Listen to it:
Lyrics for "Ohio" by IDENTITY (from the album "Hope and a Future"):
"Lutheran" is my heritage ... my link to the Christian faith.
"Revo..." because, in every time and every place, Christianity will always be revolutionary.
These are my thoughts as I enter the fray … the reforming process of contextualizing communal faith, wrestling with questions, emerging from the box of popular culture, and encouraging others to think critically about the things we tend take for granted.
24God, I am in awe of Creation! I am blown away by the diversity and variety of the world that surrounds us – the ever-changing biodiversity astounds me.
25There are oceans, lakes, streams, and ponds teaming with sharks that prowl, fish that blend into the sand, algae that glows at night, and more -- so many creatures that our scientists still have not counted them all!
26Beneath the yachts and trading barges, there are octopi and massive whales at play.
27Generation after generation, your Creation provides them with food to sustain in the rhythms of the seasons;
28they gather your food, bellies are filled; the chain of life continues.
29Without your presence, life unravels; bodies fail, decay, and become nothing but food and fertilizer.
30Yet life continues, seasons of creation when new life springs forth; and the young are weaned and grow – life is renewed again and again.
31Oh that your Earth would thrive forever; may you constantly enjoy the handiwork of all that you have made —
32we see how we harm the Earth and tremble in fear that we might be capable of unraveling all that you have made; yet when we see unblemished portions of your Creation, our jaws drop in wonder and we have hope for the future.
33I cannot contain myself; I will sing, shout, and dance for joy all of my days; Life continues against all that would destroy it, and every atom in my body shudders and rejoices as I worship you with every fiber of my being.
34May my thoughts and actions be according to your will, as I wish to be your joy as you are mine, for my life is in the Lord.
35bMay my heart crave what you desire. May I always live for the glory of the Lord!
Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Go in peace: love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God, and we will!