Our church is in the middle of a series on 1 Peter and we’ve been talking a lot about suffering. Peter starts off by telling us that we will be grieved by various kind of trials, “so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:7). For the Christian, trials are never purposeless, random, or wasted. God is using them to work out his perfect plans and to conform us to the image of his Son. How do we know this? Because he has promised in his Word that “for those who love God all things …
Archive | Worship in the Church
Posts regarding the direct practice of worship in the context of the local church.
When Should a Worship Song Be Retired?
I was talking with a pastor the other day about one of his worship leaders who has a hard time leaving old songs behind (as in “Shine, Jesus, Shine”). Apparently there are a few songs from the 80s that the worship leader still finds quite moving. Unfortunately, the pastor and many young members of the congregation don’t share his enthusiasm. Our conversation led me to think of a few questions that might be asked in this situation: Is it wrong to retire old songs? If they should be retired, how do you know the right time? Do we even need to be singing new songs? What makes a song “old?” Once a song is retired, should we ever bring it …
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Training the Next Generation to Hope in God, Not Us
At last year’s WorshipGod conference, I gave a message on The Future of Worship, based on the opening verses to Psalm 78. I’m increasingly aware of is how important it is to pass on the right things from generation to the next, and this message was an attempt to address that topic. Here’s a 3:45 video clip from that message where I’m focusing on Ps. 78:7: “so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” I talk about how important it is to make sure those who are following us are putting their hope in God and the gospel – not us, our musical preferences, our technology, or our efforts. What …
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What We Do in Secret
I’m in the sixth day of using Prof. Grant Horner’s Bible reading plan and thoroughly enjoying it. It involves reading from 10 different sections of the Bible each day, using bookmarks to keep your place. Each time I read I come away with a greater appreciation for God’s sovereignty over history and am already starting to see the benefits of Scripture commenting on Scripture. This morning one of my readings was Matthew 6. Three times these words caught my attention: And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Mt. 6:4, 5, 18) Jesus used that phrase when he was speaking about giving, praying, and fasting. It made me think more …
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Resolved Music and Enfield (and a free song)
Last weekend I attended the Resolved conference, led by Rick Holland from Grace Community Church. The conference is based on the Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards, and this year’s theme was Jesus. In eleven sessions, we got a fire-hydrant dose of why the person and work of Jesus Christ is so glorious and life-changing. This was my second Resolved conference. My good friend CJ Mahaney has spoken at all six, but I’ve gone the past two years to give away Sovereign Grace Music song sampler CDS to the 3000+ attendees. Being in Palm Springs hasn’t been bad either. The music for the conference is provided by Enfield, led by John Martin. John has …
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Walking with the Wise – Our Newest Kids’ Album
I’m thrilled that our latest kids’ album, Walking with the Wise, is finally available. This is the third Sovereign Grace kids’ album, the second being To Be Like Jesus (June 2009), and the first, Awesome God (Aug. 2004). Walking with the Wise contains 13 songs based on different verses from the book of Proverbs. Titles include W-I-S-D-O-M, Make Me Wise, A Good Friend, Lazy Bones, A Cheerful Heart, and All Ears. While the number of “worship CDs” for children has increased exponentially in recent years and may have reached a saturation point, many of them assume that kids are already Christians. One of our aims in making kids’ albums is to …
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What Goes Into Putting a Conference Song List Together for Next2010?
