“This Is My
Father’s World”
WHFMS Program Kit 2014
Singing
By Shelley Warner
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Purpose: A study of this favorite hymn reveals our Creator God. Let us examine just how worthy of praise our
God truly is.
Scripture: Psalm 46:6, 10; Optional: Deuteronomy 22:6–7; Matthew 6:26; Luke 12:6–7; and Revelation 5:1
Music Suggestion: “Hymns of Heritage & Hope” #2
Preparation Needed: Acquire hymnals for each participant.
SING
OPTIONAL: If people in your group know sign language, one interesting way to introduce this song is to sign the
words to one or more phrases and see if those who know sign language can guess the song. If you want to try this,
you can find the finger spelling signs by simply going to Google and typing in: translator, English to sign language.
Then you type in your phrase, and it gives the translation in sign language.
Play a game of “Name that Tune.” Give the following hints about the author of the song, one by one, until someone
guesses it:
The author was Maltbie Babcock, a minister in Lockport, New York.
He loved to take nature walks along the Niagara Escarpment and Lake Ontario.
He referred to these excursions as visiting “My …
Once the audience has guessed the song, take a few minutes to share the importance of getting away into God’s
creation and drawing close to God. As time allows, have people share their experiences, a time at a church camp or a
place where they experienced God in a special way.
INVESTIGATE
The Music of the Spheres
This is my Father’s world
And to my listening ears
All nature sings
And round me rings
The Music of the spheres
“The music of the spheres” … what it that about?
ASK: Does the universe make music?
Yes! Here are some interesting facts. Earth receives vibrations from the moon and other planets, actually creating
musical notes. Sound waves emanate throughout the universe from vibrations of the spheres. If you want to research
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you
sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16 NIV 1984
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“This Is My
Father’s World”
WHFMS Program Kit 2014
Singing
By Shelley Warner
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4
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this yourself, you can at http://www.davidjayjordan.com/MusicoftheSpheres.html and http://www.spaceandmotion.
com/Cosmos-Harmony-Music-Universe.htm .)
I Rest Me In The Thought
This is my Father’s world
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees
Of skies and seas
His hand the wonders wrought
Personal Testimony: When I think of the words, “I rest me in the thought,” I recall my experience of the
summer of 2012. My husband and I had travelled to Oregon to attend the wedding of our beloved daughter, Corina.
Three of my brothers were there, including my brother Chris. I have a special closeness to Chris and could tell he was
a little down. He was worried about his daughter, whose life had been hurt by guys who were wrong for her. Several
times, I found him and rubbed his shoulder. The next day we went home and a week later I got a terrible call. On
July 9, 2012, my brother Chris died and came back to life. His wife found him floating upside down in the hot tub,
and she knew that her diabetic husband had passed out from a dangerous drop in blood sugar. Fortunately, he was
found in time and revived. I flew back to Oregon and stayed with my mom in Vancouver, Washington, not far from
the hospital. What followed was a nightmare of recovery in ICU, watching him at first in an induced coma, seeing
him in a rotoprone bed (a device that rotates the patient with the hopes of saving the lungs), a day that his heart
stopped and doctors started it again, family members’ misunderstandings, and a crisis that seemed to drag on endlessly. My mother lives in a subdivision with nature trails that take you out into the beauty of the Pacific Northwest,
with towering evergreens, flowering bushes, ponds, ducks and geese. This was my respite. This was where I prayed
for my brother, for my 82-year-old mother as she faced this, and for courage for the day. Three weeks went by. Chris
had come a long way. It looked like he’d turned a corner. Regretfully, I flew back home, knowing it would be a long
recovery. I would keep in close touch with the family.
The Birds Their Carols Raise
This is my Father’s world
The birds their carols raise
ASK: When have you awakened to the morning songs of birds and felt at peace? How about a song in the
evening?
In San Diego, California, the mockingbirds sing at all hours of the night. Thomas Hardy, a poet (1840 – 1928) spoke
of finding comfort in a bird’s song in his poem, “The Darkling Thrush.” He begins with a feeling of desolation at the
end of a disheartening day:
“I leant upon a coppice gate
When frost was spectre-gray
And winter’s dregs made desolate
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you
sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16 NIV 1984
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“This Is My
Father’s World”
WHFMS Program Kit 2014
Singing
By Shelley Warner
4
4
.
