‘Cause it’s always better to know what songs you’re gonna sing, versus which songs you already sang.
I’ll list each song and original author, and touch on history, music, and lyrics/reason for playing it.
This Sunday we are singing the following tunes:
Light Up The Darkness - Bridge Band
We introduced this song last week at Gateway and I think it went really well. It’s easy to pick up on the words and melody, and a really powerful song/prayer to have in our hearts. As I said last week; “Lyrically, this song might as well have been written for Gateway. It goes along really well with the heart and mission of our church.”
Come Thou Fount - Robert Robinson/Trinity Grace Church arrangement
Come Thou Fount has always been a favorite hymn of mine, even before I understood the words. One of the biggest questions in this song is sparked from the line “here I raise my ebenezer.” Ebenezer refers to I Samuel 7:12, “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us,” or, as the Message version says; “This marks the place where God helped us.“ Ebenezer is the Hebrew for “Stone of Help.”
Ebenezers are people, places, or things that remind us of God’s help, His faithfulness, and his provision in our times of need.
The Earth Is Yours - Gungor
I’ve become a big fan of Gungor’s songs as worship songs lately. I feel like his lyrics are extremely poetic and paint incredible pictures, something that isn’t very common a lot of times in “christian” lyrics. This hasn’t been the easiest song to nail down at Gateway because the studio recording has so many different layers, loops, and extras - but I’m excited for this week to get it nailed in.
Closer - Charlie Hall
Charlie Hall is one of my favorite worship leaders. Not necessarily because of outstanding writing ability, musicianship, or even lyrics. It all boils down to the man himself. I’ve had the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with him, as well as experience him leading worship multiple times, and the man is just as sincere as they come. He has a huge heart and passion for worship, and for being absolutely raw and real with God. This song is a really simple tune, as are a lot of his slower songs, but is just a very basic and simple request and prayer. We don’t do this one too often anymore, but I felt like this week it would fit really well.
So that’s the set for this Sunday. Can’t wait to be there!
~chris
‘Cause it’s always better to know what songs you’re gonna sing, versus which songs you already sang.
I’ll list each song and original author, and touch on history, music, and lyrics/reason for playing it.
This Sunday we are singing the following tunes:
Beautiful Things - Gungor
We’ve done this song a number of times have had a great response from people. The lyrics are really well written, not cheesy, and very authentic. The music also is unique, especially compared to what’s typical of “worship” music. The song chorus and bridge ultimately just sing out the truth that God is continually making us new, no matter what we’ve done, where we’ve been, or how good we think we are.
How He Loves - John Mark McMillan
We haven’t done this song in a while. Partially because it’s been pretty overplayed by a lot of churches and bands, and partially because I just haven’t felt like it fit. This Sunday we are talking about idolatry, and as I was putting the songs together I felt this tension between how easily it is for us to fall in love with “stuff,” even in the light of God’s passionate love for us. I feel like it really fits well.
Light Up The Darkness - Bridge Band
This is a new song for our church, but not really a new song. I first heard this band a few years back and it’s been one of Es and I’s favorite worship albums. It’s got a very raw/local band feel, and I think that carries a lot of the weight of these songs. Lyrically, this song might as well have been written for Gateway. It goes along really well with the heart and mission of our church. We’ll be changing it up a bit from the original version, but I’m excited to finally get it into the mix. (And for Es to stop nagging me to play it!)
Awakening - Chris Tomlin
I’ve been shying away from a lot of Tomlin stuff for a number of reasons. First, it usually doesn’t resonate with our church. Second, It doesn’t usually resonate with me. There are times when your church might not “be” somewhere or “get” something, but you do, and it’s your responsibility to help them arrive at the location they need to be at. But if you don’t get it, or if it’s not close to your heart, you’ll never be able to lead the church there. This song, however, has been on my “to play” list for a long time. I think it’s extremely powerful both musically and lyrically, and speaks strongly on the topic of idolatry. We’ll be changing it up quite a bit from the original version and adding in some stuff that I think will really connect well with Gateway.
So that’s what’s coming up this Sunday!
~chris
PS: Songs subject to change.
