It was a dreary, cold day this past March when the song, “Christ Our Hope In Life And Death”, first crossed my path. In-person church had just shut down, we’d just had to cancel all our exciting plans for the Easter season, the prospect of our church family worshiping together on Easter Sunday was looking grim and I was feeling pretty discouraged. An email came to my inbox letting me know of a new hymn from the Getty writing team that had just been released; a song that had been in the works for many months and now released at what seemed to be a God-ordained time.
My spirit was encouraged as I listened to the song, reminded that our hope is not in exciting Easter services, or in perfect health or job security. As we live and die our hope is in the person of Jesus Christ because of who he is and what he’s done. How desperately we’ve needed to be reminded of this hope over the past year! And what wondrous providence that the Lord would guide a team of songwriters to pen words for such a time as this.
While I was tempted to share the song with the Calvary family last Easter, the Spirit gently nudged me to hold off, reminding me that familiar anthems would better serve our family at that time of chaos. But as we now begin a new year, wrapping up the celebration of our Savior’s birth and looking forward to the celebration of his death and resurrection in a few short months, this message of hope came to mind once again. I look forward to our church family learning this song over the coming weeks and singing it together as we anticipate another Easter celebration. May our collective confession of hope in Christ encourage and strengthen us as we continue to persevere through life’s challenges.
I hope you’ll take some time this week to listen to the recording of “Christ Our Hope In Life And Death” and check out the lyrics and supporting Scripture passage below as you prepare personally to worship corporately this Sunday!
Looking for some music to enrich your personal worship throughout the week? Check our Calvary Worship Favorites playlist on Spotify. It’s an assortment of songs that we sing on the regular during our Sunday worship services.
If you want to get a taste of what we’ll be singing on any upcoming Sunday, check out our This Sunday At Calvary playlist. This list is updated weekly with the songs we’re planning to lead at the upcoming Sunday service.
Christ Our Hope In Life And Death
What is our hope in life and death
Christ alone Christ alone
What is our only confidence
That our souls to Him belong
Who holds our days within His hand
What comes apart from His command
And what will keep us to the end
The love of Christ in which we stand
O sing hallelujah
Our hope springs eternal
O sing hallelujah
Now and ever we confess
Christ our hope in life and death
What truth can calm the troubled soul
God is good God is good
Where is His grace and goodness known
In our great Redeemer's blood
Who holds our faith when fears arise
Who stands above the stormy trial
Who sends the waves that bring us nigh
Unto the shore the rock of Christ
Unto the grave what will we sing
Christ He lives Christ He lives
And what reward will heaven bring
Everlasting life with Him
There we will rise to meet the Lord
Then sin and death will be destroyed
And we will feast in endless joy
When Christ is ours forevermore
CCLI Song # 7147502
Jordan Kauflin | Keith Getty | Matt Boswell | Matt Papa | Matthew Merker
© 2020 Getty Music Hymns and Songs (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.), Getty Music Publishing (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.), Jordan Kauflin Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.), Love Your Enemies Publishing (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.), Matthew Merker Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.), Messenger Hymns (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)
For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use.
All rights reserved. www.ccli.com, CCLI License # 702888
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith. Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.
But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (CSB)