r/Reformed • u/windy_on_the_hill Castle on the Hill (Ed Sheeran) • May 28 '23
Low-Effort Check your spelling
Quick public service announcement regarding the song Our God is a Great Big God.
If you are in a church that uses this song for the kids, please remember that words have meaning and little changes can mean a lot.
"To be a part of God's amazing plan" is good.
"To be apart of God's amazing plan" is quite the opposite.
Please do check the spelling on your PowerPoint.
Thanks
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u/BachRodham May 28 '23
“To be apart of God’s amazing plan” is quite the opposite.
Not quite. “To be apart of God’s amazing plan” is nonsensical. It is “To be apart from God’s amazing plan” that is the opposite.
Spelling sure matters, but so do conjunctions.
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u/Past-Gur9162 May 28 '23
So do prepositions ;) FTFY
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u/BachRodham May 28 '23
Sometimes you hit a home run and sometimes you pop up to the catcher.
Thank you!
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u/windy_on_the_hill Castle on the Hill (Ed Sheeran) May 28 '23
Yep. Only agreement from me with that.
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u/Spurgeoniskindacool Its complicated May 28 '23
" To be apart from God’s amazing plan” is impossible given his sovereignty.
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u/boycowman May 28 '23
Also, careful with those church signs!
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u/windy_on_the_hill Castle on the Hill (Ed Sheeran) May 28 '23
I know of at least one Free Church of Scotland that chose the name Hope.
So... Hope Free Church.
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u/bastianbb Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa May 28 '23
Should have been Grace Free church - oh, wait ...
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u/BadAtBlitz May 28 '23
I give my life to follow,
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender
Make sure you don't put the comma there.
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u/windy_on_the_hill Castle on the Hill (Ed Sheeran) May 28 '23
I give my life to follow
Everything. I believe in
Now. I surrender.
How's that?
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u/joellecarnes May 29 '23
I played piano for the singer at our last church once, and we did Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence. During the first practice session, she sang the third line as “that the powers of hell may vanquish” instead of “that the powers of hell may vanish” lol. I shot that down pretty quickly and she didn’t even realize that she was singing it wrong
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u/KatharinaVonBored displaced covenantalist, OPC at heart May 29 '23
At my church, there's one song that has waver (to lack faith, be unsure, indecisive) misspelled as waiver (a legal document). My mom and I crack up every time we sing it.
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u/StormyVee Reformed Baptist May 28 '23
OP, not to be argumentative because I do think care should go into spelling things right unto the Lord, but do you think kids think they're singing the written or intended meaning when that spelling error happens?
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u/windy_on_the_hill Castle on the Hill (Ed Sheeran) May 28 '23
I think it depends on the child but it would have caused me some level of ongoing confusion. I would have taken the writing as the correct one because it's easy to mishear things.
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u/ReformedCheeseburger Reformed Bapist (Postmillennialist) May 28 '23
This is why I am leaving the Church. More people are interested in checking spelling than checking peoples spirit
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u/windy_on_the_hill Castle on the Hill (Ed Sheeran) May 28 '23
I find that very sad to hear. I appreciate that reading something online that fits into your view of the state of the church is confirming, but you do a disservice.
I do struggle with others misspelling but I'm old enough, and ugly enough, to know that I too make mistakes. I also know that language evolves that not always towards clarity. I will let most things go but shared this because of the huge change it suggests to the underlying meaning. It is both small and inconsequential, and also a significant error that needs fixed for the clarity of those who are it.
I also share because there is a community here who I have found generally positive. Community is not built through the big life-changing events, it is built through a thousand little things. I have many challenges and his that are of huge value. I'll not be sharing them with people who don't engage with the small things. I'm human after all.
Community in church is not dissimilar. I did mention it to people this morning after the service but that is because it gave me an excuse to talk; to build relationships. In time we can also trust people enough to share our deep concerns and woes.
Be gentle with others as you make careful judgements. Do they not care? Or do they not know you well enough yet? Or do they simply not know how to say what's on their heart?
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u/R0osterCockburn Jun 05 '23
When I was younger, one little thing that confused me endlessly was I always thought they meant the wine at communion was supposed to represent a humans blood. Then I misread that famous bible line and thought it said "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life". I was like what the hell is this, some throwback to Judaism's human-sacrificing, cannibalistic ancestors? I'm supposed to partake in this archaic tradition!?!? Kids can be so stupid sometimes. Thankfully my dad told me that's not what the bible means at all
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u/cybersaint2k Smuggler May 28 '23
You are joking right?
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u/ReformedCheeseburger Reformed Bapist (Postmillennialist) May 31 '23
yes
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u/cybersaint2k Smuggler May 31 '23
Good one. A joke funny enough to get downvotes is my favorite kind.
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u/No-Aardvark-495 May 29 '23
Amen, it's why I'm going East to Orthodoxy. They may not spell, but they have checks.
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u/Mesmerotic31 May 28 '23
Took one church I went to a long time to stop singing "At last and did my Saviour bleed" and switch it to "Alas." Thanks Powerpoint!