Fee Fee Baptist Church

Tag: Traditional Worship

  • Music Musings – Vol. 61, No. 4

    Hymns Written During Past Pandemics – Part III

    By Dr. Julie Barrier, Crosswalk.com

    James Montgomery, born in 1771, was a Scottish-born hymn writer and poet. He wrote 400 hymns in the midst of controversial quarantines for yellow fever, cholera, and bubonic plague.  Sing Hallelujah, Sing is one of his most famous. What a statement of faith!

    “Sing Hallelujah, Glory to God alone…Bring your thank-offerings to the throne. The Lord put forth His hand.  He touched us and we died.  Vengeance went through the land, but mercy walked beside.  He heard our prayers; He saw our tears and stayed the plague and quelled our fears.”

    Dr. John Ryland was an English Baptist pastor and a close friend of John Newton, composer of Amazing Grace. The deadly Cattle Plague was similar to smallpox, but even more deadly. This plague ravaged Britain and other parts of Europe. Ryland paraphrased Psalm 139 into lyrics for his hymn, Sovereign Ruler of  the Skies.

    “He that formed me in the womb shall guide me to the tomb. All my times shall ever be ordered by His wise decree…Plagues and death around me fly ’til He bids I cannot die. Not a single shaft can hit ’til the God of love thinks fit.”

    Swiss pastor Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) was one of the most influential voices in the Protestant Reformation. Black plague broke out in Zurich and he raced to minister to the sick. Zwingli caught the dreaded disease and almost died. But the hymn he wrote gives us an inspiring glimpse of his faith. The first four verses of his hymn were penned when the disease struck. Verses five through eight were written as his health deteriorated. Verse nine through twelve were written after God healed him. What a great model for us as we fight sickness:

    “Help me Lord, my strength and rock, Lo at the door I hear death’s knock.  Lift up Your arm once pierced for me, that conquered death and rescued me. Yet if Your voice in life’s midday recalls my soul, then I obey.”

    During his illness:

    “My pains increase, haste to console; for fear and woe seize body and soul. Death is at hand, my senses fail, my tongue is dumb, now Christ prevail. He (Satan) harms me not – I fear no loss. For here I lie beneath the cross.”

    After his recovery:

    “My God! My Lord! Healed by your hand, upon the earth once more I stand. Let sin no more rule over me – my mouth shall sing alone to Thee. Though now delay, my hour will come – involved perchance in deeper gloom. BUT LET IT COME, MY JOY WILL RISE. And bear my yoke straight to the skies.”

    What a picture of handling suffering!

    Virtual Choir Project

    It’s time to get serious! Some of you have already arranged a time for Andrea Jennings to record you. If you have not set up a time with her, please make your appointment ASAP. We need to have all recordings by February 26. Also, thanks to Jonathan McPhillips for creating a score that moves forward with repeat and coda marked. This will help you to not get lost in following the arrangement. Appreciate every one of you!

  • Music Musings – Vol. 61, No. 3

    Hymns Written During Past Pandemics – Part II

    By Dr. Julie Barrier, Crosswalk.com

    We are not alone in our distress. Godly men and women throughout the ages praised God in the midst of disease and disaster.  Many great hymns of praise have been written by Christians during plagues throughout church history.

    One of these hymns is Now Thank We All Our God, composed in 1636 by pastor Martin Rinckart. Eilenberg, Germany, his tiny hometown, was ravaged by the Thirty Years War. The Swedish army set siege around the city wall.  War refugees seeking safety overran the crowded town. Soon after, the Bubonic plague erupted there and almost 5,000 people perished within a year. Rinckart was the only pastor left alive to bury the dead. He often performed 40-50 funerals per day, including the burial of his own wife. In the midst of such pestilence and heartbreak, Rindkart wrote:

    “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices, Who wondrous things

    has done, in Whom this world rejoices. Who from our mother’s arms has blessed us

    on our way with countless gifts of love and still is ours today!”

    Come to Your Temple Here on Earth, composed by pastor Paul Gerhardt, was written about the same time as Rinckart. Europe was besieged with war and plague, yet these words of assurance came to this beloved pastor’s heart:

    “Arise and make an end of all heartache and our pain; Your wandering flock at last recall

    and grant them joy again. To peace and wealth the land restore, wasted with fire or plague

    or sword, Come to Your ruined churches, Lord, and bid them bloom once more.”

    Isaac Watts wrote When We Are raised from Deep Distress during the London cholera outbreak in 1666. Cholera outbreaks were prevalent in various parts of the British Empire, including parts of Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. In 1854, 23,000 people died from cholera in Great Britain. Here are Watts’ lyrics inspired by Psalm 89 and 90.

