Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Sing to the Lord a New Song

Worship leaders everywhere are busy selecting, writing and practicing songs this week for the worship service next Sunday. Hopefully there is some connection between the songs we'll sing and the message that will be preached (although sometimes, unfortunately, selections can be made based on what the band members who are available this week already know...). Maybe there is come coordination between songs that work with drama sketches or dance interpretation. At any rate, a lot of thought goes into selecting the songs sung to the Lord during worship services.

Let's take a moment, however, to think about the songs we are singing to the Lord during the week when it's not about worshiping in the sanctuary, but when it's personal worship between us and the Lord. I realized last year that I needed to change my tune. I was singing songs like, "This is Too Difficult, Lord!" and "No One Appreciates the Effort I'm Making." I can imagine He's heard some other familiar tunes out there from worship leaders too, like "I Want Fame," "She/He is Too Difficult to Work With," and the old favorite "Addicted to Approval."

Just like the lyrics of our most popular songs, these phrases and words can become stuck in our minds and if we repeat them often enough, they can become quite annoying. So this year, I promised God I would sing Him a new song so He wouldn't get annoyed with hearing my voice. Now I give some thought to the personal songs I'll be singing as I go through my week and and I'm offering selections like "Thank You, Lord," "Praise You for What You Have Done," "I'm Trying, and With Your Help, it Will Happen!" and "I Forgive That Hurt."

I want there to be a connection between the songs I'm singing and the message I'll have for people as I walk through my week.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples (Psalm 96:1-3 NIV)

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Daily Inspiration

The Blind Side

Read about the real life mom from "The Blind Side."

Lifeway: http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=169816

Guideposts: http://www.guideposts.com/story/sandra-bullock-blind-side-football?page=0,1

Read Matt Mungle's review of the movie at http://www.buddyhollywood.com/.

Lauren Yarger, Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the 2000 Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists.

Yarger trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Three-Day Training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run.

In 2008 she was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She writes reviews of Broadway and off-Broadway theater with a Christian perspective for Reflections in the Light (http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/) and is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection. She also is a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com

She also reviews books for Publisher's Weekly and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. She formerly was Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp, a national theater web site bsed in New York and a reviewer for American Theater Web.

She also served as Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. and worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

She is a freelance writer and member of the Drama Desk, The Outer Critics Circle, The American Theater Critics Association, The League of Professional Theatre Women and The CT Critics Circle.

A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger lives with her husband in West Granby, CT and has two adult children.

Copyright Notice

All contents copyright © Lauren Yarger 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. For reprint permission, contact masterworkproductions@yahoo.com.

Scripture from THE MESSAGE Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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