This Christmas don’t forget the wonder of the Incarnation
What is the greatest event in the history of the world? What is the most amazing thing to happen across the entirety of the cosmos? What story lies at the centre of absolutely everything, past, present and future? God coming as a man. That’s what. And Christmas is a wonderful reminder of the eternal Son […]
Praising God
Billy Bray was an eccentric preacher of old. He was known for spontaneously breaking out in song and dance (not unlike David, 2 Samuel 6:14). A lot of people didn’t know what to make of him, was he a raving loony or was this genuine joy in the Lord? When people complained of his over-enthusiasm, […]
Active and passive singing
Singing is (or should be) an important part of our walk. The words of hymns can help us reflect upon the Word and what we learn on Sunday. Historically, Psalms played a significant role in congregational singing in reminding God’s people throughout the ages of God’s character, to encourage, to rebuke the nation and provide […]
Recommended songwriters and hymns from the twenty-first century
I have often talked about the issues of church music; in fact, some may think it is the only thing I can talk about! The debate in the church should never be old versus new, contemporary against tradition, but rather about what honours the Lord. Thus, although we like traditional hymns, we also are really […]
Christian Music: an updated opinion piece
Psalm 96 1 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous deeds among all peoples. 4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be […]
Music as a form of worship
The phrase ‘Let us start worship’ or ‘Let us begin worship’ is one that never sits easy with me. The term ‘Worship Leader’ for me doesn’t seem to be a biblical principal. In this post, I am to pick apart these terms and phrases and suggest what I believe we should be actually doing instead. […]
God in our hobbies: writing worship
I love sitting down with my guitar and coming up with a song. Granted, I am not a great singer or a great musician, in fact, I’m probably one of the worst around. Nonetheless, to spend time with God and giving praise to him, there is nothing I’d rather do. The Bible says to ‘make […]
The solution: authenticity in worship
In the last two posts, there has been analysis of both traditional and modern worship, showing both the positives and the negatives. This third and final post will aim to bring both of these together, discuss authenticity and finish off with showing a few examples of each styles. Tunes I think it can be agreed […]
‘Modern’ worship: du jour, but is it Gospel pure?
From the post on traditional worship, we can see that hymns are beneficial to the church. We now turn our focus towards modern or contemporary worship, choruses, bands, and artists. We have already defined Godly worship; but before we begin, what is ‘modern worship’? Well it’s about bringing in new styles of music/instruments into the church. It’s […]