fruit of the Spirit
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A Prayer for Worshiping Gently
Have you ever considered musical worship as an opportunity for gentleness? And don’t you think we could all benefit from more gentleness in this age of outrage? As you sing with your church family tomorrow, I hope you will treat those around you humbly and tenderly, even as you sing joyfully and boldly. Let’s pray. Continue reading
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A Prayer for Worshiping Faithfully
Where has the week gone? The checked boxes of my to-do lists suggest I used the week productively, but I can hardly remember what I’ve done. Every Saturday surprises me and I cannot believe Sunday is back again. I admit that I’m tired. Happy and healthy, but tired. I understand the temptation to sleep in, Continue reading
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A Prayer for Worshiping Generously
If forced to pick a synonym for goodness as a fruit of the Spirit, I would choose “generosity.” There is certainly more to it than that, but this is a blog post not a theological treatise. (Also, “A Prayer for Worshiping Goodly” just reads…not goodly.) So, as I prepare for worship tomorrow, I am tuning Continue reading
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A Prayer for Worshiping Peacefully
I’ve been sick this week, which is never fun—especially when I know I still have to get up early and work on Sunday. But perhaps now more than when I’m well, it’s important to focus my heart and pray over tomorrow’s worship. God of all comfort, encourage us as we gather tomorrow (2 Cor. 1:3). Continue reading
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The Goodness of Gardening Friends
“All my flower beds are filled with this ivy,” I texted two of my friends this afternoon. “Should I pull it or let it be? It’s pretty but seems to be taking over…” I snapped a picture to accompany my text, hoping as I sent it that my friends would reply, “Oh, that’s a rare Continue reading
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Be [Weeding Out] Sin or It Will Be [Weeding Out] You
![Be [Weeding Out] Sin or It Will Be [Weeding Out] You](https://ryannemolinari.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/pexels-photo-189791.jpeg?w=1024)
In Iowa, you could watch the grass grow and not be (too) bored. My husband will mow our lawn, and if it rains even a little, the grass will spring up an inch by the following day. The same, unfortunately, is true of weeds. So. Many. Weeds. As my music work winds down for the Continue reading
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A Few Lessons from Pruning My Grape Vines
When we first moved to Iowa, we were met with tremendous fruitfulness—and not just spiritually! Upon moving into our home, we found a young apple tree, a mature cherry tree, and two lush grapevines. I was enchanted. Having grown up in Phoenix, I was used to planting ill-fated gardens each year only to watch my Continue reading
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Social Media and Sabbaths
It’s Saturday evening, and I am filled with relief. Tomorrow, at last, is a Sabbath. Sundays are not restful for me. I rise earlier than other mornings and practice for an hour or so before my first church service, where I play the organ and direct the choir. After this, I snatch a few donut Continue reading
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Three Ways Musical Roots Teach Us About Love
I am always amazed by how music—even music theory—images certain theological concepts. Enjoy! 1. The Root Provides Identity In music theory, the “root” is the note by which a scale or chord is named (C is the root of a C major scale, and so on). It is the foundational pitch that gives the scale Continue reading
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Conclusion and Questions to Consider: Reframing the Bethel-Hillsong Controversy According to the Fruit of the Spirit
Welcome to the final article in my Bethel-Hillsong series! To organize this content, I’ll link each article in order below: As we wrap up this lengthy series, here are nine fruitful questions to consider before you program music by any artist—including Bethel and Hillsong—for worship: I hope this series helped you think about this issue Continue reading
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Surprised by Self-Control: Bethel, Hillsong, and the Overlooked Purpose of Congregational Song
When asked which fruit of the Spirit is most directly related to worship music, most people will answer, “Joy, of course!” If pressed, they might also mention love, peace, goodness, and faithfulness. Patience and kindness may make the list too, but what about self-control? We don’t often discuss self-control in relation to worship music except Continue reading
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Coming Back to the Heart of Worship: 5 Facts About Gentleness that Shape How We Discuss and Do Worship Music
Gentleness is a much-abused fruit in our day and age. For the sake of “gentleness,” people are told to abandon doctrinal convictions. For the sake of “gentleness,” people are coerced into disobeying scripture’s command to teach, exhort, and admonish. To use gentleness in such ways is to misapply this powerful fruit. Gentleness, which is perhaps Continue reading
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