God Loves Us So Much

I wrote this to use on March 10, 2024, when the Lectionary Scriptures include John 3:16-17. After paraphrasing the iconic language of John 3:16, it makes the subtler point that God's purpose in all this is not to weed out but to nurture, not to condemn but to welcome. The last phrase is an homage to 1 John 1:4. We're using this as our Gospel hymn. It's a simple melody, and I'm not encouraging our group to use harmony. It needs a beat, particularly during the sustained notes, which we provide with a djembe. I'm in central Alabama where gender neutral language draws a side-eye. If your group is more tolerant, you'll probably want to adjust the pronouns accordingly. I invite you to use it freely and would request that when you do you mention my name, Lee Borden.