SongDevotions

"New Pagan Love Song" by Paul Brill

2005-06-02T11:36:00.000-05:00

Today’s Song: “New Pagan Love Song” by Paul Brill, from the album, New Pagan Love Song
For full album review, click here.

1. When leaves are colored
That means they’re dying
The most beautiful dream I saw trees with dying leaves
Leaves could not hold the sun

2. Love your neighbors and friends
Love all your enemies since they’re innocent
End of the summer give back some of what you’re given
Somewhere it says, “You give thanks for what you’re thankful for.”

Chorus
Dancing is not enough
Kill your virgins just to shut you up
Something’s died, it gives life, something else is risen,
Volcano’s dead,
You give thanks for what you’ve got right now.

3. Bless your daughters and sons
Indian summer has come
Burn your fortresses down
End of the summer give back some of what you’re given
Somebody said, “You give thanks for what you’re thankful for.”

Chorus 2
Dancing is not enough
Kill your virgins just to shut you up
Summer’s died, you give thanks for what you’ve got right now.
This is not enough
Kill your virgins just to shut you up
Something’s died, it gives life, something else is risen,
Volcano’s dead,
You give thankful for what you’re given,
Volcano’s dead,
You give thanks for what you’ve got right now.

By Paul Brill, © 2004 Scarlet Shame Records. Published by Malayalam Music/Omondi Songs (ASCAP).

Behind the Music
1. Stanzas 1 & 2, how do the reflections about death relate to references to the commands of Jesus?
2. Stanza 2, in Luke 6:37, Jesus says, “Love your enemies. Do good to those who curse you.” How does that compare to the line in Stanza 2?
3. Chorus, child sacrifice and virgin sacrifice were two ways that pagans appeased their gods (pagan referring to those who didn’t believe in the God of the Jews and/or in Christ). How does this song seem to agree with the emptiness of such a practice of killing virgins for the gods? What about the practice of making a sacrifice to a volcano?

Connect with Scripture: Ezekiel 23:36-39
[36] The Lord said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations. [37] For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me. [38] Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths. [39] For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house.

English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

4. Chorus, how is the Chorus similar or different than what God says to the Israelites in Ezekiel when God talks to them about following some of these pagan practices?
5. Chorus, "dancing is not enough” seems to be reference to needing to do more to please the gods than just dance. Why do people sometimes feel that believing in Christ isn't enough to find salvation?
6. Chorus, what does giving thanks have to do with omitting acts which go against God’s Word?
7. Chorus, Brill says, “Something’s died, it gives life, something else is risen.” Explain how this line could be about Christ.
8. Stanza 3, what does the end of summer have to do with burning down your fortresses and giving back some of what you’re given?
9. What are you thankful for? How does remembering your list of thanksgivings also help you focus on your faith in Christ?
10. This song uses a lot of references to seasons. Use those seasons to talk about your faith in Christ (e.g.: “My faith is sometimes like Indian Summer; it seems warm but it gets cold quickly”).
11. What are the pagan practices that creep into your life, tempting you to stop focusing on Christ alone?
12. How does it give you comfort to remember that even though you sin, “something else is risen” in you through Christ?
13. Seeing that this song could be urging people away from pagan practices towards following Christ, how could you understand it to be a love song to pagans? What is loving about telling someone to stop their religion in favor of Christ?

Credits
By Paul Brill
© 2004 Scarlet Shame Records. Published by Malayalam Music/Omondi Songs (ASCAP).

For full album review, click here.

"When the Music is Over" by the Doors

2005-04-30T15:53:00.000-05:00

The Doors
The Doors named themselves after a quote from a William Blake poem, “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear as it is, infinite.” For all of his excesses of drugs and sex, Jim Morrison was definitely searching for truth and hope—something he apparently never found.

Listening for the Connections
As you listen and/or watch this extended song from the Doors, keep these questions in mind. Point out answers quietly to others in your group. (Live performance video available on Live at the Hollywood Bowl).
1. Put a star * next to references to heaven.
2. Put a exclamation point ! next to references to hell.
3. Circle any references to looking for a savior or hope.
4. Underline references to death.
5. Put a sad face next to references to loneliness or loss of hope.

Today’s Song: “When the Music’s Over” by the Doors from the album, Strange Days

Chorus
Yeah, c’mon
When the music’s over
When the music’s over, yeah, when the music’s over
Turn out the lights, turn out the lights
Turn out the lights, yeah
When the music’s over (x3)
Turn out the lights (x3)
For the music is your special friend
Dance on fire as it intends
Music is your only friend
Until the end (x3)

1. Cancel my subscription to the resurrection
Send my credentials to the house of detention
I got some friends inside
The face in the mirror won’t stop
The girl in the window won’t drop
A feast of friends, alive! she cried
Waitin’ for me, outside!

2. Before I sink, into the big sleep
I want to hear, I want to hear
The scream of the butterfly
Come back, baby, back into my arm
We’re gettin’ tired of hangin’ around
Waitin’ around with our heads to the ground
I hear a very gentle sound, very near yet very far
Very soft, yeah, very clear, come today, come today

3. What have they done to the earth?
What have they done to our fair sister?
Ravaged and plundered and ripped her and bit her
Stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn
And tied her with fences and dragged her down
I hear a very gentle sound
With your ear down to the ground

4. We want the world and we want it... (x2)
Now, now? , now!
Persian night, babe, see the light, babe
Save us!, Jesus!, save us!

Chorus
So when the music’s over
When the music’s over, yeah
When the music’s over
Turn out the lights (x3)
Well the music is your special friend
Dance on fire as it intends
Music is your only friend
Until the end (x3)

Music by the Doors; Lyrics by Jim Morrison © 1967, Doors Music Co.

Connect with Scripture: Psalm 6:1-7
O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
[2] Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
[3] My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long?

[4] Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
[5] For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?

[6] I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
[7] My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Behind the Music
1. Where does the Doors’ song and Psalm 6 talk about similar feelings?
2. Stanza 1, how could “cancel my subscription to the resurrection” be similar to Psalm 6:1?
3. How is the psalmist’s hope for salvation in verses 4-5 similar or different than in the song (stanza 2 and stanza 4)?
4. Stanza 4, do you think this is a sincere cry to Jesus for help?
5. Chorus, what in death will we find is a “special friend” and a “dance on fire”?
6. If you had a friend who was overly obsessed with death, what should you do or say? How could you use this song to point to Jesus?

"Going in the Right Direction" by Robert Randolph & the Family Band

2005-04-30T15:41:00.000-05:00

Connect with Scripture: Luke 15:16-24
“And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
[17] "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! [18] I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. [19] I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants." '
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. [21] And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
[22] But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. [23] And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. [24] For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Today’s Song: “Going in the Right Direction” by Robert Randolph & the Family Band from the album, Unclassified

1. I was lost
I thought the losing dice were tossed
Didn’t know where to go
Didn’t have no one to turn to
I’m glad I found you just in time
I won’t miss those things I left behind

Chorus
Now I’m going in the right direction
Going in the right direction

2. Now I’ve found
The road I need to travel down
I don’t know what tomorrow brings
Day by day with you I’ll do the same thing
I’m so glad I’m standing on my own two feet
No more running into that dead end street

Bridge
You better get right
Or you’re gonna get left

Music & lyrics by Robert Randolph © 2003, Happy Fingers Publishing
robertrandolph.net
warnerbrosrecords.com

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, how does this describe being separated from God?
2. Stanza 1, how does this describe the prodigal son?
3. Chorus, what does it mean to be “going in the right direction”? Is that Law or Gospel?
4. What is Gospel in the parable of the prodigal son?
5. When you find people around you that are lost in their sins, what would get them “going in the right direction”? Remember: Gospel. Gospel. Gospel.
6. Stanza 2, how does this stanza shift to what Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. ”?
7. Stanza 2, how could this stanza sound like we need to keep ourselves holy to stay with God?
How can you understand it with a Gospel-focus?
8. Bridge, what does the song mean by “you’re gonna get left”? How do we get right?

"I Have Forgiven Jesus" by Morrissey

2005-04-25T17:47:00.000-05:00

Today’s Song: “I Have Forgiven Jesus” by Morrissey from the album, You Are the Quarry
Morrissey was the lead singer of the 80’s band, the Smith. The Smiths coupled Morrissey’s heart-on-his-sleeve lyrics with Johnny Marr’s heart-wrenching electric guitar. Morrissey’s solo career has rarely achieved such glory, but this recent album finds him in fine form. Known for his “celibate pride,” it has always been unclear whether Morrissey is gay, straight, bisexual, or asexual as he claims.

“I Have Forgiven Jesus”
1. I was a good kid, I wouldn't do you no harm,
I was a nice kid, With a nice paper round
Forgive me any pain, I may have brung to you,
With God's help I know, I'll always be near to you

Chorus
But Jesus hurt me,
When he deserted me, but,
I have forgiven you Jesus
For all the desire,
He placed in me when there's nothing I can do
with this desire

2. I was a good kid,
Through hail and snow, I'd go
just to moon you,
I carried my heart in my hand
Do you understand, Do you understand?

Chorus

Bridge
Monday - humiliation,
Tuesday - suffocation,
Wednesday - condescension,
Thursday - is pathetic
By Friday life has killed me,
By Friday life has killed me,
Oh pretty one, Oh pretty one

3. Why did you give me so much desire,
When there is nowhere I can go to offload this desire?
And why did you give me so much love in a loveless world,
When there is no one I can turn to
To unlock all this love?
And why did you stick in self deprecating bones and skin?
Jesus, do you hate me?
Why did you stick in self deprecating bones and skin?
Do you hate me? Do you hate me?
Do you hate me? Do you hate me?

