For my seminar in theology class (shout out fellow Theat Alpha Kappa peeps-specifically KG and Karen H!) we had to write a hymn over what we've learned about in class so far.  This has been one of the most helpful constructive assignments.  I think this is the only way to communicate with so many people who I wish I could talk with for a long time but haven't been able to.  There's a tune with the song, it's something like the tune"In Christ there is no East or West", but I came up when I was reading a Zinzendorf hymn "Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness" 

So these are the things that are shaping my life and directing, transforming and inspiring me to follow Christ...this hymn is titled "Marked As the Beloved"

In shame and guilt in fear we plead

These rags adorn our helpless stead

Beneath the cross we stand accursed

Exposed, helpless, and bound by sin.

In the cross we find ourselves

No secrets here, all is made known

How freeing is this mystery

That brings us into one family

Sin is a debt we can not pay

In Him we have our only way

To live beneath the cost of the cross,

It’s shadow leads us onward

God of God and Light of Light

You ransomed us from our helpless plight

Our sins you have full atonement made

You stood a curse and tasted death

Eternal Word descended here,
Begotten, of same substance*, not made. 
The Triune God, Three in One.

Distinct in all three persons.

The Lamb of God has satisfied

The wrath of God towards sin

And by his wounds we are healed

His blood is all our righteousness.

No fear in death our ransom’s won

We’ve nothing to for sin atone

Save the blood of Jesus Christ

It’s power our righteousness.

Born a babe to bear the stripes,

We the Church so justly earned.

Obediently walked life as man,

Sinless and pure and justified.

Christ to us from the cross imputes

His righteousness and favor.

A just high priest before us goes,

To the mercy seat of God.

Christ the Word of Hope has come,

Grants freedom, life, security.

Tabernacled here to free our hearts

From the bondage of self love.

The adversary struck Him dead

Christ gave his life the tomb His bed.

The Father’s wrath on Christ was laid.

The Spirit led Him all the way

Awake O Sinner lend your ear

Who’ve made shame and guilt your career

The Spirit seeks to impart life

Repent and come to the waters. 
I am but one in the People of God

Whose sins have amounted far abroad

Christ’s blood has dressed our every wound

And all our needs met by the cross

Redeemed elect from far and nigh

Hear Christ’s command to come and die

Living stones on Him we lie

One Lord, One faith, One baptism.

Sever not the bind that ties.

Work as one be unified.

To preach abroad to every land.

The grace of God repentance.

When you hear the sprinkling water

And taste the flesh and blood

The Spirit dwells here for you to know

You are not alone.

Break the Body, sip the Blood. 
Trust your will into His love.

Pray to offer it no longer thine.

Seek to know and love His ways.

Humbly to this world He came,

His purity the Church’s own

Clothed with mercy, grace, and love

Adorned with beauty from above.

Church you are more glorious

In spite your witness scandalous.

He’ll wash you by the word alone

To present you spotless

Church, to Him Your love commit.

From your past, to Him submit.

Unveil yourself look on His face

He has loved you as His own.

Church, now accept the life of faith,

That’s meant to be lived day to day.

You’re God’s garden beautified.

Fertiled by your fathers.

You can not change the Spirit’s work

Wrought these thousand years times two

Instead accept the task at hand

To pass down live tradition.

She is a stream with scripture,

Flowing from the Spirit.

Her means are meant to show you Christ,

And lead you ever onward.

Holy Bride bless your Head

Be a Body unified

Care for one another here

Members of His body.

O how sweet this mystery

Of Christ and His earthly Body.

Accept the wedding ring of faith

Be marked as the Beloved.

The prophets they loved Israel.

They sought not to replace Her.

In love they sent the words of God.

Spoke truth to unfaithful people.

Now’s the time to be as one;

To pray, reform, till the task is done.

To warn of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Who seek to rob His glory.

The Church is your mother

With God as your Heavenly Father

So share with Her this earthly task

And be an active member.

To bring the lost into the fold,

To clothe the naked, care for the old.

To feed the poor and heal the sick

As Christ has cared for Thee.

The bread and cup the waters;

The preaching of the Gospel.

Where the Spirit dwells in love,

The Church has here abideth.

In all families there is a tree,

A heritage and legacy.

Take now what has been passed down,

Contend for the faith preserved for us.

Heed not our culture’s faddish ways

To entertain distract from love.

You are in need of Christ and His Church,

Here your glory lieth.

The world distracts us from these truths

And claims our hearts with fancier proofs.

We confess now all distress,

We need only find ourselves in You.

Know thyself and know the Bride.

You can’t love Christ in Him abide.

If you hold on her a charge.

He stands there between it.

See these witnesses all around

Francis, Edwards, Luther

Many more have gone before

To press us ever onward.

