I’ve been encouraged by some of the modern worship songs that have been written recently. On the whole, there seems to be more emphasis on content, biblical faithfulness, and the centrality of the cross. Here are a few songs I think are worth checking out.
Burn for You - Steve Fee
All Because of Jesus - A jubilant verse, chorus, and bridge exalting Jesus as our creator, sustainer, ruler, and redeemer.
Grace Will Be My Song - A simple song with two verses and a bridge that focuses on Jesus as the one whose blood ransomed us from our bondage and whose grace carries us in our weakness.
Beautiful the Blood - A meditation on the meaning of the death of Christ for our sins. "How beautiful the blood flow, how merciful the love shown, the King of Glory poured out, victorious are we now." The wording is a little odd to my ears at times, but it doesn’t take away from the song’s effectiveness.
Faithful - A mid-tempo song celebrating God’s faithfulness expressed in his Word, redemption, and creation.
Anything Worth Saying - Aaron Shust
Matchless - An up-tempo song celebrating many names of our matchless Savior, before whom every knee will bow.
Let the People Praise
- Based on passages in Daniel 2Daniel 2
[2:1]In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar,
Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his
sleep left him. [2]Then the king commanded that the
magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans
be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in
and stood before the king. [3]And the king said to them, "I
had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream."
[4]Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king,
live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will
show the interpretation." [5]The king answered and said to
the Chaldeans, "The word from me is firm: if you do not
make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you
shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid
in ruins. [6]But if you show the dream and its
interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards
and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its
interpretation." [7]They answered a second time and said,
"Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show
its interpretation." [8]The king answered and said, "I know
with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because
you see that the word from me is firm-- [9]if you do not
make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for
you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words
before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the
dream, and I shall know that you can show me its
interpretation." [10]The Chaldeans answered the king and
said, "There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's
demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a
thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. [11]The
thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show
it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with
flesh."
[12]Because of this the king was angry and very furious,
and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be
destroyed. [13]So the decree went out, and the wise men
were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his
companions, to kill them. [14]Then Daniel replied with
prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the
king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of
Babylon. [15]He declared to Arioch, the king's captain,
"Why is the decree of the king so urgent?" Then Arioch made
the matter known to Daniel. [16]And Daniel went in and
requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might
show the interpretation to the king.
[17]Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter
known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
[18]and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven
concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions
might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of
Babylon. [19]Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a
vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
[20]Daniel answered and said:
"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
[21]He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
[22]he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
[23]To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
for you have made known to us the king's matter."
[24]Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king
had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went
and said thus to him: "Do not destroy the wise men of
Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the
king the interpretation."
[25]Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in
haste and said thus to him: "I have found among the exiles
from Judah a man who will make known to the king the
interpretation." [26]The king declared to Daniel, whose
name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me
the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?"
[27]Daniel answered the king and said, "No wise men,
enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king
the mystery that the king has asked, [28]but there is a God
in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to
King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your
dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are
these: [29]To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts
of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries
made known to you what is to be. [30]But as for me, this
mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom
that I have more than all the living, but in order that the
interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you
may know the thoughts of your mind.
[31]"You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This
image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before
you, and its appearance was frightening. [32]The head of
this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver,
its middle and thighs of bronze, [33]its legs of iron, its
feet partly of iron and partly of clay. [34]As you looked,
a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the
image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in
pieces. [35]Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the
silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces,
and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors;
and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them
could be found. But the stone that struck the image became
a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
[36]"This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its
interpretation. [37]You, O king, the king of kings, to whom
the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the
might, and the glory, [38]and into whose hand he has given,
wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the
field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over
them all--you are the head of gold. [39]Another kingdom
inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third
kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
[40]And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron,
because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And
like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.
[41]And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's
clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but
some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you
saw iron mixed with the soft clay. [42]And as the toes of
the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom
shall be partly strong and partly brittle. [43]As you saw
the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one
another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just
as iron does not mix with clay. [44]And in the days of
those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that
shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to
another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms
and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
[45]just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by
no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the
bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has
made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream
is certain, and its interpretation sure."
[46]Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid
homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and
incense be offered up to him. [47]The king answered and
said to Daniel, "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of
kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able
to reveal this mystery." [48]Then the king gave Daniel high
honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the
whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the
wise men of Babylon. [49]Daniel made a request of the king,
and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the
affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at
the king's court. (ESV)
and 4, this song reminds of God’s
sovereign rule. "Those who walk in pride He is able to humble."
My Savior and My God
- A humble response to the amazing promise from God’s Word: Christ died
to save me. The chorus is an infectious (in a good way) declaration of
our Savior’s eternal faithfulness.
You Are Good - Matt Papa
Unto the One - Might be a challenge congregationally, but an uplifting 6/8 song based on Revelation 5:13Revelation 5:13
[13]And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth
and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in
them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the
Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and
ever!" (ESV)
.
This CD contains a number of good songs (Into Your Arms, Who is Like You), but they might be better as specials than as congregational songs.
I have a few more, but they’ll have to wait. It’s time to get back to the book. By the way, thank you to everyone who left a comment on my post asking for your greatest challenges as a worship leader. Your responses have helped me focus as I’ve been writing.
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Choosing Songs.
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Aaron opened for the PCA General Assembly ‘06 the first night of worship. Rest assured, he’s a lot less grumpy than his photo might suggest.
Talented worship leader as well, not “just” a singer/songwriter.
Comment by Eric Barnhart — April 3, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
Thanks so much for the post on new worship stuff. I’ve been doing a lot of old hymns, not because I’m opposed to newer modern stuff, but simply because much of it is very redundant and has already been said, and because much of it lacks a unifying theme or doctrine that is driving the lyrics.
So thanks for the recommendations and keep them coming!! Also, thanks for noting that some songs might not be congregation friendly…. that’s important for us to remember!
Comment by Jared Jensen — April 4, 2007 @ 12:27 am
Amen to Jared’s post! Really appreciate these recommendations. I learn so much from your blog. God bless you, Paul
Comment by Paul Hayes — April 5, 2007 @ 10:24 am
Thank you so much for your song suggestions. I hope you don’t mind if I suggest a few more - these are all song that I’ve introduced lately to our youth service with are melodic, upbeat, and have doctrinally solid deep lyrics. And yes, I’m including a few newer Sov. Grace tunes, since I don’t thing Bob is too likely to spend all day plugging his own material. Anyway, if you’re a worship leader looking for some fresh material, I suggest:
See His Love - Tom Lockley (recorded live by Tim Hughes)
Happy Day - Tim Hughes
Heavenly Father, Beautiful Son - Sov. Grace (very well received by our youth)
It was Your Grace (works better corporately if slowed down and used as a ballad, though the upbeat version is fun as a ‘WALK IN’)
You never let Go - Matt Redman
Creation’s King - Paul Baloche/Graham Kendrick (more popular with the older crowd)
Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle (we’ve been doing this since it was released on a ‘Club Vineyard’ in late ‘05 - our Jr. High, Sr. High, and ‘Adult’ body all love it, and it gets regular use in all of our services)
And for a shameless plug, I’m really happy with my wife & I’s newest, “Rejoice in Me”… the youth seem to like it too.
Thanks for your excellent columns, Bob - I’m really looking forward to your new book as well. I’ve been reading both ART OF WORSHIP & CREATED FOR WORSHIP, both due to your recommendation, and they’re both proving to be very helpful. Thanks much, and blessings!
Comment by Mr. Shannon Lewis — April 10, 2007 @ 1:28 pm