Sermons In Song

Expositors Conference

2010-09-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

As we approach the coming week, we are anticipating a wonderful couple days focused on the exposition of Scripture. Some might wonder why such a conference is necessary. Don't all pastors preach the Bible? Sadly, there is a dearth of preaching that accurately proclaims what God says.

Preachers, God doesn't expect you to rearrange His Word into your neat little categories, as if He didn't quite get it right. If God had wanted His Word topically arranged, He would have done so, better than you can. Also, God doesn't need you to supplement His Word with spicy tidbits from the culture, and never forget that you and your abilities are not the essential element of preaching. Powerful preaching does not begin with powerful delivery; you are impotent to supplement the power of God's Word.

There are many who assert that they are preaching God's Word, but it isn't enough to say things that are in accord with the Bible (though that would improve many sermons considerably). It certainly isn't enough to preach in such a way that you don't contradict the Bible. It isn't even enough to preach about what the Bible says (which is often passed off as expository preaching). Preaching God's Word is far more demanding than all of these cheap imitations.

If you are going to claim that you are proclaiming God's Word, you dare not obscure what He says with anything at all. When you are done, every hearer should be able to claim a greater understanding of who God is and what He expects from His people. Anything less is just a speech.

You must say what God says, where God says it, and use the same emphasis.

The Making of "Great Redeemer"

2010-09-01T01:10:00.000-07:00

As we are coming to the end of our most recent recording project, we have an opportunity to reflect on how these songs have progressed from beginning to end. This particular group of songs originally grew out of some very fruitful conversations that I had with a pastor friend in Southern Michigan.

Those conversations centered on the Messianic Psalms, particularly as regarding the Priesthood of Christ, and though I had already written a few songs based on a couple of the Messianic Psalms, many of these songs have grown directly from those conversations. Indeed, we are not entirely done with this project, as I have begun working on a series of songs starting with Psalm 111 and culminating in Psalm 118 (also Messianic).

Once the passage has been chosen for a song, this is the methodology that I usually follow: translate and interpret the passage so as to understand the mind and heart of God through it, seek to understand the overall emotional tone and trajectory of the passage, write lyrics that expose the meaning and basic structure of the passage, and write the music.

It is uncomfortable for me to describe this as a process, like there is some kind of mechanics that just churn out songs. Nothing could be further from the truth. The best way for me to communicate it is to view the process as a conversation with God that starts with His Word and that culminates in an expression that communicates, such as I am able, what He has taught me. Though most of my songs have followed this general trajectory and the mechanics described, I do not want you to get the idea that these songs are simply the result of a process or methodology. For me, there is a deep sense of conversation and worship that is intertwined with the whole process.

Writing these songs is a very much a part of my own personal growth in knowing and understanding God. That always begins with understanding His Word as much as is possible, saturating my mind and heart with the passage (and related scriptural concepts). So the process begins much as any sermon should, with prayer and a thorough understanding of the pasage under consideration - all as part of an ongoing relationship with God.

I find that translating from the original languages often illuminates certain properties of the passage in a way that is particularly helpful for building a song, though sometimes this is a considerable challenge (as with the Psalms). However, it is always fruitful. But it isn't enough to extract the data from the text; for our purposes we want to try and understand the emotional tone of the passage, either the emotion with which it is to be understood or the emotion that a right understanding should evoke.

To do this, I am looking for an overal emotional tone - for example: joyous, contemplative, agressive, or sorrowful. That will form an emotional core for the song's music. In addition to this, I am looking for an emotional trajectory, which will follow the trajectory of the content. Does the passage begin in doubt, working forward to confidence (like Psalm 77)? Maybe the passage expresses a subtext of external turmoil, while communicating the heart of one who trusts God (as in Psalm 16).

Music is uniquely suited to communicate these interpretive nuances, particularly with the Psalms, which were (of course) originally communicated with music. The words begin as a set of expressions that are essential to the passage, and then lyrics are finished with the goal of communicating the content of the passage in a way the exposes the meaning and tone of the passage in word, but that is only half of the song.

By the time the lyrics are being solidified, the emotional tone becomes more important, and I usually write emotional "cue words" along side of the lyrics (such as they are at that point). This is where the chord structure begins to form. I often pray and study with my guitar close at hand (I have a small Bible that fits in my guitar case). Sometimes I sing and worship the Lord with songs that remind me of the passage (or vice versa). Other times I just play and try to communicate the emotional content of those cue words. All the while working to find words that best express the meaning of the passage.

The music is usually comes together with the words, and by the time the lyrics are complete, the melody is nearly complete. From this point things progress somewhat more quickly. The whole process can take a month or even many months. Each song is the product of seeking to understand the mind of God in His Word, meditating on these things, and then seeking to respond in a way that is appropriate.

It is my prayer that these songs will open up and explain God's Word to the hearer, and that each will, by the understanding of God's Word, grow in their understanding of God, as He has revealed Himself. May the Lord grant that any vestiges of musical performance will be eclipsed by the wonder of His grace, through the gospel of Jesus Christ preached in music.

A Few Thoughts on the Psalms in Worship

2010-07-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

My good friend, Bob Bixby, has written again on worship, and his post has provoked a few thoughts that I would like to share with those of you who follow our ministry.

At the start, we need to be careful of the categorization system we are using when discussing worship music. One of the biggest factors that contributes toward confusing the discussion is a lack of distinction between individual and corporate musical expressions. When there is no distinction here, we find quite a few problems and misunderstandings are introduced on both ends of the spectrum. By way of example, many modern songs are written in a performance-based idiom that doesn't lend itself to corporate expression, and as a result, congregational participation is diminished.

We have observed this in contemporary congregations where audience participation is minimal until a song that is written to be more conducive to corporate worship is introduced. In these cases, the participation is noticeably improved. Part of the reason for this seems to be that in contemporary musical styles the congregation is viewed and treated as an audience, rather than as participants within the particular musical expression.

Bob recounts Paul Jones' outline of the purpose of worship, which is praise, prayer, or proclamation. This accords nicely with the pattern set in the Psalms, but it doesn't necessarily limit the conversation to participatory worship. This brings me back to noting that dividing Christian music between corporate and individual expressions can be helpful when we are discussing this topic.

By way of example, we write a few songs that are designed for a participatory corporate worship, but most of our music is aimed at proclamation rather than participation. So even though our Sermons in Song would be considered worship under this categorization, most of it should be excluded from a corporate expression of worship. It is true that there is room for both in our worship services, but we should at least be aware of the distinction musically. Interestingly, the pattern of the Psalms allows for a variety of individual and corporate expressions.