In shame and guilt in fear we plead These rags adorn our helpless stead Beneath the cross we stand accursed Exposed, helpless, and bound by sin. In the cross we find ourselves No secrets here, all is made known How freeing is this mystery That brings us into one family   Sin is a debt we can not pay In Him we have our only way To live beneath the cost of the cross, It’s shadow leads us onward God of God and Light of Light You ransomed us from our helpless plight Our sins you have full atonement made You stood a curse and tasted death   Eternal Word descended here, Begotten, of same substance*, not made.  The Triune God, Three in One.  Distinct in all three persons.   The Lamb of God has satisfied The wrath of God towards sin And by his wounds we are healed His blood is all our righteousness.  No fear in death our ransom’s won We’ve nothing to for sin atone Save the blood of Jesus Christ It’s power our righteousness.    Born a babe to bear the stripes, We the Church so justly earned. Obediently walked life as man, Sinless and pure and justified. Christ to us from the cross imputes His righteousness and favor. A just high priest before us goes, To the mercy seat of God.   Christ the Word of Hope has come, Grants freedom, life, secure-ity. Tabernacled here to freee our hearts From the bondage of self love. The adversary struck Him dead Christ gave his life the tomb His bed. The Father’s wrath on Christ was laid.  The Spirit led Him all the way       Awake O Sinner lend your ear Who’ve made shame and guilt your career The Spirit seeks to impart life Repent and come to the waters.  I am but one in the People of God Whose sins have amounted far abroad Christ’s blood has dressed our every wound And all our needs met by the cross   Redeemed elect from far and nigh Hear Christ’s command to come and die Living stones on Him we lie One Lord, One faith, One baptism. Sever not the bind that ties. Work as one be unified. To preach abroad to every land. The grace of God repentance.   When you hear the sprinkling water And taste the flesh and blood The Spirit dwells here for you to know You are not alone. Break the Body, sip the Blood.  Trust your will into His love. Pray to offer it no longer thine. Seek to know and love His ways.   Humbly to this world He came, His purity the Church’s own Clothed with mercy, grace, and love Adorned with beauty from above.  Church you are more glorious In spite your witness scandalous. He’ll wash you by the word alone To present you spotless   Church, to Him Your love commit. From your past, to Him submit. Unveil yourself look on His face He has loved you as His own.  Church, now accept the life of faith, That’s meant to be lived day to day. You’re God’s garden beautified. Fertiled by your fathers.   You can not change the Spirit’s work Wrought these thousand years times two Instead accept the task at hand To pass down live tradition. She is a stream with scripture, Flowing from the Spirit. Her means are meant to show you Christ, And lead you ever onward.   Holy Bride bless your Head Be a Body unified Care for one another here Members of His body. O how sweet this mystery Of Christ and His earthly Body. Accept the wedding ring of faith Be marked as the Beloved.   The prophets they loved Israel. They sought not to replace Her. In love they sent the words of God. Spoke truth to unfaithful people. Now’s the time to be as one; To pray, reform, till the task is done. To warn of wolves in sheep’s clothing.  Who seek to rob His glory.   The Church is your mother With God as your Heavenly Father So share with Her this earthly task And be an active member. To bring the lost into the fold, To clothe the naked, care for the old.  To feed the poor and heal the sick As Christ has cared for Thee.   The bread and cup the waters; The preaching of the Gospel. Where the Spirit dwells in love, The Church has here abideth. In all families there is a tree, A heritage and legacy. Take now what has been passed down, Contend for the faith preserved for us.    Heed not our culture’s faddish ways To entertain distract from love.  You are in need of Christ and His Church, Here your glory lieth. The world distracts us from these truths And claims our hearts with fancier proofs. We confess now all distress, We need only find ourselves in You.   Know thyself and know the Bride. You can’t love Christ in Him abide. If you hold on her a charge.  He stands there between it. See these witnesses all around Francis, Edwards, Luther Many more have gone before To press us ever onward.

