Church songs – shortlist

Essential songs to encourage great congregational singing

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This is How we Know (John 3:16)

John 3 16If you have only recently joined me for the Three Sixteens, you should know that this series explores my observation that nearly all New Testament books have some “lightbulb” moment, a standout verse, event or promise, landing at the point of chapter 3 verse 16. (And no one knows why!) The 3:16 of John’s Gospel is no doubt the most famous of all. It has been printed on shirts, cards, keyrings and stickers and taught in Sunday School songs til it has become the most famous bible verse of all time (even with non-Christians). And fair enough. This verse reveals God’s great love to us in Christ, his great sacrifice of sending his perfect son to be scorned, suffer and die, to satisfy the law and save us as his own. This eternal life cannot be earned, it is free and available to all who will believe.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Since I really don’t need to convince you that this is a significant summary of God’s love and His redemptive purposes in Christ, I won’t. Instead I will share a song where another clever person (yes, being cheeky here) noticed the 3:16 connection. Matt Redman has connected John 3:16 with 1 John 3:16, and put them together in a song called “This is How we Know” (from the album We Shall not be Shaken, 2009).

1 John 3:16 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”

Redman takes us from God’s great love, demonstrated in Christ, to our response: love God and love others! We recently taught this song to our evening congregation, to match with the sermon series in 1 John. It’s not the easiest song for a congregation to learn, but it is worth the few weeks of revision for the benefit of singing these glorious truths together. You can find the lyrics below.

THIS IS HOW WE KNOW

This is how we know, this is how we know what love is
Just one look at Your cross
And this is where we see, this is where we see how love works
For You surrendered Your all
And this is how we know that You have loved us first
And this is where we chose to love You in return

For You so loved the world that You gave Your only Son
Love amazing so divine, we will love You in return
For this life that You give, for this death that You have died
Love amazing so divine, We will love You in reply, Lord

And our love will be loud, Our love will be strong
Our love should be hands and feet that serve You in this world
So let it stay true and let it endure
That You will be glorified worshipped and adored

Authors Beth Redman  Matt Redman Copyright 2009 Thankyou Music

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You are our Song from Age to Age

“. . . Though tears now veil our eyes
Your steadfast love, our perfect hope
Our eyes are fixed on grace
We have no doubt You’ll lead us home
To finally see Your face”

These words are found in verse 3 of a new song by Sovereign Grace music, “Our Song from Age to Age”. I first heard it last Thursday night in Brisbane at an event hosted by Qld Theological College, where Don Carson shared an amazing vision of the “Future of Christianity” (from Revelation 21-22) with around 1500 people.

For me this song highlights GRACE, the thing we fix our eyes on as Christians, the GRACE by which we are saved. (See Ephesians 2:8-10). This is the only thing worth singing about and has been since . . . forever!

The first grace-filled song recorded in the Bible (though most probably not the first song uttered on this topic!) comes from Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15. Here are a few choice lines:

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. . .
Who is like you among the gods, O Lord—  glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?
You raised your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies.
With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed.
In your might, you guide them to your sacred home.”

This great rescue is pure grace. Yet so is music! So is praising God! It is a healing balm for the soul.
God has created us with the desire to praise Him and strangely, we feel most satisfied in ourselves when we are doing just that. Though sin deceives us into thinking we will feel our best when proudly singing our own praises, that will make us feel worse. Really, how long could we praise ourselves before we ran into something we would rather not sing about?
We must praise Him, not just with our mouths but with all our heart, our attitudes, our actions, our thoughts. Even if we could praise Him fully or perfectly, there would still be more to praise Him for, with the grace of each new day and into eternity! As creative image bearers of our Father, we should never run out of fresh ways to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)
If you have found great grace in praising God, whether by yourself, or when gathered with his people, I would love to hear your comments.

Here is the link to listen to the song “Our Song from Age to Age” written by Joel Sczebel 2012.

And if you are someone who enjoys discovering great praise and worship songs for today’s church, then spend a bit of time exploring the Sovereign Grace site:  www.sovereigngracemusic.org . They graciously allow you to download their lyrics and sheet music for free! (Click on the STORE tab). These are inspiring and singable songs, full of bible/gospel truth. Enjoy!

Oh and if you want to know more about Don Carson, I’m sure you can figure out how to google him. Also check out a great website of his resources: thegospelcoalition.org

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I will glory in my Redeemer

I will glory in my Redeemer
Whose priceless blood has ransomed me
Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails
And hung Him on that judgment tree
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who crushed the power of sin and death
My only Savior before the Holy Judge
The Lamb Who is my righteousness
The Lamb Who is my righteousness

I will glory in my Redeemer
My life He bought, my love He owns
I have no longings for another
I’m satisfied in Him alone
I will glory in my Redeemer
His faithfulness my standing place
Though foes are mighty and rush upon me
My feet are firm, held by His grace
My feet are firm, held by His grace

I will glory in my Redeemer
Who carries me on eagle’s wings
He crowns my life with lovingkindness
His triumph song I’ll ever sing
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who waits for me at gates of gold
And when He calls me it will be paradise
His face forever to behold
His face forever to behold

© 2001 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

 

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To Glory in my Redeemer

my-redeemer-livesWhile some people may argue that a song can have more impact than a sermon (probably none of those people are preachers!) I would say that it is only the extent to which God’s Word is at work in either a song or sermon that people’s hearts and minds will be transformed!  This may sound rather complicated.  Let me explain what got me thinking about this.

On Good Friday morning we sang the words of a beautiful song together, “I will Glory in My Redeemer” (click on the title to see the lyrics).  As I was song leading that morning and trying to articulate something worthwhile in my introduction, the meaning of the title got me thinking. What does it mean to “glory in” my redeemer?  And how can I explain that in two easy sentences?  (Please pause here and have a go at it yourself!)

The song itself explains much about the saving work of our Redeemer: His blood has ransomed me, He has crushed the power of sin and death, He has bought my life, He crowns my life with lovingkindness, He waits for me at gates of gold!  But how are we to “glory in” this?  To say “I will glory in” something is not a very common expression these days. Looking up a dictionary I discovered that to “glory in” means to enjoy, to derive great pride, pleasure, amusement or satisfaction from something. What an amazing statement and challenge this song title holds! It prompts me to ask questions like: Am I glorying in my Redeemer?  Is He my only boast? Am I satisfied in Him alone (as the song says) and does He really “own my love”?

To glory in my Redeemer is an action, something we can choose to do; in fact it is a daily decision to be made! We will enjoy Jesus when we turn daily (hourly? moment by moment?) from the things of ourselves, our abilities and our possessions and status in this world as a source of our glory, and instead we give the glory to Him. Rather than boasting in myself, my house, my children, or my ability to be organised and control the myriad of circumstances and concerns of each day, I must choose to boast in Christ alone! He must receive the glory from my life and circumstances. My ultimate delight should be in contemplating the saving work of my redeemer and the treasure of my relationship with Him.

The impact of this song lies in the way it so closely echoes the challenge of God’s Word. From Paul to the Philippians ” …everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.”(Philippians 3:8-9 NLT). And it is through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we think on God’s word, that our minds can be transformed: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2 NLT)

So may I encourage you to examine your own hearts in light of this challenge, and turn to Him who alone deserves to be treasured in this world, whose glory is fading away. May we “glory in” our Redeemer alone!