Perhaps our Messianic Psalms project has given me a little stronger view regarding our use of the Psalms in worship. The Psalms should, at the very least, provide a pattern for content, since it is here that we have a full representation of the worship of God. But more than this, they are a significant well of truth, and much of the New Testament draws deeply from it.

For example, the Messianic Psalms form a backbone for the entire argument of the book of Hebrews. Indeed, it would be difficult to understand this book without a good understanding of these Psalms in particular. Thus we cannot ignore the content or the pattern of the Psalms. This, by the way, is one of the motivations for Isaac Watts, who wrote a series of hymns as, "The Psalms of David imitated in the language of the New Testament."

We should at least make sure that people have a thorough understanding of Psalms place in Christian thought, due to their significance in the interpretation of the New Testament, and I would love to see the Psalms more emphasized in our worship, which is one of the reasons that we have been doing the Messianic Psalms concert. We need to regain an appreciation for the Psalms and return them to their high place of esteem in the worship of the church.

Excellent Post on Worship

2010-05-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

When we first made the Jeremiah album, "Sorrow to Hope," some suggested to me that the group of songs were too heavy. And as I have been studying and writing songs based upon the Messianic Psalms, it has repeatedly been evident that the themes of sorrow (and others - like imprecation) found throughout the Psalms are not just ignored but actively avoided in our modern church music. We are greatly impoverished for it, and my friend Bob Bixby has written an article that is particularly thought provoking and insightful on that topic. Here is a snippet:

We Americans have too many toys to play with to be constantly “gazing upon heaven.” We have bought into Pastor Perma-grin’s lie that this life is our Best Life Now and we have no real reason to anticipate a life in heaven. Sadness has been banished. We’ve replaced it with complaining, whining, pouting, and bitterness. But real sorrow, the sorrow that leads us to repentance (the repentance that turns our hearts from earthly things to spiritual things) has been expunged from our lifestyle and liturgy (2 Corinthians 7:10). We think sadness and worship are incongruous.

But for many people, going to church and worshipping is still the place to go to be sad; sad in a way that dignifies the human soul, magnifies a Sovereign Lord, and replenishes the human spirit with deep, inexpressible joy. It’s the kind of worship that actually believes the words of Jesus: Blessed – blessed! – are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4). This was certainly the case for the slaves many years ago, African-Americans during the Civil Rights conflict, and it still is the case for places of oppression.

But what does the 21st century American really know about sadness? We try so hard to hermetically insulate ourselves from the hardness of life that, too often, our worship has the glib triumphalism of people who are trying to sing perky hallelujahs to God every Sunday because we have the Americanized conception of worship that we are not really worshiping until we have a happy experience. So be perky! Smile! Put your hands together! Shout! Make a joyful noise! But our peaks of joy are so low because our valleys are so shallow.

Financial Needs

2010-02-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

We have now been on the road for almost two years, and God has been faithful to provide every step of the way. As we look forward to the coming years, we continue to anticipate His provision. Many of you have been instruments of God's supply, and we are humbled and grateful for all that He has done, both for us and through us.

Looking forward, we expect to continue our work in three areas of emphasis: continuing to use music and preaching together in the proclamation of God's Word, helping churches train their own leadership (through both Veritas School of Theology and the ordination preparation program), and using the gifts and experience God has allowed me to have in God's service wherever He takes us to minister.

To this point we have not had any monthly support, relying mainly upon love offerings that average around 250 dollars a week (about 1000 dollars a month). While this has served to keep us moving from place to place and take care of food, it has not allowed us to maintain a consistent budget, and this has proven to be problematic, particularly as it regards planning and in respect to various monthly bills (phone, insurance, etc.) and surprise expenses (doctor and dentist visits have hit us hard this month).

Our dependence on love offerings has made some struggling churches hesitant to invite us, and it has forced us to keep moving from church to church when, in some cases, we could be more effective by helping a church for an extended period. Of course, we can seek to supplement our income (as we have done, on occasion) by painting, providing audio recording services, and other related means. However, these activities tend to distract from our emphasis on the exposition and teaching of God's Word.

So we would like to ask you to consider whether God would have you support our ministry. Perhaps the Lord would burden you to help subsidize our travel expenses, enabling us to go to those smaller or struggling works (75 dollars would cover approximately 100 miles of travel). Perhaps you would be able to support our ministry monthly; even a relatively small amount would go a long way. For example, if half of our current prayer partners would invest the equivalent of buying one latte per week we would be able to cover the bulk of our expenses and all of our basic needs.

So we would like to ask you, our prayer partners, to consider whether or not God would lead you to participate in our ministry financially and of course, to continue to pray for God's provision for our needs. Thank you all, again, for your prayers to God on our behalf!

When You Are Near - Psalm 16:8-11

2009-11-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

As per a few requests, I will be posting the chord charts for our Messianic Psalms songs, "The Gospel According to the Psalms." The audio can be found on our Facebook 'fan' page. This particular song has audio posted twice: once as a single practice session, and then included in the 3 part live recording of our Hudson, MI concert. We will be releasing a recording of these songs early next year (2010), Lord willing.

[Verse 1]
. ---C#dim---------------E9
When anxious thoughts disturb my sleep
. --C#dim --------------E9-------A9
and grief would turn my faith to fear
. E -------------C#dim
I look to you my living priest
. --E2 -----A2 ---------------B2
and rest in hope, for you are near

[Chorus]
. E ---------------C#dim
O Love Divine! You stooped to share
. -E -----------------A9
My sharpest pains, my bitterest tear,
. E --------------C#dim
I bring to You my earthly care,
. --f# ----A9 ----------E
and all is well, all is well

[Verse 2]
. ---C#dim ------------E9
When threatened by the darkest day,
. --C#dim ------------E9 -----A9
the thought of You dispels my fear.
. -----E ------------C#dim
Though all the world assaults my way
. ----E2 ----A2 ----------------B2
still all is well, when You are near

[Verse 3]
. ---C#dim ------------E
When sleep has come to take my breath
. -C#dim --------E9 --------A9
My waiting heart expects to hear
. -------E
Arise my child!
. -------g# ---------------A9
Arise my child I conquered death
. ---------E
and all is well,
. -----A2 ------------B2
all is well, for I am near

Why "Sermons in Song"?

2009-09-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Some have asked why we call what we do, "Sermons in Song," so this article should answer some of those questions. Mainly, we are trying to strengthen local churches by the preaching of the gospel according to Colossians 3:16. This verse says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Sermons – Let the Word of Christ
There is almost nothing that will more quickly weaken a church than the neglect of preaching the word of God. For this reason, Sermons in Song is thoroughly committed to expositional preaching. This means that we endeavor to say what the Bible says, where the Bible says it, with the emphasis that the Bible gives. This is the proclamation of the word of Christ, and it is the partial fulfillment of the great commission, where Christ says that we are to teach disciples to “observe all things” that He has commanded.

