Monthly Archives: November 2008

I’ve written several posts about Advent recently, in conjunction with the “You set the price” digital download release of Advent Songs.  I’ve also posted many scripture passages, prayers and Advent readings courtesy of one of Sojourn’s favorite tools for worship planning: The Worship Sourcebook.  Here is something else The Worship Sourcebook provides in its Advent material: a list of Advent-related sections from historic statements of the Christian faith (called “creeds”): Advent In Historic Confessions and Statements of Faith Belgic Confession, Art. 10, 18 Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A’s 29-36 Westminster Confession, Chap. VIII, Sec. 2 Our Song of Hope, st. 1-2 Our …« Read Entire Post

As Sojourn Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper wrote in the liner notes for our album Advent Songs, the season of the Christian Year known as Advent is”the season of waiting and anticipation before Christmas … we celebrate that our Messiah has come, and we look with longing to the day when he comes again.” Now, courtesy of The Worship Sourcebook, here are readings for your personal Christian devotions, family worship in the home, or corporate worship services: Sending: Call to Service/ Discipleship Be on guard!  Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man …« Read Entire Post

We’ve given you many resources for Advent Season here on sojournmusic.com, and we’ll present more Advent readings for your personal, family and congregational worship tomorrow.  Today, here is an idea for teaching and celebrating Advent with your small children.  This comes courtesy of Sojourn member Laura Roberts, who blogs at madenoughtopray: When I was a child, we had a super detailed, carved wood nativity set (got it from a “mission fair” at my church) that we put up after Thanksgiving. We set the stable up with the manger and a cow, hid baby Jesus, and then Mary and Joseph “traveled” around …« Read Entire Post

In honor of Thanksgiving Day, Sojourn Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper (pictured above from Hard Rock Cafe) is taking one week off from his weekly post in the “Guitar In The Church” series.  Below are links to all columns in this series so far.  If you’ve missed one or two, you can use this opportunity to play “catch up.” And we hope those of you who live close by will join Mike and his Sojourn band in downtown Louisville tomorrow, as they perform original and classic Christmas carols from Advent Songs as part of Louisville’s major holiday festival, Light Up …« Read Entire Post

5. It’s the Antidote to the Commercial “Christmas Season” We all know it, and most of us have said it: modern culture has commercialized Christmas and replaced the babe in a manger with an ever growing list of products for sale.  The very name “Christmas season” has morphed into “holiday season” in many quarters. What better way to keep the truth of Christmas in the center of our minds than to intentionally focus on Advent, as untold millions of Christians have done over the centuries. Read “What Every Christian Should Know About The Season of Advent” 4. It’s An Opportunity …« Read Entire Post

Last week we posted Thanksgiving Resources: Classic Poem, Scripture Reading & Thanksgiving Hymn.  In the Sojourn community we believe, as do Christians everywhere, that our entire lives should reflect a spirit of thanksgiving to God for who He is and what He has done, particularly in sending His Son to save and transform us through His death on the cross. Of course, in the United States, the fourth Thursday of every November is Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday built upon the desire to thank God for His blessings.  And so for your reflection and personal, family or church congregational worship …« Read Entire Post

Today’s music set list post is one of many that you’ll find in the Blog Carnival at fredmckinnon.com, an aggregate listing of set lists from a variety of church worship services across the globe.  Photos here by Dan Canales. 1. Come and Sing, by Sojourn songwriter Jeremy Quillo.  This was the “Call to Worship” song from our Before the Throne record.  You can read the chord sheet from our Before the Throne page.  Also, listen to the mp3 from the Facebook fan page for Sojourn Music (along with many other song mp3s, videos and photos there).  You can also read …« Read Entire Post

Sojourn communications deacon Aaron Marshall recently appeared on “State of Affairs,” a radio program on Louisville’s public talk radio station WFPL 89.3 FM.  Aaron joined a small panel to talk about “Our Evolving Relationship With Technology” (listen to the archive here).  Other panelists included John Palfrey, a Professor of Law and Vice Dean at Harvard Law School and Michelle Jones from Consuming Louisville.  They discussed Twitter, Facebook and the developing world of Web 2.0. Shortly after that, Aaron gave a lecture for students at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary that was similar to one he’d given for faculty and staff earlier in …« Read Entire Post

As last year, Sojourn will be performing original music and classic Christmas carols at downtown Louisville’s signature holiday festival this Friday, November 28, Light Up Louisville.  The band will draw from our album Advent Songs, which we’re selling for whatever price people want to pay — or for free, in exchange for telling five friends about the album. Light Up Louisville draws 75,000 people to Jefferson Square Park each year on the day after Thanksgiving to enjoy a parade, entertainment and live music, crafts, fireworks, and the lighting of a gigantic Christmas tree along with the rest of the downtown …« Read Entire Post

