It’s always fun to discover a new group of musicians whose sound you enjoy. I discovered this one by following a trail from another blog. They are the musicians from Redeemer Church of Knoxville. Their site describes the songs as “endurance songs, a companion to help you journey by faith every day from Morning to Evening.”
I like the sound of that! The music of our faith is indeed an encouragement.
The album was released 09 October 2014, and can be bought by donation. http://redeemerknoxville.bandcamp.com
tags: americana christian folk redeemer acoustic rock folk rock hymns liturgy retuned hymns Knoxville
Just in time for Christmas, my new arrangement of “Sleep, Jesus, Sleep” is now available through Heart Publications! This tender Christmas lullaby is a beautiful addition to your church’s Christmas repertoire. The simple SATB voicing can be learned quickly, and the included parts for violin, bass, and guitar/harp add layers and depth to the piano accompaniment. The arrangement works well with choir as well as smaller groups. You can purchase the arrangement at Heart Publications’ website here, and see a score sample here.
Also, All Saints’ Church (Northampton, UK) is accepting pre-orders for their latest recording, Be Merry!, which will be released November 1. This recording includes my Still, Still, Still and is the first professional recording of the piece. I’m excited to hear it! This CD also includes settings by Forrest, Courtney, and Anglea, among others, and you can pre-order here.
There is an invaluable resource, particularly for guitarists, within the Worship Together website. In case you haven’t discovered it yet, go there now! http://www.worshiptogether.com/
Each song comes with a SONG VIDEO/NEW SONG CAFE where the song writer is interviewed, they share their song, and explain some of the unusual things they do to make the song work. Chord structures, rhythm and dynamics are all explored. It’s also helpful to hear the history of how the song came together, and the main things the writer intends the song to say. I always enjoy getting to know a little about the person behind the song as well. These clips are a great research for helping with tricky chord structures, and just getting the right feel to a song. I hope you find it helpful!
Yes, the Sovereign lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart.(Isaiah 40:10-11 NLT)
Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22:12-13)
Sometimes even really great songs can become tired. People just get ‘over’ singing them and the impact and meaning is lost. It’s rare to find a song that endures very long these days! But this song is somehow different: How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (1995)
I remember when I first came across the Stuart Townend song. Its unusual time signature scheme (4/4 and 6/4 in alternate bars) coupled with beautiful poetry declaring the wonder of God’s love really gave the song a certain ‘X’ factor – and won me over! Perhaps for these reasons it has endured as a singable and meaningful song. Though it’s been around for almost two decades I’d say this song can still penetrate any stubborn heart and mind to see the beauty of our salvation afresh! (In case you somehow missed it, the lyrics are down below)
There is such rich theology in this song – but I’d like to focus on one intriguing line in verse 3: “Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer. . .”
As we see in the passages above from Isaiah and Revelation, the Messiah, Risen Redeemer King, Jesus Christ turns up to rule bringing his reward with him, a reward which is his own flock of people, saved by His blood. These are the people the Father has given to Jesus, as His reward: “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.…”(John 10:29)
How incredible that from Jesus’ perspective we are His reward, the people of God, sinners saved by undeserved grace! We cannot give an answer for why Jesus would die for us, for his enemies – we can only look with thankfulness that “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:12)
This is Jesus, our redeemer and friend! How deep the love of the Father to send his own Son for us!
HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US
How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss – The Father turns His face away, As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory.
Behold the man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders; Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life – I know that it is finished.
I will not boast in anything, No gifts, no power, no wisdom; But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer; But this I know with all my heart – His wounds have paid my ransom.
Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
We fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love
And bled for us Freely You’ve bled for us
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to none but heaven’s will
No scheme of hell, no scoffer’s crown
No burden great can hold You down
In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim
O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night
Sing it, o death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead, He’s alive, He’s alive
If you are looking for new ways to sing the Bible’s song book (the Psalms) with your local church then NEW SCOTTISH HYMNS could have some answers. If you liked the version of Psalm 139 then click here to download and print sheet music.
Here is what they have to say about their music:
Great hymns speak timeless truths with profound passion. They unite the church, giving Christians words to sing that articulate afresh the glories of Jesus Christ. The New Scottish Hymns project seeks to reignite that spirit of Scotland’s great hymn-writing tradition, and uncover its treasures for a new generation.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
One aim of this album was to introduce some new songs that churches in Scotland might find useful in their own unique worship services. Scottish traditional music and folk melodies have an adaptable quality that renders the best of them timeless. Paraphrases from the Scottish Psalter like Psalm 23 have been sung across the world for centuries, and it’s important to remind new generations that these ancient words of scripture remain profoundly relevant. Scottish writers like Horatius Bonar and James Montgomery showed that a wealth of transforming biblical truths could be taught and absorbed through songs, so we also wanted to introduce examples of their lyrics to new listeners.
The motivation for making this hymns recording did not spring simply from a desire to create art. Hymnwriting is about making music firstly out of gratitude to Jesus Christ. With all our imperfections and limitations, Christians struggle to express anything more than an echo of His greatness, but we believe that this is a thing eminently worth sharing. For the person who finds this idea strange, it will hopefully make more sense as you listen! Our hope is that every listener might hear the joy that comes from the gospel: the good news of God’s saving and transforming love, made available to every person through his son.
“We released our first Christmas album, Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man, in 2006. A few years ago I started thinking we should do another one. After all, we can never have too many songs that help us reflect on and celebrate the wonder of Jesus becoming Emmanuel, God with us.
