Why participate in Lent? Lent is a season of preparation and repentance during which we anticipate the death (Good Friday) and resurrection (Easter Sunday) of Jesus. Our participation in Lent is aimed at grasping the intense significance of the crucifixion – that gives us a deep and powerful longing for the resurrection, the joy of […]
Archive
Ancient posts from before the dawn of time
Advent Readings
Here is a set of Advent readings and prayers we used during Advent candle lighting in our worship services last year. […]
Liturgy Ancient and Modern
The New Liturgicals series of posts explores why many Evangelicals moved away from traditional liturgy, how liturgy works on us as human beings, and how we can approach it in ways that bring new life from old roots. The series was largely motivated by James K.A. Smith’s book Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works, which […]
Beautiful Rescuer freebies from David Walker
Looking for a last-minute Easter song? Check out Beautiful Rescuer by David Walker. Great songwriting, acoustic and full-band versions, and free mp3 and chord chart downloads. What more could you ask for? Later this week we’ll be writing string parts for it. When we do, I’ll upload them here. Also, you might be interested in […]
Meditation 2: White as Snow
Multi-sensory worship meditation 2: Psalm 51 and Jon Foreman’s “White As Snow”. Pause | Listen | Contemplate. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” […]
Meditation 1: Conversions and Confessions
Our creative team is always looking for ways to engage people in worship differently. Here is a multi-sensory meditation (for lack of a better term) from Sunday’s worship gathering: Augustine’s Confessions and Gungor’s “Late Have I Loved You”. Pause | Listen | Contemplate. […]
A Difficult But Much-Needed Prayer
This is a tough prayer. It is a prayer for anyone who is probing the extent of his own selfishness and gathering his wits to fight it. It is a prayer for anyone who feels like her faith is real but her mind and heart still belong to herself instead of to God. It is a prayer for you and me—people who too often worship the gods of comfort and convenience, but desire the courage to ask for something greater. […]
Violin, Cello String Arrangements
A growing library of violin and cello string parts for modern worship songs. When we arrange them for our church’s worship band, we share them here. […]
Work and Rest // Tension and Synergy
Anyone serving in a church, paid or unpaid, can identify with the strain Glenn Packiam shares in his recent post about the tension between busy church life and the contemplative life at rest in Jesus. In it he quotes Gregory (Bishop of Rome, b. 540), who wrote: “On every side I am tossed by the […]
Resources for the Daily Offices
Check out these great resources for prayer and the practice of the daily offices/divine hours. […]