13/11/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Watch “COME ONE AND ALL” Christmas Clip

This is a lovely song with an interesting clip, recorded by Garage Hymnal.
It would make a lovely addition to any upcoming Christmas service.

COME ONE AND ALL

Come, oh come one and all
To Bethlehem’s stable, to Bethlehem’s stall
The star, it beams on this sight
The father in heaven sent us this glorious light.

More lovely than the angels
Than the stars, this holy child!
Lying here before us, sent here for us Jesus Christ!

Come, oh come one and all
The shepherds are kneeling, bowing before him in awe
Angels sing from above
Mary and Joseph smile at their baby with love

More lovely than the angels
Than the stars, this holy child!
Lying here before us, sent here for us Jesus Christ!

Music by Garage Hymnal, words by Alanna Rodgers with adaptations from Christoph Von Schmid’s German Folk Song, “Oh Come Little Children”
Animation by Taste Media http://www.tastemedia.com.au

09/11/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

The glorious gospel song

How effective is your music ministry?

Sometimes we musicians get so caught up with organising and making music happen for our church gatherings that we forget to take stock of how things are going. Are we really achieving any of the goals of our ministry? Or is it just a lot of hard work?
For me, music ministry goals are:
* to engage people in enthusiastic praise of our great God who alone is worthy of our praise,
* to provide encouragement for the gathered Body of believers, and
* to declare/teach the great truths that God has revealed of himself and the gospel in His Word.

So how do you measure whether or not we are achieving that, at all?
Like many areas of ministry such results cannot be quantified. God doesn’t keep a score card and send us a report!
However by talking to people and allowing them the freedom to give encouragement and criticism, they can help you know how you are going with your goals. (It is, afterall, God’s people we are serving.) Thick skin is always required in the music department, so give grace to those who are willing to share their views. You need to hear them, whether they be “right” or “wrong” or somewhere inbetween. Godly insights, shared in a loving manner, can lead to greater effectiveness.

One way to measure the engagement of your congregation is simply by joining with them in the praise times during your service. This Sunday, for the first time in a long time, I was able to simply be a member of the congregation, with the opportunity to listen carefully to the most important voices – the voices of the gathered body of Christ. I could easily hear which songs were being sung with enthusiasm, and which were still probably too difficult for the non-musical person to catch on to. It helped me realise which songs needed to be retired, better than if I was actually leading or playing on team.

Speaking of singability I find it really helpful (in the planning stage) to play potential new songs to people who aren’t on the music team. If you find they can sing along by the second hearing (and they think the song is truthful and encouraging) then you probably have something most people in your church can sing, and sing well together (which is, afterall, the whole point).

In King David’s time, the musicians were clothed in white and stood apart from the assembled worshipers: “All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.” (2 Chronicles 5:12)
Unlike these musicians we need to see ourselves as part of the gathered body, not removed from, more important or better than them. Often we are the last to know when something isn’t working to encourage people in corporate praise. We must be willing to listen, review and change and adapt to meet our goals – and not be too proud or stubborn to change.

For more help thinking through congregational singing, check out these posts:

10 Principles for Church Singing

Working for those moments of Joy

Sharing the Rich Indwelling Word (Colossians 3:16)

The Synchonicity of Singers

Worship through Congregational singing (a post from Christ Our Hope Church)

06/11/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

A true story of rescue, grace and timing

This is the true story of an event which happened to me at the local pool in 2004. I hope you will enjoy the reminder of the preciousness of life, as I did!

The Lesson

While some may call it fate or destiny, others would call it “divine intervention”. Whichever the case may be, there are times when you know that you are moved by a hand greater than your own. For me, such a moment remains unforgettable:

It is like any other late summer afternoon at the local pool. Chemical fumes overwhelm me in the steamy enclosure. The scene assaults my senses: the dirty, steamy windows, the huge rust marks on the ceiling, the mould which grows thickly on wet pavers beneath my feet. My toes cringe! My ears ring with squeals of laughter, screams of defiance, legs kicking and the instructor barking out commands. All this is accompanied by the unsettling drone of the pool equipment.

A dozen small, gleaming bodies swim tireless laps in the choppy water. The instructor spurs them on. They bow to her will entirely. My two eldest girls are among them, showing great resilience to perform this wretched task. Is this fun, or some form of torture?

I take to the tranquillity of the shallow end of the pool, with my youngest daughter. Though not totally water savvy, Bekky exudes a confidence well beyond her three years. She dives through the waves and pops up a few metres away. With sea-green eyes and an infectious smile, she helps me ignore the suffocating atmosphere that clings about us.

