Praise Group Playlist 12-30-12

I decided to use music from the "New Irish Hymns - Incarnation" CD by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. Wonderful Christmas music that hasn't been played a zillion times.

Prelude:

Fullness of Grace (Getty/Townend)
Wexford Carol (traditional Irish carol - just lovely!)
Joy Has Dawned (Getty/Townend)

Quiet - nothing

In Christ Alone (Getty/Townend)
Meekness and Majesty (Grahamn Kendrick)

Offering - Silent Night - guitar solo by a young lady accompanied by the guitarist in our praise group. I loved the sound of 2 guitars.
Response - Doxology

By Faith We See the Hand of God (Getty)

#213 - What Child is This (sounded great with guitar, cello & flute)

Doxology - #218 - verse 5 of Angels We Have Heard on High

Postlude - Fullness of Grace

Praise Group Playlist 11-25-12

Since this was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, thankfulness was the obvious choice:

Prelude:
My heart is Filled with Thankfulness (Getty)
Thank You for Saving Me (Martin Smith)
Worthy is the Lamb (Darlene Zshech)

Quiet - nothing

Lamb of God (Twila Paris)
You are My All in All

Offering - O For a Closer Walk (534 Trinity Hymnal)
Response - Doxology

O My Soul, Arise & Bless Your Maker (Stuart Townend)

The Church's One Foundation (page 347 Trinity Hymnal)

Doxology - page 98 verse 3

Postlude: My Heart is Filled With Thankfulness

Praise Group Playlist - 10-28-12

In honor of Reformation Sunday, I tried to pick songs that depicted the solas of the Reformation: By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.  Hence:

Prelude - Marvelous Grace of our Loving Lord (Trinity Hymnal page 465)
My Faith Has found a Resting Place (Trinity Hymnal page 468)
Nothing But the Blood (Trinity Hymnal page 307)
To God Be The Glory (Trinity Hymnal page 55)

(Note: service music picked by the pastor)
Quiet time - How Sweet the Sound of Jesus (Trinity Hymnal page 647)

Holy, Holy, Holy (Trinity Hymnal page 100)
I Stand in Awe (Mark Altrogge)

Offering - Holy Spirit Living Breath of God (Getty/Townend)
Response - Doxology

My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness (Getty/Townend)

May the Mind of Christ My Savior (Trinity Hymnal #644)

Doxology - Trinity Hymnal #98 - third verse

Postlude:  My Faith Looks Up to Thee (Trinity Hymnal #528)

On this Sunday, our guitar player was not available, but we were joined by a young lady on flute, which was a wonderful addition to the group, which was a cellist and myself on piano.

Praise Group Play List 6-23-12

Prelude:

To Him Who Sits on the Throne (an oldie but goodie)
10,000 Reasons (A new goodie by Matt Redman - the sheet music was a free offering on either Kingsway Music or Worship Together)
Thine O Lord (another oldie but goodie)

#295 Trinity Hymnal - Crown Him
See, What a Morning (Getty)

Offering:

Trinity Hymnal #680 - Consider the Lilies (described by my pastor as "schmaltzy but the words are great"!)

Response - All Things Are Thine

Trinity Hymman #35 - My God How Wonderful Thou Art

Sermon Response - Jesus is Lord (Getty)

Doxology - May the Peace (Getty)

Postlude - Thine O Lord

The prelude/postlude choices were influenced by the pastor's service music, particularly "Crown Him".  The sermon and the music all pointed to Jesus as Lord - His position now in heaven.

Praise Group Play List 7-15-12

I thought it would be fun to post the playlists for the Praise Group at our church and maybe write a little about the songs. (Much more fun than mowing the lawn or reclaiming the garden during the mid-day heat in high summer!) I just went through my stack of lists & found that I have them back through January of 2011. They are on the back side of old page-a-day calendar sheets featuring cat cartoons. If I get really ambitious I'll post about some past lists.

Usually we are scheduled for the 4th Sunday of each month, but we're flexible, so this month it is tomorrow. Most of the time our group consists of myself on the piano and a guitarist and cellist. Sometimes we are joined by a violin or two, when they come home for a visit. Occasionally we also have a guest instrument. A while back our church got a new (to us) baby grand piano and set it in a different place than where the spinet was and I love the new arrangement.

Our pastor chooses the music we sing during the service. I think he does an amazing job of not only choosing music that fits with the sermon and the various parts of the worship service, but also working with the style of each service's pianist or organist.

I do most of the choosing for the prelude & postlude. (So if you don't like the music, now you know who to blame!) I like to make photocopies of everything and put them into a ring binder. It cuts down on bringing a stack of music books and also lessons the likelihood of the music blowing or falling off the piano.

