Worship Pastor / Composer Travis L. Boyd & wife, Cynthia, sharing faith, inspiration, & discipleship resources, plus music & more for worship ministry. * We also provide info about Worship Sounds Music, found at the links to our Publishers & Distributors ~ Choral Anthems * Solos * Orchestrations * Worship Songs * Accompaniment Trax (See blog sidebar)
This Reader’s Theater script about worship can be utilized during a worship service for the purpose of sharing these truths about what worship is and is not with God’s people, helping them to more fully understand the depth of meaning, relationship, and surrender found in true worship. The Readers can be students or adults. They need to be well-prepared through rehearsal so that the sharing of these truths can be meaningful and thought-provoking.
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What is Worship?
A Reader’s Theater Script designed for 3 readers
written by
Travis L. Boyd
Worship Pastor–We hear a lot about worship these days, but what is worship?
Speaker #1 – Worship is believing that God is.
Speaker #2—Worship is recognizing God’s greatness.
Speaker #3—Worship is seeking to know God on a deeper level.
Speaker #1 – Worship is surrendering to the will of God completely.
Speaker #2—Worship is living for God’s glory, not my own.
Speaker #3—Worship is experiencing God’s presence personally.
Speaker #1—Worship is not a great old hymn.
Speaker #2—Worship is not a wonderful new song.
Speaker #3—Worship is not a sermon.
Speaker #1—Worship is our response to God.
Speaker #2—We may worship with a great old hymn.
Speaker #3—We may worship with a wonderful new song.
Speaker #1—We may worship as God’s word is preached.
Speaker #2—The important thing is that we do worship.
Speaker #3—We must focus this hour on God and not ourselves.
Speaker #1—Not on what we want to sing.
Speaker #2—Not on what we want to hear.
Speaker #3—Not on what we want to feel.
All Speakers— Worship is our response to God.
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PERMISSION FOR USAGE
The above Reader’s Theater Script may be utilized free of charge
for verbal presentation during Worship Services, Small group meetings,
Sunday School classes, Youth Group meetings, and Bible Studies
with no further permission required.
However, this piece may not be published in any form
(magazine, newsletter, etc.) without permission.
Please comment to request permission for publication.
Your comment will not be seen by others
since comments must be approved in order to appear on our blog.
It will, however, enable us to communicate with you about securing permission.
Thank you for spending your valuable time reading the contents of this page. We hope that it has been helpful to you. If you or someone that you know is looking for answers about life, we hope that you will visit our page called “Do You Know Jesus?”. The links provided on this page will help to answer life’s deepest questions. Here is the link to “Do You Know Jesus?”: http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
Please feel free to share this URL with anyone who is looking for answers about life and eternity.
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Worship Sounds Music Blog Blessings of Faith. Songs of Worship, Life of Joy!
At Worship Sounds Music, there are always new songs in progress.
See the links in our sidebar to publishers and music distributors which offer Travis L. Boyd’s music.
Click this image to go to our Worship Sounds Music website.
Look for:
* New Choral Anthems
* Additional voicings of Anthems * New Anthem Orchestrations (which also work for our Medium Voice Solos)
* New Solo Music (or additional keys for our Solos) * New Accompaniment Tracks for our Anthems and Solos
NOTE: We also plan to add free downloads of Reader’s Theater Scripts to our blog (in PDF format, ready to print) in the near future.
Here’s our YouTube playlist of Video Demos for our Mixed Choir Choral Anthems.
* Video demos of new Anthems are added to this playlist when they are prepared for an Anthem or voicing that is new.
* The playlist includes Anthems in SATB, SSATB, SAB, and 2-part voicings.
* All of our Choral Anthems are in the process of being added to Sheet Music Plus. We’ll let you know when they become available there.
TO VIEW THE PLAYLIST TITLES, CLICK THE ICON BESIDE THE WORD “PLAYLIST” IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THE BLACK VIDEO FRAME. THEN, USE THE GRAY TAB ON THE FAR RIGHT OF THE LIST AT TOP TO PULL DOWN AND SCROLL THROUGH TITLES.
YOU CAN ALSO VIEW THE PLAYLIST ON YOUTUBE BY CLICKING ON THE PLAYLIST NAME IN THE TOP OF THE BLACK VIDEO FRAME.
Thank you for taking the time to view and hear our Choral video demos.
Blessings to you in your life and ministry as you seek to bring glory to God through music.
Worship Sounds Music Blog Blessings of Faith. Songs of Worship, Life of Joy!
Two of our songs which are available as both Choral Anthems and Vocal Solos are “I Can’t Explain” and “Into His Hands”.
“I Can’t Explain”
“I Can’t Explain” is a worship ballad with a reflective message about the wonder of God’s great love, demonstrated in the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Written by Worship Pastor and composer Travis L. Boyd, this song is available as an SATB Choral Anthem, as heard in this demo, and as a Vocal Solo, in 3 keys for Low, Medium, and High Voice.
The SATB Choral Anthem can be performed with live instruments or with the Anthem Trax heard here, a separate Mp3 download. It could also be sung on Palm Sunday or one of the other Sundays leading up to Easter.
The Vocal Solo versions of “I Can’t Explain” (Low, Medium, and High Voice) each have an Accompaniment Track, which is an Mp3 download, with a PDF lead sheet. In addition Solo Sheet Music is available in each of the 3 keys.
“Into Your Hands”
“Into Your Hands” is a moving power ballad with choral accompaniment. This song is a musical prayer of total surrender to the Lordship of Christ.
There is also an SATB anthem with Solo throughout.
ADDITIONAL ANTHEMS FOR SPRING / EASTER / PALM SUNDAY:
1. “Early in the Morning”
2. Our “Songs of the Cross” playlist of Easter and Palm Sunday Anthems
3. Our “Anthems with Hymn Lyrics” playlist
Thank you for your worship ministry and your interest in Worship Sounds Music. All of our music is designed to be practical for worship ministry, Biblically sound, musically memorable, and lyrically meaningful. Blessings to you in your life and ministry,
Travis L. Boyd, Worship Sounds Music
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In Addition, several of our Published anthems would work very well for Springtime, Easter, or Palm Sunday.
These include:
FROM LORENZ, INCOPORATED (LORENZ MUSIC)
( A ) “Amazing Grace! Eternal Life!” Published by Lorenz (Monarch Division)
An SATB power ballad, this anthem contains a whole gospel message, with a bridge section that is a lyrical paraphrase of John 3:16 & 17. The anthem steadily builds in intensity to the victorious ending.
* Listening link: http://www.lorenz.com/med/sample/10_3228M.mp3
* Sample pages link: http://www.lorenz.com/med/pages/10_3228M.pdf (Use back arrow to return to blog after viewing!)
* A Full Orchestration is available, as heard in the Studio Demo. A Performance/Accompaniment CD is also available.
(NOTE: See the blog post entitled “Blessings Through Worshipping Together” for information about the CD and DVD recordings of this piece by The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma, The Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma, and The Oklahoma Baptist Symphony).
This anthem has also been recorded by the evangelistic group, The Farrells, as the title song of one of their CDs; and many videos can be found on YouTube and Vimeo of this anthem being sung in English, Mandarin, Korean, and Italian. “Amazing Grace! Eternal Life!” has also been published in the Mandarin language in a book for Chinese Choirs.
( B ) “All the Praise”… An upbeat SATB anthem of praise with lyrical verses and a rhythmic chorus:
“Holy, holy, holy
You are God Almighty.
Holy, holy, holy
Holy is Your Name.
Only You are worthy
Worthy of all honor.
All the praise belongs to You!”
( C ) “God is Faithful”… SATB with solo throughout
Lorenz product page link for “God is Faithful” http://www.lorenz.com/product.aspx?id=10_2978M
* Listening link: http://www.lorenz.com/Med/Sample/10_2978M.mp3
* Sample pages link: http://www.lorenz.com/Med/Pages/10_2978M.pdf (Use back arrow to return to blog after viewing!)
(See our blog post entitled “Blessings Through God’s Faithfulness” for more information about the story of this song & recordings by both The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma and The Sons of Jubal)
* Performance video link: (TTBB arrangement, recorded at a Sons of Jubal concert in September, 2010) http://vimeo.com/15390308
A full orchestration is available for this piece, as heard in the studio demo. A performance/accompaniment CD is also available.
( D ) “Magnificent Praise”… An SATB mix of traditional style and contemporary rhythms, this anthem has a message about giving our best to God as we praise Him and “tell of His excellent ways.”
* Listening link: http://www.lorenz.com/Med/sample/10_3445M.mp3
* Sample pages link: http://www.lorenz.com/Med/Pages/10_3445M.pdf (Use back arrow to return to blog after viewing!)