Every time I lead the singing at a conference it’s a learning experience. This year’s NEXT conference was no different. In this post I want to share some of the thinking behind the songs we sang. NEXT is a conference geared towards younger singles and married couples, so the majority of people who attend are probably between 17 and 30. This was the 11th year of the conference and was similar to past years. There were six morning and evening sessions, starting Friday night, with an afternoon session added on Saturday. I co-led with three separate bands: the Na Band (three times), Zelos (twice), and Generation Letter (once). Saturday afternoon …
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Dementia, Miscommunication, and Extraneous Sounds – Another Normal Sunday
This past Sunday I had the privilege (an overused word, yes, but always true) of leading the singing at my home church, Covenant Life. I’ve had requests to post more on what we do on Sundays, so here it is, my rundown of another normal Sunday. We’re in a series called “Living Hope” as we preach through the book of 1 Peter. Two Sundays ago we heard about the prophets who were faithful to prophesy about the grace that was to be ours and “searched and inquired carefully” (1 Pet. 1:10). So this week seemed like a great Sunday to teach the Getty/Townend song, By Faith. The song includes the verse: By faith the prophets saw a day When the longed-for …
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Songs from Together for the Gospel 2010
Here’s a list of the songs we sang at Together for the Gospel this year. You can download the four part arrangement we included in the T4G booklet by clicking on the title. Due to copyright restrictions, we can’t give away songs that aren’t public domain or are owned by someone other than Sovereign Grace Ministries. Tuesday Afternoon Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing And Can it Be There is a Fountain Speak, O Lord Tuesday Evening Before the Throne I Hear the Words of Love In Christ Alone Wednesday Morning How Firm a Foundation I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow My Song is Love Unknown How Deep the Father’s Love Wednesday …
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Reflections on Leading at Together for the Gospel 2010
Not too long ago I had the privilege and joy of leading the singing as 7000 people, mostly pastors, gathered in Louisville, KY for the Together for the Gospel conference. I’ve posted on why we picked the music we did and how I had a few more limitations this year. One limitation I didn’t expect was finding out four days before the conference that I had had strep throat for two weeks. Didn’t seem to affect my voice too much (not sure anyone would have noticed the difference anyway), but I was definitely operating at less than full capacity. All the messages were excellent, but I particularly appreciated Mark Dever’s (The Church is the Gospel …
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Help Us Choose the Cover for our Next Kids’ Album
Over on Facebook, we asked our Sovereign Grace Music fans to help us pick the idea for our next kids’ album, Walking with Wise. The technology didn’t quite work the way we hoped, so we thought we’d try again on WorshipMatters. First, a little info. As the title suggests, this album will be 13 songs based on the book of Proverbs, with titles like Lazy Bones, A Cheerful Heart, To Tell the Truth, and Trust in the Lord. We try to aim our kids’ albums at a 6-10 year old audience, although we’ve been told that older and younger children, and even parents, enjoy them, too. Since we’re aware that not every 6-10 year old who will be singing these …
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Learning to Live with Limitations at Together for the Gospel
The Rolling Stones, not generally known for wise words of instruction, reminded us of the truth that, “You can’t always get what you want.” Next week I have the joy and privilege of leading 7000+ Together for the Gospel conference attendees in singing the praises of our great Savior. Typically I lead with a full band, and enjoy the variety that can be achieved by adding various acoustic instruments, synths, percussion, and vocalists to the mix. But you can’t always get what you want. So at Together for the Gospel this year, it will just be me and a piano. Just like 2006 and 2008. Will I be limited? Yes. Will I praise God any less passionately? …
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What Do You Say When You Lead Worship? Part 3
I’m aware that for many people reading the question posed in the title of this post, their immediate and firm answer is, “Nothing!” I, too, have been the victim (and the perpetrator) of comments during corporate worship that are more distracting than helpful. That’s why I want to list ten practical aspects today that hopefully will keep a well-intentioned, zealous leader from misinterpreting what I’ve been saying. 1. Recognize that God’s words outlast ours. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions …
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What Do You Say When You Lead Worship? Part 2
Yesterday I described eight worship leader stereotypes who aren’t quite sure what to say when they’re standing in front of a group of people. Today I wanted to give four reasons why we should say anything. 1. Magnify When we’re leading corporate worship, our first responsibility is to magnify the greatness of God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. We’re saying with David, “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” (Ps. 34:3) When I use the word “magnify” I’m not referring to the way a microscope magnifies something very small, but to the way a telescope magnifies something very big that only …
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What Do You Say When You Lead Worship? Part 1
Last year at the WorshipGod conference I had the opportunity to teach a seminar called, “What Are You Talking About? What to Say When You’re Not Singing.” I wanted to address the age-old question of what to say, if anything, when you’re leading people in congregational worship. What words can inspire people to worship God as we sing, and what words might hinder them? I began by sharing that our first focus isn’t what we say in public, but what we pursue in private. Saying the right things without having the right heart leads to hypocrisy. We shouldn’t expect the church to be affected by truths that we ourselves haven’t been affected by. I …
