21/09/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Jesus, friend of sinners

Jesus, Friend of Sinners is the title of a beautiful song from Casting Crowns’ most recent album “Come to the Well“. It is a song which speaks of need for us to show the love of Christ to others, to show what we stand for . . . that we stand for and by the grace that has been shown to us in Christ. We stand for His forgiveness, won on the cross. We want the world to know that our God shows unmeasured grace and love to those who are his enemies. We don’t want the world to define Christians as those who simply oppose everything, and who stand against them. Jesus is the only righteous Judge of those for whom he died, so let’s leave the judging to him. Let this resounding challenge (from the chorus) go with you today:

“Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, Open our eyes to the world at the end our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy, Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, Break our hearts for what breaks Yours.”

Jesus, Friend of Sinners

Jesus, friend of sinners, We have strayed so far away
We cut down people in Your name
But the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus, friend of sinners, The truth’s become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You
But they’re tripping over me

Always looking around but never looking up, I’m so double minded
A plank-eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Break our hearts for what breaks Yours

Jesus, friend of sinners
The One whose writing in the sand made the righteous turn away
And the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of these
Let the memory of Your mercy
Bring Your people to their knees

Nobody knows what we’re for, only what we’re against
When we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs, Crossed over the lines
And loved like You did

You love every lost cause, You reach for the outcast
For the leper and the lame, They’re the reason that You came
Lord, I was that lost cause, And I was the outcast
But You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet

‘Cause You are good, You are good
And Your love endures forever
And I was the lost cause, And I was the outcast
You died for sinners just like me
A grateful leper at Your feet

Listen to Mark Hall speak about the story behind the song – click HERE

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19/09/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Why men have stopped singing in church

This is one of the most thought-provoking articles I have read about congregational singing in quite a while. As musicians we appreciate the freedom we now enjoy to learn and teach an infinite number of great songs in our gatherings. We are no longer limited to the several hundred in our now passé hymn book. But what is the impact of this change, particularly for men? This post suggests many things we should perhaps take heed of. It reminds me of the benefits that come from sticking to a smaller playlist for a term, as people get to know songs better. Let me know what you think.

WHY MEN HAVE STOPPED SINGING IN CHURCH

It happened again yesterday. I was attending one of those hip, contemporary churches — and almost no one sang. Worshippers stood obediently as the band rocked out, the smoke machine belched and lights flashed. Lyrics were projected on the screen, but almost no one sang them. A few women were trying, but I saw only one male (other than the worship leader) making the attempt.

A few months ago I blogged, “Have Christians Stopped Singing?” I did some research, and learned that congregational singing has ebbed and flowed over the centuries. It reached a high tide when I was a young man – but that tide may be going out again. And that could be bad news for men.

First, a very quick history of congregational singing.

Before the Reformation, laypersons were not allowed to sing in church. They were expected to stand mute as sacred music was performed by professionals (priests and cantors), played on complex instruments (pipe organs), and sung in an obscure language (Latin).

Reformers gave worship back to the people in the form of congregational singing. They composed simple tunes that were easy to sing, and mated them with theologically rich lyrics. Since most people were illiterate in the 16th century, singing became an effective form of catechism. Congregants learned about God as they sang about God.

A technological advance – the printing press – led to an explosion of congregational singing. The first hymnal was printed in 1532, and soon a few dozen hymns became standards across Christendom. Hymnals slowly grew over the next four centuries. By the mid twentieth century every Protestant church had a hymnal of about 1000 songs, 250 of which were regularly sung. In the church of my youth, everyone picked up a hymnal and sang every verse of every song.

About 20 years ago a new technological advance – the computer controlled projection screen – entered America’s sanctuaries. Suddenly churches could project song lyrics for all to see. Hymnals became obsolete. No longer were Christians limited to 1,000 songs handed down by our elders.
At first, churches simply projected the songs everyone knew – hymns and a few simple praise songs that had come out of the Jesus Movement. People sang robustly.

But that began to change about ten years ago. Worship leaders realized they could project anything on that screen. So they brought in new songs each week. They drew from the radio, the Internet, and Worship conferences. Some began composing their own songs, performing them during worship, and selling them on CD after church.
In short order we went from 250 songs everyone knows to 250,000+ songs nobody knows.