The swim instructor paces at the end of the pool. She notices Bekky’s exuberance and suggests I challenge her to “swim” the length of a small pool nearby. Feeling I too must obey, we head for the small pool, seven metres long and hidden in a secluded alcove. The chlorine fumes are even thicker here, hovering over the water as a solid mass! My toes test the water. The temperature soars by degrees. We plunge in, regardless.

A young mum sits beside the pool, cuddling a baby. She watches her little daughter, bobbing up and down behind us. I turn away.

“Swim to me Bek, come on!”

She needs little convincing. She leaps through the thickened air and carves a path through the waves to me, to safety. I point her to the side ledge of the pool. She clambers onto slippery pavers.

“Don’t run!” I warn. I could more easily hold back the tide than curb such enthusiasm. So begins an endless cycle of jumping, swimming, running . . . Her confidence grows with each moment.

The heat and fumes combine to bend my awareness of the scene. The little girl in the corner behind me continues to splash and play. Her mum lies the baby down on the pavers for a nappy change. Perspiration drips from her brow as she awkwardly shifts her weight to avoid falling in the pool.

Bekky jumps into the water again, the hundredth time. She certainly will catch up to her sisters soon, and join those serious swimmers in the other pool. Yet there is a growing impatience within me. When will the instructor be done? When can we escape? I need some air, and water – to drink!

Glancing over my shoulder I notice that the mum has finished the nappy change and is dealing with her baby in the pram. The small girl in the water has stopped splashing and is floating peacefully on her back.

I turn back to Bek, to the arms and legs wildly splashing. She could never lie still long enough to float peacefully like that . . . .

In that split second, horror grips me. I spin back to the small girl. She is rolling side to side! Her nose is centimetres beneath the surface of the water! Her arms float loosely, feet sink slowly. There is a deathly stare in her eyes!

I look to her mother. She simply smiles! She doesn’t know her daughter is struggling for life, a metre away!

How long these moments take, I have no idea. And where is Bekky? Time stands still. I scoop the child from the murky water. I hold her up before my face. She stares blankly at me. I call the mother, with words I do not know. The girl stares, her face glistens with beads of warm water.

I lay her down, on her side, on the pool’s edge. What was that first aid acronym? There are no signs of life, just a questioning look in those deep brown, almond-shaped eyes. Her mother speaks. I don’t understand!

I thump the small girl’s back.

A splutter?

A cough?

I am beside her on the mouldy pavers. I lift her up, her face on my shoulder. The instructor will know what to do. As I take a step, a wave of warm vomit and water pours down my body. She is alive!

It is a long walk to the other end of the pool. The instructor is surrounded by little bodies. The girl vomits twice more as we walk, emptying herself of the deadly liquid that almost took her life. Her mother trails behind us.

The instructor looks up, puzzled. She knows this child is not my own. And where is Bekky? I discard this thought.

Hastily I explain what has happened.

“Stupid woman!” The instructor says, of the mother.

She takes the girl and wraps her in a beach towel. She sits her down and checks her over.
”You need to get her to a doctor!” The instructor commands the mother.

“No English,” she stammers.

We look around for someone who may be able to translate. A woman steps forward through the gathered crowd of children. The message is passed on, we hope. My own daughters look at me strangely. Bekky appears suddenly by my side.

The little girl sits by her mother. She looks to me briefly. I smile.

Soon they gather up their gear and leave. I remain with my own girls to pack up. My head is swimming. A thousand thoughts crowd for attention.

What if I hadn’t . . . . ?

Now as I lay in bed, searching for sleep, the face of one little girl remains before me. She stares, questioning. Her face is seared into my memory. I am content, knowing that I was in the right place at the right time, for at least one moment. I helped save something so precious that words can scarcely describe it.

By Ros Barrett

How do you get a piano on the Great Wall of China?

The Piano Guys are great! If you have never seen them before you could spend hours watching all their clips. Unfortunately this one doesn’t answer how they got the piano on the Great Wall, but it certainly is impressive. You can also find them on Facebook. Here is a link to a good-looking Christmas album on their website (hint to my family!)

http://thepianoguys.com/portfolio/kung-fu-piano-cello-ascends/

02/11/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Watch “The World Without Mobile” on YouTube

This is lots of fun….love the Tweet birds!

You may also enjoy:
Is your Smart phone making you dumb?

