Filed under: Christmas
http://www.history.com/flash/VideoPlayer.swf?vid=8128635901
Isn’t it amazing to think that the Creator of the universe would have desire to dwell among us so that we could have a relationship with Him? What other God has that type of love, that He would send His only Son to make that possible? ”God With Us” is a new series starting this weekend where we’ll be looking at how God’s presence in our lives affects how we share our faith and how effective living the Gospel can become. The Triune God desires to work through us as we share our faith. Join us at Moraine Valley Church as we take four weeks to celebrate the birth of Christ, the anticipation of His 2nd coming, and the ways in which He walks with us through life.
www.MoraineValleyChurch.org
www.Facebook.com/MoraineValleyChurch
Filed under: Christmas, music, worship | Tags: All Bow Down, Christmas, Jesus Saves, music, Travis Cottrell, worship
Two years ago, worship leader Travis Cottrell came out with a Christmas musical entitled “All Bow Down.” At the time of its release, I had just come on staff with Moraine Valley Church and we were searching for a musical. We happened to land on this through a preview pack that was sent to us. Little did we know that one of the songs in this pack would become a well known song of worship for our congregation and one that stir our congregation to spontaneous applause in worship to the new born Savior!
Jesus Saves is sure to capture the heart of Christmas in your congregation. And for those who have a choir to sing along, this choral arrangement will enlighten your choir to sing in a very special way.
You can find more info at http://www.worshipmusic.com/4575714057.html
or at http://www.brentwood-benson.com/product.aspx?ProjectCode=457571405
Filed under: Christmas, Josh Wilson, worship | Tags: Christmas, Josh Wilson, worship
Part 2 brings us to Josh Wilson’s ablum entitled “Sing – A Christmas EP.” This album in one word “ROCKS!” I love it! And best of all, so does my congregation. We introduced the first track from this album last year and plan on doing it again this year. Taking the biblical command to sing a new song to the Lord and putting that into a Christmas format, the first track “Sing” is simply that! A call to sing, for God has given us redemption!
Track 3 is an acoustical arrangement of The First Noel. Completely instrumental, this is an acoustic guitarist’s dream song! With extensive melodic runs, rhythmic patterns and a wide use of the fret board, this acoustical arrangement is sure to provide a variety of sound for your worship gathering.
Find out more at www.myspace.com/joshwilson
Filed under: Christmas, music, worship | Tags: Bebo Norman, Christmas, music, worship
Over the course of the next few weeks, I hope to share some CDs and songs that have helped me in my planning process for Christmas. I think from time to time, it’s always good to pull out the good ole tunes that so many of us know. However, as a worship leader sometimes its the good ole tunes that tend to always make the set lists for the weekend services instead of fresh new approaches to Christmas. Whether its because of a lack of planning or unfamiliarity of what resources are available, new worship songs are hard to come by during Christmas time. Fortunately in recent years, there have been several albums that have come along that have brought a fresh wind to worship at Christmas time. My hope is that the next several weeks will give you a small sampling of some of the songs that I have discovered and find useful for worship this Christmas.
This week, I want to share with you a song from Bebo Norman’s Christmas album entitled “Christmas..From the Realms of Glory.” The first track on this album is called Come and Worship and is a fabulous tune to use in a contemporary setting as a call to worship. With a moderate tempo and plenty of dynamic changes, this song is a great worship gathering opener!
Another great tune on this album is track three called “Born to Die.” Acoustically driven rather than piano driven, this song fits perfectly as a special during your gathering time, taking our thoughts beyond the birth to the real reason for His coming: His death.
Find out more at www.bebonorman.com
I’ve been so intrigued lately at the amount of Jesus and Santa themes out there. I found a video comparing Jesus to Santa, I’ve seen Santa bowing down at the manger, and then, I found a comic of Jesus and Santa. Jesus with a backlog? Ha! Santa would say that..he’s the one that has to check his list twice!
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So here is the Christmas musical we’re covering this year at my home church. We’ve decided to cover most of the music, and use a lot of the ideas within the printed material. The music really allows us to fully use our orchestra and choir ministries, and still gives us the ability to lead our congregation in worship, as opposed to putting a performance or musical.
One of the main themes that we’re pushing this year is to answer the question, “What if Christ had never been born?” In light of answering that question, we’re looking to spend some time as congregation falling to our knees in worship to the King!
We’ll be doing our worship night at Trinity Christian College, Dec. 15th and 16th. I’m really looking forward to it, and I think our worship ministry teams are excited about it as well.
I’ll post back next week and let you all know how it went.
Merry Christmas!