The Old Testament Scriptures and the Apostolic teaching of the New Testament provide the content of the gospel, which Christ taught to His disciples and which has been transmitted to us in the Bible. For this reason, preaching and teaching of the Word of God is the first and most important element of Sermons in Song. Without this, all other efforts are empty and powerless. We believe that the only hope for the revival of God’s churches and the strengthening of God’s people is a concentrated emphasis on the exposition of His authoritative Word.

Sermons – Dwell in You Richly
Even a church that has a full complement of Bible teaching can be weakened because they are not vitally saturated with the Word of God. It is important to note that this phrase isn’t simply a reference to the fact that the Bible is everywhere present, so what could be missing?

God’s people must come to understand that the Scriptures are far more than a source book for defending a doctrinal statement or confession of faith. They are the self-disclosure of God Himself, centered on the person and work of Christ. As a result, Sermons in Song is committed to true gospel preaching that also focuses on showing how the person and work of Christ fully and completely impacts every sphere of life. There is nothing else that can strengthen God’s churches.

Sermons – In All Wisdom
There is a subtle trap that has been laid for the American church, and it is the suggestion that the word of God is sufficient for salvation and other spiritual stuff, but it doesn’t really impact the emotional and practical life of the people. This inevitably leads God’s people to trust in the false teaching of secular psychological philosophy that has been dressed up in spiritual sounding language. The sufficiency of Christ and of the word of Christ is threatened and undermined.

We must be jealous for the ministry of the word, and we cannot allow ourselves to supplant the life-changing truth with our own opinions or the opinions of some expert that would suggest Scripture isn’t a sufficient help. Anything except seeing that all wisdom and knowledge is found in God and revealed in the person and work of Christ will inevitably lead to weak churches. This is why Sermons in song is committed to Biblical Counseling.

Song – Teaching and Admonishing One Another
When our lives are saturated and influenced by the word of God, this will naturally be reflected in our music, and now we see Paul suggesting that the proclamation of the word should be set to music. We also see that this music is to be expressed in relation to the community of believers (one another), and it is at this point that Paul gives two purposes for the use of music in the community of the local church.

This verse leads us to conclude that music must be doctrinally accurate, at the very least. However, this is not the only element of teaching that should be in view. Our music also teaches us how we are to view the world and how the Scriptures are applied to various circumstances of life, and we don’t need to look any further than the Psalms to provide us a great pattern for the ways in which we are instructed by our music. In brief, Sermons in Song believes that the Christian’s music should either be directly Biblical or reflect a distinctively God-centered and Biblical perspective.

The second purpose given here for music is very interesting. It is the word noutheteo, from which we derive the concept of “nouthetic counseling.” In other words our music both teaches and counsels us! So, we are not just taught bare facts; we are also taught how we are to respond to the truth. This includes exhortation to action as well as the emotional response that is appropriate to the truth. For example, that I am a great sinner should accompany music that reflects the sorrow that a believer necessarily has because of their sin and its effects.
Because of this, Sermons in Song believes that our music must communicate in a way that reflects emotion that is appropriate to the truth being expressed in the language of the song.

Song – Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
Much of the debate on this passage relates to the identification of these three musical terms. However they are understood, we can at least conclude that a variety of musical categories are intended. The identification of the Psalms is clear, and Sermons in Song believes the Psalms have been tragically neglected in many American churches. From this and the parallel passage in Ephesians we can also conclude that music, without lyrics, can be included, which has interesting implications for considering emotional expressions simply as they are or are not consonant with the Christian life. We can further conclude that these categories also include congregational music.

In light of these categories, Sermons in Song seeks to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the Psalms, the writing of new congregational music, the renewal of historic hymns, and providing musical expositions of Scripture, all provided that the emotional expressions of the music are consonant with the God-centered life.

Song – Singing With Grace in Your Hearts to the Lord
Music starts with who you are, and it is essential that the grace of God be evidenced in the life of the believer. Our music reflects who we are with surprising accuracy, and Christian music must start with the believer knowing the grace of God in truth. From this point, we can encourage and counsel one another, but our music and ministry to one another needs to be understood as having one primary audience that matters most. We sing for the Lord, and this demands that our music demonstrates a life of worship, reflecting the character and attributes of God in our musical expressions.

While we acknowledge that various contexts require music that is appropriate to the occasion and audience, we do not believe there is a separate category for “worship music.” Sermons in Song is committed to musical expressions that reflect lives bent toward the worship of God and the enjoyment of who He is, which is the whole purpose for which we were created.

On Using the Web

2009-09-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

Recently we have been looking at more effective ways to use the various internet resources that are available, particularly social networking and blog resources. As part of this, we are beginning to standardize and focus the various web elements for Sermons in Song. In this post, we will explain how we intend to use the various resources available.

On Blogging
The blog is a format that has some familiarity with me, since I have been blogging for several years. Many of you are aware that I have been blogging at NeoFundamentalist since early 2005. For several reasons, I have not recently been writing there, and we are probably going to archive the whole site at some point in the not-to-distant future. In respect to my Theological / Philosophical writings, I intend to begin blogging again, but that will be in coordination with a project that some friends and I have been working on recently (more sometime later on that).

However, we are also using this blog for Sermons in Song specifically, and we will continue to write here regarding matters of Worship, Music in specific, and other Ministry related articles and news. We will be moving matters of prayer to other social networking outlets, since these are more tuned to getting prayer requests out quickly to those who are interested in praying for our ministry. For those who prefer to use this site as a hub, there is a feed at the far right for our Facebook posts, which will be concerned with the general, day to day, concerns and progress of where we are and what we are doing.

So the blog will be the primary outlet for practical articles that are aimed at the church-strengthening ministry of Sermons in Song. Some cross-posting may occur between this site and the "notes" section of the Facebook fan page, but that will not necessarily be the case. We welcome and would like to encourage as much interaction as possible, since this helps us better serve the churches where God sends us.

On Facebook
Facebook is a fantastic tool, though it can become an albatross to life if it isn't used wisely. It is a great venue for bite sized transmission of information. Much of the "status" updates we see on Facebook are more or less mundane, but we would like to use the Sermons in Song updates particularly for the purpose of sharing pieces of information that will help you know how to pray for us in that particular day. We appreciate those of you who pray regularly for us and we intend to keep that aspect of this site moving regularly, even if the articles are not as regular as we would like.

Our own personal Facebook accounts (Martha and Tom both are there) will be more personal, so if you are interested in that, then you can find us and "friend" us. However, please note in your friend request how and when we met in person. We intend to limit the personal friend list to people we have actually met. Thank you, in advance, for your understanding!

