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There are, in the end, only two questions to ask as we read the Bible Is it about me or is it about Jesus?

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Timothy Keller, this is the Bright Forever. We are back for season three and, man, has it been a long time coming, with hurricanes and holidays and things being busier than ever. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever be able to get back into the little makeshift studio I have created and start season three. But here we are. Like I said, hello and welcome to the Bright Forever, where each week, we rediscover the power and richness found in some of the greatest hymns of the faith. My name is Andy Peeveaus and I am your host on this incredible journey through hymnody Season three. Here we go. It is so good to be back with you all here at the Bright Forever. As I have said so many times in the past, I am terrible at social media and keeping you all updated. As we have been preparing and planning for this season, I've been really, really bad. In fact, I started having people ask if we were ever coming back at all, but I am happy to say that we are here in season three and could not be starting with a better him than this one right here.

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I love the Keller quote at the start because I believe it sets up our first episode back in the groove of things perfectly. Whose story are we telling things perfectly? Whose story are we telling when we read God's word, when we sing these hymns? Who is it about Me, you, or is it about the story of God's redemption through the person and finished work of Jesus Christ? So I look up and I sometimes even agonize at times over which quotes to use at the beginning of each show. I always try to make it fit into the overall theme and sometimes it's hard to find, and some of them I just kind of know and I remember from hearing quotes. You know, as I hear sermons or I've read books and others, I have to go researching and scouring the internet looking for ones that might fit.

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I had a couple in mind for this week as we look at Fannie Crosby's tell me the story of Jesus. One is from Donald Miller, author of the book Blue Like Jazz, and he says I think in the grand epic Jesus is the hero of our stories and our stories, as they were, are subplots in a grand epic and our job is not to be the hero of any story. Our job is to be a saint in a story that he is telling. I thought that one was pretty good. Another one is from an anonymous source that says you will tell a different story at the end, One of how miracles have found you through the grace of God and how it changed your life. Your story will become a testimony of who Jesus is. The last one is from Matthew W Bates, a professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary, and he says the gospel is not just a story about Jesus. It is a transformative story because the gospel unleashes God's saving power for humanity. It's like, okay, these are pretty good, but the more I thought about it. That Keller quote, I think, sums up our plan for this episode and this season better than any others.

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There are, in the end, only two questions to ask as we read the Bible Is it about me or is it about Jesus? And I would even venture to add that when I think scripture is talking about me, it's actually about Jesus working in and through me to overwrite my story and make it more and more and more his, as God sanctifies and teaches me. Colossians 1 talks about the mystery hidden for ages and generations that has been revealed to the saints, and it's Christ in us, the hope of glory. Stories about me should always be stories about Jesus in me. What has he been doing in me? It's not about me. I can't muster up any kind of righteousness, any kind of greatness on my own. If I do something amazing, it's because Christ is working in me and through me and it becomes his story. My life becomes his story, not mine.

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But as I was looking up quotes this is the first week in looking at various quotes about the story of Jesus I would just go so a little behind the scenes. Sometimes, if I can't find a quote, I'll just type in something into Google and see if I can find any kind of author quotes or quotes from people that I've heard of before, and just kind of see if there's anything out there. And so sometimes I'll just go to Google and I'll type something in and this time I thought, eh, I try it. So this week in looking at quotes I just typed in the story of Jesus. It's the first time I became kind of sad when looking up these quotes. Most of the time kind of sad when looking up these quotes. Most of the time. Every quote I find is from some various Christian author or some preacher, spurgeon, or something like that. However, this time it's interesting I had a lot more quotes that I found looking up quote that I found looking up, quote the story of Jesus that were about Jesus having never existed or people finding his story boring or untrue.

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Like Bjorn Alveus, swedish singer-songwriter and member of the band ABBA, states the story of Jesus is very fascinating. It still has such a tremendous power even 2000, or sorry, even after 2000 years. We don't really know if he existed as a historical figure. Yes, we do. Or Trey Parker, one of the co-creators of the animated series South Park. I found a quote from him a very prominent. It was like co-creators of the animated series South Park. I found a quote from him a very prominent. It was like the number two quote about the story of Jesus.

