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Matt Redman’s We Shall Not Be Shaken – Review

By on November 4, 2009 in —Choosing Songs, —Music Reviews

I first met Matt Redman in 1997 when I was over in England for a worship conference. In a few minutes of conversation a few things stood out to me. He was a young man passionate about impacting his generation with worship songs that communicated biblical truth about God and not simply emotional responses. He was theologically aware and gospel-focused. He was articulate. And he was humble. Over the past years my first impressions have not only been confirmed; they’ve been deepened. After listening to his latest album, We Shall Not Be Shaken, I found myself thanking God once again for Matt’s faithfulness to serve the church with his songwriting …

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What Do You Want to Be Remembered For?

By on October 28, 2009 in —Training a Team, —WorshipGod Conferences

Here’s another clip from the message I gave at WorshipGod09 on “The Future of Worship.” (You can find two posts from the same message here and here.) In verse 8 the psalmist references a previous generation “whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.” They were remembered as NOT being faithful, and NOT being steadfast. Have you thought much about what YOU want to be remembered for? That’s the question I ask in this 2 1/2 minute clip from my message. …

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Can We Even Sing in the Same Room?

By on October 23, 2009 in —Leading Youth, —Worship and Music, —WorshipGod Conferences

In a previous post I referenced a message I gave at WorshipGod09 on “The Future of Worship,” based on Psalm 78. Here’s a 3 1/2 minute excerpt from the message where I talk about the importance of finding musical styles that multiple generations can sing together. …

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The Songs We Sing Make a Difference – J.C. Ryle on Augustus Toplady

By on October 22, 2009 in —Choosing Songs, —Songwriting

In his book, Christian Leaders of the 18th Century, J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) spends a chapter on August Toplady, the gifted but often contentious hymn-writer/pastor who penned “Rock of Ages.” I appreciated Ryle’s comments on the effect of writing good songs for the church to sing. It makes me more aware of the importance of leading and writing songs for congregational worship. Good hymns are an immense blessing to the Church of Christ. I believe the last day alone will show the world the real amount of good they have done. They suit all, both rich and poor. There is an elevating, stirring, soothing, spiritualizing, effect about a thoroughly …

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Psalms CD on Sale

By on October 13, 2009 in —Sovereign Grace Music

Recently, we received some good news. Worship Leader magazine picked our Psalms album as one of the “Best of the Best” products for 2009. We were pretty surprised, especially since we released the album in August 2008. But hey, we’re not going to complain. To celebrate, we’ve dropped the price for the Psalms CD to $8 (33% off our usual price) through the end of November. You can also download the digital album for $6 (25% off). As always, U.S. orders over $15 get free shipping. Psalms contains twelve songs echoing the passion, prayers, and praises of the psalmists. If you haven’t heard it yet, you can preview it with a free download of …

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Planning and the Holy Spirit

By on October 8, 2009 in —Leading a Congregation, —Worship and the Spirit, —WorshipGod Conferences

Here’s another video clip from WorshipGod09, where Jeff Purswell is interviewing CJ Mahaney and me about some of the things we’ve learned over three decades of leading. In this section we talk about the importance of planning as well as listening for  the Spirit’s leading during the meeting. In my experience, people tend to value one or the other. Either we trust completely in our plan and wouldn’t think of veering from it, or we minimize preparation and think God is only active when something spontaneous happens. When it comes to leading corporate worship, both planning AND spontaneity are important values. If you’re interested in …

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The Limits of Creativity in Corporate Worship

By on October 5, 2009 in —Leading a Congregation, —Leading Youth, —Sound and Tech

At WorshipGod09, CJ Mahaney and I were interviewed by Jeff Purswell on various things we’ve learned over the years about worship. I posted the entire clip of the interview in a previous post. One of the topics we touched on was the place of creativity and excellence when we gather to sing God’s praise. The world around us proclaims unceasingly that God is a creative God. Melodies, harmonies, and  rhythms can be combined in a seemingly endless number of ways to create new tunes to sing to the Savior. Technology has enabled us to do much more, more quickly, and much more effectively for the glory of God and the good of his church. But if …

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Mark Altrogge at WorshipGod09, Take 2

By on October 2, 2009 in —WorshipGod Conferences, Videos

Yesterday I posted a video of Mark Altrogge at WorshipGod09 pulling a ticket out of a jar to announce the winner of a prize drawing. Sounds simple, I know. Here’s another video, demonstrating how in the hands of a master, a simple task can become a 12 minute comedy routine. If you haven’t had enough of Altrogge humor, you can visit the Sovereign Grace Vimeo site. …

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Mark Altrogge (alias Ticket Boy) at WorshipGod09

