Posted March 24th, 2011
It is assumed that William Enfield, a British presbyterian minister, wrote the original text of this updated hymn (he was the editor of a 1772 volume in which it appeared without source). The words, an echo of Philippians 2:1-11, give us well-crafted language depicting the angst of Christ in the garden leading to the cross and describing the perfect virtues He displays in the midst of this most intense hour of His life. The final stanza focuses on the importance of following Christ to the cross in order to share in the joy and glory of denying ourselves and living out our salvation.
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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.
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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 18th, 2011
This song is based on a hymn by Frank Houghton who was involved with mission work in China. He visited the country in 1934 after John and Betty Stam were martyred, a very difficult time in the history of missions to China. It is based on 2 Corinthians 8:9, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." The song directs our attention to what it meant for Jesus to "become poor" for our sakes - He gave up His riches, His majesty, and the praise and honor in heaven that He deserved, to become a man. The ultimate picture of His poverty is shown at the cross when Jesus "humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:8) This is the reason that we sing the name of Jesus - In love He humbled Himself to the point of death to rescue us.
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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.)
Posted March 7th, 2011
Thanks to everyone who voted for "There is No Sin that I Have Done" in LifeWay Worship's "March Madness" event. Thanks to your votes, the Reformed Praise song is seeded #2 in their brackets!
Please consider voting for it in their Sweet 16 line-up this week, and help spread the word about Reformed Praise.
Posted March 1st, 2011
LifeWay Worship is offering one free download when you enter your favorite worship song in their March Madness event. The winning song will be offered as a free download for a day.
LifeWay Worship recently began distributing two Reformed Praise titles from the Merciful to Me project, "O Jesus" (Ward/Whitfield) and "There is No Sin That I Have Done" (Schumacher/Ward).
Please help us get the word out about Reformed Praise by visiting LifeWay Worship and nominating these songs.
Reformed Praise is a music ministry dedicated to providing songs for corporate worship which are rich in theology, diverse in musical style, and centered on the gospel of grace, that our praise might be informed by Biblical truth.
