O' Holy Night sung by Philip Webb with the Grace Community Choir and Orchestra.
Showing posts with label Hymns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hymns. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Reformation Day-2009
I wish I could write more about this historic event but as usual, I wait to the last minute to post something. What I will say though is that the faith we proclaim today was passed down to us from great men of faith like John Wycliffe, John Hus, William Tyndale, John Calvin, Martin Luther, and Ulrich Zwingli. And because we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us endure the race set before us and not grow weary as we exalt and proclaim Christ and Him crucified.
Here is a powerful rendition by Steve Green of the great hymn written by Martin Luther.
Here is a powerful rendition by Steve Green of the great hymn written by Martin Luther.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wearisome Worship
So I flipped on the television last night and thought I’d look for some entertainment so I turned it to TBN and “Praise the Lord” was on. After hearing a horrible gospel presentation by one of the Winans, the camera turns to a worship leader. He goes into a song titled, “I Need You Lord” and so it starts,
"I need you, Lord!"
Two minutes pass,
"I need you, Lord!"
Then the National Broadcast Service interrupts the song to announce some flood warnings in and around Houston. The broadcaster gives a two to three minute announcement and then cuts back into the show.
Well, guess what's coming out of the worship leader's mouth? That’s right…he’s singing the exact same thing,
“I Need You, Lord!”
Add a few more repetitions and the song ends.
Doesn’t most of what you hear on your local family Christian radio station sound very similar? Just add a bunch of cool guys with cool haircuts jumping around and making cool sound effects on their guitars and you have yourself a worship band.
I’m not sure when everything changed but if you go back hundreds of years to the hymns, you’ll find something completely different. Writers like Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, and John Newton wrote beautiful worship gems that were lyrically rich and full of biblical truth. God was exalted and Christ was proclaimed. It wasn’t the awesome guitar solo, trendy worship leader, or dimly lit lights that stirred one's heart to worship.
These elements seem to be the priority in most modern churches. Add this all up and contemporary Christian music tends to make our emotions the primary focus of our worship...God Himself, as revealed in the bible, gets pushed aside and what we feel, think, and experience about God become the center of our worship.
But true worship is when we set our hearts and minds upon the one true and living God and give him all due praise…not just a few simple lines repeated over and over and over again(I just counted 33 lines of a repeated phrase in one song). God, being God, deserves much, much, much more...afterall, He is holy, holy, holy.
"I need you, Lord!"
Two minutes pass,
"I need you, Lord!"
Then the National Broadcast Service interrupts the song to announce some flood warnings in and around Houston. The broadcaster gives a two to three minute announcement and then cuts back into the show.
Well, guess what's coming out of the worship leader's mouth? That’s right…he’s singing the exact same thing,
“I Need You, Lord!”
Add a few more repetitions and the song ends.
Doesn’t most of what you hear on your local family Christian radio station sound very similar? Just add a bunch of cool guys with cool haircuts jumping around and making cool sound effects on their guitars and you have yourself a worship band.
I’m not sure when everything changed but if you go back hundreds of years to the hymns, you’ll find something completely different. Writers like Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, and John Newton wrote beautiful worship gems that were lyrically rich and full of biblical truth. God was exalted and Christ was proclaimed. It wasn’t the awesome guitar solo, trendy worship leader, or dimly lit lights that stirred one's heart to worship.
These elements seem to be the priority in most modern churches. Add this all up and contemporary Christian music tends to make our emotions the primary focus of our worship...God Himself, as revealed in the bible, gets pushed aside and what we feel, think, and experience about God become the center of our worship.
But true worship is when we set our hearts and minds upon the one true and living God and give him all due praise…not just a few simple lines repeated over and over and over again(I just counted 33 lines of a repeated phrase in one song). God, being God, deserves much, much, much more...afterall, He is holy, holy, holy.
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