A Brass & Rhythm Score + parts set is available. A performance/accompaniment CD is also available.
“With all that is in us, we give You magnificent praise!”
( 1 ) “Children of Light”… 2 & 3 part, S(A)B
Here’s a great recording with the full orchestration: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_2515.mp3
This youthful, vibrant recording was made by the Pasadena Tabernacle Songsters.
For the story of this group & recording see our blog post entitled “Blessings Through Testimony.”
* The Shawnee Press Studio Demo recording (with rhythm section only) can be heard at this link: http://www.pinelakemusic.com/Results.aspx?search=Travis+Boyd (click listening link for “Children of Light”)
“Children of Light” is still available through several music distributors and from Hal Leonard/Shawnee Press on a print-on-demand basis.
( 2 ) “Give Thanks to the Lord”… SATB
This upbeat, rhythmic song of thanksgiving provides a joyful reminder of many reasons to give thanks.
Be sure to listen for the descant and for the verses, which give a call to thanksgiving for faithful hearts (with a quiet intensity, contrasting the energetic chorus). “Give Thanks to the Lord” was also recorded, in a special TTBB arrangement by Travis, on the “God is Faithful” CD made by The Singing Churchemen of Oklahoma, then under the direction of Dr. Bill Green. (The audio of the TTBB recording can be found in our SoundCloud set of “Recordings made by BGCO groups” (Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma).
Original studio demo of the Choral Anthem by Shawnee Press
( 3 ) “Jesus, My Redeemer”… SATB
*Hear the original studio demo for this beautiful anthem on our Sound Cloud or on our BoydbrainMusic.com HOME PAGE in the red sidebar at left. Just click on the title to hear “Jesus, My Redeemer.”
This anthem utilizes the beautiful hymn tune known as “Slane” (“Be Thou My Vision”) with a completely new text. The lovely, flowing piano accompaniment features a recurring motif. There is a Song Story about this anthem on our Worship Sounds Music blog. (Song Story for “Jesus, My Redeemer”)
( 4 ) “Praise God”… SATB
* “Praise God” features a beautiful new melody and setting for the traditional “Doxology” lyrics, with a portion of the hymn “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” added to this amazing arrangement. You’ll love this inventive and meaningful new tune and setting for the Doxology! Hear the entire studio demo for this majestic anthem on the sound cloud below.
Or, hear a portion of the original studio demo at: http://listeninglab.stantons.com/title/praise-god/269877/
( 7 ) “Walking by Faith”… SATB, with Solo
This lovely ballad features a solo and was performed by The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma, written for soloist Royce Brown. The original studio demo can be heard at: http://www.jwpepper.com/8065838.item
FROM CHURCH STREET MUSIC(LIFEWAY)
(1) “You Are a Spring”… SATB, with Solo or unison section
This lyrical piece about our need for the refreshing of God’s Spirit is available at:
“You Are a Spring” was recorded on The Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma’s CD entitled “The Lord is My Light.” This recording can be found in our Sound Cloud set of BGCO (Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma) Groups recordings. (See the blue Sound Cloud logo on our blog’s sidebar. It is a link to these BGCO group recordings made by The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma, The Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma, and The Oklahoma Baptist Symphony.)
The demo recording for this anthem can be heard below:
There are several additional pieces published by Lifeway in their periodical publications for Childrens Choir, Senior Adult Choir, Adult Choir, and congregational praise. These are listed on our facebook page, along with contact information for re-printing these songa and anthems. http://www.facebook.com/WorshipSoundsMusic
We have not yet tracked down all of the studio demos for these publications but will do so as time permits.
(2) One of the additional Anthems published by Lifeway is “More Than a Cross”
This anthem explores the true significance of the cross, with the lyrics of the refrain stating, “More than love and mercy, life and hope, on a hill called Calvary…More than a cross, it was God reaching out for me.”
“MORE THAN A CROSS” was published in the Winter 2005-06 edition of ‘Glory Songs’ SATB, pages 27 through 32. This anthem can be reprinted with permission from Lifeway. Use this link: http://www.lifeway.com/PermissionsRequest/ to contact Lifeway. Then, choose the option “to use or publish music”. You will then be given the opportunity to enter all pertinent information in order for your request to be sent to the right individual at Lifeway for processing.
In this case, you would enter the following information:
Glory Sounds, Winter 2005 – 2006
“More Than a Cross” by Travis Boyd
Page numbers 27 through 32
NOTE: There are links to Publishers and Distributors of my music in the right sidebar of this blog. Each link takes you to a page listed all of my Anthems offered by that publisher or distributor.
Worship Sounds Music Blog Blessings of Faith. Songs of Worship, Life of Joy!
“A Christmas Hymn” (subtitled “Christ is Born Today”) is a lovely ballad with meaningful lyrics and a memorable melody, written by Worship Pastor and Composer Travis L. Boyd. The message is a proclamation of Christ’s birth, sharing all He is as the “crowning jewel of God’s great plan”.
“For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given…” ~ Isaiah 9:6a
We decided to make a music video for this song as a way to introduce it and to share the good news of Christ’s birth this Christmas season. The audio for Travis’ demo of the Vocal Solo version has been combined with images of stained glass depictions of the nativity story. He is singing with the Accompaniment track that he created for the song. Feel free to share this video in order to spread the good news.
Click on the photo above to go to our Worship Sounds Music website.
* “A Christmas Hymn” is available as an SATB Choral Anthem, in your choice of Full Page or Octavo format.
* It is also available as a Vocal Solo for male or female Soloist.
* The Accompaniment Track, as heard in this music video, works for either the Choral or Solo version of the Song. It comes as an Mp3 download and also comes with a lead sheet PDF to assist you in learning the melody and lyrics.
“A Christmas Hymn” is available as an SATB Choral and as a Vocal Solo.
There is also a partial orchestration (strings and wood-winds, as heard in the Accompaniment Track on the video demo below). The Orchestration would work for wither the SATB Choral or the Vocal Solo version of the song, which would be especially beautiful with the live instruments.
Below, you will find the music video for “A Christmas Hymn.”
May God bless you and yours this Christmas season, Travis and Cindy Boyd
Worship Sounds Music
“A Christmas Hymn” is dedicated first to the Lord and then in honor of one of our six sons. All six of our boys and our daughter are wonderful blessings with loads of potential and promise. For Logan, Autism makes some of the typical developmental tasks and milestones more challenging. He is a joy, and he knows how to focus on what really matters. Logan is tuned in to those he loves and to music and fun. He works so hard to keep learning. We are thankful for all of our blessings, and Logan reminds us that showing kindness and love are the most important things we will do in this life.
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Do you know someone who is looking for answers?
Thank you for spending your valuable time reading the contents of this page. We hope that it has been helpful to you. If you or someone that you know is looking for answers about life, we hope that you will visit our page called “Do You Know Jesus?”. The links provided on this page will help to answer life’s deepest questions. Here is the link to “Do You Know Jesus?”: http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
Please feel free to share this URL with anyone who is looking for answers about life and eternity.
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Worship Sounds Music Blog Blessings of Faith. Songs of Worship, Life of Joy!
Click this image to go to our Worship Sounds Music website.
At Worship Sounds Music, we have an entire playlist of video demos for our anthem options that are songs of Praise and Thanksgiving!
From the easy to learn 2-part arrangement of “Since I Have Been Redeemed” (also available in SATB w/ Solo Throughout and in SATB with optional 1st verse solo, sung by The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma in TTBB) to the SSATB arrangement of “One Like Me” (sung by The Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma in SSAA), every difficulty level is represented. (With a wide variety of voicings as well) Some the anthems are written in a lyrical, ballad or hymn-like style, like the lovely creation hymn medley “The Father’s Beautiful World” and the majestic anthem, “Greater” (available in SSATB and SSAA, sung and recorded by the Jubalheirs). Other anthems are more up-beat and syncopated, such as the jazzy SATB anthem, “Don’t Let the Rocks Cry Out” and the contemporary praise anthem, “For the Glory of God” (available in SATB, SSAA, and TTBB, with optional Full Orchestration or Accompaniment Track also available, also sung by The Jubalheirs). There are anthems for all of your choirs: Adult Choir “The Theme of Our Praise), Student Choir (“A Joyful Doxology”, in SAB), and Senior Adult Choir (“Thank You for the Journey”). Some of our anthems have well-loved hymn texts set to beautiful new melodies, such as the SATB “O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”.