In addition, the Facebook fan page has some features that are very conducive to supporting and facilitating a robust communication with those who are interested in our ministry. We have links to our music in the "Music" tab, and we have another music app on the "Wall" that allows us to post practice sessions of new songs, just for those of you who are interested in keeping up with us and praying for us.

The other feature that we hope gets used more is the forums on the Facebook page. There we can carry on extended conversations regarding what is happening and we can answer questions about aspects of our ministry that interests you. We have even posted lyrics and chords for some of our new and upcoming songs in the wall music player.

On Twitter
To be entirely honest, I don't really get Twitter. It seems too much information. I am not sure that I want to know blow by blow snippets of very many people's lives, and I certainly can't imagine people really wanting to know that for me. However, I understand that this is something that is a great benefit to many, so we will be cross posting all the Facebook updates into Twitter (@tpryde3) for those of you who use this platform. This means that you can use Twitter to receive prayer related posts from Sermons in Song.

That pretty much covers it all. We will be updating the links to reflect our usage of these tools, and we sincerely hope that our interaction is a blessing to you and an encouragement to your ministry in your church. Thank you for your interest in our ministry and your prayers, and drop us a note to let us know who you are. We would love to know who is praying for the work God has given us in strengthening His churches.

Soteriology Does Inform Your Worship

2009-09-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

I recently read an article on worship that made the following assertion: "However, I must repeat, there is no direct impact of Reformed Theology itself on worship theology or practice. Historically there have been both conservative and progressive Calvinists, Arminians, Dispensationalists, and Covenant Theologians, and there is nothing inherent in these theological convictions that leads to a particular worship philosophy."

I could not disagree more! First, the statement assumes that Worship Theology and Reformed Theology are only tangentially related, and this assumption is made, even in the face of earlier statements that appear to be made to the contrary. For example, “[God-centeredness] is clearly evidenced in their theology, their emphases, their biblical exposition, their song texts, and their writings. It has certainly influenced their theology of worship, and no doubt has impacted the worship theology and practice of fundamentalists as well.”

This drives the thoughtful reader to ask how the writer can make the previous assertion. In searching for the answer, we discover the underlying equivocation that obfuscates and undermines the coherence of the argument, which is common in this particular writer's articles. Take notice of the various assertions made, particularly those related to “Worship Theology.” Here are a few quotes:

“While Piper has not written a book on worship, his theology of worship is riddled throughout his books and sermons, and his particular theological emphases have direct application to worship theology. For instance, Piper is insistent on the God-centeredness of God, and by implication, the God-centeredness of worship. Piper’s consistent exegetical preaching and strong doctrinal center have also influenced fundamentalism, and in particular the centrality of these in the worship of God.”

“...Grudem is deliberate about relating theology to worship throughout the work. It is certainly possible that someone could benefit from some of the theology of Grudem’s [Systematic Theology] without being influenced by his theology of worship, but that is highly unlikely since the relationship of theology and worship permeates the work.”

These observations do indeed lead to the conclusion that their God-centered view of theology does actually impact their “Worship Theology.” Piper's theological emphases have direct application to Worship Theology, and Grudem relates theology to worship so tightly that the reader will almost certainly be influenced by his “Worship Theology.”

The best take that we can make is that the author intends “Reformed Theology” as a term that is being used to refer to Soteriology alone rather than Theology in general (this clearly shows up in the comments). In other words, the God-centered nature of their Theology does impact their Worship Theology, but their Soteriology doesn't.

However, take a look at what Aniol says about Sovereign Grace, “[Sovereign Grace Ministries] produces quite a bit of music...Their songs are known to be theologically-rich and gospel-centered, and this has been attractive for many fundamentalists who desire their worship services to be God-centered and doctrine-filled.”

We are left to wonder if Sovereign Grace Ministries would think that gospel-centered music has nothing to do with their Soteriology or their Worship Theology. I highly doubt it! To the contrary, the “God-centeredness” that influences their Worship Theology is directly flowing from a particular view of God's work in both salvation and sanctification. In fact, the only way that any assertion to the contrary could be made is by removing the verbal element from whatever is meant by “Worship Theology.”

It seems that this is really the only way for this article to have any coherence. We are forced to understand “Worship Theology” as a reference to “Philosophy of Art in Worship.” So in the end we are left with nothing more than an abstraction, culturally described, with no definition, and without any argument to support any of the assertions so boldly claimed by the article.

The fact is that your understanding of the Doctrine of God, the person and work of Christ, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the ultimate reconciliation of all things to God by Jesus Christ will certainly impact both the content and artistic expression of worship. If it doesn't, then your worship will be anemic at best, no matter how artistically refined it may appear.

How Much Does It Cost?

2009-08-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

I have been asked quite a few times recently, "How much would it cost to get you to come to our church?" The question is understandable, but it is also a bit foreign to the way we think of our ministry. On one hand, the simple answer is that it doesn't cost anything.

We don't charge any amount, nor do we have any monetary conditions on our coming to any church. We come without any expectations. We trust that God will supply our every need, and He has been faithful to do exactly that. So if your church has no money, we don't really care at all. As long as God supplies us enough gas to get to your church, we can come!

Of course, some churches just want to know what the actual costs are, so basically we figure that it costs us about 65-75 cents for every mile we drive. On top of this we have other expenses like food, RV payments, insurance, and phone bill. We trust that God will provide either the funds or side jobs to cover our expenses, and he always does. Paul made tents, so from time to time, Tom will paint houses or provide audio recording services (we carry professional recording equipment with us).

Changing Directions and Pressing On!

2009-06-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

In New Mexico, we had a wonderful time teaching how to study the Bible and we even got to sing a new song, based on Psalm 2. We were blessed, as usual, by the church family there in La Luz. Something happened while we were there that really emphasized the importance of the family of God in the life of His people.

We had been planning on going to Michigan for the Summer (to work on a book and record that is based on 12 Messianic Psalms), and on the way we were also planning on stopping off for a few Sundays in Illinois. Sadly (at the time) two Sundays opened up in our schedule and I could not find a church to fill those Sundays. God seemed to be preventing our going there, so we decided to stay a few more days in New Mexico and then go straight to Michigan.

One half hour from leaving to go to Michigan, we got a call that Martha's mother had suddenly suffered a heart attack and died. We needed to go to South Carolina, and we didn't have to cancel any services! Not only that, if we had gotten the word much later (or if we had gone up sooner), we would not have had enough money to get to South Carolina.

As we were leaving, the church family there in La Luz simply loved on us and sent us away with the comfort and joy of knowing that there is yet another group of God's people praying for us and the ministry that He has given us. We have been so incredibly blessed, and then God provided just enough to get to Greenville, and we are so blessed by His provision!

