What a Friend We Have...

First United Methodist Church - DeRidder, LA

In this week's installment of our Behind the Music: Exploring God's Witness through Our Favorites we encounter one of your most requested hymns...What a Friend We Have in Jesus. This sentimental favorite of multiple generations of the church brings words of comfort and peace whenever it is sung, comfort and peace that transcends any circumstance, comfort and peace that is yet another piece of evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit through the gift of music. Acapella, accompanied by a simple acoustic guitar, backed by a mass choir in the gospel tradition, stirred by a high-quality pipe organ...there is nothing like the presentation of the gospel story found in Joseph M. Scriven's poem from 1855 written to comfort his mother who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada. Our text, Matthew's recounting of Christ's parable about good seed and weeds as found in the 13th chapter of his gospel, points us towards the reality that Christ is indeed our friend who is with us always, in the good times and the difficult.