We invite you to take a few minutes to listen to the audio of voice parts and piano accompaniment as you view the music for our anthems with our Video Demo playlist on the Travis L. Boyd / Worship Sounds Music YouTube channel.
PLEASE VIEW PLAYLIST IN FULLSCREEN MODE TO SEE LYRICS BEST. Please use “Back” and “Forward” arrows (on the YouTube toolbar at the bottom, between play/pause arrow and speaker icon) to go to the Next Video or Previous Video if desired.
* Our anthems are the work of Music and Worship Minister and Composer Travis L. Boyd, who has published anthems with Lorenz Music, Shawnee Press / Hal Leonard, Choristers Guild, Lifeway, and Broadman.
* Many of our anthems have Full Orchestrations available. Included in the bundled PDF’s are a Director’s Score, String Reduction for keyboard, and reproducible parts for Strings, Winds, and Percussion.
* Many of our anthems have Accompaniment Tracks available, sent as an Mp3 download.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Composer Travis L. Boyd.
Thank you for your time and for your consideration of our music! We consider it an honor to serve Ministers of Music and Worship and Church Choral Directors with the hope that we can provide support and resources for your Worship Ministry through this blog and through our music.
Blessings to you in your life and ministry,
Travis L. Boyd
Worship Sounds Music
Worship Sounds Music Blog Blessings of Faith. Songs of Worship, Life of Joy!
“When the fullness of time had come, God reached down and sent His Son.”
Christmas is coming!
Here are some SATB Christmas Anthems from Worship Sounds Music
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“A Christmas Hymn”
(subtitle: Christ is Born Today, SATB)
Written by Worship Pastor and Composer Travis L. Boyd, “A Christmas Hymn” is subtitled “Christ is Born Today”. The message is a proclamation of Christ’s birth, sharing all He came to be as the “crowning jewel of God’s great plan”.
The Accompaniment Track, as heard in this music video, works for either the Choral or Solo version of the Song. “A Christmas Hymn” is available as an SATB Choral and as a Vocal Solo. The mp3 Accompaniment Track also comes with a lead sheet.
“O, Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
MEDIUM DIFFICULTY SATB
A fresh, new arrangement of the well-loved Christmas carol, this anthem features a rhythmic verse section with a new melody in a minor key. The longing for the coming Messiah comes through clearly as the familiar words are heard in their new melodic setting. The traditional refrain is woven into this arrangement, with a special treatment for one of the verses. This anthem is suitable for Adult or Youth Choirs. It would be an excellent anthem for Advent or your Christmas program.
PLEASE VIEW THIS VIDEO DEMO IN FULLSCREEN MODE TO SEE LYRICS BEST.
“The Praises of the King”
MEDIUM DIFFICULTY SATB
This anthem is a rhythm, energetic song of praise that will have your choir and congregation rejoicing! It would work well as an opening song or closer for your Christmas program or a wonderful anthem to use during the advent season. Both the introduction and the ending for this anthem feature some of the melody from “For Unto Us a Child is Born”. Some creative options for this anthem include using it as a combined Adult and Student Choir anthem. The 2-Part verses could be sung by the Youth Choir, leading into the full SATB sections where the Adult Choir would join. In addition, the verses could be sung as a male/female duet, with the same duet on both verses or a different pair of singers for each verse. “The Praises of the King” is suitable for Adult or Youth Choirs.
“Glory to the Newborn King”
MODERATELY DIFFICULT SATB
This anthem is a bluesy, rockin’ celebration of Christ’s birth. Your choir will find this one easy to learn and fun to sing, and the joyful message will resonate with your congregation.
“Christmas Joy”
MODERATELY DIFFICULT SATB
This 6/8 anthem is perfect for the Christmas Season. It could be sung by Youth or Adult Choirs or in a combined choir presentation. It’s length and the upbeat style and message make this anthem appropriate for any worship service or Advent program.
“God Reached Down”
MODERATELY DIFFICULT SATB
This anthem is a meaningful and lyrical testimony of God’s love for us as “reached down, and sent His Son”. It features an optional flute descant. Your choir and congregation will be touched by this message about the incredible gift given to us through the birth of Christ.
“GOD IS FAITHFUL” IN AUSTRALIA!
OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL EVERY DAY AND EVERYWHERE!
Here is a testimony of a specific circumstance in which God used the message of His faithfulness through “God is Faithful” (a choral anthem written by my husband, Travis L. Boyd, and publshed by Lorenz) to bless and encourage the hearts of His people. In 2003, over 300 people from Oklahoma went to Australia for an incredible mission trip. The main performing group was The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma. The group gave concerts in serveral large and well-known venues, such as the Sydney Opera House, and then split into smaller groups to minister in local churches. Over 90 of the people on this trip were the wives of the Churchmen; and for the first time ever on a Churchmen mission trip, there were enough of us to form 2 women’s choirs, which ministered in Churches and even in a pineapple canning factory during our time in Sydney, Newcastle, and Brisbane and surrounding communities.
The women’s choir that I was in, directed by Singing Churchmen member Tyrone Smith, sang at Annerley Baptist Church, near Brisbane, on Sunday morning, May 11th, 2003, which was Australia’s Mother’s Day. Although the Singing Churchmen were no longer singing “God is Faithful”, the two womens’ choirs were singing an SSAA arrangement of the song. I had been asked to sing the solo on “God is Faithful,” and I had done so during the Worship Service that day.
Our womens’ choir rehearses at Annerley with director Tyrone Smith prior to the service (minus a few members who were taking pictures of the group)
Later on, during the fellowship meal after the service, a woman approached me. She told me that her name was Noela (pronounced Nola), and that she was not a member of Annerley Baptist Church and did not live in Brisbane. She said that she was only at the church that morning because it was Mother’s Day. She and her husband had driven from their home 2 and a half hours away to be there with his Mother. Noela confessed that she almost did not make the trip to visit her Mother-In-Law. She explained that she had been fighting cancer and that she was feeling discouraged.
A lovely lady with a beautiful smile, Noela spoke with a radiant faith as she said, “I believe that I am here today by Divine appointment.”
However, she did feel an urging from the Spirit of God to come to Brisbane; and, with her husband’s encouragement, she made the trip. She told me that she now felt it was a divine appointment for her to be there. Noela said that the message of God’s faithfulness had come across to her so clearly as she listened to “God is Faithful” that she knew why we were there on that day and why God had prompted her to come. Several of us talked with Noela as long as we could, and it was an amazing conversation. God had so touched her and encouraged her heart through the message of His faithfulness that she seemed radiant with faith in His goodness and faithfulness to her, and Noela in turn became an encouragement to all of us. It was a very brief encounter, but I will never forget it.
I can think of many times when God has also touched my heart with His love and encouragement, just as he touched Noela’s heart. Comfort or encouragement can come through a kind word, a prayer, a song, a note, a sermon, a scripture passage or verse, and certainly through God’s presence within us and as revealed to us through the kindness and compassion of others. God is faithful to Noela, He is faithful to me, and He is faithful to you! Be encouraged today as you thank Him for His faithfulness! Encourage others as well. Remember that just as God is eternal, His faithfulness is eternal; and it continues as He continues. God is a keeper of promises, and He is faithful!
So, in light of the eternal faithfulness of our God,…
“When you find it hard to understand
And you’re just not sure you have the strength
To do all God commands…
When the task seems overwhelming,
You can rest within His hands.
For the One who called you is faithful!
God is faithful.
He will not forget His own.
God is faithful.
He’ll never leave you all alone.
He’s right beside you,
Waiting to guide you,
For the one who called you is faithful.
God is faithful!
He is always there when human eyes can’t see…
So aware of all your hurts and all your deepest needs!
God is faithful! He will not forget His own.
My God is faithful!
He’ll never leave you all alone.
He’s right beside you,
Waiting to guide you,
For the One who called you is faithful.
God is faithful!”
Lyrics to “God is Faithful” by Travis L. Boyd, SATB Choral anthem and Orchestration, Copyright 2003, Lorenz Publishing Company, a division of the Lorenz Corporation
Self-published copies of the SSAA, TTBB, and SATB octavos and the Orchestration that pre-date the Lorenz publications, Copyright Travis L. Boyd
Here, you will be able to click the listening link (music notes) and then immediately click the sample pages link (Adobe icon) to allow you to listen to the professional studio demo recording of the anthem while you view the music.
(To returen to this blog, please use the ‘back’ arrow.)
* Vimeo Performance Video link: (TTBB arrangement, recorded at a Sons of Jubal concert in September, 2010) http://vimeo.com/15390308
SoundCloud of the TTBB version of “God is Faithful,” sung by The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma, under the direction of Dr. Bill Green, from the Churchmen CD entitled, “God is Faithful.” (Note: “God is Faithful” is also the title song on a CD which was recorded by the Georgia Baptist Convention’s Sons of Jubal, under the direction of Dr. Jon Duncan.)
