After leading worship for a three day revival at UMHB this week, I took a bit of a songwriting/recording sabbatical out at my parents house in Lorena. So right now I'm feeling refreshed and confident about God's path for my corporate worship songwriting, AND I'm ready to blog...
Here is a little something about each song we are playing tomorrow:
1. Here is Our King (David Crowder) - Oh wow! Just found this recording of Crowder talking about this song's story. It's worth it!
Click here to listen
2. Our God (Chris Tomlin) - This was my favorite song to play at the UMHB revival this week. Once again, God has placed a song on Chris' heart that is scriptural, singable, and uplifting. As we were playing this song on Monday, the Tomlin band was entering the studio for the first day of recording on their new album. Be praying for them as they create music that we will all be directing to God soon enough!
3. Bread of Life (Logan Walter) - Written three weeks ago. It wasn't until I was putting together this week's communion set list that I realized "Bread of Life" works well as a "Taking of the Bread" song. Brian came over today and we worked up a little Acoustic-Guitar/Piano version of this song that I hope you will enjoy.
4. The Old Rugged Cross (George Bennard) - I always love reading about the old hymns. And by reading, I mean wikipedia-ing.
Click Here
5. Nothing But the Blood (Matt Redman) - This is not the hymn. Not exactly. But it does borrow lyrical themes from "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus." Several years ago, Matt recorded a live worship album of all original songs. The live worship service became the studio album. Here's a clip from that live worship experience:
Nothing But the Blood Video
6. Jesus Paid it All (Elvina Hall): Song story...
It was during a Sunday morning service in the spring of 1865 that a hymn was born that pictures so well the finished work of Calvary.
Elvina Hall was seated in her usual spot in the choir of the Monument Street Methodist Church in Baltimore. Her pastor, Reverend George Schnick, led in prayer, thanking God for such a perfect and complete salvation as found in Jesus Christ. Elvina became so overwhelmed with this great truth that she felt compelled to express her feelings. Unable to find suitable paper, she took a copy of the church hymnal, The New Lute of Zion, and started to compose a poem on the flyleaf of the book. Later that day, she recopied the new poem and it to her pastor.
Sometime later, Pastor Schnick was visiting the church organist, Mr. John T. Grape. A successful coal merchant and a skilled amateur musician, Grape enjoyed composing new melodies of his own from time to time. Knowing this, the pastor inquired if any new tunes had been written recently. Brother Grape replied by playing a new melody he had just finished. Upon hearing it, the pastor exclaimed, "Why you know, Elvina Hall gave me a beautiful set of words some time ago; and if I'm not mistaken, the melody sounded as if it had been written just for her words." With that, he opened his Bible and produced the poem. As the two men started to sing and play the new song, they witnessed a union of words and music as if God had planned the writing of the hymn in the first place.
God does have a plan for the redemption of mankind that began in the Garden of Eden and was completed on the cross of Calvary. This is what Elvina Hall recorded for us when she wrote:
I hear the Savior say, Thy strength indeed is small
Child of weakness, watch and pray, find in me thine all in all
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.
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