Lyrics by Morrissey, © 2004 Sanctuary Records Group, Inc.

Connect with Scripture: Romans 1:24-27
[24] Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, [25] because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

[26] For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; [27] and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Behind the Music
1. In what ways does this song seem to suggest that Morrissey is struggling with homosexual feelings?
2. Could there be other explanations for his struggles with his feelings?
3. In what way does his struggle reveal that he has given up to “dishonorable passions”? In what ways does the song show him resisting those passions?
4. Who is blamed in the song for his feelings?
5. Are there any sins you struggle against that you have trouble believing that God meant for you to stop doing?
6. How do you think you should react to someone who is struggling with feelings like those in this song?

Connect with Scripture: Romans 1:28-2:1
[28] And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. [29] They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, [30] slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31] foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. [32] Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

[2:1] Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Behind the Music
7. According to this passage, are we any different than someone like Morrissey? What does this tell us about how to treat those who are homosexual, promiscuous, habitual liars, drug users, alcoholics, etc.?
8. Bridge/Stanza 3, what kind of feelings does this struggle produce in Morrissey? Do you think any of those feelings are caused by how other people react to his struggle?

Connect with Scripture: Romans 3:21-24
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—[22] the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Behind the Music
9. What does Morrissey need to hear from these verses?
10. What do you need to hear from these verses when it comes to your struggles?
11. How could you share this hope with people who are struggling with sins—especially sins you might find really distasteful, gross, or a big problem?

Credits
Lyrics by Morrissey, © 2004 by Sanctuary Records Group.
Morrissey
Attack/Sanctuary Records

"Out of Time" by R.E.M.

2005-04-22T13:56:00.000-05:00

Connect with Scripture: Acts 17:16-31
Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. [17] So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. [18] Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, "What does this babbler wish to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities"—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. [19] And they took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? [20] For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean." [21] Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

[22] So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. [23] For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. [24] The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, [25] nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. [26] And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, [27] that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, [28] for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'

[29] "Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. [30] The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, [31] because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Today’s Song: “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. from the album, Out of Time
When R.E.M. released Out of Time, it was their second major label release for Warner Bros. Where 1989’s Green had helped launch R.E.M. beyond indie status, now Out of Time would see R.E.M. truly take the world in 1991.

While R.E.M.’s lyrics are anything but straight-forward, often involving nonsensical combinations of ideas, there’s plenty of touchpoints in “Losing My Religion” to make it worth exploring. However, this study should not be seen as offering an explanation of what R.E.M. meant by the lyrics.

Copyright issues prevent SongDevotions from reprinting the lyrics on this site.

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, assuming this song is addressed to God, grappling with trying to believe in God, how does the speaker feel about God in this stanza?
2. How were the Greeks in Athens trying to travel “lengths”, to cross the “distance” to God?
3. Chorus, what is wrong with thinking that we need to “keep up” with God?
4. Why do people sometimes feel like they have to keep up with God?
5. What does Paul tell the Athenians about God’s reaction to us? Does he answer the fears of trying to keep up with God ?
6. Chorus, how could the “I thought” lines be guesses about different reactions God might have to us?
7. Chorus, which of the “I thought” guesses is the reaction God actually has according to Paul?
8. Chorus, how does the chorus hint at celebrity being part of the difficulty in finding God?
9. What are the “corners” or “spotlights” in your life that may lead you away from God?
10. Stanza 2, “choosing my confessions” (together with the video) sounds like the speaker is trying many different religions to find God. How has this search left him according to the stanza?
11. In what ways were the Athenians also searching in every corner for God?
12. How does Paul point them (and us) in one direction for our search?
13. Bridge, is our hope in Christ just a dream? What might make it seem like a dream to someone who doesn’t believe yet?

"I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (traditional) performed by the Soggy Bottom Boys (Dan Tyminski) (Good Friday)

2005-03-25T09:48:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: John 19:17-30
And [Jesus] went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. [18] There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. [19] Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." [20] Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. [21] So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but rather, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.' " [22] Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written."

[23] When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, [24] so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

"They divided my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots."

So the soldiers did these things, [25] but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. [26] When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" [27] Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

[28] After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said ( to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." [29] A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. [30] When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Song: “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” (Traditional) performed by the Soggy Bottom Boys (Dan Tyminski) on the soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou?

(In constant sorrow through his days)

1. I am a man of constant sorrow
I've seen trouble all my day.
I bid farewell to old Kentucky
The place where I was born and raised.
(The place where he was born and raised)

2. For six long years I've been in trouble
No pleasures here on earth I found
For in this world I'm bound to ramble
I have no friends to help me now.

[chorus] He has no friends to help him now

3. It's fare thee well my old lover
I never expect to see you again
For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad
Perhaps I'll die upon this train.

[chorus] Perhaps he'll die upon this train.

4. You can bury me in some deep valley
For many years where I may lay
Then you may learn to love another
While I am sleeping in my grave.

[chorus] While he is sleeping in his grave.

5. Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger
My face you'll never see no more.
But there is one promise that is given
I'll meet you on God's golden shore.

[chorus] He'll meet you on God's golden shore.

Behind the Music
1. What lines in this song could be applied to Jesus?
2. Which lines clearly can’t be about Jesus?
3. The Good Friday sermon is based on Isaiah 53, especially verses 1-4. Why would this passage have made me think of this song?

Isaiah 53:1-6
Who has believed what they heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
[2] For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
[3] He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
[4] Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

4. What in the song might sound like something you’ve felt?
5. How does it help to know that Jesus also knew what sorrow felt like?
6. What is the Gospel (“Good News”) in this song?

"Help With These Blues" by Blues Explosion

2004-12-29T07:36:00.000-06:00

Today’s Song: “Help With These Blues” by Blues Explosion, from the album, Damage
For full album review, click here.

Announcement
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!
It is an honor to be here tonight to be with you everybody.
I want to say, “Hello, and welcome to the party!”
We are Blues Explosion!
And we want to play some rock ‘n’ roll.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, this is NOT the devil’s music,
But it feels like the devil’s time.
And we are NOT in the service of the devil,
But sometimes I feel his sick breath on my behind.
I said, I feel so bad sometimes,
I want to sing about it in my song.
I want everybody,
I said, I want everybody. . .

1. I want someone to help me with these blues
I want to hang up my rock ‘n’ roll shoes
Take one in my head
And one off the wrist
Won’t you help me,
Please help me, Miss.
Check it out now!

2. Gonna rip your mind,
Destroy your health,
What good is wine
When you need help?

3. I didn’t need anyone, I thought I knew it all,
Before I used to walk,
But now I only crawl,
This burning cross, this life that you choose,
Won’t someone please, please help me with these blues.

4. Well, I’ve been feeling bad, so down far so long,
But work I got, I gotta lift up some sweet sad song
And play some blues.
If you want help,
We’re killing blues
And play some blues.

5. But I’m so tired of this misery,
Come on, and please, baby, please, baby, set me free,
Burn these clothes, throw away this key,
Kiss me now, honey, set me free.

6. Gonna rip your mind,
Destroy your health,
What good is wine
When your soul needs help?

7. I see the sky turn red,
Feel the earth does move,
And I know, and I know in my heart,
I said, I said, I said, I said,
I need help with these blues.

By Blues Explosion, © 2004 Blues Explosion. Published by Dirty Shirt (BMI). Lyrics reprinted with the kind permission of Blues Explosion and Sanctuary Records Group. (Transcribed by SongDevotions. Please email me any corrections).

Connect with Scripture: 1 Peter 5:6-11
[6] Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, [7] casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. [8] Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [9] Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. [10] And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. [11] To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Behind the Music
1. Announcement, In the Announcement, Spencer says that he “can feel [the devil’s] sick breath on my behind.” How does that match the image Peter uses to talk about the devil?
2. Where in the song does Spencer ask for help against the devil (and the blues he brings)? Where do those requests sound like prayers? Where does the 1 Peter passage speak about where we can expect help in dealing with the devil’s temptations?
3. Announcement, Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful….Resist [the devil.]” Some have said that rock musicians have not resisted the devil, and this is apparently what Spencer is referring to when in the Announcement he says, “This is NOT the devil’s music….We are NOT in the service of the devil.” Do you agree or disagree? Could Blues Rock music be about resisting the devil?
4. Announcement, Spencer says that “it feels like the devil’s time.” What makes you think that this might be the devil’s time, that he’s prowling around today?

Connect with Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
[12] Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. [13] No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Behind the Music
5. Announcement, In the Announcement, Spencer says that he “can feel [the devil’s] sick breath on my behind.” When you feel like the devil is on your tail, tempting you and challenging your faith in God, how could the verses from 1 Corinthians give you comfort?
6. When has God given you a way of escape during a temptation that allowed you to resist or avoid a sin? When has God given you a way of escape but you ignored it and chose to sin?
7. Stanza 3, How is Stanza 3 a realization of the truth in 1 Corinthians 10:12?
8. Stanza 7, Spencer seems to be referencing signs of the end of the world—red sky/burning sun and earthquakes. Why does it take disasters and tragedies to get us to admit that we “need help with these blues,” that we need help with sin and death?
9. Look again at 1 Peter 5:10. How could this verse answer Spencer’s growling call for help?

Credits
“Help With These Blues” © 2004 Blues Explosion. Published by Dirty Shirt (BMI). Lyrics reprinted with the kind permission of Blues Explosion and Sanctuary Records Group.

Scripture quotations from English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

For full album review, click here.

