I'm starting to get back into songwriting again, and this morning I got to thinking about the impact and depth of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the Cross. This is what came out. Hope you enjoy it - constructive feedback is always welcome! :-)
I had a time of worship this afternoon and started plucking a melody line around a couple of chords - as Brian Johnson often says, some of the best worship songs are birthed in spontaneous times, so decided to record it roughly using Photo Booth. See what you think - be constructive and ignore production - it's been recorded from my sofa with a MacBook using Photo Booth so production isn't important!
Matt Redman introduced Nathan Jess at Mission Worship’s “New Songs” Seminar over the weekend by saying that Nathan had soundchecked for him at an event in Northern Ireland, and that he’d been immediately struck by the strength of his voice. Admittedly, this was high on my list of compliments for Nathan - he has a voice that projects heart, feeling, emotion, and sincerity through his songs. It also turns out that he’s quite a songwriter, as his debut offering for Kingsway - ‘I Am Redeemed’ - shows. Let’s take a closer look.
Lyrically, this song portrays the Gospel message succinctly - telling a story of a man who came to earth, was betrayed, was raised up on the cross for our sins, and rose again to remain in Heaven with His Father for eternity. This message comes across poetically and personally, and like all the best worship songs, carries a degree of ownership for the worshipper - we can all take the message of this song for ourselves - we have been redeemed by Jesus and His sacrifice for us.
The arrangement is subtle, simple and effective. The influence of Claire & David Hamilton from Rend Collective works well in to the song - David’s guitar provides subtlety in the verses and a smooth opening riff to set the tone of the song (which also provides the bedrock for the chorus). Nathan’s vocal sits well in the mix - pushed forward, but not overpowering the backing. The drop back to just the acoustic guitar and vocal in the initial “Hallelujah” refrain is particularly well done, giving the song a base from which to build. This is the catalyst from which the song gets going - a strong progressive build-up follows in the subsequent choruses, with drums, bass and guitars working together. The layered vocals sit perfectly atop the build, providing texture and substance before a heavy guitar interlude releases a free, rocky rendition of the earlier “Hallelujah” refrain.
I’m really looking forward to hearing more of Nathan’s worship in the coming years - he has a purity in his worship that will inspire and encourage others, and also has the ability to put what’s on his heart into words, and poetic words at that. The Vineyard movement has always produced writers who can sing simple, personal love songs to the Lord, and in Nathan we have that and more - a passionate songwriter who’ll sing his heart out for the Lord.
Nathan’s single ‘I Am Redeemed’ is available on iTunes for a 79p download - buy it now! http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/i-am-redeemed-single/id480153235
"You reveal and we respond, you have shown there's no one like You God"
King of Wonders, CompassionArt album
Claire Hamilton (of Rend Collective) launched her new Worship Re:Serve site last week (http://worshipreserve.blogspot.com) with a post that has got me thinking. Richard Foster's book Celebration of Discipline includes worship as one of the "disciplines" that shape us as Christians. The immediate thought I had was, that if worship is to be considered a discipline, that I'd like to ensure I'm doing it right!
Matt Redman often talks about striking the balance between revelation and response - how much do we ask for in worship, and in turn, how much do we give back to Him? I feel this is where the idea of "discipline" comes in. God is unchanging, He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Therefore the only thing that affects our actions and mood towards God is us. How easy do you find it to sing an out and out praise song like Chris Tomlin's "Forever" when you're feeling low, down, or helpless? It's probably easier to sing something more reflective like Tim Hughes' "Beauty of Your Peace", a less energetic and more pensive song - song that asks God for revelation in the stillness of His peace. Is there anything wrong with that?
Ecclesiastes 3 talks of there being a time for everything. Therefore, there are times when we're empty and need to hear God speak into situations, and times when we're so full of His spirit that we can't help but sing His praise. Most of us lie somewhere in between these points - and your feelings towards where you lie on this scale probably vary constantly, sometimes changing within a matter of minutes. And, if you want a crumb of comfort if you're struggling with this - relax, take a deep breath, and tell yourself that this is normal. God created worship, and He has a plan for worship - a plan to take you deep into His love and whisper revelation to You, in order that you may respond by giving all of the glory back to Him.
The one piece of advice I can give you is that "discipline" often translates into "frequency" and "quality". The more time you spend doing something, and the more effort and thought you give to it, the more natural it becomes. Practice getting into God's presence - either "soaking" with a CD on in the background, or actively singing out to Him.
James 4:8 - "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you"
Bless you all, have a great day. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
As a few of you may know, I write for a worship music site - allaboutworship.com. These past few weeks have marked a realisation of a vision that Wisdom Moon (the founder of AAW) had for creating a “collective” album - a showcase of worship songs written by some friends of the site. In it’s first few days of release, the album featured highly in the Noisetrade top downloads, peaking at #2. Here are a few of my thoughts on the album:
The feeling of unity and collectiveness is portrayed succinctly with Matthew Reed’s ‘Crash This Place’, with the stirring bridge of “we are one, let Your Kingdom come”, combined with a chorus that invites the Lord’s Spirit to come and “crash this place with love” - powerful gang vocals really communicate the message of this great worship song.
Writing the “complete” worship song is the ultimate challenge for any worship leader or songwriter, and in Joshua Seller’s ‘To The One (Worthy)’ we find this challenge met admirably. The arrangement is uncomplicated, replicable by most typical church bands, the melody is catchy and singable, and the lyrics are heartfelt, yet with a strong rooting in the Word.
The middle tracks on the album see piano-based worship leaders Jared Anderson, Dave Fitzgerald and Sarah Reeves come to the fore. Many of you will already be familiar with some of these tracks, Jared’s anthemic ‘Great I Am’ is an awesome praise chorus, telling of God’s greatness and power in a powerful and great worship offering. Dave’s ‘We Are An Ark’, (featuring Bethel Church Redding’s Jenn Johnson on backing vocals) has been one of my favourite worship songs of the past year. Dave and Jenn’s voices combine superbly in this poignant track, telling of the richness of God’s plan and purpose for us as Christians. If you are familiar with the practice of “soaking”, this is a great track to do this to. I have encountered few better songwriters than Sarah Reeves for stirring up images of the Holy Spirit moving in power, and ‘Mighty Wave’ is a great example of this. If you want an entire album of this amazing brand of worship, I encourage you to check out her Broken Things album - you will not be disappointed.
Moving further through the album we find acoustic duo Jenny & Tyler’s interpretation of Psalm 46. If you are a fan of tight harmonies set against subtle acoustic backing, this track’s for you. There is a reassurance in this track - the message given is that we can rest sure and confident in the greatness of His love, He is with us and will not leave us. Thanks for bringing this message in such a great track guys.
The power and depth of Andrew Ehrenzeller’s vocal in the closeout track ‘Nocturne for a Thief’ is simply stunning. The combination of this powerful vocal over a strong arrangement of off-beat drums, pounding bass, melodic piano, searing guitar and some beautifully layered backing vocals sees this album out strongly. (By the way, if you think the vocal at the start of the track is good, wait until you get to the bridge...)
For the sake of keeping this review readable I’ve touched on over half the tracks on this album - but there’s a whole load more - offerings from Will Retherford (whose opening track features Lisa Gungor), Darrell Evans, and David Walker complete the line up on this great collection. Did I mention that this album is FREE? No excuses, get yours today at http://www.noisetrade.com/allaboutworship
