Jesus Loves Me, ELW 595
Devotion
Jesus loves me! this I know,
for the Bible tells me so;
little ones to him belong,
they are weak, but he is strong.
Refrain
Yes, Jesus loves me,
yes, Jesus loves me,
yes, Jesus loves me,
the Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves me! he who died
heaven's gates to open wide;
he will wash away my sin,
let his little child come in. Refrain
Jesus loves me! he will stay
close beside me all the way;
when at last I come to die,
he will take me home on high. Refrain
When I was in seminary, a classmate put together a Hymn Bracket—a listing of 64 favorite hymns ordered in competitive brackets, much like the familiar presentation of the teams in the NCAA college basketball tournament each March. We were to vote on which hymns we preferred. Yes, one hymn was the "winner," but in the process we got to celebrate how many great hymns we have to tell the story of our faith.
This summer our church is participating in the same kind of hymn "run-off," and "Jesus Loves Me" is one of the options for this Sunday. This song is a personal favorite because it's easily taught to our youngest members and belted out by our octogenarians, too! As this week comes to an end, we remember that Christ is the bread of life who provides us eternal life—heaven's gates are open wide through the grace of Christ that washes away our sins. Praise be to God!
Prayer
Blessed Savior, great is your love and power. Thank you for watching over each of us and calling us each by name as a Child of God. Amen.