Sunday’s message was an Easter sermon called Desperately Seeking Jesus, taken from Matthew 28:1-10 and focusing on the women coming to Jesus’ tomb early Easter morning.

I shared the following song with our church after preaching the message. The song is called “Mary.” It’s an old Degarmo & Key song from their second album, “Straight On.” Enjoy!

Mary (Degarmo and Key) – Easter 2019 (Video length: 3:19)

Great version. Enjoy!

Ray Charles Sings America the Beautiful (Video length: 3:45)

28 years ago on July 28th, Christian musician Keith Green went home to be with the Lord. He was only 28 years old. Tonight at 7:30 p.m. (EST) Last Days Ministries will present a free live web event remembering Keith. Tune in tonight at www.keithgeen.com for this free event hosted by Melody Green, John Dawson and Loren & Darlene Cunningham.

Keith Green 28|28|28 (Video length: 3:36)

Video includes live performance clips of “Soften Your Heart” and “My Eyes are Dry.”

Related posts:
    • New Keith Green Live CD/DVD
    • New Keith Green Music Coming

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As a believer in God who enjoys science and music, I found the following analogy interesting. This is from Professor Colin Humphreys’ lecture at Trinity College, Cambridge on the topic, “Can Scientists Believe in Miracles?” In this part of the lecture Dr. Humphreys seeks to balance the consistency of God in maintaining an orderly universe with the ability of God to intervene miraculously in the natural order.

Overriding natural laws not only give scientists a problem but also theologians, and the reason for this is that the picture of God given in the Bible is of a consistent God. There are many biblical passages where the consistency of God comes through strongly. So theologically, if God created the Universe and is constantly upholding it, and if God is a consistent God, then would he override the laws he has established?

Let me give you a musical analogy which may be helpful. Imagine you are standing behind a pianist who is playing without music and you are watching the pianist’s fingers. Every time the pianist goes to play the note “F” he plays “F sharp”. You can deduce from this the key signature of the music. The key signature is the rule the composer establishes for playing that piece of music. If you keep watching you may observe that, on occasion, when the pianist should play “F sharp” he plays “F”, or he may play black notes when you expect him to play white ones. These are what musicians call “accidentals” which the composer has deliberately put in the music.

The composer, of course, is free to put accidentals in the music – he is the composer – and although he’s set up a key signature which signifies the way the music should normally be played, he is free to say that it should be played differently on occasions. If he is a great composer, the accidentals will never be used capriciously, they will always make better music. It is the accidentals which contribute to making the piece of music great. The analogy with how God operates is clear. God created and upholds the universe but, like the great composer, he is free to override his own rules. However, if he is a consistent God, it must make more sense than less for him to override his rules.

Christian musician, Dana Key, died yesterday (June 6, 2010) from a ruptured blood clot (CT). He was 56 years old. Dana Key was the guitarist and main vocalist for DeGarmo & Key, an early Christian rock band that Dana formed with keyboardist Ed DeGarmo. More recently Dana was senior pastor for TLC Community Church in Memphis, TN where he and Ed grew up.

I first saw Degarmo & Key back in 1979. They were performing in a local Jr. High School. I had never heard of them before, but went with a friend to check them out. What a concert! They had the two albums pictured above for sale, and I purchased them both during intermission. Later albums didn’t grab me as much, but I always loved Dana’s bold guitar playing, his clear witness for Christ, and his gritty, authentic voice.

(Here’s the first track from Degarmo & Key’s first album, This Time Thru.)
“Emmanuel”
[audio:DegarmoKey_Emmanuel.mp3]
Click “►” button to play | Length: 3:08

So many of those early Christian musicans have now gone on to be with the Lord: Keith Green, Mark Heard, Larry Norman, Tom Howard, and now Dana Key as well. These musicians all had a positive impact on my growth as a young Christian. I appreciate their ministry, and I still enjoy their music after all these years, too!

Related posts:
    • Tom Howard Passes Away (1950-2010)
    • Larry Norman Passes Away (1947-2008)

Download some great music from Jars of Clay for a dollar and help flood victims in Tennessee. In other words, everyone wins! Here are the details from the Jars of Clay website:

Dear Friends,

On May 1st and 2nd of 2010, our hometown of Nashville and its surrounding areas suffered a devastating flood. The impact of this extremely rare event was felt by us and countless others in our community, resulting in loss of life and billions of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure.

In an effort to help those who have lost everything, we have put together an EP with five different versions of our song, “Flood.” This 5-song EP is available for download for only $1 at jarsofclay.com. 100% of the proceeds from your purchase will go directly to charities aiding in flood relief efforts in the Nashville community, administered by MusiCares Nashville Flood Relief.

Our goal is to raise $100,000 and we need your help!

– Jars of Clay

The 5-song EP includes: 1) Savage Flavor Remix, 2) New Rain, 3) iTunes Originals Version, 4) Sara Groves Version, and 5) Original Album Version. I have always liked this song, and these are some nice versions. The iTunes Originals Version and the Sara Groves Version are especially good. And it is also good to know you are helping people in need at the same time. Way to go Jars of Clay on a great benefit!

