Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas. Some of this information is original; most of it is copied from other websites such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org. It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.
About the Handbell Music:
Old Time "Hallelujah" Religion - Tammy Waldrop
(c.2002, Alfred Publishing)
Jubilation Ringers
Charles Davis Tillman (b.1861) was the son of a Methodist minister from Tallassee, Alabama. He discovered “Old Time Religion” while attending a camp meeting as a singing evangelist in Lexington, South Carolina in 1889. He heard a group of blacks singing it and fell in love with it. In 1873, he published it with a group of other Jubilee songs. “Old Time Religion” had incalculable influence on the confluence of black spiritual and white gospel song traditions in forming the genre now known as southern gospel.
Give me that old time religion, Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion, It's good enough for me.
It was good for Paul and Silas, It was good for Paul and Silas,
It was good for Paul and Silas, It's good enough for me.
It was good for the Hebrew children, It was good for the Hebrew children,
It was good for the Hebrew children, It's good enough for me.
It was good for our mothers, It was good for our mothers,
It was good for our mothers, It's good enough for me.
Makes me love ev’rybody, Makes me love ev'rybody,
Makes me love ev’rybody, It's good enough for me.
Tammy Waldrop holds a Bachelor of music degree and a Master of music degree in theory and composition from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. As a writer for handbells since 1980, she has served as Assistant Choral Editor and Handbell Editor for Word Music. Presently, Tammy is Handbell Editor for Ring Out! Press, the handbell publishing company she began in 1990, which is now a part of the Jeffers Publishing Group. In 1988, Tammy collaborated with Bob Burroughs and won the AGEHR national composition contest, and in 1991 she won the Area III competition. She served as Publications Chair for Area IX from 1994–1996 and currently serves on the Greater Houston Handbell Association Board.
About the Choral Music/Hymn:
Concertato on Crown Him with Many Crowns - Hal Hopson
(c.1994, H.W.Gray Publications)
“Crown Him with Many Crowns” was originally penned in 1851 by Matthew Bridges (1800-1894), an Anglican scholar who once wrote a book condemning Roman Catholic theology, and then later converted to Catholicism. Bridges wrote six stanzas, based upon Revelations 19:12, “...and on His head were many crowns.” The text of this hymn was first published 1852 in The Passion of Jesus, a Collection of Original Pieces Corresponding with the Five Sorrowful Mysteries in the Rosary of Our Blessed Lady, a collection of devotional poetry. The prayers of the rosary are said in sets of ten, each focused on a "mystery" concerning the life of Christ; the mysteries themselves are in groups of five: the "Joyful Mysteries" concerning Christ's birth and childhood, the "Sorrowful Mysteries" concerning His death, and the "Glorious Mysteries" concerning the Resurrection and events following. (In the 20th century the "Luminous Mysteries" of Christ's earthly ministry were added.) Bridges's collection was dedicated to the five Sorrowful Mysteries: Christ's agony in Gethsemane, His scourging, the crown of thorns, Christ carrying His cross, and finally the Crucifixion itself. "Crown Him with many Crowns," therefore, was a reflection on the central mystery of the original 15 mysteries of the rosary. Bridges employs an unexpected approach to the topic, however, taking the cruel mockery intended by that original crown and turning it on its head by contemplating the glorious coronation of Christ in heaven. Each verse of Bridge’s poem was to describe of a different kind crown (Many Crowns, Virgin’s Son, Lord of Love, Lord of Peace, Lord of Years, and Lord of Heaven).
Godfrey Thring (1823-1903) was a devout Anglican clergyman who was concerned that this popular hymn was allowing Catholic theology to be sung by protestant congregations. Thring wrote an entirely new hymn of six verses to serve as a substitute for that of Bridges, using the same meter and basic plan of successive stanzas extolling Jesus' lordship over various domains. It was decided to keep the two versions separate but publish them both in 1874 in Thring’s hymnbook: Hymns and Sacred Lyrics. Thring’s version was also published in the Church of England Hymn-Book. The 12 stanzas have been mixed and matched down through the years. Of the following four verses found in our hymnal, three were written by Bridges (vs 1,3,and 4) and one by Thring (vs 2).
