During the Reformation of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the church worked to find a biblical principle that would guide the way we worship. Two main approaches have become common. The normative principle of worship (typically practiced by Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans) says that whatever is not prohibited in the Scriptures is appropriate, while the […]
The Freedom of the Regulative Principle Read More »
Rise of Hymnody To understand the changes and developments in church music, we start with the ideas of Humanism, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Revivalism and what impact these movements had on what we sing. In addition to Gospel hymns, the role of the great 19th century hymn text translators and the publication of Hymns Ancient
A Short History of Music in the Church, Part 5 Read More »
Recently, I visited a church which meets in a wonderful historic building. The architecture was beautiful, the music was well executed, and even the sound was decent. Even better, the content was great, the preaching was solid, and the final hymn fit well with the scriptures. All in all, it was very good. Unfortunately, it
We have probably all heard that there is an “audience of one” in worship. While the sentiment of the phrase tries to focus our attention on God (which is good), it is simply not true. A worship service is intended to be a table set for at least two, even three, yeah four. Certainly, we speak,
Service For Two, Please Read More »
In 1862 William T. Matson penned the following text, which is a prayer that is often sung to the wonderful Tallis Cannon. We should pray that our heart’s desire would be to listen, love, and abide in the word of truth, for that is abiding in Christ. Notice, however, that this prayer asks for an
“Teach Me, O Lord, Thy Holy Way” Read More »
The use of narrative passages of Scripture in a worship service can pose some difficulties for a music director. If the choice of music is governed by how best to support the preaching of the Word, as I believe it should be, you want the hymns or psalms you choose to relate to the passage
Music and narratives Read More »
The simple text, “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy,” each repeated three times, has been used in the worship of the Christian church since at least the 2ndcentury A.D. Loosely based on the prayer of the tax collector in Luke 18:13 (“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”), it was so widely
“Clovercroft Kyrie” Read More »