"He arose!"

"He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!" Christ did arise and is still alive. If he hadn't, there would be no Christian religion. If it was proven that he didn't rise from the dead, the hopes of Christians everywhere would end. It ain't gonna happen, though. People have tried disproving Christ's death and resurrection for centuries.

The words at the beginning of this post are from the old Robert Lowry hymn "Christ Arose". I enjoy singing it, along with a lot of the other great hymns. But now, many churches have switched to more contemporary songs. Eventually, they may prove to be as long lasting and insightful as the old hymns but I miss singing hymns from a hymn book. With the music in front of you, you could sing in parts (what's that?) and it helps to have an organ or piano leading the music because that helps pick out parts to follow. And being a bass (that is, singing in the low range of male voices - not a fish) makes it hard to sing along on songs that are mostly pitched for sopranos and tenors. But I don't want to come across as an old curmudgeon. I do enjoy the newer worship songs, too. I love the songs of Paul Baloche, Chris Tomlin, Amy Grant, Michael Card and the artists of Hillsong. Their music is inspired and inspiring. They are all terrific musicians and their songs are deep and worshipful. It's just a shame that churches seem to go all one way (with older, traditional hymns played on organ or piano) or the other (contemporary music played on guitars and electronic instruments).

Our church does include an old hymn once in a while but it's hard to be able to sing parts when all the instruments are just playing chords as accompaniment. But the enthusiasm and musicianship of our church's worship band is remarkable. It really does lift our spirits and helps our soul worship the Lord. I don't want this to come across as a complaint against the use of contemporary praise and worship songs in church. I just miss the old hymns and the loss of the more classical instruments. Why does everything seem to have to be one way or another?

This year, Easter is early and it's still cold outside. To save from the usual crush of people in church on Sunday, we took advantage of our church having a Saturday evening Easter service this year. It was still crowded but it wasn't overwhelming. This morning, we're going to wait for it to warm up before starting the Easter Egg hunt.