on the armor of light! Let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ! 

Free leads sheets with chords (in multiple keys) for “Love Never Fails” are available here

VERSE
Love is patient and kind
It does not envy or boast
It is not arrogant, selfish or rude

Love is not soon provoked
It keeps no record of wrongs
Love delights not in evil
But rejoices with the truth

CHORUS
Love bears all things
Believes all things
Love hopes all things
Endures all things
(REPEAT)

POST-CHORUS
Love never fails (2x)

(REPEAT VERSE, CHORUS & POST-CHORUS)

ENDING VERSE
Lord, You are patient and kind
You do not envy or boast
You are not arrogant, selfish or rude

You are not soon provoked
You keep no record of wrongs
You delight not in evil
But rejoice with the truth

CHORUS

ENDING POST-CHORUS
Love never fails (Love will last forever) 2x

ENDING: Love never fails

from It is Finished, released August 21, 2023
CCLI# 7223581
© 2023 Abe & Liza Philip
songsfromscripture.com

Vocals, Words & Music by Abe & Liza Philip

Scripture quotations adapted or taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

These verses are some of the most commonly read Bible passages at weddings. "Agape" is the original Greek word which is translated as "charity" in the King James Version but as "love" in almost every other version.

We live in a world filled with conflict and hatred between people and entire nations. And a famine of love can sadly also be found among Christians, and even within Christian families.

It's not enough to be correct in our opinions or win an argument and arrive at the truth if we refuse to love. It's not enough to give and serve if we will not love. As the apostle Paul reminds us, "If I have...all knowledge" or "give away all I have...but have not love, I gain nothing." (v.2-3)

This is the lesson that takes a lifetime to learn.

Love and truth need each other. Those who prefer love over truth miss this simple fact: it is a love of truth that leads us to the truth that love never fails. Salt is comprised of sodium (an explosive metal) and chloride (from chlorine which is a poisonous gas). Separated they're deadly, but like love and truth, together (sodium chloride = salt) they transform from being lethal to essential to life.

We need to grow and learn and love the truth as revealed in Scripture, - ultimately Jesus IS the truth and the true light (John 1:9;14:6) - but to advance it with gentleness, respect and love (1 Peter 3:15). It's easy to be harsh. It's also easy to endlessly compromise. Almost everyone has a tendency to lean into either love or truth.

What's hard is to love unreservedly and well and also live completely devoted to the truth. It seems an impossible task, but the King of Love who called Himself the Truth, came into this world because He loved us first - that we might be set free to love Him and the world for which He gave His life.

Around the early 5th century, Jerome's commentary on Galatians (translated by Andrew Cain) tells a story about the Apostle John in his old age:

"The blessed John the Evangelist lived in Ephesus until extreme old age. His disciples could barely carry him to church and he could not muster the voice to speak many words. During individual gatherings he usually said nothing but, "Little children, love one another." The disciples and brothers in attendance, annoyed because they always heard the same words, finally said, "Teacher, why do you always say this?" He replied with a line worthy of John: "Because it is the Lord's commandment and if it alone is kept, it is sufficient."

In verse 8, "Love never fails" can also be translated as "Love never ends." It's simply amazing to know that when our life here on earth finally ends, love does not.

Because we have been loved with a love that is unfailing and unending, because we have placed our faith in our Savior whose power is also unfailing and unending, we can know with confidence that we also will never end.

Love never fails.