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The story of Jesus makes no sense to me. God sent his only son. Why could God only have one son and why would he have to die? It's just bad writing, really, and it's really terrible. In about the second act, oh man, I think quotes like these are what make this episode even more important to me, because this story of jesus, the fact that jesus came and lived the life we could not live, died the death we deserved, resurrected after three days and, in doing so, defeated. Sin and death and hell, and the grave itself is everything. It's the greatest story ever told. Paul says that if the resurrection didn't happen, we should be the most pitied, but it did. It's what makes the story so great and what makes a good story a good story a good story is how well it follows the story.

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I talk to my students all the time about the overarching story of the Bible, from creation to the fall, to redemption and then to restoration. Every good story, every truly epic story that we love has this in common this pattern of creation, fall, redemption and restoration. Something is good, that's the creation. Something or someone comes along and destroys it or mars it in some way. The hero then steps in and does what no one else could do and redeems the situation and things are set right. They're restored.

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Stories are important. We communicate through stories, we teach through story, we learn through story and it is through story. We learn through story and it is through story that we find our place in this world. What's your story of Jesus? What has he done for you? What has he triumphed over, gently walked you through, pushed you and challenged you to step out and do I want us to talk about the stories of Jesus in our lives? If you would, I would love for you to share your stories of Jesus and I would love to be able to share those stories on upcoming episodes. You may feel apprehensive about this and I'm not pushing anyone to do it, but if you feel inclined, send us an email at podcast at the bright forevercom, or share through our contact us link on our website. If it's under two minutes, you can even record an audio message on our website by clicking the radio microphone at the bottom right of the page. I would love to hear from you about how Jesus has worked and is continuing to work in your lives. We will also be asking all of our guests this season to share a story of Jesus when they join us for an episode. I can't wait to hear all the stories of Jesus and how he is at work in our lives. And with that let's take a look at this amazing Fanny Crosby hymn Tell Me the Story of Jesus and see what God has for us in this timeless song of the faith. But before we do, don't forget to click, follow and subscribe to the Bright Forever so you never miss an episode.

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Tell Me the Story of Jesus came from the collaboration of two well-known gospel songwriters, fanny Crosby and John Swinney. Crosby and Swinney developed a close friendship through their time at the Methodist campgrounds in Ocean Grove, new Jersey, where summer revival meetings were held each year. Crosby mentioned attending as early as 1877, and Swinney became the song director there in 1878, a role he faithfully filled for two decades until his health began to fail. Crosby deeply valued their partnership and friendship. She later reflected on how heartbreaking it was for her to deliver a tribute at Swinney's memorial service after his passing. A tribute at Swinney's memorial service after his passing. One of their most lasting contributions to Christian music is this hymn, tell Me the Story of Jesus, which was first published in the Quiver of Sacred Song in 1880 by the Philadelphia-based publisher, john J Hood, by the Philadelphia-based publisher John J Hood. Their work together created a piece that continues to resonate with believers across denominations and around the world. For over 10 years, swinney served as the music director for the Sunday School Program at Bethany Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, which at one point was considered one of the largest Sunday schools in the country. Meanwhile, crosby was a longtime member of Old John Street Methodist Episcopal Church in New York City. Both of them shared a passion for creating music that would help teach Christian truths.

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This particular hymn is a great example of their heart for Christian education. It's straightforward. It tells the story of Jesus's life, starting with his birth, moving through his temptation in the wilderness, his ministry, his crucifixion burial. Starting with his birth, moving through his temptation in the wilderness, his ministry, his crucifixion burial and finally his resurrection. And what makes it so touching is the way it's told through the eyes of someone longing to hear the story, hear the story. It's described as precious and the sweetest that ever was told. The lyrics call for the story to be written on the heart, emphasizing a love that's tender sacrifice. That quote paid the ransom for me.

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One particularly moving account of this hymn comes from Homer Roadheaver, a singer and evangelist who served during World War I. He shared how he sang Tell Me the Story of Jesus to soldiers in all sorts of settings damaged barracks, dugouts lit by a single candle, even outdoors, when soldiers took a break while marching to the front. He recalled one moment. It was on October 4th 1918, when he was in the Argonne Forest with a group that was moving into a major battle on the front and he sang the song to them. No matter where he sang it, he said, the reaction was always the same. The soldiers would take off their dirty caps, hang their helmets on their arms and stand in complete silence. And stand in complete silence, Rodeheaver said. No other song had quite the same effect. Years later, veterans would come up to him and talk about the powerful impression it left in the most difficult of moments.

