I often wonder how to define the age range for our kid’s albums. For “To Be Like Jesus,” our target age was 6-10 year olds. But on the CD we’ve described the age range as “6 and up.” I recently received an email from Abby, a mom I know, that reminded me why we shouldn’t put a cap on the upper age limit. “To Be Like Jesus” has been an amazing means of encouragement and enjoyment not just for Jack and Charli (6 & 4), but especially for me. Every song has brought tears to my eyes as I’ve been affected by the truths from scripture. The lyrics are extrememly practical and helpful for growing in and understanding the fruit of the Spirit …
Archive | Books, CDs, Websites
Next 2009 Live Now Available for Download
The Next 2009 conference took place in Baltimore, Maryland May 30-June 2. Over 2500 people gathered to worship Jesus Christ in song, to study his Word, and to rediscover who he is and what he has done. I had the privilege of leading the songs along with three different bands: the Na Band, Reilly, and Zelos. Some of the sessions also featured a 14 piece string section. We were able to record the event and are now offering Next 2009 Live, a 13 song download for $5. That’s right – 13 songs for 5 bucks. Where else are you going to find a deal like that? The songs on the download album are: God Over All (Devon Kauflin) Na Band His Name …
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To Be Like Jesus Now on iTunes
Just wanted you to know that you can now purchase our latest kids’ CD, To Be Like Jesus, on iTunes. If you want to know more about the project you check out my post on it or visit the Sovereign Grace Music site. …
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To Be Like Jesus Kid’s CD Now Available
I’m very happy to announce that our new album for kids, To Be Like Jesus, is now available at the Sovereign Grace online store. Why another kid’s CD? A few reasons. We think there’s a need for more children’s songs that aren’t simply adult songs with kid’s voices. We’d like to see more kid’s songs that proclaim truth rather than express love for God, which many children don’t have yet. We wanted kids to see that God wants us to be joyful, loving, faithful, gentle, etc., because that’s the way he is. We also wanted kids to see that it’s impossible to be joyful, loving, faithful, gentle, etc. apart from believing the gospel and being …
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Preview Songs from Our New Kid’s CD: To Be Like Jesus
You can now sample songs from our next children’s CD, To Be Like Jesus, at the Sovereign Grace Music website. The album is scheduled for release later this month. To Be Like Jesus contains 12 songs. Ten of them are based on the qualities listed as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. I know only nine are listed there, but we included two on self-control because…well, any parent knows why we have two songs on self-control. The other two songs teach that God wants to make us like his Son, and when he does, we bear the fruit of the Spirit. We tried hard to avoid two extremes on this project. The first is assuming that every kid singing …
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How to Get Two Free Songs from Our New Kid’s CD (for Facebook fans)
Over on the Sovereign Grace Music Facebook site we have a race going on. In mid-June we plan to release our second kid’s CD, To Be Like Jesus. (The first was Awesome God). It’s 12 songs based on the fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5. The songs teach that these qualities (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.) come from God himself, and that we can’t have them apart from knowing Jesus as the Savior. Yesterday, Stephen Altrogge let our Facebook fans know of a way to get two free songs from the CD when it comes out. Here’s what he wrote: Okay here’s the deal. At this exact moment we have 5,348 [UPDATE: now 6220] dedicated fans of Sovereign …
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Drabbles from the Depths
I didn’t know what a “drabble” was until just recently. It’s an extremely short work of fiction of exactly 100 words in length. Nicole McLernon, 21 year old daughter of my good friends Mike and Patty McLernon, recently wrote a “super-drabble” – ten drabbles in a row. She based it on some of the lyrics to my song, Out of the Depths, from our Psalms CD. Nicole unpacks what it might mean to “wait on the Lord” when you find out your daughter has cancer. Although her piece is fictional, the situation is all too familiar. I was affected by her portrayal of a struggling heart learning to submit to God’s wisdom and truth revealed in the gospel. This …
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Crazy Sovereign Grace Music and Book Sale