    “Pains of the flesh seek to abuse our minds with slavish fears; Our days are past and we shall

    lose the remnant of our years. Jehovah speaks the healing word and no disease withstands;

    fevers and plagues obey the Lord and fly at His command!”

    This great Congregational minister wrote 750 hymns!  Watts always found a reason to praise God.

    Virtual Choir Project

    Rehearsal recordings are finished and ready for you to download along with copies of the sheet music. Please contact Tara (Tara@feefeebc.org) to let us know you can participate. When you give her your contact information, you will be included in all informational emails. If you do not have a way to print the music you may pick up a copy of the choral sheet on the table by office entrance.

    Again, you do not need to be a current choir member to take part in this project. There is no age limitation. In fact, a multigenerational choir would be ideal!

    Please consider joining in this project. We have made it easier than ever!

  • Music Musings – Vol. 61, No. 2

    Hymns Written During Pandemics in Biblical Times – Part I

    By Dr. Julie Barrier, Crosswalk.com

    Plagues and suffering have often produced the greatest hymns of hope and joy. This article will identify lyrics of songwriters who rose above the darkness, depression, and disease. Let’s see what we can learn from these songwriters who praised and thanked God during difficult times.

    Miriam, the sister of Moses, witnessed the ten terrible plagues of Egypt. God spared His people from disease and death. After the Jews’ divine rescue, Miriam sang:

    “I will sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation,” (Exodus 15:20-21, KJV).

    Satan cannot steal our song! In the second chapter of Job, Satan begs God to inflict a deadly disease upon Job to make God’s righteous servant curse God. Job sang, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord,” (Job 1:20, LB).

    King David in his arrogance, defied God by counting his soldiers. He commanded over 1.5 million troops. Because of the king’s disobedience, 70,000 Jews died of the plague in three days. Even in his deep remorse, David knew to sing to God.

    “I will praise You, Lord, for You have saved me from my enemies. You refuse to let them triumph over me, O Lord, my God.  I pleaded with You, and You gave me my health again.  You brought me back from the brink of the grave, from death itself, and here I am alive!  Oh, sing to Him you saints of His; give thanks to His holy name.  His anger lasts a moment; His favor lasts for life!  Weeping may go on all night, but in the morning, there is joy,” (Psalm 30:1-5, LB).

     

    Virtual Choir Update

    This project is being delayed because the recording is on back order. As soon as we receive the recording, we will resume preparing this project. Thanks for your patience!

  • Music Musings – Vol. 61, No. 1

    The Ease of Virtual Choir

    We are learning how to make participation in the virtual choir more accessible for everyone. One of the biggest hesitations for many has simply been the recording aspect. Our own Andrea Jennings has made this an easier process by setting up appointments and recording your session for you. Now when you record you do not feel you are singing alone! Instead, it will sound like you are singing with a choir. We have also started using accompaniment tracks where we can highlight different vocal lines – soprano, alto, tenor and bass. So, learning your part is a snap! Thanks to Vance for engineering this process. I will also make myself available to assist you in learning the music.

    For our next project we will sing a beautiful piece that our choir has sung a few times. The piece is entitled This Must Be Grace, and at one point incorporates the old hymn Grace That is Greater Than All Our Sin.

    It is hoped in addition to our regular choir members we can expand this project to include younger singers and those less young (multi-generational) who have not in the past committed to the regular choir rehearsals but would be willing to take the opportunity to lend their voice to this short term project. If you have EVER sung or NEVER sung in a choir, come give this a try. You may be surprised at your own talent for singing! Stay tuned for more specific information.

    Do NOT Hide Your Talent!

    Sharing our talents with others can create more lasting fulfillment. It is actually a win-win situation. We get to exercise our talent and others receive a blessing.

    Do you sing? Do you play an instrument? Would you like to be part of an ensemble (vocal or instrumental)? Would you like to lead an ensemble of any kind? Please tell us about your talents or talents of a friend so we can provide opportunities for you to bless others. All ages and levels of performance welcome! We need you. Please send information to Ronna@feefeebc.org.

    “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV).

  • Music Musings – Vol. 60, No. 25

    Thanks to all!

    By the time you are reading this we will have celebrated with our 2020 Christmas program. There are so many to thank.  From the participants in our virtual Christmas choir to our live singers and instrumentalists, our technicians, our children’s Nativity producers, ushers and greeters. There are far too many to list in one short article!  However, I must give a special thank you to Andrea Jennings who patiently and cheerfully recorded many of our virtual choir singers. Our children’s Nativity “mini-movie” was a product of creative persons like Vance Stewart and Justin Flack, assisted by Dann Webber. It really blows me away to think about the technical talent it takes to do a virtual production!

