Worship Matters

In a previous post I talked about the Sovereign Grace songwriting retreat and where our songs come from. While we’d love to simply produce songs that are being written by writers in their local churches, we’re trying to steward our songwriting resources in a way we think will better serve the church at large. So [...]

Each summer my church holds an event for 6-10 year olds called Summer Celebration, led by one of our pastors, Mike Bradshaw. It’s a week long event filled with fun, games, teaching, songs, and encouragement. The leadership team (which includes a significant number of high schoolers) invests hours of planning and preparation with the goal of [...]

I have a sweet job. One of my responsibilities is to oversee the production of Sovereign Grace albums.
Some of you have asked where the songs for those albums come from, and what the process looks like. I’m right in the middle of a three day retreat with 18 songwriters from various Sovereign Grace churches, so I [...]

Every year Worship Leader magazine announces its “Reader’s Choice” awards. They give their readers a limited list, and ask them to choose their favorite artists, songs, and albums from the previous year. This year I was happy to learn that Sons & Daughters was nominated for two categories: Best Worship Project and Best Compilation Project.
I have [...]

No, this isn’t a contest to see who can be the most like Jesus…
Sovereign Grace Music is inviting families, individuals, children’s ministries, and whoever else is up for making a creative video to participate in a contest using our latest kids’ album, To Be Like Jesus. The prize is a $250 gift certificate to Amazon.com.
Here’s [...]

I know it’s late in the season, but I wanted to post some of the more solid Christmas songs, mostly for congregational worship, that I’ve come across this year. From my experience, Christmas carols are a mixed bag. Some beat around the “gospel bush” and hint at a universal brotherhood, while others clearly proclaim the [...]

Yesterday I reviewed Paul Baloche’s new album, Glorious. I emailed Paul a few questions which he was kind enough to answer. As long as I’ve known Paul he has always been gracious and  humble. His songs are sung across the world, yet he consistently encourages those around him, laughs at himself, and directs people’s hearts [...]

My first lengthy conversation with Paul Baloche took place about 5 or 6 years ago. Early on the conversation turned to theology. Paul assured me that his theology was “Jesus,” and he didn’t think it needed to be more complicated than that.
I’m happy to report Paul’s views have changed.
Paul’s new album, Glorious, is filled with [...]

I asked Matt Redman if he could fill us in on some of the background to his latest album, We Shall Not Be Shaken, which I reviewed yesterday. His responses give some insight into the songwriting process, as well as Matt’s humility.
Themes of God’s sovereignty pervade the songs on this album. Why did you choose [...]

I first met Matt Redman in 1997 when I was over in England for a worship conference. In a few minutes of conversation a few things stood out to me. He was a young man passionate about impacting his generation with worship songs that communicated biblical truth about God and not simply emotional responses. He [...]

Recently, we received some good news.
Worship Leader magazine picked our Psalms album as one of the “Best of the Best” products for 2009. We were pretty surprised, especially since we released the album in August 2008. But hey, we’re not going to complain.
To celebrate, we’ve dropped the price for the Psalms CD to $8 (33% [...]

This past Sunday at my home church, we taught one of the songs from Sons & Daughters, The Father’s Love. It’s an uptempo song that elaborates on the theme of 1 John 3:1: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
It [...]

You can now download our latest CD, Sons & Daughters, on iTunes.
Sons & Daughters contains 12 songs that celebrate God adopting us through Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:5). We are now part of God’s family—in Christ we will forever be the objects of God’s particular and passionate mercy and love. That biblical reality, rather than leaving us [...]

Just finished Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice, by Bryan Chappell. Bottom line — if you’re responsible for leading, overseeing, or planning corporate worship in your church, you should read this book.
Chappell divides the book into two sections, Gospel Worship and Gospel Worship Resources. A casual look at the Table of Contents could [...]

I’m happy to let you know that you can listen to samples from our new album, Sons & Daughters, over at the Sovereign Grace Music website. We’ll be releasing it next Wednesday, Aug. 5, at the WorshipGod09 conference.
The songs are primarily meant for congregational worship, and focus on themes related to 1 John 3:1: See what [...]