Pray for the people of Australia and of Annerley Baptist Church. Their Pastor, Brother Jim Johnston, retired at the end of 2012 after 16 and a half years of service there. The people there were so kind, providing corsages for each of the women in our choir, plus a single red rose (mindful of the fact that mothers were being honored and that we had left our families to come). They had prepared a meal for us and were so friendly as we shared time together that day. What a blessing it was to be in the midst of Christian brothers and sisters who live on the other side of the world and to feel so welcome and at home. 🙂
Annerley Baptist Church Pastor, Brother Jim Johnston, and our womens’ choir Director, Tyrone Smith
Thank you for spending your valuable time reading the contents of this page. We hope that it has been helpful to you. If you or someone that you know is looking for answers about life, we hope that you will visit our page called “Do You Know Jesus?”. The links provided on this page will help to answer life’s deepest questions. Here is the link to “Do You Know Jesus?”: http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
Please feel free to share this URL with anyone who is looking for answers about life and eternity.
Here is a Youtube video of singer Debra Eden’s solo version of “God is Faithful,” recorded on Debra’s CD entitled, “It Was Love.” The video was put together with the recording by Debra’s sister. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIdfLJOo3q8
Note: This post, it it’s entirety, can also be found at the end of our song story poat on “God is Faithful”. This is not the story of how the song came to be written, which forms the main body of “Song Story for God is Faithful”. Rather, it is an additional testimony about the power of the message of God’s faithfulness to encourage and bless.
Click the photo above to go directly to our WorshipSounds Music website!
In order to make it easier for those who are interested in our music to find and view our WorshipSounds Music Video Demos, we have uploaded all of them to YouTube.
* The Video Demos have been placed in categorized playlists.
> The advantage of having the Video Demos in playlists is that a viewer can watch all of the videos in a playlist if desired or choose from the other videos in the playlist menu to see the next video of his or her choice.
> When you go to the playlist, the menu appears as a scroll-able list of video options (to the right of the Video Demo that you are viewing).
> It is best to change the Video Demo setting to FullScreen as you are viewing a video so that you can see lyrics and voice leading more clearly.
> To continue to access the menu of playlist choices, click the small frame option at the end of each Video Demo, and then return to Fullscreen Mode after the video that you have chosen begins to play.
* All of our Choral Video demos have been edited and prepared with complete informationabout the song and arrangement, including links to our website for purchase.
Here are the categorized Video Demo Playlists and their URLs:
A. Mixed Choir Choral Music Video Demos
There are thirty one (31) SAB, SATB, and SSATB Choral Anthems in this playlist.
Some of the anthems are available in multiple Mixed Choir arrangements, so you will see the same title appear more than once. However, when you view the Video Demos, the entire title of each is visible, specifying which arrangement you are viewing. (For example, “Since I Have Been Redeemed” has 3 Mixed Choir arrangments: 2 – Part, SATB, and SATB with Solo Throughout.)
Note: Travis has recently made additional keys available for Vocal Soloists. All of our Vocal Solos are available in 3 keys for Low, Medium and High Voice, with the exception of “, which is available in only two keys. For those of you who are interested in our Vocal Solo Demos, please be patient with us as we work on all of the recently added videos. We are still in the process of editing some of our Vocal Solo Video Demos, so there is an edited playlist and an unedited playlist of the Solos. The Video Demo playlists and their URLs are as follows:
This playlist contains sixteen (16) videos. Most of these videos have no information added below the video. Only the titles have been edited for most of these. As they are edited, they will be removed from this playlist and placed in the “Vocal Solo Video Demos” playlist.
On November 3rd, we will celebrate the one year birthday for our Boydbrain Music/Worship Sounds Life and Worship blog. It has been a year full of learning and growing for us. As we have prayed and studied, worshiped and worked to create the posts and pages on our blog, we have learned a lot about God’s love for us, re-discovered the privelege of worship in some new ways, and gained a new appreciation for the history behind some of the hymns and hymn writers whose testimony of faith has been a blessing to discover and whose work has become a part of our testimony as well. In addition, we’ve been able to write about our appreciation and love for some special choral groups and some very special people. We’ve shared personal stories about our family and about the circumstances surrounding the writing of many of Travis’ songs.
We’ve shared our passion for the Lord and for ministry through worship. We’ve shared practical information and links to some great resources. We’ve shared the news about recent additions to our music website and changes to our company, which now has a new name. Some of our favorite posts and pages are not about us at all. There are some about the grace of God, the love of God, our victorious Savior, the Name above all names, and even a page with the most exhaustive list of worship scriptures we have seen on the web. There are two posts about Jesus. One is our evangelistic post, “Do You Know Jesus?”, with some great links to websites that would answer any question a seeker might have. The other is “His Name is Jesus”, which could be used as a reading in a worship service. We also have posts specifically for worship leaders about subjects such as worship planning and preparation, creative ideas for worship, and planning a worship ministry appreciation sunday.
In summary, we’ve had a great first year with a lot of personal opportunities for incredible moments of worship. In contemplation of many of our writings, there were so many moments when truths about God’s word, about who He is, about His marvelous grace, about our wonderful Savior…and the great, great love of God…would just pour fresh revelation into our hearts through His Spirit. Writing is thinking, and in the writing of our blog articles, we’ve done a lot of thinking and meditating. We always want our purpose to be redemptive and to bring glory to God. So, for our birthday, send up a prayer that we will honor God through the ministry of this blog and write as we are inspired by His incredible eternal love story.
We love all of our blog visitors and pray for you! We’ve had visitors from 140 countries so far and are closing in on 16,000 ‘hits’. The top 3 search terms that lead people to our blog have always been and continue to be “God”, “Worship”, and “Worship God”. From the point where we started a year ago, knowing absolutely nothing about blogging, it has been an amazing year.
Thank you to all of you who have spent some of your valuable time reading our posts and pages!
Our desire is to be a source of inspiration and encouragement for everyone who visits our blog.
We’ve had almost 3,000 viewers of our home page who also scrolled down through our archives of previous posts, and all of our 57 posts and 17 pages have been viewed by people around the world that we will never meet this side of Heaven. That is amazing to us. All glory goes to our awesome God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving us life, salvation, and a testimony to share. Here are 14 Top Posts and Pages from our first year, with the number of views through today:
Click the photo above to go directly to our WorshipSounds Music website!
Hello to all of our Boydbrain Music fans!
We are now WorshipSounds Music !
As our last post announced. our downloadable music website is currently undergoing revision; and we have changed our company name to “WorshipSounds Music”.
Our website was temporarily down as we worked on the changes, but it is now back online. We are still working on additions and revisions to the website that will improve its appearance and function, but the website is already re-published and fully functional !
YOU CAN ALSO SEE OUR CHORAL MUSIC VIDEO DEMOS ON FACEBOOK!
The demos for all of our Choral music are available in a Video Album on our Boydbrain Music facebook page.
Here’s the link to view video demos:
Click on this image to go directly to our Album of Choral Videos Demos
(Be sure to view them in full-screen mode to see the lyrics!)
There is information about each choral anthem posted along with its video demo that will take you back to our website for any purchases you wish to make.
Here is the link to our SHOPPING CART page, which has a nice feature. There is a search capabiity on the shopping cart page which will allow you to look up anthems for a certain voicing or difficulty level. Then, there is a “Return to Website” link which will allow you to return to the Home page and go from there to either our Adult Choir website page or our Student, Sr. Adult, and School Choir website page in order to view all of the infomation and video demos for the anthems that have been identified in your searches.
The current URLs will continue to workfor both the website and the blog for a while.
* OUR COMPANY FOCUS REMAINS THE SAME ! *
Essentially, the name will be changed, but the focus of our Music Company will remain on providing excellent quality downloadable Choral Anthems, Orchestrations, Vocal Solos, and Congregational Praise Songs. We will continue to expand our growing list of available music with the goal of providing music for worship and praise that is affordable, practical, Biblically sound, and musically memorable. Our company will remain a resource for all types of worship ministry music needs and a friend of choral music as a meaningful expression of worship.
Here’s what has happened as we changed over to our new name:
* The old URL for the website has been re-directed to the new URL until at least March, so there will be no problem with finding our company website .
* The “WorshipSounds” blog URL has been changed and is nowhttp://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com However, we have re-directed traffic from the old Boydbrain Music blog URL to the new WorshipSounds blog URL for several months to allow time for us to go back and change all of the old links.
