Filling in Empty Music (3 of 3)

This will be the last of a 3 part series that started Wednesday, where I suggest some additional lyrics to some otherwise great songs.  Today we'll look at a song we sing during Christmas that I first heard on my wife's Selah Christmas CD, Rose of Bethlehem. This one is called "Light of the Stable." Again, good tune, but I realized that there's just two verses repeated over and over. So, I just came up with a few others (in orange). I attempted to move Jesus beyond Bethlehem to His rightful place on the throne.

Hail, hail to the newborn King
Let our voices sing Him our praises
Hail, hail to the guiding Light
That brought us tonight to our Savior

CHORUS:
Halle, hallelujah Halle, hallelujah
Halle, hallelujah Halle, hallelujah

Come now, let it shine so bright
To the knowing Light of the stable
Kneel close to the Child so dear
Cast aside your fear and be thankful

Bow down and behold your God

In an infant’s body – He’s Immanuel!

Worship and exalt His Name

You’ll never be the same – He’s Jesus!

CHORUS

Trust Him, trust in Him alone

He now sits enthroned in the Heavens

Ruling with His power and might

He’s the holy Light of the stable.

CHORUS

So there you go. Feel free to take & use and/or re-work any of these as you see fit. They're far from perfect, but just my feeble attempt at songwriting.

Filling in Empty Music (2 of 3)

Yesterday I began the first of three short posts on the subject of worship song lyrics. Today, I want to introduce you to another song & my additional lyrics.  The song is Praise Adonai by Paul Baloche and it's a great song! You can get chords & sheet music here. The only weakness is that it has only one verse and the chorus. So, I've since added two extra verses (in orange).

Who is like Him
the Lion and the Lamb
Seated on the throne
Mountains bow down
Every ocean roars
To the Lord of hosts

CHORUS:

Praise Adonai
From the rising of the sun
'Til the end of every day
Praise Adonai
All the nations of the earth
All the angels and the saints
Sing praise.

Who is like Him

obedient to death

Death upon a cross

every knee shall bow

and every tongue confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord!

CHORUS

Who is like Him

The Way, the Truth, the Life

The Shepherd and the Door

The true abiding Vine

The Living Bread from Heav’n

The great I AM the Lord!

CHORUS

 If you're still around tomorrow, we'll look at one last song... just in time for Christmas!

A Brief Biblical Philosophy of Worship

This was written for a summer seminary class assignment.


We believe worship to be the core activity of all peoples. The core of worship is, simply, to give glory to God. This is what we were created to do (Isaiah 43:7; Ephesians 1:5-6, 11-13; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17). We believe that all men are worshipers by nature and yet, because of sin, are bent to worship created things rather than the Creator (Romans 1:21-25). Only a supernatural, saving work of God in the heart of man can correct this worship “exchange.”

We believe worship to include the ascribing of and attributing to God the glory and worth that He is due (Psalm 115:1), but we also believe worship to be much broader. Worship is our response to God as He initiates relationships with us through His written revelation and daily providences. Worship is always by God’s initiative and on God’s terms. From the creation of the world (Psalm 148) to the culmination of world (Revelation 4; 5; 19 & 20), God is to receive praise and worship.

We believe worship can and should be expressed individually (Psalm 26; 103:1, Matthew 6:6) and also corporately (Psalm 100; Acts 2:42-47). These personal and public acts of worship can occur within two further realms: life and liturgy. The worship in life involves an ever-present acknowledgment of and submission to God’s sovereign rule over all things and rightly responding to His proactive role in revealing His character to His creation through His Son, the Christ (Hebrews 1:1-4). There is no division, as the Puritans were known to say, between the sacred and the secular. All of life is sacred (Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17). The realm of liturgy is the narrower realm of structured acts of worship found among a corporate gathering of Christians. Worship is far more than the ceremonies and rituals taking place in the church building on Sunday mornings, but it certainly includes these things.

We believe, regarding our liturgy, that there is much liberty in its corporate expressions. However, there are certain biblical mandates that must be present on a regular basis, not the least of which include the faithful exposition of God’s Word (Nehemiah 8:1-8; 2 Timothy 4:1-5), giving of one’s finances (1 Corinthians 16:2; Also cf. 2 Corinthians 9:7), the two New Testament ordinances of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) and Baptism (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 1:5; Acts 8:12-13), praying (Acts 2:42; Colossians 4:2-6) and singing (Psalm 7:17; 9:11; 13:6; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). We believe the outward mechanics of these acts of service are meaningless apart from a heart attitude of praise (Isaiah 29:13).

We believe that music is a kind gift of God and can be used for His glory (Psalm 33:3). We believe the best music to use in the worship of God is that which least distracts the worshiper from the true heart of worship – that is, his or her response to the Truth. We recognize the subjectivity of this decision and the cultural considerations necessary in using music as a means to effectively enhance corporate worship. We believe the under-shepherds of the local flock are best equipped to navigate these choices.

In conclusion, we believe the church’s gathering to offer corporate worship is one that must bring the utmost glory to God and in turn encourage others to launch beyond the local and liturgical and continue a life-orientation of worship that is global, grace-centered and God-initiated. These ongoing acts of authentic worship are what most please God (Psalm 51:17; Micah 6:8).

What To Do When Church is Cancelled

During the winter months in Arkansas, periodic storms of snow & ice often cause everything to shut down for a day or two - schools, businesses, dangerous roads, etc. So what do you do in the event that church is cancelled?   I'd like to suggest that just because your church services are cancelled, that doesn't mean the Lord's day is cancelled.  Of course, the fellowship of the body will be missed, but there is still great opportunity for men to lead their own flock in a time of meaningful worship.  Here are a few simple suggestions that will take little or no preparation on your part.

1. Sing :: If you have any musicians in your home, great - let them help!  If not, just sing a few well known hymns or choruses together.  Let the children take turns choosing a song.
2. Pray :: Share requests with one another.  Pray through your church prayer list.  Pray for those still suffering in Haiti.  Pray for your neighbors.  Pray for your government (1 Timothy 2:1-2).  I've never been around a child who couldn't think of something/someone to pray for.
3. Read Scripture :: An adult can lead by reading or they may let the children take turns.  Pick a passage that your pastor has recently been in or one that you're currently reading on your own.  Ask others for their favorite passages.  
4. Listen to a Sermon :: One of the great blessings of technology is the incredible amount of sermon audio available online today.  So take your Bibles and turn... just like you would at church, and listen to the preacher of your choice.  Here are a few sites to choose from:

• SermonAudio.com - You can find most any preacher that suits your theological & denominational preference here.  As far as I know, these sermons are free to anyone.
• Monergism - A great mp3 resource from a reformed perspective
• John MacArthur - you can search for any sermon by Scripture reference here
• John Piper - His sermon archives are available here
• Faith By Hearing - A wide & solid assortment of mp3 sermons searchable by Scripture text, topic, preacher, etc.

I trust this will be a helpful & encouraging resource for you.  Hopefully you'll see how easy this can be.  However, I want to caution you regarding your expectations - especially if you have little ones with short attention spans (or older ones with short attention spans!)  Don't expect this to go perfectly - because it probably won't.  You do want to be training your children to sit still and quiet, but you also want to remember that this is an informal time of worship.  For instance, if you're listening to a sermon and someone has a question, pause the sermon and discuss.
Have some fun with this - you might even tell the kids that they'll get to "go to church" in their PJ's tomorrow!
 
Have a great Lord's Day tomorrow - I'd love to hear how your family worship went!

(At least one church I know has a "come if you can" policy for inclement weather that helps avoid any confusion and lack of communication.)