Continued from page 1
"Friend Of God"
Artist: Lakewood Church
Writers: Israel Houghton and Michael Gungor, published in 2003
"And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, 'Abraham believed God,
and it was imputed unto him for righteousness': and he was called the
Friend of God." - James 2:23 Co-writer Israel Houghton has said that
"Friend Of God" is a song that has deeply impacted him. Recalling the
writing process with Michael Gungor, Israel says they were "blown
away" as the lyrics hit them. "It's one thing for us to call God our
'friend'," says Israel. "But when you are singing, 'He calls me
friend' and you begin to really understand how he sees you. . . that's
powerful."
"Love The Lord"
Artist: Lincoln Brewster
Writer: Lincoln Brewster, published in 2005
At the suggestion
of a friend, Lincoln Brewster decided to write some songs inspired by
the corresponding Scriptures from Pastor Rick Warren's 40 Days Of
Purpose sermons. Lincoln began with the topic of worship and drew
directly from Luke 10:27, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul. . ." Though at first he wasn't sure of the
strength of the song, he played it for his church and discovered that
people connected immediately. So he began playing the song whenever he
was on tour or visiting other churches and the reaction was the same.
"It's simple, it's memorable. . . it's truth," said Lincoln.
"Your Name"
Artist: Paul Baloche
Writer:
Paul Baloche and Glenn Packiam, published in 2006
While visiting
New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Paul Baloche suggested that he
and Glenn Packiam, a songwriter and associate pastor at New Life,
connect for a writing session. "There really wasn't a place for us to
meet except in the nursery," recalls Glenn. So, there they sat in the
nursery, with a beautiful view of the mountains but with the very
present smell of a church nursery. Glenn shared with Paul a message
that he'd given recently that was drawn from Psalm 65 about
rediscovering awe and living in wonder. Then the two worshipped for a
while. Glenn read the Scripture and almost immediately, the song
poured out. Though that was the first time the two had written
together, it was the beginning of many writing sessions that would
birth numerous new songs for the Church.
"Lord Have Mercy"
Artist: Eoghan Heaslip
Writer: Steve Merkel, published in 2000
Before the Berlin Wall
came down, Steve Merkel spent time in Poland ministering with Catholic
believers. It was a season that opened his heart to the beauty of
liturgy and the richness of our shared faith. When he returned home,
he often led worship at his local charismatic church on Sundays and at
Catholic services during the week. Along the way, it became clear to
Steve that both streams needed the other. So while working on a
liturgical worship album for Integrity Music in the late '90s, Steve
was inspired to write a "Kyrie for the Common Man." "I dropped the
bucket down into the well of my life and truly documented the things
for which I needed the mercy of the Lord," says Steve. "'Lord Have
Mercy' became the musical setting formed from the prayers that came up
from that well."
"Healer"
Artist: Kari Jobe
Writer: Mike
Gugliemucci, published in 2007
So many great worship songs are
simply declarations of truth, lyrics that cause us to sing God's
promises over ourselves. The song "Healer" is one of these. Isaiah 53
tells us that Jesus "bore our transgressions. . . the punishment for
our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed." "Healer"
touches on the core of what we are promised through relationship with
Christ. Not only does singing these truths touch our spirits, they are
a witness to others. "Jesus you're all I need. . . Nothing is
impossible for you."
"Today Is The Day"
Artist: Lincoln Brewster
Writer: Paul Baloche and Lincoln Brewster, published in 2008
Following a music conference at his church in California, Lincoln
Brewster invited friend Paul Baloche to stay over so that the two
could spend some time writing. The following morning as they lingered
over breakfast in the Brewster's kitchen, Lincoln reminded Paul of a
verse, I'm casting my cares aside, I'm leaving my past behind, that
Paul had shared with him years earlier as they were working on another
song. "I loved this verse. . . I always liked that thought process and
those lyrics and the melody," recalls Lincoln who suggested they use
it to craft a new version of the classic song, "This Is The Day". The
result is an up-tempo reminder to live in the present, trusting the
sovereignty of God.
