Posted June 10th, 2008
O weary saint is a song written particularly for those facing despair at the prospect of their own death or upon the death of a loved one. We are convinced that death is one topic that Christians don’t sing enough about; not what lies beyond death – the glories of heaven – but death itself. Even though Christians have the assurance that death has been conquered and its sting removed (1 Corinthians 15:54-57), we still face physical death and the fears and sorrows that accompany it. This song allows us to confront our grief but offers the encouragement of how Christ can transform it into hope so that we do “not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) Notice that the song is written in a chiastic structure – the second verse is the crux through which the gloom and despair of the first verse are transformed into faith and hope of future promises. O believer, since you are in Christ you will rise again one day in soul and body to everlasting joy!
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Posted June 9th, 2008
A Christian is one who loves Jesus (John 8:42). Even though the Bible defines love in terms of obedience and character in such places as John 14:23 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, love must also contain affection. It is far too easy to make the Christian life about growing in knowledge and performance rather than growing in affection for and adoration and worship of our precious Lord Jesus. Consider Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” When a person finds the kingdom of God manifested in the person of Jesus, he will recognize it as so supremely valuable that he is willing to trade everything in His life of any worth to obtain it. There is a preciousness, an unfathomable worth to Jesus that drives the believer to cherish Him and long to be with Him. Perhaps this was one of the verses that motivated Johann Franck to write this hymn in the 17th century. May this arrangement and the chorus written in response to the original lyrics help us keep our love for Jesus warm as we express to Him how worthy He is of all of our affection!
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Posted May 20th, 2008
This hymn by one of the greatest hymn writers of all time is a moving invitation for all to behold the work of Jesus on the cross and embrace His death in personal faith and repentance. He reminds us that Jesus bore our sorrows and suffered the penalty for our sins, not his. What’s more, as He died He prayed that we might be pardoned through His blood so that, in effect, we can “hear the blood speak that has answered for me.” May all who hear these glorious truths embrace God’s grace revealed to us through His Son’s death and resurrection!
The music for this text was written for a traditional hymn competition and won an honorable mention. The tune is named MAGISTER (which means teacher in Latin) because of the impact Wesley’s hymns have had on David’s songwriting.
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Posted May 20th, 2008
This short hymn is an adaptation of the Lord’s Prayer as found in Matthew 6:9-13.
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Posted June 8th, 2007
Good songs (modern or historic) on the significance of baptism are hard to find. This song is about what baptism is, what it reminds us of, and what it signifies. Baptism reminds us of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (see Romans 6:1-10). This song is well-suited to sing congregationally after a public baptism. In the first verse we affirm that baptism is dear to us because it reminds us of our beloved Savior and what He did for us. In verse 2 we remember that we were and still are unworthy to be permitted into the cleansing waves of baptism, but that because of God’s mercy he beckons us to enter. In verse 3 we affirm cost of the faith that we publicly entered at our baptism and recommit that we are willing to pay it because what we were given at baptism was so much more valuable. The song concludes by using the term baptism in a different way, to refer to how we will be immersed in God’s glory when we finally go home to be with Him in Heaven.
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Posted February 8th, 2007
The person and work of the Holy Spirit is often minimized or misunderstood in many reformed circles. While many of us may believe that the Holy Spirit is not giving the miraculous gifts of the New Testament to the church today, we must not live and worship as if the Holy Spirit is not at work in us in experientially. God calls us to joyful, Christ-centered worship, and without the Spirit we have no hope of replacing our empty, self-seeking loves with genuine affection for Jesus. The prayer “The Spirit’s Work” from the Valley of Vision (a book of puritan prayers) beautifully describes a biblical view of the ministry of the Spirit and how it relates to our affections and experience of the Christian life. Our chief prayer for the filling of the Spirit must not be that we would experience uncontrolled emotions or that He would give us spiritual gifts. Rather, our chief prayer to the Spirit must be that He would “direct us to the cross” and “put Jesus on display” that our worship would be cross-centered and not Spirit-centered.
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Posted August 8th, 2006
Historically, church covenants have held an important place in church life. A church covenant educates new members in the responsibilities of church membership and clarifies modern misconceptions about what membership means. A recited church covenant reminds members of their scriptural obligations to one another in the body of Christ. A signed church covenant is powerful tool in church discipline. It aides in addressing back-slidden and wayard members, as well as warning those who are tempted to follow. Used rightly, a church covenant is a great tool for encouraging and protecting the health of a local body of believers.
Kevin Larson approached Eric Schumacher with the idea of writing a church covenant that could be set to music and be sung congregationally. Music has always been recognized as a powerful aid in memorization. A sung church covenant would etch into the minds of a church's members their obligations and commitments to one another. Eric produced this text, basing it on the church covenant of Kevin, Eric, and David's churches, a historic Baptist church covenant made popular by nine marks ministries. The timeless nature of David's tune will allow this covenant to be used and enjoyed across generations and for years to come.
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Posted March 14th, 2006
The best modern songs, whether they be for worship or part of pop culture, tell a story. The story at the heart of Christian worship is the gospel of Jesus and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). There Is No Greater Portrait is the first product of the new collaboration between songwriters Eric Schumacher and David Ward and reflects on the gospel story in a way that helps move us to thanksgiving and awe. In the first verse, we sing that remembering the sufferings of Jesus should move us to sorrow because it was our sins that caused Him to suffer so dearly. We then reflect on Jesus' ministry and final days and how they were culminated in His great act of obedience and love to His heavenly Father when He gave up His life on the cross. On the cross Jesus was displayed for all the world to see, only He was not worshiped as He deserved, but rather mocked and scorned by both His own people, the Jews, and the Romans. After pondering all of these things, we ask the Holy Spirit to be our salvation and apply these things to our hearts so that we can love Jesus more and more.
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Posted March 10th, 2005
We often sing songs of devotion, commitment, or love to God but fail to properly acknowledge that they are but dim sparks compared to the same devotion, commitment, and love that our intercessor, Jesus, was able to offer God in our place. As we sing this beautiful song, originally by Isaac Watts, we can confess along with the father of a demon-possessed boy in Mark 9:24, "I do believe; help my unbelief." The reality of our human condition is that when we approach God in worship, our joy is mixed with grief, our hopes are often fainting, and guilt and sorrows remain. These are caused by indwelling sin in our lives - and the basic thrust of sin is to worship the created rather than the creator. Believers in this condition who have been given new hearts and desires to worship the true God are miserable, and it is that very misery that God mercifully uses to point us back to the cross to rest our weary, sin-laden, efforts and proclaim along with Watts that it is only by God's grace that our faith is upheld.
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Posted May 27th, 2004
This song helps us accomplish two purposes of singing in worship: Remembering and declaring the gospel. There is hardly a more wondrous story than that of Jesus' death on the cross for our sins. This song lays out the gospel very clearly - that Jesus died for us, his lost sheep. We sing of our lost state, that we were bruised, faint, and cowering in fear. Though our Christian journey will at times be filled with despair and sorrow, we are comforted to know that our Shepherd is with us (Psalm 23:4). Once we are in Christ, nothing can take us from the Father's hand of protection (John 10:29) - even the great enemy death, described here as a river (like in Pilgrim's progress). We have the glorious hope that God will lead us safely through death to be with Him and our believing loved ones forever!
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