A few weeks ago we posted the first song from “The Acoustic Sessions,” Our Only Hope is You. These are going to be stripped down versions of songs we’ve recorded on Sovereign Grace albums. We’re starting with songs from Grace Has Come, our latest release, but plan on going back to other albums and recording arrangements that are easier for a smaller church, or any church for that matter, to adapt. In this video, Devon, McKenzie, and Jonatan offer a simpler version of the song, It’s Your Grace. I wrote this song with Doug Plank, a good friend and a pastor at Crossway Church of Lancaster, PA. Right before he left for a two week trip …
Search results for "music: Gift or god"
What I’ve Been Working On (not this blog, obviously)
When I first started Worship Matters two years ago, I was posting five days a week. I’ve loosened up some on the schedule since then… I’ve been working on a chapter for a book on worldliness edited by my good friend, C.J. Mahaney. Crossway will be publishing it some time next year. It originated from a series of messages we gave at our a few years back on 1 John 2:15-17. My chapter develops the thought that listening to music without discernment or godly intent reveals a heart willing to flirt with the world. Other chapters address possessions, media, modesty. The final chapter suggests ways God has called us to love the world around us. Most …
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Top Ten Ways to Write Bad Worship Songs
In my eleven years as director of worship development for Sovereign Grace Churches, I’ve reviewed hundreds of worship songs and written a few of my own. Not all of them have been stellar. Actually, very few of them have been. I’ve noticed recurring tendencies that keep weak songs from becoming good or great songs. I’m intimately acquainted with those tendencies in my own songs and I’ve listed my top ten below. While these thoughts are meant for songwriters, most of them apply to leading worship as well. So if you want to write bad worship songs, follow these simple tips: 1. Aim to write the next worldwide worship hit.It’s already been …
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Quality or Quantity on the Worship Team?
I recently received this question from John: We currently have four worship teams, giving 15-20 people a month a chance to lead in music, either by singing or playing an instrument. I’d guess that a quarter of these people are very skilled musically, and have been split among the four teams. We’ve discussed cutting the number of teams down to one or two that would be much more musically adept; the downside of this is that many “moderate” musicians would no longer have a chance to share their musical gifts as a part of worship. We want to be sensitive to everyone, yet provide the highest quality music possible for all of the obvious reasons. What …
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How Familiar Should Songs Be?
I recently received these questions from Lisa, a music coordinator whose church has had an influx of new guests. People are starting to comment more frequently that they don’t know the songs being sung. That situation has raised these questions: 1. How important do you think familiarity is in facilitating worship? 2. Do you limit your pick list somehow, even “retiring” good songs? If so, how? 3. How can we help our congregation familiarize themselves with the songs we sing, outside of church? I’ve often heard it said that singing familiar songs contributes to people engaging in true worship of God. While a well known song can often …
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Twelve Reasons to Come to WorshipGod11
Do we really need one more worship conference? That’s the question I ask myself every other year as I start planning for the next WorshipGod conference. And since WorshipGod11: The Gathering is on the calendar for Aug. 10-13, 2011, my answer to the question is obviously yes. I did a post in January describing my thinking behind the conference. Basically, I want to address and adjust our tendency to think of meetings as separate compartments and pieces and move us towards discovering how we can tell the story of the gospel every time we gather. After all, that’s what Christians have been doing for a couple thousand years. There are reasons …
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“O Holy Night” Revisited
A few years ago, my friend, Kevin Hartnett, wrote two new verses for the classic and well-loved carol, “O Holy Night.” We ended up recording his version on our new album, Prepare Him Room. We called it O Holy Night (Hear the Gospel Story). Any time you mess with a “classic and well-loved” carol, you’re bound to get some questions. Why change something that has been popular for so many years? Why fix what ain’t broke? The original lyrics for “O Holy Night” were written in 1847 by Placide Capeau, a Frenchman, at the request of his parish priest. The author was so encouraged by what he had written that he asked his Jewish friend and composer, …
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I’m Giving (I Gave) Away 100 Albums
UPDATE: We’ve now reached our goal of 100 requests for a free copy of Alli en la Cruz. Thanks for helping us get the word out to our Spanish brothers and sisters! I’m excited to announce the newest release from Sovereign Grace Music: Allí en la Cruz. Translated, that means There at the Cross. I’m so excited that I want to give 100 of them away (details below). In 2002 we produced our first Spanish CD, Sea la Gloria solo a Ti, twelve Sovereign Grace songs translated from the English versions. We were happy we could produce something to serve our Spanish churches, but as you might guess, the songs sounded like what they were – translations. …
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Why Define Worship?
