Music
Conductors: Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy
Organist: Brian Mathias
Announcer: Lloyd D. Newell
“All Creatures of Our God and King”
German hymn tune
Lyrics: St. Francis of Assisi
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
“Lord, Through Changing Days, Unchanged”
Music: Henry Smart
Lyrics: Walter Russell Bowie
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
“Finale from Symphony no. 6" (Organ solo)
Music: Charles-Marie Widor
“I Feel My Savior’s Love”
Music: K. Newell Dayley
Lyrics: Ralph Rodgers, K. Newell Dayley, and Laurie Huffman
Arrangement: Sam Cardon
“Give Glory to His Honored Name”
Music: George Frideric Handel
Lyrics: Samuel Humphreys
“My God Is So High”
African American spiritual
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy
“To God Be The Glory”
Music: William Doane
Lyrics: Fanny J. Crosby
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy
The Spoken Word
Choosing Good
May 5, 2024
By Lloyd Newell
(Recorded in Mexico City, June 2023)
Here at the heart of the Mexican capital stands the Monumento a la Revolución, or the Monument to the Revolution. Among the most iconic symbols of Mexico, this landmark commemorates the Mexican Revolution of more than a century ago. Similar monuments are found all over the world. Very often, they are visual reminders of the quest for freedom.
Freedom is, without question, a quest worth commemorating. We all hunger for freedom. We want to be free to think, to believe, and to act. This deep love of liberty is part of our nature; it was placed in our hearts by God, who wants His children to be free. He gave us the ability to choose and sent us into a world filled with choices: good or evil, right or wrong, light or darkness.
Of course, God wants us to choose good, but He will not force us to. He knows that we grow not just by doing what’s right but by using our freedom to choose to do what’s right. And how do we know what’s right? We aren’t left to guess. Our loving God gives His children eternal law, based on eternal truth, so we can make wise choices.
It might seem that law limits freedom, but it actually does the opposite. Like a kite that flies high in the sky only when tethered by its string, freedom reaches its highest expression when anchored to God and His truth. Cut the string, and the kite falls. Let go of God’s law, and freedom has no direction, no purpose. So we tie ourselves to God, who gave us our freedom, and learn His law, without which freedom would be meaningless. True freedom comes from good choices. We find freedom not by resisting truth but by living it.
This is why we build monuments to freedom. With both a solid base and a soaring upward reach, monuments like this one in Mexico City, lift our thoughts and aspirations. They remind us that freedom and law are both precious gifts from God—raising us up and at the same time giving us a firm foundation.