Original Resources for the Church
Free for you to use today – by David W. Seabaugh
Spirit and truth find new expression in every age.
Here are a few more.
God’s word touches the heart of our people in so many ways as they worship. Established liturgies and prayers have served the church for ages.
I pray these new creative expressions of worship will give fresh insight and bold proclamation to your worship service.
Confession and Forgiveness
One of the hallmark elements of Lutheran worship is the time of confession and forgiveness that occurs near the beginning of the service. I have found it meaningful to write new confessions to correlate to the theme or a scripture in the service. I pray these will be meaningful for you and your church too.
Use the powerful search function to find an original confession and forgiveness for use in your worship services. Search for keywords, scripture references or seasons.
Orders of Worship
It is uniquely beautiful when followers of Jesus gather to worship. Below you will find familiar liturgies in new settings and entirely new architectures for worship, based on scripture.
Hymnic Settings of the Mass Texts:
For centuries, Christians have worshipped using the parts of the Mass, or Divine Service (Kyrie, Gloria, Alleluia, Sanctus, Agnus Dei & Benediction). I have found it refreshing to recast these ancient texts to be sung to familiar hymn tunes. Files labeled “Divine Service Setting” has all the parts set to the same tune. I hope you enjoy incorporating these accessible settings in your worship.
The Lord’s Prayer Service
This service is structured around the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer and can be used in a variety of settings, from a full communion service to a simple prayer service. Each petition is prayed by the congregation, silence is kept, and the pastor breaks the silence with a prayer of his own regarding the petition. Then, the appropriate verses of Luther’s “Our Father, Who from Heaven Above” are sung. Many familiar elements of worship are preserved in this setting, but relocated to coordinate with the petitions of the prayer.
Prayers
The early church devoted themselves to the “apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). There are many good and beautiful ways to address God in prayer. I hope these prayers will be a blessing to you and your community.
Something special happens when God’s truth is joined to a beautiful tune.
His word sinks deep within our hearts, even as we sing our praise to God.
I am grateful to God that he has given me a few insightful rhymes and some original tunes to share with you.
I pray these songs will bless you as they have blessed me.
All the Hymns
Below you fill find all the original hymns available on my website. Use the powerful search function to find keywords in the hymn lyrics and my hymnwriter notes. All the hymns are saved as pdf files in their respective folders with image files for use in printed worship bulletins.
An Imitation
This hymn is based on Ephesians 5:1-2, which reads,
Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.
In this hymn, I tried to represent the cascading effect of imitation. First, the Son, Jesus, is the imitation of the Father. Jesus taught the little children, who by nature are imitators. Jesus’ work of salvation has set us free to imitate him so that we can be the living, breathing example for others. Of course, it only works if we are following Jesus’ example.
The refrain of this work is one of my favorites. I enjoy the rhyming wordplay and the shifting referent related to the last phrase, “Come follow me, I follow him.” At first, it is Jesus speaking of how he follows the Father. Then it’s the children, speaking of how they follow Jesus. Then it becomes our own voice beckoning others to follow us, as we follow Jesus. Finally, it is the voice of those who follow us as we imitate Jesus, encouraging others to follow.
The tune of “An Imitation” is also original. I wanted to create a lilting, open feel to the hymn, with a sense of repetition, much like an imitation is a replication of the original.
I truly hope you will enjoy, “An Imitation.”
Blessings,
David W. Seabaugh
Oh, Lord, What do You See?
What did Jesus see as he made his way to the cross? We know Jesus didn’t view the world or the people in it as we do. What did he see as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane? What did he see as Peter denied him three times? What did he see as he carried his cross and hung on it to die? The first three verses pose the question, “Oh, Lord, do you see me?” The final verse, however, answers the question with a statement of gratitude. “Thank you for seeing me.”
This hymn was inspired by the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson. The powerful images of the movie shook me to the core and sent me pondering the perspective of Jesus. Perhaps that is how such a soul-churning melody came out of me. As the movie ended with a hint of resurrection, so also this hymn ends with a ray of light. I would even recommend the practice of using a picardy third to the final chord to accentuate that ray of light.
This hymn won the Pamela Anne Prevallet Memorial Fund Hymn Competition in 2004 through Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO. Therefore, it is copyrighted through that memorial fund.
This hymn is a perfect Lenten hymn and is most powerfully sung in a Good Friday worship. I pray you will enjoy “Oh, Lord, What do You See?”
Blessings,
David W. Seabaugh
Well Done
This hymn was commissioned by a wonderful couple who poured their hearts and souls into their service to God in the field of education. Faithfully working behind the scenes, often with little attention or praise, they impacted the lives of thousands of students. Their request was for a hymn based on Matthew 25:21.
‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ (ESV)
Their service brought them to two schools, so they requested that the song give some sort of nod in those directions. So, if the song seems to include some animals which may otherwise be used as team mascots, you now have the back story.
I hope you will all enjoy Well Done as much as I did writing it.