Now we are in South Carolina, and we appreciate your prayers for our family and for all that we need to accomplish in the coming months. We are praying for some opportunities to minister while we are here. While we are not sure how long God wants us to stay in Greenville, we are praying for God's provision to get us back up to Michigan.

Even so, while we are here, I am working on a book project (with my good friend, Dr. Bob Snyder). We are busy translating and commenting on 12 Messianic Psalms so that we can write a study guide / resource for people to use in studying these precious gems of Scripture. Along with this written work, we are busy writing songs based upon those Psalms. In this way we are hoping to bridge the gap between understanding the message of the Psalms and how we should emotionally respond to them.

It is hard to explain how exciting it is to work on the project, and we are so excited about what God is doing. We would appreciate your prayers as we continue work on that project!

The Glory of God and Musical Communication

2009-04-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

I would like to offer a few preliminary thoughts that are foundational to the discussion regarding music and worship. In the very first place, we need to establish that music is not, itself, worship (though many seem to think so). Worship is properly the ultimate aim of everything. It is even the whole point of God’s revelation itself. Therefore, our every expression should be reflective of the person of God, particularly as He has chosen to reveal Himself in the person of Christ. My whole philosophy of music flows from this idea, both philosophically and practically.

Almost everyone who has spent any time in any church knows 1Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” How many people have actually considered what that means? The “glory of God” is a summary statement for “all that God is.” Another way to say this is to say that the “glory of God” is the sum total of His character and attributes.

Once we accept this, we need to ask, “What does it mean to 'do everything' to the glory of God?” Many people assume that this simply means we give God the credit, and while in a tangential way this is somewhat true, it isn’t the point of the statement. In order to fully understand, it is helpful to bring another verse into the picture at this point: Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

When I first recognized this connection, it revolutionized my whole concept of worship! Sin is failing to meet up with the standard set by the attributes and character of God (this would exclude the attributes of God’s greatness - the omni’s, etc…), and this means that God Himself is the standard. So we could also assert that all sin is ultimately a failure to properly worship God.

However, this doesn’t entirely answer the question, though it does bring us one step closer. Sin is also a failure to love, since every command by God, and especially the law of Christ, is expressed by the twin commands to love God and my neighbor as myself. Even God, Himself, is described by the statement, “God is love.”

So, to live to the glory of God is to live a life contrary to a life of sin. It is to live so that every heart response and every corresponding action in our lives is actually a reflection of the glory of God. This is, of course, impossible without the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration (Remember the fruit of the spirit? They are all either an attribute of God or the effect of an attribute of God), and though music isn't, itself, worship. These principles certainly relate to music as a form of communication.

So a Christian can evaluate the value of any given piece of music by comparing the communication of that music with the character and attributes of God. We should be able to ask whether it reflects the love of God, the mercy of God, the justice of God, the anger of God, the righteousness of God…and so on. However, just as with the spoken word, the communicative content of the music is largely dependent upon context to accurately evaluate the meaning. This means that music must be understood in context of the musician, the venue, the occasion, and the audience.

For example, the words, "I love you" are a wonderful expression that can mean entirely different things if those words are spoken by a 4 year old to their stuffed animal, a 16 year old to his girlfriend, a wife to her newlywed husband, or an elderly husband to his dying wife. Who is speaking to whom is important, if we are going to understand the communication, and the same is true for music. Both the musician and the audience must be considered.

In addition, we can take the same words and understand them in completely different ways, depending on the venue. If it is spoken in a hospital it might communicate hope or even finality. If it is spoken in a carnival, it could be understood as a joke, or if it was spoken at home, it might communicate a close family bond.

However, not only is it important to consider the musician, the audience, and the venue, we also must consider the occasion. For example, our three words could be part of a skit at summer camp, or they could be spoken by a teenager upon receiving a new car, or they could be spoken at the end of a wedding (or funeral). In every instance, the communication is different - sometimes drastically.

Yet, we also have to consider tone of voice. If I yell angrily at my wife, “I LOVE YOU!!!” she is not likely to get the message clearly, because the emotion doesn’t match the words. Worse, she might understand exactly the opposite. The tone of voice can make these words communicate hatred, friendship, exasperation, or even genuine love. Tone can enhance or even reverse the meaning of the words.

Music works exactly the same way as language, with the added benefit (liability) that it is designed to make the emotion of our communication more evident. Think of singing as "speaking, with the volume turned up on the emotion."

This is why we cannot evaluate music by looking at its disjunctive parts, like rhythm, harmony, and melody. The communication must be viewed as a whole, considering all relevant contextual information as well as the communicative content. This is also one reason why I am opposed to the notion that there is intrinsic morality in music (independent of context).

On the other hand, I am equally opposed to those who would suggest that music is amoral and irrelevant to the communication, which would be like saying tone of voice has nothing to do with my telling my wife, "I love you." We can see and readily accept this in the realm of language, but music seems to be emotionally and practically polarizing. We really need to cut through the convoluted confusion of the "worship wars" and just get back to the point that music communicates.

Then we can move forward by observing that the communication must be Biblical (or from a Biblical perspective); it must be emotionally consistent with the verbal content (loving music goes to loving words); and it must be appropriate to the venue, occasion, and audience. Those three principles would save us all a whole lot of grief, and allow us to evaluate whether that communication properly communicates the character and attributes of God.

Needs Update

2009-03-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since we have updated you on our needs so that our praying readers can know specifically how to pray for us. We have been blessed to see God's provision over this year, and we are eagerly anticipating what He will do over the coming months. With that said, we greatly appreciate your prayers to God on our behalf, especially regarding these specific needs:

Financial Needs
It costs us about 75 cents, on average, for every mile we travel, and other vehicle costs amount to about 150 dollars a month. We and our five children (now one teenager) eat about 100 dollars a week worth of food. Our communications costs are around 160 dollars a month. Health insurance would cost around 1000 dollars a month, and other miscellaneous expenses bring the total we need per month to something around 3000 dollars per month.

Right now, we are entirely dependent upon one-time gifts and donations, but we are praying that God would allow us to raise monthly support to pay for our regular bills. To this point, I have been painting on the side to pay for these things, but that drastically limits my effectiveness with both Veritas School of Theology and Sermons in Song.

One-time Expenses
We just found out that we need a new rubber roof for the RV. This will cost between 2500 and 5000 dollars, and really needs to be done as soon as possible (pin holes and cracks). We may try a paint-on solution to get us by, but reviews of that approach indicate that it should be thought of as a temporary measure.

Some of you may remember that last year both my guitars broke. Though we have managed to get them to the point that they are working adequately, we are looking for a new guitar that will replace both of the broken ones. We had some money donated for it, and that has put us about 1/4 of the way there. So we are praying that God would supply a professional guitar or allow us to purchase one soon (For those of you who like guitars, you can email or call me to get specifics).

