From the Heart of God
The anthem incorporates the adult, youth and children's choirs, piano and organ, hand-bells and flute. It begins with the youth asking for a song about a great love. In answering, the adults answer in the form of stories. Stories of the parable of the workers in the field, the parable of the prodigal son, the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery and the story of King David and Bathsheba. The children emphasis the wonder of forgiveness and love from the heart of God. It culminates in a prayer for justice, mercy and love.
This anthem is really not difficult at all, it simply calls for a lot of resources. If you don’t have all the resources, you can do it very easily with one choir and piano. The parts are easy to learn and should pose little challenge to even a beginning choir.
Also available from the Ken Medema office 888-536-5365 are:
Flute Part
Organ Part
Handbell parts
Full Score
Heart of God
Youth Choir (asks question)
Sing us a song of a great love,
That can turn a life around,
Sing us a song of a great love,
That can free the chained and bound,
Sing us a song of a great love,
That the warm the coldest day,
Sing us a song of a great love,
That will never go away.
Adult Choir (responds with story)
Suppose I come to labor in your field
Late in the day when work is all but done,
How can it be that I am paid as well,
As those who bent to work with rising sun?
Or suppose I leave my father’s happy home,
And squander all his fortune far away,
How can it be when return ashamed,
He makes a feast to celebrate that day?
Children’s Choir (speaks simple truth)
Shall we call it Grace? Shall we call it mercy?
Shall we call it love, love without condition?
Call it what you will, words are all too weak,
To name this wonder from the heart of God.
Youth Choir (asks again)
Sing us a song of a great love,
That will seek and find the lost,
Sing us a song of a great love,
That will pay most any cost,
Sing us a song of a great love,
Bringing hope in deepest pain
Sing us a song of a great love,
That restores the soul again.
Adult Choir (tells more stories)
Suppose I break a promise or a vow,
And for this crime the law demands my death,
How can it be when men chose stones to throw,
A rabbi speaks, stones drop, I hold my breath.
Or suppose I am the king of all the land,
And in my lust, I steal and even kill,
How can it be that when I bow in shame,
Forgiveness comes, my aching heart to fill.
Children’s Choir (simple truth)
Shall we call it Grace, Shall we call it mercy,
Shall we call it love, love without condition,
Call it what you will, words are all too weak,
To name this wonder from the heart of God.
Adult Choir (stating heart’s longings)
We long to seek justice, we long to love mercy,
We long to walk humbly, humbly with our God,
When we fall or falter, or seek unholy pathways,
Love come change and turn us till we find that narrow road.
Then all three choirs together join:
Adult Choir
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Youth Choir
Sing a song of a great love,
Sing a song of a great love,
Sing a song of a great love,
From the heart of God.
Children’s Choir
From the heart of God,
From the heart of God,
From the heart of God,
From the heart of God.
©Words and Music Ken Medema 2014