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By the time Fanny Crosby was 60, her personal life had taken a difficult turn. Her marriage had ended in separation in 1880. Around this same time, crosby felt called to dedicate herself to missionary work among New York's poorest communities. She moved into a modest flat on Frankfurt Street near some of Manhattan's most impoverished neighborhoods. Inspired by the work of Jerry McAuley and his Water Street mission work of Jerry McAuley and his Water Street mission Crosby became deeply involved in mission outreach across New York City. For over 30 years she devoted herself to serving the city's most vulnerable, often living on the edge of poverty herself. Despite her fame as a hymn writer, let me just tell you hymn writing back then and now is not the same. She barely got paid anything for her songs and she never really had an official position in ministry work or received any financial compensation for what she did. Known affectionately as Aunt Fanny, she was a regular at places like the Bowery Mission and the McAuley Water Street Mission, where she shared messages of hope and love after drawing from her own life experiences, including her own blindness.

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Crosby's approach to ministry was grounded in kindness and encouragement. On the Bowery Mission website it says, quote she was a fierce proponent of kindness and love. She famously said you can't save a man by telling him of his sins. He knows them already. Tell him there is pardon and love waiting for him. Win his confidence and make him understand that you believe in him and never give him up. Her words and presence left a lasting legacy and her piano still resides at the Bowery Mission as a tribute to her tireless service and unwavering faith.

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Tell me the story of Jesus. Write on my heart every word. Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard. Tell how the angels in chorus sang as they welcomed his birth. Glory to God in the highest peace and good tidings to earth. Luke, chapter two, directly references the angelic proclamation at Jesus's birth. And this is what I love about it, it's the simplicity. It really is very straightforward and simple. It just tells the story. It captures the joy and the wonder of the angelic announcement. Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased, fasting alone in the desert. Tell of the days that are past, how, for our sins, he was tempted yet was triumphant at last. Tell of the years of his labor. Tell of the sorrow he bore. He was despised and afflicted, homeless, rejected and poor man. This is a lot. This is a lot to unpack. Luke, chapter four.

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The hymn recalls Jesus's 40 days in the wilderness, jesus's triumph, his sinless nature and authority over evil, making him the perfect savior. Isaiah 53, three through four the imagery of Jesus as despised and afflicted. It reflects the suffering servant. The hymn reminds us of his human suffering and his willingness to bear the weight of sin for our redemption. The line homeless, rejected and poor ties to Jesus' statement the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. From Matthew, chapter eight and Luke nine. It highlights his humility. It captures the heart of Jesus and what he came here to do and to be for us. I can't imagine it also didn't occur to her while she's writing the lyrics to the song he was despised, afflicted, homeless, rejected and poor. That it wasn't her also speaking to the people, that she was helping as a missionary to some of the poorest, the homeless of New York, as she's writing this song, reminding them that Jesus was despised and afflicted and homeless and rejected and poor, and that we have, and homeless and rejected and poor, and that we have found life in him.

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Tell of the cross where they nailed him, writhing in anguish and pain. Tell of the grave where they laid him. Tell how he liveth again. Love in that story, so tender, clearer than ever. I see, stay, let me weep while you whisper. Love paid the ransom for me. It reminds us again of the suffering servant, the atoning work of the cross, the passages in Matthew 27, mark 15, luke 23, john 19. The passages provide the accounts of Jesus's crucifixion, vividly showing both his physical and spiritual suffering for humanity's sins, rejected, forsaken by the Father for us, and then the celebration of the resurrection. The phrase love paid the ransom for me reminds us of that substitutionary atonement where Jesus laid down his life as a ransom for you and for me.

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The chorus tell me the story of Jesus. Write on my heart every word. Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard. I love this chorus because in Deuteronomy it says hear O Israel. This is in Deuteronomy 6, starting verse 4. Hear O Israel, the Lord, our God. The Lord is one. You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorsteps of your house and on your gates. Tell me the story of Jesus. Write it everywhere, talk about it everywhere. We write it on our very hearts. It's not just something we tell at church on Sunday.

