30/01/2016 by sevennotesofgrace

Worship with a human heart

This post comes from a student I taught about six years ago. She has recently started a blog and would no doubt appreciate some visitors and followers. I thoroughly enjoyed her post, the content of which you will find below; please visit the original post:
Worship With A Human Heart

The church fellowship I attend is small. Worship is usually run by a singer and one – or, if we’re lucky, two – musicians, along with someone in charge of displaying lyrics. . . This week, it didn’t quite go smoothly. Sometimes the lyrics were out of order, sometimes the guitar was louder than the singer, sometimes the congregation was off-key or sang at the wrong time. At one point the musician couldn’t find the music sheet for a song, so we ended up singing one song twice!

This is my favourite worship. When we raise up our voices and stumble, when our plans go awry and the guitarist stumbles. And when we continue anyway. Because we must. I love these moments. They make me smile, and I like to think they make God smile too.

Because we aren’t a concert of professionals with a stage and fancy lightning. Because we aren’t here to produce beautiful, on-key music without missing a beat. We are here as humans to worship the one true God.

And how remarkable, how astounding that He loves our worship, stumbles and all. How awesome is it that He loves such imperfect humans.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

We don’t need to be perfect to come before God. In fact, He came to us, arms held wide, while we were unworthy. How can we not praise Him? How could anyone stand to wait until perfection before raising off-tune voices in worship to our God?

Thank you, Lord, that You love it when we worship with a fallible human heart.

14/10/2015 by sevennotesofgrace

Frustrated in your song-writing?

Valuable Reasons To Try Co-Writing

Why You Need Writing Partners (from http://www.thesongsphere.com/co-writing-2/)

One of the biggest surprises for many songwriters who move to Nashville, is how much co-writing goes on in the professional circles. Venturing an educated guess, I would say that 80% or more of today’s hit songs, across most popular genres, are co-written. That’s a surprising number to most people, and the percentage could actually be higher.

A colleague of mine has often mused about the fact that songwriting might be the only art form where a work of art can be created through collaboration. He gives the example that you don’t see fine artists “co-painting” or “co-sculpturing”. He may be right that songwriting is different than painting in that way. However when it comes to music, collaboration is not a new thing. For decades (if not hundreds of years), society has created music through partnership. And we have seen the same with the writing of literature and plays. We certainly see collaboration in artistic performance everyday, with musicians “co-performing” as an orchestra, band or choir, and actors “co-acting” on the stage or screen.

Most of the professional songwriters that I know have a co-writing session on their calendar almost every day of the week. Why are so many songs co-written today, and why should you work with writing partners too?

Here are four reasons you may consider co-writing your songs:

LEARN SOMETHING NEW – Writing with others helps expand your possibilities – whether it’s new genres, new structures, new techniques, or something else, you’ll almost always sharpen your songwriting skills from writing with a partner. Songwriters improve in their craft much quicker when they collaborate often.
BREAK BAD HABITS – When writing solo, we tend to fall into ruts that limit us in our growth as a songwriter. Sometimes our songs even begin to sound the same. Through collaboration we more readily realize our weaknesses and the imaginary limits that we’ve put on ourselves.
TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE – With two or more working together on a song, it’s easier to get through the tough spots or the hurdles. If you’re writing alone and you just can’t find the right word, or don’t know what to do for a bridge, you’re stuck. With a team of writers contributing to the song, those issues are much easier to navigate. Plus… we all want to write songs that others will enjoy. If you bounce ideas off of one another, and you both like the outcome, there is a better chance that other listeners will like it too.
GET AROUND YOUR WEAKNESS – Know what your strengths are and find someone that is strong where you are weak. For example, one of you may be strong with melody; the other with lyric. Or one may be more of an idea person and the other a “finisher”. There have been many famous songwriting teams over the years. Often when two writers find that their skills successfully compliment one another, they will become a career team. . . .

It’s normal to be apprehensive about collaboration, especially when it’s with someone you don’t know very well. But co-writing has become part of the fabric of today’s music business. If you’ve never tried writing a song with someone else, let me encourage you to step out and try it. Maybe the first time will be more of a “get to know you” coffee session. You don’t have to write something the first time you get together. Do try writing with 3 or 4 different partners and see which ones are the best fit. And don’t throw in the towel immediately. It might take a while to get the hang of it, but I believe you’ll love it in the long run!

