Amazing Grace

June 3, 2012 by kevinstilley

Grace – select quotes

Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.
~ Eugene O’Neill

Grace, we must learn, is opposed to earning, not to effort.
~ Dallas Willard

If God wants you to do something, he’ll make it possible for you to do it, but the grace he provides comes only with the task and cannot be stockpiled beforehand. We are dependent on him from hour to hour, and the greater our awareness of this fact, the less likely we are to faint or fail in a crisis.
~ Louis Cassels

When the mask of self-righteousness has been torn from us and we stand stripped of all our accustomed defenses, we are candidates for God’s generous grace.
~ Erwin Lutzer

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At The Corner of Mercy and Grace

Sometimes a combination of ideas or events come together to affect us in a way that they would not have on their own. I recently received the picture at left from a co-worker. Her husband works as an appraiser and had snapped the photo while out performing his job. The image has continued to be present in my thinking over the last few days as I have been asking myself what it means to live at “the corner of Mercy and Grace”.

And then I received H.B London’s “Pastor’s Weekly Briefing” in which he asks,

What would it be like if every “shepherd” looked across his or her “field” and found the most needy one in the “flock” and then took the time to minister to that one. You talk about a wonderful Christmas present. By the way, who is the most needy one in your “flock”? If you had the opportunity, how could you personally enhance the life of that individual?

I’m still working on the question of what it means to live at the corner of mercy and grace, but I think the actions suggested by London are a beautiful expression of its reality.

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Best Amazing Grace Recording

What is the best audio recording of Amazing Grace? This week I was at a party for my brother-in-law in which each of the guests had contributed a favorite song for a compilation CD. One of those attending had selected Elvis’ recording of Amazing Grace. They explained, “Everyone knows it is the best recording of Amazing Grace, ever.” Really? This particular “everyone” doesn’t know that. I like Elvis, but am not particularly fond of his rendition of Amazing Grace.

So, my question is, which is the best recording of Amazing Grace ever?

Here are some of those that I know of. Feel free to contribute others in the comment area below.

101 Strings Orchestra
Tori Amos
Chet Atkins
Joan Baez
Batmobile
The Beat Daddys
Elmer Bernstein
Blind Boys of Alabama
Pat Boone
Boys II Men
Shirley Caesar
Glen Campbell
Johnny Cash
Cecilia
Charley Daniels Band
Cherry Bomb Club
Cincinnati Pops
Charlotte Church
Judy Collins
Crazy Cat George
Dave Matthews Band
The David Rose Orchestra
Ani DeFranco
Phil Driscoll
Esteban
Faith Evans
Fats Domino
Scott Fitzgerald
Aretha Franklin
Jerry Garcia and David Grisman
The Gatlin Brothers
George Gershwin
Mickey Gilley
Al Green
Arlo Guthrie
Merl Haggard
Jimmy Hendrix
Whitney Houston
Mahalia Jackson
Sonny James
George Jones
Janis Joplin
Jordanaires
K.C. & The Sunshine Band
Krystal
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Christy Lane
Leadbelly
Meadowlark Lemon
The Lemonheads
Loretta Lynn
Blind Willie McTell
Herbie Mann
Glenn Miller
Drop Kick Murphy
Anne Murray
Jim Neighbors
Willie Nelson
The Neville Brothers
Oak Ridge Boys
Original Drifters
Patti Page
Twila Paris
Vicki Philips
Pras-Ghetto
Elvis Presley
Ray Prices
Boots Randolph
Lou Rawls
Charlie Rich
LeAnn Rimes
Diana Ross
Pete Seeger
Seven Nations
Shanon
Robert Shaw Festival Singers
Paul Simon
Tommy Smith
Ray Stevens
Rod Stewart
Supastar Mantovani
B.J. Thomas
Randy Travis
Tsa’ Ne Dose
Ike & Tina Turner
Conway Twitty
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Voices of Watts
The Von Trapp Children
The Weavers
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lawrence Welk
Andy Williams
Victor Wooten
Glen Yarbrough

Okay, there are a few for you to consider. Amazon lists 3,213 Mp3 downloads for “Amazing Grace” so I am sure this list is just the top of the iceberg. Which is your favorite?

Grace – select quotes

At The Corner of Mercy and Grace

Best Amazing Grace Recording

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