Psalm singing is not a natural or first choice for human nature. Our nature likes songs that put ourselves central, but the Psalms put God central. Singing about rich human faith experiences is much nicer than singing about our sins, God’s justice and salvation, God’s wrath, or the unrest of …
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Some time ago, a discussion after church raised the topic of silence, as we usually donโt have music when the elders distribute the elements of the Lordโs Supper. The question was, “Why we canโt have music to break the silence?” And it gives people something to listen to while they …
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Someone messaged me after my music post on ๐๐ฆ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ (thank you). It was about whether Amazing Grace is a ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ. This may be a triggering question, but it is relevant. Our elders evaluate songs for worship; ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ if the Synod …
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๐๐ก๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ? You may have heard, โGood people have a good influence, and bad people have a bad influence.โ Parents often recognize and acknowledge this. Researchers have identified that the โ๐๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญโ (or โSocial Baseline Theoryโ) plays a role in influence. People who hang around smokers or drinkers …
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In our communities, many churches have generic names, such as Fellowship, Community Church, or just Christian Church (๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ “๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ฏ”…). Why do our churches have โReformedโ in their name? Dr. Michael Kearney makes valuable remarks in the Nov/Dec 2024 edition of Outlook: โIt is fascinating …
Read MoreCalvinโs first bundle of Psalms (1539) was called โAulcuns pseaulmes et cantiques mys en chant [Collection of Psalms and Canticles for singing].โ When I open the Book of Praise, I see Psalms and Hymns, but what happened to the Canticles? Canticles are songs with lyrics taken from Scripture, and, as …
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Christmas is an interesting time. The biblical truth and human imagination are mixed into a sweet punch. In our Christmas Day sermon, we heard about โWe Three Kingsโ that Scripture does not refer to the wise men as โkingsโ and that their number is unknown. Is it bad to sing …
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In my study, I have to read a lot about Psalm singing. It is familiar to the Reformed churches, but Psalm singing is foreign to most North American churches. Singing Scriptural songs is counter-cultural. I can’t use all I read, but sometimes I see interesting stuff. “The psalms call for …
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Sometimes, people tell me that worship should be praise to God. Most Sundays, we start corporate worship with jubilant praise. But often, our minds are not with it, no matter how much praise there is, because our hearts are troubled. Keith and Kristyn Getty write about why we need to …
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