Theme: Blood

The blood of Jesus is not a metaphor — it is the substance of our atonement, the price paid for our redemption, the covenant seal of our relationship with God. Songs about the blood of Christ have deep roots in the hymnological tradition precisely because this doctrine is so central: without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. In contemporary worship culture there's sometimes a discomfort with this imagery, but I've found that when it's handled with theological care and pastoral sensitivity, these songs do profound work — reminding us that our access to God was bought at a real cost, by a real person, who loved us with a love that would not stop short of everything.