* We have updated our website with a new look and new “WorshipSounds Music” logo photo, which will mean that all of our blog posts and links on other sites which featured the old “Boydbrain Music” logo photo will be updated as time permits.
* If you have copies of music that you have previously purchased, there is no problem with retaining them and even with making additional copies from your original PDF Master if some of yours become damaged or lost. You are always given permission to make as many copies as needed for your own choir(s) and accompanist(s) for our low one-time Master Copy price.
* Travis will add a new webmail address to the “WorshipSounds Music” website, which will reflect the new site name. His webmail address for any questions or problems with music orders will become Travis@worshipsoundsmusic.com, but he will keep the current webmail address of Travis@boydbrainmusic.com for a while just to make sure that we can help anyone who has previously used the old webmail address.
* Our Boydbrain Music Facebook page will stay the same for a while. It will be more difficult to change since the current policy for pages is that name changes are not allowed for a page with more than 200 ‘likes’. However, we can contact facebook support to ask for an exception. There is a possibility that one will be granted and we will be able to keep our original fan page. (Travis’ personal page was changed from Travis Boyd to Travis L. Boyd with permission after we discovered that there are so many other “Travis Boyds” out there, including a hockey star, a football star, another worship leader with videos on Vimeo, and many more….). If we are not allowed to change the name, we will start a new page with the new company name, invite our friends to ‘like” the new page, and eventually phase out the old page.
Why are we making this change?
Both Travis and I have known for a long time that we would eventually change the company and website name. The Boydbrain Music name worked well for us initially because everyone who knew about Travis’ music in the early years was someone who knew us or knew of us because of our membership in and association with The Singing Churchmen and Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma and the Sons of Jubal and Jubalheirs of Georgia. As our contacts have expanded and we have begun to have customers purchase our music who were not familiar with the name “Travis Boyd” and found us primarily because of our announcements and forum posts about Travis’ music on ChoralNet and other sites, it has become clear that a name change is needed. In order to eventually allow others to find our website more easily when they are searching for music to be used in Worship Ministry, we need to have a company name that more accurately reflects the type of music that is available on our site. The name change will hopefully allow a larger number of individuals, Worship Ministers, and Choral Directors to find and utilize this music to bring glory to God through worship ministry. After considering several options, we felt that WorshipSounds Music was a good name for several reasons:
a. The domain name and URL were available.
b. There were not any competing downloadable music companies with simlar names showing up in our web searches.
c. While much of our music is Choral, we also offer Vocal Solos, Orchestrations, and Congregational Worship Music. Therefore, “Worship” was a more universal descriptive word for our offerings than “Choral”. We will continue to list all of the available types of music in our website description and in tags associated with individual songs and with our website pages to enable people who are looking for all of these types of music to find us more easily.
Please be patient with us as all of these changes are being made. The process will take some time. Feel free to contact us through a message to our Boydbrain Music Facebook page or through either of the webmail addresses listed above if you have any questions about Travis’ music or about the changes.
NOTE: If you have not visited our website for a while, there have been many recent additions!
We have lots of new anthems, available in a multitude of voicings. We have also added Full Orchestrations for some Anthems and several Vocal Solos, which are available in multiple keys. Our Choral Video Demos and our new Vocal Solo Demos make it easy for you to see and hear the music! Pay us a re-visit, and check out what’s new at WorshipSounds Music! http://www.worshipsoundsmusic.com
Let us know what you think about all of our changes. We’d love to hear from you!
Worship Sounds Music Blog Blessings of Faith. Songs of Worship, Life of Joy!
Look for this identifying thumbnail photo on our Shopping Cart web page.
This anthem features an optional flute descant. It explores the incredible gift given to us through the birth of Christ. MODERATELY DIFFICULT SATB
(PDF Master Copy, $8.00, with permission to make an unlimited number of copies for your Choir)
YOU’LL FIND ALL THREE CHRISTMAS ANTHEMS ON OUR ADULT CHOIR WEBSITE PAGE!
Purchase all 3 for the incredibly low price of $26.00 plus your printing costs!
There’s no shipping fee and no per copy fee. We send you the instructtion for downloading your PDF Master copies by e-mail. It’s the easy, fast, and affordable way to have great new music for Christmas!
The story of Christmas is re-told with joy for your Choir and Congregation!
Two of the most beloved hymns with messages of God’s Creation and His majesty have been combined in this beautiful choral medley (available in both SATB and SSAA voicings), “The Father’s Beautiful World.” Following the sharing of the more contemporary history, you will find the history of the hymns, “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and “This is My Father’s World.” The more contempory story of “The Father’s Beautiful World” began with composer Travis L. Boyd’s desire to honor the life of a very special person and to bring glory to God in a way that she would have loved. My Grandmama, Mary Winonah McCoy White, was a beautiful lady who loved the Lord. She loved her family, her church family, many long-time friends, her students, and everyone she met. She was a very unique individual who left behind a lasting testimony of faith in God, perseverance through trials, and love for others.
Nonah at nineteen
Grandmama was an inspiration to me in so many ways. She graduated in 1919 from Lander College. I have the watch that her parents gave her as a graduation gift. I wore it on the day that Travis and I were married as my ‘something old’; and, many years later, the watch was given to me. After she graduated from college, Nonah (as she preferred to be called) married my Grandfather, Thomas Britton White; and they had four sons. My Dad, Harold, was the third of the four boys. When my Dad was thirteen years old, his father had a heart attack and died. The family owned a farm, and Granddad also worked at a bank. My grandmother had two teen-age sons at the time of T.B.’s death, my Dad and his older brother, Averil. Younger brother Lawrence was a pre-teen; and the oldest brother, Thomas Jr., was a newlywed. Grandmother found a job teaching in an elementary school and did what had to be done in order to keep the family together, hold on to the farm, and provide for her sons. It must have been a very challenging time for her.
Grandmama is holding my hand in her gloved hand to show her watch peeking out from under my sleeve.
Grandmama was always incredibly proud of her four sons and of their wives and families. She kept in touch with everyone and always had news about the latest happenings in the family and extended family. She had a way of welcoming people, making them feel comfortable, and just communicating love that was a rare gift. When she flew to Oklahoma to visit my family, she would always have stories to tell when she got off the plane. Basically, no matter who was seated by my Grandmama, they would find themselves opening up to her and telling her their life story. If there were any confidences shared, Grandmama kept them to herself; but she would tell us about the “dear young woman” or the “nice businessman” who had been her travelling companion, where the new friend lived, and other basic details. She was genuinely interested in people, and people responded to that. I remember that once, when I was a teenager, I was so excited about her upcoming visit that I couldn’t help talking to my friends about her. By the time she arrived, all of my high school friends were eager to meet her. We all had a lovely visit with Grandmama one day after school, and my friends loved her. They all said things like, “I see what you mean. Your Grandma is cool!”
Once, when Grandmama was interviewed by a reporter for the Camden Chronicle for a series of articles on retired teachers, the reporter noted what became obvious to anyone who was around her for any length of time. The primary word that was used to describe Grandmama in both the article and the title was “serene”. I loved that description. There were many words that the reporter could have chosen. After all, the subject of his article was a very bright, well-read, and lively person, always on the go during her healthy years. Even so, it was impossible to miss the serenity of confident faith in God that was the primary foundation of her life. She visited shut-ins (those who were confined to their homes due to illness or old age) for so many years that most of them were younger than she was. She wrote notes and letters, made visits, memorized scripture, travelled in the United States and in Europe, talked to friends and family on the phone, spent time with her nearby family, and journeyed west every year to visit family in Oklahoma and Arizona. She was often asked to speak or give devotionals, she knew everyone in her apartment complex, she cooked incredible meals in the tiniest kitchen I have ever seen, and she drove her own car until her eyesight failed.
My Grandmama, Mary Winonoah McCoy White
When Travis and I married, Grandmama just loved and adopted him immediately. She was so happy and excited when Travis was called to worship ministry, and she was still able to travel and come to visit us during the early years of Travis’ ministry at his first two churches. She would tell us often, “That’s a great work you’re doing!” We always knew that she was praying for us during those early years and Travis’ seminary years. She signed every letter and card with, “Love and Prayers”. Grandmama called our daughter “dear little Meredith” and just loved her to pieces. After every hug, she’d say, “That was worth a million dollars!”. She always made me feel very greatly loved and highly valued. Grandmama and I wrote letters back and forth for years. I could tell her anything. She kept me updated with family news and continued to write letters even when she had almost no vision left, relying on a machine called a “Visual Tech”, which projected any paper that she was writing on (or book that she was reading) onto a screen, in a bright and greatly magnified form. She actually wrote letters in this manner for several years, and I have kept all of her letters to me.