Personal Needs
Traveling has been good for our family, but there are also a unique set of challenges that come along with this sort of life. I appreciate your prayers for us as we continue to grow together as a family-team.

School materials for the kids is also a significant expense (about 1000 dollars per child, per year), and we would appreciate your prayers regarding God's supply in this matter.

As always, we are blessed to be able to serve the Lord with both Veritas and Sermons in Song, and we are grateful for those of you who continue to pray for these endeavors.

Your servant,
Tom Pryde

A Note from Excelsior Drive Baptist Church

2009-03-16T23:32:00.000-07:00

Today, I received a message on my Facebook wall from the pastor of Excelsior Drive Baptist Church (that was where we were this past Sunday). I thought that you, who are praying for our ministry, would rejoice to hear what he wrote:

"Hi Tom, guess what?? The Lord mightily used your teaching and preaching yesterday to move the heart of Melissa who is one of our teenagers. SHE GOT SAVED and the first words after that was I want to be baptized and join the church. Give me your cell phone number when you can and Teresa will tell you the whole wonderful, beautiful story. Hope all is going well." (Pastor Riley)

We are delighted and rejoice with very life brought closer into fellowship with God through the work that God has given us to do. You, who have prayed and sacrificially given to keep us moving, have played an important part in every single changed life! I trust that God will credit this fruit to your account.

Your Servant,
Tom

A Year In Review

2009-03-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

It was almost exactly a year ago that our family embarked upon this itinerate ministry, and we have been blessed to minister with so many of God's people around the country. Of course, it has been a real challenge at times, as God has been teaching us to live together in close quarters, but God has been faithful to us as we seek to please Him in our family.

His faithfulness is evident to us as we consider how often He has provided to give us exactly what we needed to get us to the next location. Many times we have been packing up without quite enough to get us to the next stop, and just as we have needed it, God has provided through the generosity of His people. Of course, we are thankful also to those whom He has used to provide for our ministry, and we are confident that God will likewise show his faithfulness to provide for those who are generous toward Him.

It is difficult to recount all the ministry opportunities that God has given us, but I would like to highlight a few of the high-points. We began last year with the ordination of Bro. Will Dudding, in Fremont. That was the end of a year long ministry to him and his church, which we have spoken of previously.

God allowed us to participate briefly with a brand new church plant in downtown Colorado (Providence Bible Church), and we were blessed to see God's people reaching into areas that have long been neglected. We look forward to seeing what God has done in them this past year, as well as renewing friendships made while we were there.

We spent quite a long time being ministered to and ministering in Rockford, Illinois (Morning Star Baptist Church), and then we traveled to Michigan, where we ministered in several churches. While in Michigan, we spent some time in Goodells (Mt. Pleasant Bible Church) for their "Spiritual Life Emphasis" week. We were kept busy ministering in as many ways as the Lord allowed us opportunity. This church was the first church to have us present an extended series, and we were blessed to see the Lord work through a presentation of the gospel through a few Psalms.

We spent some time in Washington DC, and even found time to do a Christmas concert that included a new Christmas hymn. In December, we found ourselves ministering to friends in the South and also visiting family in Greenville, South Carolina. While there, the Lord gave us opportunities to minister as well.

New Mexico was our next destination (with a stop over in Texas to take care of some Veritas School of Theology business). The First Baptist Church of La Luz has become dear to us, as they have had us minister with them several times now. This time, they asked us to teach my counseling course (available at Veritas) over the course of a month or so. It was a great time, and God blessed us with lots of opportunities to speak (and sing) His word.

That brings us back to California, for a very busy spring. The next three months will be taken up with meetings in some new churches and some of the same churches that we have gotten to know already. We look forward to ministering with fellow servants scattered wherever the Lord has placed them.

One aspect of our ministry that is difficult to quantify is the ministry that happens "in the gaps." We have had many opportunities to minister individually, in counseling and encouragement with pastors and others. This work is not extra, but rather it is an integral part to our mission, which is to demonstrate and teach how the gospel of Jesus Christ touches every area of life.

Thank you for your generosity, prayers, and encouragement over this past year. We anticipate even more opportunities to minister as God continues to direct our steps.

Your servant,
Tom Pryde

Jeep...Need Your Prayers

2009-01-16T09:34:00.000-08:00

Well, this week has been on the discouraging side. Our Jeep that we purchased in New Mexico has been having electrical problems since we got it, and we finally were able to get it to a mechanic here in Greenville. Sadly, the news is worse than I expected.

Evidently the thing had been submerged; as a possible explanation, we did a carfax and learned that it had been sold at an auction shortly after Katrina. Anyway, it has so many problems as a result that nearly everything is affected by it. The short version is that it isn't worth fixing. Now that poses quite a few problems for us, and we would like your prayers as we seek to discern how the Lord would have us proceed.

In the first place, we use the Jeep as storage while we are traveling, so if we get rid of it we need to figure out what we are doing with all that stuff. It also means that we will be without a vehicle, until the Lord provides a replacement.

Regardless, God knows and has a better plan for us, even though that isn't readily apparent yet. We will continue to trust His work and do our best to be faithful to the task He has called us to do.

That also brings me to ask for your prayers next week for our trip West. We will strike out to New Mexico, where we will be recording a course for Veritas School of Theology: Introduction to Biblical Counseling. I will also be teaching the second run through my course on Hermeneutics soon as well.

As always, thank you for your prayers to God on our behalf!

Music Without Affectation or Offense

2009-01-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

Ask anyone if they can name a hymn, and Amazing Grace will be near the top of the list. It was written by a gloriously saved John Newton. Once a slave trader, God used this man to publish a series of hymns called the Olney Hymns. He began working on it with his friend William Cowper, but it wasn't long before Cowper became unable to continue the project.

Reading the introduction to this hymn book is instructive for those of us who seek to participate in Christian music. In particular, I would like to call attention to the following paragraph:

There is a style and manner suited to the composition of hymns, which may be more successfully, or at least more easily attained by a versifier, than by a poet. They should be Hymns, not Odes, if designed for public worship, and for the use of plain people. Perspicuity, simplicity and ease, should be chiefly attended to; and the imagery and coloring of poetry, if admitted at all, should be indulged very sparingly and with great judgment. The late Dr. Watts, many of whose hymns are admirable patterns in this species of writing, might, as a poet, have a right to say, That it cost him some labor to restrain his fire, and to accommodate himself to the capacities of common readers. But it would not become me to make such a declaration. It behoved me to do my best. But though I would not offend readers of taste by a wilful coarseness, and negligence, I do not write professedly for them. If the LORD whom I serve, has been pleased to favor me with that mediocrity of talent, which may qualify me for usefulness to the weak and the poor of his flock, without quite disgusting persons of superior discernment, I have reason to be satisfied.

