Song Talks

From Allen: It is always interesting trying to figure out how I am going to write these talks. There are so many different angles one can dissect at a worship song, but I try to always approach it in a way that is impactful to my current life situation.   My current situation is this. God is so incredibly good on a level we can't comprehend, and I can't help but be encouraged by his grace. Even in the midst of uncertainty with life in general, I can take heart in the fact that our God is unchanging and has made a way for us through Jesus. Let's see how this song encourages me in that way. As I go through this song, please realize that I am using the pronoun "I", but you should definitely read it regarding yourself. This story of redemption applies to everyone who has been saved! Verse one and two are basically saying that I (all of us) was in a place of desperation before I knew Christ. Even though I thought I had everything pulled together, I was actua...

Last week I (Mark) had the blessing of being in the presence of truly wonderful musicians and some of the best Bible teachers on planet Earth.  John Piper, John MacArthur, Tim Keller, Alistair Begg to name a few.  The conference in Nashville, TN was called SING! 2018.  So many wonderful songs were sung, a focus on the Psalms was the theme.  Keith and Kristyn Getty are the brains behind the conference.  These modern hymn writers are on the cutting of edge of hymnody and have written stalwart songs of the faith for the church such as "In Christ Alone" and "The Power of the Cross".  It is one thing to hear those songs on the radio or even being sung by 1000 people in our own church.  7500 people is another story.  I tell you, it was a foretaste of heaven.  Breathtaking. Out of the myriad of songs we sung, one truly caught my attention.  Come behold the wondrous mystery . Imagine my surprise when I got home and realized that Allen...

Welcome back!  So glad to know that we have some faithful readers for the blog. Would you mind this week mentioning/forwarding this article to some friends?  We would love for more people to be ready to worship with us this Sunday and be informed on the songs we are singing. This week we are debuting a new song from Travis Cottrell's latest album called "No Other Fount".  Those familiar with hymnody will recall several hymns and songs that use this metaphor of a fount, referring to the blood of Christ shed for sinful humanity. Blood is an important theme in the Scriptures, mentioned over 300 times in the OT and more than 90 times in the NT. Something tells me we should pay attention to it.  There are several ways a person can die that do not require the shedding of blood. Asphyxiation and drowning to name a few, but there are several more.  So, yes death is important, but death by the shedding of blood is what is in view here.  Leviticus 17:11...