Here's tomorrow's list:

Prelude:
Make us One - Twila Paris
How Great Are You Lord - Lynn DeShazo
I Will Glory in My Redeemer - Steve & Vikki Cook
There is a Hope - Stuart Townend

Service:
Beautiful Saviour - Stuart Townend
To See the King of Heaven Fall (Gethsenane) - Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart - Henry Smith
Jesus I Come (Out of My Bondage) - (Old hymn words with new RUF tune)
Faith of Our Fathers - #570 - Trinity Hymnal
Threefold Amen - #740 - Trinity Hymnal

Postlude:  Make Us One

Various things influence my choices. Tomorrow's over-arching theme is Key of C!!! (It is summer after all, when the living is supposed to be easy!)  I also really love Celtic music, so a lot of what I pick has a Celtic flavor. I'm also a hopeless Anglophile, so if it comes from the British Isles, my ears perk right up. I've also discovered that Kingsway Music UK and Worship Together Music offers free sound files, lead sheets and sheet music every week, so that has been a great source of new music. "Make Us One" by Twila Paris, for example, was the free-song Friday offering a few weeks ago on Worship Together.

So how about the rest of the songs?

How Great Are You Lord was done by Robin Mark on the Revival in Belfast album. I love Robin Mark! Each of his CD's is a mixture of his own compositions and those of others and I have used a lot of those songs in my playlists. I just wish we had a penny whistle player!

I Will Glory is from Sovereign Grace Music and was on Bob Kauflin's "Upward" hymns CD. Not only is a lot of their music appealing, but the lyrics are theologically sound, which makes them great candidates for congregational singing.

I first heard There is a Hope as I was using youtube as my radio and poking around listening to various British praise & worship music. The version on youtube has an extended uillean pipe solo that is totally gorgeous, but I also like the song's melody and message.  We have added it to our congregational repertoire.

Beautiful Saviour is one of the first Stuart Townend songs I heard and I'm not even sure  where I first heard it. It's been part of the congregational repertoire for quite a while now.

To See the King of Heaven Fall was one of the free song offerings on Kingsway and was so beautiful and moving that we incorporated it into our worship repertoire right away.

Give Thanks - it's an oldie but goodie copyrighted 1978. Just today I looked through "The Source" (a huge hymnal-style book of praise and worship music compiled by Graham Kendrick) and found a really nice arrangement of it to use tomorrow.  We are singing it during the offering.

Out of My Bondage is found in our Trinity Hymnal, but the version we are singing tomorrow is to a new tune by Reformed University Fellowship. Their mission is to take old hymns and introduce them to a new generation. I'm not crazy about all their efforts, but in this case, I think this tune is a huge improvement over the one in the hymnal - lyrical, singable, and nicely complementing the words, which are wonderful.

Faith of Our Fathers - some songs don't need modernizing and this is one of them. Each month we do at least one hymn that the praise group hasn't done before (not on purpose, just happens that way) so slowly but surely I am scanning the Trinity Hymnal into my computer and creating my piano player's version that fits into a ring binder.

Three-fold Amen - a lovely way to end the service!

Thanksgiving Thought

Here's a great quote from Nancy Leigh DeMoss: "You can worship or whine, but you can't do both at the same time"!

Praise God, from Whom ALL blessings flow!!!

Rise, My Soul, To Watch and Pray

This was one of the hymns we sang today. I thought it was interesting to see that it was written in 1697 by a German composer named Johann Freystein. Then in 1863 it was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth, who is responsible for many of hymns we enjoy today.

"Rise, My Soul, to Watch and Pray"
by Johann B. Freystein, 1671-1718
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878

1. Rise, my soul, to watch and pray,
From thy sleep awaken;
Be not by the evil day
Unawares o'ertaken.
For the Foe,
Well we know,
Oft his harvest reapeth
While the Christian sleepeth.

2. Watch against the devil's snares
Lest asleep he find thee;
For indeed no pains he spares
To deceive and blind thee.
Satan's prey
Oft are they
Who secure are sleeping
And no watch are keeping.

3. Watch! Let not the wicked world
With its pow'r defeat thee.
Watch lest with her pomp unfurled
She betray and cheat thee.
Watch and see
Lest there be
Faithless friends to charm thee,
Who but seek to harm thee.

4. Watch against thyself, my soul,
Lest with grace thou trifle;
Let not self thy tho'ts control
Nor God's mercy stifle.
Pride and sin
Lurk within
All thy hopes to scatter;
Heed not when they flatter.

5. But while watching, also pray
To the Lord unceasing.
He will free thee, be thy stay,
Strength and faith increasing.
O Lord, bless
In distress
And let nothing swerve me
From the will to serve Thee.

6. Therefore let us watch and pray,
Knowing He will hear us
As we see from day to day
Dangers ever near us,
And the end
Doth impend--
Our redemption neareth
When the Lord appeareth.

