The Hymn of Salvation by Grace – Music Story

There is an ancient song in the New Testament book of Titus! It is “hidden” in plain view in chapter three.

While it is not apparent in the NIV that verses four through seven are song lyrics, The Passion Translation (TPT) correctly calls these verses “The Hymn of Salvation by Grace.” The early church may have sung this hymn as part of a baptismal service. Paul says that the words are trustworthy.

The ancient songwriter used music to express this truth: we are saved by God’s grace. What was the melody like? What mode was it sung in? Was it sung in unison? Accompanied by instruments? I don’t know. Since the words are trustworthy, I offer them as a short rap, performed by percussion instruments. I will leave the melody and mode to you.

From the album “Sing” this video is scrolling playback of Titus 3:4-7 set to a beat.

Kathy

Click here to read Titus 3 in the NIV and here to read it in TPT.

Print (PDF) sheet music is available for The Hymn of Salvation by Grace.

Click here for PDF.

Time and Circumstance – Music Story

In the 1960s an ancient poem set to music became a number-one pop hit. Can you guess the song?

Some hints:

·         The poem, perhaps three thousand years old, is one of the best-known passages in the Bible.

·         The song proved that Ecclesiastes is a timeless book.

More hints:

·         Songwriter Pete Seeger incorporated the poem verbatim in the song.

·         Released as a single October 1, 1965, The Byrds cover, a folk-rock version, climbed to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts within three months of its release.

Did you guess the song? It’s Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season).

There is more to Ecclesiastes than being a number-one pop hit. Ecclesiastes is Wisdom’s search for meaning in the ordinary things of life. The conclusion?

Chapter 1: Secularism doesn’t deliver.

Chapter 2: Neither do possessions or pleasure.

Chapter 3: But, if you live your life in accord with the times and seasons God has set up, will your life have meaning?

So, Chapter 3 begins with the well-known poem, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” But there is more to Chapter 3 than the poem. Time and Circumstance is a rap, examining the entire chapter, looking for an answer.

From the album “Ecclesiastes” this video is scrolling playback of a percussion ensemble performance.

Kathy

Click here to read Ecclesiastes Chapter 3.

You can get print (PDF) and/or digital (MusicXML™) sheet music for Time and Circumstance.

Click here for print sheet music.

Click here for digital sheet music.
(MusicXML™ is the standard open format for sharing digital sheet music. Check the help files in your music notation app for directions on importing MusicXML™ files.) 

Christmas Every Day – Music Story

Everyone – naughty and nice – longs for a place that meets the deepest longings of the human heart, a place where it’s like Christmas every day of the year.

A place where there is

·         Community instead of privilege

·         Forgiveness instead of payback

·         Harmony instead of conflict

·         Intimacy instead of walls

·         Transparency instead of hidden motives

A place where bullying, violence, and sexual harassment are unknown. Thievery can’t be found. Jealousy and envy have no quarter.

A place where there are no good-byes. A place of permanent prosperity, where no one lives in squalor or want. A place of generosity. Where random acts of kindness are common place. Where there is thrill in discovery and creativity. And joy over what others have and will accomplish.

This is a place where there is no evil. Where justice and mercy are perfectly balanced. It’s God’s place. His city.  It’s out of this world, but coming soon. He promises, “Everyone who conquers will inherit all these blessings, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Those who enter, enter by his rule. “See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay everyone according to the deeds he has done. I am the A and the Z, the Beginning and the End, the First and Last. Blessed forever are all who are washing their robes, to have the right to enter in through the gates of the city and to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life.”

May you enter that city. Merry Christmas to all!

From the musical The Majesty of the Maker! this video is scrolling playback of the song.

Kathy

Click here to download 50-page PDF of the musical: book, music in lead sheet format, lyrics.

Click here and here to read about the city.

You can get print (PDF) and/or digital (MusicXML™) sheet music for Christmas Every Day.

Click here for print sheet music.

Click here for digital sheet music.
(MusicXML™ is the standard open format for sharing digital sheet music.
Check the help files in your music notation app for directions on importing MusicXML™ files.)

(Quotes are from The Living Bible.)

Guano - Music Story

Greed brings out the worst in … (you think I’m going to say “people,” don’t you?)

Robins!

Especially the ones that raise their young under our neighbor’s eaves.

When the serviceberry tree by our deck is in bloom, the robins lay their eggs.

The chicks are voracious eaters and soon fledge.

Not long after they fledge our serviceberry tree is covered with bright red berries. And robin greed kicks in!

This sordid music story is a robin tale about greed. From the album “Paper Book Colors - Songs from Nature” this video is scrolling playback of the song.

Kathy

You can get print (PDF) and/or digital (MusicXML™) sheet music for Guano.

Click here for print sheet music.

Click here for digital sheet music.
(MusicXML™ is the standard open format for sharing digital sheet music. Check the help files in your music notation app for directions on importing MusicXML™ files.)

Holy Is My King - Music Story

They said their vows and exchanged rings. My daughter was glowing. I had never seen her so happy. My son-in-law adored her, calling her his angel. He called himself a pagan.

He spent his formative years on a Native American reservation where his mother was a nurse. He grew up bare footed, with dirt floors, surrounded by poverty. But that didn’t matter because the community offered love and support. Everyone was his mother or father, sister or brother.

I had written a song for each person in my family. Now it was time to write a song for Joe. Could I write one that honored his childhood yet reflected a biblical worldview? Native Americans pass on their heritage through storytelling, singing, and dancing accompanied by drums. The drumbeat is powerful, full of emotion, and is described as haunting and beautiful. Joe’s song had to be based on Native American drum music.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah had a powerful, emotional encounter with beauty that haunted him the rest of his life. He saw God. Then he saw himself as God saw him. That encounter changed his identity and his view of the world. I wrote this song for Joe hoping that one day he, too, would encounter the God of the Bible. The story line is Isaiah’s. The music is inspired by Native American drum music.

With a pentatonic melody for vibrato voice, the song has three pushes. The lead singer in the drum introduces each push. The rest of the drum, called the second, repeats the lead. All sing the chorus, or main theme of the song. The chorus is followed by three accented drum beats called honor beats and the chorus is repeated. At the end of the last chorus the final five beats are accented. You’ll need speakers with a subwoofer to feel the power of the drums. No subwoofer? Use earphones!

From the album “Main Street – Songs for Today” this video is scrolling playback of the song.

Kathy

You can get print (PDF) and/or digital (MusicXML™) sheet music for Holy Is my King.

Click here for print sheet music.

Click here for digital sheet music.

(MusicXML™ is the standard open format for sharing digital sheet music. Check the help files in your music notation app for directions on importing MusicXML™ files.)

Click here to read Isaiah’s encounter with God.