Category: Church

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Church Congregational Songs Demos Hymn tunes

Hosanna in the Highest! (UNIQUE CROWN)

Update 3/16/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

Sometimes you just have to go with an idea. Here’s what that looked like for me today:

The color-coordinated Covid-ready worship leader!

11:15am The church organist and I had a brief conversation about tunes for “Ride On! Ride On in Majesty!” We both agreed that none was quite right and that’s why the text appears with so many different tunes. (For the record, our church is live-streaming–not meeting in person–and I wore a mask and practiced proper social distancing.)

11:30am I think, “Frankly, there just aren’t a lot of great Palm Sunday hymns”

11:35am I muse, “I should write one,” which was followed quickly by, “I’ve had a note in my compositional to-do list to write new music for my text “Hosanna in the Highest!” which was originally paired with the Jewish folk tune “The King of Glory Comes.”

11:45am Sit down at the piano and start writing. Hmm, this is kind of working: echoes of “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna,” a rousing chorus with narrative verses (perfect for palm processions), a lyrical progression that moves toward Jerusalem. This could be something.

12:00pm Eat a banana and grapefruit to tide me over.

12:15pm Enter the music in Finale and begin laying down tracks in Logic Pro.

3:00pm Do I really play trombone so little that my lips turn to water playing four parts of a hymn? I’ve got no more to give.

3:30pm Epic bike ride with my boys.

And so, my friends, I present to you my quickly written and recorded Palm Sunday hymn, exactly 12 hours too late to be of any use to anyone until next year. I may still do a little editing on it, but I’d be glad to supply music to those who ask nicely.

One final note: I’ve named the hymn tune “UNIQUE CROWN.” Can anyone guess why?

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Hosanna in the highest!
Hail the One who saves us!
O blessed is the One who brings
the kingdom of David.

1. Who is the King of kings? The Lord God Almighty.
God’s reign is coming; it is on the horizon. (Refrain)

2. Who, then, may enter in? The One who is holy.
Open the gates for the procession of glory. (Refrain)

3. Who is this King who greets his people so meekly?
Riding a donkey past the crowds as they’re cheering. (Refrain)

4. This is the day the Lord has made, lift your voices.
Hail him who saves! Hail him with palms and rejoicing. (Refrain)

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Church Congregational Songs Demos

Jesus, You Are Here

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “shelter in place” order took effect at midnight, March 24, 2020, in the hopes of slowing the spread of the coronavirus. When I woke this morning, I considered how quickly the world changes. People all over Michigan–all over the world–are finding themselves confined to their homes. Maybe they’re dreading the silence. Maybe they can’t imagine getting through a whole day with all their children at home. Maybe they’ll lie awake at night worrying about their loved ones getting sick.

This simple song, dubbed “a hymn for sheltering in place” reminds us that Jesus walks with us during these times.

The YouTube video was recorded with my sons the day I wrote the song. In the MP3 above I get the melody right! If you want to download a leadsheet or piano arrangement, go here: https://gregscheer.com/product/jesus-you-are-here/

On my longest day,
in my darkest night,
Jesus, please be near.
On my longest day,
in my darkest night,
Jesus, you are here.

You are with me,
you are with me
every hour of every day.
You are with me,
you are with me,
Jesus, you are here.
Jesus, you are here.

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Church Congregational Songs Contests Finale demo Hymn tunes

CHARMING FOURTH

Update 12/14/21: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

I don’t enter hymn contests as obsessively as I used to, but when I do, I usually lose. My entry into the Eastman School of Music’s hymn tune contest battled with 131 other contestants and fell to fellow Grand Rapids composer, Larry Visser.

My tune is called CHARMING FOURTH, because I wrote and rejected three other tunes; they say the third time’s the charm, but I was hoping for an exception to that rule. The tune went with a text called “Out of Silence, Music Rises” by Carl Daw. It’s really lovely and I hope he reads this blog post, falls in love with my tune, and declares me the unofficial winner. I’d like that.

If you’d like to play through the tune at the keyboard, you can get it at the link above.

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Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2020 Hymn tunes

T. L. Moody: Will Rise in Spring

Update 1/10/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

Another collaboration with Tammy Moody. Like many of her songs, this one features vivid images of nature. In this, she takes us through the seasons, ultimately connecting spring’s budding new life to our hope of resurrection in Christ.

Besides writing wonderful lyrics, Tammy is also a professional photographer. She took this photo of the yellow boat. (You can read about the meaning of the boat in the previous post.)

1. Spent blossoms fall and then are swept away.
Light lingers late, as longer grows the day.
Sweet May’s near done, as are the cooler eves;
as spring wanes, the summer comes with plums and leaves.

2. Green shoot unfurls to welcome sun’s embrace;
so, turn my heart and bask in warming grace.
Join, too, my voice with larks in ceaseless praise,
and join stream, join meadow where the young lambs graze.

