this I know...
for string orchestra (harp), piano, children’s chorus, and congregation
medium difficulty - 2024
Click HERE to here a recording on Sound Cloud.
for string orchestra (harp), piano, children’s chorus, and congregation
medium difficulty - 2024
Click HERE to here a recording on Sound Cloud.
for string orchestra (harp), piano, children’s chorus, and congregation
medium difficulty - 2024
Click HERE to here a recording on Sound Cloud.
In June of 2024, the Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas presented a series of services focused on the theme of love. Specifically, Pastor Charles Swindoll presented a series of four sermons taken from 1 Corinthians 13. Part of this series centered around God's love for us. This arrangement was written to help communicate the message of these sermons through music.
Throughout the scriptures, Jesus shows his love for children. In fact, the faith of a child is referenced often as the example which we all should aspire to. (See Matthew 18:3 and Luke 18:16.)
It is through this lens that this I know... was conceived based on the hymn Jesus Loves Me. The words were originally penned by Anna Bartlett Warner in 1860 as a poem of comfort to a dying child. In 1862, William Bradbury added the melodic material and his own original chorus stating, "Yes, Jesus loves me; Yes, Jesus loves me..." Today, it remains one of the most popular hymns in churches around the world, especially among children.
This arrangement for piano and string orchestra seeks to capture the innocence and purity of a child's faith. The simplicity of the first verse is stated in the solo harp, accompanied by the string voices. The bridge to the second section of the piece also includes a quotation from the beloved hymn Jesus Loves the Little Children.
However, the darkness of the second and third verses are then represented in the second section through a minor presentation of the hymn. As we grow older, we tend to question the reality of God's love for us amid the challenges we face. The answer is to return to the faith in God we had as a child.... faith in His love for us expressed in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.
The addition of the children's chorus in this third section is designed to help lead the listener back to the truth that we are always to remember:
Jesus loves me—He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
If I love Him, when I die
He will take me home on high.
The congregation then joins in one accord to proclaim the truth that:
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me
Then, a final reminder from the mind and heart of a child:
the Bible tells me so!
Amid the challenges of life, we are to remember that Jesus does, indeed, love us!