Here are hymn texts that Pastor Reinhardt has shared with DOXOLOGY with permission for them to be used as written. Rev. Kurt Reinhardt is a Lutheran Church Canada pastor and a hymnwriter. He wrote the confession and absolution hymn Lutheran Service Book 616 “Baptismal Waters Cover Me”.
Lord, Help Me Know The Serpent’s Voice
(being a pastor’s prayer for Sunday evening).
Reinhardt introduces this hymn: “Sunday afternoon and evening should be a time for a faithful pastor to relax and rest after serving God’s people at the culmination of his work week, but for many a young pastor and even many seasoned servants of the Church, the time is fraught with self criticism and self doubt. This hymn was inspired by some advice from Dr. John Kleinig (attached below) that was shared with me by a gifted young pastor, when I expressed doubts about myself with regards to my service in his congregation. He thought it might be as helpful to me as it was to him- which it most certainly was!
“As I shared the hymn with some of the most gifted pastors and teachers in the Church, I found that as Dr. Kleinig says, this is indeed a common experience for faithful conscientious pastors, as they all sympathized with the problem. I thought that if our most gifted pastors and teachers share in this affliction, then there is probably a good chance that many others do as well, and that this hymn might be of benefit to them. I share it with you in the hopes that it might be a source of encouragement and consolation for all of us who suffer with ‘a case of the Sundays’ now and then.”
“A Case of the Sundays” an introduction to “Lord, Help Me Know the Serpent’s Voice” with the hymn text followed by comments from Dr. John Kleinig.
Audio recording of Lord Help Me Know the Serpent’s Voice by Michael Owens.
Lord Help Me Meditate on You
A hymn praying to our Lord Jesus asking Him to enable us to think on Him in the midst of our wayward and anxious thoughts.
Lord Help Us Know That Truly
A hymn about small congregations that mediates on both Christ’s words in Matthew 18:20 and His passion. Here’s the hymn with its musical notation.
Audio recording of Lord Help Us Know That Truly by Michael Owens.
Lord Help Us See Who Is the Foe
A hymn focusing on the truth of Ephesians 6:12 that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, that is, no human being is our enemy. We fight against Satan and the demons.
Lord, When Faith Is Weak and Ailing
In this hymn drawn from Jesus’ rescue of Peter on the Sea of Galilee, Pastor Reinhardt leads us to ask Jesus to fix our eyes, hearts, and minds on Him and His completed saving work for us.
Since God’s Dear Son Has Set for Me
Pastor Reinhardt wrote this hymn for one of the sheep under his care that the Lord took home on Maundy Thursday A+D 2025. It draws comfort from Jesus’ passion and resurrection as we draw near to death.
An audio recording of Since God’s Dear Son Has Set for Me by Michael Owens.
Your Saints Gather ‘Round
Pastor Reinhardt wrote this hymn for a Dvořák tune sent to him by Michael Owens. He writes, “The image had been coming to me in the Divine Service a number of times over at the consecration and I thought the tune suited it well.”
An audio recording of Your Saints Gather “Round by Michael Owens.
We Bring with Us, O Christ, This Day
A hymn (set with musical notation) for those concerned with souls absent from the Divine Service. It focuses on Dr. John Kleinig’s guidance on how one might pray for souls absent from the Divine Service as we receive His saving Body and Blood. It is based on the healing of the paralytic in Mark 2:1-12, the prayer of the Canaanite woman for the healing of the demon-possessed daughter in Matthew 15:21-28, the prayer of a father from Capernaum for his dying son in John 4:46-54, and the prayer of the Centurion for his servant in Matthew 8:5-13.
What God in Christ Has Surely Cleansed
A hymn confessing how Jesus not only forgives our sins but also cleanses us from the shame of sins committed against us based on 1 John 1:8-9.