Advent is a time of hope and a time of longing.  We await the coming of the promised messiah, Jesus Christ, who came the first time as a babe in a manger and will come the second time as a conquering King on clouds of glory.  Here, for your personal devotions, family worship and corporate church services, you’ll find information on Advent, links to many readings for Advent, and an opportunity to get Sojourn’s Advent Songs for free or whatever price you’d like to pay. First, courtesy of The Worship Sourcebook, here are two more Advent liturgical readings: a Prayer …« Read Entire Post

Welcome to part five of my interview series with Sojourn worship leader Lorie King, “Why Do Worship Leaders Do That?” Each week we discuss the Top Ten Pet Peeves that people express against worship leaders in churches around the world. This week, the topic is “Why Can’t Worship Leaders Sing Well?”  In this short audio interview, I ask Lorie for her perspective on these oft-cited complaints: When the worship leader doesn’t know the lyrics. When worship leaders run words together. When the worship leaders put their own spin on simple, common words. The worship team repeats the same line in a song …« Read Entire Post

In today’s churches, the guitar is coming to dominate the landscape in the same way that the piano and organ once did. It’s important that as church musicians we give great care and thought to our guitar playing – everything from chord voicings to tones – so that the instrument is a servant of the congregation, not the star and not the distraction. Each week on Sojournmusic.com, Pastor Mike Cosper will post a guitarist’s feature, which will range from articles to links, online lessons and interviews: Part Four: Less is More? We all know the quote. “This one goes to 11.” …« Read Entire Post

Beyond Smells and Bells: The Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy, By Mark Galli a review by Pastor Mike Cosper Mark Galli’s 140-odd page book is a long love letter to Christian Liturgy. The book is less a field guide than a travel book – more Bill Bryson than John Audobon. Each chapter explores a theme of liturgical theology through anecdotes, musing and theological reflection, inviting the reader to enter into these practices at a deeper and richer level. For one who is part of a liturgical tradition, who feels drawn to the liturgy, or who loves the rhythms of …« Read Entire Post

Once again, today we go to producer Neil Robins’ studio to peek into the recording process for the first of two Sojourn CDs based on the hymns of Isaac Watts.  Today’s song is “Warrior,” written by David Moisan and me.  In these short videos you’ll see Dave (on piano — he’d recorded vocals earlier), Neil, and Pastor Mike Cosper on bass (drummer Ryan Harvey is off camera, laying down some cool percussion in the orchestra room). As always, you can view all of these videos (and the videos we’ve shot for all the other songs during these recording sessions, from …« Read Entire Post

This blog post is one of many taking part in the Blog Carnival at fredmckinnon.com — a series of churches each blogging about their music set lists from this weekend’s services.  Regular photographer Dan Canales is out of town, so I took the photos myself. We did something new this week.  The same band led worship at all four Sojourn Church services (9:30 and 11:15 a.m., and 5 and 7 p.m.)  We kept the instrumentation very sparse, and featured four vocalists — we’ll call them “The Sojourn Quartet Singers.”  Or “The Singing Sojourn Family.”  Or “The Sojourn Gospel Hour Quartet.”  …« Read Entire Post

It’s almost Thanksiving Day here in the U.S., a day in which we give thanks to God for His bountiful blessings.  Here are some Thanksgiving Day resources for your family gathering, church worship service or time of personal reflection: a classic poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, a psalm of Thanksgiving by David and a Thanksgiving hymn text by August L. Storm: FIRST, THE CLASSIC THANKSGIVING POEM “The Pumpkin,” by John Greenleaf Whittier (1850) Oh, greenly and fair in the lands of the sun, The vines of the gourd and the rich melon run, And the rock and the tree and …« Read Entire Post

For your church worship liturgy, family worship time or personal devotions this Advent season, here is an assurance of pardon reading from The Worship Sourcebook, based on Psalm 85:9-13 (NRSV): Surely God’s salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him and will make a …« Read Entire Post

Today we continue our “Why Do Worship Leaders Do That?” series, where we examine ten major pet peeves that people express against worship leaders.  We’re drawing these pet peeves from a list published at churchrelevance.com, using comments originally compiled at ragamuffinsoul.com. See the original episode in this series for links to the source articles Today’s topic is pet peeve #4: Why are worship leaders unprofessional?  As always I am joined by series interview subject Lorie King, a long-standing worship leader at Sojourn who has also led worship in many other environments around the world and completed a Masters in Worship …« Read Entire Post

Visit www.sojournkids.com, the internet home of Sojourn Kids, the children’s ministry of Louisville’s Sojourn Community Church.  Sojourn Kids Director Jared Kennedy has hit the ground running with several blog posts during the beta period and is keeping things moving with his own articles and those of Sojourn parents like Scott Slucher.  The site also includes documents for both parents and those interested in children’s ministry, like: Resources For Family Worship Sojourn Kids Servant Training material Sojourn Home Parenting class notes Information on Sojourn’s Illustrated Story Book, Pastor Daddy and more.  Like sojournmusic.com, the site has an RSS feed so you …« Read Entire Post