Years ago, worship leaders used to prepare their flocks when introducing a new song. “We’re going to do a new song for you now,” they would say. “We’ll go through it twice, and then we invite you to join in.”
That kind of coaching is rare today. Songs get switched out so frequently that it’s impossible to learn them. People can’t sing songs they’ve never heard. And with no musical notes to follow, how is a person supposed to pick up the tune?
And so the church has returned to the 14^th century. Worshippers stand mute as professional-caliber musicians play complex instruments, sung in an obscure language. Martin Luther is turning over in his grave.

What does this mean for men? On the positive side, men no longer feel pressure to sing in church. Men who are poor readers or poor singers no longer have to fumble through hymnals, sing archaic lyrics or read a musical staff.
But the negatives are huge. Men are doers, and singing was one of the things we used to do together in church. It was a chance to participate. Now, with congregational singing going away, and communion no longer a weekly ordinance, there’s only one avenue left for men to participate in the service – the offering. Is this really the message we want to send to men? Sit there, be quiet, and enjoy the show. And don’t forget to give us money.

There’s nothing wrong with professionalism and quality in church music. The problem isn’t the rock band, or the lights, or the smoke machine. The key is familiarity. People enjoy singing songs they know.
How do I know? When that super-hip band performed a hymn, the crowd responded with gusto. People sang. Even the men.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/afewgrownmen/2013/05/why-men-have-stopped-singing-in-church/

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16/09/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Looking for good Christmas songs?

Music leaders, it’s that time of year to start planning your Christmas events once again. If you are looking for ideas, check out some of these posts from Christmas past:

December 25 in song, thanks to Francesca!

. . . Click here for the itunes link. If you are looking for a great song for a Christmas event at your church, I would recommend “Heaven Everywhere” (sheet music available from Musicnotes.com) or a slower one “December 25“. If you live in a snowy location, try “Marshmallow world” for a bit of fun! Can’t say we relate to that over here in sunny Brisbane, in the middle of a heatwave. READ MORE

Grace has now appeared – Christ!

Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.”

. . . another great new Christmas song published by the folks from EMU music. (If you haven’t heard of them, they are a great source of singable gospel-true congregational songs). This song “Grace has now appeared” is the first track on their recently released Christmas album “Advent” (follow this link to buy on itunes). The theme is obviously the “advent”, the arrival of our Saviour, the Word become flesh. The whole album is filled with gospel-rich songs of different styles and tempos. It’s great to play in your home or car through the holiday season, to help remember the loving act of our Holy God, who became man, and showed immeasurable kindness in stooping down to save us, from our addiction to worshipping ourselves.
My favourite lines of this song come in verse 3, “He has come to dwell within us, Bringing us from death to life, Giving us the hope of glory, Making us like Christ, Shining forth his light.” Grace has indeed appeared! And we “little Christs” are the living reminders of that grace. Hope you enjoy the album! (Sheet music available here) READ MORE

Fullness of grace in man’s human frailty

I have been dusting off all my Christmas CDs in anticipation of that most wonderful time of the year. A song I’ve enjoyed for quite a while (on the Christmas album NEW IRISH HYMNS 3: INCARNATION) has just been re-released on the newest Getty album: Joy – An Irish Christmas. The song is called “Fullness of Grace.” It effectively captures how the Incarnation event, when God became Man in Christ, is all about Jesus’ willing choice to wrap himself in our frail human form – an embodiment of the grace of God.
READ MORE

Mary did you know?

I have only recently discovered an awesome Christmas song by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene (1991), called “Mary did you know?” Why haven’t I heard of this one before? Jeremy Camp has just released it on his new Christmas album “Christmas: God with Us”. It would make a great solo/ensemble song for your carols/Christmas program. READ MORE

And here are a few more song ideas:

Here they are. The first 4 come from a great album by Sovereign Grace Music called “Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man” (click the title to listen to all these songs. Find free lead sheets, guitar tabs and mp3s for all these songs here)

Hope has Come (fast and cheery – great with chimes or bells)

Christ the Lord is born today (great Christmas Day item)

Glory be to God on High (bright upbeat song)

Salvation is Born (a gentler feel – I used this with a choir, soloist in v1 and ending, arranged the chorus in 3 part harmony).

Is this not the Carpenter? from Emmanuel: A musical celebration of the Life of Christ
The One who made the world made this world His home
This child that grew to man came unto His own
But His own received Him not, Even looked into His eyes, yet never recognized Him, saying
“Is this not the Carpenter – is this not the Son of Mary?”

