and . . . He breathed His last.
The four Gospels variously record Christ’s last living act on the cross as: “yielded up His spirit” (Matthew), “breathed His last” (Mark and Luke), and “gave up His spirit” (John). […]
What are Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs?
In both Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5, Paul uses the phrase “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” when commanding the church to use music in its discipleship. Are these terms three […]
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Badges
Well, I’ll leave you to look up the Blazing Saddles reference yourself if it’s unfamiliar but, while you’re here, I do have some questions for you to consider: Where do […]
What Child We Sing?
This is a piece written last summer with the intention of debuting it in our “A Sacred Christmas” program at our church. We had to cut it from the program […]
NotePerformer & Finale
I finally jumped off the bridge and installed NotePerformer 3.2 this week as my virtual instrument library on my 25.4 version of Finale. Here is my initial, and highly premature, […]
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory
In 1861, the sight of Northern troops assembling in Washington, D.C., inspired Julia Ward Howe to pen the words to The Battle Hymn of the Republic, which begins, “Mine eyes […]
Summer Solutions?
Holy Week is behind us with a mixture of relief and fulfillment as we bask in the afterglow of remembering the resurrection. But the music minister has no time to […]
Music’s Role in Ephesians and Colossians
It is merely a recognition, hopefully correct, of a principle Paul took for granted that can be inferred from the structure and context of Eph 5:18-21 and Col 3:16: namely, our use of music, and especially music in worship, is essential to the proper development of Christian character.
Storms, and Anchors, and Veils, Oh My!
In yesterday’s services one of our hymns was The Solid Rock (My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less) with text written by Edward Mote (1834). It’s a wonderful hymn of […]
Is Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder?
A brief article on the nature of beauty from my former philosophy professor (he’s still a professor, it’s just I’m no longer his student!). Is Beauty in the Eye of […]