To Your Servant Give Rest

I am sad that I did not know him all that well
Nonetheless he came to be a part of the family
Rest assured that those who’ve loved like Christ, with Him will dwell
With His life, Christ has crushed death down, in great victory
Just know this, he will be missed
Yet those with God know life greater than you and I can see

With the Saints, with the Saints, give him rest oh Lord
In Your undying light, in Your arms
Let us sing, let us sing with the heavenly host
Glory to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Give him rest

God gave me these words and I hope that they’ll give you peace
Even though I never knew the fullness of his joy
The Lord’s faithfulness is steady and will never cease
Be glad the reward is great for those in Christ’s employ
His loved ones here, for him so dear
On ones that walk the narrow path, death can have no lease

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling down death by death
And upon those in the tombs
Bestowing life!
Give him rest


God is Here Present

You began your life amidst the good and ancient way
Now before us God unites you both this Holy day
In His hands He holds your new life
As you’re joined as man and wife
May you keep your eyes on Him as one, this I pray

God pours His blessings on the head of those
Within His eternal family
For in His Word, these things are written clearly
When we gather in His name by two or three
There we know He will be, there He will be

Here is some advice that I’ll never be fit to tell
In a constant state of self sacrifice you must dwell
For what the other you can do
Think and act as if to you
Take care to listen to the other, and listen well

As Christ so loved the Church, so resonate
Have such love for your wife to emulate
Give respect to your husband that is so great
Take the first steps of righteousness in this blessed state

God is here present

Let God Arise! (Orthodox Paschal Hymn)

Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered.
Today a sacred Pascha is revealed to us.
A new and holy Pascha. A mystical Pascha,
A Pascha worthy of veneration. A Pascha which is Christ, the Redeemer.
A blameless Pascha. A great Pascha. A Pascha of the faithful.
A Pascha which has opened for us the gates of Paradise.
A Pascha which sanctifies all the faithful.
As smoke vanishes so let them vanish.
Come from that scene O women bearers of glad tidings,
And say to Zion:
Receive from us the glad tidings of joy of Christ's resurrection:
Exult and be glad, and rejoice, O Jerusalem,
Seeing Christ the King Who comes forth from the tomb,
Like a Bridegroom in procession.
So the sinners will perish before the face of God,
But let the righteous be glad.
The myrrh bearing women at the break of dawn
Drew near to the tomb of the Lifegiver.
There they found an angel sitting upon the stone,
He greeted them with these words:
Why do you seek the living among the dead?
Why do you mourn the incorrupt amid corruption?
Go: proclaim the glad tidings to His disciples.
This is the day which the Lord has made!
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Pascha of beauty!
The Pascha of the Lord!
A Pascha worthy of all honor has dawned for us.
Pascha! Let us embrace each other joyously.
Pascha, ransom from affliction!
For today as from a bridal chamber
Christ has shone forth from the tomb.
And filled the women with joy saying:
Proclaim the glad tidings to the apostles!
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
Now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
This is the day of resurrection!
Let us be illumined by the feast!
Let us embrace each other!
Let us call "brothers" even those that hate us and forgive all by theresurrection,
And so let us cry:
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

You Trampled Death

V1 
Man has sinned
From the depths we cry
You died for us
But You rose up from the grave

Chorus 1
By death You trampled death, set the captives free
Our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ
You are victorious Christ the living God
You have the whole world in Your hands
Truly You are King 

V2
We fall down
You forgive us oh Lord
With Your great love
Placing life upon our heads 

Chorus 2
By death You trampled death, set the captives free
Our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ
You are victorious Christ the living God
How glorious is Your mercy Lord
Truly giving life 

Bridge
How magnificent is Your love for us to sacrifice Your Son
And You blessed us (still) more with Your Holy Spirit, 'cause the battle You have won
In the quiet of the dawn,
Oh the brightness, yes it shone
You revealed Your power
Bursting forth, they found You gone! 