In today’s churches, the guitar is coming to dominate the landscape in the same way that the piano and organ once did. It’s important that as church musicians we give great care and thought to our guitar playing – everything from chord voicings to tones – so that the instrument is a servant of the congregation, not the star and not the distraction. Each week on Sojournmusic.com, Pastor Mike Cosper will post a guitarist’s feature, which will range from articles to links, online lessons and interviews: Part Three: Adding Color to Guitar Parts In most church situations these days, there’s …« Read Entire Post

Recording continues for the first of two CDs Sojourn is creating, based on the hymns of Isaac Watts, the Father of English Hymnody.  Below, you can view three short videos from producer Neil Robins’ studio and hear the unmixed instrumental track for “Let Your Power Fall On Me,” a Watts adaptation by worship leader Joel Gerdis (also a member of 49th Star and occasional stand-in for the Muckrackers). The first video introduces our characters for this session.  I’m including it because drummer Alex O’Nan is hilarious here — obviously not listening to a word we’re saying but nodding his head …« Read Entire Post

This set list is one of many church music set lists available in the weekly Blog Carnival hosted by fredmckinnon.com.  Photos by Dan Canales. 1. From the Depths, by Sojourn’s own Jeremy Quillo.  You can hear the mp3 and view the chord sheet for “From the Depths” from our These Things I Remember page. Jeremy used Psalm 130 as his model: 1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; 2 O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. 3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, …« Read Entire Post

As we continue to talk about the season of Advent here at sojournmusic.com, here is another reading for personal or corporate worship, courtesy of The Worship Sourcebook: Prayer of Confession For The Season of Advent O promised Christ: We are a world at war. Our peace depends on Your coming. We are a sinful people. Our pardon depends on Your coming. We are full of good intentions but weak at keeping promises; our only hope of doing God’s will is that You should come and help us do it. Lord Christ, Word made flesh, our world waits for Your peace, …« Read Entire Post

No Lament Psalms is full of lament — with good reason: suffering is real, and God wants us to voice it. No Community Are you singing only to God?  Or, as He commands, also to each other? (Colossians 3:16) No Christ New Testament song lyrics clearly proclaimed Christ’s work and attributes.

I forwarded a recent worshipmatters.com article by Bob Kauflin entitled “Preparing The Next Generations Of Musicians” to a few members of the Sojourn worship arts ministry.  Chandi Plummer, who directs the music for Sojourn Kids, replied with such a thought-provoking email that I asked her permission to share it with each of you.  And so now Chandi offers thoughts on excellence in children’s ministry, music education in the church, and the importance of doing all things in light of the gospel: I am thankful that my earliest musical exposure was an outstanding music program in a church. Unfortunately, while the gospel was …« Read Entire Post

Welcome to the third part of our “Why Do Worship Leaders Do That?” series, examining the top ten pet peeves that people express about worship leaders. We took this list from informal blog polling by ragamuffinsoul.com, tabulated into the top ten by churchrelevance.com. See intro to this series for links to those articles Sojourn worship leader Lorie King again sits in the hot seat, answering “pet peeve #3″ by examining the ways in which worship leaders can avoid this trap as well as giving a worship leader’s perspective on things that worshipers in the congregation should understand.  The peeve is “Not Focusing On God.”  Respondents …« Read Entire Post

In today’s churches, the guitar is coming to dominate the landscape in the same way that the piano and organ once did. It’s important that as church musicians we give great care and thought to our guitar playing – everything from chord voicings to tones – so that the instrument is a servant of the congregation, not the star and not the distraction. Each week on Sojournmusic.com, Pastor Mike Cosper will post a guitarist’s feature, which will range from articles to links, online lessons and interviews: Part Two: Acoustic Guitars There’s nothing worse than a bad sounding acoustic guitar. One of …« Read Entire Post

Many of you have told me that you enjoy seeing the worship band photos by Dan Canales each Monday during our “Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs” weekly post.  We didn’t get them up in time this week, but they’re online now so I thought I’d publish a special blog post.  In addition to these four photos by Dan, I’ll show you two pictures from Sojourn deacon Michael Morgan that he took from the recent LEAD conference in St. Louis. The photo above is the first of Dan’s. Besides the fact that it’s a great shot, I love this picture from our most …« Read Entire Post

Recording sessions continue for the first of our two upcoming worship CDs based on the hymns of Isaac Watts.  I’ll tell you a little bit about this latest song in a minute but first: in the video to follow, producer Neil Robins works with drummer Ryan Harvey to record the percussion track for a song that Neil, Dave Moisan and I wrote together called “We Are Changed.”  You’ll see Neil at the mix board, listening to the cut and then, when this portion of the song ends, giving direction to Ryan through a microphone (Ryan is downstairs in the orchestra room). Below …« Read Entire Post

This post is one of many church music set lists participating in a weekly Blog Carnival hosted by fredmckinnon.com.  1. Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed, lyrics by Isaac Watts, traditional Irish melody arranged by Annie Quick.  Despite the fact that this is one of Watts’ best known hymns, this is the first time to my knowledge that we’ve sung “Alas! and did my Savior Bleed” at The 930.  The lyrics are famously convicting and comforting: Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree! We didn’t sing …« Read Entire Post