Sacred

We have asked for much from our ensembles and ourselves through the many weeks of Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. Remember the day after Easter? There was a beautiful aura…

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been,…

For Christians, the Resurrection changes everything. The reality of Christ’s defeat of sin and death is not just the focus of our greatest annual festival—it is the core of our…

If Easter is coming fast and your church choir still needs an easy, meaningful anthem, we’ve got you covered. In this video, J.W. Pepper shares Easter Quick Learns—anthems that rehearse…

When I first encountered “the four freedoms,” it was through the celebrated quartet of paintings by Norman Rockwell. For me, these amazing masterpieces represented the ideals of artistic beauty mingled…

The silence of God is something with which I’m well acquainted. From a human standpoint, I can tell you: I’m not a fan. I’m in the process of selling my…

Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature … For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the…

The most basic Christian teaching is: “God is love.” You can find this message anywhere you look in Scripture, but two of the most obvious instances are in 1 John…

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday—it marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Customs and traditions vary among different groups of Christians, but one universal reality is that Lent is a…

I’ve observed a fairly consistent pattern in various church choirs and ensembles through the years: those who volunteer in music ministry tend to lead the way in service and outreach…

Have you ever thought of yourself as a prophet? Very likely that attribute has never found its way onto a church musician’s position description. But in reality, the prophetic role…

We’re excited to share a handpicked list of brand-new Lent and Easter choral selections chosen from the latest additions to our Editors’ Choice library. These anthems are perfect for the…

Some of the most rewarding experiences in my career as a music minister have been our annual youth choir tours. These trips with middle and high school students have been…

For decades, church choirs have been a defining sound of worship across the United States and around the world. Yet as congregations age and worship styles evolve, many church musicians…

After much pondering and serious deliberation, I at last settled on my personal Word of the Year for 2026 – Renewal. I wasn’t just thinking about renewal as it relates…

I was at the organ, practicing for the Christmas Concert this weekend, when a colleague came  with the news—a friend, active and loved in the congregation had died suddenly. He’d…

It was Christmas Eve and I was completely alone. My solitude wasn’t by choice but by circumstance. I was completing my first year serving a church several states away from…

It gets to me every single time. It’s Christmas Eve. Everyone in the packed sanctuary has a candle. For the last hour our ministry team has been running around doing…

Christians have observed Advent since at least the fourth century. The word comes from the Latin adventus, meaning “coming.” Advent began as 40 days of baptismal preparation leading up to…

This morning, I opened my personal calendar/journal – not the one I use for work, but rather the one that serves as a brain dump of all the things I…

Let our passion for music and faith inspire everyone around us, and together we can build a more just and compassionate world. In today’s world, a world that often seems…