"Four Candles" by Jonathan Rundman (4th Sunday in Advent)

2004-12-19T09:09:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: Romans 16:25-27
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

1. What in these verses refer to how God’s people were waiting for the Messiah to come the first time (the First Advent of Christ)?
2. What in these verses reminds us that we are waiting for Jesus to come again (the Second Advent of Christ)?
3. Do these verses give us any ideas about what to do while we wait?

Today’s Song: “Four Candles” by Jonathan Rundman, from the album, Sound Theology - Disc One)
1. we celebrate a new year
a few weeks before the calendar
we shovel off the sidewalks
unlock all the doors
we're gonna light four candles

2. we get to hang blue paraments
keep those flower vases filled
put up the banner with the trumpets
we serve on the altar guild
we're gonna light four candles

the wait is nearly over

© Jonathan Rundman. Lyrics reprinted by kind permission.

Behind the Music
4. What does this song mention things that happen in the church during Advent?
5. What of these things are done in our congregation to prepare for Christmas?
6. What in this song reminds us that Advent is about waiting for Jesus to come again?
7. Why do you think Jonathan chose such a slow tempo and slightly sad melody for this song? (How does that match some of our Advent hymns)?

Jonathan’s comment on “Four Candles”
My church experience has been filled with Senior Citizens bustling about in various, and mostly behind-the-scenes, congregational duties. I imagine their excitement and anticipation during Advent is unparalleled.

Behind the Music (continued)
8. Why would Jonathan imagine that elderly people might have a been sense of anticipation during Advent? Do you agree?
9. When has a congregational duty helped to have a better sense of what the church was teaching?
10. When could congregational duties become distracting from the real purpose of gathering together in Advent/Christmas?

Jonathan’s Questions to Ponder
How have elderly people impacted your life at church?
Do you have opportunities for intergenerational interaction on a regular basis?

Credits
Lyrics, comments, and questions reprinted with the kind permission of Jonathan Rundman.

Click here to find out about Jonathan Rundman or his record label, Salt Lady Records. Click here to read my review of Sound Theology.

Scripture quotations from English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Jonathan wrote these songs with an eye to the Lutheran Book of Worship appointed readings for each week of the church year but has told me that he does not necessarily connect a specific reading with each song. Therefore, the reading I have selected to use for reflection is my choice and not Jonathan's.

"Let a Good Thing Go" by Gemma Hayes

2004-12-10T13:44:00.000-06:00

Today’s Song: “Let a Good Thing Go” by Gemma Hayes, from the album, Night on My Side
Video available on the U.S. Enhanced CD version
For full album review, click here.

1. In the shade of every moment I bled
Such a sorrow was to be expected

Chorus
I let a good thing go
I let a good thing go

2. Now every feeling it kicks me to the bone
And takes me under to a place that I have known
There goes my quiet life I used to keep me warm
In the shade of this moment I am born

Chorus
I let a good thing go
I let a good thing go

3. In the shade of every moment I bled
Such a sorrow was to be expected

Chorus
I let a good thing go
I let a good thing go
Good thing go

By Gemma Hayes, © 2003 Mawlaw 388/Source 360/Astralwerks. Lyrics reprinted by kind permission.

Behind the Music
1. How could this song be about the end of a relationship?
2. What makes it difficult to walk away from the relationship?
3. Is the speaker confident that it was the best choice to end it?

Connect with Scripture: Philippians 2:5-8
[5] Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, [6] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, [8] he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

4. How could “Let a Good Thing Go” be about Christ leaving heaven to come to Earth?
5. Stanza 1, How did Christ bleed in every moment of his life on Earth? How was “such a sorrow to be expected”? What was God the Father’s will for Jesus?
6. Stanza 2, “There goes my quiet life I used to keep me warm” seems to be further explaining the Chorus, “I let a good thing go.” What were the things that Christ gave up according to Philippians?
7. Stanza 2, Reading the line “takes me to a place that I have known” to be Christ saying He is going to Earth, the place He created, to the people He created and knows, then what feeling “kicks me to the bone”? In other words, what do you learn from Philippians about why Christ came to Earth?
8. Stanza 2, “In the shade of this moment I am born” could put this song in line with the Christmas hymn, “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.” See lyrics below. Discuss.

Connect with Scripture: Colossians 3:1-5,12-17
[1] If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [3] For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. [5] Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

[12] Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, [13] bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. [14] And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. [15] And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. [16] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. [17] And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

9. How could “Let a Good Thing Go” be about becoming a Christian and changing your ways? According to Colossians, what changes does God work in our lives through His Holy Spirit in our hearts?
10. Stanza 1, How is there sorrow in choosing the narrow way of Christ?
11. Chorus, “I let a good thing go” sounds like someone looking back on the things they enjoyed, perhaps sinful things, that they had to let go when they became a Christian. What were some of the things that are on earth that were most difficult for you to set aside?
12. Stanza 2, “Now every feeling it kicks me to the bone,” how does people around us react to our changed lives, our commitment to follow Christ, and how are their taunts, jeers, temptations, etc., like the feeling of the speaker in Stanza 2?
13. Stanza 2, “In the shade of this moment I am born” could make this song to be about being born again. Looking at the things that Colossians says comes from this rebirth, how do you know that this rebirth must come from God’s action alone?

Credits
By Gemma Hayes, © 2003 Mawlaw 388/Source 360/Astralwerks. Lyrics reprinted by kind permission.

Scripture quotations from English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

For full album review, click here.

"Betty's Diner" by Carrie Newcomer

2004-12-10T13:41:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16,25,31-32,5:1-2,18b-21
[11] And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, [14] so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. [15] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

[25] Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. [31] Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. [32] Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

[5:1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. [2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
[18b] Be filled with the Spirit, [19] addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, [20] giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, [21] submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Today’s Song: “Betty’s Diner” by Carrie Newcomer, from the album, Betty’s Diner: The Best of Carrie Newcomer
For full album review, click here.

1. Miranda works the late night counter
in a joint called Betty’s Diner
chrome and checkered tablecloths
one steamy windowpane
she got the job that shaky fall
and after hours she’ll write till dawn
with a nod and smile she serves them all

Chorus
here we are all in one place
the wants and wounds of the human race
despair and hope sit face to face
when you come in from the cold
let her fill your cup with something kind
eggs and toast like bread and wine
she’s heard it all so she don’t mind

2. Arthur lets his Earl Grey steep
since April it’s been hard to sleep
you know they tried most everything
yet it took her in the end
Kevin tests new saxophones
but swears he’s leaving quality control
for the Chicago scene, or New Orleans
where they still play righteous horns

Chorus

3. Jack studies here after work
to get past high school he’s the first
and his large hands seem just as comfortable
with a hammer or a pen
Emma leaned and kissed his cheek
and when she did his knees got weak
Miranda smiles at Em and winks

Chorus

Bridge
you never know who’ll be your witness
you never know who grants forgiveness
look to heaven or sit with us

4. Deidra bites her lip and frowns
she works the Stop and Go downtown
she’s pretty good at the crossword page
she paints her eyes blue black
Tristan comes along sometimes
small for his age and barely five
but she loves him like a mamma lion

5. Veda used to drink a lot
almost lost it all before she stopped
comes in at night with her friend Mike
who runs the crisis line
Michael toured Saigon and back
hair the color of smoke and ash
their heads are bowed and their hands are clasped
one more storm has passed

Chorus

By Carrie Newcomer, © 2004 Carrie Newcomer. Lyrics reprinted with the kind permission of Carrie Newcomer and Windchime Promotions, Inc.

Behind the Music
1. Chorus, How does the description of Betty’s Diner sound like a description of a church?
2. Chorus, Where is the comparison between Betty’s Diner and a church simply because both places offer similar things, and where is Newcomer making any obvious allusions to the church?
3. Where in the verses from Ephesians can you find these same descriptions from the Chorus?
4. Stanza 1, Besides food and coffee, how does Miranda serve her customers?
5. Stanza 1, What actions of Miranda do Christians need to enact in the church? Why? Where do the verses from Ephesians describe those actions?
6. Stanza 2, What does Arthur need in life? What about Kevin?
7. Stanza 2, According to the Chorus, how does Miranda help people like Arthur and Kevin?
8. Stanza 2, Miranda could be a metaphor for the ministry of Christians, and the Ephesians passage describes the ministry of Christians. How could a Christian minister to Arthur and Kevin?
9. Stanza 3, How does Miranda encourage Jack and Emma in their relationship? What kinds of encouragement and direction does the church provide for couples?
10. Stanza 4, What clues are there that Deidra (and her son) are struggling in life?
11. Stanza 4, Again referring to Ephesians, how could a Christian minister to Arthur and Kevin?
12. Stanza 5, How are Veda and Michael are picture of the line from the Chorus, “despair and hope sit face to face”? How do despair and hope probably change places at the table (in other words, do Veda and Michael both need and offer support?)
13. Stanza 5, According to Ephesians, is the church also a place where “despair and hope sit face to face”? Explain.
14. Bridge, While the Bible says that true forgiveness comes from Christ, how might it be correct according to Scripture to say that to find forgiveness you can “look to heaven or sit with us” at Betty’s Diner (or at church)? In what ways does God offer forgiveness through us?

Credits
“Betty’s Diner” © 2004 Carrie Newcomer. Lyrics reprinted with the kind permission of Carrie Newcomer and Windchime Promotions, Inc.

Scripture quotations from English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

For full album review, click here.

"When I Fall" by Buddahead

2004-12-02T10:47:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: Micah 7:7-10
But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
I will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look upon his vindication.
Then my enemy will see,
and shame will cover her who said to me,
"Where is the Lord your God?"
My eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled down
like the mire of the streets.