When Grandmama’s health began to fail, she moved from her apartment to a very nice nursing home. She stayed active as long as possible. One of the things that she did was to participate in a talent show for residents of the nursing home. She won first place with her recitation of the lyrics for the hymn “All Things Bringht and Beautiful”, and I have the trophy that she was given. When Grandmama passed away, our oldest son was one month old. I was glad that my Dad had been in South Carolina visiting relatives at the time of Jared’s birth. He was able to tell Grandmama in person about the birth of her newest Great-Grandson and give her some exciting family news to share in her last month of life.
Lyttleton Street United Methodist Church, my Grandmother’s church, is depicted in this painting of the church’s exterior. The church family still worships in their historic santuary building, built in 1798.
After Grandmama went home to Heaven, Travis told me that he planned to do an arrangement of “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and dedicate it in memory of Grandmama. He wrote a lovely new melody for the hymn lyrics that she knew so well and created an SATB choral arrangement. The “All Things Bright and Beautiful” choral anthem was sung for the first time at my Grandmother’s church, Lyttleton Street United Methodist, in Camden, South Carolina. Their Adult Choir premiered the anthem on Mother’s Day the year after Grandmama’s passing. Since two of Grandmama’s four sons and their families attended the same church, there were many family members in the congregation that day.
The choir loft of Lyttleton Street United Methodist Church in Camden, South Carolina, was the location of the premiere of Travis’ “All Things Bright and Beautiful” choral anthem.
Although a number of churches, including the Lyttleton Street church, have shared Travis’ “All Things Bright and Beautiful” choral anthem many times in worship, it was never published.
A couple of months ago, Travis took a fresh look at “All Things Bright and Beautiful”. He was inspired to create a medley using a portion of that anthem and a portion of the hymn, “This Is My Father’s World.” The new anthem that resulted from his work contains portions of both hymns in a lovely choral medley and is called, “The Father’s Beautiful World”. My Grandmother would be pleased to know that the lyrics which meant so much to her live on in a new arrangement with another of her favorite hymns. We pray that “The Father’s Beautiful World” will touch many hearts with its message of the love and care that God has for His Creation.
NOTE: Following the Anthem information found directly below, you will find histories and photographs related to the stories of both creation hymns, compiled by the author of this post for several websites, as noted.
“The Father’s Beautiful World” Choral PDF Masteris available on our website’s “General Use Anthems” music page in both SATB and SSAA voicing for only $15.00, with NO “per copy” fee!
(You will have permission to make an unlimited number of copies …for your own choir and accompanists only).
Below you will find the video demo for the SATB Choral Anthem. The demo for the SSAA voicing can be found on our website’s “General Use Anthems” page.
Click the photo above to go to our Worship Sounds Music website.
FIND THE VOCAL SOLO MUSIC FOR THIS SONG
There is also a Solo Version of this song, available in 3 keys on our website’s “Vocal Solos” music page. At a cost of only $5.00 for the PDF Solo Master, you are granted permission to make copies for your soloist, accompanists, and rhythm section players.
FIND THE CHORAL VERSIONS OF “The Father’s Beautiful World”
Click the image at right to go straight to the Worship Sounds Music Website’s “General Use Anthems” music page, where you will find the video demos and purchasing links for both the SSAA and for the SATB versions of “The Father’s Beautiful World”.
Refrain:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.
Refrain (sung as desired between most verses)
[Most hymnals omit the following verse]
The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
He made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.
The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.
The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.
The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day.
He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.
Below, you will find some information about the history of both of the original hymns, with links to further information.
Cecil F. Alexander
The author of the hymn lyrics for “All Things Bright and Beautiful” was Cecil Frances Alexander (1818 – 1895). The lyrics were first published in the book Hymns for Little Children in 1848. Alexander is thought to have written these lyrics at Markree Castle, near Sligo, Ireland. (Further information about this location is provided following the stories of both hymns.)
Cecil Frances Humphreys was born in Dublin, but spent a good part of her later life in Londonderry and Strabane. Her husband, William Alexander, himself a Derry man, was appointed Church of Ireland bishop of that city in 1867. He later became Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.
Cecil Frances was a keen supporter of the Oxford Movement, and in 1848 published Hymns For Little Children, which includes three of the most popular hymns in the English language: “Once in Royal David’s City,” “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and “There is a Green Hill Far Away.” Charles Gounod, the composer of Faust, said that some of her lyrics “seemed to set themselves to music.”
A further selection of her works – hymns, tracts and poems – was published a year after her death.
The second line of the hymn lyrics was used as the title to James Herriot’s book All Creatures Great and Small, which was centered around a veterinarian practice in 1930’s Yorkshire in Northern England. Subsequently it became the title of the film and television series. Herriot used the rest of the lines of the refrain for titles of the books that followed: “All Things Bright and Beautiful”, “All Things Wise and Wonderful,” and “The Lord God Made Them All.”
The most commonly used hymn tune for “All Things Bright and Beautiful” is known as Royal Oak. It is a 17th Century English melody, which was arranged by Martin F. Shaw (1875 -1958) for use with the hymn text in around 1915. There are several alternate hymn tunes for the “All Things Bright and Beautiful” lyrics.
Bright and Beautiful,
William H. Monk
Gerald,
Ludwig Spohr, 1834
Greystone, by
W. R. Waghorne, published in Songs for Little People (Danielson and Conant: 1905)
>*<*>*<
“This is My Father’s World” is a well-known Christian hymn, with lyrics written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858 – 1901), a minister from New York. Born August 3, 1858, in Syracuse, New York, Maltbie died at age 42 on May 18, 1901, in Naples, Italy. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, New York.
Maltbie D. Babcock
Babcock attended Syracuse University and Auburn Theological Seminary. He ranked high as a student and participated in both athletic and musical activities. Tall, broad shouldered, and muscular, he was president of the baseball team, an expert pitcher, and a good swimmer. He played several musical instruments, directed the school orchestra, and played the organ and composed for it. He was a singer and leader of the glee club. He could do impersonations, was clever at drawing, and had a knack with tools. He was also an avid fisherman. He might have become a professional musician had he not been called into the ministry.
The Niagara Escarpment near Lockport, where Maltbie stood to admire his Father’s world.
His first pastorate was at the First Presbyterian Church, Lockport, New York. While a pastor in Lockport, Babcock liked to hike in an area called “the escarpment,” an ancient upthrust ledge near Lockport. It has a marvelous view of farms, orchards, and Lake Ontario, about 15 miles distant. It is said that those walks in the woods inspired these lyrics. The title recalls an expression Babcock used when starting a walk: “I’m going out to see my Father’s world.” In 1886, he was called to Brown Memorial Church, Baltimore, Maryland, where he often counseled students at Johns Hopkins University. As his fame spread, he was asked to preach at colleges all over America. Babcock was not a great theologian or deep thinker, but he had a talent for presenting spiritual and ethical truths with freshness and effect. In doing this, he was aided by his agile mind, wide range of knowledge, dramatic ability, speech fluency, and magnetic personality.
After almost 14 years in Baltimore, Babcock was called to the prestigious pastorate of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City, to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Henry Van Dyke. Babcock had been there only 18 months when he made a trip to the Holy Land. While overseas, he died of brucellosis at the age of 42.
Though Babcock published nothing during his life, his wife Catherine collected and published many of his writings after his untimely death. A volume of his poems entitled Thoughts for Every-Day Living contained “This Is My Father’s World”. Babcock, of course, never heard his famous hymn sung.
The poem was set to music by Franklin L. Sheppard, who apparently did not want to call attention to himself and signed using his initials, rearranged as “S.F.L.” Most sources state that Sheppard adapted the music from a traditional English melody.The original poem contained sixteen stanzas of four lines each.
Here is a portion of the beloved hymn lyrics:
This is my Father’s world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father’s world,
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.
This is my Father’s world.
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
the battle is not done:
Jesus Who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and Heav’n be one.
An instrumental version of “This is My Father’s World” is fittingly used in the Ken Burns documentary film, The National Parks, and the corresponding sponsorship slot for The Park Foundation.
The hymn tune for “This is My Father’s World” is known as “Terra Beata”. It is thought to be a traditional English melody, arranged by Franklin Lawrence Sheppard as a setting for the text. Franklin Lawrence Sheppard was born on August 7, 1852, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sheppard attended William Fewsmith’s Classical School and the University of Pennsylvania (valedictorian, 1872). In 1875, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to take charge of the foundry for his father’s stove and heater manufacturing company. Franklin attended the Zion Protestant Episcopal Church in Boston, but later switched to Presbyterianism. He eventually joined the Second Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland, and became president of the Presbyterian Board of Publications and Sabbath-School Work. In 1915, he edited the Presbyterian song book, Alleluia, published in 1915. Sheppard died on February 15, 1930, in Philadelphia,.