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This song is a call and a challenge to take the gospel and write it on our hearts, make it that firm foundation of our faith and our lives, and we need to recall these truths every single day. I've talked about it many times preaching the gospel to yourself every day. Write it, write it on our hearts Every word. Tell me the story again. Tell me the story again. Tell me the story again. Remind me of who I am in Christ, that I am loved, that I am chosen by God, and it teaches us. What a great song to teach. This goes back to both. Both Swenny and Crosby were all about teaching through songs. This is it. This is the gospel in song, echoing the words of scripture in a deeply personal and devotional way. It's an amazing song.

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I had the privilege last year of taking a group of seniors on their senior trip and they decided to go to Gatlinburg and, uh, one of the excursions that we went on when we were up there was, uh, it's a theme park called Dollywood. Uh, and if you haven't ever had a chance to go, it's fantastic. Uh. One of the last things that we did at the park, right as we were about to head out, we just arrived in just enough time at the park entrance to spend about 20 or 30 minutes listening to a group called the Kingdom Heirs. They're one of the groups that sings all of the time and performs at Dollywood and this particular day were doing.

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Um, the kingdom heirs group was um doing some hymns and uh, they had a whole album of hymns and I got a chance to talk to, uh talk to all of them and uh, I purchased their their hymns albums. It was in a in a four pack of albums that they had been uh recording and um, it came with a uh hymnal and it was really, really cool and I got to have a chance to really talk to them about hymns and about how hymns have influenced their life. And uh, I asked them I said, um, I do a podcast and uh, can I use any of these recordings on my podcast? And they said, absolutely so. This is Kingdom Heirs singing Tell Me the Story of Jesus by Fanny Crosby and John Swinney.

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Tell me the story of Jesus, right on my heart, every word. Tell me the story most precious Sweetest that ever was heard. Tell how the angels in Moros sang as they welcomed His birth. They welcomed His birth. Glory to God in the highest Peace and good tidings to earth. Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word. Tell me the story most precious Sweetest that ever was heard. Tell of the cross where they nailed Him, writhing in anguish and pain. Tell of the grave where they laid him. Tell how he liveth again. Love in that story so tender, clearer than ever. I see, stay, let me weep while you whisper. Love paid the ransom for me. Tell me the story of Jesus, lie on my heart, every word. Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard, sweetest that ever was heard Sweetest that ever was heard.

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Thank you for starting this season with us and, as always, thanks for listening to this podcast. Please take a minute and visit our website at thebrightforevercom. From there you can follow this podcast, either through Apple or Spotify, google, amazon or any of the other podcast platforms, or you can take our RSS feed and plug it into wherever you listen to podcasts, and we always want to hear from you. Always want to hear from you, just like I mentioned earlier, if you have a story we would love to hear. But if you just want to comment or ask a question or tell us something that you like about this podcast, you can always email us at podcast at the bright forevercom. You can also click the contact us tab at the top of our website and send us a message through our contact form. You can click the radio microphone in the bottom right corner and record a message of up to two minutes and let us know what you think. And now you can even text us too. In the description and notes of every episode there's a link at the beginning that says send us a text. If you click on that, you can text us through there and it comes directly to us on our website and we can respond back to you. And, last but certainly not least, you can always show us what you think by leaving a review on our website, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify. Give us all the five-star reviews that you'd like. Thank you again for listening and beginning our brand new season together.

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Let me close us out in prayer, lord, thank you. Thank you that we have the story of Jesus, god, that from Genesis to Revelation, you're telling the story of how you made us. We fell, but, god, from the foundation of the world, you had a plan, and that plan was your son, jesus, that came and live the life we couldn't live, died the death that we deserve, and after three days rose, defeating death and hell and sin and the grave. And God, because of that, we have life, and life abundant in you, and eternal life. What an amazing story. It is the story of stories. Help us to remember, to tell that story to ourselves every single day. Tell me the story of Jesus. Tell me the story of Jesus, god. Write on my heart every word. Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard In Jesus' name amen.

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God bless you all. Have a great week and I'll see you back here next week. We're out. Thank you.