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Heyo!
If you're new here, welcome to Euphor!a, an eclectic newsletter about worship and music and everything in between. And if you aren't, welcome back!
It's the start of a brand new year – which is probably also the time when we make new resolutions.
Some of us may resolve to do better in school – to work harder and get better results. Some of us may resolve to love our friends more and spend more intentional effort caring for them. Some of us may resolve to spend more time with our families. Some of us may simply resolve to be happier.
But here's a proposition: let's resolve to rest more.
What? Rest more? But what about all the things I could be doing in that rest time? See, the thing about us humans is that rest isn't instinctive for us. We often get caught up doing things, so much so that God had to remind us: remember the Sabbath. To rest, we have to trust that God will take care of everything for us. He asks us to cast our yokes upon Him when we are weary and burdened (Matt 11:28, 1 Pet 5:7), and it takes faith on our part to know that He will deliver on His promise to carry our burdens for us.
Psalm 46:10 reads: "He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'" I think it would be good for us (myself included) to find that rest in God, and in that clarity, we can see God for who He is. We can then cast our cares upon Him, knowing that He is so much bigger than any problem we could ever have. Isn't that incredible?
– alvin(:
Spontaneous worship is a mode of worship that we've been exploring recently (especially in the GINK series), and indeed, in Isaiah 42:10, we are commanded to sing a new song: "Sing to the Lord a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth!" I think Kevin Cook does a fantastic job explaining how it is that we can express our worship in such a manner. This article sheds a bit of light on what happens behind the scenes to make spontaneous worship possible, and why this spontaneity should really be the standard in our worship.
Bethel Music Moment: No Longer Slaves + Spontaneous
One of the churches that have the most powerful and prophetic worship ministries is Bethel, and I have learnt much just from watching them worship. This is one of my favourite spontaneous moments of their worship, where the spontaneous song sung was anchored with a release of the Word (Rom 8). If you are looking for somewhere to pick up a spontaneous worship culture from, this is a fantastic place to start.
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Kings Kaleidoscope – Dreams
Kings Kaleidoscope writes music with fantastical instrumentations and unconventional arrangements, and every one of their songs is a treat to the ears. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what genre their music is, but I'm gonna go with eclectic alt-rock. Kinda. "Dreams" (off their first full-length album) talks about what happens when we see the extent to which God loves us, and its music video is simply a cinematographic masterpiece in creativity and polishedness. I would also like to point you to "Felix Culpa" ("happy fault" in Latin), which talks about Jesus' sacrifice in a vivid manner that is supported by incredible music – just watch the band play together. It will seriously blow your mind.
Also by Kings Kaleidoscope: Felix Culpa, 139
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Unspoken – Start a Fire
There's something about the music by Unspoken that makes you wanna clap and sing along – it kinda has a hint of Southern flavour mixed into the strength of a traditional rock song, and has a sort of communal sound that is immediately attractive and inviting. "Start a Fire" is an epitomic of this, with its easy groove and catchy melody, and sounds as if you could sing it as a campfire song. The lyrics talk about igniting a passion for God and His will and are sincere and undecorated in their delivery, which is particularly refreshing for this song. Their other songs include "Bury the Workmen", which is about Christian martyrdom – I mean seriously, how many other songs are there that even broach this topic?!
Also by Unspoken: Bury the Workmen, Good Fight
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I am excited for what this new year has to offer, and I hope you are too. It feels as if we are on the cusp of something wonderful – so let's press in and seek that. I know that splitting into four teams has been tiring (to say the least), but hey, God never shortchanges us, so I'm sure it will be a time of vigorous growth and faith-building. Jiayous!
Over and out!
EUPHOR!A // ISSUE 07 // JAN–FEB 2016