“Is this not the Carpenter – is this not the Son of Mary?”
Saying “This is but the Carpenter – it’s only Jesus, Son of Mary.”
It’s a sadness without measure, They had been with Him forever
And still not realized He was the very Son of God, saying
“Is this not the Carpenter – is this not the Son of Mary?” . . . read more

So Let Us Shine from Emu Live 2 (lyrics, pdf music and mp3 here)
For desperate people at their darkest hour, When fault and failure held us in its power
A babe was born – he said, “I am the way”.
He came to earth to turn our night to day, He came to earth to turn our night to day
So let us shine! And show the world his love
So let us shine! Because he first loved us
So let us shine! And show the world his love
This baby is the light of the world.

And this last one, is new to me, untested, but I envisage a string section and some groovy chimes and bells!
Shout for Joy by Paul Baloche – as recorded on his most recent CD “The Same Love”
(Note that the CCLI version of the sheet music has a different bridge. I’m going with the one on the album.)

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13/09/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Two books I’ve got to get hold of!

During this week I came across reviews of several new books which may be very useful for those of you in the role of music/worship leader at your church. If it has been a while since you’ve read an actual book on such topics, these two look worth the effort!

“…the gathering is unique not as an encounter with God (it is that, though God’s presence is a constantly available comfort and help to the Christian); rather it’s unique because it is an encounter with the people of God, filled with the Spirit of God, spurring one another along in the mission of God. Christ in me meets Christ in you.”

These words come from a new book Rhythms of Grace (2013), There is a good, detailed review at Chong’s worship, which I’ll share some of here. It certainly whets my appetite for more thinking about music ministry:

RHYTHMS OF GRACE: How The Church’s Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel by Mike Cosper

“What I appreciated: I finished this book loving Jesus – our true worship leader – more, and inspired to press on in retelling the gospel story when we gather as a church. Reading the first four chapters of the book is biblical theology at its breathtaking best, imaginatively told and left me (numerous times) grateful for God’s redemptive plan throughout history. If that’s where the book ended, it would already have been a worthwhile read!

When tackling more contentious issues of musical style, sound, vision etc. Mike has a gracious tone coupled with a rapier wit that leaves you embarrassed to disagree with him, and appreciative of the wisdom he’s curated from many helpful thinkers. I particularly appreciated:

his great explanation of John 4:24′s worship in Spirit and in Truth”
his critique of the Temple Model of worship planning (leading people into the throne room of God in music)
his appeal for worship planning and leading to be seen as a pastoral task.
his appeal for repetition and using non-singing elements in gathered worship (e.g. prayers, creeds, readings)

Most churches lack any real theology for worship, and most church leaders don’t know why the church is gathering, and what the goal is. Mike gives a concise yet thorough primer, rooted in Scripture and history, to answer all this. He doesn’t answer every question in-depth, and you don’t get a stand-alone, one-sentence definition of worship. But after reading this book you’ll definitely understand worship from a more biblical, gospel-centred, historically-rooted and theologically grounded perspective.” READ THE FULL ARTICLE
(or purchase here)

The second book is:

Doxology and Theology: How the Gospel Forms the Worship Leader by Matt Boswell and friends (2013)

dox-theol-book

Worship—whether you’re talking about singing (in the narrowest sense) or every thought, word and deed (in the broadest sense)—has long been a source of fascination/frustration for me. we need a better, more robust theology of worship. Matt Boswell and co. have done an impressive job on this one. Here’s a great example from Zac Hicks’ chapter, “The Worship Leader and the Trinity:”

Many in recent years have commented on the anemic state of much of evangelical worship in the twenty-first century. We are me-focused, a-theological, biblically illiterate, and entertainment-saturated, they say. Many of these critics offer a prescription for recovery, ranging from things as practical as a reform of liturgy or musical styles to things as philosophical as media ecology and aesthetics. I’m convinced, though, that many of these (important) observations find resolution when we begin to be more intentional as worshippers, worship planners, and worship leaders about allowing our worship to take the shape of our beloved Object. (Learn more or buy it at: Amazon)
This review comes from Blogging Theologically

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12/09/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Is He really making a list, checking it twice?

Yes, Christmas is still several days away (well, 15 Saturdays at least), but I was revising some posts on Christmas and Christmas songs which I had shared in the past, and found this post (borrowed from My Broom). It contains some really encouraging thoughts about how God sees us, in defiance of a popular song about Santa. You know the one, where he makes a list, checks it twice, and will certainly find out who is naughty or nice.
Some of us mistakenly slip into thinking about God this way – that he is keeping a list of whether we are doing good or bad, and is completely discouraged by our lack of faithfulness. But God has moved to us with pure grace in Christ! This post also serves a reminder for me in parenting: at Christmas time we have the opportunity to tell our children that our gifts (to them) are not based on merit (and won’t be taken back if they are naughty!). Rather, they are gifts of GRACE and love – just like the gift of new life in Christ.