3. Crisp fall’s red leaves are fading now to brown;
Soon, skiffs of snow will kiss the sleeping ground.
Through brittle winds the breath of winter brings
and I pray what lies in earth will rise in spring.

4. I praise the One who paints the sunsets’ hues.
I praise the One who tints the lilac blue.
I join my voice with song creation sings:
For in Christ, what lies in earth will rise in spring.

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Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2020 Hymn tunes

T. L. Moody: Hands Come Gleaning.

Update 1/10/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

Tammy Moody wrote the lyrics for this new song. I love the way she ties together images of harvesting the land, social justice, and the Lord’s Supper. The more connections we can make between what we do in worship and in the world, the better.

Tammy also took the picture of a boat. Why a boat, you ask? As we discussed the relationship between words and music, she told me about someone who said lyrics are like a boat: they need music like a boat needs water; once the two come together, their journey. begins.

1. O give us eyes to see them,
forgotten bits of grain
discarded in the harvest
as chaff upon the plain

O let our hands come gleaning
the lonely little ones,
so precious in your eyes, Lord,
it’s you who bid them, “Come”

We gather them to you, Lord,
to celebrate your feast
For such as these, your children,
O let our love increase.

2. O give us ears to hear them,
faint, pleading, hungry cries
from outcast souls and beggars
before we hurry by

O let us go to seek them
until the last is found
and mercy’s hands not tiring
‘til all their wounds are bound

We gather them to you, Lord,
to celebrate your feast
For both the babe and beggar,
O, let our love increase.

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Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2020

It Is Finished!

Update: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

The 7th and final song of The Seven Last Words series is “It is finished.” (John 19:30). These were the final words Christ uttered as he died. It is important to note that the word he used is not one that means “That’s it–I’m done” but a word of completion. His work complete, he gave himself to death.

The crux of Christianity (pun intended) is Christ’s work on the cross. Let’s rest entirely on Christ for our salvation and life.

There is nothing we can do
to add to what you’ve done.
The sacrifice, complete–
the fullness of God’s love.

“It is finished!” “It is finished!”
were our Lord’s last words of pain.
“It is finished!” “It is finished!”
will forever be our theme.
In Christ we are redeemed.

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Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2020

I Trust My Soul to You

Update 10/2/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

This is #6 of The Seven Last Words, in which Jesus says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46) In the drama of the crucifixion, these words meant, “I’m ready to die.” But there is another layer of meaning, for Jesus and for us: Jesus committed himself–trusted his whole being–to God’s care. That should be our posture, too, both in our living and our dying.

To you, O Lord, I trust my soul.
I trust my soul to you.

My Refuge, with my last breath
I will call to you.
My Savior with my last breath
I will worship you.

Categories
Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2020

May We Thirst in You

Update 10/2/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

“I thirst” is the 5th word from the cross and the 5th song in my series of songs on The Seven Last Words. As I contemplated this short sentence, I was struck by a few things. First, Jesus–though God–still felt all the physical needs of being human, in this case, thirst. But that thirst points out a deeper spiritual question: How can the One who described himself as “Living Water” be thirsty?

I was always taught that having a relationship with Jesus would fill the “God-shaped vacuum” in my soul–my journey would be over and all the longings of my heart would be filled. I’m not so sure about that anymore. In fact, it feels like faith is simply the beginning of a journey on which there will be both thirsting and quenching.

The fact that Jesus felt his thirst in the midst of salvation’s work leads me to believe that it’s okay for me to continue to feel restless even as I have peace; unsatisfied, yet fulfilled.

1. Lord, you are the only well
From which living water flows;
But you were thirsty, too.
You were thirsty, too.

O Jesus when we thirst,
May we thirst in you.

2. We drink and the living streams
Well up within our souls,
Yet we are thirsty, too.
We are thirsty, too.

O Jesus when we thirst,
May we thirst in you.

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Choir Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2020

Love One Another

Update 10/6/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

#3 in the “Seven Last Words of Christ” series. The Gospel of John tells the story this way: “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:25-27)

It is touching that Jesus was taking care of his mother even while he was dying, but it is not surprising; John’s Gospel is all about love, from the famous “for God so loved the world” to the new commandment of the last supper, “love one another.” So a song about these last words of Christ should make us consider who our family is and how we can love them best.

Here is your son.
Here is your mother.
Here is your sister, father, and brother.
Hear Christ’s command:
love one another.
Love one another.

Categories
Choir Church Congregational Songs Demos FAWM 2020

By Your Side

Update 10/6/20: Sheet music for this song can be downloaded here.

“By Your Side” is song #2 in my Seven Last Words of Christ series. This one is based on Luke 23:43 “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” We understand what these words mean when Jesus speaks them to a criminal dying next to him on a cross, but what do they mean for us today? In this song, we respond to Christ’s words with dedication: Yes, Lord, we want to be with you in life and death, in paradise or cross.

May we remain with you,
Lord, when the day is o’er.
For we desire nothing more
than to be by your side,
than to be by your side,
O Lord.