The first song I heard that I thought would be on our most recent album, The Gathering, was Have Mercy on Me. Co-written by Dale Bischof and Pat Sczebel, it combines grief over sin with an assurance of God’s mercy in Christ. Even though as Christians all our sins are completely forgiven (Col. 2:13), we can continue to battle either ongoing condemnation or arrogant presumption. The first results in an attitude that binds us, discourages us, and makes us fearful of approaching God. The second equally dangerous mindset supposes that because our sins have been paid for by Christ’s substitutionary death, we don’t have to think about them any more. …
Archive | Books, CDs, Websites
Putting Songs Together – Video & Audio from WorshipGod11
At WorshipGod11 I presented this seminar I simply called “Putting Songs Together.” It was an attempt to give people a better grid for choosing what songs to sing in a gathering. Back in 2004 I gave a similar seminar, Choosing Songs Wisely, and thought it was time to update my thoughts on the topic. Despite the common liturgy of a music time followed by a preaching time, God hasn’t been ultra-clear about how we’re to use music in our meetings. We can include songs in various ways. They can be sung together consecutively, spread throughout the meeting, or at the beginning and end. In this seminar I try to allow for different practices, but …
Share this post:
As You Go – The Evolution of a Song
Here’s our latest video from The Gathering: Live from WorshipGod11. As You Go was written by Mark Altrogge, who has been writing songs for Sovereign Grace Music since the early 1980s. That’s a long time. It amazes me how he continues to write such theologically rich, relevant, singable songs. What you may not know is that even with the decades of experience Mark has, he is one of the easiest people to work with when it comes to suggesting changes to his songs. Rather than giving you a detailed explanation of why he wrote what he did, or sharing 5 reasons why no alternative could possibly be better, he typically gets back in less than …
Share this post:
What Goes On at a Sovereign Grace Songwriting Retreat?
We had our 10th songwriter retreat this past October. In a previous post I shared some details from our 2010 retreat. Since a couple guys have asked me about these recently, here’s a little more info. Sovereign Grace is a family of over 90 churches. We’ve been producing albums since around 1984. At first, we were simply getting out songs that Mark Altrogge was writing. Songs like “I Have a Destiny,” “In My Generation,” and “You Sat Down.” We started producing “Song Service Tapes” that went to Sovereign Grace churches and anyone else who was interested. Most of them were recorded in Steve and Vikki Cook’s bedroom. (thank you, Vikki…) It …
Share this post:
Behold Our God (with orchestra)
A while back I held a contest asking people to send us their arrangements of songs from the Sovereign Grace album, King of Grace. Joshua Spacht won the contest with his version of Behold the Lamb. He recently sent me a version of another Sovereign Grace song, Behold our God, from Risen, written by Jonathan, Ryan, and Meghan Baird, and Stephen Altrogge. Joshua’s church sang it as part of their Christmas service. While God doesn’t need orchestras, choirs, and great arrangements to glorify his name, he can certainly use them to communicate grandeur, awe, majesty, and more. I think that’s what Joshua and his musicians accomplished through his …
Share this post:
Now Why This Fear – Video from WorshipGod11
One of my favorite songs from our most recent album, The Gathering, is Now Why This Fear. Doug Plank adapted the words from the hymn “Now When This Fear and Unbelief” by Augustus Toplady. Toplady (1740-1778) was a strong, if sometimes contentious, defender of Calvinism. More importantly, he tirelessly preached the sufficiency of Christ’s atoning work for our sins. This hymn, like Rock of Ages, encourages believers to rest completely in the finished work of Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. It’s the news that never grows old. I asked Doug Plank to share a few thoughts on the how he came to update Toplady’s hymn. “From Whence this …
Share this post:
Come Praise and Glorify – Video from WorshipGod11
Yesterday, I posted the video of Shine into Our Night from WorshipGod11. The second song we’ve finished editing is Come Praise and Glorify. I wrote this with Tim Chester, a pastor in Sheffield, UK, who has written over 20 books (including Total Church, You Can Change, and A Meal with Jesus). The fact that I wrote a song with Tim is purely providential. I was leading the music at the New Word Alive conference this past April and happened to stay in a flat with Tim and his wife, Helen. I thoroughly enjoyed a couple late night chats with Tim and after I got home he sent me some of the songs he had written that they sang at his church. One of …
Share this post:
Generous King