English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Today’s Song: “When I Fall” by Buddahead, from the album, Crossing the Invisible Line
For full album review, click here.

1. Don't you know that I cried in silence.
I was too afraid to be saved by the hands that held me.
I waited without hope.
Without you I lose myself.
I find it hard in cheap hotels with bleary eyes
And no one knows it.

Chorus
When I fall, When I lose my head,
You're the one I call.
When I fall, When I bleed,
The one I need,
You're the one I want,
The one I call.

2. Can't you hear the voices humming madly
Somewhere in my head?
But instead of trying I'm just hiding.
Lost in my regret.
Without you I lose myself.
I find it hard in cheap hotels with bleary eyes
And no one knows it.

Chorus

Bridge
I've dragged the past into the light.
I want to leave it here.
I've dragged the past into the light.
Come take me away from here.

Chorus

Word by Raman Kia, Music by Kia, Ashurst, Glennsiter, Hewerdine, Gilmore, Schwartz, and Umbach. © 2004 Sanctuary Records Group, Inc.

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, assuming Raman Kia wrote this song about breaking up with someone, how does this stanza view that person? Is this how God wants us to view our wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend? Why or why not?
2. Even if you answered “no” to question #4, why does breaking up with someone/getting a divorce feel like you lose yourself?
3. Stanza 1, what does it mean to cry in silence—literally and figuratively? Do you ever feel like praying to God is crying into the silence?
4. According to Micah 7:7-10, is God listening to our cries? What can we say when other people or Satan mock us saying that God’s not listening, He’s silent, “Where is the Lord your God?
5. Stanza 1, have you ever been afraid to be saved by God, to admit you needed Him to hold you? Why?
6. Stanza 1, how does the Micah passage say something different than the line “I waited without hope”?
7. Chorus, how can the Chorus be a statement of faith in God?
8. Chorus, where does Micah 7:7-10 show that the Chorus is right to call on God when we fall, bleed, or need help?
9. How has God helped you when you have fallen into sin, when you’ve been left bleeding by the hurts of this world, or when you lose your head?
10. Stanza 2, “voices humming madly somewhere in my head” might at first sound like a psychotic episode. However, in what way, do we all have a voice inside of our heads? What do you usually tell yourself with the voice in your head—is it mainly positive or negative self-talk?
11. Micah 7:7 says, “I will wait for the God of my salvation;” in other words, I will wait for God to save me. Does that truth of Scripture—that God saves us—work with the line in the song that says, “Instead of trying I’m just hiding”? In what ways can we resist God’s hands that save us? In what ways can we hide from Him?
12. Stanza 2, what regrets do you get lost in—the mistakes that keep bringing the guilt back?
13. “Regret” is your enemy, attacking the truth of God’s forgiveness in your life. “Regret” brings back the guilt that God removed from you (Psalm 32:5). According to Micah 7:7-10, what does God do to your enemy, Regret?
14. Bridge, how is saying the verse from Micah, “I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him,” the way in which we’ve “dragged the past into the light”? How does confessing our sins keep those things in the light? How does God promise to take us away from these sins, guilt, and regret?

Credits
By Buddahead
© 2004 Sanctuary Records Group, Inc.

For full album review, click here.

"Negative Vibes" by Damien Dempsey

2004-12-02T10:42:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-9
[1]And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— [3] among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— [6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Today’s Song: “Negative Vibes” by Damien Dempsey, from the album, Seize the Day
For full album review, click here.

Chorus
Lord, won’t you give me the strength to be strong, and be true
Cos, Lord, when the devil gets into my head, I'm so blue
Lord, won’t you give me the strength to be strong, and be true

1. You knock me, if you're so mighty, why waste your time with me
If I'm bad, ignorant, and sad, why waste your time,
You're mad, you're just mad, because your life is sad,
You've done nothing worthwhile,
Twist the knife, because you hate your life,
My life you want to spoil

Chorus 2
I'm never going to let your negative vibes and comments
Get through to my psyche and cripple me
I'm never going to let your negative vibes and comments
Get through to my psyche and cripple me
I never will forget the suffering that my people went through,
In my country and overseas
I'm never going to let your negative vibes and comments
Get through to my psyche and cripple me

Chorus 1

2. We’re no use, verbal abuse
That’s all you have to give.
You preach nil, you're so cynical
Jesus, wake up and live
Your bad vibe will drive away your tribe
And where will you be then?
All alone, heart as cold as stone, hurting yourself again, well...

Chorus 2

Chorus 1

Repeat Stanza 2

Chorus 2

By Damien Dempsey, © 2004 Attack/Sanctuary Records Group, Inc. Published by Northside Songs.

Behind the Music
1. Chorus, how does the chorus sound like a prayer in true faith?
2. Stanza 1, assuming the verses speak to God, how does this stanza reject the true faith?
3. Stanza 1, what about this stanza may be a heartfelt prayer of humility and truth faith?
4. Stanza 1, where does the speaker turn the blame on God?
5. According to Ephesians 2:1-3, who is to blame for our “spoiled life”?
6. Stanza 2, if this is addressed to God, what would you tell the speaker about God’s role in the negatives of life?
7. Stanza 2, if this is addressed to the devil, how is it a rejection of the devil’s lies?
8. Stanza 3, what charges are thrown at Jesus here?
9. Stanza 3, how does the last lines (“and when will you then….”) show an incorrect understanding of the cross?
10. How does Ephesians 2:4-8 help explain the true meaning of the cross?
11. The song begins with the chorus asking for strength over the devil’s blue thoughts. How could stanzas 1, 2 and 3 be a reflection of what we think “when the devil gets into my head”?
12. Look at Job 7:1-21 (see below). Where does Job ask the same kinds of questions about God that “Negative Vibes” asks?
13. Look at Job 7:16-17. How is Job asking the same question as Dempsey does in Stanza 1, “Why waste your time with me?”
14. What hope is in Ephesians 2:1-8 that isn’t in “Negative Vibes” or in Job 7:1-21?

Credits
By Damien Dempsey
© 2004 Attack/Sanctuary Records Group, Inc. Published by Northside Songs.

For full album review, click here.

Job 7:1-21
"Has not man a hard service on earth,
and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?
[2] Like a slave who longs for the shadow,
and like a hired hand who looks for his wages,
[3] so I am allotted months of emptiness,
and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
[4] When I lie down I say, 'When shall I arise?'
But the night is long,
and I am full of tossing till the dawn.
[5] My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;
my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.
[6] My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle
and come to their end without hope.
[7] "Remember that my life is a breath;
my eye will never again see good.
[8] The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;
while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.
[9] As the cloud fades and vanishes,
so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;
[10] he returns no more to his house,
nor does his place know him anymore.
[11] "Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
[12] Am I the sea, or a sea monster,
that you set a guard over me?
[13] When I say, 'My bed will comfort me,
my couch will ease my complaint,'
[14] then you scare me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
[15] so that I would choose strangling
and death rather than my bones.
[16] I loathe my life; I would not live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.
[17] What is man, that you make so much of him,
and that you set your heart on him,
[18] visit him every morning
and test him every moment?
[19] How long will you not look away from me,
nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?
[20] If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?
Why have you made me your mark?
Why have I become a burden to you?
[21] Why do you not pardon my transgression
and take away my iniquity?
For now I shall lie in the earth;
you will seek me, but I shall not be."

English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

"Westside" by Athlete

2004-11-02T21:41:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. [26] And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. [27] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Today’s Song: “Westside” by Athlete, from the album, Vehicles & Animals

1. all the energetic people they all sparkle
as they're walking down the street
can't see their faces but i've noticed
they seem to have big hands
the stage is set, is the glamour, “who's got my Etnies”?

2. now you know that i can see you
and you know that it is easy to see me
something has been on my mind,
something has struck me kind of odd,
look out for quicksand,
there is high ground, who wants this rockscene?

Chorus
we sing
whenever you look
you can see that everybody wants to be part of the rockscene
whenever you look
you can see that everybody wants to be part of the rockscene

3. now the time has come
and yeah the show it must stay strong
and are we all part of the latest craze
or is this how we mend our ways
i can hear the taxi calling, telling me we haven't left yet.

4. as the lights go on we're out tonight
somehow you seem to stand out in a crowd
you raise the tempo in the disco as you make this place your own the stage is set, is the glamour, “i'm in this rockscene”?

chorus!
whenever you look
you can see that everybody wants to be part of the rock scene
whenever you look
you can see that everybody wants to be part of the rock scene
whenever you look
you can see that everybody wants to be part of the rock scene
whenever you look
you can see that everybody wants to be part of the rock scene

Bridge
house on the rock
surely it will last forever?
house on the rock
don't you know it's now or never?
house on the rock
surely it will last forever?
house on the rock

Chorus
when when when when whenever, rock scene [repeat]

By Athlete, © 2003 EMI Records Ltd. Published by Chyrsalis Music.

Behind the Music
1. How does this song match up with Matthew 7:24-27?
2. What is this song really about?
3. Why do people want to be part of the rock ‘n’ roll scene?
4. Does this song mention any problems with being in the rock ‘n’ roll scene?
5. What is the house on the rock that Jesus talks about?
6. What would be the reason to be part of God’s rock scene?
7. Which is the rock ‘n’ roll scene—on the rock or on the sand? Does the singer seem to know this?
8. What scene do you want to be part of that might really be sand?
9. How can you be part of God’s rock scene?

Game Idea
To add a game element to this devotion, print up different selections from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7). Ask those gathered to sort through them to find the best Scripture passage to go with this song. After you discuss the questions, ask them if any of the other passages would also work with this song.