I love how, in comparing himself to Isaac Watts, he speaks of limiting the poetic elements so that the hymn communicates to "plain" people. The first task for the hymn writer, according to Newton, is clarity of communication, which requires simplicity and ease of access.

Of course, he isn't suggesting that the banal and crass should be fair game, and this is clear in how he describes his need to do his best and in how he disavows "willful coarseness." In contrast, he describes Watts as needing to temper his poetic gifts in order to produce a text that is good for the whole congregation.

Basically, he hopes not to "offend the readers of taste" but avows that he isn't writing for them. He hopes to write in such a way as to be useful to the congregation as a whole, without intentionally offending those with "superior discernment."

In essence, he is content to communicate the truth clearly, in verse, so that it is transparent to everyone without at the same time offending those who would have higher taste. I appreciate this sentiment greatly, since we hope to communicate clearly, without offending those who are truly gifted musicians and writers. I am a preacher first, and music is helpful in that the clarity of an exposition can often be enhanced by an accompanying song.

Newton understood this, which is why you will find a virtual commentary in song, along with hymns that are marked "before the sermon" and "after the sermon." Newton appreciated the value of music that preaches.

This Isn't Really New

2009-01-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

Most everyone seems to think that what we are doing with Sermons in Song is new or novel, but the truth is that it is not. The idea isn't new with us, and while we can find Biblical examples (like Moses and Jeremiah), there are also several interesting examples of song-writers of the past doing the same thing.

For example, Phillip Doddridge wrote these words that you might know: "O happy day that fixed my choice, On Thee my Savior and my God". It was written in the mid 1700's and was originally titled, "Rejoicing in our Covenant." The text is as follows, but some might wonder where the chorus is. That was added in the mid-1800's and included in the Wesleyan Sacred Harp hymnal.

O happy day, that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Savior and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad.

O happy bond, that seals my vows
To Him Who merits all my love!
Let cheerful anthems fill His house,
While to that sacred shrine I move.

It's done: the great transaction's done!
I am the Lord's and He is mine;
He drew me and I followed on;
Charmed to confess the voice divine.

Now rest, my long divided heart,
Fixed on this blissful center, rest.
Here have I found a nobler part;
Here heavenly pleasures fill my breast.

High heaven, that heard the solemn vow,
That vow renewed shall daily hear,
Till in life's latest hour I bow
And bless in death a bond so dear.

It was his practice to write a hymn near the end of his sermon preparation, and then he would have it sung at the conclusion of the sermon. As I have been studying the history of hymns, it is striking how frequently examples of this practice have cropped up. In the future, I plan on highlighting some sermons-in-song examples from time to time, so stay tuned.

Added a Link: Indelible Grace

2008-12-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

I have added a link in the left sidebar that our readers might appreciate. There is a growing trend of musicians reaching back into the old hymns, much like the recent Christmas song I posted. There are also efforts at writing new hymns that can be sung authentically accross generations. That is, rather than writing music that divides congregations, these new hymn writers are seeking to write music that can establish a common ground for all generations. This is exiting to me, as I believe we need to be producing new music while appreciating and continuing the heratige of Christian music that has been passed down to us over many hundreds of years.

Here is a quote from Indelible Grace that gives a window into their goals:

We want to be a voice calling our generation back to something rich and solid and beyond the fluff and the trendy. We want to remind God's people that thinking and worship are not mutually exclusive, and that not everything worth knowing happened in the last three years. We want to invite the Church to appreciate her heritage without idolizing it. We want to open up a world of passion and truth and make it more that just an archaic curiosity for the religiously sentimental. We believe worship is formative, and that it does matter what we think. So, we hope this site will prove helpful in encouraging and nurturing a growing movement. We want to provide resources such as chord charts, CDs, and useful links. But we also want to share with you the stories behind the authors of the hymns, and in many cases the stories behind the writing of the hymns themselves, as well as theological reflections upon the hymns. We believe that this theological poetry is supremely suited for expressing the seeming paradoxes of the faith that drive us to worship.

They have a wealth of resources, even for those of us on the conservative end of the church music spectrum. For example, they have an online hymn book that includes chords for many great hymns, some of which many churches have often neglected and forgotten.

Christmas Gift to Our Readers

2008-12-19T14:02:00.000-08:00

Our family would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas. We will be in South Carolina this weekend and don't plan to write again until January, but we wanted you to know that we appreciate you prayers for us and the work that God has given us to do. For those who are interested in the Christmas song mentioned in the previous post, the mp3 can be downloaded by clicking here. Merry Christmas!

New (sort of) Christmas Song

2008-12-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

Well, this has been an interesting week. The counseling course syllabus is almost completed, and the recording of our next cd continues to move along. Same old, same old...However, our readers might find this interesting: I have been wanting to write a new Christmas song, but how do you do that without being completely cliche?

I was researching ancient Christian writings (pre-780 AD) for the "History of Biblical Counseling" section of my class. One search turned up a hymnal of early church hymns, and I was intrigued. I began reading through a few of them and ran across this one:

By St. John of Damascus, 780 A.D.

Bethlehem rejoices!
Hark the voices clear,
Singing in the starlight
Nearer and more near.

(Chorus)
Unto God be glory,
Peace to men be given;
This His will who dwelleth
In the heights of heaven.

Heaven cannot contain Him,
Nor the bounds of earth,
Yet, oh glorious mystery!
Virgin gives Him birth.

Now the light ariseth
In the darkened skies,
Now the proud are humbled
And the lowly rise.

I set my computer on the floor and pulled out my guitar to see if I could come up with a decent melody / harmony. The end result isn't exactly like the translation by Brownlie (above), since I did alter a few turns of phrase while I was writing the tune, but I am happy with the result. I will post a recording on our Facebook "fan" page later tonight, for those who might be interested in hearing it.

It was a lot of fun to perform it at a Christmas concert this last week, and we will be doing it again at a concert in Raleigh, NC this Saturday. As always, thank you for your prayers!

Why Pray?

2008-11-22T20:35:00.001-08:00

Well, we have no doubt that God answers prayer! Before we left Michigan, the children had been desperately praying for snow, enough that they could at least play in (the word "Blizzard" was even mentioned...yikes). Well the last day, as I was packing up, we got hit with snow and more snow.

The Lord was definitely with us as we carefully backed our home away from the church and down a hill, without it becoming the world's biggest sled. This was done with the Jeep in tow. On the way to pick up the children we learned how slippery it was when the Jeep slid a little wide on one turn...carefully Tom.

