prayerbookproject

concert this wednesday

I will be performing a concert of songs from the Prayerbook Project this coming Wednesday night at First Christian Reformed Church in Vancouver, BC. This will be my first concert in Vancouver (since 2001) and I will be singing songs from both Prayerbook, no. 1 and what will hopefully become Prayerbook, no. 2 at some point next year. Trevor Vanderveen just finished up a sermon series on the psalms and I am going to do my best not to mess up his solid teaching. I hope to see you there.

Brian Moss and songs from the Prayerbook Project
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
1st Christian Reformed Church
2670 Victoria Drive - Vancouver, BC
7:30 PM

psalms in worship

I was recently interviewed for an article published by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. (One note of clarification, Bryan Burton was at JKPC for 11 years. I was there for 9.) It is a good article that tells of the way the psalms have been a part of the contemporary worshiping church. Read more HERE.

in the morning

Andy Crouch led worship at the National Pastor's Convention last week and played my song, In The Morning. I have received some emails in regards to this song, based on Psalm 5, and I am including the song materials here for you to use freely.

In The Morning from Psalm 5

In the morning, I come to you, with everything and all I am
I am waiting at the altar for your fire to descend
There is nothing I can give you that is worthy of the way
In the morning, I come to you, O Lord, hear me as I pray

I the morning of your mercy, I will bow before the King
I lay before you all the pieces of my broken offering
You consume me, burning through me, it is better to obey
In the morning of your mercy, O Lord, hear me as I pray

In the morning you are faithful to destroy the evil one
And the wicked, you will blind them with the scorching of the sun
All the liars, truth defiers, to the grave where they will stay
In the morning you are faithful, O Lord, hear me as I pray

In the morning of your glory You will lead the chosen home
Through the promise of Messiah all your love will be made known
You are holy, forever holy, living one eternal day
In the morning of your glory, O Lord, hear me as I pray

In The Morning chord chart

In The Morning lead sheet

In The Morning MP3

The song is released under the Creative Commons license. Or, to be more specific, Creative Commons (Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States).

Prayerbook #1 (new songs inspired by the psalms)

Here are all of the songs from Prayerbook #1 for download.

Joy Will Come To You from Psalm 1
Kiss The Son from Psalm 2
Arise, O Lord from Psalm 3
I Will Lie Down from Psalm 4
In The Morning from Psalm 5
Heal Me from Psalm 6
I Hide Myself In You from Psalm 7
Glory On Display from Psalm 8
I Worship You from Psalm 9
You Are The Only Hope from Psalm 10
To See Your Face from Psalm 11
I Will Rise Up from Psalm 12
How Long? from Psalm 13
Not Even One from Psalm 14
Only Believe from Psalm 15

All songs released via Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States

the toolbox

I have begun writing songs for what will hopefully become Prayerbook, No. 2. The songs will come from Psalms 16-30 and it definitely feels like the pressure is on. Where the pressure is coming from I'm not sure. I guess me. There is some added pressure due to the fact that some of the most beloved and/or well-known psalms come from this set. It takes some effort not to spend more time with some than others, but to try and approach them all from the same direction. Of course, you don't want to go to the extreme and take your own experience out of the process or the songs have the meaning sucked out of them. I think the thing that was most powerful in my experience of writing Prayerbook, No. 1 was the way in which the Psalms connected to my life through song. Something almost mystical (a scary word for some of us) happens when the prayers of the bible become our own prayers.

Eugene Peterson has referred to the Psalms as a toolbox. Until we take the tools out of the box and use them in our own lives we don't fully understand their significance and impact. I cannot tell you how many times I have tried (and failed) to read through the Psalms (at 5 a day) in a month. It is much easier for me to just sit there and keep reading. It is the daily discipline that throws me off. I don't have a regular time. Maybe that is a result of the season of life I'm currently living or maybe I'm just lazy. So far this month I'm off to a pretty good start, but there have already been a couple of days where I had to make up for the day before. My intention in writing this is not to boast of any accomplishment or even to say, "Hey...don't you admire my intention?" I only write this here to share the struggle.