26/01/2015 by sevennotesofgrace

Good Shepherd

This is a great modern hymn from Keith Getty (2013) and friends. Enjoy the rich lyrics and the performance from his wife Kristyn and Joni Eareckson Tada. If you know Joni’s story you will understand the significance of her singing this song, particularly the last four lines:
“Earth’s struggles overcome
Heav’n’s journey just begun
To search Christ’s depths
And ever to follow.”

Good Shepherd of my soul
Come dwell within me.
Take all I am and mould
Your likeness in me.
Before the cross of Christ
This is my sacrifice:
A life laid down
And ready to follow.

The troubled find their peace
In true surrender.
The prisoners their release
From chains of anger.
In springs of living grace
I find a resting place
To rise refreshed,
Determined to follow.

I’ll walk this narrow road
With Christ before me
Where thorns and thistles grow
And cords ensnare me.
Though doubted and denied
He never leaves my side
But lifts my head
And calls me to follow.

And when my days are gone
My strength is failing
He’ll carry me along
Through death’s unveiling
Earth’s struggles overcome
Heav’n’s journey just begun
To search Christ’s depths
And ever to follow.

Words and Music by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Fionan de Barra, and Stuart Townend
© 2013 Getty Music Publishing (BMI) and Fionan de Barra (admin MusicServices.org) and Townend Songs

http://www.gettymusic.com/hymns-goodshepherd.aspx?

12/01/2015 by sevennotesofgrace

Celebrating the Anchor of Grace – with Rend Collective

Tomorrow starts a new chapter for me as I head back to the classroom teaching Senior English. No doubt there will be many challenges ahead, yet also many opportunities to bless and encourage these high school students to put their hope in Christ. This will mean considerably less blog writing, but I’ll endeavour to share any great songs I discover as often as possible.
At the moment I’m really enjoying the bright, energetic sound and biblical lyrics of Rend Collective.

Here are a few favourites I’ve recently discovered:
(All the chord sheets can be found here: http://rendcollective.com/chords/)

Build your Kingdom Here (Come, Set your rule)

Finally Free

My LightHouse

08/11/2014 by sevennotesofgrace

The blessing of songs from across the sea!

12 Apostles – Great Ocean Road Victoria Australia

Thanks to Tim Challies for a recent post on his blog entitled “Songs we sing that you probably don’t”. His aim was to share some lesser known songs that have greatly blessed his church. This got me thinking, since most followers of SevenNotes are not from Australia (and I am) there are probably many songs that have become popular here that you are missing out on! What follows is my attempt to cover the best offerings for congregational singing which we have enjoyed from Australian songwriters in the last decade or so. Most of the lead sheets will be available through Song Select (CCLI) and part or full recordings of the songs are on the net. In fact, I have compiled a playlist on Spotify called Church Songs Australia where you can find them all! I will start with most recent and work backwards (and if I have already shared something on one of them, I’ll send you to that post to explore). Clicking on song titles below will take you to an mp3 and sheet music (most of the time). (NOTE: I’ve just discovered EMU’s homepage is down at the moment so some of the links may not work! Sorry – should be fixed soon.)

OVERFLOWED, NO OTHER NAME, SEE THE MAN (all 3 by Trevor Hodge) http://www.trevorhodgemusic.com/

MY SAVIOUR’S CROSS (Rob Smith 2013)

GRACE HAS NOW APPEARED (Rob Smith 2012)

THIS LIFE I LIVE (Michael Morrow)

UNDIVIDED (Rob Smith)

STRONGER (Reuben Morgan)

HOLDING ON TO ME (Garage Hymnal)

COME HEAR THE ANGELS SING & WE BELONG TO THE DAY (Michael Morrow)

NEVER ALONE (Phillip Percival and Simone Richardson)

HALLELUJAH TO THE KING OF KINGS (Marl Peterson)

SEE HIM COMING (Mark Peterson)

WE ARE HIS PEOPLE (Phillip Percival)

HIGHEST PLACE (Mark Peterson)

24/09/2014 by sevennotesofgrace

Great resource for learning new songs

There is an invaluable resource, particularly for guitarists, within the Worship Together website. In case you haven’t discovered it yet, go there now! http://www.worshiptogether.com/
Each song comes with a SONG VIDEO/NEW SONG CAFE where the song writer is interviewed, they share their song, and explain some of the unusual things they do to make the song work. Chord structures, rhythm and dynamics are all explored. It’s also helpful to hear the history of how the song came together, and the main things the writer intends the song to say. I always enjoy getting to know a little about the person behind the song as well. These clips are a great research for helping with tricky chord structures, and just getting the right feel to a song. I hope you find it helpful!