By on October 1, 2009 in —WorshipGod Conferences, Videos

Mark Altrogge is a multi-talented man. His songs have been sung across the world (I Stand in Awe, Forever Grateful) and he continues to be one of the most prolific, humble songwriters I know. He’s also a caring husband and dad, and a superb pastor at his church in Indiana, Pa. Not to mention, he’s a gifted artist and a great writer. On top of all these talents, Mark is one of the funniest guys I know. He’s simply brilliant at making fun of his friends (and lest you misunderstand, he wrote a post on this topic over at the blog he writes with his son, Stephen). For years, he’s been using his humor to encourage WorshipGod attendees. At WorshipGod09, …

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Story Behind “The Father’s Love” from Sons & Daughters

By on September 30, 2009 in —Songwriting, —Sovereign Grace Music

This past Sunday at my home church, we taught one of the songs from Sons & Daughters, The Father’s Love. It’s an uptempo song that elaborates on the theme of 1 John 3:1: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” It was written by Joel Sczebel, who’s dad, Pat, has been writing songs for Sovereign Grace for years. Pat has done a brilliant job passing on his love for the Savior, the church, and music to his kids. I asked Joel about how this song came together and here’s what he wrote: “The song was essentially born out of a quiet time where I was meditating on the doctrine …

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Sons & Daughters Now on iTunes

By on September 29, 2009 in —Sovereign Grace Music

You can now download our latest CD, Sons & Daughters, on iTunes. Sons & Daughters contains 12 songs that celebrate God adopting us through Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:5). We are now part of God’s family—in Christ we will forever be the objects of God’s particular and passionate mercy and love. That biblical reality, rather than leaving us focused on ourselves, drives us once again to proclaim the greatness of the God whose grace turns hopeless rebels into precious children. You can check out lyrics and download free charts and lead sheets over at the Sovereign Grace webstore. …

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Christ-Centered Worship by Bryan Chappell – Book Review

By on September 26, 2009 in —Books, —Leading a Congregation, —Worship and Christ, —Worship and the Church

Just finished Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice, by Bryan Chappell. Bottom line — if you’re responsible for leading, overseeing, or planning corporate worship in your church, you should read this book. Chappell divides the book into two sections, Gospel Worship and Gospel Worship Resources. A casual look at the Table of Contents could lead you to think the book is all about formal liturgies, and irrelevant for churches that come from a more “free” tradition. Not the case. In the first section he defines liturgy as “the public way a church honors God in its times of gathered praise, prayer, instruction, and commitment” …

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By This We Know Love – Video from Next Live 2009

By on September 24, 2009 in —Next/New Attitude, —Songwriting, —Worship and Christ, Videos

This past May I had the joy of leading the singing at the Next conference in Baltimore, MD, along with three different bands. One of them was Zelos, led by Judah Groveman. We introduced one of Judah’s songs, By This We Know Love. It’s a simple ballad that communicates the profound truth of 1 John 3:16: “By this we know love, thathe laid down his life for us.” Here are the lyrics: God of all Creation, Lord of heaven’s light Descended into evil’s darkest night Infinitely Holy, Your perfections know no end Selflessly You died my rightful death By this we know love that He laid down His life God’s very own Son came from Heaven to die Suspended …

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Lessons Learned From Three Decades of Leading

By on September 10, 2009 in —Expressiveness, —Free Messages, —Interviews, —Leading a Congregation, —Worship and Christ, —Worship and the Pastor, —WorshipGod Conferences

On Friday night at WorshipGod09, Jeff Purswell interviewed CJ Mahaney and me about some things we had learned over thirty years of leading, much of that together. From the early 90’s I was involved in leading the music at various Sovereign Grace conferences, and then in 1997 I became the worship pastor at Covenant Life Church, where CJ was senior pastor. CJ has been the most significant influence in my life when it comes to the focus and practicals of leading congregational worship. During the interview, Jeff asked us about different topics including the role of the senior pastor in planning/leading corporate worship, encouraging your …

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Twenty-four Free MP3s from WorshipGod09 Now Available

By on September 8, 2009 in —Free Messages, —WorshipGod Conferences

Twenty four seminars from WorshipGod09: From Generation to Generation are now available at the Sovereign Grace Ministries website. And they’re all free. I’ve listed some of the seminars you can choose from below. Click on the title to download the MP3. You can also visit the Sovereign Grace Ministries website to download the pdfs or check out more seminars. Clean Hands and a Pure Heart – Pat Sczebel Thoughts on how we can weaken the power of indwelling sins like envy, lust, anger, and pride by pursuing greater satisfaction in Christ. Developing a Music Academy for God’s Glory – Ken and Rachael Boer Speaking from their experience …

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