    It takes many and varied talents to do anything of significance, including even a scaled back Christmas performance. Thanks to each and every one!

    The Joy of Music

    “David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals,” (1 Chronicles 15:18).

    Throughout all the seasons of our lives – childhood, teens and on – music is a part of our existence. Certain songs bring back memories. We remember times when music helped us and blessed us through hard times and good times. To try and explain music is nearly impossible. Music is not meant to be explained, but rather experienced.

    There are times that music can express what we feel when words fail us. Music is poetry put to rhythm. It is rhyme put to a steady beat. It is a power that moves and stirs the soul. It is a gift from God.

    Has music ever been therapeutic for you? Has it ever lifted your spirits? Indeed, it can lift us when we are down and bring healing to a wounded spirit. Music can enable us to lift our voices to God in praise and worship. Music is one of God’s greatest gifts. Lift your soul with music. Let it carry your thanks and praise to God in times of joy and sorrow.

  • Music Musings – Vol. 60, No. 24

    Christmas Program 2020

    Our Christmas program will look a little different this year, but will nonetheless, still capture the joys of our Savior’s birth. No doubt you will enjoy a mini movie by our kids and will agree that there is stardom in their future. Many thanks to Vance Stewart and Justin Flack who have used their uniquely creative skills to produce the Christmas Nativity story as told by our wonderful kids.

    Following the children’s Nativity will be our musical, Christmas, Night of Angels, told from the viewpoint of Mary and Joseph as they remember the events leading to the miraculous birth of Jesus, our Savior. The music will be presented by our virtual Christmas choir and live ensembles. You may view this program live or online.  If attending in person you will need to go to our website to get a free ticket for performances on Saturday, December 19 or Sunday, December 20, both at 3:00 p.m.  We hope you will plan to celebrate with us!

    The Animals of the Nativity

    The animals of the Nativity have been featured in various poems and songs. One of the most famous poems/songs starring the Christmas animals is a carol entitled The Friendly Beasts.  The text of the piece focuses on the humble contributions of the stable animals assumed present at the birth of Christ. It is sung from the perspective of the donkey who lovingly carried Mary on her long journey to Bethlehem, the cow who donated the manger in which Christ lay, the sheep who gave up his wool for the swaddling clothes, and the dove who gently sang the Christ child to sleep on the night of His birth. Each verse begins with the refrain “I, said the donkey, shaggy and brown,” or “I, said the sheep with the curly horn,” and the carol’s last verse runs as follows:

    Thus every beast by some glad spell,

    in the stable dark was glad to tell

    Of the gift he gave Emmanuel.

    The gift he gave Emmanuel.

    Another poem that gives perspective from the eyes of the animals is The Nativity by C.S. Lewis. Lewis cites the various virtues of the animals in response to the presence of the Christ child – wishing to be able to respond to Christ’s presence with the virtues which symbolically belong to these same animals.

    Among the oxen (like an ox I’m slow)

    I see a glory in the stable grow

    Which, with the ox’s dullness might at length

    Give me an ox’s strength.

    Among the asses (stubborn I as they)

    I see my Saviour where I looked for hay;

    So may my beastlike folly learn at least

    The patience of a beast.

    Among the sheep (I like a sheep have strayed)

    I watch the manger where my Lord is laid;

    Oh that my baa-ing nature would win thence

    Some woolly innocence!

  • Music Musings – Vol. 60, No. 22

    God’s People – Musicians

    “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts,” (Colossians 3:16).

    God loves music! Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people are often found singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments.

    Psalm 150 invites us to celebrate life’s trials and triumphs by making music. There were many musicians at work throughout Scripture. Some were professional musicians hired to lead worship at the temple. Others simply played instruments to bring joy into the lives of the people listening. Music was used to celebrate special religious festivals and to announce important news. Music brought joy at wedding feasts and soothed mourners at funerals. And we all remember the story of David playing music to calm angry King Saul. Music is used to bring hope through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

    Psalms of Hope:

    “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways,” (Psalm 91:11).

    “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more,” (Psalm 17:14).

    Hymn of hope

    Ponder on this song and make it your own testimony in tough times:

    The Solid Rock (originally titled The Immutable Basis of a Sinner’s Hope)

    My HOPE is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

    I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

     On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.

     When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace;

    In every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil.

     On Christ the solid Rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.

    Spiritual Song of Hope:

    My Hope is in You by Third Day

    My hope is in You.

    Show me Your way

    Guide me in truth

    In all my days.

