Shout to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with joy; come before him with singing. Know that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep he tends. Come into his city with songs of thanksgiving and into his courtyards with songs of praise. Thank him and praise his name. The Lord is good. His love is forever, and his loyalty goes on and on.
I purposely highlighted the words in the psalm because I think they provide us with a blueprint for our worship. If we put all of those words in one line, they tell us to…
Shout, Serve, Come, Know, Thank, and Praise
Each one of these verbs must be part of our worship. We come to gather together worship. We shout, thank and praise God through our prayers, songs, hymns, choir anthems, sole, etc. We serve as musicians and know more about our faith as we sing our faith and listen to the Word. Notice that there is no call for perfection. We are to do these things with joy. As leaders in the church, we can set the standard for those we serve in our choirs. We can use our song to help them shout, serve, come, know, thank and praise.
Website: http://www.friendofmissional.org/ Check out this website if you are interested in a discussion of the missional church.
ORGAN: Easy Hymn Preludes for Organ. Vol. 1-7 Concordia Publishing. Invigorating congregational singing is one of the most important tasks of the organist. These seven volumes provide a wide variety of hymn preludes that capture the personality of the hymn and prepare the congregation for singing. In Vol. 7, Donald Busarow covers a broad spectrum of hymns. Especially effective is the setting of Holy, Holy, Holy and Crown Him with Many Crowns.
PIANO: Expressions of Faith. Brian Chung, Alfred Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-7390-5311-9
Eight classic hymns are arranged in this volume. Chung includes a performance time which is helpful in planning. A rhymically interesting setting of Blessed Assurance is included. These arrangements will be useful for preludes or special musical offerings and will require an investment of practice time. Includes All Creatures of Our God and King, My Jesus, I Love Thee, Be Thou My Vision and five more.
CHORAL: My Soul Finds Rest (Psalm 62). Arranged by Craig Courtney, Alfred Publishing, #32267, SATB.
A setting of Psalm 62, this anthem presents a chant-like opening melody that is shared between upper and lower voices. It is followed by a four-part section made up of solid harmonies. A short quote of LASST UNS ERFREUEN (All Creatures of Our God and King) leads to a majestic closing. This anthem presents an opportunity for singers to work on a flowing, legato melody as well as four-part singing. Accessible to all choirs.
BOOK: New Wine in Old Wineskins. James Abbington, ed. GIA Publications, ISBN 13: 978-1-57999-685-7.
This compilation of new hymn texts set to established tunes presents hymns, gospel songs and contemporary music for congregational singing. Relying heavily on African-American composers, it provides us with material we may not be familiar with. The texts are representative of some of the greatest 21st century hymn writers. This volume with pique your interest and provide a starting point for enriching your congregation’s song.
