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Love Divine - Cover

Love Divine – The Hymns of Charles Wesley, Updated (and win a free copy)

By on July 5, 2011 in —Free Sheet Music, —Hymns, —Music Reviews, —Song Downloads, —Songwriting

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 …

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Spontaneous Song from NEXT 2011 for Those Who Have Lost a Parent

By on June 18, 2011 in —Next/New Attitude, —Spiritual Gifts, —Spontaneous Song

As I was preparing for the NEXT conference a few weeks ago, I had an ongoing impression that God wanted to minister through a prophetic song to attendees who had lost one or both parents unexpectedly. I wasn’t aware that two of the testimonies that were going to be shared at the conference referenced parents who had died recently. In any case, I ended up sharing a spontaneous song on Sunday night when I was leading corporate worship with Generation Letter. A number of people said the song encouraged them and have asked for a copy of it. You can download the audio by right-clicking here. You can also listen to it here: [audio:https://worshipmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/those_who_have_lost_parents1.mp3|titles=those_who_have_lost_parents] I’ve …

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What I Love About Sojourn Music

By on June 16, 2011 in —Leading a Team, —Song Downloads, —Songwriting

This past weekend I had the joy of hanging out with Mike Cosper and the gang from Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY. Mike is one of the pastors at the church and heads up Sojourn Music. He’ll be leading a band for one of the main sessions at WorshipGod11 and also co-leading a guitar workshop on “tone, gear, and playing together.” It was a quick trip that included leading a songwriting workshop, dinner at an amazing Mexican restaurant with a bunch of the guys who lead the music for Sojourn (including Jamie Barnes and Brooks Ritter), attending one of the Sunday AM meetings, and leading the singing for the two evening meetings (5 and …

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You Have Been Raised

From Album to Sunday Morning

By on May 21, 2011 in —Arranging, —Choirs, —Easter, Videos

When Sovereign Grace produces an album, one of our main goals is to write songs that can be sung by local churches. Songs that are singable, memorable, and theologically informed. Another one of our goals is to make albums that are musically creative enough to bear repeated listenings without sounding tired. Those two goals can compete with each other, at times making it challenging to take a song on an album to Sunday morning. One of the ways we’re hoping to address that issue is by producing training videos that present songs as they might be played in a small group. You can find one for Jesus Lives here and one for You Have Been Raised here. Another …

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Want to Become a Better Songwriter? Here’s Help

By on February 11, 2011 in —Songwriting

Over the years we’ve offered numerous seminars on songwriting at the WorshipGod conferences, taught primarily by Steve & Vikki Cook and Mark Altrogge, but also by guests that we’ve had at the conference. I thought it would be helpful to put them all in one place, so here they are. Whatever stage you’re at in your songwriting journey (and we never seem to “arrive”), I think you’ll find something here that will inspire you to be more faithful with your gifts. Mark, Steve, and Vikki will be returning with more thoughts for songwriters to this year’s WorshipGod conference: The Gathering, Aug. 10-13. I expect the website and registration …

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Christmas Mystery

By on December 23, 2010 in —Christmas, —Songwriting

Christmas Mystery He who forged Earth’s iron core And scattered stars to distant skies Came shattered beauty to restore And answer lost ones’ mournful cries. A God who stands among the weak To lift each burden that they face, To lift away their bondage bleak And give them strength in holy grace. The star of hope for all the years, Though spoken of through ages past, Lies born in dust and blood and tears Without His glorious trumpets’ blast. Yet in His tiny hand He holds The power that built the mountains high. His glory shatters earthly molds As angels’ voices split the sky. The angel heralds call out clear To tell us of …

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Spontaneous Song for Those Facing Impossible Situations

By on December 18, 2010 in —Christmas, —Other Events, —Spontaneous Song, —Worship and the Spirit, Devotions

During the Christmas season, many people find themselves in the midst of impossibly difficult circumstances. They find out the hard way that pain and sorrow are no respecters of holidays. For these individuals, Christmas becomes the most terrible time of the year. Recently I ran across an insightful and hopeful post by Matt Redmond called “Christmas is for Those Who Hate it Most.” He writes, “We have it sunk deep into our collective cultural consciousness that Christmas is for the happy people. You know, those with idyllic family situations enjoyed around stocking-strewn hearth dreams.” Matt then goes on to remind us that Jesus came for those …

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Songs that Reference God’s Judgments

By on November 30, 2010 in —Choosing Songs, —Songwriting, —Worship and Eschatology, —Worship and God

In a recent post, I suggested that we generally shy away from singing songs about God’s judgments, but that judgment is a theme found in many Psalms and Scriptural songs. I promised that I’d follow up with a post that suggested some songs we can sing that reference God’s judgments and help us think about them in a way that honors God, encourages a passion for holiness, and strengthens our confidence in the gospel. So one month later, here we are. (If you didn’t read my previous post, please read it to get the context.) Before listing the songs, it’s important to mention a few things. First, God is the Judge, not us. We’re concerned about …

