Blended Worship Resource

 

There is a new BLOG by a fellow WELS guitarist and on-line friend of mine named John Kehl.  John plays in a band known as “Joyful Noise” at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Appleton, WI and has been a dedicated reader, subscriber and commenter at my BLOG.  If you like the content of this BLOG, you will also enjoy what John is doing at “Blended Worship Resource.”  You can find his BLOG at this link:

http://blendedworshipresource.wordpress.com

God’s blessings on your website John!

He’s worshiped in Iceland and Africa too!

I was cleaning out some old files on my PC recently and came across these photos of the Leif Eriksson Church in Reykjavik Iceland.  I happened to be there a few years ago on business and what’s amazing about Iceland, especially from approaching in the air into the airport, is the moon-like landscape.  As I was shuttled from the airport to the city of Reykjavik, I was amazed at the lack of trees and the steam rising up from hot water pools in and among the moon-like rock formations. 

The Leif Eriksson Church is strikingly beautiful and it looks like two vastly different churches from the front versus from the side.  The inside is pristine; it actually makes me wonder how much it’s used but perhaps it was recently renovated when I was there.

Can you imagine something this beautiful built to worship our Triune God in Iceland?  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own church life that we forget how big this world is and how widespread the effects of Jesus are.

 There’s a fellow in my Office from Cameroon Africa, in fact his Mother is a member of the WELS Mission Church down there.  One day he recited an African Christian Creed to me.  I did some research on the WEB and found it.  Here’s the Creed:

 We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it.  He created man and wanted man to be happy in the world.  God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the earth.  We have known this High God in the darkness, and now we know him in the light.  God promised in the book of his word, the Bible, that he would save the world and all nations and tribes.

 We believe that God made good his promise by sending his son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left his home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing that the meaning of religion is love.  He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died.  He was buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, he rose from that grave.  He ascended to the skies.  He is the Lord.

 We believe that all our sins are forgiven through him. All who have faith in him must be sorry for their sins, be baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love, and share the bread together in love, to announce the good news to others until Jesus comes again.  We are waiting for him.  He is alive.  He lives.  This we believe.  Amen.

 One of the amazing things about God is that he transcends time and culture as we know it.  To us, worship music is accompanied by the organ.  To these Africans, God might be worshiped with the sound of drums.  To us this might be absurd.  To them, the organ might be absurd.  To God, my guess is that both can be glorifying and pleasing to Him.

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As a side note, BLOG reader and fellow guitarist, John Kehl, has updated his CCM database file once more.  It is available for download in my file download area (grey box at the bottom of the right column – look for the file named “CCMsongs 2 (1).xls”).  This file contains John’s favorite contemporary Christian songs, along with many lyrics and thematic information.

Contemporary Lenten Music

Here’s a list of some good Lenten Contemporary music with sound biblical lyrics that have some depth:

A Debtor to Mercy Alone	Bob Kauflin
Above All	Baloche, LeBlanc
Across the Great Divide	Mark Altrogge
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)	Chris Tomlin
Amazing Love	Graham kendrick
Amazing Love (You Are My King)	Billy Foote
At the Cross	Holland Davis
At the Cross	Stephen Altrogge
At the Foot of the Cross	Steve Cook
Beneath the Cross	Getty, Townend
By Your Blood	Billy Funk
Cross of Jesus	Getty, Townend
Depth of Mercy	Bob Kauflin
Finished Indeed	the Kingsmen
For All Have Sinned / For God so Loved	Steve Green
For God so Loved the World	Don Fancisco
For Me	Mark Altrogge
For Me For You	Doug Plank
Forgiven, Forgotten, Forever	Brian Free
Fullness of Grace	Staurt Townend
God Will Provide a Lamb	Michael Card
Greater Love	Mark Altrogge
Greater Still	Brian Free
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us	Getty, Townend
I Come by the Blood	Steve Cook
I Come to the Cross	BIll Batstone
I Look Up	Mark Altrogge
I Love the Cross	Mark Altrogge
I Will Boast in the Cross of Christ	Steve Cook
I’m Justified	Steve Cook
It Should Have Been Me	Mark Altrogge
Jesus Paid it All	Elvina Mabel Hall
Jesus, Thank You	Pat Sczebel
Lamb of Glory	Greg Nelson
Lamb of God	Twila Paris
Lead me to the Cross	Graham Kendrick
Lost in Wonder	Martyn Layzell
Man of Sorrows	Greg Nelson
My Savior’s Precious Blood	Jonathan Baird
Nail My Glory	Bob Kauflin
Nothing but the Blood	Robert Lowry
O How He Loves You and Me	Kurt Kaiser
On My Cross	Jerome Diebler / FFH
Once Again	Matt Redman
Only by His Wounds	Michael Card
Only Your Mercy	Scott Wesly Brown
Perfect Lamb of God	Adam Sacks
Ransomed	Jordan Kauflin
the Coloring Song	Petra (Dave Eden)
the Glory of the Cross	Sovereign Grace
the Gospel is True	Scott Wesley Brown
the Gospel Song	Bob Kauflin
the Grace Song of Heaven	Keith Getty
The Power of the Cross	Getty, Townend
the Precious Blood	Peter Gagnon
the Wonderful Cross	Chris Tomlin
the Wounded Healer	Bennie Triplett
We Sing Your Mercies	Mark Altrogge
When Love Came Down	Stuart Townend
You Chose the Cross	Martyn Layzell

 

Related articles

• Contemporary Music for Pentecost (sjbrown58.wordpress.com)
• Contemporary Christian Music As Outreach! (sjbrown58.wordpress.com)

Files for Download

I have added a new feature to my BLOG.  At the bottom of the right column is a box where you can download files that I have posted for general use and distribution.  There are two files right now.  One is the revised lectionary from our Synod that goes with the Hymnal Supplement and the other is an EXCEL database of contemporary songs that has been compiled by BLOG reader and member of Mt. Olive Lutheran in Appleton, WI – John Kehl.  John has listed many CCM songs, rated them for their lyrical content, identified themes, and included publisher information.  It’s a great resource and thanks go to John for sharing.  By the way, John’s band is known as “Joyful Noise” check them out if you are in or near Appleton.