“IS GOD MAKING A LIST?
Having entered into the joy of salvation, many Christians spend the rest of their lives in a fearful and frantic state of trying to ensure they don’t lose it. They have tasted the Lord and found that He is indeed good, but their knowledge of the work of Christ is either incomplete or incorrect, and so they focus their efforts on staying in His favour ~ (not losing their salvation).
For those who have been taught that Christ bore your sins up to the moment you repented and then put the load of obligation to live righteously straight back on our shoulders, I would say this ~ ‘you don’t have to live a moment longer worrying if you are living your life well enough to keep God satisfied’.
It doesn’t matter how well you live your life ~ you will never be able to maintain your salvation by your good works, our salvation rests squarely on the work of Christ both for its inception and for its maintenance. We do not drift in and out of salvation according to whether we have keep our list short and repented of every sin we can think of. No, No, No, we have crossed over from death to life… to think otherwise would be to lift from us the curse of sin, only to place back on us the curse of fear.
The writer of Hebrews expands on this in chapter 4 and verse 10; he says; “For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own works, just as God did from His”. Have you ever thought that Christ has also rested from His work on the cross? When Christ said; “it is finished” He meant the entire problem of sin was finished for those who fix their eyes on Christ and Him crucified.
The only thing that remains is for us to live in the assurance of our completed salvation by faith, Hebrews calls this ‘rest’, it is a completely new way of living, one of boldness and confidence, based entirely on Christ. Some will say that I am advocating a license to sin, hardly, I am advocating that we don’t have to sin any longer because Christ has given us righteousness… we are free to live from the sheer joy of knowing that God doesn’t keep a list.
I’ve tried to live the yo-yo life of pleasing God by watching every step I take, it’s exhausting, it’s crushing, it’s dis-empowering. Now I spend my day focused on Christ’s goodness and not my own, and if I trip up I don’t get stressed, I just rest in the fact that all my failings were crucified with Christ.”

Praising God makes our joy complete

We all know that self-praise is no praise at all – and seeking the praise of others is even worse. Nothing sounds so bad as someone describing or complaining about all their great efforts and actions simply so we can praise them for it!

So why then does God so eagerly and perhaps egotistically command us to praise Him? The pages of Scripture (which are in fact ‘God-breathed’ – 2Tim3:16) constantly direct and urge us to praise God. So basically he is asking for it. He created us for His pleasure and he does delight in our praise. Yet he doesn’t need our praise, surely? He is not insecure like us! On the other hand, yes he does deserve praise, so why shouldn’t we praise Him?

Perhaps the short answer to this dilemma is that praising God is good for us! God knows this, so directs us to praise Him. But let me direct you to some relevant discussion from C.S Lewis and John Piper to explain:

“Just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” . . . The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. . . I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. . . If we were not allowed to speak of what we value and celebrate what we love and praise what we admire, our joy could not be full.”
(C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms)

“So if God loves us enough to make our joy full, he must not only give us himself; he must also win from us the praise of our hearts — not because he needs to shore up some weakness in himself or compensate for some deficiency, but because he loves us and seeks the fullness of our joy that can be found only in knowing and praising him, the most magnificent of all beings. . . . God is the one Being in all the universe for whom seeking his own praise is the ultimately loving act. For him, self-exaltation is the highest virtue. When he does all things “for the praise of his glory,” he preserves for us and offers to us the only thing in all the world that can satisfy our longings.”
(John Piper. Desiring God, pages 48–49)

So praising God completes our joyful experience of his good and gracious character. How important it is then to see our music ministry as providing an opportunity to do just that – to bring people to praise God, even when they don’t “feel” like it or sing with trepidation because they sing ‘out of tune’.
People need to praise God. Praising God not only completes our joyful experience of his love, it also takes our eyes from ourselves and our problems to the One who holds us together, who has moved towards us with compassion in Christ.
Let’s keep doing all we can to bring people to the place of praise!

(And this may be the topic for another blog post but I’ll mention it anyway: God sings over us!
“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17 – almost a Three Sixteen!))

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09/09/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Thanks for the blog award!

