Category Archives: Music

Posted on

A Hymn Worth Singing

“How Sweet and Aweful is the Place” is a hymn you should sing. Isaac Watts strikes the spectacular balance of how Christ’s word is the aroma of life and death.

VERSE 1
How sweet and aweful is the place
With Christ within the doors
While everlasting love displays
The choicest of her stores

VERSE 2
While all our hearts and all our songs
Join to admire the feast
Each of us cry with thankful tongues
“Lord, why was I a guest?”

VERSE 3
“Why was I made to hear Thy voice
And enter while there’s room
When thousands make a wretched choice
And rather starve than come?”

VERSE 4
’Twas the same love that spread the feast
That sweetly drew us in
Else we had still refused to taste
And perished in our sin

VERSE 5
Pity the nations, O our God
Constrain the earth to come
Send Thy victorious Word abroad
And bring the strangers home

VERSE 6
We long to see Thy churches full
That all the chosen race
May with one voice and heart and soul
Sing Thy redeeming grace

Posted on

Soundtracks for the Battle

symphbanner

For as long as I can remember military history has occupied a chief place of interest in my life. Whenever I came home from school and my parents asked how my day was I invariably responded, “Boring.” It was only during times when my social studies class studied a famous war that the response changed to, “My day was awesome!”

I majored in history for my undergraduate degree and still spend a fair portion of my week reading books about military history. When I heard my three little boys off to bath time each night I do so by commanding, “Get off the beach! Move, move, move!”

It is probably not surprising then to find out that I like to think of preaching as being, primarily, an act of warfare. When a preacher stands behind the sacred desk to deliver God’s Sacred Word he enters into the greatest battle the universe has ever seen. Through gospel courage and clarity he assaults the kingdom of darkness and the gates of hell. His weapon is the sword of the Spirit and with it he aims to slay sin and liberate its captives.

Therefore, I believe that war soundtracks – from major movies or mini-series – are the most appropriate background music for sermon preparation. John Murphy, a friend and church planter, tweeted last week:

Screen Shot 2013-10-14 at 6.48.08 AM

So in honor of “Murph” – a preacher and former solider – here are the soundtracks I listen to most often, in no particular order. Some of them prove a lousy movie can have a fantastic musical score. Maybe they can fuel your preparation for the coming weekend’s battle.

Are there any specific styles of music that help you during sermon preparation?

Posted on

Stephen Miller’s “Crown Him with Many Crowns (All Hail the King)”

Stephen Miller’s latest album includes a strong, modern recording of “Crown Him with Many Crowns.” Whether or not you like Miller’s added chorus, the song captures how a musical arrangement appropriately reflects the song’s lyrics. “Crown Him” speaks of a royal coronation and Miller’s arrangement is triumphal and celebratory. Excellent work!