1. Shelter Me, by Buddy and Julie Miller. Biblical imagery and scriptural allusions (often apocalyptic) saturate this song, from the first line (the earth can shake, the sky come down) to the last (You shelter me Lord, underneath Your wings). The Millers know how to tell a story through song as well, using colorful descriptions and active verbs, as in the second verse:
Dark waters rise and thunders pound
the wheels of war are going ’round
and all the walls are crumbling –
shelter me Lord, underneath Your wings.
2. Psalm Fifty-Seven, by our own Jeremy Quillo. We recorded this one on These Things I Remember. Download the chord sheet from that page, and listen to the mp3 from our Virb page, virb.com/sojournmusic. Jeremy does a great job adapting this psalm (later this week on sojournmusic.com, we’ll bring you an interview with Rebecca Dennison on using the psalms in contemporary worship).
3. All Of Creation, also by Jeremy Quillo, from our first worship album, With the Angels. This album featured Jeremy’s lead vocals and songwriting throughout (and a live version of “Come Thou Fount”). Hear the mp3 and download the chord sheet from that page here on this site.
4. All I Have Is Yours, lyrics by me and music by Rebecca Elliott. We recorded this one on 2007′s Before the Throne, and you can download the chord sheet from that album’s page here. You can also read the “story behind the song,” and you can hear the mp3 on myspace.com/sojournrecords.
5. How Deep The Father’s Love For Us, by the modern hymn writer, Stuart Townend. What a great reminder of the depth of our depravity and the awesome grace that God extended in sending His Son to pay for our sins:
How great the pain of searing loss; the Father turns His face away
as wounds which mar the chosen one bring many sons to glory
6. When The Savior Reached Down For Me, by G.E. Wright in 1921. This old-time quartet song, from the days when southern gospel quartets would travel throughout the country and sing from song books featuring “shaped-note singing” notation, is a cool example of 19th-early 20th century American gospel music. It’s a fun “go-home” song with a simple, scriptural message:
I was lost and undone, without God or His Son
When He reached down His hand for me
7. Mission’s Flame, by Matt Redman. Redman gets it right in this song, exclaiming “Let worship be the fuel for mission’s flame.”Â
As John Piper wrote in Let The Nations Be Glad, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man ….
” … worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can’t commend what you don’t cherish. Missionaries will never call out, “Let the nations be glad!”, who cannot say from the heart, “I rejoice in the Lord.I will be glad and exult in thee, I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High” (Psalm 104:34; 9:2). Missions begins and ends in worship.”
The only difference in the evening services was that we did “Faithful,” by Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper, in place of “All I Have Is Yours.”  ”Faithful” has been a favorite in our community for awhile, having been released on 2005′s These Things I Remember. Listen to the mp3 and download the chord sheet from that page.
Morning Worship Band:
Simon Groce — Bass guitar
Jamie Barnes — Electric guitar
David Kidd — Drums
Dave Moisan — vocals, acoustic guitar
Rebecca Elliott — vocals, keyboard
Evening worship band:
Robert James — Bass guitar
Phillip Miller — Electric guitar
Matt Harris — Drums
Brooks Ritter — Vocals, acoustic guitar
Lindsey Lewis — Vocals
One final note: at the Interstates show Friday night, they closed their set by calling Brooks Ritter to the stage to perform the song they wrote together for one of Sojourn’s upcoming worship discs – an adaptation of Isaac Watts’ “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed” that you’ll just have to hear to believe. The crowd seemed to dig it.Â
