If there are any Sovereign Grace books, albums, or resources you’ve been thinking about getting or giving to someone else, now’s the time to order them. Our February sale ends tomorrow at midnight, and you just can’t buy this stuff cheaper anywhere else. We’re selling books for $7 or less. Here are a few I’d recommend: Humility: True Greatness (C.J. Mahaney) Living the Cross Centered Life ( C.J. Mahaney) When Sinners Say “I Do” (Dave Harvey) Sex is not the Problem (Lust Is) (Josh Harris) Worldliness (C.J. Mahaney, ed.) Worship Matters (not to sound self-promoting…) Here are some of our albums you can buy for $6: Sons & Daughters …
Songs that Celebrate the Resurrection in View of the Cross
I’ll never make any apologies for encouraging Christians to live cross-centered lives, or leaders to lead in gospel-centered ways. Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross which reconciled us to God will always be central to our faith. But while we are called to glory in the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:14), the death of Christ isn’t meant to stand alone in our thinking or preaching. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Cor. 15:17-19) Still, …
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How to Build Your Own God
I’ve been reading in Isaiah recently and have been freshly reminded of God’s hatred for idols and his passion for his own glory: Is. 43:11 I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. Is. 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Is. 45:21 Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. Idols deceive us. Idols defile us. Idols eventually …
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Leading in the Midst of Trials
I’ve been asked more than once how you can lead people in singing God’s praise when you’re going through your own personal trials. This past weekend I had the opportunity to find out first hand. I was out of town last week and on Wednesday morning received a call from my son, Jordan. He and his wife, Tali, have three young boys, and they’re currently living with us as Jordan attends the Sovereign Grace Pastor’s College. “Dad, do you have a few minutes?” he asked. I wasn’t expecting what he said next. “We had to take Jack to the hospital last night. The doctors say he has cancer.” I had one of those moments when the world seems to stop …
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We Have a Winner
Last night, in the last four hours before midnight, we had a rush of people voting for their favorite To Be Like Jesus video. It was close. At the end of the day (12:02 AM to be exact), Abby Cannon’s video “To Be Like Jesus” edged out Jon Ruth’s video “Gotta Wait” by two votes. The final tally was 123-121. Both videos were really well done. So, in light of that fact, we’re giving the Cannons the $250 Amazon.com first prize, and awarding the Ruth family a $150 Amazon.com gift card. Thanks to both families for participating and for everyone who voted! We plan to have a similar contest for our next kid’s project, Walking with the Wise, …
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Adopting for Life Conference
Last year Sovereign Grace released an album called Sons & Daughters. It contained 12 songs that reflected on and celebrated the mystery of our adoption in Christ. As 1 John 3:1 tells us, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” When the organizers of the Adopting for Life Conference (Louisville, KY, February 26-27, 2010) called us, we thought the attendees would appreciate the album in a unique way. So we’ll be giving away 50 copies of Sons & Daughters at the conference. Russell Moore, Dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary …
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Who Should Win Our To Be Like Jesus Video Contest?
Two months ago I invited people to send in videos based on one of the songs from our most recent kids’ album, To Be Like Jesus (now available for $6 during our February sale). The best video would receive a $250 Amazon.com gift card. We narrowed it down to two finalists. The first, Gotta Wait, is from Jonathan Ruth. The second, To Be Like Jesus, is from the Cannon family. I need your help to pick the winner. To vote, watch both videos and leave a comment letting us know which one you like best (one vote per person). Feel free to elaborate on why you’re casting your vote. If you have kids, you may want to find out which video is their favorite. The …
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Open the Eyes of My (Face), Lord
Paul Baloche’s song, “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” has been sung by millions of Christians throughout the world. It’s a song based on Ephesians 1, asking God to open our spiritual eyes that we might know him better. But I wonder if those of us who lead congregational worship shouldn’t be asking God to open our physical eyes, too. Why do leaders close their eyes so often? Not just for a few moments, but for 5, 10, even 15 minutes. I’ve seen leaders and vocalists keep their eyes shut from the first note we sing to the final “Amen” of the closing prayer. There are definitely some good reasons to close our eyes. We want to shut out distractions. …
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The Outrageous Sovereign Grace February Sale is Back!
Welcome to a full month of ridiculously low prices on Sovereign Grace music and books. We call it our February sale. For the past two years during the month of February, we reduced the prices of all the resources we produce. The response has been 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 rock bottom prices: all CDs produced by Sovereign Grace Music (including Sons & Daughters, To Be LIke Jesus, Together for the Gospel Live, Psalms, Awesome God, In a Little While, Valley of Vision, and more): $6 each All Sovereign Grace album downloads …
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Can Singing About the Gospel Become Rote?
One of the drums I will never tire of beating is this: All biblical worship is rooted in and made possible by the cross of Christ. In my experience, the contemporary church (and any church, for that matter) is always in danger of neglecting the gospel in its songs. I said it this way in my book, Worship Matters: The gospel is not merely one of many possible themes we can touch on as we come to worship God. It is the central and foundational theme. All our worship originates and is brought into focus at the cross of Jesus Christ. Glorying in Jesus Christ means glorying in his cross. That doesn’t mean looking at some icon or two pieces …
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Future Sovereign Grace Albums
In a previous post I talked about the Sovereign Grace songwriting retreat and where our songs come from. While we’d love to simply produce songs that are being written by writers in their local churches, we’re trying to steward our songwriting resources in a way we think will better serve the church at large. So we talk and pray about what gaps exist in the modern worship song repertoire, or what topics we think might serve our churches and the church at large. That means our albums are more intentional and thematic. We also asked our Sovereign Grace Music Facebook fans for their thoughts and got some great ideas. So here are some of the albums …
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Longing for His Appearing – and Singing About It
Whatever you believe about the timing of the return of Christ, orthodox Christians all agree on one thing: Jesus is coming back. Scripture tells us that when Jesus finally returns, all wrongs will be made right, the unrighteous will be judged, and those who have trusted in Christ will enter into the immediate presence of God in the new heavens and new earth. God promises that there will be no more sin, no more tears, no more death, and no more pain (2Thess. 2:8; Phil. 3:20-21; Rev. 21:4). And “when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). With those kinds of promises, you’d expect that we’d be thinking …
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To Be Like Jesus Video – Where’s Yours?
Each summer my church holds an event for 6-10 year olds called Summer Celebration, led by one of our pastors, Mike Bradshaw. It’s a week long event filled with fun, games, teaching, songs, and encouragement. The leadership team (which includes a significant number of high schoolers) invests hours of planning and preparation with the goal of directing the hearts and minds of kids to God’s character and the gift of salvation he offers us through his Son. It’s been a great opportunity to minister to kids from our church as well as guests. And make no mistake about it – it’s a high energy, exhausting week. But the fruit has been sweet. Last …
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Where Do Sovereign Grace Songs Come From?
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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Reflections on Turning 55
55. A speed limit. Five years past half a century. LV. Double nickels. And today, my age. I finally qualify for the 10% senior discount at Jiffy Lube. I remember when 55 seemed really old. Right now it feels like the prime of life. What does a 55 year old worship leader think about? Here’s a sample… 1. The years I have left for fruitful ministry are dwindling. Used to be I never thought much about death. Now I think about it at least weekly. Life is short, and it keeps getting shorter. I estimate I have between 10-20 more years of fruitful ministry, Lord willing. Then again, I may not live to see 2011. A lot to accomplish before …