Credits
By Athlete
© 2003 EMI Records Ltd. Published by Chyrsalis Music

"Wonderkiller" by Liz Janes

2004-10-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

Dream Stealers: A Reading
By Mike Yaconelli, from the book, Dangerous Wonder

A young high school student’s father was a horse trainer. Because the family had to follow the horse-racing season, the young boy had to change schools throughout the year. During his senior year he was asked to write a paper about what his dreams for the future were. His paper described his dream of owning a 200-acre horse ranch with stables and tracks, and a 4,000-square-foot home. He even drew a diagram of the property and the design of his house. He turned in the paper. . .and two days later it came back with an “F” on the front and a note to see his teacher. After class, the teacher explained to the boy that his dream was “unrealistic.” The boy went home and asked his father what to do. “It’s your decision,” said the father. Dad knew this was a very important decision. The boy kept the paper for a week and then returned it to his teacher after class. “Here,” the boy said, “you can keep the ‘F’ and I’ll keep my dream.”

That teacher was a dream stealer.

Matthew’s gospel (see 12:1-8) also gives us an example. Christ’s disciples, new to the faith, were giddy with the exhilaration of following Jesus. They were clueless and naïve, filled with awe and wonder. Hungry, they began to tromp through a field picking food to eat. Suddenly the reverie is broken by Pharisees yelling, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? You are not to work on the Sabbath! Religion is about rules and regulations and you are acting irresponsibly.”

Dream stealers.

They might as well have said, “Look, religion should not make you full of live, it should be serious business. Religion is all about rules and regulations. Learn where the lines are. Now, obey the Sabbath and behave like the rest of us and we’ll give you another chance.” In effect Jesus said to them, “You can have your rules. I’ll keep giving people their dream of an adventurous faith!” Christ is the Dream Giver who wants us to listen to His dream for us so we can run like children in the fields of His grace. Trouble is, the fields are full of obstacles—obstacles that deafen us to God’s dreams for us and keep us from an adventurous faith (25-27).

© 1998 by Mike Yaconelli. All rights reserved. NavPress.

Connect with Scripture
1. Did you ever face a dream stealer like the high school teacher? What happened?
2. Were you ever a dream stealer like that teacher?
3. Has someone ever been a spiritual dream stealer in your life like the Pharisees?
4. Have you ever been a spiritual dream stealer?
5. What is the dream that God offers us?

Today’s Song: “Wonderkiller,” by Liz Janes
from the album, Poison & Snakes

1. Tremble at the hope of my true love’s promise
You are not my true love
His promise is not dependent upon my belief
But upon His Word only

2. His Word is so true
Oh, why did I ever choose you?
You are killing all of my wonder

Chorus
Oh, Killer, killer, killer
Wonder, wonder, wonder
Oh, Wonder, wonder, wonder
Killer, killer, killer

Bridge
Oh, be so true, be so true
Why did I ever choose you?
You are killing all of my wonder

Chorus (2 x)

3. His promise is not dependent upon my belief
But upon His Word only
Tremble at the hope of my true love’s promise
You are not my true love

Music & lyrics by Liz Janes (www.lizjanes.com) © 2004 New Jerusalem Music

Behind the Music
1. Stanzas 1 & 2, the speaker seems to be trying to choose between 2 loves—God and someone else. What’s wrong with the other love?
2. Stanza 1, what makes God the true love?
3. Stanza 2/Chorus, how could other loves/dreams be wonderkillers?
4. What wonderkillers have you faced lately?
5. How were the Phraisees wonderkillers?
6. Have you been tempted to teach like the Pharisees—wanting there to be rules in this religion of ours? How do you make sure to focus on the Gospel (“His promise is not dependent upon my belief/But upon on His Word only”)?

Credits
Lyrics © 2004 by New Jerusalem Music
P.O. Box 225, Clarksboro, N.J. 08020
Liz Janes
Asthmatic Kitty Records

"Come to Jesus" by Mindy Smith

2004-05-24T21:33:00.000-05:00

Connect with Scripture: Mark 10:13-16
And they were bringing children to [Jesus] that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. [14] But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. [15] Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." [16] And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Today’s Song: “Come to Jesus,” by Mindy Smith, from the album, One Moment More
1. Oh, my baby, when you're older
Maybe then you'll understand
You have angels to dance around your shoulders
'Cause at times in life you’ll need a helping hand

2. Oh, my baby, when you're prayin'
Leave your burden by my door
You have Jesus standing at your bedside
To keep you calm, keep you safe away from harm

Chorus
Worry not my daughters
Worry not my sons
Child, when life don't seem worth livin'
Come to Jesus
And let Him hold you in His arms

3. Oh, my baby, when you're cryin'
Never hide your face from me
I've conquered hell and driven out the demons
I have come with a life to set you free

Chorus
Worry not my daughters
Worry not my sons
Child, when life don't seem worth livin'
Come to Jesus
And let Him hold you in His arms

4. Oh, my baby, when you're dyin’
Believe the healing of His hand
Here in heaven we will wait for your arrival
Here in heaven you will finally understand
Here in heaven we will wait for your arrival
Here in heaven you will finally understand

Chorus
Worry not my daughters
Worry not my sons
Child, when life don't seem worth livin'
Come to Jesus
And let Him hold you in His arms

Music & lyrics by Mindy Smith © 2004, Big Yellow Dog Music

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, considering the first line, who is this song addressed to?
2. Stanza 1, Psalm 91:11-12 says,
“For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
How does this stanza refer to this same idea?
Is there any danger in focusing on the angels that “dance around your shoulders”?
3. Stanza 2, what biblical reference(s) are made here?
4. Chorus, how is the chorus reminding of us of what we learn in the passage from Mark?
5. Chorus, does the line “when life don’t seem worth living” strike you as a bit stark?
6. Stanza 3, what biblical references(s) are made here?
7. Chorus, when you’re worrying, it seems particularly difficult for someone to tell you not to worry—even though Jesus tells us not to worry. Why might it be easier to hear in Smith’s song?
8. Stanza 4, who is speaking in this verse?
9. Stanza 4, what does Revelation 6 tell us about those waiting? Rev. 6:9-11
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. [10] They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" [11] Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
10. Stanza 4, the ending line returns to the second line about understanding later. What don’t we understand now?
11. “This song is a lullaby.” Agree or disagree?

Credits
Lyrics copyright Mindy Smith & Big Yellow Dog Music.
Mindy Smith
Vanguard Records

For more about Mindy Smith's album, see my review by clicking here.

"Departure" by Madison Greene

2004-05-18T21:29:00.001-05:00

Madison Greene Live (2003) features many of the band’s songs from their previous CDs. It was recorded at Cornerstone Church, Madison, Wisconsin. However, don’t be confused by the concert location and their name—the band is based in Michigan.

Madison Greene takes folk rhythms from around the world, uses drums and percussion like a drum circle you might see in a college town or hippie commune. Through this approach, these Christians make music that can reach into the communities of teens and young adults often forgotten by the Church.

Connect with Scripture: John 1:35-42
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, [36] and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" [37] The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. [38] Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" [39] He said to them, "Come and you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. [40] One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. [41] He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). [42] He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).

English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

Today’s Song: “Departure” by Madison Greene, as from the album, Live (originally on the album, …think the dancers are mad”)

1. I had plans here for myself
went up the river and they fell through
started talking to the spirit of God
He knows what's best for you
so I put down all of my pride,
took my suitcase off of the shelf
thank God I still have time

2. His plans are enough for me
plans to love us, make us grow
and if he never gives me anything else,
it outta be enough to know
that it only is a matter of time
before I'll finally be in his presence and
thank God for blessed life

Bridge
and I may never be granted
the dreams I thought meant the most to me
but I know I'll understand it
because I know what it means to be living now,
and thank God we are alive

3. I had plans here for myself
now I'm packing my bags and I'm headed away
down to the river with the spirit of God
following God the rest of the way
Following my Savior the rest of the way
Jesus beside me the rest of the way...

Lyrics – Michael Blair, Music – Madison Greene
© 2000, FertilePlant Recordings & © 2003, Madison Greene

Madison Greene plays all acoustic guitar, bass, violin, mandolin, Appalachian dulcimer, djembes, congas, djun-djuns, udu, balafon, talking drum, cedar flute, recorder, voices, didgeridoo, taos drum, cello, shekere, gong, bells, cymbals, shakers, tambourines, and other percussion.

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, what kinds of plans did you have for yourself at a time when you weren’t thinking about God’s plans for you?
2. Stanza 1, how can we “start talking to the spirit of God” about the plans He has for our lives?
3. Stanza 1, why do we have to “put down all of my pride” in order to follow God’s leading?
4. Looking at John 1, was Andrew at the river? What kinds of plans did Andrew and Simon Peter have?
5. In what ways do you see the first disciples putting away their pride?
6. Stanza 1, what does this line mean: “took my suitcase off of the shelf”?
7. How might that line resonate with someone in the hippie, Deadhead culture?
8. Stanza 1, this song doesn’t have a true chorus. Why is the last line of the stanza almost enough of a chorus? What makes that last line stand out from the stanza—musically and lyrically?
9. Stanza 2, what is good about God’s plans for us?
10. How might these plans be different than our own plans?
11. Stanza 2, why would we believe in God if He never gave us anything else?
12. Stanza 2, the last line (our short chorus) works like a doxology or shout of praise. Where do you see rejoicing in the reading from John? (Could those statements work in the song?)
13. Bridge, why might we never receive the dreams we had before listening to the spirit of God?
14. Bridge, how is the last line (our short chorus) such a defiant contrast to worrying about losing our dreams?
15. Stanza 3, now we’re headed to the river with God. Describe this word-picture of traveling and how it works to portray our faith life.
16. Stanza 3, how does the song’s ending lines remind us of the calling of the first disciples?