I was recently nominated for the Liebster Award by one of my blog followers: http://savurbks.wordpress.com/ (Check out their About to understand their intriguing title!) I am honored to accept as well as humbled to have been nominated. (The Liebster Award is an award designed to help bloggers enter the blogging community.) I’ve just reached 10000 views on my blog this weekend and I’m really enjoying sharing with people all over the globe.

Here are the questions I was posed and my answers:
1. If you could meet any author, whom would you like to meet?
Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird
2. What is your favorite childhood book?
My Little Dinosaur – a Little Golden Book!
3. If you could watch a movie adaptation of any book, which book would you choose?
Markus Zusak’s THE MESSENGER. His other most famous book, THE BOOK THIEF, will be released as a film later this year.
4. What is your favorite genre of books?
Historical fiction – though I do read heaps of non-fiction books, in the realms of psychology and relationships.
5. What is the next book on your “must read” list?
Eric Metaxas’ biography on Bonhoeffer.
6. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?
The National parks in the USA and Canada would be awesome. But I live so far away! New Zealand might have to do.
7. Who is your role model?
As a Christian I obviously follow Jesus and want to have his ‘mind’ in my living, in my attitude to the things of this world, and to others. But there are plenty of wise older Christian women I attempt to emulate in their attitude to their husbands, children and living in general – probably not one particular person.
8. If you wrote a book, what would the title be?
“In Pitch Silence” (I’ve even described the basic plot to my daughter but just haven’t made a start!)
9. What book has inspired you through use of a Bible verse?
THINK by John Piper – which encourages us to think on God’s word and be changed: “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Timothy 2:7) (You can find a good review here.)
10. Why or how did you start bogging?
Having a journalism degree and many years working as a high school English/History/Media teacher, I thought it would be fun to start writing and sharing some ideas with people out there – particularly on my two favourite topics, music and God’s grace. That is simply how sevennotesofgrace was born. (But it was tricky to devise the blog title I must say). It is fun to see your words ‘published’ and shared, so they can be an encouragement or challenge to others.

Though extremely hard to choose, I am limited to only ten blog nominees, so here are my choices:

A Journey of faith (http://daughterbydesign.wordpress.com/about/)
An Imperfect Life made perfect by grace (http://sheensteve.wordpress.com/about/)
Sermons and Soda Water (http://sermonsandsodawater.wordpress.com/about/)
Revelling in the Overflowing Grace of God (http://bickleyhouse.wordpress.com/about/)
Proverbs Way (http://proverbsway.com/about-2/)
Chong’s Worship (http://www.chongsworship.com/about/)
Singing in Babylon (http://singinginbabylon.wordpress.com/about/)
Journey of Joy (http://greatjourneyofjoy.com/about/)
Eternitainment (http://eternitainment.com/about/)
One Passion One Devotion (http://onepassiononedevotion.wordpress.com/about/)

And I will also mention this favourite blog (though her blog is declared ‘award free’ – so I’m not really giving her an award :))
Lessons by Heart (http://lessonsbyheart.wordpress.com/about/)

Here are a few procedures to forward this Award on (if you so desire):
– Link back the blogger that tagged you
– Nominate ten others and answer the questions of the one who tagged you
– Ask ten questions for the bloggers you nominate
– Let your nominees know of their award
(Please let me know when you answer the questions as I would like to check back and read through your answers.)

And here are your questions, my dear nominated blogs!
1. What do you remember about your favourite teacher?
2. What was your favourite childhood book?
3. Which fictional book would you like to live in?
4. What is your favourite bible book – why?
5. What is your favourite Christian band/artist?
6. Where do you do your best thinking?
7. Where in the world would you most like to visit?
8. What is the next book on your to read list?
9. Why/how did you start blogging?
10. What is the most burning question you have – to ask God?

Again, thank-you to http://savurbks.wordpress.com/. Have fun and enjoy the Award!

05/09/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Oh, for a humble attitude to church – especially the music!

Church music is a stand-out feature that quickly distinguishes one church from another. While it may be difficult to assess doctrinal differences or the measure of humility amongst the congregation, it is easy to measure them by their music. We label it as good, bad, mediocre, boring, outdated or shallow. Everyone is a critic when it comes to music because we have such diversity of tastes and experiences.
Yet we are to be one in Christ! To be one we need to prefer the needs of others, to consider others, to put others before ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4) and not insist on our own way (1Cor 13:4-5).

