Voice of the Martyrs

“So then as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:10) In his sermon last Sunday, Pastor Synnott referred to Voice of the Martyrs, an organization that helps, supports, and prays for persecuted Christians worldwide. I thought it would be good to tell you… Read More »

Training a New Generation of Musicians

One of our most important tasks as Christians is to disciple others and pass our faith, leadership, and “Kingdom” skills onto a new generation. To that end I would like to invite you to the first concert of the 2013-14 Trinity Concert Series on Friday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. This concert will feature Rachel Keehner, who at… Read More »

A Singing Faith

We find from the Bible that ours is a singing faith. The people of God are ALWAYS singing: From the shores of the Red Sea to the shores of the Promised Land; from the Book of Exodus to the last chapter of Revelation. And then there are the many songs in the Book of Psalms and all the… Read More »

A Lesson from King Nebuchadnezzar

In our daily devotions this week, my wife and I have been reading the Book of Daniel. After reading Chapter 3, it occurred to me that for some reason we have a tendency to turn the gifts God gives us into idols. This is what King Nebuchadnezzar did in Daniel 3. In the previous chapter, God gave him… Read More »

Did You Know That the Lord Rejoices Over Us?

Today’s Verse of the Day from the YouVersion Bible really struck me. We tend to think that it is our “job” to rejoice in God and what He has done for us. But, here is a remarkable passage from the prophet Zephaniah that puts a different perspective on things. The Lord your God is in your midst,a mighty… Read More »

Prelude for Divided Viola (String Orchestra)

Are you looking for a work to challenge your viola section? You might want to consider this Prelude for Divided Viola. It is an arrangement for strings of my chorale prelude on the hymn “Jesus, Priceless Treasure,” a tune made famous by the J. S. Bach motet. The violas are busy from beginning to end and use the… Read More »

Fantasia on “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” (String Quartet or Orchestra)

I was fiddling around with playback feature in Finale and the Garritan ARIA Player and discovered that my motet on “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” sounds really good with just strings alone, so here it is as a Fantasia on VENI EMMANUEL for Strings. This arrangement would work with either a string orchestra or a string quartet. If… Read More »

JESU, MEINE FREUDE (Organ – Chorale Prelude)

Here is a setting for organ of the great German pietistic hymn “Jesus, Priceless Treasure” that I composed back in my college days. The text of the hymn is by Johann Franck and first appeared as a six stanza hymn in Johann Crüger’s Praxis Pietatis Melica (1653) to a tune presumably by Crüger. The hymn was made famous by… Read More »

Fanfare on “Christ is Arisen” (SATB w/ Organ, Brass, and Timpani)

Just completed a new piece for Easter: Fanfare on “Christ is Arisen” for mixed choir, brass quartet, timpani, and organ. Hope you find it useful. It begins with a theme that my Associate Pastor said reminded him of Aslan, you know the great and powerful lion from the C. S. Lewis book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe… Read More »

What is Lent?

The season of Lent is a “season” of the Church Year – a time for somber reflection on our sin and our sinful nature. It is a time for penitence and confession and a time to receive God’s forgiveness – to hear with new ears and open hearts and minds how much our God loves us. As the… Read More »