    My hope is You

    Oh, Lord

    The theme of hope is easy to find in all genres of Christian music. Music taps into the depths of our souls and helps us express the wide range of our emotions. Thank God for music!

  • Music Musings – Vol. 60, No. 21

    The Power of Music

    “And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. But now bring me a musician.” Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him,” (2 Kings 3:14-15).

    Three kings came to the prophet Elisha asking for God’s help and guidance. Their armies were stuck in the dry desert, facing a thirsty death before they ever got to battle. Elisha had no respect for the kings of Israel, but because of the presence of Jehoshaphat, he agreed to seek God for their need.

    When Elisha sought God for a prophetic word to speak to the three kings, he said, “now bring me a musician.” It was remarkable that when Elisha wanted to become more sensitive to the leading and speaking of the Holy Spirit, he asked for the service of a musician.

    We know that Elisha was annoyed when the king of Israel first approached him on this matter (2 Kings 3:13). Perhaps this troubled his mind and spirit, and he needed some calm awareness of the potential of music. He sought to spiritually build up himself through “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” (Colossians 3:16).

    We don’t know the name of the musician, but when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he prophesied, bringing a promise of deliverance to the three kings. The musician probably never thought that God would use his music to bring a great spiritual and military victory. Yet the musician did what he could do and God used it, and in at least a small way it helped to change history.

    Our God is a singing God who loves music, (Zephaniah 3:17). We are made in God’s image, so we have a natural attraction to music. We can do ourselves much spiritual good by listening to God-honoring music and by worshiping Him in song. Make use of this great, wonderful, God-given spiritual resource.

  • Music Musings – Vol. 60, No. 20

    Hymn Sing – A Throwback!

    Did you ever attend a hymn sing? Up in North Central Missouri where I am from, our Linn County Baptist Association held a hymn sing in one of the Linn County Baptist churches each month. These “sings” usually featured hymns built around special themes and were well attended by people who just loved singing hymns. I was pretty young, but still remember these events as very joyous occasions and since my mother who served as Associational Music Director planned each event, it was never disputed that I would be in attendance often participating in the special music numbers. So much for reminiscing!

    I haven’t been to a hymn sing in years, but when our Friendship Choir did some “hymn caroling” during Impact Week the old classic hymns were so well received that it seemed others might enjoy and receive a blessing from a hymn sing event.

    So, come join us on October 11 at 3:00 p.m. in our courtyard for a good ole Hymn Sing! Please bring your own lawn chairs and your voice to sing praises. The Friendship Choir will be leading us in hymns, and we would love to have you join in on the singing! Can’t wait to see you there!

    Why Do We Sing?

    A good friend shared this article with me, and I thought you would enjoy.

    “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,”  Ephesians 5:18-19.

    Why do people sing? The nineteenth century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow may have said it best: “Music is the universal language of mankind.” Even when our spoken words cannot be understood, music can bridge a gap where our words often fail. Joy, sorrow, fear, exaltation, praise, energy – every facet of life can be reflected in music. And when our spoken words that edify and communicate to the heart, all the better.

    Why do we sing songs in church? The Early Church did so because of the Jewish culture of singing the Psalms in worship. But why did Israel sing? Because they were human and needed to pour out their hearts to God in praise, confession, petition, and love. We also sing in corporate worship because Paul instructed us to praise God with “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” (Ephesians 5:19). Corporate worship, especially with music, focuses our attention on the Savior we serve.

    Do you invest your whole heart in corporate worship in church? Worship is our “sacrifice of praise” to the Lord, (Hebrews 13:15)?

    “My ready tongue makes haste to sing the glories of my heavenly King.” – Charles Wesley

  • Music Musings – Vol. 60, No. 19

    Children’s Nativity

    Our children’s Nativity presentation is one of our Christmas performance items that is absolutely a favorite.

    This year’s presentation will be in a different format in order to maintain safety and social distancing. Children will be able to participate in person or virtually, depending on your family comfort level. Please respond to Tara (tara@feefeebc.org) to let us know of your preference.  We look forward to hearing from you as we plan this favorite Christmas feature.

    Handbells Anyone?

    What an interesting few months we have experienced! There are still a lot of unknowns, but the general consensus is that in music making the use of small groups is better than large groups. So – handbells may be considered a very safe avenue for making music. Handbell players can easily wear masks and gloves and socially distance.

    I recently came across arrangements requiring 3-6 players. Many are geared toward Christmas themes. Please indicate your interest in participating by sending an email to Tara (tara@feefeebc.com). This would be a wonderful opportunity to share your gift for making music as we approach the Christmas season.