Music, singing, talents : service conducted by Nancy and Randy Campbell

Musician's prayer


Oh Lord, please bless this music that it might glorify your name. May the talent that you have bestowed on us be used only to serve you.

Let this music be a witness to your majesty and love, and remind us that you are always watching, and listening, from your throne above.

May your presence and beauty be found in every note, and may the words that are sung reach the hearts of your people so they will draw closer to you.

May your Spirit guide us through every measure so that we might be the instruments of your peace, and proclaim your glory with glad voices.

Amen


Invocation and Lord's prayer

Lord God, you who deserve the best and want the best from each one of us, take our preparation for this service and bless it with your holy spirit, that in our different roles we may serve you faithfully and well this day, and thereby advance your realm on earth as it is in heaven.


Let us be worthy to be your emissaries-to reach out and touch the hearts of your people and be a witness to your greater glory. O Lord, be with us as we meet in your name. Open our minds to your spirit, and grant that what we sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts abd show in our daily lives. 


This is a call to those who seek you. This is a call to love. Come and fill your house, come and fill this place, We love you Lord. We sing anf shout aloud because you are here, Our hearts burst out as you draw close. Joy is overflowing and praise is growing. 
There's knowledge in our hearts that you are there. We welcome you, Lord and ask that you continue to inspires singers,  musicians and composers to realize that they have a gift of God and should use it for the good of others, Help all Christians to sing joyfully and to celebrate as the community of God. Now let us pray together the words Jesus taught us : 


Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we forgiveour debtors;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.  
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.


Hymn #410  " Joyful, Joyful"    Music: Hymn to Joy, from the 9th Sym­pho­ny of Lud­wig van Beet­ho­ven; adapt­ed by Ed­ward Hodg­es, 1824  Words: Hen­ry J. van Dyke, 1907.




Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed,
Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.

Offertory prayer :

Glorious God, we joyously place before you our offerings. May these gifts support our ministry so that others may gather in your name and follow your path of love and peace. We, your children, seek to be imitators of God and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself  up for us. In Jesus name , we pray. Amen


Hymn #17 in Mary's Songbook :  I'll fly Away written by Albert Brumley

Some glad morning when this life is o'er, 
I'll fly away; 
To a home on God's celestial shore, 
I'll fly away.
CHORUS:
I'll fly away, O glory, 
I'll fly away; 
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by, 
I'll fly away.
When the shadows of this life have grown, 
I'll fly away; 
Like a bird from prison bars has flown, 
I'll fly away.

Just a few more weary days and then, 
I'll fly away; 
To a land where joys shall never end, 
I'll fly away.


Scripture readings :  Collossians 3: 12-17 and Corinthians 14:15


12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.




15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will singwith my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 



Hymn #74 in Mary's Songbook : It is No Secret written by Russ (Stuart) Hamblen




The Chimes Of Time Ring Out The News
Another Day Is Through
Someone Slipped And Fell, Was That Some One You?

You May Have Longed For Added Strength
Your Courage To Renew
Do Not Be Disheartened, For I Have News For You

Chorus:
It Is No Secret, What God Can Do
What He’d Done For Others, He’ll Do For You
With Arms Wide Open, He’ll Pardon You
It Is No Secret, What God Can Do

There Is No Night, For In His Light
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Always Feel At Home, Whenever You May Roam

There Is No Power Can Conquer You
While God Is On Your Side
Just Take Him At His Promise, Don’t Run Away And Hide 


Prayer:
Holy Lord, to you forever, let all thanks be sung. May we be glad when it is said of us : "Let us go into the house of the Lord". May our lives as well as our voice, glorify you. This morning, let us praise you our Lord and Father. Accept our worship and praise, spoken and sung, to the glory of your holy name, We bless you, God, for all the good songs that have been sung : songs that have celebrated life, and love, and people together. And we bless you for the singers of the good songs in all ages.For we have caught snatches of their poetry and their melody, enough for us to try to become singers in our turn. let there be songs, blessed Lord, and the singers and p;ayers of songs, strengtheningm creating, prevailling. let the music continue to grow and flourish so that a new world comes to birth and all rejoice. We ask all this in your precious name. Amen


Hymn #71 in Mary's Songbook : In the bulb There is a Flower words and music by Natalie Sleeth



In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.



