Feb newsletter column

Aiming for Worship

Last month, I talked about the importance of family worship. One of the reasons why it is important to have family worship is that it daily brings us into the presence of our God, and reminds us of the eternal Gospel. One of the tools of this Gospel worship is music.
Martin Luther once said that music is a gift of God, and that it is the handmaiden of theology, and second only to theology. Music plays a large role in our worshipping and understanding our God. When you read Biblical accounts of heaven, a very striking and dominant theme is that everyone is singing in heaven! Their worship is marked by their heartfelt songs, not matter their talent. Worshipful singing is meant to be a trademark of a true child of God. With this in mind, I would like to inform you about some resources available to help you and your family in your journey of worshipping our great God through music.
Judy Rogers has devoted herself to producing CD’s of music for children. She is the wife of a Presbyterian pastor, and has written many songs to help children understand their heavenly Father better. She has recorded an album of songs based on the Children’s Catechism, and another on who God really is. The great thing about her endeavors is that she wants to encourage children to always be biblically based. You can find out more about her and her albums at www.judyrogers.com.
There is a movement taking place where a number of artists are taking theologically rich older hymns and putting them to new tunes. This has really exploded, and it is seeping its way into mainstream contemporary Christian radio. It is really exciting to hear their results, and to be challenged by their music and the text. The first to do this is a group called Indelible Grace – www.igracemusic.com . They are taking many familiar hymns and reworking the tunes to more modern sounds and harmonies. On their website, they have a wealth of information about worship that is well worth reading. Another group in this movement is from a Presbyterian church in Birmingham, AL - www.redmountainchurch.org/rmm/. This group is taking a 17th century hymnal, The Gadsby Hymnal, and writing new tunes for it. Their latest album, “Help My Unbelief”, looks at the themes of Christian doubt and longing. Jars of Clay have also recently put out an album of older hymns, “Redemption Songs”. I would encourage you to go to these sites and listen to some clips to see if you are interested … I am using these albums as a part of our worship time in our evening youth meetings.
If you are more inclined to the more traditional renditions of hymns, don’t be worried! There are plenty of resources available to help you in your worship. Ligonier Ministries - www.ligonier.org – has made available some beautiful recordings of many favorite hymns and psalms. They even offer a CD of James Montgomery Boice’s “Hymns for a Modern Reformation” – a number of hymns he wrote based on Biblical truths. It is a very encouraging album!
I hope you will listen to some of these albums, because I truly believe they will spiritually benefit you and your family. As Dr. Luther said, music is the handmaiden of theology – and all theology truly is, is a deeper understanding of God. Why not immerse yourself into something that will help you to know God better & that will aid you in your worship of Him? May we all endeavor to worship like the saints in heaven – and may we do it at home with our family, and in the church with our fellow brothers and sisters.

Soli Deo Gloria (To God alone be the glory)

Pastor James