01/11/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Don’t be ashamed to wear your crown

“I hate when I look in my closet and find clothes instead of Narnia.” H.B. Bolton

The song GOLD by Britt Nicole carries a great message for her audience. In summary: for all the girls and boys all over the world, it doesn’t matter what you’ve been told, you are worth more than gold. In fact, you’re a king, a queen, inside and out. Don’t be afraid to hold your head up high and wear your crown. (Full lyrics and a great film clip are below)

I can’t help thinking that this is the very same message C.S.Lewis brings to children (of all ages) in his adventures to Narnia. In Aslan’s realm, the children are crowned as rulers over the kingdom, with special gifts and talents given them. They are afforded great power and respect from all creatures.

“To the glistening eastern sea, I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant. To the great western woods, King Edmund the Just. To the radiant southern sun, Queen Susan the Gentle. And to the clear northern skies, I give you King Peter the Magnificent. Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Yet back through the wardrobe, back in ‘reality’ they are simply children, children who should be seen and not heard. In this reality we adult humans can see ourselves in this way, as very ordinary people, accidents of biology, mere vapours. We can be despondent about our very existence, and become dependent on the affirmations of others. We can think we must impress others to ‘justify our own existence’. (Have you seen that awful bumper sticker?) We need to remember the reality of the spiritual realm, of God, and the intent God had for us, for the creatures he made in his own image. We were designed to be his image-bearers, designed to give glory to him as we display his character for all to see. (If you are not yet convinced of the existence of a Creator and the spiritual realm, check out this book – “Rumours of another world” – Max Lucado)

The Lord has crowned us as rulers over creation:
“What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him?
You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.” (Hebrews 2:6-8)

He has Crowned us as co-heirs with Christ, if we are in Christ. We are stunningly individual and unique people who all play a vital role within His Body here on planet earth (see 1 Corinthians 12).

We are to shine like stars as witnesses to those in the heavenly realms:
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing,so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.” (Philippians 2:14-16)

As Britt Nicole would say, we shouldn’t be ashamed to wear our crown. Don’t wait for the world to affirm your existence. God made you, for a reason.

GOLD

Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh

You were walking on the moon, now you’re feeling low
What they said wasn’t true, you’re beautiful
Sticks and stones break your bones, I know what you’re feeling
Words like those won’t steal your glow, you’re one in a million years

This is for all the girls, boys all over the world
Whatever you’ve been told, you’re worth more than gold
So hold your head up high, it’s your time to shine
From the inside out it shows, you’re worth more than gold (Gold gold, you’re gold)
You’re worth more than gold (Gold gold you’re gold)

Well everybody keeps score, afraid you’re gonna lose
Just ignore they don’t know the real you
All the rain in the sky can’t put out your fire all the stars out tonight, you shine brighter

So don’t let anybody tell you that you’re not loved
And don’t let anybody tell you that you’re not enough
Yeah there are days when we all feel like we’re messed up
But the truth is that we’re all diamonds in the rough
So don’t be ashamed to wear your crown
You’re a king you’re a queen inside and out
You glow like the moon, you shine like the stars
This is for you, wherever you are

So don’t be ashamed to wear your crown You’re a king you’re a queen inside and out

You may also like Britt Nicole’s STAND

And these other posts:

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam – or maybe a firework It’s always a good time

29/10/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

One word: Grace

Image courtesy of http://www.facebook.com/timewarpwife

28/10/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

The lost music of the Psalms

As you may know I’ve been thinking about the Psalms lately and wondering if I can track down some singable and contemporary arrangements. It is proving to be a slightly frustrating quest. As this post from In Touch ministries explains, much has been lost in the translation of the Psalms – our English versions simply cannot convey the original lyrical structures, making them difficult to craft into song. But while we must enjoy them more as poetry, the Psalms still provide encouragement for us today. God’s voice still speaks through them, and in them His Spirit works.

Lost in Translation -Though silent, the book of Psalms still resonates.

by Jamie A. Hughes

There are few things worse than sitting in a crowd of laughing people when you don’t get the joke, but that’s exactly what happened to me when I saw the play Cyrano de Bergerac performed in French. The title character is a force of nature, a brash swordsman as well as a gifted musician and poet. However, there’s something else that sets him apart—an enormous nose he describes as “a monument open to the public.” Cyrano feels no one could love him because of his appearance, so he uses his words to win friends and wound enemies. That’s why it’s important to understand exactly what he’s saying if you want to keep up. I had seen the play performed in English several times, but when I heard the rhyming dialogue flowing from the actor’s mouth like a melodic river, I realized I’d never experienced the play the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Then as now, I understand just enough French to follow a basic conversation, but the finer points of the language are lost on me.

