Episode 581: Lift Every Voice

Episode 581 February 13, 2023 00:10:00
Episode 581: Lift Every Voice
1010 Thrive
Episode 581: Lift Every Voice

Feb 13 2023 | 00:10:00

/

Show Notes

We continue this week with some devotionals related to the celebration in the United States of Black History. We would argue that this month is a necessary reminder that the citizens of the United States, from the very beginning and continuing until this very day, have not lived up to the professed vision of “liberty and justice for all.” Also, as Christians, it’s a chance to celebrate the creative brilliance of the God who “made from one man every nation of mankind” (Acts 17:26), and the redemptive beauty of his Son who, with his own blood, “ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

 

In today’s episode we focus on examining a poem written in 1900 by James Weldon Johnson, which has come to be known as the Black National Anthem. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a demand for faith. It is also a clarion call for justice. It invokes images of the past while at the same time acknowledging signs of progress.It suggests that people should be joyful and angry, grateful for the change that has already occurred, yet mindful that the struggle is not yet over, embracing of the country’s bedrock values and yet bearing witness to hypocrisy and promises unfulfilled.

 

Additional scriptures referenced include Isaiah 58:1.

Other Episodes

Episode 517

November 08, 2022 00:09:56
Episode Cover

Episode 517: Messages to Seven Churches

The church is a peculiar institution in that it was established by God to be distinctive, different, and special. The church is holy: set...

Listen

Episode 1096

February 17, 2025 00:10:00
Episode Cover

Episode 1096: Sons of God, Daughters of Men

The identity of the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 has been a subject of great debate, with three primary interpretations emerging over time....

Listen

Episode 117

June 22, 2021 00:10:17
Episode Cover

Episode 167: The Weeping Prophet

Jeremiah has been dubbed “the weeping prophet” because of the often-gloomy nature of his message and the grief he expresses for his people. Today’s...

Listen