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 …
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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“Jesus, Thank You” by Pat Sczebel
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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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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Song From NEXT2010 for Those Battling the Effects of Sin
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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Song for Those with Disabilities
The 16th chapter of my book, Worship Matters, is called “To Cherish God’s Presence.” I talk about how one of the effects of biblical corporate worship is a greater pursuit of God’s active presence. I wrote: For many years I’ve sung spontaneous songs during corporate worship that I believe are a form of prophecy. They’re similar to a spoken prophetic impression from the Lord, only they’re sung, they rhyme, and are often sung “from God to us.” I’ve never believed for a moment that the words I sing are “word for word” from the Lord. That’s called Scripture. But these songs seem to consistently communicate in verse the Lord’s …
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Ben Gowell’s Tips on Becoming a Better Electric Guitarist
I first met guitarist Ben Gowell when he played on our Worship God Live album back in 2005. He regularly plays for Paul Baloche and Sara Groves, and is currently on tour with Michael W. Smith. In other words, he’s pretty good. But really makes him special is that he played on our second kids’ CD, To Be Like Jesus, and co-produced and played on Walking with the Wise, coming out later this month. I’ve always been struck by Ben’s humility, his love for the church and his family, and his commitment to playing skillfully for the glory of God. So I asked him recently if he had any thoughts on how an electric guitarist might improve his skills, …
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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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Songlist from Next 2010
Got back yesterday from NEXT 2010. It was three and a half days of singing, preaching, and hanging out with about 2500 others who wanted to dig deeper into God and his Word. A powerful time. All the main session messages are available for download from the NEXT website. If you couldn’t make the conference, I’d encourage you to check them out. And if you did make it to NEXT, I’d download them to listen to them again. Josh Harris on foundations, Mark Dever on the work of Christ, Kevin DeYoung on Scripture and the Church, CJ Mahaney on sanctification, D.A. Carson on God, and Jeff Purswell on the end times. I’m posting the songs we sang at the …
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Winners of the Generation Letter Free Album Download
Thanks for the encouraging comments many of you left on my last post. I love to do what I can to support bands that are committed to theologically solid, gospel-centered modern worship songs. Sounds like a lot of you feel the same way. To pick the winners of the free album download I used a random number generator, knowing of course, that, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Prov. 16:33). Here’s who won: Michael King Josh (your email contains three colors) Terry Stauffer Jeff (from Dundee Baptist) Jonathan Tim Visher Buddy Eades Jason Vaughn Chad Justin Perry Each of the individuals …
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Free Song (and maybe a free album) from Generation Letter
I have the joy of leading the singing at Next this coming weekend in Baltimore, MD. I’ll be leading with three bands – The Na Band, Zelos, and Generation Letter. The first two bands have appeared at Next before, but this will be the first time for Generation Letter. All the members of Generation Letter – John, Stephen, George, Kyle, Abbott, and Alex – are from Metro Life Church in Orlando, FL. Along with leading corporate worship in their local church, they’ve also been busy making a record, winning awards, and serving in other ways. In 2008 and 2009 they won the John Lennon Song Writing contest in the Gospel category. Local radio stations …
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Are You a UK Church Planter?
This summer, July 8-10, Sovereign Grace Ministries will be holding our first UK church planting conference. My good friend Pete Greasley are hosting the conference at Christchurch in Newport, Wales this coming July 8-10. Also speaking is another good friend, Dave Harvey, who leads international expansion and church planting for Sovereign Grace Ministries. The conference is called [CO]MISSION UK, and its purpose is t to equip church planters as well as other men that feel called to ministry, and stir ambition for how God could be glorified through their lives. If you’re a church planter in the UK, or if you hope to plant a church …
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Three Keys to Becoming a Better Studio (or any kind of) Drummer
Our upcoming Spanish project, Alli en la Cruz, was recently mixed in Nashville by Billy Whittington, a gifted and humble engineer who has participated in other Sovereign Grace projects. He was assisted by John Behrens, who interned with me this past year, and Mauricio Velarde, whose songs and vocals are featured on the album. When I asked how it was going, John mentioned that he asked Billy how we could grow, since all the players have limited studio experience. Billy kindly shared his thoughts on “what makes a great studio drummer.” They were clear and to the point, partly because he has had to spend a lot of his “mixing” time lining up drum …
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O Great God at Together for the Gospel
Last month, we introduced a number of songs at the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, KY. O Great God was one of them. I originally wrote the song for our album, Valley of Vision, a collection of songs based on The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. It comes from the prayer, “Regeneration,” that begins: Occupy the throne of my heart, take full possession and reign supreme, lay low every rebel lust, let no vile passion resist they holy war; manifest thy mighty power, and make me thine for ever. Thou art worthy to be praised with my every breath, loved with my every faculty of soul served …