Credits
Lyrics copyright FertilePlant Recordings & Madison Greene.

"The Devil in Me" by Cliff Eberhardt

2004-05-18T21:27:00.000-05:00

Connect with Scripture: James 1:12-18
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Today’s Song: “The Devil in Me,” by Cliff Eberhardt, from the album, 12 Songs of Good & Evil

1. Some think I'm good, some say I'm bad
A little bit of trouble gets the whole town mad
Sometimes it's true, at times I lie
Some tell me it's a force from the other side

Chorus
You can disapprove but you can't blame me
This isn't my fault - it's the devil in me

2. How can it be trouble if it feels so good?
Doing everything nobody else would
The preacher tells me that I'm having too much fun
He's a no good back-sliding son of a gun

Chorus
You can point your finger but don't look at me
It isn't my fault - it's the devil in me

3. Sometimes I'd like to paint the whole town red
Make a whole lot of noise and wake up the dead
It must be a sin to be so alive
They want to put out the fire and the passion inside

4. Some think I'm good, some say I'm bad
Some wish they had the kind of life that I've had
Sometimes it's true, everybody lies
Hiding from their neighbors what they do inside

Chorus
You can blame yourself, but you can't blame me
It isn't my fault - it's the devil in me

© 1997 Group Denial Music, Cherry River Music Co./BMI

Cliff: vocal, dobro Dave Richards: bass

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, how do other people think about the speaker (the character in Cliff’s song while in first person may or may not refer to Cliff himself)?
2. Stanza 1, what do some say is the cause of the speaker’s behavior?
3. Chorus, who does the speaker blame for his actions?
4. Where does the passage from James put the blame for sin?
5. Stanza 2, why does the speaker have trouble believing that his actions are wrong?
6. Stanza 2, what does the preacher tell him?
7. Stanza 2, what does the speaker think about the preacher?
8. Have you ever had someone react this way when you’ve pointed out their sin? What do we need to do to be more winsome in our message?
9. Chorus, what is the devil’s role in our sin?
10. Stanza 3, when the speaker is told to stop sinning, what does he feel like he is losing? Do we really have to lose this when we live as Christians?
11. Stanza 4, have you ever been jealous of someone because they sin freely while you try to remain true to God?
12. Stanza 4, what are you hiding from your neighbors? How could a Christian brother or sister help you with this hidden sin?
13. According to the passage from James, how has God transformed us from our sinfulness?

Credits
Lyrics copyright Cliff Eberhardt & Group Denial Music, Cherry River Music Co./BMI

Red House Records
Cliff Eberhardt

"Thanks to You" performed by Chris Smither (written by Jesse Winchester)

2004-04-25T21:19:00.000-05:00

Connect with Scripture: Titus 3:3-8
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Today’s Song: “Thanks to You,” Written by Jesse Winchester, This version by Chris Smither from the album, Small Revelations

1. I know, I’m a sinner
And I ain’t some beginner,
I’ll uncork a pint of trouble,
And sit down, and drink a double.

2. I’m thirsty for somethin’ lighter,
That could get me even tighter,
And tighter, ‘til some day,
I swear I hear angels play.

Chorus
Goodness, is it really real,
It would take a child to know the way I feel,
Oh my, floatin’ in the blue,
I could take the credit, but it’s thanks to you.

3. Someday, up in glory,
I’ll weep and I’ll tell my story,
To someone, who will smile,
And say, “You’re a mess, but you’re my child.”

Chorus
Goodness, is it really real,
It would take a child to know the way I feel,
Oh my, floatin’ in the blue,
I could take the credit, but it’s thanks to you.

Repeat Stanza 2
Repeat Stanza 3

Chorus (2 x)

© Jesse Winchester

Chris Smither: guitar, vocal
Chris Maresh: bass
Brannen Temple: drums
Stephen Bruton: rhythm guitar
Riley Osbourn: keyboard

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, what does this line mean, “I ain’t some beginner”? How does that connect with the drinking metaphor?
2. Stanza 1, where does Titus 3:3-8 make a reference to a pint of trouble?
3. Stanza 1, what do we do in our daily lives that uncorks a pint of trouble?
4. Stanza 2, is this stanza about drinking? What are we really thirsty for?
5. Chorus, what is the feeling that only a child could know?
6. Chorus, he says that he can’t take the credit. Who is he thanking for this feeling?
7. Stanza 3, how does this stanza describe Judgment Day?
8. Stanza 3, how does this stanza match what Paul says in the reading from Titus?
9. Stanza 3, this stanza perfectly explains the Gospel. Agree or disagree?
10. Stanza 2, how does the Titus 3 passage get us tighter and lighter?
11. How does this blues song bring out what’s really behind the Confession of Sins in a worship service?

Credits
Lyrics reprinted with the kind permission of Jesse Winchester.
Thank you also to Chris Smither.

Blues and the Gospel
For more about the connection between the Blues and the Gospel, please click on the following links:
My sermon from June 6, 1999
My music review of Kelly Joe Phelps

"Take Me Down" by Ellis Paul

2004-04-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

Connect with Scripture: Psalm 139:1-10,23-24
O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Today’s Song: “Take Me Down” by Ellis Paul, from the album, Translucent Soul
1. I'm a one man line at the twenty-four hour store
I'm in a town that reminds me of my home town streets
I roamed the aisles a thousand miles from what I was looking for
A familiar face that would smile at me sweetly

Chorus
(If you)
Take me down
to where I'm whole
Where everybody knows me
deep as a soul can go
If you take me down
I gotta know
Did you really know me,
deeply,
as a soul can go?

2. We'd drive up the canyon to watch the stars fall down
Watch them turn off the lights on the church down on second street
There's Jack's old man, he's still the only cop in town
He's patrolling the sidewalk on the graveyard beat

Chorus

Bridge
And everybody needs a place to call home
A roof over head a bed for dreams of their own
I've never been so lonely as when I told you I was leaving
This time I'm really leaving

Chorus

© Ellis Paul Music (SESAC) 1998

Ellis Paul: acoustic guitars, harmonica, vocals
Jerry Marotta: drums
Tony Levin: bass
Bill Dillon: loops, electric & acoustic guitars, mandolin
Harvey Jones: keyboards, pianos

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, what makes Ellis start thinking about his hometown streets? What does he realize he’s looking for?
2. Chorus, what makes home different from other places?
3. Where do you feel as if people really know you?
4. Stanza 2, how does this stanza help you to start understanding his connection to his hometown?
5. Stanza 2, what things would you use to explain your connection to your hometown?
6. Chorus, even while wanting to be home “where everybody knows me,” what is hard about being in a small town where everyone knows you?
7. Bridge, what is he talking about when he says, “This time I’m really leaving”?
8. Bridge, describe what it was like to leave your home, hometown, or someplace where you were really connected.
9. Looking at Psalm 139, how does God answer the need to be known “as deep as a soul can go”?
10. What is difficult about knowing that God knows everything about you? How is that similar to the difficulty of living in a small town, a close-knit community, or a close family?
11. When in your life have you felt that need to be back home? When have you realized that you needed a reassurance of being back home with and being known by God?
12. From the album notes:
During a lecture once, composer John Cage related an old Chinese Buddhist poem: "The mind is like a mirror," wrote a Zen monk. "It collects dust; the problem is to remove the dust." Few contemporary songwriters "remove the dust" and mirror real-life with the clarity, detail and shine that 32-year-old Maine native Ellis Paul does, and few craft such lucid, moving portraits, never resorting to the manipulation we take for granted in Hollywood tearjerkers and maudlin love ballads.
Even when Ellis Paul’s songs don’t come to the same conclusion about Jesus as truth, why do we need songs that help us to “remove the dust”?
Where do Christians need to be better about mirroring real life?

Credits
Lyrics reprinted with the kind permission of Ellis Paul.

"Ah, Holy Jesus" - Traditional - performed by Jonathan Rundman (Holy Week)

2004-04-14T21:11:00.000-05:00

Connect with Scripture: Romans 5:6-11
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Today’s Song: “Ah, Holy Jesus” performed by Jonathan Rundman, from the album, Sound Theology - Disc One) - (tune: Johann Cruger, 1598-1662)

Instrumental - Jonathan: acoustic guitar

Lyrics from Lutheran Book of Worship
1. Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended
That man to judge thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.

2. Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee.
‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.

3. Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
For man’s atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.

4. For me, kind Jesus, was thine incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and thy life’s oblation;
Thy death of anguish and thy bitter Passion,
For my salvation.

5. Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee;
Think on they pity and thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.

Text: Johann Heermann, translation Robert Bridges
From the Yatterndon Hymnal, Oxford University Press.

Jonathan’s comments on “Ah, Holy Jesus”
I truly grasped this music for the first time when my high school band director had our low brass section play a whole series of Cruger pieces. I couldn’t believe how beautiful they were. Check out the chilling lyrics. . .this hymn is #123 in the Lutheran Book of Worship.

Jonathan’s Question to Ponder
How have “secular” events engaged your spirituality?