Well, we had a great time with the Snyder family in Hudson, Michigan, and it was a great trip on so many levels. Our kids played in the snow all the way till we drove off, and about 1 mile east the snow was 1/10th of what it was nearby. God had answered the children's prayers.

Of course, they still wanted snow and God kept answering their prayers as we drove along the Ohio Turnpike last night. Now we needed prayer of a different sort, since slippery roads with a large RV and towed Jeep is not exactly ideal. The Lord was good to us and before it got too bad, we stopped at a rest area (complete with Burger King and Starbucks).

It snowed all night and was very deep in the morning, so we went and had breakfast while the roads were plowed and salted. Evidently it was a record day, and we can attest to at least 12 inches of snow on the ground! It was evident that God's hand was guiding us, when we got back on the road and a few miles later saw a semi crumpled and jack-knifed in the trees off the shoulder.

It was smooth sailing all the way to DC, where God's protection was evidently needed as we went around the beltway...there were 5 accidents (one shut down all lanes) within a 5 mile stretch. It reminds us how dependent we are on the Lord for our safety as well as His provision.

Thank you all for your prayers!!!

Michigan Whirlwind

2008-11-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since our last update, and we have been very busy! When we first arrived in Michigan, we had a meeting with the Community Baptist Church in Madison Heights. Sunday evening I preached and sang and we had such a sweet time of fellowship with the people there, even though we were only there for a brief time. Ultimately, the Lord allowed us to return this past Sunday, since they needed a music leader and we did not have any obligations for that Sunday. It was a great day for us, even though we missed Pastor Rathbun and his wife (they were out of town).

We left our Jeep in Troy, at my uncle's house, to save on the gas up north and we traveled to Camp CoBeAc to meet up with my mother, Debi Pryde, who was doing a women counseling seminar there. The camp was so very gracious to allow us to stay there for a few days, and they even provided hook ups for our RV, which was a huge blessing.

Being there at the camp was a bit surreal for me. It had been over a decade since I was the athletic director during the summer between two years at BJU. There is a new director, Jeff Kahl, and the camp is bustling with the life of a vibrant and growing service provided to Midwest churches. I very much enjoyed meeting with Jeff and hearing of his vision for the camp in the future, and I look forward to the next time we can visit CoBeAc.

When we left Prudenville, we headed out toward Port Huron and a little town called "Goodells." There, we were scheduled to be with the Mount Pleasant Bible Church for their Spiritual Life Emphasis Week. It was a real experience to preach in a church that has been around over a hundred years, and we were so blessed by the kindness and hospitality of the church.

I had a particularly good time with the youth meetings on two Thursdays. They listened and asked very good questions as we explored Colossians and discussed what it means to do all to the glory of God. They are a great group who also managed to introduce us to "Extreme Volleyball," which is identical to volleyball, except they use a heavy exercise ball.

When we left Goodells two weeks later, we left many friends and we look forward to the next time we can minister with them. From there we made our way back to the Detroit area (Birmingham), where we were scheduled to provide special music at the Grace Baptist Church missions conference.

We have family that are members at this church, and whenever we have come to Michigan to visit family, we attend here. Pastor Whitfield was as kind and gracious as ever, and we enjoyed getting to know some more people that we hadn't met as well as renewing old friendships. (We hadn't been able to visit for many years, and we have added three children since then!) This church has only had one pastor since starting over fifty years ago, which is a testimony to both the church and their pastor.

That brings us back to last Sunday, when we returned to Maddison Heights and the Community Baptist Church. It has been a full few weeks, and we are delighted to have been able to minister among these churches.

God has continued to provide for all our needs, and lower gas prices have helped considerably. We are grateful for the generosity of each of the churches and others who have given to make this ministry possible. As we enter the holiday season, we continue to covet your prayers, since there is so much work to be done to finish the CD and to finish preparing the counseling course for VST.

Thanks again for your prayers!

Here We Go!

2008-10-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

So this week is our last week in Rockford, and we are sad to be leaving all the friends we have made here. However, there is much to be done, and we are excited to get moving again. At the end of this week we will be going to Michigan for a few meetings and a missions conference. We will mostly be on the Eastern side of Michigan (north of Detroit). Then we will be heading to the North East (Centered in Virginia) for a few weeks before heading to South Carolina for the Holidays.

For Sermons in Song, we have been working on some cello parts that we hope to record. If all goes well, we should be able to send the final mix to mastering by the end of the year. More exciting than this is that two men have begun the Ordination Mentoring program that I have been working on in conjunction with our work at Veritas School of Theology. For a window into this program, you can see Bro. Will Dudding's comments on his blog.

Pray for these men, as this program is both rigorous and challenging in many ways. I am so thankful to be able to have a part in God's ministry to and with these men. Pray also for us, that God will continue to provide and that we will be effective in the work that he gives us to do. Pray also that the ministry of the Word will be clear and profitable, whether communicated in preaching, teaching, or music.

Update...Important Prayer Request

2008-09-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it is about time that we update our blog and let you know what is happening. In the beginning, we decided that we weren't going to whitewash difficulties and challenges on this blog. If we did, then you wouldn't know how to pray for us! On the contrary, we want to give you a window into our lives as we seek to serve God with the gifts that He has given us. That way, you can intercede on our behalf.

We have been blessed by the generosity of many people who have helped us, particularly the churches we have visited along the way. The people of Morning Star Baptist Church have been wonderful, and we have been blessed to be here with them. Of course, the Apostle Paul made tents, and we paint houses but, the hours spent on painting do tend to undermine our ability to move forward with the work that we have to do.

Because of this, it is a struggle to maintain our focus on Sermons in Song and Veritas. We would like to ask you to pray that God would provide for our needs as we embark on the next phase of this ministry. We have a host of opportunities that God has placed before us.

There are two men who would like to be prepared for ordination (see Bro. Will Dudding's description of our ministry with him). There is a counseling course to be taught for six weeks in January, and there are many small churches who would be blessed by our preaching and music yet feel hesitant to invite us because of the expense to get us there (about 80 cents a mile).

These opportunities are exciting, but they cannot be done effectively if I am painting full time. We would like to ask you to intercede with God for the provision of this ministry. We have had several people ask us about how to support our ministry. Our home church (Crossroads Baptist Church in Tracy, California) is handling our finances, so those who wish to help can send our support to them, marked "Sermons in Song."

For the next three weeks, we are in Rockford, Illinois at Morning Star Baptist Church. Then we head up to Michigan for a series of meetings there (there are still some open Sundays, if you know of a church that would like to have us). That begins our travels that will take us to New England, South Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, and then back to California by the spring of next year.

We are excited about the opportunities that God has placed before us, but we are also aware that we cannot do it without God's provision and your prayers to God on our behalf.

As always, I remain your servant for the glory of the cross,

Tom Pryde