.
The weakening of the day”
Then he hears the song of a Thrush:
“At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted even song
Of joy illimited.”
He wonders what an “aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small” could have to sing about amidst such “growing gloom.”
Then he realized:
“Some blessed hope, whereof he knew; and I was unaware.”
So often, when we’re feeling desolate, isolated and discouraged, we are unaware of the blessed hope that is ours
through God. Let God speak to us through the songs of his birds: THERE IS HOPE. Remember, Jesus tells us that
God cares for the birds and he cares for us.
OPTIONAL: If you have time, READ Deuteronomy 22:6–7; Matthew 6:26; and Luke 12:6–7.
NETWORK
He Shines in All That’s Fair
The morning light
The lily white
Declare their Maker’s praise
This is my Father’s world
He shines in all that’s fair
In the rustling grass I hear him pass
He speaks to me everywhere
Personal Testimony (continued): God spoke to me in the garden by the hospital, where my brother
continued to recover from his drowning. This dew-covered blossom reminded me of God’s care for us and for my
brother. Interestingly, on the morning of July 9, my husband had preached a sermon on healing — just hours before
I’d gotten the phone call about Chris’ drowning. He stated that when we pray for a person’s healing, God will do one of
three things: 1) He will bring about a miraculous healing; 2) He will heal through a gradual process, or 3) the patient
will die. Even if the patient dies, there is still healing when the resurrection raises the person to life and fully restores
him. Throughout my time in Vancouver, and as I came home, I kept praying for his healing. As of today, August 21,
he has made astounding progress! He’s been weaned off the ventilator. He’s receiving physical therapy to restore his
strength. His mind is fine. He’s talking and taking little excursions out of his room in the wheelchair. He’s been moved
out of ICU to another room in the hospital. I even got to speak to him on the phone. What a thrill to hear his voice
again, after all that he has been through. I thank God for answered prayers. I also thank God, my Father for his creation.
During my time in Vancouver, my walks on the nature trail and through the garden at the hospital drew me closer to
God and gave me courage. He truly does shine “in all that’s fair.” We need to enjoy the beauty of his creation. It helps us.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you
sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16 NIV 1984
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“This Is My
Father’s World”
WHFMS Program Kit 2014
Singing
By Shelley Warner
4
4
.
.
ASK: What are you facing in life right now?
Draw away into God’s creation. Let your Father remind you of his love and care.
God Is the Ruler Yet and the Battle Is Not Done
This is my Father’s World
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong
God is the ruler yet
This is my Father’s world
The battle is not done
Jesus who died
Will be satisfied
And earth and heaven be one
My husband, Tom Warner, recently preached that God is the ruler now. He reminded us that: “World powers don’t win
the day. God is on the throne;” “Every dictator, every beast will bite the dust;” and “The beast is defeated by the lamb.”
OPTIONAL: READ Revelation 5:1
C.S. Lewis’ series, “The Chronicles of Narnia,” ends with The Last Battle. (Read it; it’s great!) The conflicts have built
up, all seems lost, but …
READ Psalm 46:6, 10.
GOAL
For further study on God’s creation, refer to Romans 8:18–39 that speaks of the future of God’s creation and the
ultimate victory of good over evil.
Pray together as a group for the needs you shared in the network section.
Close by singing this hymn.
CONDUCTOR
Shelley loves to take nature walks and photograph her “Father’s World.” Her husband, Tom Warner, pastored churches in the Advent Christian denomination during the 80s and 90s in Oregon, Maine and California. Shelley also writes
a blog about her challenges and lessons learned as a pastor’s wife and since being a pastor’s wife: www.liberatedpastorswife.blogspot.com. All photographs are hers.
Published by: Advent Christian General Conference
Department of Nurture, Office of Women’s Ministries
PO Box 690848
Charlotte, NC 28227
(704) 545-6161
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