Beside Still Waters Ministries

This week went better than last, in part due to Curt’s suggestion that we take a breath and give the congregation a break from new music.  So, it was all hymns done fairly traditionally today.  The real blessing for me was the suggestion by my friend Wendy that I take my keyboard so that I can still play out of the hymnal, but transpose the key down to where I can sing.  I did not have time to put the hymns into Sibelius and transpose the music I play from, so this was the best solution.  

I believe that God is glorified no matter what “style” of music we sing - it is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit breathing life into our worship that makes the difference.  I’ve seen churches that do contemporary music, but are still lifeless and struggling because they aren’t allowing the Holy Spirit to work among them. Anyway, I hope that in my playing and singing old hymns that the Holy Spirit is working through me and within the congregation.

Prelude: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing arranged by Mark Hayes

All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name (Coronation)
O Worship the King
Be Thou My Vision

Message: Live Love Loud 2: The Elder Son
Offertory: In The Sweet By and By arranged by Dino Kartsonakis
Communion: I Surrender All arranged by Mark Hayes
Be Still And Know/Be Still My Soul arranged by Mark Hayes

Closing Hymn: O How I Love Jesus

What was really impacting to me today was Curt’s message about the older son in the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:25-32). I’ve really been having a hard time with still being single and seeing the girl at work who is 8 1/2 months pregnant. She lives with her boyfriend, and I guess I don’t understand why I am still waiting for one of the things I have desired as far back as I can remember - getting married. I can see in myself a lot of the older son - I’m angry at God, the Father, not giving me what I want even though I feel that I’ve been pretty faithful to Him (though I’ve screwed up plenty). I guess I have a hard time seeing those that seem to be more blatantly sinning getting things in life that I want but I’m not getting, and I forget that “you’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours” that the father tells his elder son and the Father is telling me. In the end I need to continue to be faithful, to appreciate what He has given me, and to just trust Him.

I’ve been having a lot of allergy issues, along with working so much during the week, that I was feeling pretty off today and it really showed. My voice was giving out by the middle of the service, and I just didn’t have much energy. I was disappointed especially with how “Before The Throne of God Above” went, because I really love this song and really wanted to convey what the words mean to me, but the way my voice was going by then it just didn’t come out and basically flopped. Thankfully God is gracious and is still glorified, even when we are not at the top of our game.

Great Is The Lord - Michael W. Smith
Because He Lives - Bill Gaither
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (The Wonderful Cross) - Isaac Watts, with the extra chorus by Chris Tomlin

Offertory: Before the Throne of God Above - music by Vikki Cook, with the extra chorus by Shane & Shane (actually, you can listen to their version on my new TuneFeed there in the right column!)

Message: Live Love Loud 1: The Prodigal Son
Closing Hymn: To God Be the Glory - Fanny Crosby

You may or may not recognize his name, but Isaac Watts hymns are the most widely known throughout the Christian world – you should at the very least recognize one of his hymns, Joy To The World.  Born in 1674 in Southampton, England, he was the oldest of nine children and raised in a Nonconformist home (Nonconformists were a type of Puritan in England who felt that the Anglican church did not change enough from Catholicism and desired a more radical reformation).  This was important, because instead of going to Cambridge or Oxford to become an Anglican priest, he went to a Nonconformist Academy, and much of Calvinistic and Lutheran theology is evident in his hymns.  Even at a young age he was prone to think, write, and speak in verse – there is a story that one time during family devotions he heard a mouse and immediately said to his family, 

“A mouse for want of better stairs,
Ran up a rope to say his prayers.”

At that time in England there was a great desire to rely only on the Scriptures, and so they tended to take the Calvinistic approach of only singing Psalms and not allowing any other hymns in the church.  They also believed that musical instruments were “of the devil” and so they sang “a cappella” – without accompaniment of any kind.  Some of the Psalms were paraphrased and adjusted to be more metrical, but they still were not very good for singing.  Isaac constantly complained about this to his father, so to shut him up his father challenged him to try to do better.  He did so with amazing speed and ability, and now we have over 700 hymns, Psalm settings, and other spiritual songs. What an amazing gift that God gave us.

He fought ill-health throughout much of his life, and he was considered ugly and disproportionate – short, with his head much bigger than what would have fit with his body.  His soul, though, was a thing of beauty, and the depth of his love and devotion to the Lord is fully evidenced in his writings.  I’d like to ask all of you to find time to be with the Lord and to read and meditate on what I would say is his finest hymn, and most appropriate this Easter season, “When I Survey The Wondrous Cross.”  It is reported that Charles Wesley said that he would have rather written just this one hymn than all of the ones he did write.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

I’m really moved by singing or listening to the newer version of this song that Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin did a few years ago, called “The Wonderful Cross” They added a chorus that really ties it all together,

Oh, the wonderful cross
Oh, the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die
And find that I may truly live.

He is risen!  He is risen indeed!
Hallelujah!

I really think that this was my strongest Sunday so far, and I hope that the congregation was able to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.  Being mostly older people, they aren’t very demonstrative and so it is hard to tell.  I was able to modulate up a half step or two on the last verses of some of the hymns, so that was pretty cool because most of the time I can’t do that because either I don’t think of it ahead of time in order to fix the chord chart and practice or because most of the guitarists I’ve played with don’t know enough chords in order to do that, too.

My guitarist didn’t play this Sunday because he was sick part of the week, and the hymns weren’t very conducive to being played on a guitar.  However, I did get to sing “In Christ Alone” as a special music with one lady from my church, and God gave me two great ideas to make it really work well - one was to record the piano part into my keyboard ahead of time so I could play a flute part on it live, and the other was to take my little Behringer mixer and small amp so that I could solve the issue with not having proper monitors from the sound system and therefore not being able to hear the keyboard.  It was SO much better being able to hear the keyboard directly!!!

Easter “Sunrise” 8:15 Service:
Lord I Lift Your Name on High by Rick Founds
I Love You Lord by Laurie Klein
He Is Exalted by Twila Paris
He Lives

Regular 10:30 Service:
Christ The Lord Is Risen Today (Lyra tune)
Shout To The Lord by Darlene Zschech
Awesome God by Rich Mullins 
Special Music: In Christ Alone by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Message: Celebration Faith - Pastor Curt shared his testimony, and the amazement of the resurrection
Crown Him With Many Crowns

The links are either to the songwriter’s website or to an article about the song or hymn (such as at cyberhymnal.org). For now, that is what I decided to do. Perhaps as we do more contemporary music I will link to iTunes or some other type of online music retailer.

We kept this service pretty simple, and we didn’t have footwashing (which I personally missed).  Something that was different for me is that they “stripped the sanctuary”, which meant that they took out the Bible, candlesticks, communion elements, whatever else that was on the altar, and the vestments hanging from the front pulpits.  I’ve never been at a church where they did this, and I while I like the idea of it in relation to our pondering the crucifixion, I don’t like it being called “stripping the sanctuary” and I would like to think of a better phrase or word for this act.

What Wondrous Love Is This
Special Music: This Is Love as sung by Scott Underwood
Scripture - John 13:31-35
Message: The Face of Love
Communion
How Great Thou Art