So I was intrigued last fall when my good friend, Marty Machowski, asked if Sovereign Grace Music would be interested in producing a Christmas album to accompany an Advent curriculum he had written. After a few conversations with Marty and his publisher, New Growth Press, we decided it would be a great opportunity. The result was our next album, Prepare Him Room: Celebrating the Birth of Jesus in Song, due out Sept. 1. While the album will stand on its own, thirteen of the fourteen songs on it correspond with lessons from Marty’s devotional.
Writing songs to specific passages of Scripture in each lesson caused us to explore some new territory for Christmas songs. While not all of the songs ended up being congregational, I’m pretty excited about what we ended up with.
Below is a preview version of a song I co-wrote with Jason Hansen, a pastor in the Sovereign Grace Church in Gilbert, AZ. We started it at a songwriter retreat in January and finished it over many long distance sessions using FaceTime and Google Docs.
The song is called “Who Would Have Dreamed” and is based on Micah 5:1-2.
Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
We tried to capture the wonder that God would choose unlikely Bethlehem as the birthplace for the Messiah, and the greater wonder that the Son of God himself would be born as an infant. Here are the lyrics:
On a starlit hillside, shepherds watched their sheep
Slowly, David’s city drifted off to sleep
But to this little town of no great renown
The Lord had a promise to keep
Prophets had foretold it, a mighty King would come
Long-awaited Ruler, God’s anointed one
But the Sovereign of all looked helpless and small
As God gave the world His own Son
And who would have dreamed or ever foreseen That we could hold God in our hands? The Giver of Life is born in the night Revealing God’s glorious plan To save the world
Wondrous gift of heaven: the Father sends the Son
Planned from time eternal, moved by holy love
He will carry our curse and death He’ll reverse
So we can be daughters and sons
And here’s the preview (above). I’m delighted that it’s being sung by my youngest daughter, McKenzie.”
(By Bob Kauflin)
If you have ever wondered about the love of pipe organs in church music, and the intense love for ‘good old hymns’ which have been played on this grand instrument, the following research may help explain these strong connections:
Does organ music ‘instil religious feelings’?
According to an experiment people who experience a sense of spirituality in church may be reacting to the extreme bass sound produced by some organ pipes.
Many churches and cathedrals have organ pipes that are so long they emit infrasound which at a frequency lower than 20 Hertz is largely inaudible to the human ear. In a controlled experiment in which infrasound was pumped into a concert hall, UK scientists found they could instil strange feelings in the audience at will. These included an extreme sense of sorrow, coldness, anxiety and even shivers down the spine.
To test the impact of extreme bass notes from an organ pipe on an audience, researchers constructed a seven-metre-long “infrasonic cannon” which they placed at the back of the Purcell Room, a concert hall in South London. They then invited 750 people to report their feelings after listening to pieces of contemporary music intermittently laced with sound from the “cannon”.
The results showed that odd sensations in the audience increased by an average of 22% when the extreme bass was present. Some of the experiences were described as, ‘shivering on my wrist’, ‘an odd feeling in my stomach’, ‘increased heart rate’, ‘feeling very anxious’, and ‘a sudden memory loss’. This was an experiment done under controlled conditions and it shows infrasound does have an impact, and that has implications in a religious context and some of the unusual experiences people may be having in certain churches.”
Sarah Angliss, an engineer and composer in charge of the project, added: “Organ players have been adding infrasound to the mix for 500 years so maybe we’re not the first generation to be ‘addicted to bass’.”
Sharing today two simply beautiful songs which seek to share the message and the hope of the gospel of grace. They are from two different writers and bring two different perspectives. The first is about the changes Jesus has made both to history and the heart of the person he rescued. The second song focuses on the manner by which Jesus went to the Cross and took our shame, the perfect man showing perfect love to the unworthy (in just 4 lines).
The Gospel Changes Everything (Meredith Andrews – from Worth it All)
Verse 1
The gospel changes ev’rything
The turning point in history
Even now it’s changing me from who I was
The story of my Savior calls
Me to the wonder of the cross
The gospel changes ev’rything
And it is changing me
(REPEAT)
Chorus 1
You saved my soul by Your blood And I’m undone by Your great love You made a way so I could come Just as I am to You my God
Verse 2
Jesus changes ev’rything
There is no greater mystery
That God would come to rescue me
From who I was
The kindness of my Savior calls
Me to the wonder of His love
Jesus changes ev’rything
And He is changing me
You made a way so I could come
Just as I am to You my God
To You my God
Just as I am to You my God
This article from 9Marks has so many great points about helping your congregation sing better together, especially #7 and #16. I think I’m ready to start up a church choir again next year!
I'm Ash. I love Jesus. I'm a wife and a mum. I'm a teacher. I'm also studying my Masters of Counselling. I started studying a few years after started the very hard work of engaging my own story of harm and trauma. This is a place where you'll hear my stories, as well as the stories of others. I'll also reflect on faith, healing and walking with Jesus. I pray that these words might encourage you to do your own painful but life-bringing work of examining your own stories, and allowing Jesus to heal the parts of you still locked in shame. For He came that we might have life, and have it to the full. Welcome, fellow traveller.
Words, words, words... well said Hamlet! A little blog to go off on tangents within the worlds of history, literature, TV and film that interest me. From the Tudors to Tom Hardy's Tess, the Boleyns to Bollywood or from the Wars of the Roses to Wuthering Heights, feel free to browse through my musings to pick up extra ideas and points for discussion!
has so many great points about helping your congregation sing better together, especially #7 and #16. I think I’m ready to start up a church choir again next year!
sevennotesofgrace 