22/09/2014 by sevennotesofgrace

Why should I gain from His reward?

Yes, the Sovereign lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. (Isaiah 40:10-11 NLT)

Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22:12-13)

Sometimes even really great songs can become tired. People just get ‘over’ singing them and the impact and meaning is lost. It’s rare to find a song that endures very long these days! But this song is somehow different: How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (1995)

I remember when I first came across the Stuart Townend song. Its unusual time signature scheme (4/4 and 6/4 in alternate bars) coupled with beautiful poetry declaring the wonder of God’s love really gave the song a certain ‘X’ factor – and won me over! Perhaps for these reasons it has endured as a singable and meaningful song. Though it’s been around for almost two decades I’d say this song can still penetrate any stubborn heart and mind to see the beauty of our salvation afresh! (In case you somehow missed it, the lyrics are down below)

There is such rich theology in this song – but I’d like to focus on one intriguing line in verse 3: “Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer. . .”

As we see in the passages above from Isaiah and Revelation, the Messiah, Risen Redeemer King, Jesus Christ turns up to rule bringing his reward with him, a reward which is his own flock of people, saved by His blood. These are the people the Father has given to Jesus, as His reward:
“My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.…” (John 10:29)

How incredible that from Jesus’ perspective we are His reward, the people of God, sinners saved by undeserved grace! We cannot give an answer for why Jesus would die for us, for his enemies – we can only look with thankfulness that “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:12)
This is Jesus, our redeemer and friend! How deep the love of the Father to send his own Son for us!

HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US

How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss –
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life –
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart –
His wounds have paid my ransom.

Stuart Townend– See more at: http://www.stuarttownend.co.uk/song/how-deep-the-fathers-love-for-us/#sthash.jX205XY1.dpuf

Here are some links to learn more about the song:

http://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/songdetail.aspx?iid=577430

12/09/2014 by sevennotesofgrace

Should worship be fun?

From the Archives: Should Worship be Fun? People-Laughing
(by Bob Kauflin at Worship matters)
More than once I’ve heard Christians insist that worship should be fun, or act like they had a responsibility to prove that Christians knew how to “party” in church. I’ve always been uncomfortable with that connection, so I started thinking about the place of “fun” in worship, if one even exists. I’m going to address this question by answering it as I posed it, and then considering two other ways it might be phrased.

Should worship be fun? If we take the exhaustive testimony of Scripture, the answer would have to be a resounding NO. “Fun” wouldn’t characterize any of the scenes in the Bible where people encounter God together, at least not the zany, slap-happy, crazy, mindless kind of fun. We’re told to worship God with reverence and awe, for he is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:28-29). To have “fun” one of our primary motives as we gather. Among other things our goals include remembering, rehearsing, and reveling in the gospel, magnifying God’s glory in Christ, spurring one another on to love and good deeds, presenting our petitions before God, and being strengthened by his Word and the communion of the saints. Celebration will certainly be included in that, but there are also times when worshipping God will produce awe, tears of repentance, or a profound silence.

But let me rephrase the question. Can worship be fun? It depends on how we define “fun.”

If “fun” is defined as a lighthearted activity with no purpose or meaning, strictly meant to amuse, then the answer to the question, “Can worship be fun?” must surely be no. When we worship God together, we are not looking to be merely entertained or momentarily distracted from the cares of this world. We’re not seeking to promote a Christian alternative to Saturday Night Live (Sunday Morning Live?). Diversion is not the same as worship. Our joy and gladness are meant to be grounded in and informed by God’s character, nature, and acts.

But when I looked up “fun” on my desktop dictionary, the first meaning was “enjoyable.” If we’re asking, “Can worshipping God be enjoyable?” then surely the answer must be yes. That doesn’t mean Isaiah 6 has no relevance to our meeting together to engage with God. But Isaiah 6 isn’t the only chapter in Scripture that describes how we are to relate to God. There have been countless times that I’ve been leading or singing as part of the congregation and thought, “I love doing this!” Joy floods my soul, and I could legitimately say I’m having “fun!”

