MACK WILBERG AND RYAN MURPHY
Conductors
RICHARD ELLIOTT
Organist
DERRICK PORTER
The Spoken Word
PRAISE TO THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY
Music: from Stralsund Gesangbuch
Text: Joachim Neander
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
LOOK TO THE DAY
Music: John Rutter
Text: John Rutter
CARILLON DE WESTMINSTER
Music: Louis Vierne
THIS IS MY FATHER’S WORLD
Music: Franklin L. Sheppard
Text: Maltbie D. Babcock
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
ORGAN INTERLUDE
THE SPOKEN WORD
“Love’s True Power”
THE KING OF LOVE MY SHEPHERD IS
Music: Irish melody; Ryan Murphy
Text: Henry Baker
TO GOD BE THE GLORY
Music: William H. Doane
Text: Fanny J. Crosby
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy
LOVES TRUE POWER
The Spoken Word, May11, 2025
By: Derrick Porter
NEARLY 600 YEARS AGO, Thomas à Kempis, in his book The Imitation of Christ
, wrote: “Love is an excellent thing. … It bears a burden without being weighted and renders sweet all that
is bitter. … Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller.”1
The Bible teaches that charity—the purest and highest form of love—is patient and kind. It does not envy, boast, or act proudly. Charity does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, and is not easily angered. Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.2 Charity is strong.
Some unwisely may say that showing love is a weakness. Yet real love—charity—has real power—power that can change not only a heart but even the world. Love shown to others promotes communication, reduces contention, and yields understanding. Whether shown by a simple act or through valiant and sustained service over many years, love’s true power is always humble, and its strength brings about miracles.
Jochebed, the mother of Moses, offered courageous and selfless love for her baby son, put- ting him in a basket and, with unwavering faith, placing that basket by the reeds in a river to save his life. Jochebed’s love and courage ensured that Moses, many years later, would be where he needed to be so he could help to deliver the children of Israel.3
The widow of Zarephath is another person who showed true love when the prophet Elijah, during a famine, desired food and water. The widow humbly offered the last of her crumbs, her selfless love resulting in a miracle! Her jar of flour and jug of oil would never run dry, sustaining her throughout the remainder of the famine.4
God is a God of love,5 and we can feel the power of His love as we exercise faith and trust in Him.6 Like the loving acts of these faithful women, our humble acts of love can allow for us to see God’s hand in our lives, even if doing so takes time and looks different from what we ever would have imagined.
Yes, there is power in love—it is God’s power. Power that can change our lives, power that can change the world.
References:
1. Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (1940), 68.
2. See 1 Corinthians 13:4–7.
3. See Exodus 2:1–4; 6:20.
4. See 1 Kings 17:8–16.
5. See 1 John 4:8.
6. See Proverbs 3:5–6.