“Since the heavenly physician…he wills to provide for the health of all , he yet leaves no one untouched, because he knows that all are diseased.” Calvin “There on the cross of Golgotha, hangs the man who in His own name and person represented me, my name and person with God…” Barth “At the point where God deals with me, where He has sought me and found me, at the cross of Golgotha, I am exposed and addressed as a sinner” Barth  “It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself, unless He has looked upon God’s face.” Calvin ______________________________________­_______ “To sin is the same as not to render his due to God” Anselm “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are now justified…in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood …” Romans 3:23,24,25 Nicean Creed “True God of True God, Light of Light”       ___________________________________­__________ “In the Beginning was the Word…” John 1  “He is the expression of the Father’s Person, and Light from Light, and very Image of the Father’s essence” Basil of Caesarea *ek ths ousias tou patros ”from the inmost being of the Father, inseperably one. Nicean Creed _____________________________________________ “Like a lamb is led to a slaughter…” Isaiah 53:7 “Surely He has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted Him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities…and by His bruises we are healed…” Isaiah 53:4,5 “For God has done what the law…could not do: by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh…”Romans 8:3 _______________________________________________________ “the righteousness of God is communicated to Him by imputation…by Christ’s righteousness he shares the Spirit of God, by whom he is rendered righteous.” Calvin “He who knew no sin was made the atoning sacrifice for sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Cor 5:21 “He is an everlasting intercessor: through his pleading we obtain favor” Calvin   “…We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sactuary and true tent that the Lord…has set up.” Hebrews 8:1 “He entered once for all into the Holy Place…with His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption…” Hebrews 9:12 _______________________________________________________ “His particular presence in grace in which the eternal Word descended to the lowest parts of the earth and tabernacled in the man Jesus dwelling in this one man in the fullness of His Godhead.” Karl Barth “The Word of hope and in defiance of every threat promises them freedom, security, and life.” Barth   ______________________________________________       “The Spirit and the Bride say Come…and let everyone who is thirsty come.” Rev. 22:17 “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” Isaiah 55:1 “Repentance is…the true turning of our life to God, a turning that arises from a pure and earnest fear of him, and it consists in the mortification of our flesh and of the old man, and in the vivification of the Spirit” Calvin “you were ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.” 1 Peter 1:19 ______________________________________________________ “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness…” 1 Peter 2:9 “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel will save it.” Mark 8:35 “Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house…” 1 Peter 2:4 “There is one body, and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism…” Ephesians 4:5 ______________________________________________ (thanks to Derek Webb in his song “The Church” which beautifully put this imagery to tune) “The Word comes to the element, and it becomes a sacrament.” Augustine “In the first place, learn that the sacrament is not simply bread and wine, but the body and blood of Christ, as the words say.”  Luther “…breaking one bread, which is the medicine of immorality, the antidote against death which gives eternal life in Jesus Christ” S. Ignatius “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” 1 Cor 11:26 _______________________________________________________ “…for if Christ is a bridegroom, he must take upon himself the things which are his bride’s and bestow upon her the things which are His.  If He gives her his body and very self, how shall he not giver her all that is his? And if he takes the body of the bride, how shall he not take all that is hers.” Luther  “…but emptied Himself…he humbled himself and became obedient unto death.” Philippians 2:7, 8 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to Himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind-yes so she may be spotless and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27 “Here this rich and divine bridegroom Christ marries this poor, wicked harlot, redeems her from all her evil, and adorns her with all His goodness” Luther “Therefore whatever has been sown in the church which is God’s garden, by the fidelity of the Fathers, the same ought to be cultivated and tended by the industry of their children, the same out to flourish and ripen to advance and be perfected.  For it is right that the ancient doctrines of heavenly philosophy should, as time goes on, be carefully tended, smoothed, polished: it is not right for them to be changed, maimed, mutilated. They may gain evidence, light, distinctness, but they must not lose their completeness, integrity, characteristic property.” -Vincent of Lerins “Scripture and tradition are as two streams flowing from one” Athanasius   “He that holds not this unity of the Church, does he think that he holds the faith” Cyprian of Carthage “For the husband is head of the wife just as Christ is head of the church, the body of which He is the Savior.” Ephesians 5:23 “For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ did for the church, because we are members of His body…This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the Church.” Ephesians 5:29,30,32. “By the wedding ring of faith he shares in the sins, death, and pains of hell which are His bride’s” Luther ______________________________________________ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Matthew 7:15                   ______________________________________________   “He cannot have God for his father who has not the Church for his mother.” Cyprian of Carthage “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 25:35  “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father is this: to care for the orphans and widows in their distress…”James1:27 “All human actions in the church and society spring from love to protect and cultivate the life created by God.” Luther ­­______________________________________________ Reformation, Augustinian, Catholic ecclesiology “He is the head of the body, the Church…” Colossians 1:18 “Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that has been entrusted to the saints.” Jude 3 _______________________________________________________ “If we do not have Christ, we do not have at all the fullness of God’s presence.  If we separate ourselves from Him, we are not even on the way to this richness, but are slipping back into an impoverishment in which the omnipresent God is not known.”  Barth “Nearly all the wisdom we possess…consists of the knowledge of God and of ourselves.  But which one precedes and brings forth the other is not easy to discern… Our very poverty better discloses the infinitude of benefits reposing in God.  The miserable ruin, into which the rebellion of the first man cast us, especially compels us to look upward.” Calvin  “He that strives against and resists the church, is he confident that he is in the Church?  For the blessed Paul sets forth the sacrament of unity, saying ‘there is one body’” Cyprian of Carthage “He that rends and divides the Church of Christ cannot possess the clothing of Christ…” Cyprian “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us reun with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus…” Hebrews 12:1,2a.