‘We Have This Hope’ is probably one of the most famous Adventist hymn that is still sung today. In almost every Adventist Church in the world, this hymn still remains to be the final congregational song that is sung after the preacher says the benediction for the Divine Hour Worship. Succinctly reflecting the Adventist belief…
Category: OPEN YOUR HYMNALS TO
In the early 18th century, a trend burgeoned along the lines of American music and music education. When the early settlers fled to the New World for religious freedom, they also brought along with them the practice of singing hymns and psalms in their worship services. Unfortunately, as a distinct body of folk American music…
Have you ever come across the ‘Early Advent’ or ‘Watchfulness’ section of the SDA Hymnal, and just leafed through it saying, ‘Hmmm, I don’t know that…, I don’t know that…, I don’t know that…’? Well, this hymn is one of those least known songs — rarely announced in Sabbath School song service, much less Divine…
Today’s congregational singing scene in many Protestant churches is a far cry from what it had been a couple hundred years ago. Aside from the simplicity with which their song servece were carried on, their hymnals then were also very different in that it did not contain written notes. At best, it contained words, with…
Tis Almost Time for the Lord to Come is one of those hymns I used to sing a lot in my childhood. It has a catchy tune and a nice driving rhythm to it. I remember my friends and I would always look forward to sing that pause “Oh…” at the beginning of the refrain,…
This hymn was really interesting to write about in that its words spanned nine years of revision by three (maybe four) different ministers who are all connected to each other. The general happenstance was this though — that after a conversion experience, this hymn was borne. Interestingly, the first one who originated this hymn was…
A strange plague swept across Europe resulting in deaths of an estimated 25 million people. London, Florence, Venice, and Avignon took a hard hit as the viral plague, which came to be known as “The Black Death,” ravaged the cities. German cities were not hit as hard if compared to the death tolls of other…
Many Adventists are familiar with the story of William Miller’s discovery of the partially correct, but extremely crucial, interpretation of Daniel 8:14. We all know of how he made a promise to God about sharing this message to people, only if invited to preach. For eight years, Miller was true to his promise. His itinerary…
The period between 1899 and 1901 was a dark history for Christians in China. A movement called “The Boxer Rebellion” took the life of many people, especially those who were associated with Western ideas of colonialism and the religious missionary activities that were associated with it. “They have eaten the foreigner’s medicine” This rebellion was…