from "Challies dot com"...

Here is a hymn we've only begun to sing recently at our church. It's an old one and, I assume, one that may not have had a great melody (since Josh, our lead worshiper, has composed his own melody for it--I wish I had a recording so you could hear it). We sang it today after meeting with Christ in Hebrews 1. It was the perfect ending to our service.

Face to face with Christ my Savior,
Face to face, what will it be,
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ, who died for me?

Refrain
Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory
I shall see Him by and by!

Only faintly now I see Him,
With the darkening veil between,
But a blessed day is coming,
When His glory shall be seen.

What rejoicing in His presence,
When are banished grief and pain;
When the crooked ways are straightened,
And the dark things shall be plain!

Face to face! oh, blissful moment!
Face to face to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ, who loves me so.

"Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus" – Sunday Songs (from Gary, pastor at MGPC)

(taken from http://mgpcpastor.wordpress.com/; January 24, 2010)

This morning at mgpc we sang ‘Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus’
The song borrows verses from ‘What Can Wash Away My Sin’, and adds a refrain along with more verses.

It’s uptempo and the timing takes little learning. That being said, the original hymn is fairly bright and takes a little bit of learning as well. It was fairly ‘poppy’ in its own way. It is not as if a stately old piece has been completely altered. This is a contemporary reinterpretation of the original. The repetition of the phrase ‘Nothing but the blood of Jesus’ means that the lyrics don’t really flow in either version. The song is really more collection of affirmations.

If you have a group who like singing material with a bit of bounce, but want solid lyrics, this is the go. It can be slowed down for a more sedate group. (Like mornings at mgpc)

Here are the lyrics (the sheet music, mp3 tracks and CD can be purchased from EMU music)
1.
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
For pardon, this I see:
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
For cleansing, this my plea:
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Chorus
How deep the store of Jesus’ love
How rich the flow that cleanses us
How great the debt I owed,
Now it’s nothing by the blood of Jesus
2.
What can break the power of death?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Life and hope unto the earth
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What satisfies the law?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What opens heaven’s door?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
3.
Nothing can for sin atone
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Nothing good that I have done
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
This is my hope and peace:
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
This is my righteousness:
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Lyrics: Robert Lowry (public domain) & © 2005 Michael Morrow
Music: © 2005 Michael Morrow

Here are the original lyrics from cyberhymal for comparison (all lyrics: Robert Lowry):
1.
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
2.
For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
3.
Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
4.
This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
5.
Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
6.
Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Here’s a YouTube of the revision. As I said it moves along, so following it with the lyrics to read is helpful.



Editor: We used to sing this at my previous church, and I found it quite good. It's well worth a go... Thanks for this Gary.

"That Day" by Horatius Bonar and new score by Ruth Buchanan

We're currently studying through Revelation chapters 1-3 - the letters to the seven churches. As a bit of theme song, we learnt "That Day" (words by Horatius Bonar 1842, new tune by Ruth Buchanan) which kind of fits with the theme, but would also fit well with themes of perseverance, trials in life, focus on the return of Christ, forgiveness... Anyway, it went down really well. You can get a freeshare copy of the music score at "http://ruthbuchanan.com.au/images/Sheet%20Music_That%20Day%20(Beneath%20the%20Cross).pdf", though the words I have on my copy are slightly updated (and I feel much better for modern congregations. I've included them here - I guess you can cut and paste...

A few more years will pass,
A few more seasons change,
Then we will be with those who rest,
'til Christ shall come again.
Then O my Lord prepare
My soul for that great day,
O wash me in Your precious blood
and take my sins away.

A few more storms will beat
on this wild rocky shore,
then we will be where there is peace,
and waves crash down no more;
Then O my Lord, prepare
my soul for that calm day,
O wash me in Your precious blood
and take my sins away.

A few more struggles here,
a few more trials in store,
a few more toils, a few more tears,
and we will weep no more;
Then O my Lord, prepare
my soul for that glad day,
O wash me in Your precious blood
and take my sins away.

It's just a little while,
and He will come again,
He died that we might live, He lives,
that we with Him might reign;
Then O my Lord, prepare
my soul for that great day,
O wash me in Your precious blood
and take my sins away.

Ruth offers this music for free, but you can also purchase her albums which have music score on them and get them that way too. Peter.

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

On a recent holiday, my wife and I were able to attend another church in a nearby town. They sang a song which I loved called "Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone" which is a bit of a re-make of Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin. I'd probably watch out introducing this to an older congregation as they may not enjoy the new parts, but for a younger congregation (gen X / Gen Y???) I think they'd love it. It certainly worked in this congregation we went to (mainly gen x-ers). Again, you can download a copy at several places:
www.praisecharts.com have it for $5.95; at www.musicnotes.com it's $5.25, and at www.sheetmusicscore.com you can get the full orchestral arrangement for (wait for it) $54.95 (though this is FULL orchestral...). Personally I've found Praise charts about the best as you can view the music first, and they also seem to have fairly clear and easy piano / lead sheet music, whereas the others can complicate the sheet music somewhat (guess it depends on the skill of your pianist / musicians). Well worth purchasing.

Editor.

Couple of songs from Bruce in Charleville...

Hi

Have you tried “in christ alone” and “consider christ” both from Emu (*go to www.emumusic.com.au to download these songs*).

And what about “How deep the fathers love” by Robert Townend in the UK (*to download a legal copy of this song, you can try "musicnotes.com" or "praisecharts.com". Prices vary depending on what you want, as some websites offer full orchestral arrangements etc...*).

Bruce

Damo says...

Music websites are a place that I go to dream of what it would be like to be in a congregation that loves to try to sing a new song for the Lord every now and then. www.resoundworship.org is a site that I really like.

There is more stuff that I like than dislike on that site, but some examples of good songs are: Come See the Son, I Need Not Fear, Awesome Trinity & What Kind of Throne (Christmas song). Some good music for kids, too (ie. "Come You Thankful People").

They have a conference on at the moment called "Writing and Choosing Songs for Worship". It's the only time in my whole life that I have wished that I lived in England!!

Damo.

*I went and checked these out. The two songs I found which seem best (for ease of singing and learning etc) seemed to be "What Kind of Throne" and "I Need Not Fear". I can't wait to try these two in church... Ed."

Venzy said...

Great! I've been talking about doing this for ages, and haven't!

Let us know how we can let you know :) Are comments here the best way? Emails?

Here's my first contribution -

"The Wonder Of The Cross" aka "O Precious Sight" - Vicky Beeching
I heard this on a men's camp and scoured for a while to find a (legal) copy. I think I ended up using a paid download from www.musicnotes.com or worshiptogether.com (the latter is a pretty good site).