Tag: song

Music Mondays: “In the Valley” by Bob Kauflin

~ Bob Hayton

I recommend many modern hymns & contemporary songs for corporate worship. While the old hymns are certainly grand, the new songs God is giving to the church, are worthy of respect too.

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order the Valley of Vision CD which contains this song, and support my siteMusic Monday posts highlight the music which touched my heart on Sunday. I pray the message of these songs will help us all to live in the spirit of Worship all week long.

Today’s song was sung as a special number during the offering time, yesterday.   It is a moving song, and has great potential for ministering to the hearts of those in any number of difficult circumstances.   Best of all, this song, like most written by the folks at Sovereign Grace Ministries, calls us to hope in Jesus Christ and the Gospel.

In the Valley

Words and music by Bob Kauflin

When You lead me to the valley of vision
I can see You in the heights
And though my humbling wouldn’t be my decision
It’s here Your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley’s where You make me more like Christ

Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You’re near with every breath
In the valley

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley’s where Your power is revealed

 © 2006 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI).

Download a free lead sheet (with a simple piano score) or guitar chord chart for this song here.   Listen to a sample of this song here.   Or hear the whole thing for free at Rhapsody.com.   Here are details on the CD that contains this song: Valley of Vision.   Purchase it through Amazon here, or from Sovereign Grace directly.

A New Song for the Nations

~ fundyreformed ~ 7 Comments

My pastor, John Piper, made some interesting comments on the concept of a “new song” in this week’s sermon. He made an important observation of how Ps. 96, which is a missions psalm, is also very much concerned with singing. I was encouraged as he shared how the global church is having a revival of singing to the Lord, in our day.

My fundamentalist ears noticed he used “new song” in its most natural way of referring to a new-in-time song commemorating a new work the Lord has done on our behalf. But that’s beside the point. I’d encourage you to listen to the last 5-10 minutes or so of the sermon here (if not the whole thing). And I’m going to copy the relevant portion of the condensed print version of the sermon below.

…you can’t summon the nations to sing if you are not singing. So let me suggest why in this global missionary context the psalm would stress singing new songs. Notice that these new songs are “to the Lord.” Not just about the Lord. Verse 1: “Sing to the Lord a new song.” It’s not wrong to sing about the Lord. The Psalms do it all the time. But when new songs are being written and composed and sung “to the Lord,” something is happening in the church. It’s a sign of unusual life and vibrancy. People are not just living off the spiritual capital of previous generations, but they are dealing vibrantly with the living God and their songs are being sung to him. He is real. He is personal. He is known. He is precious. He is present. Worship is more intense and more personal and more engaging.

A New Song in Our Day

That is what the psalm calls for, and that is what has been happening during my entire adult life. Around the world there is a new song and a new vibrancy and a new personal engagement in singing to the Lord. And the really astonishing thing in our time is the way this awakening of singing to the Lord with new songs has such a strong global and missionary flavor. To my knowledge singing has never been more at the forefront of missions as it is today.

God is doing something wonderful in the fulfillment of Psalm 96. It is far bigger than any one church, or any one ethnic group, or any one region of the world. The global church is singing””singing to the Lord, singing new songs, and singing about God’s Lordship over the nations.

And I would simply say: Don’t miss what God is doing. Be a part of it. Get the nations on your heart. Think rightly about God’s global purposes. Feel deeply about his marvelous works. Sing with all your heart to the Lord. And be a part of summoning the nations to join you.

The Center of Our Singing

And may the center of our singing be the same as the center of the new song we will sing in the age to come, namely, the song of the Lamb who was slain.

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9–10)

Amen! May the Lord grant a renewed growth to His world-wide church. May more and more nations and people groups be added to the number of those singing praise to the Lamb!

“The Power of the Cross” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

~ Bob Hayton ~ 8 Comments

Happy Easter, everyone. This song is a wonderful Gospel-centered song from the authors of “In Christ Alone”. I hope its message blesses you as you contemplate Christ this Easter weekend.

The Power of the Cross

Words & Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

Chorus:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath””
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought,
Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

Final Chorus:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God””slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

 © 2005 Thankyou Music.

You can preview and order sheet music, as well as listen to a sample of the song at Keith Getty’s website, here. You can also listen to several different versions of the entire song for free on Rhapsody.com. I would recommend this one from Keith & Kristyn Getty’s CD In Christ Alone & this one by Stuart Townend on The Best Live Worship Album…Ever. Learn more about the music of Keith Getty and Stuart Townend here.