"I Am Free"
Artist: New Life Worship
Writer: Jon Egan, published in 2004
For years, Jon Egan
struggled with anxiety and depression. After a particularly difficult
struggle with anxiety over his ability to lead worship, he found
himself once again asking God for freedom from fear. But this time, he
distinctly heard God tell him, "You are free. . . look to the cross
and open your eyes." Jon recalls hearing God tell him to quit focusing
on his fears and instead focus on who he said Jon was, not who Jon
thought he was. As this truth settled into Jon's spirit, he picked up
his guitar and decided that rather than singing about how he wanted to
be free, he would instead declare the truth that he IS free!
"Trading My Sorrows"
Artist: Darrell Evans
Writer: Darrell Evans, published in 1998
The inspiration for
"Trading My Sorrows" came to Darrell Evans as his band played softly
during a time of prayer at his church. As people came to the altar,
Darrell thought about what we bring to the cross and what we leave
with in exchange. And he sang out: "I'm trading my sorrow, I'm trading
my shame. I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord." Darrell says
his band began to play along. And though the moment had begun as a
sombre one, the music took on a celebratory feel as the worshippers
were overcome with joy as they too sang out about this divine
exchange. Darrell later took those initial lyrics and, inspired by 2
Corinthians 4:8-9 and Psalm 30:5, he finished the song.
"You Are Good"
Artist: Lakewood Church
Writer: Israel Houghton, published in 2001
Born to an unwed
teenage mother whose parents had urged her to have an abortion, Israel
Houghton could easily have become a statistic, but for the goodness of
God. Eight months into her pregnancy and abandoned by her family,
Israel's mother met Jesus on a street corner when a complete stranger
walked up to her and shared the Gospel. That "chance" encounter
radically changed his mother's life and his own. So when Israel penned
"You Are Good", drawing from Psalm 100, he did so from a very personal
place. He knows the radical goodness, love and mercy of God.
"Revelation Song"
Artist: Gateway Worship
Writer: Jennie Lee Riddle, published in 2004
Jennie Lee Riddle
traces the inspiration for "Revelation Song" back to the classic
Gerrit Gustafson song "I Hear Angels". Jennie loved the picture of
heavenly worship in Gerrit's song and for years sang it over her
children as a lullaby. One day, while caring for her son and thinking
about that imagery, she asked the Holy Spirit to help her write a song
that painted a picture of creation worshipping around the throne.
Recalling Ezekiel 1:26-28 and Revelation 4, Jennie put her son down to
play and picked up the guitar she had only just learned to play. And
out poured the words, "Clothed in rainbows of living color, flashes of
lightening, rolls of thunder." Jennie shared the song with her local
church and from there it quickly spread to the global Church.
"My Saviour Lives"
Artist: New Life Worship
Writers: Jon Egan & Glenn Packiam, published in 2006
While
teaching about collaboration at a songwriters' retreat, Jon Egan and
Glenn Packiam discovered that they each had a section of a song that
was incomplete. So Jon and Glenn, who are close friends and co-workers
at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, began the work of
putting the two sections together. Rarely is a song written in such a
fashion. It seemed that God was burning the same message in each of
their hearts, a persuasive testament to the strength of a team.
"How He Loves"
Artist: John Mark McMillan
Writer: John Mark McMillan, published in 2005
In November 2002,
while in a Jacksonville, Florida, to record a new album, John Mark
McMillan received word that one of his closest childhood friends had
died following a car accident. John Mark was devastated. "I had pages
of dialogue with God in the days that followed, some angry, mostly
confused, but also I wrote a lot of songs," he says. The first song
from that season, much of it written the day after the accident, was
the song "How He Loves". John Mark says the song was every bit a
"tribute to a friend, a cry for understanding, and the worship that
resulted from it all."
Great article. I love all these songs!