Writing Modern Hymns

Doxology & Theology

Sandra McCracken shares how she writes and leads modern hymns in the church. Songs Covered: "Steadfast" "Come Light Our Hearts" "Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right" "We Will Feast in the House of Zion" Quotes: "When we practice silence in this biblical way, we understand that the Lord is gracious with us, that Jesus is not there just to expose the things that are painful in our hearts, but he wants it to be opened up so he can heal us. Where there’s honest lament in this biblical way, there’s also an opportunity for that to be healed so that the tears are fruitful and our lament is not self-absorption or just wallowing in things. But moving through the sorrows and places brokenness and on to the other side. That’s what worship is designed to do—it’s to realign our hearts toward wholeness." "Silence makes way for lament, and lament is like a passage—it’s not a destination, it’s not the state we were meant for. Lament is what we do in the passage between now and the full restoration that God has planned and is committed to." "It’s so ordinary—we put charts together for a service, we plan things, we start at the wrong tempo, or someone gets sick that morning and can’t show up. All the logistics are happening, but if you zoom out you realize it's a miraculous thing that we get to be part of this, that we get to participate in the receiving and the giving of God’s comfort by way of song." "The doctrine of God’s providence in our lives was not given to us to be a theological debate. It was given to us as a comfort. The idea that God is sovereign is not meant to make you mad; it’s meant to help you know you are held and that God is not surprised by the devastation that happens in our world and in our lives."