It may be similar to what the Israelites experienced in 2 Chronicles 30. They so enjoyed celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days that Hezekiah and the people spontaneously decided to keep the feast for another seven days (2 Chron. 30:22-23)! That must have been some celebration! On another occasion, Ezra and the priests told the people not to mourn or weep because that day was “holy to the Lord” and that the joy of the Lord was their strength (Neh. 8:9-10). Holiness and joy aren’t necessarily exclusive.

When my children were growing up, I wanted them to look forward to singing worship songs, and not see a relationship with God as something that was only serious, sober, and solemn. After all, singing to God is meant to be pleasant (Ps. 135:3; Ps. 147:1). David danced before the Lord with all his might as he brought the ark back to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:12-15). The Psalmist was glad when they said to him, “Let us go up to the house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1). So yes, when defined as enjoyment and not seen as the only aspect of our time together on Sunday morning, worshipping God can be very “fun.” People shouldn’t find our meetings dull or dour. Smiles and even laughter should abound as we consider how kind, merciful, and gracious God has been to us (Ps. 126:2)!

But let me rephrase the question one more time, to broaden the application.

“Should our fun be worship?” Well now the answer must surely be “yes.” We’re told in 1 Cor. 10:31 that whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we’re to do it all for the glory of God. Rather than focusing on making our corporate worship fun, maybe we should spend more time making sure our “fun” is worship.

Here are some questions that can lead us in that direction.

Do I choose a fun activity because there’s nothing else to do, or because I believe it will in some way cause me to grow in my love for God?
When I play games, participate in sports, or pursue a hobby, does my attitude demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit?
When I go out with a group of friends, am I seeking just to have fun, or to glorify God through encouraging them, challenging sin, and serving them?
Do the activities I consider “fun” increase my affections for God or dilute them?
Do I view my free time as belonging to me or to God?

The fun this world offers is unsatisfying, deceptive, and temporary. Let’s not idolize it or imagine it’s God offers nothing better. As Christians, we can enjoy fun activities without believing they’re the root of our happiness. The joy we experience when in worshiping God together is greater than the world will ever know, because the root is knowing our sins have been paid for through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ and we worship a risen and reigning Savior.

Our joy is ultimately in God himself. We’d be fools to look for it anywhere else.

For more on this topic, download the following messages from the Sovereign Grace Ministries website:
Worshiping God as the Source of All Secondary Joys by Randy Alcorn
A Biblical Understanding of Leisure by Jeff Purswell

[This is a slightly edited version of a post from Feb. 6, 2007]

06/08/2014 by sevennotesofgrace

Sharing the Gospel online

This article from Paul Steinbrueck is an interesting read for anyone involved in promoting the gospel online, particularly through the local church:

What’s the best way to share the good news of Jesus Christ with people in your community? Are churches supposed to put on great services and outreach events that draw non-Christian people from the community to hear the Good News? Are individuals supposed to share their faith with their friends and neighbors?
The answer, of course, is both/and.
Even more than that, though, churches and the individuals who make them up can both be more effective at sharing their faith – online and offline – if they recognize what they’re each good at and work together.

People don’t have relationships or friendships with a church. They have relationships with other people. They listen to people. They trust people. It’s the people within a church that have relationships with those outside the church that don’t know Christ. It’s also the people within the church that have God stories. Their lives have been transformed. They have experienced God’s grace, provision, and protection.
Churches are great organizers and facilitators. They put on services and events. They have buildings and websites that can serve as the hub of their community of Christ. They can communicate and distribute content to everyone whose connected with the church.
Knowing that, here are…
7 Ways Churches and Their People Can Work Together to Share the Gospel Online
1) Share sermons. Churches – make your sermons available online. People – share them with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, email. Send the link to specific people who you think would benefit from seeing/hearing it.
2) Share events. Churches – facilitate services and events geared for unchurched people. Create web pages and Facebook events for them. Promote them on Facebook and Twitter. People – invite your friends to them.
3) Share God stories. Churches – ask people in your church to share their God stories in a worship service. Put video of those stores on YouTube, Facebook, and your website. People – share these stories with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Send the link to specific people who you think can relate to the stories.
4) Share life. People – blog, Facebook, and tweet about what you see God doing in your life. Churches – listen to your people’s Facebook updates and tweets. Retweet those that will encourage others in your church.
5) Inspire and train. Churches – inspire and train your people to live their faith online. Preach about it. Provide resources like those on the Internet Evangelism Day website. People – listen, learn, and life your faith.
6) Collaborate. Churches – seek out and embrace the biggest bloggers, Facebookers, and Twitterers in your church. People – seek out your church leaders. Collaborate.
7) Share great content. Churches – follow creators of great Christian content – authors, bloggers, podcasters, video producers. Share their great content online. People – share and retweet the great content your church is providing you with your online friends.
Which of these ways is your church and its people working together to share the gospel online? What other ways can churches and their people work together to share the good news online?

