Good Friday and the Suffering Servant

Tomorrow I have the honor of preaching one of three mini sermons at Calvary’s Good Friday service. This is a somber reflection on Christ’s journey from the communion table to the cross, focusing on His choice to be our suffering servant.

If you are free we would love to see you there:

Good Friday Service
7pm
Calvary Baptist Church in Bristol
250 Green Ln, Bristol, PA 19007
https://www.calvarybristol.org/

Hymn of the Month: Were You There

Welcome to April, spring, and the Easter season. This month we are looking at one of the great spirituals, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord”. The repeated rhetorical question “were you there?” will keep bringing us back to Calvary as we sing.

May this song be an encouragement for you and your family as we prepare our hearts for Easter.

If you would like to play this arrangement yourself check out the song page here.

New Song: Christ The Hope of Glory

2021 was a year full of challenges but also a year full of growth. I didn’t post many songs during 2021 because there was a lot of growth going on, both personally and musically.

Musically, I’ve been blessed to be a part of the Getty’s Hymn Writing Collective. In this group I’ve learned so much from my fellow hymn writers. Perhaps one of the best things to come from it is a new appreciation and taste for poetry. I would like to think that my lyrics have moved from “good” to “soul stirring” but I guess you will be the judge of that.

Personally, I became a father in 2021 and oh boy is that life changing. Before becoming a father I could not imagine the joys, the worries, or the sleepless nights that come with parenthood.

It was just before Lily was born that Lindsey and I read through Colossians. In there I was struck by the verse “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). That idea, that Christ is the Hope of Glory, stuck with me.

A little bit later I learned that our church would be going through a series in Colossians in the new year.

This new song, “Christ the Hope of Glory”, is a reflection on the book of Colossians, focusing on Christ as our strength and hope. He is the reason we can get through today and the joy that sustains us for all eternity.

I this song encourages you and if you want the lead sheet you can find it here.

If you enjoyed this song please consider supporting The Worshiping Songwriter. You can donate here or visit our merch store here. Your support goes a long way in keeping TWS online.

Hymn of the Month: Be Thou My Vision (All That I Long For)

Welcome to March! With a new month comes a new hymn. We’re currently going through a series in Colossians at my church with a focus on the preeminence of Christ. With that in mind, my Pastor suggested that “Be Thou My Vision” would be a good fit for the series.

Seeing as this is one of my favorite hymns I wouldn’t argue.

May this beautiful song encourage you this month, pointing your affections and hopes towards Christ.

Sonnet: The Quiet Morning Hours Call for Prayer

I remember being in a high school creative writing class where I was assigned to write a sonnet. Back then I was a little hard headed and strong willed, which is just a nice way of saying I was really annoying, and I thought that anything but freeform poetry would “cramp my style”.

Now, as I struggle to find the right words for my songs, these poetic forms help me get words onto the page. Knowing that I need 3 stanzas with an ABAB CDCD EFEF rhyming pattern and then a GG couplet frees me from the terrors of choice paralysis. I don’t need to worry about finding the right form, I already have the form, now I can focus on the words.

I’ve only written one full sonnet before (I never did complete the one in high school) so I decided to try my hand at it again. Here’s what came out of the exercise. I hope you enjoy.

The quiet morning hours call for prayer
What man could face the day without his God?
What strength could earthly pain and toils bear?
My strength will only prove that I am flawed

And should I hide my hope in worldly vaults
The dawning sun will prove those hopes are false
For night conceals the robbers swift assault
That plunders all within these feeble walls

What treasure lasts beyond the test of time?
What gold will go with me beyond the grave?
Will striving fill this empty vault of mine?
Or working this poor image bearer save?

Oh lord lead me to rest before your throne
That I may store my hope in you alone

“The Quiet Morning Hours Call for Prayer” by Dan Loch

Help! The worship team is playing an Instrumental… What do I do?

We’ve all been there. We’re about 2/3rds of the way through the medium paced song. The verses were nice, the chorus was nice, but then BAM! The band is now playing an instrumental (most likely its just the chorus chords with instruments playing the melody instead of the voices singing). It sounds great, but what am I supposed to do out here in the congregation?

Some might cry “heresy!” Instruments are of the devil of course, just like Psalm 150 says. Others, probably musicians like me who are looking to proof text guitar solos into a Sunday morning service, might counter with “Hold on! You see those Psalms with a ‘selah’? Its possible that a ‘selah’ is an instrumental break in the Psalm. Therefore guitar solos are Biblical!” It may or may not be mentioned that the commentators usually end this possible interpretation with “but we really don’t know what ‘selah’ means”.

Still, whether they are heresy or divinely inspired modes of worship, you are going to run into an instrumental break in your worship service sooner or later (or even an entire instrumental song, like this beautiful setting of Psalm 42 by our very own Eden Eskaros). Here are four things you can do to stay engaged even when you’re not singing.