Blessings,
David W. Seabaugh
Let There Be
This hymn was inspired by one family’s love of butterflies. The process of metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly amazed them, and reminded them of the kind of change that happens in us through faith in Jesus.
I particularly enjoy how this hymn came together as each verse takes us through the stages of metamorphosis, paralleling the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. I also enjoyed the complex rhyme scheme and the lilting melody, intended to mimic the flight of a butterfly.
I hope you enjoy “Let There Be.”
God Makes Them Grow
This hymn was written in honor and memory of Hank Koehler, who served as a Lutheran school teacher and who possessed a tremendous love for his family, his students and plants. I was blessed to conduct his funeral service and centered my sermon on Hank’s commitment to growth. Later, the family made arrangements with me to write this hymn.
The voice of the hymn is filled with wonder and astonishment at the way God makes things grow, from the seed under the soil, to the embryo in the womb, to the student in the classroom and culminating in the growth of our faith in Jesus.
It was truly an honor to write this hymn for such a great man, and I hope it will be a blessing to you as well as you sing it in your settings.
Blessings,
David W. Seabaugh
Believe
What do you choose as the theme verse for a Lutheran school that is facing uncertain times? For the 2024/25 school year, we chose Romans 12:12. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.” Not only did it make for a perfect verse as we prayed and watched God do amazing things, but it also made for a great theme song for the children.
This song can be sung as is, or can be sung as a two-part round. I hope you enjoy “Believe.”
Blessings,
David W. Seabaugh
Made for More
This simple little song was written to support the 2023/24 theme for our Lutheran school theme as we explored the fruit of the spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. The catchy tune was picked up right away by the children and became a favorite of the teachers. This versatile song will feel right at home in corporate worship and at the campfire. I hope you enjoy Made for More.
Rooted in Love
This little scripture song is written as a reflection on Ephesians 3:17-19.
I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19 (CSB)
Rooted in Love is suitable for the Christian School, Sunday School, Camp or other settings with children. The verse of the song can be sung in a round.
I’ll Strengthen My People
This little scripture song came about through our school, Immanuel Lutheran School in Elmhurst, IL. Our scripture theme for the 2021/22 school year was Zechariah 10:12,
I’ll strengthen my people because of who I am, and they will follow me.
I the Lord have spoken!
I had long wanted to write a special hymn for the school and this seemed like my opportunity. When I went to write a song, I simply couldn’t get past the beautiful words of the text itself and how it sang to me. I endeavored to write the catchiest little tune I could, and as an extra challenge, write it to be sung as a round. By the grace of God, the song has become a favorite of the children, who love to sing it as a round, even up to four parts!
I pray you will enjoy this little scripture song in your setting as well.
Blessings,
David W. Seabaugh
Be Salt, Be Light
I have always found it a bit stunning when Jesus says that we are to be salt and light. Perhaps it’s because I don’t feel qualified for the task. There is no denying it. Matthew 5:13-16 is clear.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
This hymn uses a play on words to emphasize the word “be.” It also makes it clear from the outset that our salt and light do not make us right in the eyes of God, or for that matter, anyone else. God makes us right. We are set apart by God so that others might be set apart for that “bright eternal day.”
The melody for “Be Salt, Be Light” highlights a simple ascending pattern that accentuates the play on the word, “be.”
I hope you will be inspired to be salt and light through this simple little song.
Blessings,
David W. Seabaugh
God of Birth and Life and Death
In theological circles, we describe God with a number of words that begin with the prefix omni-. God is omniscient. That means that God can see all things at the same time. God is omnipotent. That means that God is all powerful. God is omnipresent. He is in all times and places at once. These concepts can be some heavy lifting for theologians, but they make for a great little hymn on the awesome nature of God. This kind of awe leads us to gratitude, because the God who sees all and knows all and is everywhere also loves us.
I hope this song will bring you to that same gratitude, even as you stand in awe of his greatness.
Blessings,
David W. Seabaugh
Let the Children Come to Me
Jesus wasn’t the first to invite the children into a deeper relationship with God. In fact, he was only doing what God had instructed in The Great Shema! Here it is from Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
“Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.
This hymn was inspired by The Great Shema as an encouragement to parents to incorporate the biblical instruction of their children into all aspects of daily life. As the hymn suggests, class is in session all the time, especially when you don’t expect it.
I hope this hymn will give you the encouragement to pass your faith on to the next generation.
Blessings,
David W. Seabaugh
Carry On
In a world as thoroughly broken as this, it’s easy to feel hopeless. Challenges seem insurmountable and despair makes a home within us. This hymn explores how God can bring us from hopelessness to faith, and from faith to boldness, and from boldness to gratitude. As it says in Jeremiah 29:11,
For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
The verses of the hymn reflect the struggles and musings of the inner self, while the refrain provides the consistent hopeful reply of our God, “Carry on, and grow where you are planted.” The melody and harmony of this hymn is intended to also reflect the conversational nature of the text. The verses are darker and more dissonant, while the refrain is more open and flowing.
I hope you will fine encouragement in the faithfulness of God through this hymn.
Blessings,
David W. Seabaugh
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
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