Hymn #567
The Trinity Hymnal
Text: Matthew 26:41
Author: Johann B. Freystein, 1697, cento
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: "Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit"
Tune: "Straf mich nicht"
1st Published in: Hundert Arien
Town: Dresden, 1694

Indelible Grace!

We sang this in church today. What a marvelous message, and what wonderful imagery!


A Debtor to Mercy Alone by Augustus Toplady (author of Rock of Ages)

A debtor to mercy alone
Of covenant mercy I sing
I come with Your righteousness on
My humble offering to bring
The judgments of Your holy law
With me can have nothing to do
My Savior’s obedience and blood
Hide all my transgressions
From view

The work which Your goodness began
The arm of Your strength will complete
Your promise is yes and amen
And never was forfeited yet
The future or things that are now
No power below or above
Can make You Your purpose forego
Or sever my soul from Your love

My name from the palms of Your hands
Eternity will not erase
Impressed on Your heart it remains
In marks of indelible grace
Yes I, to the end will endure
Until I bow down at Your throne
Forever and always secure
A debtor to mercy alone

O Light That Knew No Dawn

In our worship service, we sometimes reflect on a hymn while it is played, before the call to worship. Today I was the pianist and the hymn below was today's choice. The author is Gregory of Nanzianzus, and I encourage you to google the name and read up on some fascinating Christian history. I also encourage you to google John Brownlie, who was a Scottish pastor in the late 1800's. He translated this and many other poems from the ancient Greek & Latin.

O Light That Knew No Dawn

O Light that knew no dawn,
That shines to endless day,
All things in earth and Heav’n
Are lustered by Thy ray;
No eye can to Thy throne ascend,
Nor mind Thy brightness comprehend.

Thy grace, O Father, give,
That I might serve in fear;
Above all boons, I pray,
Grant me Thy voice to hear;
From sin Thy child in mercy free,
And let me dwell in light with Thee.

That, cleansed from stain of sin,
I may meet homage give;
And pure in heart, behold
Thy beauty while I live;
Clean hands in holy worship raise,
And Thee, O Christ my Savior, praise.

In supplication meek
To Thee I bend the knee;
O Christ, when Thou shalt come,
In love remember me,
And in Thy kingdom, by Thy grace,
Grant me a humble servant’s place.

Thy grace, O Father, give,
I humbly Thee implore;
And let Thy mercy bless
Thy servant more and more.
All grace and glory be to Thee,
From age to age eternally.

Celtic Advent

In the Celtic Christian tradition, Advent is a full 40 days of preparation, similar to Lent. In "The Celtic Daily Prayer" book by the Northumbria Community, it is described as a time of repentance, humbling and interior "housecleaning". John the Baptist's warning was to prepare a way for the Lord by making a clear and level path, getting rid of boulders (the things we have done that we should not have) and filling in the potholes (the things we should have done and failed to do).

In the past, I have only noticed Advent on Sundays when we lit a candle at church in the Advent wreath. I really love this idea of Celtic Advent as a way to spiritually prepare for the holiday season. In googling "Celtic Advent", I found the following at www.wellsprings.org.uk:

Opening Responses
Reader	Days of heavy clouds stifling the sunlight the world burdened by greyness and gloom
ALL	OPEN OUR EYES, LORD TO THE COMING OF YOUR LIGHT LIFTING THE BURDEN OF DARKNESS FROM OUR LIVES.
Reader	Chillness that seeps deep into bones hearts and spirits rigid with frost-hardness souls wrapped up against coldness and loneliness.
ALL	OPEN OUR SOULS, LORD, TO THE WARMTH OF YOUR COMING MELTING THE HARDNESS THAT KEEPS US FROM YOU AND FROM EACH OTHER.
Reader	Trees - branches bare against the steel skies stems crumpled under weight of frost - weight of snow last year’s leaves - blackened and slippery underfoot - nature oppressed by wintriness - yet resting - awaiting rebirth.
ALL	CHERISH OUR HEARTS, LORD OPPRESSED BY WINTRINESS - ASSURE US OF YOUR COMING OF YOUR CALL TO NEW LIFE.

Closing Responses
Reader	We take the light of our prayer into the world
ALL	TO PRAY FOR THOSE UNABLE TO PRAY; TO OFFER OURSELVES AS ANSWERS TO PRAYER.
Reader	We take the light of our compassion into the world:
ALL	TO COME ALONGSIDE THOSE WHO ARE SUFFERING ANGUISH OF HEART ANGUISH OF MIND AND BE AS CHRIST FOR THEM.
Reader	We take the light of God's power into the world:
ALL	GOD'S POWER MADE PERFECT IN POWERLESSNESS STRENGTH MADE KNOWN IN WEAKNESS LIFE MADE KNOWN IN DYING.
Reader	God enters the hearts of all who pray - and feel they are not heard suffers their pain - their humiliation - carries the burdens of the world and dies that we might live May our God bless us
ALL	THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
Reader	And until we meet again
ALL	MAY GOD HOLD US IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND. AMEN

There is a Hope

Stuart Townend is one of my favorite Christian songwriters, and this song of his is one of my favorites. There is a wonderful video of it on youtube. Someday maybe I'll master how to embed it in my blog. Until then, you'll have to google it. Anyhow, here are the lyrics - perfect for a rainy Monday morning in January!

