Portals Into God's Presence: Revive Us, Again

On Tuesday I had the privilege of sharing with the Rev. Dr. Gary V. Simpson, and the good people of the historic Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, NY for their Holy Week Revival. I love revival worship services—the people of God intentionally gathering for some Divine CPR. I preached from 2 Corinthians 4:4-12 with the subject, "Rising from the Dust." I was revived while preparing the message, and my prayer was that God was glorified and the people were edified.

As a hymn lover, I often look to the lyrics of the great hymns of the church to either pray (verbatim) or to guide and inspire my prayer before preaching. Tuesday was no different. Prior to preaching, I prayed the refrain to one of my favorite revival hymns, "Revive Us, Again." The refrain is both praise and petition: Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Revive us again. If there is anything that I've learned in my short time in ministry: If I am going to preach and teach and serve in a way that is pleasing to God, God must quicken—revive—me by the power of the Holy Spirit each and every time.

As we commemorate our Savior's death tomorrow, and celebrate Easter on Sunday, may these words of praise and petition written by William P. Mackay, and inspired by the resurrection of Christ, revive your heart, soul, and mind.

We praise Thee, O God!

For the Son of Thy love,

For Jesus Who died,

And is now gone above.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Hallelujah! Amen.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Revive us again.

We praise Thee, O God!

For Thy Spirit of light,

Who hath shown us our Savior,

And scattered our night.

All glory and praise

To the Lamb that was slain,

Who hath borne all our sins,

And hath cleansed every stain.

All glory and praise

To the God of all grace,

Who hast brought us, and sought us,

And guided our ways.

Revive us again;

Fill each heart with Thy love;

May each soul be rekindled

With fire from above.

Image taken by Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan Simpson, Executive Pastor at Concord Baptist Church of Christ, Brooklyn, NY. Follow her on Twitter: @RevEmmaJ