Why spend time defining worship? Is it really that big a deal? Isn’t it more important that we simply do it? It’s hard for us to know whether or not we’re doing something if we’re not sure what that “something” is. If I define “eating” as simply looking at food, you wouldn’t enjoy coming over to my house to “eat.” If “breathing” is something I only do when I get with a group of people on Sunday mornings, then how do I describe what I do the rest of the time? I heard theologian David Peterson say that defining words is important because not only do we use words, but words use us. That’s true, even if we’re unaware …
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What About Vocal Solos on Sunday Mornings?
I appreciate those of you who have taken the time to send me a specific question related to what you’re going through. Scott wrote in to ask: Is there a place for soloist/duets during the worship time?… If someone is gifted vocally, should I allow them to minister to the body (presuming that there are guidelines from the church leadership as to biblical content and appearance)? Does it cross the line leading to human-exaltation if there are those repeatedly clamoring for a certain person(s)? Eph. 5:19 says we’re to be “addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” It’s normal to understand that as congregational singing. After …
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Christmas in September
I know it’s a little early to be thinking about Christmas, but this afternoon I spent some time in Matt Wahl’s office. He’s heads up graphic design for Sovereign Grace Ministries. We were looking at some of his ideas for the cover of our next music project, called “Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man.” It’s intended to be a kind of all-year-round Christmas CD, filled with primarily congregational songs that focus on the miracle of the incarnation. If you’re like me, at the end of every year I look forward to pulling out the songs I’ve known since childhood that reflect on the glories of Savior’s birth and all it …
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Love Divine – The Hymns of Charles Wesley, Updated (and win a free copy)
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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Movie Soundtrack Recommendations
A friend just e-mailed me to ask me about a comment he heard me make at the last New Attitude Conference. I mentioned that I frequently listen to soundtracks when I’m studying, reading, or writing, and he was wondering which ones I have. I enjoy soundtracks because they don’t have words and if I haven’t seen the movie (which is often) I can make my own associations. They also enable me to thank God for the gift of common grace which enables unbelievers to write music that expresses in some small degree the beauty and creativity of God. As I’m in the process of writing my book, I’m listening to music a lot these days. Since Christmas …
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“Grace Is Not Earned” – Free MP3 from Kate Simmonds
Nathan Fellingham, a good friend and member of the UK group Phatfish, recently made me aware of an EP he produced by Kate Simmonds. One of the songs, “Grace Is Not Earned,” does a great job unpacking the meaning of grace in a Christian’s life. Several things I appreciate about this song. It makes us aware grace is the work of the Triune God. It has a singable and memorable melody. It references Christ crucified and risen (the means of grace) clearly. It loudly proclaims our freedom from sin, deliverance from condemnation, and acceptance by the Father. Great song. Nathan generously said I could give away the song and guitar chart here on Worship …
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Can I Learn to Love Evaluation?
Aaron left this question on a recent post: I’ve found it difficult at times to be in a mindset that is ready to accept encouragement and critique after a “big event.” I realize that a large part of this is my own pride and desire for everyone to like what happened and move on. However, I am often so drained and spent after an endeavor like a conference or a Christmas musical that I don’t even want to think about it anymore. Is this a symptom of focusing on the event more than Christ? Is there a way to get through the “big events” in church life without losing your focus on Christ and still be excited about your job after the event is over? I …