1989
This year it’s been 30 years since I was at Bible College. It was a foundational and significant time, with lots of great memories! I am grateful for:
deep life changing teaching from a variety of brilliant lecturers
seeing the whole ‘drama’ of God’s Big Story
forming an unshakeable love for God, the Bible and His world
Whilst there I met many wonderful people. One fellow student in particular became a good friend, and he was Graham Ord. He was a talented musician, singer songwriter and being a drummer I got to play in his band! One day Graham had been reading the Psalms and wrote a song from these words...
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger for ever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
The words in this Psalm are a recap of Exodus 34 when God revealed himself, his character and nature to Moses. They paint a picture of the God I was being taught about at Bible College! The song Graham wrote became our anthem, and after that it has been recorded and sung around the world. I love songs that are straight out of the Bible, as singing them helps to remember and proclaim Scripture. Thank you Graham for your friendship, influence and writing this beautiful song ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate’.
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader