Psalm 98 and “Shout to the Lord”

“Shout to the Lord” by Darlene Zschech and Psalm 98 go well together.  Here is a responsive reading that uses both pieces (play the music softly in the background during the readings): P:         Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked [...]

The Psalm of the Day

Our traditional liturgy has a chanted responsive singing of a Psalm each Sunday.  To me, this is a powerful and enjoyable part of our traditional worship services that I did not want to dispense of in our blended worship services but the format just did not fit.  We tried several different approaches of including a [...]

Birth and Death Mash-Up

Psalm 22 (selected verses) and the Birth Account (from Luke 2:1-20) The following is a combination of the anguish of death and separation from God stated in Psalm 22 and the birth account from Luke 2.  My thought was to bring together Jesus’ birth and the reason behind his coming to earth in one reading. P: [...]

Psalm 45:8

The music of the strings makes you glad harps, lyres and psalters; all believers, picking like Berkley grads. The music of the strings makes you glad guitars, bass and mandolin; all played by followers who can call you “dad”. The music of the strings makes you glad violins, cellos and violas; music to your ears, [...]

Congratulations for 25 years in ministry! Praise God!

On Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010, at 9:00 AM, our church will be celebrating the fact that God has led our Pastor (Timothy Ehlers) into his 25th year of Pastoral ministry. Pastor Ehlers is a gifted preacher, teacher and musician (vocalist, technologist & MIDI producer extraordinaire).   Pastor Ehlers will be preaching and conducting the service. During the [...]

Psalm 23 Responsive Prayer

P:         The LORD is my shepherd C:        God, thank you for this relationship P:         I shall not be in want C:        God, thank you for supplying my needs P:         He makes me lie down in green pastures C:        God, thank you for providing me with rest P:         he leads me beside quiet waters C:        God, [...]

Psalm 29 “The Thunder Psalm” (with “Awesome God”)

Psalm 29 is sometimes referred to as the “Thunder Psalm.”  When I read this psalm, the chorus of “Awesome God” comes to mind.  Here’s a responsive reading that combines both: Congregation Sings: Our God, is an awesome God, He reigns, over heaven and earth, with wisdom, power and love, our God is an Awesome God. [...]

Guitarists …

When you approach a piece of sheet music; those chords are your world for the next 3 to 4 minutes and the hours that you will spend practicing the piece.  But the interesting thing is that the musical arrangement does not tell you how to strum the chords.  Will you strum, or fingerpick?  Will you [...]

Praise!

Praise Bands, Praise Teams, Praise Charts, Praise Ensembles, etc. – What’s the big deal with praise? It’s mentioned a whopping 351 times in scripture (292 times in the OT and 59 in the NT).  In essence, it’s this: praise is one of those activities that we can do right now, here on earth, and it [...]

Heart vs Musical Skill

I had stated in an older post that when considering new church musicians, that heart was as important as skill.  Last night I came across a scripture passage that just helped me on this subject so I wanted to share. “And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” – Ps 78:72 [...]