Composed for Bridges's text by George J. Elvey, DIADEMATA was first published in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern. Since that publication, the tune has retained its association with this text. The name DIADEMATA is derived from the Greek word for “crowns.”
Hal H. Hopson (1933-2025) was a full-time composer and church musician residing in Dallas, Texas. He has over 1000 published works, which comprise almost every musical form in church music. With a special interest in congregational song, he continues to make a significant contribution to the new repertoire of hymn tunes and responsorial psalm settings as evidenced by the proliferation of his settings that are included in newly published hymnals and psalm collections.
Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne.
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of him who died for thee,
And hail him as thy matchless King through all eternity.
Crown him the Lord of love; behold his hands and side,
Rich wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
No angels in the sky can fully bear that sight,
but downward bend their burning eyes at mysteries so bright.
Peace to you. Peace to you.
Crown him the Lord of peace, whose power a scepter sways
From pole to pole, that wars may cease, absorbed in prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end, and round his pierced feet
Fair flowers of paradise extend their fragrance ever sweet.
Crown him the Lord of years, the potentate of time,
Crown him, crown him,
Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime,
Lord of peace and love.
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For thou hast died for me;
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Thy praise shall never, never fail throughout eternity
About the Modern Band Music:
Pour Me Out - Brandon Lake
(c.2018, Brandon Lake Music)
Brandon Lake has been active since 2016. He recently joined Bethel Music as a worship leader, in January 2019.
"Pour Me Out" by Brandon Lake, released in 2018 with Seacoast Music, is a prayerful song written with Daniel Bashta, Ben Smith, and Rebekah White. It focuses on becoming a vessel for God’s peace, love, and hope, aiming to bridge divides and bring mercy to the world. The song is a plea for personal transformation, urging God to "pour out" the singer to bring peace where there is war, hope where dreams are dead, and reconciliation, as expressed in lyrics like "Make me a vessel of your peace".
Make me a vessel of Your peace
Where there is war, let fighting cease
All that divides us, come reconcile us
Make me a vessel of Your peace
Make me a vessel of Your love
Where there is hatred, break it up
All creeds and colors, bind us together
Make me a vessel of Your love
Pour me out, pour me out
Pour me out, wherever I am, wherever I go
Pour me out, pour me out
Pour me out, wherever I am, wherever I go
Make me a vessel of Your hope
Where dreams are dead, come wake them up
A new horizon, I feel it rising
Make me a vessel of Your hope
Like a rushing river, let mercy flow through my heart to my world
Graves into Gardens - Brandon Lake
(c.2019, Brandon Lake Music)
"Graves into Gardens" by Elevation Worship (feat. Brandon Lake) is a testimony song about God’s power to bring life from death and hope from despair. Co-written with Pastor Steven Furtick, Chris Brown, and Tiffany Hudson, it originated from a message by Pastor Steven Furtick titled "The Mystery of Potential," on 2 Kings 13:20–21, which focused on the story of Elisha's bones and the idea that God can turn dead, hopeless situations (graves) into blooming, productive ones (gardens).
Brandon Lake met with Chris Brown (Elevation Worship) at a conference to write, which led to a session with Furtick and Tiffany Hudson. Lake described being nervous but honored to write with them as he had long been influenced by their ministry. The song was recorded live at Elevation Church's Ballantyne campus in January 2020. It became Elevation Worship’s first #1 single on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart and won the GMA Dove Award for Worship Recorded Song of the Year.
I searched the world but it couldn't fill me
A man's empty praise and treasures that fade are never enough
Then You came along and me back together
And every desire is now satisfied here in Your love
Oh there's nothing better than You
There's nothing better than You
Lord there's nothing nothing is better than you
I’m not afraid to show You my weakness
My failures and flaws Lord You've seen them all and You still call me friend
'Cause the God of the mountain is the God of the valley
And there's not a place Your mercy and grace won't find me again
You turn mourning to dancing
You give beauty for ashes
You turn shame into glory
You're the only one who can
You turn graves into gardens
You turn bones into armies
You turn seas into highways
You're the only one who can
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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