Category Archives: Church

Psalm 56: O God, in Mercy Look to Me (Carlill)

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Greg Scheer

I came back again to Adam Carlill’s Psalms for the Common Era, this time his version of Psalm 56. This Psalm is a plea for mercy when being hotly pursued by enemies. Have you ever felt like David did when … Continue reading →

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My Days Are in Your Hands, two versions

Posted on January 4, 2021 by Greg Scheer

It seems that my recently written “My Days Are in Your Hands” was timely. A number of people downloaded it for use in their New Year’s services. One of those was was Joel Jupp, who recorded this beautiful rendition for … Continue reading →

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My Days Are in Your Hands

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Greg Scheer

Matt Mulder is preaching from Ecclesiastes 3 this Sunday. Thanks, Matt… Of course, one always thinks of the Byrds’ iconic “Turn! Turn! Turn!” in relation to this scripture passage, but Matt will be teasing out a New Year/Old Year theme: … Continue reading →

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The Peaceable Kingdom

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Greg Scheer

This song started its life a few years ago at the Christmas songwriting retreat that produced Refugee King, Jesus Be Enough, and Tiny King. The page of sketches had “Peaceful Revolution” scribbled at the top, a phrase I still like. … Continue reading →

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Psalm 53: Fools Deny Their God within Them (Carlill)

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Greg Scheer

I returned to Adam Carlill’s excellent Psalms for the Common Era to get his take on the difficult Psalm 53. This Psalm (and its nearly identical twin, Psalm 14) is full of rancor, claiming that foolish humans are godless, corrupt, … Continue reading →

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Jesus Cristo, esperança do mundo/Jesus Christ, Hope of the World

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Greg Scheer

This fall, I was commissioned to write an arrangement of the lovely Brazilian milonga, “Jesus Cristo, experança do mundo.” It premiered last night in the second installment of Calvin University’s four-part Lessons and Carols. The whole program was lovely and … Continue reading →

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Psalm 6: Lord, My God, Do Not Contend (Carlill)

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Greg Scheer

A few weeks ago, a friend recommended Psalms for the Common Era, a collection of 150 Psalm versifications by Adam Carlill. It is a lovely collection that strikes a fine balance between faithfulness to the Hebrew texts and singability for … Continue reading →

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I Will Not Let You Go

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Greg Scheer

What do you do when your pastor decides to preach on Genesis 32:22-31? Sure, the story of Jacob’s late night wrestling match with a stranger (man? angel? God?) is a common Old Testament story, but there simply aren’t a lot … Continue reading →

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By Blessed Wounds (T.L. Moody)

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Greg Scheer

Tammy Moody wrote a lovely text about trusting God to be a good father rather than a vengeful or cruel one. She and I have discussed the fact that using the image of God as Father is quite out of … Continue reading →

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Ask the Complicated Questions (David Bjorlin)

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Greg Scheer

It seems that Dave and I grew up in similar church contexts, where easy answers were dished out with as much relish as jello salad at a Sunday potluck. Unfortunately, those easy answers overlooked the subtleties of real life, used … Continue reading →

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