Markree Castle, the likely place of inspiration for “All Things Bright and Beautiful”, is located in Collooney, County Sligo, Ireland and is the ancestral seat of the Cooper family, partially moated by the River Unshin. According to some sources, Cecil F. Alexander wrote her famous hymn, All Things Bright and Beautiful, while a guest at Markree in 1848.
In 1830, Col. Edward Joshua Cooper MP (1798-1863) eldest son of Edward Synge Cooper MP, and Ann, daughter of Henry Vansittart, Governor of Bengal, set up Markree Observatory in the castle grounds. For a number of years Cooper’s telescope was the largest in the world.
“The Observatory of Mr Cooper of Markree Castle was undoubtedly the most richly furnished private observatory known and was worked by Mr Cooper himself and by his very able assistant, Mr Andrew Graham.” (Royal Astronomical Society, 1851)
The observatory remained active until the death of Edward Henry Cooper MP in 1902.
The castle, as it exists today, dates from 1802, with exterior changes by the architect Francis Johnston and with some changes made, mainly to the interior, in 1896. Today, Markree Castle operates as a hotel run by Charles and Mary Cooper, the 10th generation of the family to live there.
The 300-acre (1.2 km2) estate holds an array of wild life; from red squirrels, to otters, to kingfishers.
Pasture land with the Niagara Escarpement in the background
The Niagara Escarpment, the place of inspiration for “This is My Father’s World”, is the most prominent of several escarpments formed in the bedrock of the Great Lakes basin. From its easternmost point near Watertown, New York, the escarpment shapes in part the individual basins and landforms of Lakes Ontario, Huron, and Michigan. In Rochester, New York, there are three waterfalls over the escarpment where the Genesee River flows through the city. The escarpment then runs westward to the Niagara River, forming a deep gorge north of Niagara Falls, which itself cascades over the escarpment. In southern Ontario, the escarpment spans the Niagara Peninsula, closely following the Lake Ontario shore through the cities of St. Catharines, Hamilton, and Dundas, where it takes a sharp turn north in the town of Milton toward Georgian Bay. It then follows the Georgian Bay shore northwestwards to form the spine of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island, as well as several smaller islands located in northern Lake Huron, where it turns westwards into the Upper Peninsula of northern Michigan, south of Sault Ste. Marie. It then extends southwards into Wisconsin, following the Door Peninsula through the Bayshore Blufflands, and then more inland from the western coast of Lake Michigan and Milwaukee, ending northwest of Chicago near the Wisconsin-Illinois border.
The Niagara Escarpment stretches 450 miles from Wisconsin through Canada to Rochester and is most famous for Niagara Falls and the Niagara Gorge. Its unique rock formations, shaped by sedimentary deposits and erosion, result in ecosystems that vary from deciduous maple forests and oak-hickory forests, to wetlands with cottonwoods and willows, to streams and waterfalls overlooked by cliff faces.
Lockport, where Maltbie Babcok lived when he took walks along the escarpment and was inspired to write the poem, “My Father’s World”, is a city in Niagara County, in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area. It is the county seat. The community was named for the Erie Canal locks still in evidence here.
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MORE INFORMATION ON BOOKS RELATED TO THE TWO HYMNS
(A)All Things Bright and Beautiful
You can view the entire book of poems by Cecil Frances Alexander, entitled “Hymns for Little Children,” in which the poem that became the hymn lyrics for “All Things Bright and Beautiful” was first printed, at this link: http://archive.org/details/hymnsforlittlech00alex
Note: Select the “Read Online” option. You can turn pages using the arrows at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. “All Things Bright and Beautiful” can be found on pages 27 and 28, pictured below, along with the inside title page.
This is a photo of the inside cover page of “Hymns for Little Children,” in which “All Things Bright and Beautiful” was first published.
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(B) This is my Father’s World
The spoken words, poems, letters, sermons, and other writings of Maltbie Davenport Babcock, which include the poem “My Father’s World” (later serving as the hymn lyrics for “This is My Father’s World”), were collected, edited, and printed in 1902 in the book Thoughts for Every-day Living. Babcock’s widow, Katherine Tallman Babcock, who compiled the volume, wrote that it was “printed in loving memory of one who lived what he taught.”
The inside title page of the book is below, as are pages 180 and 181, which contain the first 11 stanza’s of Babcock’s poem, “My Father’s World”. Unfortunately, there was an error made in the photocopying of page 182, which contains the remaining stanzas. The page is twisted, making the words unreadable. You can access the book online in its entirety at http://archive.org/details/thoughtsforever00babcgoog
Note: Select the “Read Online” option. You can turn pages using the arrows at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. “All Things Bright and Beautiful” can be found on pages 27 and 28, pictured below, along with the inside title page.
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(C) The book, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”, written by James Herriot, which was made into a movie and TV series, is still available on Amazon. Herriot borrowed lines from the poem as titles to his books about a veterinarian in Yorkshire. Here is the description of this particular book:
“The world’s most beloved animal doctor delightfully continues where he left off in All Creatures Great and Small with new adventures through the Yorkshire dales– and a whole new menagerie of memorable patients.
Young James, now married and working as a small-town vet, encounters a cast of extraordinary characters as he makes his way through the Yorkshire countryside tending to sick cattle, pregnant ewes, ailing dogs– and their eccentric owners. As always, Herriot’s warmth, humor, and singular view of life make us laugh and cry, as we marvel at the everyday miracles he creates.”
Thank you for spending your valuable time reading the contents of this page. We hope that it has been helpful to you. If you or someone that you know is looking for answers about life, we hope that you will visit our page called “Do You Know Jesus?”. The links provided on this page will help to answer life’s deepest questions. Here is the link to “Do You Know Jesus?”: http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
Please feel free to share this URL with anyone who is looking for answers about life and eternity.
The song, “Walking By Faith,” was composed by Travis L. Boyd, inspired by scripture and by the testimony of an Oklahoma Minister of Music and Worship. Royce Brown lived his life by faith, walking with Jesus and serving the Lord through every challenge he faced. Though he had lost his eyesight, Royce not only served faithfully in his ministry calling but also in his community. He was known as an effective, servant leader, whose community involvement and faithful perseverance was an inspiration to his family, friends, neighbors, and his colleagues in ministry. “Walking by Faith” was written with the ministry and character of this man (and the faithfulness of God as our Shepherd and guide) uppermost in Travis’s mind.
Royce Brown, a long-time Minister of Worship and Music, community volunteer, charter member of The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma, and Minister of Music Emeritus for the First Baptist Church of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, was a man who walked by faith, both spiritually and physically. He left behind a legacy of service and faithfulness as well as a testimony of trust in God and a transparent love for his Lord and Savior. Royce and his family moved to Sapulpa, Oklahoma in 1966, when he became the Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church there. After more than 5o years of service in ministry at Sapulpa and in other communities such as Blackwell, Ada, and Pauls Valley, Royce retired from full-time ministry. Continuing to live in the community of Sapulpa, Royce sang in local nursing homes every week. He was also involved in the Sapulpa Ministerial Alliance and in the local Lions Club. Royce was named Citizen of the Year by the Sertoma Club of Sapulpa, and June 9, 2002, was proclaimed Royce Brown Day by the Sapulpa Mayor, in honor of Royce’s long history of community service and ministy.
The Logo for The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma
Royce had been widowed in 2001, and he had also lost his eyesight. However, he never lost his love for the Lord or his desire to serve. He continued to sing with the Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma, depending on friends within the group for transportation to and from concerts all over the State of Oklahoma and around the world on Churchmen Mission trips. Royce inspired fellow Ministers of Music and Worship with his dedication and perseverance, memorizing all of his music and accepting the help of others as he navigated through the buildings and upon the worship center platforms of the churches where concerts were held.
Due to his longevity and faithfulness in ministry, Royce was recognized by the Historical Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma as Music Minister Emeritus of the First Baptist Church of Sapulpa. In addition. he was also presented the Lifetime Music Ministry Award, instituted in Royce’s honor, by Dr. Bill Green, Associate Executive Director of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and, at that time, Director of both The Singing Churchmen and The Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma. This award continues to be given to Music and Worship Ministers in the State of Oklahoma who have served faithfully for many years.
Introducing “Walking by Faith”
Travis played “Walking by Faith” for Royce in the Worship Center of First Baptist Church of Sapulpa, Oklahoma.