There is a Hope by Stuart Townend and Mark Edwards - 2007

There is a hope that burns within my heart,
that gives me strength for every passing day;
a glimpse of glory now revealed in meagre part,
yet drives all doubt away:
I stand with Christ, with sins forgiven;
and Christ in me, the hope of heaven!
My highest calling and my deepest joy -
to make His will my home.

There is a hope that lifts my weary head,
a consolation strong against despair,
that when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit,
I find the Saviour there!
Through present sufferings, future's fear,
He whispers "courage" in my ear.
For I am safe in everlasting arms,
and they will lead me home.

There is a hope that stands the test of time,
that lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave,
to see the matchless bueaty of a day divine
when I behold His face!
When sufferings cease and sorrows die,
and every longing satisfied.
Then joy unspeakable will flood my soul,
for I am truly home.

Today's Tidbit

Today I created a new radio station on Pandora called "Dennis Jernigan". The resulting songs were wonderful! I would call them vintage worship songs - a lot of Heritage Singers, Maranatha Singers, and some quiet, contemplative songs from more contemporary artists.

Alphabet Thanksgiving (what did I forget?)

A - apples, aunts

B - Bible, beads, books, brother-in-laws

C - cats, coffee, chocolate, Cammie, cousins

D - Dad, dogs (equal time!), donuts

E - eating!

F - family, friends, flowers, fruit

G - God, gardens

H - home, health, hypertufa

I - income, internet

J - Jesus!, jewelry, job

K -Kettle Corn

L - love, Little Man, life

M - Mom, mosaic, marbles, music

N - nature, nieces, nephews

O - old age

P - piano

Q - quarters (in the year, in the dollar, in a game)

R - reading

S - sugar, salt, Spirit, snow, sisters, sister-in law

T - tea

U - unlimited long distance minutes, uncles

V - voting rights

W - water

X - x-rays

Y - youth

Z - zillions of mind-boggling stars, named and placed by God.

Sweet Contentment

This week I enjoyed listening to the CD "Love in the Ruins" by Lianna Klassen. She has an angelic voice and deeply inspiring lyrics. Here's a song that really spoke to me:

Sweet Contentment
words and music by Lianna Klassen

There's a place of sweet contentment
But that place is a harder journey than it seems
and the journey is a mystery
'til Messiah, He lights the way for eyes to see
and though I'm as a child
and quickly lose my way
I know that place of sweet contentment
grows closer everyday.

And the character I'm building on this journey we call Life
Is the Character that gives me hope and that it'll be alright
and the hope I find in Jesus, is the hope of better things
So I will wait in sweet contentment, for the next step that He brings.

In that place of sweet contentment
The Father, he whispers gently in our ear
But on the journey to contentment
and through the breaking , His voice it shouts loud and clear
Oh the pain that I have known
Has brought me closer still
To that place of sweet contentment
In brokeness fulfilled.

And the character I'm building on this journey we call Life
Is the Character that gives me hope and that it'll be alright
and the hope I find in Jesus, is the hope of better things
So I will wait in sweet contentment, for the next step that He brings.

The song notes include this quote from C. S. Lewis: God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

www.liannaklassen.com

Music Hunt

The other day my pastor told me he was helping with the music at the youth group retreat. He asked if I might have sheet music for some of the songs, to go along with the guitar chords he had been given. I had to laugh, because I had only heard of 2 of the 6 songs on the list, and only had music for one of them. I'm getting old!!! The praise & worship music that I am most familiar with is now practically ancient history, written in the 80's, 90's and maybe early 2000's. However, I must say, the task of becoming acquainted with some new stuff was a blessing indeed. Youtube and Myspace were a great help. Almost every song is available on one or both of those sites to listen to. I have always found it very helpful to actually hear a song, especially the contemporary ones, in order to know how they should sound. Tracking down the sheet music was a bit harder, but not too bad. www.worshiptogether.com has a lot of music available at very reasonable prices. Also, they always feature some free songs, which I try to print out. I also found a site called www.igracemusic.com which had hymns, old & new, available.

The biggest blessing was hearing Todd Agnew. I had never heard him or heard of him before, but I really like the music he has featured on his myspace page. His voice is a surprise, very deep and sort of like Johnny Cash. His style and words are passionate.