I’ve learned that the same is true of Psalms, the prayer book of Israel and what many call the central, beating heart of the Old Testament. The word “psalm” is a derivative of the Greek term psalmos, which means “song,” but these scriptures are read like poetry today rather than sung with accompaniment. The music may be unknown, but the beautiful words retain a certain melodic quality of their own. That’s why the poet Naphtali Herz Imber says, “In [the psalms] one finds the deep heartbreaking tones of a Beethoven . . . the silent, sweet whisper of love’s longing, as well as the wild galloping hallelujahs suggestive of Wagner.”

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” wrote David in Psalm 139. “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me” (vv. 7-10). We can savor these majestic, encouraging words and know our God is always near, but without the melody, can our hearts ever totally understand what “the man after God’s own heart” was trying to express (1 Sam. 13:14)? I can’t help but wonder if phrases like “ascend into heaven” and “take the wings of the morning” climbed a bright and brilliant scale that lightened the heart and lifted the eyes. I imagine Levitical choirs singing of hell and the “uttermost parts of the sea” in rumbling bass tones, a picture of bleak places painted with sound.

In another psalm, the author uses a simile to describe his yearning for the Lord’s presence: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God” (Ps. 42:1). Beautiful verse to be certain, but we can’t fully appreciate it without knowing the melodious sounds of the instrument for which it was crafted.

This is an ache words alone cannot express, but music helps articulate such an emotion effectively. How much better would we understand this prayer if we could participate with our ears as well as our eyes?

Though the psalms are exquisite, we can’t experience them in the same way the people of Israel did. But when we reach our eternal home, perhaps we’ll hear these prayers as songs for the first time and understand what Isaiah meant when he said, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing” (Ps. 35:5-6). In that moment, we’ll know more fully the extent of God’s goodness, beauty, and delight. And we will rejoice.

As is the case with God’s creations, there will always be more to learn about the psalms. His handiwork is breathtaking in depth and scope, and this is why a scripture mulled over one hundred times can still surprise on the one hundred and first reading. Or why a story that seems insignificant in times of jubilation is the only thing that sustains us when trouble comes. So while there’s no way of knowing exactly how the 150 musical prayers of praise, lament, wisdom, and thanksgiving should sound, we can still read and delight in them—and rejoice in what they (and we) will be one day.

All Scripture quoted is from the New King James Version. 2013 In Touch Ministries, www.intouch.org.

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The blessed and God-breathed book Wake up and see the glory

26/10/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Corporate worship is a serious gift!

Being responsible for organising church music is a challenging task and not for the faint of heart. Yet music has a vital pastoral role in the church community. The songs we choose will either teach our people great bible truths, and build them up in the confidence of salvation in Christ – or not! Here is a great explanation of why and how our songs can effectively pastor the Body of Christ:

“Cross-centered songs affect our souls. You’ve heard the Martyn Lloyd-Jones quote about how most of our unhappiness comes from listening to ourselves more than we talk to ourselves. In light of this, corporate worship is a serious gift! Singing in corporate worship is a means of talking to yourself. This provides us an opportunity to stop listening to ourselves, to stop listening to sin, legalism, condemnation, and to begin singing and talking to ourselves. And by the end of corporate worship there is a good chance that we will experience the joy of the gospel. Not very often in our noisy world do we have such an opportunity to talk to ourselves. So what your church is saying in these moments of corporate singing is very important. And what a unique opportunity worship leaders have to transfer the hope of the gospel to people in corporate worship. And to think, you can do this each and every Sunday!”
(Bob Kauflin at Worship Matters)

Don’t ever give up on the pursuit of engaging people in corporate worship – they need it! And that’s why God calls us to the task. It works for His glory, and simultaneously for our good.

It is interesting to note that this is the very thing that sustains music leaders and musicians in their work. When we practice the songs of faith, speaking them to ourselves over and over as we practice at home, and again with a team before the service – all this practice allows the words of the cross, the glory of grace, to sink in more deeply. While some may see it as a big sacrifice to get out of bed early, or give up hours at home preparing music, this is the very thing that renews us in the Lord!

If you are not part of music leading at your church, please encourage those who are to keep working at it, and thank them for their efforts. Our musicians help us to give wise counsel to ourselves through song. This is precisely what David was doing as he penned the Psalms. Psalm 103 contains some of David’s most famous direct counsel to his own soul – and ours:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
    who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.