Reflection : Music and Song in Worship
by Nancy Campbell


Music and singing are one way we express emotion. Music can express joy or sadness ; profound
peace when we feel close to God, or bitterness when we feel distant from Him. In general, we are enjoined to serve through joy. So it would seem natural to include singing and music in our praise to Him. In the book os psalms, King David mentions several different kinds of musical instruments, and it is explained that musical instruments where used to inspire prophets to reach the heights of their prophetic connection to God. Hymn singing is an act of thanksgiving to God. The book of psalms is filled with thanksgiving.

Hymn singing unites us through the praise of God.Singing hymn gives us a way and the means of coming together. The first songs in the church were psalms from the Hebrew psalter. Then there began to be dictinctive Christian songs and glorias, which by the 14th C. were at the end of the psalm reading, proclaiming an affirmation of praise and exalting the one God. In the early days of Christianity, the people of the church would sing defiantly together as a way of encouraging one another to face the future without fear. Even when the apostle Paul and Silas were thrown in jail, they sang praises of the Lord.

The church has always emphasized the importance of singing hymns, but why do we sing hymns in church? Why do we form choirs? There are some who would say that singing hymns provide the church members an opportunity to become actively involved. Others might wonder that is is an activity that clears away social and community differences and creates a sense of unity and harmony. There is an extent of truth to both those statements, but the importance of hymn singing is much more than that.

Remember what Randy read int the scripture. paul said, " let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing on another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

When we look at our hymn book, we see each hymn is related to at least one verse in the Bible- meaning every hymn is related to the words of God and Jesus. As we all know, the Bible teaches us how to be good stewards to our Master. And so when we sing hymns, we are actually constantly reminding ourselves of God's teachings and to know wheter we have been walning on the correct path.

It is found that humans can only absorb 20% of what they hear from sermons. However combining words and melody, hymn singing is a stronger tool. Hymns are repeated frequently, which is an important factor of memorization. Through hymns, we sing praises and glorify God. We are encouraged to sing with our heart, not just our mouth and voice. God does not care if we have a beautifull voice or sing in tune to the music. What's important to Him is how we sing hymns---is it from our heart?

For many years church music consisted of Catholic monks singing Gregorian chant hymns. Then the 16th C. Reformation resulted in the formation of the protestant Church and a new kind of church music - hymns that were written to be sung by the common people in a language they could understand. In the early 19th C. gospel music hymns such as " I Love to Tell The Story" written by William Fischer and "Blessed Assurance" by Fanny Crosby began to emerge. Fanny Crosby, who was blind, wrote over 9000 songs to the Lord. She used 200 different pen names because she wanted to  make sure God got the glory, and not her.

In the early 20th C. the Pentecostal movement determined to bridge the gap between Christians of different races. One result was the black gospel hymns negan to gain popularity. " precious Lord" written by Thomas Dorsey, is an example of a distinctive musical style that crossed racial lines. Thomas Dorsey, is an example of a distinctive musical style that crossed racial lines. Thomas Dorsey has the honored title of "The father of Gospel Music" and his music is loved around the world. In the 1921, at the age of 22, Thomas gave his life to Jesus. He began writting gospel music. Ten years later he lost his wife to childbirth, and soon after the baby died also. He fell into deep despair. About a week later, he was sitting at the piano, and the words to "precious Lord, take my hand" began to well up from his heart. God had given him a song that would not only lift him up from despair, but would also change the course of his musical career. " Precious Lord" has been translated into more than 40 languages and it was Dr Martin Luther King's favourite hymn.

"I saw the Light" is a 1948 gospel song and first performer by Hank Williams. With poetic lyrics, such as " I wandered so aimless, life filled with sin, I wouldn't let my dear Saviour in", the song was written about Williams' religious convictions despite his alcoholic vices.

The lyrics to " It Only Takes a Spark" ring true in many ways. Kindness is contagious, and when someone has gone out of their way to do something kind. a kindness is usually returned. The words annd music were written by Kurt Kaiser in 1969.

