Theme Verse:
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed...When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.                            (1 Cor 15:50-58)

Thought:  Death is not the end; death is only a per-requisite to resurrection.  Yet resurrection is something than none of us can really understand.  It is like a child in the womb trying to imagine what it would be like to breathe air, eat food, and bathe in sunlight.  It is the same for the life to come.
    The great truth is that the casket is more like a cocoon than a final resting place.  This song praises God for the hope we have in Christ of the life to come, and the taste we have of that life today.  CS Lewis says this world is like the anteroom to a party, with little tastes of things to come.  Yet one day we will enter into the main chamber and feast with all of the saintly departed and with our Lord.  I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die (John 11:25).   

Theme Verse:
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
                                                  (Psalm 40:16)

Thought:
Everything that is good, every good and perfect gift is from the Father above.  This song especially gives thanks for the gift of faith, life, and salvation, which all flow from Christ's work on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

One of the greatest gifts we have from God is faith, for it is by grace, through faith, that we are saved.  Thank You God for ears to hear an eyes to see.  May that gift be given to all that your name would be exalted in all the earth.

Theme Verse:
But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are His … He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; He brings light to the deepest gloom. (Job 12: 13,22)


Thought:  I have always loved the depth and richness of old hymns.  This is a re-imagining of Johann Lindemann's "In You is Gladness."  I wanted to capture the tension of the lyrics (gladness amid sadness) in the music so I put the song in the relative minor key and adjusted the lyrical order.  I created a chorus and bridge out of some of my favorite lines.  Enjoy!

Theme Verse:  Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. 
                                                   1 Cor 10:16-17

Thoughts:  I wrote this song at the English District's yearly convention for Concordia Publishing House's sacramental songwriter project.  They wanted it to be in 1st person plural and be closely tied to the sacraments.  It was then featured on their release, "Singing the Sacraments."

I have always been amazed at how God uses the Eucharist to create unity in His church through Christ.  As we receive Christ's body and blood through the bread and wine, we are in a very real sense participating in His body and blood.  In one sense through the sacrament Christ, in whom there is no division, is making us is body.  "We are Your Body" then is an affirmation and a prayer to make our unity more and more visible.

Theme Verse:
    For the Word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. (Psalm 33:4)

Thoughts: 
    This song was published by the Worship Art Leadership Institute's (WALi) "Armchair Project."  They took it from the key of D to the key of E, and had a woman sing it.  I love this relaxed arrangement and what a voice!

    The idea for the song came from a time I was reading through the book of Job, especially chapter 37.  It is the end of Elihu's speech to Job  in which he argues that Job should maintain that God is righteous, just, and redemptive in the midst of his suffering. 
    Elihu says: "Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth. After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice.  When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back." 
    Wow, I thought to myself.  If only I experienced God's voice in that way - especially His application and guidance for my own life.  I know and believe He speaks to me through His Word and visits me through His sacraments and yet I still want to hear his voice like that.  Like lightning, in a roar, to me and clearly.
    So the song.  It begins by acknowledging the truth that we all experience; that when times get hard we can find ourselves straining to hear God's voice through the chaos.  This is a reality we face in fear, and in fear we may even begin to believe He is absent...                           ------>

...The chorus and bridge are prayers for God to speak to us, to speak truthfully and lovingly and in His way.  In it we come humble before Him to simply say: speak to us, we yearn for it.  Make yourself known as we come to You in faith through Jesus.
    The song then ends with a verse echoing the situation of the first verse: a tumultuous storm.  And yet this time we re-approach the situation through the eyes of faith and say: "the storm rains and the only thing I believe - in power you reign over me, you reign over everything."  Amen to that.  Come Lord Jesus.
   

Track Credits:
Arranged/Produced: Corey Witt
Engineer and Mixdown: Chris Steffen
Drums: Bryan Taylor
Keys: Michael Lee
Bass: Sean Hurley
Guitars: Tim Neinhuis & Corey Witt
Vocals: Emily Hamilton

Theme Verse: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Thought:  Written in the style of Taize which uses repetition as a form of emphasis , "Strength of Will" is a song about sanctification.  Sanctification has been a tricky topic for Lutherans to discuss, and yet even more-so for Lutherans in public worship.  What I attempted to do in this song was to talk about sanctification in terms of the will, highlighting that it is a difficult thing for us so we continually ask  God to work in us.

The verses of the song proclaim God's strong will, his ability to follow through in difficult situations.  The examples in the songs are when the Father allows His Son to die on the cross, and when the Son likewise willingly forgoes his rights on the cross).  The bridge then professes that we are selfish and so we ask God to help us seek His kingdom.  The song then ends with a prayer akin to the Lord's Prayer: "Let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done, in our hearts as it is in heaven."  It is not enough to have the example of God's strong will, but we need for Him to impart on us that strength in Christ.

Song Credits:
Keys: Alan Cross
El. Guitar: Matthew Von Doran
Bass: Carl Caspersen
Drums: Keith Harris
Acoustic Guitars / Vocals: Steve Zank

Theme Verse: For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  (1 Cor 1:25-27)

Thought: This is a song of praise for the life we have in Christ.  It is written in view of our struggle with self-justification and worldly understanding of events.  Some of my friends have suffered great tragedies - as have some of yours or maybe you yourself.  In my life there is one particular couple who have modeled joy in the face of difficult times.  The values of the world and the values of the  kingdom of God are often at odds with each other, and the values and wisdom of the world will tell us lies about ourselves and our circumstances.  We, however,  listen to God's voice in the cacophony and believe his promises and follow his ways, even in opposition to the "wisdom" of this world.