We’re doing it again. Having a ridiculous sale, that is. Last year, during the month of February, we reduced the prices of our CDs and books. The response was overwhelming. So we decided to repeat the lunacy. Here’s the deal: From February 1–28, at the Sovereign Grace store, you’ll find these prices: Sovereign Grace books (23 of them, including Worship Matters, Worldliness, and Living the Cross Centered Life): $7 each all CDs produced by Sovereign Grace Music (including Together for the Gospel Live, Psalms, Come Weary Saints, Awesome God, In a Little While, and Valley of Vision): $6 each all books in our Pursuit of Godliness …
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When God Comes to Church
As 2008 turned over to 2009 I was in the midst of reading When God Comes to Church by Ray Ortlund, Jr. I didn’t want the year to get too far before I shared some great quotes from this book that came out in 2000. The first half of the book describes what God does to bring revival (comes down, reinvigorates, heals, pours out his Spirit, raises up, and restores).The second half describes what we can do to prepare the way (return, seek, humble ourselves). Each chapter is an expositional treatment of a specific Old Testament passage. Ortlund begins with, “Revival is a season in the life of the church when God causes the normal ministry of …
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Sovereign Grace CDs in the UK
I just came across this comment on the Sovereign Grace Music Facebook site: SGM is available in the UK through 10ofthose.com for £10 a CD. We are about to place a new order from the states so if there is a CD you’d like that we currently are out of stock of please email us at info@10ofthose.com and we will order it in for you.
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“Psalms” CD nominated!
We just learned that Worship Leader magazine has included our Psalms CD as one of six choices for the “Best Worship Compilation CD” for 2008. Boy, were we surprised. There in the midst of Passion, CeCe Winans, and WOW Gospel, is Sovereign Grace Ministries. There are six CDs in the category, and I’d like to think you might vote for Psalms. Please check the other great CDs listed; but if you think Psalms merits the title, your vote could mean more people becoming aware of our music. Voting ends on December 31! In any case, we’re grateful for the opportunity to produce music that serves the church and magnifies the greatness of our Savior; …
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What a Team Likes in a Stage Manager
I’ve mentioned the blog of our tech director, Dave Wilcox, before. It’s called “Undistract,” which I think is a great name for a blog devoted to the media and technical aspects of a church. Recently Dave shared some thoughts on how a stage manager can best serve a band during rehearsal. The relationship between bands and sound team members can be tense at times, due to misunderstandings, poor communication, and sinful hearts. That’s why I so appreciate Dave highlighting how one new stage manager, Kami, recently did a great job serving the musicians. If you’re in small church, don’t be thrown off by the term “stage manager.” Dave defines …
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Is Talent Overrated?
I just finished reading Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, by Geoff Colvin. Fascinating book. Giftedness is a topic that I’ve thought about a lot. Are we selling ourselves short by assuming that we’ll never be as good a keyboardist, vocalist, guitarist, drummer, or whatever, as the people we esteem? Colvin begins the book by examining the lives of several famous “greats,” including Tiger Woods, Mozart, Jack Welch, and Jerry Rice. He says that most people think their greatness arose either from a) hard work; or b) talent. Colvin says neither, and uses scientific and anecdotal evidence to support …
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New Format, Same Blog
I’m trying out a new format for Worship Matters that I’ll be working on for the next few days. Of course, if you get Worship Matters by email or RSS, you won’t even notice. If you have any thoughts in the mean time for things I could add or change, please let me know. Thanks.
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Together for the Gospel CD Now Available
Last April I had the joy of leading over 5000 individuals, mostly men, in times of corporate worship at the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, KY. Dave Mackenzie, who works for Sovereign Grace, set up mics to record the event, and I’m happy to let you know you can now buy the CD at the Sovereign Grace store. I’ll warn you. If you’re looking for incredible drum tracks, awesome guitar sounds, and a thumping bass, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Together for the Gospel Live is just me on the piano and 5000 voices belting out 16 hymns, old and new, that magnify the gospel and glory of Christ. That’s it. Turns out that’s enough. …