The last song written for our most recent album, The Gathering: Live from WorshipGod11, was Generous King. We needed a song of gratefulness for all God’s good gifts in view of the fact that our sins are forgiven and we’ve been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. We had a song that was close, but wasn’t quite what we were looking for. So Pat Sczebel and his son, Joel, put their heads (guitars?) together and came up with an exuberant song of gratefulness that reflects the heart of those who live under the reign of gracious King Jesus. It’s instructive and sobering that God sums up the reasons for our rebellion in these words: “For although …
Share this post:
The Gathering: Live from WorshipGod11 is Here
In his outstanding book, Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice, Bryan Chapell writes, “Liturgy tells a story. We tell the gospel by the way we worship.” That thought influenced the song choices and order for our latest album, The Gathering: Live from WorshipGod11, 15 songs that tell the story of the gospel and our appropriate response to it. In Scripture and history, God’s glory and grace have informed and shaped the way we relate to him. We’re awed by his greatness but attracted by his mercy. We’re undone by his holiness but drawn by his forgiveness. It’s a pattern that’s reflected in Isaiah’s encounter with God …
Share this post:
The Father’s Love Video
Hoping to share some reflections from my recent time in Australia soon. But before that, I wanted to let you know about a video we just finished editing. Last May at the NEXT conference, I had the opportunity to lead the song, The Father’s Love, with my son, Devon, and the Na Band. We projected the lyrics across the entire backdrop of the stage. I loved the effect of emphasizing the importance of the lyrics we were singing. I have an increasing conviction (if that’s possible) that our singing should be characterized by passion rooted in biblical truth rather than simply passion that’s an effect of musical stimulation. Enlarging the size …
Share this post:
Needing Your Help Here…
We’re wondering which version of “As You Go” to put on our next album, The Gathering:Live From WorshipGod11, due out November 15. This will be the last song on the album. Version 1 edits out a spoken benediction from Jude 24-25. Version 2 includes the benediction. If you have 8 minutes to watch the video below, let us know which version you think should go on the album. I’ve included the full lyrics below. Thanks! As you go may you know the love of Christ How deep and long, how high and wide As you leave may you seek to win the prize And find his death to be Your life May you go in the love of Your Father God May …
Share this post:
Reflections from WorshipGod11
Where do I begin? WorshipGod11:The Gathering was filled with evidences of God’s grace from start to finish. Over 1800 people came to grow in their understanding of how to proclaim and celebrate the glorious story of the gospel when we gather. Thus far over 200 people have filled out the online survey for the conference. We ask for feedback on every aspect of the conference, what most served them, and what we could change. We’ve benefited immensely over the years from the feedback we’ve received. These are a few of my highlights and some of the things I learned from people’s responses: Multiple generations with different music preferences …
Share this post:
Song Lists from WorshipGod11
God met us in ways too numerous to count last week at WorshipGod11:The Gathering. In the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some thoughts on the conference, as well as some of the teachings, which included messages from Ray Ortlund, Jr, Bryan Chapell, Thabiti Anyabwile, myself, and Craig Cabaniss. Today, I’m just posting the songs we sang at the conference. Wednesday PM – Devon Kauflin and the Na Band How Great is Your Faithfulness (Matt Redman) Greater Than We Can Imagine (Mark Altrogge) Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Traditional) You Have Been Raised (Altrogge/Kauflin/Boer) Psalm 62 (Aaron Keyes/Stuart Townend) Name Above …
Share this post:
Love Divine – The Hymns of Charles Wesley, Updated (and win a free copy)
I think it was about 6 weeks ago that I received a copy of the CD, “Love Divine:The Songs of Charles Wesley for Today’s Generation,” which came out April 19. It’s a collection of Charles Wesley (1707-1788) hymns that have been set to music by John Hartley and Chris Eaton. There are a lot of hymns albums being made these days. In fact, I’m working on a post now that highlights some of the ministries and individuals who are participating in rearranging, rewriting, or composing hymns. Very exciting to see more people realizing that the songs we use for praising God can’t be restricted to ones that are driven more by melody and beat than lyrical …
Share this post:
Training Video for Jesus Lives
For a few years now I’ve wanted to produce training videos for Sovereign Grace songs that would break down a song into learnable sections for guitar players. They would also serve guitarists who have a hard time translating a full band album arrangement into something that can work for their small group. Matt Richley and Nathan Edwards (behind the cameras), two of three interns we’ve had this year, have been working on this project and finally finished the first one. In this video, Matt unpacks how to play the song “Jesus Lives” from our recent album, Risen. We’re already working on more videos and in the future hope to produce a few for …