http://blog.ourchurch.com/2011/05/17/7-ways-churches-and-their-people-can-work-together-to-share-the-gospel-online/

23/07/2014 by sevennotesofgrace

Reflections on effective Preaching: “A view from the pew”

For a preacher to have mastery of a passage, the passage ought to have mastery over him.
Preachers who preach God’s truth into life (births, deaths, marriages, job losses, debts, breakins, car accidents, cancers etc.) give me the equipment to fight and survive as God’s child in the real world.
Good preachers obliterate the divide between lofty grandeur of God and the messiness of real life, so that I see and do something about the constant rub of idolatry against the call to discipleship in my own life.
I love it when preachers tell me what arrests, intrigues, amazes and captivates them from God’s word. A preacher’s delighted, wide-eyed insight is a massive aid to engagement.
Preachers with a humble conviction about the authority of preaching pack more punch.
“Unpacking a passage” is much less exciting than releasing a wild lion into our midst.
I sense when a preacher’s preparation has included preparation of his own heart, because he preaches not only to me but to himself.
I find preachers who walk boldly into a passage hungry for vital truth, fearless of apparent exegetical, theological or pastoral difficulty are far more compelling for their courage.
I like to hear a preacher’s certainty born of a thoroughness of preparation and theological conviction.
It is frustrating when a sermon has no application.
I am discouraged when applications are effectively an exercise in heaping guilt on the listener. Rhetorical questions are a cheap way out! It is different from being challenged by gospel. My guilt has been taken by Christ!
I’m captivated when I get sense that the preacher’s hardest fight has been the fight for his own soul, obedience, understanding and submission to the truth.
Only after taking God’s word to his own heart is a preacher able to cleverly, sensitively, wisely, boldly craft a sermon that has the hearts of others as its goal. Pastors make good preachers – they are students of their own heart and other’s. They anticipate my questions.
Laughter opens hearts and minds and helps me stay awake.
Listeners lose interest when the preacher has lost interest first. (Boredom is the new morality – if it is boring it is more than wrong!)
Every preacher must ask himself at the end of every sermon, “So what!?”
God-breathed scriptures are full of risk, danger, opportunity, drama and daring – not like a stuffed lion in a museum. Tame sermons turn the living Word of God into a lifeless museum exhibit.
Preachers shouldn’t be afraid of deep truths that average mortals have to take time and thought to comprehend. It isn’t bad that a listener doesn’t understand something this time round.
I feel secure when preacher shares his sermon structure/aim for his sermon with me.
Passion in preaching is by product of love for God.
Preachers who tell me how to feel – or how they feel – leave my feelings unstirred. Challenge is to so use their words and their insight into the text and people to add the weight of all their energies to the Spirit’s sovereign work.
Choose someone interesting if you are going to copy another preacher!
Poetry and art are the preacher’s friends – they move hearts and stir affections…that my life would be warm to God!
Biblical theses and models are helpful in my understanding and recall of breadth, theme and unity of the bible.
Biblical theses and models can suck the life out of sermons when they become wheel ruts.
Good preachers don’t take themselves too seriously, but take God’s truth seriously enough to die for.
A sermon must be personal, passionate and pleading – not just a talk.
A truth known intellectually may not be a truth truly comprehended, believed and obeyed. (It’s helpful when a preacher knows I believe it, but that I haven’t acted on it or truly comprehended it. It’s great when a preacher probes, personally, from pulpit!)
You may never say anything really new, but that’s no excuse for not saying it in a fresh way.
My obedience (thought, word, deed) completes God’s purpose for preaching.(These points were taken from a talk given at the QTC Preaching Conference 2012 by musician Colin Buchanan)