Stories behind the songs - Sunday February 24, 2007

"Once in Davids' Royal City"
The handbell ministry will share this song as a call to worship.
The words to the carol Once in Royal Davids city were written by Mrs. C.F. Alexander ( 1818 - 1895 ) and makes wonderful use of the English language to paint a picture of the events of the nativity. Mrs. Alexander wrote many poems for children, chiefly on religious subjects and was the wife of the Bishop of Derry. The music to Once in Royal Davids city was composed by H.J. Gauntlett. This carol is believed to have first been published in the early nineteenth century.

Once in royal Davids city,Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby,In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,Jesus Christ, her little Child.

Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7I_rwcJC7s

Click here to hear another arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVpZQqEfToo&feature=related


“Love the Lord Your God”
This powerful worship song was written by Lincoln Brewster while his church was going through the study “40 days of purpose”. He was asked to write some songs based upon the scriptures that coincide with each study. The first passage Mark 12:28-30 dealt with worship.(NIV, Mark 12:28-30)One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'

Click here to worship along with Lincoln
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV7qTD_X0Rk

Click here to learn more about Lincolns' ministry
www.lincolnbrewster.com/


"God so loved the World"
This arrangement of John 3:16 & 17 by Dan Goeller is from a larger work entitled "In His Own Words". Dan has a gift of writing music that fits the mood and message of the song:

Click here to listen to the song as well as other songs from "In His Own Words".
www.dangoellermusic.com/ihow_listen.html

Click here to learn more about Dans' music
http://www.dangeollermusic.com/


"Since Jesus Came into My Heart"

Ru­fus H. Mc­Dan­i­el wrote these words af­ter the death of his son.McDaniel was ed­u­cat­ed at Park­er’s Acad­e­my in Clare­mont Coun­ty, Ohio. He re­ceived a preach­ing li­cense at age 19, and was or­dained a min­is­ter of the Christ­ian Church in 1873. After serv­ing at var­i­ous lo­ca­tions in Ohio, in­clud­ing Ham­ers­ville, Hig­gins­port, Cen­ter­burg, Su­gar Creek, and Cin­cin­na­ti, he re­tired in Day­ton, Ohio. He wrote more than one hun­dred hymns dur­ing his life.

Click here to listen to a piano arrangement:
http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis2/camein.html

Click here to hear a ragtime version:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tmr2r4pow8

Click here to a gospel organ version:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxm7hgK7FcE


"Rescue"
This song by Jared Anderson was written during a worship staff retreat, he was struck by the phrase, "This world has nothing for me". As the team was caught up in worship Jared wrote the verses, bridge and song on a piece of paper.

Click here to listen to the story behind the song:
www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-232-Rescue-Anderson.mp3

Click here to listen to the song on Jared's myspace.
http://myspace.com/jaredandersonmusic

Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=toixagP4mT8




"Jesus Paid it All"
I received this email from Alex Nefong in England who wrote the song:

Sure man... I have an old hymnal that I frequently play through sometimes during my private times alone with the Lord. I was playing through that song one day in Jan of 05 and I just started praying and singing out the phrase O praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead. It was as simple as that. Just a prayer that came right out of my heart. Thanks for asking Mark.

This is a new arrangement of the old hymn, based on the recording from the Passion album "Everything glorious". It adds a new line "O praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead". Check out the composer of the tag on his website www.alexnifong.com/

