What Makes a Hymn Good

By Rev’d Christopher Esget, Senior Pastor, Immanuel Lutheran Church

Recently I made an off-the-cuff remark about a particular hymn: "I know I'm not supposed to like [this hymn], but I do." That led a parishioner to ask me what I meant by that. What makes a hymn bad, or good?

There is a subjective answer; some texts or tunes just resonate with us, or annoy us. At that level there is no bad or good, it's just a taste or style preference.

At another level, though, there are objective qualities to a hymn that we can analyze. Detailing all of those would require a long essay, or even book. But here are some of the things I look for:

Faithful to Scripture

If a text is ambiguous – or worse, teaches something false, that's a problem. On the other hand, if the text helps us understand a truth of Scripture better, that's one good reason to sing it.

An example that comes to mind is the Advent hymn Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending. The second line in the original reads, "Once for favored sinners slain." This suggests that the death of Jesus was only for some people (the favored sinners), and not for all. That's false doctrine. So we can't sing it - unless we alter the text. The version in Lutheran Service Book changes it to "Once for every sinner slain." That accords with the Biblical truth that Jesus died for all sinners, not just some.

Meet Us Monday: Pastor Bombaro & family, Eurasia Mission

Weekly all-school Chapel services are an important part of our ILS culture, and we warmly invite parents, siblings, grandparents, and friends to join us for these services.

A voluntary offering will be collected at weekly Chapel services throughout the year. The offerings will be distributed to Pastor Bombaro & family, for their missionary work in Latvia, and Mr. Aaron Schultz, to support him and his family as he pursues his Master of Divinity at Concordia Theological Seminary.

We’re using our Meet Us Monday series to introduce (or re-introduce) ILS families to Pastor Bombaro and Mr. Schultz, and their families, to better understand how our prayers and offerings will be supporting them and their work this year.

The Bombaros accepted a call from the LCMS Office of International Missions to Riga, Latvia, where they will aid in the EU and English credentialing of Latvia’s only seminary, plant an English-speaking Lutheran church in the capital, teach and mentor seminarians, and provide theological education throughout Eurasia.

What We're Reading - Back to School Edition!

Happy first week of school! It was such a joy to see all of our students and families gathered together to begin our first day of the new year. This community, this relationship between home and school, is fundamental to all we do at ILS. Throughout this year, we’ll be sharing and encouraging discussions on culture-building and culture-shaping, and how we can together support this important work both at school and at home.

One place we’ll share ideas on this topic is here on our monthly "What we're reading..." feature. Each month, we collect and share a selection of articles, sermons, blog posts, or other materials that we have found to be particularly insightful or inspiring. We hope that our ILS families and friends will enjoy spending some time reading and reflecting as well, and then join us at a First Friday Coffee or other parent program to discuss these and other topics.

We also love for families to pass along things they have read that may be interesting to others in our ILS community! Please feel free to share a link in the comments to email us any time!

Run with Endurance: A message from Pastor Esget

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Over this coming academic year we will meditate on this theme verse from Hebrews 12:1-2:

"Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

In recent weeks we examined the phrases "cloud of witnesses" and “lay aside every weight.” This week we'll look at what it means to "run with endurance the race that is set before us."

The race "set before us" was a common expression for athletic events, where the organizers of the contest would mark the course to be run. In this context, the race already marked out for us Christians is the course that Jesus went upon. 

Literally, this would mean to retrace Jesus' footsteps, leading to a crucifixion at the same place Jesus died. But the meaning here is figurative. How did Jesus live and die? Let us imitate that with the same kind of endurance, the same kind of dedication to the Father's will and calling.

Remembering previously the "cloud of witnesses" (the saints who have gone before us), and the instruction to take off garments that would slow us down in an athletic contest, we now are placed at the starting line in a race. The stadium is filled with a crowd (the cloud of witnesses) and we have put on our running clothes.

What We're Reading (August edition)...

As we enter this final month of our summer break, we pray that our students, families, and teachers have enjoyed some rest and leisure. With the approaching new school year, stay tuned for some fun posts as we look forward to the school year to come!

Our "What we're reading..." feature for August is full of news articles, sermons, and other news that we’ve found interesting or insightful over the summer, and we hope that you will enjoy spending some time reading and reflecting as well.

In preparation for the new year, we’d love to hear from you! Would you take a moment and share a book or article that you’ve read lately that you think others in our ILS community may enjoy?

What We're Reading Wednesday: Mrs. Grace Egger

Check in on our ILS social media pages or here on our ILS Blog to hear from all your favorite ILS teachers and staff as they share a peek at what they’re reading this summer!

Mrs. Grace Egger, ILS Kindergarten Teacher, continues our “What We’re Reading Wednesday” series with a selection that she recommends students and families include on their summer reading list.

What’s on your summer list? We’d love to hear what you’re reading this summer as well!

What We're Reading (July edition)...

We hope everyone is enjoying a restful and relaxing summer! As the summer continues, we are keeping up with our "What we're reading..." series to share news and articles that we’ve found interesting or insightful over the summer months!

What are you reading this summer? If you need some inspiration, check out our weekly “What We’re Reading Wednesday” videos as our faculty and staff share some of their recommendations for parents and students.

Interested in joining fellow parents and teachers for some summer reading?

This summer, ILS is hosting a Summer Book Club! Parents and friends of ILS are invited to join us each month as we read and gather to discuss a short selection. Please use the form below to let us know if you will be able to attend one or more of these discussions!

Join us on Thursdays at 7 pm. Reading selections and options to order, included via the links below.

July 11: Revelation by Flannery O'Conner 
August 8: Leaf by Niggle by J. R. R. Tolkien (copies available in the ILS office)

Please let us know if you can join us!

What We're Reading Wednesday: Mrs. Marie Greenway

Check in on our ILS social media pages or here on our ILS Blog to hear from all your favorite ILS teachers and staff as they share a peek at what they’re reading this summer!

Mrs. Marie Greenway, ILS Music Teacher, kicks off our “What We’re Reading Wednesday” series with a look at a selection that has made it onto her summer reading list.

What’s on your summer list? We’d love to hear what you’re reading this summer as well!

Baccalaureate Vespers 2019

After sitting through dozens of graduation speeches that were a terrible waste of time, the brilliant educator and critic Neil Postman wrote the sort of commencement address he wished would be given but never is. In it he talks about two groups of ancient people, the Athenians and the Visigoths. This is because, Postman said, you soon must align yourself with the spirit of one or the spirit of the other. You must choose between the Athenians or the Visigoths.

The Athenians developed a political democracy, invented philosophy, and one of their scientists conceived of the atomic theory of matter 2,300 years before it ever occurred to a modern scientist. They sang beautiful poems and wrote plays that are still performed today. They loved beauty and strove for excellence.

The Visigoths, by contrast, were good at one thing: killing. Their language was barbaric, their art grotesque. They loved to burn books and destroy buildings. Nothing of this people remains.

ILS Field Day 2019

We couldn’t have asked for better weather for our 2019 ILS Field Day! It was a fun-filled day of races, games, and competitions, including a giant Jenga tournament, soccer, a dunk tank, giant lawn bowling, tug-of-war, sack races, water balloon tosses, face-painting, popsicles and much more! Thank you to all our teachers and parents for helping make the day a memorable one for all our students!