In The Screwtape Letters C.S. Lewis describes how damaging a critical spirit can be. In the book the uncle ‘devil’ guides his nephew to distract the new Christian from growing in his faith, by making him a critic of the church:
“The search for a “suitable” church makes the man a critic where God wants him to be a pupil. What he wants from the layman in church is an attitude which may, indeed, be critical in the sense of rejecting what is false or unhelpful but which is wholly uncritical in the sense that it does not appraise- does not waste time in thinking about what it rejects, but lays itself open in uncommenting, humble receptivity to any nourishment that is going.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

When I first read those words many years ago I swallowed hard and thought how many times I had proudly commented about matters and manners in the church. I thought I knew best and spent plenty of time thinking about what I rejected. In terms of music I continue to make judgements all the time about our own music and music team. (Now to be fair I suppose a music leader does have to review and assess and work to improve. That is their purpose.) But I then wondered how much nourishment I had missed because I was distracted by my own criticism. How much do other people miss as they judge the absence of their favourite songs or the volume of the drums or focus on that song they really don’t like? (If you want more examples of the critical spirit, check out this great post from ‘lessons by heart’)

Now this is not to say that we should mindlessly accept all things (or song lyrics) that contradict the truth of the Gospel. Of course not. If the Gospel is being compromised then that is certainly the time to spend time being a critic and sharing your concerns with someone who can correct the problem.

But imagine if we were all humble enough, in Christ-like humility, that we didn’t spend time thinking about what we reject? What if we put personal preferences aside for the sake of unity and focused on receiving (and passing on) what nourishment could be gained from any Christian gathering. Uncommenting humble receptivity! What a great description of a godly attitude to develop in our churches. . . and most importantly in ourselves.

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
(Proverbs 6:16-19)

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04/09/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

For great piano playing in contemporary worship . . .

Posting today what looks like a really useful seminar from Bob Kauflin at Sovereign Grace, on effective piano playing in a worship band/music team. This is the third part of the seminar which deals with lots of things about chord colouring (with add 2, add 4), inversions, intros and leaving space for your band. Sometimes classically trained pianists find it hard to transition to playing with a band. This may be what you are looking for! I must admit I also share his enthusiasm for the add2 and the open 5th. Perhaps this would be worth a look together with all your pianists! (By the way, if there is a specific topic you want to learn something about Bob K has kindly indexed the video beneath).

http://www.worshipmatters.com/2012/01/07/the-piano-in-contemporary-worship-part-3/

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31/08/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

23 things my dad taught me

Today we are celebrating Father’s Day in Australia. (Happy Father’s day to Martin!) This year sees me finally reaching half my dad’s age! Yesterday I went looking for a photo of him from around the time I was born (since it would be my current age and make for a good comparison). And yes, my husband soon came out with ‘you look like your dad’. The similarities are more than simply physical though, and it got me thinking about the things I do and think that come from him. So I compiled a list of the lessons I learned while living as the daughter of a dairy/beef farmer – jack of all trades – Mr fix and build everything – dad!

1. It’s important to have and display common sense, don’t be foolish.
2. Don’t throw anything away, it might be useful one day (btw, my dad was born into the Great Depression).
3. Think and learn and believe you can do things. Try new and ambitious plans – don’t defeat yourself before you start. Be creative and take initiative, invent things, repair things. Don’t let mistakes or challenges defeat you.
4. Don’t just sit there – get up and do something..
5. God is real and church is important so be there, be serving his family.
6. You stay married – no options exist.
7. God is sovereign over the weather and the harvest, and the days of your life.
8. The universe and natural world are fascinating places to discover and study. Take time to notice the sky, clouds, stars, planets, lightning.
9. Know what’s going on in the world.
10. Be calm and patient if people yell at you.
11. Sitting in the sun is worthwhile and relaxing.
12. Cats apparently don’t mind being thrown 6 metres in the air and landing in a pine tree.
13. Dogs are friends and you should always have one.
14. Porridge is the best breakfast.
15. Huge spiders aren’t going to jump off walls in the night and eat you.
16. New is not always better
17. You can do much with little

And in terms of music, here are some of the many things I learned from him:

18. To Love music!
19. Choir-singing is fun.
20. You can teach yourself an instrument if you try (so I have, several)!
21. How to tune a piano – and in fact, replace a broken string by making one yourself. (I have never tried this however!)
22. How to sing good harmony.
23. Good theology in hymns is important and worth defending.

My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment.
Hang on to them, for they will refresh your soul.
They are like jewels on a necklace.
(Proverbs 3:21-22)

Ps. My daughter just reminded me of another: You must shut the fridge because ‘the penguins are coming’.
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The Wonderful Mystery of Harmony singing