After Travis had written a TTBB arrangement of “Walking By Faith” with a tenor solo; and Dr. Bill Green had selected the song for inclusion in the repertoire of The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma, Travis and I travelled to Sapulpa to share the song with Royce and introduce him to the solo. Royce had a mellow tenor voice, and he did not hesitate to use it in praise to his Lord. I am smiling even now as I recall meeting Royce in the Worship Center of his church, where Travis sat down at the piano with Royce just behind him, listening and ready to sing. Royce picked up on the song so quickly that it seemed miraculous. He was singing along with portions of the song before he had even heard them being played or sung and without the benefit of being able to see the music. It was definitely a very spiritual experience to hear Royce singing “Walking By Faith”, knowing that the Lord had inspired Travis to write the song so that Royce could have further opportunity to proclaim the message of God’s goodness and guidance throughout life. Travis knew that the message of “Walking By Faith” would be shared with integrity and conviction by this man who had lived his own faith walk through many decades of ministry and service.
From the July 11, 2002 Baptist Messenger: HONORED: Royce Brown, left, Music Minister Emeritus at Sapulpa, First, accepts congratulations from Ron Fannin, Associate Executive Director of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, right, and Bill Green, BGCO Associate Executive Director of Church and Family Equipping Ministries and Director of The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma, of which Brown is a charter member. Brown was honored by Sapulpa, First, for more than 50 years of ministry. Fannin presented an award from the BGCO Historical Commission, and Green announced the establishment of the Royce Brown Award for Lifetime Achievement in Music Ministry.
Hearing Royce sing “Walking By Faith” was something very special to Travis, to our brother, Dr. Bill Green, and to all of The Singing Churchmen and the audiences at each of the Worship Concerts. Beyond the sound of Royce’s beautiful tenor voice singing a pleasant tune with with a message of encouragement and challenge, the Holy Spirit used the life and spirit of the man singing the solo and the testimony of The Singing Churchmen singing the choral parts to touch the hearts of all who heard “Walking by Faith” during this time period. On one occasion, Travis and some friends stopped at a restaurant after a concert during which “Walking By Faith” was one of the anthems sung by The Churchmen, with Royce as the soloist. Royce and his traveling buddy had also stopped at the same place; and Travis witnessed a woman who had been at the concert and recognized Royce as she told him how blessed she had been by his solo on “Walking By Faith.” Royce had beamed as he thanked her, and we are so pleased that God allowed Royce to share the testimony of his spiritual journey with Jesus through this song.
Our brother Royce went home to be with His Lord in June of 2003. The Singing Churchmen sang “Walking By Faith” and other songs of testimony at his funeral service. For those who witnessed his life, there remains an unforgettable testimony of the faithfulness of God and the faith journey of a man of God that will live on in our hearts.
There are so many faithful servants of God who have the same testimony of walking by faith and trusting the Lord throughout their lives. Along the way on our journey, we are thankful to have met so many wonderful people who love the Lord and are walking with Him one step at a time. Most of all, we are thankful to know the Lord and to be able to trust Him throughout our lives as we continue walking by faith.
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The track below is the publisher’s demo version of,”Walking by Faith,” with the solo sung by Sue Martin. Click “Listen in browser” to hear it (unless you already have or want to install the Sound Cloud app).
“Walking by Faith” was published as an SAB Choral anthem with Solo by Shawnee Press/Hal Leonard. The anthem is still available at the links below, and a Performance/Accompaniment CD is also available.
One step at a time…
Lyrics for “Walking By Faith”:
Walking by faith and not by sight,
Guided by a Holy light.
Step by step, the way is clear.
The Spirit of the Lord is near.
I will follow where He leads,
For I know the path is right
When I’m walking by faith
And not by sight.
Trusting in One I cannot see,
For He knows what’s best for me.
Tenderly, the Shepherd guides.
The Spirit of the Lord abides.
I will follow where He leads,
For the Lord will be my light
When I’m walking by faith
And not by sight.
(Bridge section)
Though at times I stumble,
I will never fall;
For I know God is always faithful
To hold my hand, and lift me up,
And see me through it all.
When I’m living by faith, I’m not alone.
As I travel on toward home.
When the road is hard to bear,
The Spirit of the Lord is there.
I will follow where He leads,
For the way is always right
When I’m walking by faith
And not by sight.
(Tag ending)
I’m walking by faith and not by sight.
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HERE IS THE PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION of “Walking By Faith”:
“Full of youthful confidence and motivational lyrics, “Walking By Faith” is a challenge to Christians of all ages to “walk by faith and not by sight.” Gentle syncopations are easily learned and help give the piece a nice contemporary feel. The SAB voicing is particularly well suited to youth choirs.”
The first page of “Walkig By Faith”, copyright Shawnee Press, with the dedication, “For Royce Brown”, appearing above the title.
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This post was written by C. Boyd
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Do you know Jesus?
The decision to ask Jesus to come into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior is the best decision you could ever make! The one true God is ready to give you forgiveness and eternal life as soon as you understand your need for Him and believe on the name of His only Son, Jesus, for your salvation.
“Let the Trumpet Sound” is a choral anthem with a classical sound and a trumpet obbligato throughout.
This majestic, joyful, and celebratory anthem works well as the opening song for a worship service or concert (or for general use). It has been sung in an SSAA arrangement by The Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma, under the direction of Dr. Bill Green.
Click the photo above to go directly to our WorshipSounds Music website!
As always, our PDF Master Copy of the anthem is available in either full page or octavo format. With our easy and quick e-mail delivery of your download instructions and the convenience of PayPal, you could begin working on the “Let the Trumpet Sound” at your next choir rehearsal.
* The PDF Master Copy is available for $15.00.
* Permission is given with purchase to make as many copies as needed(for your choir and accompanists only).
* THERE IS NO ‘per copy’ FEE!
* $15.00 IS ALL THAT YOU WILL PAY FOR ALL THE COPIES YOU NEED!
If a copy becomes lost or damaged, print another at no extra cost, even if it has been years since your purchase!* No waiting for your anthem to arrive by mail!
* You will be sent instructions for downloading your Master Copy shortly after your order has been placed.
* You can print your copies as soon as your download is complete.
(Wait a few minutes after your order to allow for Paypal processing. Then, check for your e-mail with download instructions.)
If you have any difficulty, contact us immediately at Travis’ web mail address: Travis@worshipsounds.com (same webmail address that is on our website’s home page).
Click photo to go directly to the Video Demo for this anthem, with a link to the Adult Choir website page below in the Video info.
Look for this identifying thumbnail photo on our Adult Choir website page, where the anthems are listed in alphabetical order (with the exception of our Christmas anthems, which are found at the bottom of the page.) http://www.worshipsounds.com
The trumpet obbligato is free but must be ordered separately on our WorshipSounds Music website’s Shopping Cart page. You’ll find the obbligato adjacent to the “Let the Trumpet Sound” Anthem PDFs, with the same identifying thumbnail photo.
With WorshipSounds Music, you can purchase any NEW CHORAL ANTHEM and have all of the copies you need(for your choir and accompanists) for as little as $8.oo to $15.00 plus your printing costs, depending upon which anthem you choose(U.S. currency, Paypal converts).
Our goal at WorshipSounds Music is to make it possible for Choral Directors to purchase anthems for choir and ensembles, anthem orchestrations, and music for soloists that will allow the musicicans in your Church or Christian School to sing and play for God’s glory, sharing a message that will draw hearts to Him. We believe that Choral Music is an important part of Worship Ministry and that messages can be shared through the ministry of a choir that will not have the same impact if shared in any other way.
We are a friend to Worship Ministry in general, to Choral Music in particular, and to music budgets!
We also offer many choral anthems that are fully orchestrated, with orchestrations costing $25.00 or $30.00. All of our orchestration include all parts for strings, winds, and percussion, a full score, and a string reduction for keyboard. They are written to be practical for church musicians and to sound wonderful no matter what your group’s instrumentation may be. Great care is taken during the arranging process to make certain that the instrumental parts complement the message of the anthem without “covering up” the choir.
You will find excellent choral music that is meaningful and memorable, that has a Biblically sound message of praise and hope, and that is a joy to sing!
Thank you for spending your valuable time reading the contents of this page. We hope that it has been helpful to you. If you or someone that you know is looking for answers about life, we hope that you will visit our page called “Do You Know Jesus?”. The links provided on this page will help to answer life’s deepest questions. Here is the link to “Do You Know Jesus?”: http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
Please feel free to share this URL with anyone who is looking for answers about life and eternity.
Worship Sounds Music 