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, the words to this hymn still use older English and poetic structures that we might not be used to. Rephrase Stanza 1 to help make it easier to understand.
2. Who is guilty in Stanza 1?
3. How does this stanza connect with the Passion?
4. Stanza 2, rephrase it to help make it easier to understand.
5. Stanza 2, Which sins from the Passion History are mentioned? Who is guilty of these sins?
6. Stanza 2, How does this stanza connect with the reading from Romans?
7. Stanza 3, what are the two ways of explaining the Great Reversal in this stanza?
8. Stanza 3, how does Paul explain the Great Reversal in Romans 5:6-11?
9. Stanza 4, what did Jesus do for us?
10. Stanza 5, how do we react to Christ’s act?
11. Stanza 5, how does this stanza pick up on the theme of grace that Jonathan has developed in Sound Theology?
12. This hymn is appointed for Holy Week in Lutheran Book of Worship. Can you find connections in this hymn for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil?

Comments and questions reprinted with the kind permission of Jonathan Rundman.

Jonathan wrote these songs with an eye to the Lutheran Book of Worship appointed readings for each week of the church year but has told me that he does not necessarily connect a specific reading with each song. Therefore, the reading I have selected to use for reflection is my choice and not Jonathan's.

Click here to find out about Jonathan Rundman or his record label, Salt Lady Records
Click here to read my review of Sound Theology.

"Tired Tired Tired" by Jonathan Rundman (5th Sunday in Lent)

2004-03-29T21:09:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34
“The time is coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the LORD.
“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the LORD.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

Today’s Song: “Tired Tired Tired” by Jonathan Rundman, from the album, Sound Theology - Disc One)
1. i'm so tired of songs about drinking
i don't care to ever hear it again
i'm so bored by your self-pity
call me when you got something new to sing

Chorus
'cause i'm tired tired tired
and i've had it up to here
tired tired tired
you got me covering my ears
i'm tired tired tired
i've had just about enough of you

2. i'm so tired of teenaged smokers
standing on the corner
going nowhere slow
passing 'round a lighter
cussing and complaining
i don't wanna hear it
i don't wanna know

'cause i'm tired tired tired
and i've had it up to here
tired tired tired
you got me covering my ears
i'm tired tired tired
i've had just about enough of you

3. i'm so tired of idiot parents
tearing their children down every day
it's no wonder they grow up smoking
and singing about drinking their lives away

i'm tired tired tired
and i've had it up to here
tired tired tired
you got me covering my ears
i'm tired tired tired
i've had just about enough of you

Matt Thorbe: drums
Jonathan: electric guitar, bass, mandolin, harmonica, vocals

Jonathan’s comments on “My Apology”
I have a healthy Lutheran paranoia about works-righteousness, but, at the same time, I really try to avoid what [theologian] Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.” It’s a tough tightrope to walk. This song represents the more pious side of myself. The first place I sang it was at the Electric Lounge in Austin, TX. After I played, the other band said to me, “I guess you’re mad at us for smoking, right?” The title is quoted from the comedian Chris Rock’s HBO special “Bring the Pain.”

Jonathan’s Question to Ponder
How socially/politically liberal or conservative are you?
Does your position have anything to do with your theology?

Behind the Music
1. 1. Stanza 1, what makes Jonathan tired in this stanza?
2. Chorus, what’s a little surprising by the rather harsh tone in the chorus?
3. Stanza 2, what makes Jonathan tired in this stanza?
4. Stanza 2, is there ever negative stuff that you “don’t wanna know”?
5. Stanza 3, what does Jonathan blame teenage smoking and drinking on?
6. What is ironic about the type of song Jonathan uses here?
7. Is Jonathan preaching Law or Gospel in this song?
8. Does the reading from Jeremiah sound like God gets tired of our actions like Jonathan?
9. How does God intend to correct the problem of our actions? When will this happen?
10. Is the reading from Jeremiah Law or Gospel?
11. Jonathan says this song represents his pious side. What do you preach against from your pious side?
12. Do you know what Jonathan means by avoiding works-righteousness?
13. In living out our Christian faith, we avoid “cheap grace,” getting the gift of salvation without doing anything in return. In what ways have you lived our your faith lately?

Lyrics, comments, and questions reprinted with the kind permission of Jonathan Rundman.

Jonathan wrote these songs with an eye to the Lutheran Book of Worship appointed readings for each week of the church year but has told me that he does not necessarily connect a specific reading with each song. Therefore, the reading I have selected to use for reflection is my choice and not Jonathan's.

Click here to find out about Jonathan Rundman or his record label, Salt Lady Records
Click here to read my review of Sound Theology.

"My Apology" by Jonathan Rundman (4th Sunday in Lent)

2004-03-22T21:06:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: Psalm 116:1-8
I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came upon me;
I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, save me!”
The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the simplehearted;
when I was in great need, he saved me.
Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.
For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.

Today’s Song: “My Apology” by Jonathan Rundman, from the album, Sound Theology - Disc One)
1. well, it looks like the time is upon me
to take an account of my acts
i appreciate your attention
yeah, you can sit back and relax
yeah, i got a hundred sorrys
and a hundred thank yous too
and i'm needing a new beginning
and some peace (that depends on you)

Chorus
so this is my confession
Lord, have mercy on me
so this is my confession
accept my apology
yeah

2. i'm sorry for being so cynical
but i'm surrounded by bigots and fools
who say your love is a heavenly paycheck
and faith is all about rules
but i'm guilty of going the opposite way
in the things i do and i say
when i carelessly discount my freedom
and i sit here cheapening grace

so this is my confession
Lord, have mercy on me
so this is my confession
accept my apology
yeah

3. i'm sorry for not being patient
i'm sorry for falling apart
and i thank you for your understanding
i'm so sorry for breaking your heart
and i'm sorry for being so stupid
i'm just not using my head
yeah the heart can get you in trouble
but i'm a good few hours from dead

so this is my confession
Lord, have mercy on me
so this is my confession
accept my apology
yeah

John Simshauser: saxophone
Jonathan: drums, Wurlitzer, bass, vocals

Jonathan’s comments on “My Apology”
There’s a reference in this song to something my friend [Christian speaker] Bob Lenz says: “If you have to work for something, it’s not a gift. . .it’s a paycheck.”

Jonathan’s Question to Ponder
If you have to write you own personal confession, what would it say?

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, what makes Lent an especially appropriate time to “take an account of my acts”?
2. Stanza 1, Jonathan says, “you can sit back and relax/yeah, I’ve got a hundred sorrys.” Do you think that it’s a good way to think of God hearing our confession?
3. Chorus, what about the chorus sounds very traditional? What about the chorus sounds like Psalm 116?
4. Stanza 2, what does Jonathan say makes him cynical? Where does that same problem appear in the psalm?
5. Stanza 2, how does Jonathan go the opposite way?
6. Which way have you been leaning lately?
7. Chorus, “accept my apology” isn’t a traditional phrase in confession, but what does this phrase help us understand?
8. Stanza 3, what sins are Jonathan’s sins? Jonathan’s list is kind of general, much like the confession of sins we say together in worship. Why keep it so general? Are you guilty of any of these same sins?
9. Stanza 3, how does your heart get you in trouble?
10. Stanza 3, why mention, “I’m a few good hours from dead”? How does Psalm 116 mention this same near-death experience?
11. From the song or psalm, what do you know about how God reacts to our confession?

Lyrics, comments, and questions reprinted with the kind permission of Jonathan Rundman.

Jonathan wrote these songs with an eye to the Lutheran Book of Worship appointed readings for each week of the church year but has told me that he does not necessarily connect a specific reading with each song. Therefore, the reading I have selected to use for reflection is my choice and not Jonathan's.

Click here to find out about Jonathan Rundman or his record label, Salt Lady Records
Click here to read my review of Sound Theology.

"We're Creating Monsters" by Jonathan Rundman (3rd Sunday in Lent)

2004-03-15T21:04:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: John 2:13-22
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Today’s Song: “We’re Creating Monsters” by Jonathan Rundman, from the album, Sound Theology - Disc One)
1. they want an overhead projector
and a las vegas chorus
video collage and a bad guitarist
there is nothing here
you would need that hymnal for
children leave your brains
at the sanctuary door

Chorus
so we dumb this down
dumb this down
we're creating monsters

2. creed and kyrie
they don't know how to say
take it over sixty minutes
you can't make 'em stay
we have an opportunity
to rise to the occasion
but we'd rather have capacity
than a congregation

Chorus
so we dumb this down
dumb this down
we're creating monsters

Jonathan: drums and loop, acoustic guitar, bass, accordion, vocals

Jonathan’s comments on “…Creating Monsters”
Seems to me that the current generation of church-going youth are as intolerant of tradition as their grandparents are of drums in the sanctuary.

Jonathan’s Question to Ponder
How can the church strike a balance between being welcoming and being challenging?

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, what does a worship look like that Jonathan describes here?
2. Stanza 1, what does he mean, “children leave your brains/at the sanctuary door”?
3. Chorus, what about worship is being dumbed down?
4. Stanza 2, what does Jonathan think people don’t understand?
5. Stanza 2, what will people not accept in worship?
6. Stanza 2, what bargain are church leaders making according to Jonathan?
7. Do you think there is any similarity in Jonathan’s anger about worship with the anger Jesus showed in the Temple?
8. Chorus, how does this kind of worship create monsters?
9. What seems strange about a guy with a guitar singing this song?
10. Jonathan says in the album notes, “I’ve never felt the need to make a ‘Christian record,’ mostly because I prefer more traditional sacred music.” Do you think there’s a place for traditional music and a place for rock music?
11. “This sense of God’s greatness, fullness, and mystery is often missing in modern worship. Certainly the course of time gives place for all kinds of worship moods and attitudes, for God is an infinitely diverse God. But I am disturbed that the awesomeness of God is repeatedly swallowed up by coziness. Not only the Church but God Himself is dumbed down, made too small, trivialized.” From author, Marva Dawn, from Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down. Respond.
12. In what ways are we allowing other things to creep into our worship that Jesus would throw out?
13. What traditions are we tapping into with MonDevotions? With Sunday worship? What else could we be using?