Here is a great little clip from a Julie Miller song. Remember, not all things are as they appear. “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14) “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22) Be wise; be warned; be well.

(Click to play)
[audio:JulieMiller_TheDevilIsAnAngel.mp3]

Well, you look just like an angel,
You sound so bright and true,
You seem so sweet coming down my street,
But the devil is an angel too,
The devil is an angel too.

From Julie Miller; Blue Pony; “The Devil Is An Angel”

Christian musician, Tom Howard, passed away yesterday (January 29, 2010). He was hiking with his wife at Edwin Warner Park in Nashville when he had a heart attack and could not be revived. He was 59 years old. Tom was a great pianist, composer, arranger, singer and songwriter. I first heard his music back in 1977 with his View from the Bridge project released through Larry Norman on Solid Rock Records. Here are two of my favorite songs from View from the Bridge. Enjoy, and please keep Tom’s family and friends in your prayers.

“One More Reason”
[audio:TomHoward_OneMoreReason.mp3]
Click “►” button to play | Length: 5:20

“All Through the Day”
[audio:TomHoward_AllThroughtheDay.mp3]
Click “►” button to play | Length: 4:16

Update: Obituary notice from The Tennessean on February 1, 2010

Thomas L. “Tom” Howard
HOWARD, Thomas L. “Tom”: Composer, Arranger, Producer, and Musician. Born February 23, 1950. Died January 29, 2010. Survived by his wife, Dori; two children, Katie and Joseph and sister, Susann (John) Anderson. Memorial Service 2 p.m. Wednesday, the 3rd day of February at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, 4800 Belmont Park Terrace, Nashville, TN 37215. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Bartholomew’s. MARSHALL DONNELLY COMBS, (615) 327-1111.

Related links:

• Funeral Service: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2:00PM; St. Bartholomew’s Church, 4800 Belmont Park Terrace, Nashville TN 3721
• Facebook Group: In Memory of Tom Howard, Musician, Arranger
• Tom Howard: From Jesus music pioneer to behind-the-scenes virtuoso (great article from November, 2008 by Mike Rimmer of Cross Rhythms)
• Tom Howard Cross Rhythms Artist Profile
• Goodbye, Friend (Franklin Springs Family Media)
• Remembering Tom Howard, by John Duncan (Ligonier Ministries)

Yesterday was Canadian musician Bruce Cockburn’s birthday, so I thought I would share this rare, live cut of one of my favorite Bruce songs. This was from the 1980 U.S. tour to support the Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws album. Enjoy! (And happy birthday, Bruce!)

Creation Dream (lyrics)

Centered on silence, counting on nothing,
I saw you standing on the sea.
And everything was dark except for
Sparks the wind struck from your hair.
Sparks that turned to wings around you,
Angel voices mixed with seabird cries.
Fields of motion, surging outward,
Questions that contain their own replies.

You were dancing, I saw you dancing,
Throwing your arms toward the sky.
Fingers opening like flares,
Stars were shooting everywhere.
Lines of power, bursting outward,
Along the channels of your song.
Mercury waves flashed under your feet
Shots of silver in the shell-pink dawn.

The Bigsby Show has a great video and song to help children (and adults) learn the books of the Bible. Music is a great way to memorize. I still use the song that I learned as a child for the New Testament books to get the order right (and that’s after going to seminary!).

(Video length: 2:57)

• You can download the video for $1.99 here.
• Guitar chords are available for free here.
• The performance track mp3 is available for free here.

Need some more Bigsby before you go? Here’s “Frogs, Frogs, Frogs” from the Lake Charles show. (Video length: 1:11)

HT: Ministry-to-Children.com

I only just recently heard of Tommy Emmanuel, but I am already enjoying his music. Tommy is an Australian guitarist whose career spans more than four decades. He started playing guitar at age 4 (!) and was already working as a professional musican by the age of 6. Here’s a fun video where he explains and demonstrates his thumb technique on the acoustic guitar.

Tom’s Thumb Master Class (Video length: 4:17)

 

You can find a lot of his music on YouTube along with some “slowed-down video explanations” of the songs. In the meantime, check out his great version of Arthur Smith’s Guitar Boogie (with video explanation below).

Guitar Boogie (Video length: 3:52)

 

Guitar Boogie “Explanation” (Video length: 3:20)

One of our stated core values as a church is that the church is for children as well as for adults.

“We believe that children can become believers, grow spiritually and serve the church body, and therefore, we will have ministries designed to equip and facilitate this process.” (from Agawam Church of the Bible Core Values Statement)

As a result, we encourage our young people to serve in the church. Probably the most visible way our young people serve is on the church worship team, but others help with Sunday morning set-up, running the sound system, children’s church, nursery, and other areas. So I found it interesting to read that John Calvin also encouraged children to serve in the musical ministry of the church.

“The ministers expect the singing of psalms to have a positive influence on the prayers and on the glorification of the name of God. A number of qualified children are to be selected to lead the congregation in the singing of the psalms.” (Wulfert de Greef, The Writings of John Calvin, p. 111)

Does your church encourage young people to serve? If so, in what ways?

HT: Expository Thoughts