Worship Matters

Since a few dozen bloggers have already announced that we at Sovereign Grace Ministries have decided to give away all our message MP3′s, I thought I should do the same. Especially since I work here.

We decided to give away all past and future messages simply because we hope more people might benefit from their content. I always appreciate it when I go to a site and can download messages for free with no hassle. Now you can do that at the Sovereign Grace website.

Free messages can be a mixed blessing. You end up with a overloaded iPod filled with sermons you never have time to listen to. I’ve been there. In fact, I still am. So, to make it a little saner, I picked twenty messages I thought might be most relevant to WorshipMatters readers.

Theology

1. Worshiping the Triune God (Dr. Bruce Ware) – understanding how the doctrine of the Trinity affects our worship
2. Cross-Centered Worship (Mark Mullery) – why the cross is crucial in corporate worship
3. A People of God’s Presence (Jeff Purswell) – a panoramic overview of the presence of God in Scripture

Leadership

1. Corporate Worship as Pastoral Care (Bob Kauflin) – viewing congregational song as an opportunity to care for people’s souls

1. Healthy Tensions in Corporate Worship (Bob Kauflin) – a discussion of the false dichotomies we tend to create in worship
2. Watch Your Sunday Meeting (Bob Kauflin and Josh Harris) – a practical workshop on preparing for Sundays
3. Closing the Gap: Pastors and Worship Leaders (Bob Kauflin) – practical ideas for strengthening the pastor-worship leader team
4. Leading and Feeding Your Team (Bob Kauflin) – caring for your musicians
5. Serving Future Generations (Bob Kauflin) – our understanding and practice of worship today can help or hinder the next generation
6. Praying Publicly (Mark Mullery) – helpful instruction on this much neglected area

Musicians and Tech Teams

1. Sanctification through Serving (Mark Mitchell) – serving others is a gift from God intended to make us more like the Savior
2. Playing Spontaneously (Jon Payne and Pat Sczebel) – ways musicians can learn to follow the Spirit’s lead “in the moment”
3. Auditioning and Developing Musicians (Ken Boer) – advice on identifying and using the musical gifts in your church
4. Building a Technical Team from Scratch (Dave Wilcox) – the tech director at my church shares practical wisdom on training and retaining a great tech team

Songwriting

1. Principles of Songwriting (Stuart Townend) – The composer of “In Christ Alone” and “How Deep the Father’s Love For Us” shares thoughts on becoming a better songwriter
   
2. What Will Your Next Song Be? Writing Songs on Purpose (Mark Altrogge, Steve & Vikki Cook, Keith Getty) – looking beyond fleeting emotions or commercial success for motivation to write

Children

1. Training Children to Worship God (Marty Machowski and Mike Bradshaw) – understanding the unique aspects of leading children in worship

Miscellaneous

1. Messages by C.J. Mahaney - any and all of them, especially Christ Our Mediator, True Greatness, Overcoming the Fear of Man, and The Cup.
2. Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Wayne Grudem) – biblical foundations for treasuring the unique and complementary roles of men and women
3. Keep Your Heart with All Vigilance (Wayne Grudem) – caring for and protecting your most important possession

You can also download all the main sessions and seminars from the WorshipGod06 conference, or browse through various messages on theological and practical topics related to music and worship.

Enjoy.