1. Confession

Confession and repentance are crucial to worship. How can we worship a God that we are actively rebelling against? It is possible that your minister has already led a corporate confession but this is a great time to engage in personal confession. While the instruments are playing take time to confess who God is. He is holy, just, righteous, good, loving, and so much more. Then confess your sins knowing that He is both just and faithful to forgive them (1 John 1:9).

At first, confession might seem like a depressing exercise but those who practice confession regularly will find the opposite is true. When we see how holy God is and how fallen we are we gain a greater appreciation for His love and forgiveness. This then leads us to deeper, more heartfelt worship.

2. Prayer

Take this time to pray. Pray for anything. Give thanks that you got out of bed and made it to church. Ask God to comfort your friends who are going through a hard time. Plead with God that He would give the worship leader enough wisdom to abstain from instrumentals during worship. Any amount of prayer is a great way to stay engaged during one of those breaks in the singing.

3. Reflection

Specifically, reflect on the words you just sang and, if you know them, the words you are about to sing. When you sang “I surrender all” was that a true statement? Or is it something you want to be true? You’re about to sing “then sings my soul my savior God to thee, how great thou art”. Does your soul feel that? Or are you singing it through the pain and the emptiness?

If the Psalms show us anything its that God is not afraid of your self-reflection. He wants you to come to Him with your joys, your victories, your heartbreaks, your longings, and even your pains (see Psalm 22:1). Don’t hide from what’s going on inside. Take this time to reflect so that you can worship from a place of honesty.

4. Admiration

Now as much as I like hearing “Oh wow! Dan you’re such an amazing guitar player!” that’s not the type of admiration I’m talking about (nor should it be the praise given during a worship service, but that’s another article). Even admiration of the music itself falls short of holy admiration.

For holy admiration, let the excellence of the creation lead you to admire the creator. God could have created a bland world where all food tastes the same, all notes sound the same, and everything was the same color (I’m sorry if you suffer from any conditions where these are true). Instead He created a world with variety and that variety can bring so much joy and pleasure.

As you experience the joys of creation (assuming this instrumental is a joy to listen to), give praise and admiration to the Creator.

Hopefully these four tips help the next time you find yourself trapped in the middle of an instrumental break. Just please, don’t look at me like this guy…

New Lead Sheet and Lyric Video!

Hey all,

Happy advent season! Just wanted to let you know that we have a new lyric video and lead sheet up for “Glory To God In The Highest”. I only got one take of the song while Lily was napping. Thankfully it was a good one. I hope it blesses you this Christmas and if it does please leave a comment.

Also, if you are in need of sheet music this Christmas don’t forget that The Worshiping Songwriter has an affiliate link with Sheetmusicplus. Check that out here.

Quick Thoughts: Old Truth, New Voice

One of the worries I, and many other writers, have is the thought “is this original or did I steal it from someone?”. The minute after I realize the song I just wrote is actually a variation of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” is a minute of immense disappointment.

But what I have found is that if I focus on being unique then I usually end up too paralyzed to either start or continue writing. Two things have helped me overcome this paralyses and a recent thought has helped me make sense of it all.

First, not everything I write needs to be published. In fact, 90% of what I write will never see the light of day. It could be that it is genuinely bad, or just meant to be an exercise, or maybe its decent but I just don’t enjoy singing it. Whatever the reason, knowing that I don’t have to publish everything means that I am free to explore without worrying about copying someone else (just a note: don’t publish someone’s intellectual property without their consent).

Second, if I focus on pursuing excellence then I just might find something unique in the process. Great songs happen when an individual’s training, life experience, and passion intersect. I can’t fabricate uniqueness. I need to live a unique life then try to express those experiences to the best of my ability.

Last, and this is a recent thought, old truths need a new voice to carry them to the next generation. It shouldn’t surprise us when we end up copying themes, ideas, feelings, and expressions from others. Although we each live unique lives we all run into the same truths. We may perceive these truths in a different light, or we might have different feelings about them, but these truths remain whether we like them or not. The sun rises and sets, water both nourishes and destroys, we long to love and to be loved.

As time goes on these truths, and many others, stay the same but it is the new voice that compels the next generation to remember them. So ask yourself, what old truth is resonating with you right now? And can you give that truth a new voice?

One truth that resonated with me recently is the fact that God is a gracious king who longs to hear and answer His children’s prayers. He is not far off, but is near. He is not cold, but loves to give His children good gifts. Spurgeon reflected on this in his writings on Psalm 5:2 in “The Treasury of David”. Here he writes:

Observe carefully these little pronouns “my King, and my God.” They are the pith and marrow of the plea. Here is a grand argument why God should answer prayer – because He is our King and our God. We are not aliens to Him: He is the King of our country. Kings are expected to hear the appeals of their own people. We are not strangers to Him; we are His worshippers, and he is our God: ours by covenant, by promise, by oath, by blood.

Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Psalm 5:2

I read this just about the time that Lily was in the NICU after she had been born a month early. This truth resonated with me and led to the song “My King Has Heard My Cry”. To prepare for playing this song this Sunday I’ve put together a demo and a little video. Give it a listen and I hope you enjoy my attempt at giving an old truth a new voice.