Everything

The Hallelujah Chorus is one of the most famous choruses of all time, titled after one of the most commonly used lyrics of all sacred music, a lyric that supersedes language and even religious denomination. The word ‘hallelujah’ is an intriguing one. Though it is a Hebrew word that means ‘praise the Lord,’ it is…

In the early 18th century, a trend burgeoned along the lines of American music and music education.  When the early settlers fled to the New World for religious freedom, they also brought along with them the practice of singing hymns and psalms in their worship services. Unfortunately, as a distinct body of folk American music…

The beginning of the new year was monumental, especially because it signified another decade, at least ‘numerologically’ speaking. For me, it simply marked a decade of life as a full-time missionary.

Unless you’re a die-hard SDA Hymnal fanatic or an experienced church musician, you probably wouldn’t know that such an index exists. I have taught several hymnology classes in college, churches, and homeschooling families. And whenever I introduce this special index to them, I am usually met with a surprised “whoa-this-is-so-cool-why-did-I-not-know-this-before” kind of reaction. The Scriptural…

One of the keystone habits that I have tried to develop over the years is to do my devotional first thing in the morning. This is when I spend an hour meditating on God’s word and reflecting on how I can practically apply it in my life.  Unlike the mainstream meditation, I do not sit…

“Hi Irene, I’m interested to know if you’d be interested in teaching organ lessons. I live in Iceland and recently moved to the countryside where I am the organist and choir director for two churches. As a pianist I can ‘make do’ on the organ, but I’d really like to improve and I know lessons…

It is common knowledge among Adventist church-goers that next to the Sabbath afternoon programs, the Sabbath School is one of the least attended service of the whole-day worship experience during Saturdays. There are many reasons to be had when it comes to a dwindling Sabbath School attendance. A lot of churches try to solve this…

Have you ever come across the ‘Early Advent’ or ‘Watchfulness’ section of the SDA Hymnal, and just leafed through it saying, ‘Hmmm, I don’t know that…, I don’t know that…, I don’t know that…’? Well, this hymn is one of those least known songs — rarely announced in Sabbath School song service, much less Divine…

The history of the Seventh-day Adventist church is abundant with stories of great men who after making indelible contributions to the Advent movement, left the church. A few prominent names come to mind — T.M. Preble who was instrument in introducing the Sabbath truth to Joseph Bates; O.R.L. Crosier who wrote concerning the sanctuary; D.M.…

You’re going to probably think, “What a weird title for a post.” But it is what it is. Recently, I had to travel to the US on a tourist visa and was denied entry. I was also banned to re-enter for the next 10 years. More details on that here, but this particular post is…

A girl comes on stage with a small ukelele, says hello to the five music judges in front of her and tells them the song she’s about to sing. On cue, she belts out a ballad. The camera pans out and the screen shows certain faces from the audience. Some are teary-eyed, some smiling. As…

Today’s congregational singing scene in many Protestant churches is a far cry from what it had been a couple hundred years ago. Aside from the simplicity with which their song servece were carried on, their hymnals then were also very different in that it did not contain written notes. At best, it contained words, with…