Modern Hymn Writers

~ fundyreformed ~ 4 Comments

Keith Getty, one of the founders of what I term the “modern hymn movement”, was recently interviewed along with his wife Kristyn by Christianity Today. The Getty’s new CD “In Christ Alone” is doing very well, with some of its songs being sung on Christian radio, now.

The interview explores how and why the Getty’s are writing their hymns. “Singable Doctrine” is how CT describes them. The article is worth the read.

Some of Keith Getty’s songs that he either wrote or co-wrote, are: “In Christ Alone“, “The Power of the Cross“, “O Church Arise“, “My Heart is Filled“, and “Speak, O Lord“. We sing all of these at my church along with a few others. They are excellent songs that are singable across generations and music styles.

For more on the “modern hymns”, read my earlier post: “The Rise of the Modern Hymn Movement“.

[Thanks, Grace, for pointing out this interview to me!]

A Musical Antidote to Legalistic Thinking

~ fundyreformed ~ 12 Comments

Legalism is a dangerous problem. As an IFB, I always thought of legalism as strictly a works-based-justification approach to salvation. The only legalists I knew were Roman Catholics, eastern religionists, and some cultists.

But since I came away from IFB/IFBx circles, I have come to understand legalism as applying to sanctification not merely justification. I was a legalist, in many respects. Why? Because I felt my standing with God, on a day to day (sanctification) basis, depended upon my performance. I could be definitely not right with God, and more right with Him, than at other times. Often, the solution to struggling against sin was provided as merely gritting one’s teeth, and working harder. Character was the means to accomplishing my moralistic goals. How could I not see this as so contradictory to the gospel of salvation by grace?

IFB/IFBx churches stressed the importance of duty. But they did not address the question of human inability and depravity, so much. We all could do it, and if we didn’t we weren’t filled with the Spirit enough. Blame and guilt was applied as a means to motivate us to do right. Worship was wonderful when I was performing well, and horrible when I was not. Sometimes going through the motions was all I felt I could do.

Now, granted, this kind of thinking is not singular to IFB churches–any church is susceptible to it. And it has a grain of truth. We are called to live holy lives. Absolutely! But we are not to depend on ourselves or glory in our accomplishments. We are to boast only in the cross! (See this post along these lines.) Since knowledge affects our experiential walk so much (as the NT epistles constantly stress), misunderstanding the relation of our spiritual and Christian duties and the accomplishment of Christ on the cross can severely impact our personal enjoyment of Christ and His love and consequently hinder our walk with Christ. Without clear teaching that Christ is our only means of righteousness (ultimate and practical/daily), duty and resolve become first in our life, and delight and dependence are minimized. This is a danger still for me, and I think it is for all of us. But we must remind ourselves that our favor with God is solely due to Christ’s glorious work being accepted by God as sufficient for us and Christ’s constant and successful intercession for us. Anything good we do is only on account of God’s grace working in us (1 Cor. 15:10, Phil. 2:13).

Well, I was spurred on to thinking about these things again when I heard the following song on the radio this morning. It has blessed me and challenged me time and again. I put forth the lyrics here with the hope they will challenge you to see the glorious and awe-inspiring truth of God’s grace for us in Christ.

 

What If

By Jadon Lavik

What if I climbed that mountain? What if I swam to that shore?
What if every battle was victorious, then would You love me more?
Would You love me more?

What if I were everyone’s first choice? What if I went farther than before?
What if I stood high above the rest, then would You love me more?
Would You love me more?

You say I belong to You apart from the things I do.
You say I belong to You, I’m in awe of why You do,
Why You do, why You do. I’m in awe of You, ooh.

What if I ignored the hand that fed me? What if I forgot to confess?
What if I stumbled down that mountain, then would You love me less?
Lord, would You love me less?

What if I were everyone’s last choice? What if I mixed in with the rest?
What if I failed what I passed before, then would You love me less?
Lord, would You, would You love me less? Oh no, oh no, oh no.

You say I belong to You apart from the things I do.
You say I belong to You I’m in awe of why You do,
You do, You do, You do.

What have I done to deserve your Son sent to die for me?
What can I give? I want to live, give me eyes to see.
In a world that keeps changin’ there’s one thing that I know is true.
Your love is stayin’ there’s nothing else I’ll hold onto.

You say I belong to You apart from the things I do.
You say I belong to You I’m in awe of why You do,
Why You do.

You say I belong to You apart from the things I do.
You say I belong to You I’m in awe of why You do.
I’m in awe of You, I’m in awe of You.

The way You love me, the way You do.
The way You do, the way You love me, You love me, You love me.
The way You do, the way You do, the way You love me.
The way You love, You love, You love.

Lavikmusic ASCAP

 

You can listen to a song sample here, from the author Jadon Lavik’s website.