Posted April 12th, 2011
With Good Friday just 10 days away, I had to post what has become one of my favorite hymns on the weight of the cross. "Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted" was penned by Thomas Kelly in 1804, and it can be found in the Trinity Hymnal. We have used it at Grace Community Church in many of our Good Friday services. The original tune (or at least the one in the Trinity Hymnal) is very strong and can be arranged in a modern sound very easily. I will let the words speak for themselves.
Lyrics
Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, see him dying on the tree.
‘Tis the Christ by man rejected; yes, my soul, ‘tis he, ‘tis he.
‘Tis the long-expected Prophet, David’s son, yet David’s Lord -
By His Son, God now has spoken; ‘tis the true and faithful word.
Tell me, ye who hear him groaning, was there ever grief like this?
Friends through fear his cause disowning, foes insulting his distress;
Many hands were raised to wound him, none would interpose to save.
But the deepest stroke that pierced him was the stroke that justice gave.
Ye who think of sin but lightly nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature...
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Posted April 11th, 2011
I'll be attending the Gospel Coalition conference in Chicago this week where there will be three concerts of worship music given by fellow songwriters and artists who share a love for old hymns and theologically rich worship music. If you are going to be attending the conference this week and know about Reformed Praise, I'd love to meet you; just contact me through the website or just leave comment on this post (they are moderated, so if you pass me your phone number I'll make sure the comment doesn't get posted)
On Tuesday, April 12 at 9 PM several artists from the Indelible Grace Music, Sojourn Music, and Bifrost Arts will put on a concert of old/new hymns.
On Wednesday, April 13 at 9 PM Keith and Kristyn Getty will share their music
On Thursday, April 14 at 8 PM several Christian hip-hop artists will share a concert titled "We Are Unashamed"
The full schedule is available here
Posted April 7th, 2011
The March 2011 issue of Christianity Today features several articles about worship and congregational singing. Allow me to draw your attention to two notable resources.
First, John Koessler's article titled "The Trajectory of Worship" follows the writer's personal journey through decades of worship music changes to the place where he finds himself today, a self-titled curmudgeon, struggling with his personal distaste for much of the music used in public worship. After admitting his struggle, he offers this insight which I find to be rife with humility and wisdom:
Like most churchgoers, I tend to view worship as something that moves from earth to heaven. We think of worship as something that originates with us, our gift to God. Perhaps this is why so many of us are conflicted about it. We consider worship to be an expression of our personal devotion. So when the musical style or some expression gets in the way, we don't feel like it is our worship at all. It is someone else's idea of worship. Perhaps the worship leader's or that of the majority. But not our own. - p.20
He then goes on to explain how this...
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Posted April 4th, 2011
[ We've been working on rewriting our mission and also creating a series of "values" about worship that will communicate our vision for what worship should be all about. While those aren't completely finalized, I think it will be helpful to share some thoughts about each value in a series of short posts. ]
What kind of worship do we want to cultivate? Fourth: Historically Informed
Our second value stressed the importance of rooting our worship in Scripture, the only infallible source of direct revelation concerning a right understanding and practice of worship. We pointed out the fact that while there are commands to include certain kinds of service elements in public worship, there is no prescribed liturgy (service order) given in the Bible. We are left to assemble the elements of worship that God has commanded in a way that will edify our particular local churches, by the leading of the Spirit and in accordance with the rest of Scripture’s general teachings. So how do we make decisions about the specific order of worship or even the style of building, architecture, dress, or music that we should use to worship God? Various teaching of Scripture will...
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Posted March 23rd, 2011
My pastor, R.W. Glenn, preached from Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 this past Sunday. This portion of Ecclesiastes is often quoted to teach on the blessings of worship, housing such well-known quotes as "guard your steps when you go to the house of God" and "let your words be few." To understand this passage properly we must take into account the context of the book - the main character ("the preacher") is having a temper tantrum with God. Qohelet (The Hebrew name translated "preacher" and pronounced Kowheleth) is angry with God for the apparent absurdity he sees in the world and the fact that he can't reconcile this absurdity with God's revealed nature.
The sermon helps us understand why our worship can degrade into barren, short-lived, or extremely sparse interactions with God. Too often, we fall back into relating to God on the basis of fear rather than love, living in anxiety that He will push the "smite" button on His cosmic computer for no apparent reason, even when we've apparently been faithful to appease Him by our worship.
Stream:
Download the sermon here
Posted March 22nd, 2011
I thought it might be helpful to list some of the new songs that we've been learning at Redeemer Bible Church since January 1st, 2011. I think that it's a good general guideline to teach no more than one new song every other week, but this list has 12 songs in 12 weeks! This is due to the fact that four of the songs were new texts set to tunes that the people already knew, and one was a very widely known song (Indescribable). That's still 8 new tunes in 12 weeks, and this is due to the fact that our pastor was chomping at the bit to learn some of these songs as soon as possible.
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Posted March 21st, 2011
[ We've been working on rewriting our mission and also creating a series of "values" about worship that will communicate our vision for what worship should be all about. While those aren't completely finalized, I think it will be helpful to share some thoughts about each value in a series of short posts. ]
What kind of worship do we want to cultivate? Third: Theologically Deep
We have already stated that we believe Christian worship should be Christ centered and biblical. As a reminder, we defined worship as "biblical" when the Bible directs our understanding and practice of worship and also drives our worship as we seek to encounter God in response to understanding Him in Scripture. If worship flows from understanding God, then it follows that the more deeply we understand God's character and works, the more deeply we can experience Him in worship. Just as the writer of Hebrews encourages us move on beyond the "milk" of elementary principles to "solid food," which is for the mature (Hebrews 5:12-14), so we should seek to make every element of our worship, from songs to sermons, characterized by a pursuit of the knowledge of God both...
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Posted March 14th, 2011
[ We've been working on rewriting our mission and also creating a series of "values" about worship that will communicate our vision for what worship should be all about. While those aren't completely finalized, I think it will be helpful to share some thoughts about each value in a series of short posts. ]
What kind of worship do we want to cultivate? Second: Biblically Faithful
In our first value we pointed out that "the aim of worship is the glory of God through the glory of His Son Jesus." How do we ensure that the way in which we respond to God in worship truly honors Him? Who's to say what true worship should look like, both internally and externally? Without an objective standard for how to worship God, we would be left to the opinions of man. While it's true that God reveals Himself to us through the witness of creation and through the ministry of His Spirit directly, His revelation to us through the Bible is the only objective and sure way to know and worship Him rightly. Therefore, the Bible must not only direct our understanding and practice of worship, but should also...
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Posted March 12th, 2011
Eric is sponsoring a drawing for a free copy of Merciful to Me to promote the March Madness event. Check it out here. And spread the word to your friends.
Posted March 11th, 2011
The 8.9 magnitude earthquake and resultant tsunami that hit Japan today brings to mind this hymn, The Fury of the Wind, the Raging of the Sea.
Let's see and hear and be humbled. Let's sing with faith. And, let's pray for the people of Japan, that by such a display of God's glory, they would be stripped of pride, and cast themselves on God's grace in Christ.
(Image source.)
Reformed Praise presents Martin Luther's setting of Psalm 130 in a fresh, reflective, piano-driven setting suitable for a wide range of worship music styles.