Extra Verses
Laid to rest
Three days in the tomb
Breaking Hell's gates
You have conquered it with strength

Worry not
Lay your burdens down
With all trust Him
For He's given us His grace

The Risen Lord

V1
Of His own choice became man, gave cause to rejoice
By taking on the grave,
For us His life He gave,
To heal us and to save
He suffered great, His Passion broke the iron gate
Set Adam and Eve free
Conquering mightily
Rising in glory  

Chorus
Give thanks to the risen Lord
Gave you life and He gave you more
The whole earth sings Him praise
Hallelujah to His name
Over death He has victory
Jesus healed our humanity
Like incense our prayers rise
Broken hearts You'll not despise
Our Living God

V2
He hears your cry, when you're wounded and you're wondering why
Every day the same
There is power in His name
Yes He loves you without blame
For us He died, and gave up His spirit and cried
For it is finished now
Death now come to take your bow
Dead is your destructive vow

Bridge
In the middle of the night, He arose with brilliant light
Dueling Death with His great might, lifting captives out in flight
In two the veil was torn, Death has died with its scorn
O Death you have no sting!  Life's eternal bells now ring!
On us is God's own seal, Christ' love for us is real
He came to show us then, and He's coming back again!

Christ is Risen! 2008 - 2009

V1 -I went to church in my best skirt (or “shirt”)
And I crossed myself at (or “saw the cross from”) the door
He was lyin’ there and I drew near
And I fell on my face to the floor
I kissed the cross and I kissed His feet,
Gave thanks and I did implore
“Have mercy, oh, on me oh Lord”
And I fell on my face to the floor
Then I fell to the floor once more, once more (or “to the floor once more”)
Yeah, I fell on my face to the floor
And in my head I was thinkin’

ChorusChrist is risen from the dead
Trampling down death by death
And upon those in the tombs,
Bestowing life!(x1, x2, x3, x3)

V2- The lights were out and with a shout
Sounds “Come receive the light!”
Our candles burned and we all turned
To process ‘round the church in white
Father knocked three times with a cross in his hand
And the doors opened up with flight
“Christ is risen!” with victory’s fight
In the dark the bells do ring this night
Yeah, we sang the Truth with might, with might
In the dark we sang that night
And all with joy, we were singin’

V3 - When we go in, then so begins
A Paschal hymnal flow
In the Liturgy, we worship He
Who brought us out of death below
Deacon’s censor burns, he proclaims God’s Word
Like the smoke, (up) our prayers do go
The celebrations grow and grow
For the gifts, to Christ, our lives we owe
Smiles to be seen from row to row
With a joyous Paschal glow
And on our faces it is written

Bridge(Sung - Paschal melody)
Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered
Let those who hate Him flee from before His face
As smoke vanishes so let them vanish
As wax melts before the fire
So the sinners will perish before the face of God
But let the righteous be glad
Today a sacred Pascha is revealed to us
Pascha, the Pascha of the Lord, Holy Day of holy days
This is the day which the Lord has made
Let us rejoice and be glad in it
Let us call Brothers even those that hate us
Let us forgive all by the Resurrection
And so let us cry

V4 - Our baskets spread, the prayers are read
To bless the food and all
Father makes the round, our voices sound
The splashes rise and fall
Now we break the fast, and we feast ‘til dawn
In our tightly packed church hall
God’s grace has crushed our sins so small
As we’ve answered to Christ Jesus’ call
We remember Him our all in all
Who broke down sin’s own wall
We ask our God to bless us, bidding

A Comfort, I Hope

I may not say this the greatest, but I hope you will understand

Of our entirety, to God’s will, we must give full command

I know that you feel like you have been betrayed

Even when we think that God has gone, He has stayed

Maybe there was a spot or hurt inside him that God had cleaned

And in that moment, though we didn’t know it, God intervened

Deep within our minds and hearts is where He’ll start to heal

Sometimes we need to give even our life, on which Christ has put His seal

There are unexpected times, to us, that we must go

Because God’s understanding is beyond ours, we cannot always know

Let us remember not to claim our own desires, but only God’s will

If they are the same, however, our lives with these He’ll fill

It may appear that God has allowed that door to be closed in your face

When instead He has opened many more, kindness and compassion to show forth many a place

God always answers our prayers, but sometimes not with yes

There are times when no or not yet will be for the best

Life is not a free ride; there is work to be done

With Adam’s life came a job, responsibility, not to be shunned

Where there is sickness and sorrow, God’s mercy brings life

Though we may not see through it clearly, we must work through the strife

Let us open our hearts and let go with our hands

The healing, the good, the life, the Truth, the Love is God’s and not man’s

Though it is a gift, we must sacrifice, for it, our all

Never ceasing, always loving, always getting up after we fall

A mystery God is, He always was and will ever be

Time and time again He’ll show His great love for you and me

Next time things don’t make sense be sure to hold your faith and declare

For truly though our bodies die, a life is present there.