"In the Sweet By And By" is another favourite Christian Hymn. It is written by Fillmore Bennet and music by Joseph Webster. This beloved and well known hymn took under 30 minutes for the two men to write.

In the 1970's and 80's integrity music introduced the church to "As The Deer Pants for the Water"
and many other hymns designed to take private worship to a new level of intimacy with God. Praise and worship within the church has taken on a new sound that continues to grow more intense and beautiful.


I have already talked a little about the history of music and song in the worship and mentionned some of the songs Chenaniah played in the prelude. Now let's talk a little about the songs we've sung here this morning. We began the service with "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" Beethoven's melody. "Ode to Joy" from the 9th Symphony, is well known throughout the world, and many lyrics have been written to this well known tune. Harry van Dyke wrote the lyrics to this hymn in 1907. It was first published in the presbyterian Hymnal in 1911. Van Dyke wrote :" These verses are simple expression of common Christian feeling and desires in this present time--hymns of today that may be sung together with people who know the thought of the ages, and are not affraid of today and that are not affraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore , this is a hymn of trust and joy and hope."  We can say the same thing today. Van Dyke was first a Presbyterian minister, and later served at several different universities in the eastern United States as a Professor of Theology. He published a number of books and chaired the commitee which prepared the Book Of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church.

The next song " I'll Fly Away", was written by Albert Brumley in the spring of 1932. He sent the song, which he called " a little ditty", to the Hartford Music Company. Little did Brumley know that he had just mailed what would become the world's most recorded song in history. With over 5000 recording, " I'll Fly Away" has been recorded in every country and in every language on the planet. Brumley has been recognized over the years as the " greatest white gospel song writer before WWII". "I'll Fly Away" is still considered one of gospel's greatest songs.


Now on to Russ Hamblin, a radio host and song writer in 1950's in Holliwood. He happened to attend a tent revival meeting where the young preacher announced : " there is a man in the audience who is a big fake". Hamblin was convinced the preacher was talking about him. A few days later, after a night of drinking, he went to the preacher's hotal room, where the two men talked for hours, In the early morning hours, Hamblin fell to his knees and cried out to God, Russ quit drinking, quit chasing women and basically quit everything that he used to think was fun. He lost favour in Hollywood and eventually lost his radio job. He fell on hard times. As he continued to struggle, an old friend name John took him aside and said to him, " all your troubles started when you got religion", and he asked Russ if it was all worth it. John  asked how he could give up his old habits so easily. Russ simply answered, " It's no big secret. All things are possible with God" And John replied, " That is a catchy phrase. You should write a song about it" Well, as they say, the rest is history. Russ Hamblin wrote " It Is No Secret what God can do". By the way, the friend was John Wayne and the young preacher, Billy Graham.


Our last two hymns were written by the same women. Nathalie Sleeth. "In the Bulb There is a Flower" was written in 1985. She wrote this about the song :" pondering the death of a friend reminds me of life and death, pondering winter and spring are seeming opposites, and a T.S. Eliot poem which had the phrase, "in our end is our beginning, that out of one will come the other whenever God chooses to bring that about. This is a hymn of promise." Natalie Sleeth was an American composer born in 1930 and died in 1992. She started piano lessons at the age of 4, She continued her music studies and eventually earned a BA in music theory. " Praise the Lord With The Sound of Trumpet" was written in 1975. The lyrics are a wonderful catalogue of things, times and places. All the instruments and all occasions can be used to sing and praise to the Lord. As the text suggest, " praise the Lord anytime and anywhere" and " everywhere in every way". Natalie took he text from Psalm 150 : " Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre. Praise him with the timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe. Praise him with the cash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. let everything that has breath praise the Lord".

Let's get close to one another and open our mouths, praise God with a voice of singing.Come together in common purpose and service to God. Let us thank God for our music and join togerther in exuberance as we sing our closing hymn # 466. 


Hallelujah! God does listen to our hymn singing.


Hymn #466 "Praise the Lord With the Sound of Trumpet" (words and music by Natalie Sleeth)


Benediction :


May the blessing of the Lord be upon you, and may you know the joy of putting his name upon others. Let us love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of his spirit. For indeed, blesses are those who walk in the light of God's face.




"If I cannot fly, let me sing!" 
Stephen Sondheim