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king-of-grace

King of Grace 10 Year Anniversary Contest and Song Giveaway

By on October 22, 2010 in —Arranging, —Contests, —Song Downloads, —Sovereign Grace Music

Ten years ago Sovereign Grace Music released King of Grace. It immediately became one of our most popular recordings. It features twelve songs that cover themes including the gospel, justification, the cross, evangelism, sanctification, heaven, and passion for God. The musical moods range from joyful celebration to quiet reflection. Although the songs are 10 years old, we’ve continued to use a number of them. But a lot has happened in the last ten years musically. These songs were arranged in the late nineties and I’d love to hear fresh arrangements of them. So we’re going to have a contest. I’m giving away two free registrations …

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Review of God’s Lyrics by Douglas Sean O’Donnell

By on October 14, 2010 in —Choosing Songs, —Songwriting

A few weeks ago I finished God’s Lyrics: Rediscovering Worship Through Old Testament Songs. O’Donnell “draws out the historical, exegetical, and theological significance of the songs of Moses, Deborah, Hannah, David, and Habakkuk. He then shows, in the light of the person and work of Jesus Christ, how the lyrics of God’s Word apply to contemporary congregational singing.” (from the back cover) In other words, he’s seeking to answer the question, “What can Old Testament songs teach us about the songs we use for corporate worship today?” His answer? A lot. O’Donnell chose this method for two reasons. First, these songs provide “unique poetic …

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"Jesus, Thank You" by Pat Sczebel

“Jesus, Thank You” by Pat Sczebel

By on June 24, 2010 in —Next/New Attitude, —Songwriting, —Worship and Christ

Back in 2005 we produced an album called Worship God Live, a live album that featured Pat Sczebel and me each leading six songs. Pat serves as one of the pastors at Crossway Community Church, in Surrey, British Columbia. He’s been a dear friend for years. Pat inspires me in many ways. He’s one of the most encouraging guys I know. He’s a caring husband, a faithful dad, a diligent pastor, and he has a heart for the lost. But most of all, I’m affected by his genuine love for Jesus Christ. Through a variety of circumstances, in want and fruitfulness, Pat’s love for the Savior has produced encouragement, hope, and faith that affects everyone around …

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Song From NEXT2010 for Those Battling the Effects of Sin

By on June 8, 2010 in —Next/New Attitude, —Song Downloads, —Spontaneous Song, —Worship and the Spirit

Yesterday I posted a song I sang at the NEXT conference for those with disabilities. A week or so before the conference began, I had a growing sense that there would be people at the conference who would be encouraged by attending, but would be battling the effects of sexual sin – either condemnation for sin in the past, or struggles with sin in the present. A preoccupation with either could rob them from enjoying the fruit from the conference. As the conference went on, that sense grew stronger. As I prayed for those individuals, I again thought that the Lord might want to encourage them through a song. I could have simply shared my impression …

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Where Do Sovereign Grace Songs Come From?

By on January 15, 2010 in —Songwriting, —Sovereign Grace Music

I have a sweet job. One of my responsibilities is to oversee the production of Sovereign Grace albums. Some of you have asked where the songs for those albums come from, and what the process looks like. I’m right in the middle of a three day retreat with 18 songwriters from various Sovereign Grace churches, so I thought now would be a good time to answer that question. Last fall I worked with C.J. Mahaney and Jeff Purswell to determine what albums we wanted to produce in the coming year. That would set the course for a significant part of my job description. We determined that I’d focus on four main projects (I’ll share those details …

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Paul Baloche Talks About His New Album, Glorious

By on November 24, 2009 in —Music Reviews, —Songwriting

Yesterday I reviewed Paul Baloche’s new album, Glorious. I emailed Paul a few questions which he was kind enough to answer. As long as I’ve known Paul he has always been gracious and  humble. His songs are sung across the world, yet he consistently encourages those around him, laughs at himself, and directs people’s hearts to the glory of  Jesus Christ. He’s also been serving in his local church for the past 20 years. So grateful for his example of humility. Here’s the interview: 1.  How do you hope people who listen to this album will be affected? I hope that they will be inspired to wonder- to inquire- to lean in to the glory and mystery …

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Matt Redman Interview

By on November 5, 2009 in —Music Reviews, —Songwriting

I asked Matt Redman if he could fill us in on some of the background to his latest album, We Shall Not Be Shaken, which I reviewed yesterday. His responses give some insight into the songwriting process, as well as Matt’s humility. Themes of God’s sovereignty pervade the songs on this album. Why did you choose to make that focus for this album? I had a sense that many people right now need re-assurance that God is in control in their lives. So many recent events, particularly economic ones, have reminded us that much of this life and this world is fragile, temporary and changing. We’ve heard so many statistics about mortgage payments defaults …

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