Here’s a story about the song:The words were written by Elvina M. Hall and the music by John T. Grape on New Year’s night, 1886, some missionaries were holding open-air services in order to attract passers-by to a near-by mission, where meetings were to be held later. "All to Christ I owe" was sung, and after a gentleman had given a short address he hastened away to the mission. He soon heard footsteps close behind him and a young woman caught up with him and said: "I heard you addressing the open-air meeting just now; do you think, sir, that Jesus could save a sinner like me?"The gentleman replied that there was no doubt about that, if she was anxious to be saved. She told him that she was a servant girl, and had left her place that morning after a disagreement with her mistress. As she had been wandering about the streets in the dark, wondering where she was to spend the night, the sweet melodies of this hymn had attracted her, and she drew near and listened attentively. As the different verses were being sung, she felt that the words surely had something to do with her. Through the whole service she seemed to hear what met her oppressed soul’s need at that moment. God’s Spirit had showed her what a poor, sinful and wretched creature she was, and had led her to ask what she must do. On hearing her experience, the gentleman took her back to the mission and left her with the ladies in charge. The young, wayward woman was brought to Christ that night. A situation was secured for her in a minister’s family. There she became ill and had to be taken to a hospital. She rapidly failed and it became evident that she would not be long on earth. One day the gentleman whom she had met on New Year’s night was visiting her in the ward. After quoting a few suitable verses of Scripture, he repeated her favorite hymn, "All to Christ I owe"…and she seemed overwhelmed with the thought of coming to glory…Two hours afterward she passed away.

Click here to worship along
www.youtube.com/watch?v=onxhvivQYfI

Click here to worship along with a younger generation led by Kristian Stanfill:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-OOjfaBGnA&mode=related&search=

You can go here to Kristians' myspace and click on the song just to listen
www.myspace.com/kristianstanfill

WOW - here it is in Spanish
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRRBtWP_buA

"Just As I Am"
The handbell team will minister this song during the offertory.

Without question, this hymn has touched more hearts and influenced more people for Christ than any other song ever written. The text was born within the soul of an invalid woman who wrote these words out of intense feelings of uselessness and despair.
Charlotte Elliott was born in Clapham, England, on March 18, 1789. As a young person she lived a carefree life, gaining popularity as a portrait artist and writer of humorous verse. By the time she was thirty, however, her health began to fail rapidly, and soon she became a bedridden invalid for the remaining years of her life. With her failing health came great feelings of despondency. In 1822 a noted Swiss evangelist, Dr. Caesar Malan, visited the Elliott home in Brighton, England. His visit proved to be a turning point in Charlotte's life. In counselling Miss Elliott about her spiritual and emotional problems, Dr. Malan impressed upon her this truth, "You must come just as you are, a sinner, to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." Throughout the remainder of her life, Miss Elliott celebrated every year the day on which her Swiss friend had led her to a personal relationship with Christ, for she considered it to be her spiritual birthday. Although she did not write her text for this hymn until 1836, fourteen years after her conversion experience, it is apparent that she never forgot the words of her friend, for they form the very essence of this hymn.

Though Charlotte Elliott lived to be eighty-two years of age, she never regained normal health, and she often endured seasons of great physical suffering. Of her own afflictions she once wrote, "He knows, and He alone, what it is, day after day, hour after hour, to fight against bodily feelings of almost overpowering weakness, languor and exhaustion, to resolve not to yeild to slothfulness, depression and instability, such as the body causes me to long to indulge, but to rise every morning determined to take for my motto, 'If a man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'" Another time she wrote, God sees, God guides, God guards me. His grace surrounds me, and His voice continually bids me to be happy and holy in His service just where I am."
Miss Elliott wrote the text for "Just As I Am" in 1836. It was published that same year in the second edition of The Invalid's Hymn Book, a collection which contained 115 of her original works. She wrote this hymn with the desire that it might aid financially in building a school for the children of poor clergymen that her own pastor brother was trying to build in Brighton, England. Miss Elliott felt so helpless in her desire to aid the parishioners in this worthy project. Interestingly enough, this one hymn from the pen of the clergyman's invalid sister brought in more funds than all of his bazaars and projects combined. The brother himself has left these words, "In the course of a long ministry, I hope to have been permitted to see some fruit of my labors; but I feel more has been done by a single hymn of my sister's."

Click here to listen to a solo arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovYPQl93zro

Click here to listen to an organ arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsuPMj0bCrI