“We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year”
Speaking to a couple of friends over the last few days I breathed a sigh of relief when I realised that the number of carol services I am involved in can be counted on one hand; some of my friends need an abacus and some serious energy. Musicians: you are about to face the busiest time of the year – let’s not pray for merriment, but contentment and happiness as we serve our Saviour.
“Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth”
When you sit down for Christmas dinner, utterly exhausted from carols and endless practices, will you resent the past weeks of energy sapping service or recall with joy that the gospel has been proclaimed? The gospel will be heralded in song and through the preaching of the Word to so many who for most of the year want nothing to do with the Christ of Christmas who offers a ‘second birth’ #joy.... continue reading
There are a thousand good and bad ways to use music in a church service. Here are just five hopefully good ideas which combine both Biblical truth with practical advice…
1. Use music to help the congregation engage both mind and heart with God
There is no stronger reason to sing in church than the Biblical command to ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)
It is a profound truth that as saved people, Christ lives in us and we live in him. And God uses our singing to actually help that happen. So when you sing in church – or lead singing in church - remember the great responsibility you have. You are taking part in God’s ministry of teaching his word to his people – to both their hearts and minds, and are part of the means by which we honour, praise and serve him in response to his grace.... continue reading
The evening service had just finished, and as we packed away the final bits of PA equipment from the school hall there was the usual buzz of conversation after the service. But the question on some peoples lips was, "Did you notice one of the lines in one of the songs tonight?"
For the last three weeks during the evening service my church has been going through the book of Job. It's been fantastic to reflect on suffering - and, more importantly, on God. To fit in with the series, we've introduced a song by Keith and Kristyn Getty called 'When Trials Come'. It's a great song that talks of God's faithfulness to us and His enduring love in the midst of trials and suffering. It talks of the triumph of the cross and, in the last verse, about a day when all things will be made new.... continue reading
Paul writes: And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15b-17 ESV)
I used to think that singing in church was all about me and God - the fact that other people were in the room was often fairly irrelevant, and actually sometimes quite annoying. I was there to have a moment with God, express myself to him, 'do worship'. And there is a sense in which the passage above encourages that, but when we look closer there is so much more going on.... continue reading
One answer is to think that singing has always been how God’s people have responded to him and his saving acts. After being freed from Egypt, God's people sang (Ex 15). When remembering what God was like and all he'd done, Moses sang to Israel (Deut 32). Psalms 105 and 106 echo those, and many other Psalms speak either of God’s character or his salvation. Then in the New Testament, many think that Phil 2:6-11 is one of the earliest Christian songs - focusing on Jesus' life and death and exultation. So the first answer to the question of music in church is that singing has always been the right response to knowing God and seeing his saving acts.
We could push that a bit further and ask why singing in particular, why music, why singing? There’s two major answers to that, and they’re both important: transformation and captivation.... continue reading
The mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus one day with a special request. She thought she knew what kind of leader Jesus was going to be and thought her sons should occupy prominent positions of authority alongside him (preferably one on the right and one on the left).
As far as I know, the discussion was not about stage positioning, song choices, rehearsal times or whether the drums should play in the introduction. However, as Jesus responds, we begin to see exactly what his leadership will be like, and therefore what leadership should look like among all who claim to follow him (including church musicians):... continue reading
In last Monday's post I gave some thoughts on matching song themes with preaching, the liturgy of a service and he liturgy of the church’s calendar. Today, some further considerations for choosing songs for Sunday worship.... continue reading
You know the feeling. You’re staring at a blank computer screen. The cursor flashes, begging for content... and Sunday is coming. For whatever reason it falls to you as the pastor / music director / song leader / cleaner / only one who has remembered.... to chose what to sing when the church gathers on Sunday. Your task feels harder than ever. You have access to more songs, in more songbooks, on more CDs and online than ever before. You’re aware of pressures from all sides to sing more or less of certain songs or styles. How do you cut through the noise and work out what to sing on Sunday? How will you structure your service and your singing to help your church family leave knowing and loving Jesus more?... continue reading
Copyright. A word that produces a number of reactions, all dressed up as a yawn. But whatever we think about copyright, the law has certainly tightened up on this over the last few years and I’m pretty sure that many churches are (in most cases unwittingly) breaking that law. As gospel-loving Christians we need to be subject to the authorities on this (Romans 13).
It’s quite an easy thing to get sorted – The Christian Copyright Licensing International organization sees itself as the ‘one stop’ copyright resource for the Church. Its existence has eased many consciences all over the world about this matter by helping us to be legal. It can be expensive, but CCLI was set up because of a $2 000 000 lawsuit taken out against the Chicago Diocese for copyright breaches, so better to be slightly hard-up than completely broke!
Here are some nuts and bolts.... continue reading