In talking with friends of mine I get that sense that we all struggle with reading the bible consistently. There is life in the Word! We can make it another burden to be checked off our list or we can realize it for the gift that it is. God has revealed himself to us! Is that not incredible? This post is starting to sound like a transcript from a pep rally in my mind. Why do I need to psych myself up in order to get into all of this? Why do other things seem to be so much more attractive? Why do I so easily stray from the road that leads to life? Why I am writing all of this here? Because unless I'm living in the words of the Word I won't be able to write any words of my own. I won't have anything to respond to. I'm afraid one of the main reasons I have committed myself to go through this writing process is for selfish reasons. I guess I needed to create some kind of structure that would allow me to stay with the Psalms.

OK, back to where I started. So far I have written a total of six words for what will eventually become a song inspired by Psalm 16. I'm well on my way! Prayerbook, No. 2 will be here before you know it!

goodtheology.com

Prayerbook, no. 1 is now available at www.goodtheology.com! Does this mean my theology is good?

015 Only Believe

My sister, Christy, is getting married this Sunday. Amidst the craziness that a weekend like this can bring I am trying to finish a song for the wedding. Somewhere along the way I developed a reputation for writing wedding songs for those closest to me and it is getting harder and harder to live up to. I do have a couple of ideas and am holding on to hope that I'll be able to get something together in time. As I reflect on this last song from Prayerbook, no. 1 I think it pretty much sums up everything I want to say. But of course simply using this song would not be good enough. The whole idea is putting together something original for a once in a lifetime moment. Which is never easy.

"Only Believe" comes from Psalm 15 (with a cameo by Mark 5:36).

015 Only Believe

Walk the straight line
Do what is right
Speak of the truth
Stay in the light

Be a good friend
Don't shift the blame
Hold to your word
Make a good name

Give of yourself
As you receive
Don't be afraid
Only believe

Copyright 2005 Parson John Publishing (ASCAP), by Brian Moss

014 Not Even One

Cheer up. You're worse than you think.
                                                          Jack Miller

Psalm 14 is apparently so important to the message of the Psalms that it is repeated in Psalm 53. The theme is our inability to do anything good. At all. Not even one of us. We need a Savior!

We need a Savior! I spend most of my time oblivious to this fact. I think most people consider humankind to have some bit of inherent good within it. But we have all fallen short and without the grace of God we are incapable of anything redeemable. At the same time, through Christ, we can do anything. The extremes are more radical than any of us could imagine. But even in the midst of the worst situations we have hope.

As I pause to read these words they seem so foolish. Have I been living in a grand deception? I don't think so. This is really life and death stuff. Psalm 14 tells us that the real fool is the one who says in his heart, "there is no God". These are not easy words to read, pray or sing.

014 Not Even One

"God is dead", the fool said, and we all bought the lie
To know the truth requires proof and still we would deny

God looked down and all around there was no one to bleed
For holiness need holiness and we are not indeed

Of all the daughters
Of all the sons
No one is good
Not even one

Eat the bread until you're dead, consuming flesh and bone
When will we learn the life we burn has always been our own

Of all the daughters
Of all the sons
No one is good
Not even one

But there is hope among the poor
For those still waiting on the Lord

Deliverer, come set us free, send your love and we'll believe.

Copyright 2005, Parson John Publishing (ASCAP) by Brian Moss

013 How Long?

Man and Young Daughter die in shootout with Police
Bombs in London are now called Military Quality
Priest is barred from ministry
Editor of children's paper arrested on sex charges
Bank robbers blaming trauma of Sept. 11 attacks
Suicide bomb rips through Israeli mall
Florida residents assess hurricane damage

013 How Long? (from Psalm 13)

How long? How long, O Lord? How long will you forget me?
How long? How long, O Lord? How long will you hide your face?
How long? How long, O Lord? How long to fight with myself?
How long? How long, O Lord? How long to live in disgrace?

But I will wait on your love
I will wait on your love
I will wait on your love, I will wait

How long? How long, O Lord? How long will you forget me?
How long? How long, O Lord? How long will you hide your face?
How long? How long, O Lord? How long to fight with myself?
How long? How long, O Lord? How long to live in disgrace?

But I will trust in your love
I will trust in your love
I will trust in you love, I will trust

And I will sing of your love
I will sing of your love
I will sing of your love, I will sing

Copyright 2005, Parson John Publishing (ASCAP), by Brian Moss

ccm rezis

Prayerbook, no. 1 was just reviewed by Monica Seidler of CCM Rezis. I think it is interesting that one of the first reviews of the record is written in German being that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the primary reasons I got started doing this in the first place.

Read the review/interview HERE.