Lyrics, comments, and questions reprinted with the kind permission of Jonathan Rundman.

Jonathan wrote these songs with an eye to the Lutheran Book of Worship appointed readings for each week of the church year but has told me that he does not necessarily connect a specific reading with each song. Therefore, the reading I have selected to use for reflection is my choice and not Jonathan's.

Click here to find out about Jonathan Rundman or his record label, Salt Lady Records
Click here to read my review of Sound Theology.

"Cautious Springtime Blues" by Jonathan Rundman (2nd Sunday in Lent)

2004-03-08T20:57:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: Genesis 12:1-7
The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Today’s Song: “Cautious Springtime Blues” by Jonathan Rundman, from the album, Sound Theology - Disc One)
1. someday all my money will be guaranteed
someday all my money will be sure
someday all my money will come back to me
and there will be no more of these
cautious springtime blues

2. someday my sweet baby will be guaranteed
someday my sweet baby will be sure
someday my sweet baby will come back to me
and there will be no more of these
cautious springtime blues

Bridge
yeah, i think i need some air
i think i need some air
i need to step outside

3. someday all my daydreams will be guaranteed
someday all my daydreams will be sure
someday all my daydreams
will come back to me
and there will be no more of these
cautious springtime blues

Matt Throbe: drums
Mike Bradburn: bass
Jonathan: electric guitar, amped acoustic guitar, vocals

Jonathan’s comments on “Cautious Springtime Blues”
When I wrote this song in 1995 I didn’t know what it was about, but then the meaning totally unfolded about two years later. It’s cool when songs reveal themselves after they’re written.

Jonathan’s Questions to Ponder
Are there certain seasons of the year that are more difficult for you?
What do you think causes that?

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, what kinds of money worries does he refer to?
2. Stanza 2, what kinds of relationship issues does he refer to?
3. What kinds of worries did Abram face?
4. Bridge, what does this lyric have to do with the worries he’s been talking about?
5. Stanza 3, what kinds of daydreams does he refer to?
6. What were the dreams or vision given to Abram?
7. When is “someday”—for Abram, for us?
6. Why is a blues song the right vehicle for these thoughts?
What connection can you see between the blues and Gospel music?
7. Why are these cautious springtime blues?
8. What does springtime have to do with these thoughts?
9. Do you think Abram was cautious or sang the blues?

Lyrics, comments, and questions reprinted with the kind permission of Jonathan Rundman.

Jonathan wrote these songs with an eye to the Lutheran Book of Worship appointed readings for each week of the church year but has told me that he does not necessarily connect a specific reading with each song. Therefore, the reading I have selected to use for reflection is my choice and not Jonathan's.

Click here to find out about Jonathan Rundman or his record label, Salt Lady Records
Click here to read my review of Sound Theology.

"Find Your Way to Prague" by Jonathan Rundman (Transfiguration)

2004-03-01T20:52:00.000-06:00

Note: Last week we used Jonathan’s song for this week, because it had to do with Ash Wednesday. This week we jump back to Jonathan’s song for Transfiguration, the Sunday before Lent.

Connect with Scripture: 1 Peter 1:16-19
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Today’s Song: “Find Your Way to Prague” by Jonathan Rundman, from the album, Sound Theology - Disc One)
1. so you're getting old just standing in your field
with many acres left behind the plow
you're feeling like you've said all this before
and you need to sort it out once and for all

Chorus
there's a place for you
it's what you gotta do
you gotta find your way to prague

2. so you wanna get yourself out of the dust
and you're needing some perspective on it all
when you're standing in the eastern bloc
the whole wide world starts looking small

Chorus
there's a place for you
it's what you gotta do
you gotta find your way to prague

3. set out on the 50th parallel
feel the change with every step down the track
Czechoslovakia hello
never be the same when you get back

Chorus
there's a place for you
it's what you gotta do
you gotta find your way to prague

Lowell Michelson: drums
Jonathan: drum loop, electric guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals

Jonathan’s comment on “…Way to Prague”
This one was written back in 1993 while I was assembling my Wherever album during my serious geography-song phase. My original demo recording of it was sort of a country-rock thing which seemed to fit with the farm imagery in the verses. My wife, Dawn, inspired the Swedish-disco arrangement of the song by reminding me of bands like the Cardigans and Ivy that we’d been listening to. The lyrics tells of my own personal “transfiguration” during a 1991 solo trip to the then-country of Czechoslovakia…I think it was on this trip that I became an adult. [Ed. Note: Jonathan was born in 1971].

Jonathan’s Questions to Ponder
Are there single days in your life that have altered your whole existence?
Can you pinpoint your change from youth to adult?

Behind the Music
1. Stanza 1, what are the questions being pondered in the field?
2. Chorus, how is Prague different from the field?
3. Stanza 2, what kind of perspective does Jonathan seem to get from being in Prague?
4. Chorus, do you think he really thinks his place is in Prague? What does he mean by finding your way to Prague? What is your Prague?
5. Stanza 3, what is it about traveling that causes someone to “never be the same when you get back”?
6. He says this song is about his personal “transfiguration.” At the Transfiguration, Jesus reveals His divine nature to Peter, James, and John. How does becoming an adult reveal your true self? Does your true self reflect something from the Mount of Transfiguration?
7. Do you think the Transfiguration was like Prague for Peter, James, and John? What fields had they left behind? Were they never the same when they got back?
8. In 1 Peter 1:16-19, Peter describes the effect the Transfiguration had on him. How did it change his mission and message?
9. Have you had a Prague experience in your faith?
10. How is God’s Word “like a light in a dark place” that we need to pay attention to, as Peter says? How could a transforming experience remind us of that light?

Lyrics, comments, and questions reprinted with the kind permission of Jonathan Rundman.

Jonathan wrote these songs with an eye to the Lutheran Book of Worship appointed readings for each week of the church year but has told me that he does not necessarily connect a specific reading with each song. Therefore, the reading I have selected to use for reflection is my choice and not Jonathan's.

Click here to find out about Jonathan Rundman or his record label, Salt Lady Records
Click here to read my review of Sound Theology.

"Ashes" by Jonathan Rundman (Ash Wednesday)

2004-02-23T20:47:00.000-06:00

Connect with Scripture: Psalm 51:1-13
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

Today’s Song: “Ashes” by Jonathan Rundman, from the album, Sound Theology - Disc One)
i got ashes on my forehead
and i'm trying hard to learn
this dust that i have started from
is where i shall return
and i will follow out of love
'cause there is nothing i can earn
i got ashes on my forehead
and i'm trying hard to learn

sometime in the dead of winter
this Wednesday rolls around
we got purple on the altar
we got snow upon the ground
and this world starts spinning slower
and we sing some quiet songs
facing our mortality
and all that we done wrong

i got ashes on my forehead
and i'm trying hard to learn
this dust that i have started from
is where i shall return
and i will follow out of love
'cause there is nothing i can earn
i got ashes on my forehead
and i'm trying hard to learn

forty days in the wilderness
forty days on the ark
driving home this evening
i can still trace the mark
everybody sees the big sun setting
everybody rides the hearse
yeah, but you can't build up nothin'
'til you knock down somethin' first

i got ashes on my forehead
and i'm trying hard to learn
this dust that i have started from
is where i shall return
and i will follow out of love
'cause there is nothing i can earn
i got ashes on my forehead
and i'm trying hard to learn

Lowell Michelson: drums
Matt Marohl: pedal steel
Beki Hemingway: vocals
Jonathan: drum loop, acoustic guitar, bass, tambourine, electric guitar, mandolin, vocals

Jonathan’s comment on “Ashes”
Written during Lent 2000. Lent is my favorite season of the church year, and I especially appreciate Ash Wednesday, the beginning of this 40 day journey to Easter. I’m kind weird though. . .I find that many people (especially youth) hate Lent. Not “fun” enough for ‘em I guess.

Jonathan’s Questions to Ponder
Do you know what Lent is?
Have you ever observed the season?
What do you think of it?

Behind the Music
1. Chorus, what is the connection Jonathan makes between ashes and death?
2. Ashes remind us of our sin. What does Psalm 51 make you remember about your sin?
3. Stanza 1, what is the setting for the beginning of Lent?
4. Stanza 1, what is the mood of Lent? What contributes to that mood?
5. Chorus, what does this line mean: “and i will follow out of love/'cause there is nothing i can earn”?
6. Stanza 2, why connect Ash Wednesday with the 40 days in the wilderness (the temptation of Jesus)?
7. Stanza 2, why connect it with the 40 days on the ark?
8. Stanza 2, Jonathan says he can still trace the mark of the cross as he drives home. What phrases from Psalm 51 could you repeat to yourself when you wash the ashes off your forehead as a reminder of what God does with our sin?
9. Stanza 2, what does this mean: “yeah, but you can't build up nothin''til you knock down somethin' first”?
10. Chorus, what is Jonathan saying he is trying hard to learn? How does Psalm 51 help with this?

Lyrics, comments, and questions reprinted with the kind permission of Jonathan Rundman.

Jonathan wrote these songs with an eye to the Lutheran Book of Worship appointed readings for each week of the church year but has told me that he does not necessarily connect a specific reading with each song. Therefore, the reading I have selected to use for reflection is my choice and not Jonathan's.

Click here to find out about Jonathan Rundman or his record label, Salt Lady Records
Click here to read my review of Sound Theology.