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 Organ Music:
Prelude in Classic Style - Gordon Young
(c.1966, Lorenz Publishing)
Gordon Young (1919-1998) was born in McPherson, Kansas, and during his lifetime was recognized as one of this country's great church organists. He was a prolific and talented composer for both organ and choir, with nearly 1000 published works. During the course of his career, he was a radio organist in Tulsa, a music critic and columnist for daily newspapers in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, and choirmaster in churches in Philadelphia and Kansas City. Mr. Young taught organ in conjunction with Wayne State University and for 15 years was organist and choir director at the First Presbyterian Church in Detroit.
About the Piano Music:
The Inner Light - Jay Chattaway
(c.1995, Addax Music Co)
Jay Chattaway (b.1946) is an American composer of film and television scores. Chattaway studied music at West Virginia University. He was a regular member of a rhythm and blues band called the "Abductors" in which he played trumpet, wrote the musical scores, and was musical director. Chattaway was drafted into the military while working on his graduate degree and joined the Navy Band, serving as the unit's chief arranger and composer. After his discharge from the Navy, Chattaway moved to New York City to write music. He later moved to Los Angeles to compose for film.
"The Inner Light" is the 125th episode overall and the 25th and penultimate episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the episode, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) learns to play the Ressikan flute and plays a beautiful melody also named “The Inner Light”. The brass Ressikan flute resembles, and has a similar sound to, a penny whistle or a tin whistle. A simple recurring theme that Picard plays on the flute was later developed into a full orchestral suite for the 30th anniversary of Star Trek.
The prelude today is a tribute to Stewart, and a reminder of the influence our lives can have on those around us. Both Stewart (and Picard) lived lives of service and empathy for all people. As Stewart said in an interview about the role:
“It was about truth and fairness and honesty and respect for others, no matter who they were or what strange alien creature
they looked like. That was immaterial. They were alive. And if they needed help, Jean-Luc Picard and his crew, his team,
were there to give it. So, yes, in a sense, we were ministers.”
About the Choral Music:
God Will Sing - Heather Sorenson
(c.2023, Hal Leonard)
Heather Sorenson entered the church music industry in her twenties, and her name quickly became a welcomed fixture in the publishing world. Diversity is the characteristic that makes Heather somewhat of an anomaly in the industry: she easily maneuvers both the traditional and contemporary genres of Christian music, often combining the two for a unique blend that has become her artistic fingerprint. Initially recognized for her skill as a pianist, Heather is now known for her compositions in choral anthems, solo piano collections, and orchestrations. She taught all elementary levels of music at Grace Academy of Dallas for 4 years, served as an adjunct music professor at Baylor University, and has served on many master class panels in piano and songwriting. Heather regularly is a guest speaker and conductor at churches across America and leads scores of sessions each year at various worship conferences, schools, and universities. Heather makes her home in the Dallas, TX area with her beloved (and very vocal) beagle, Lucy.
Based on Zephaniah 3:17, this anthem celebrates the idea that God sings over us with great joy.
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, is mighty.
He will save and sing over thee with joy! And sing over thee with joy!
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is might, is mighty.
He will save and sing over thee with joy! And sing over thee with joy!
And God will sing over thee with rejoicing.
With gladness He will sing, sing over thee.
He will quiet thee with His love, and then sing over thee.
And God will sing over thee with rejoicing.
With gladness He will sing, sing over thee.
He will bind up every wound. He will heal all thy diseases.
He will anoint thy head with oil. He will anoint thee with His mercy,
And He will shower thee with grace through each test of thy faith.
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, is mighty. He will save
and sing over thee with joy! And sing over thee with joy!
And God will sing over thee with rejoicing, with gladness He will sing,
Sing over thee.
He will quiet thee with His love, and then sing over thee.
And God will sing over thee with rejoicing and gladness,
dispelling each sadness, and with creation He will sing over thee.
Over thee!
About the Hymns:
Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven
The psalms are a source of inspiration for hymn writers. Psalm 103 is the basis of "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven" by Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847). Born in Scotland and educated at Enniskillen and Trinity College in Dublin, Lyte's most significant appointment was as Anglican curate at Lower Brixham, Devonshire, England, where he served for 24 years. Lyte was known as a man frail in body but strong in faith and spirit. Suffering from chronic asthma and tuberculosis, he retired from his parish in September 1847. Seeking a better climate in Italy, he died that November in Nice, France, on his way to Rome. Lyte's poetry earned him several honors. His collections include Tales on the Lord's Prayer in Verse (1826), Poems, Chiefly Religious (1833, 1845), and The Spirit of the Psalms (1834). His most famous hymn was "Abide with me, fast falls the eventide", which represents the heart of the Romantic style.
This hymn was published as one of 280 free psalm paraphrases in The Spirit of the Psalms. One of three paraphrases of Psalm 103, Lyte took a very free approach to his interpretation. An Anglican minister, he drew upon Miles Coverdale's translation as found in the Book of Common Prayer rather than the Authorized King James Version. Instead of beginning with "Bless the Lord, O my soul," this translation opens with: "Praise the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me praise his holy Name. Praise the Lord, O my soul: and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thy sin: and healeth all thine infirmities; Who saveth thy life from destruction: and crowneth thee with mercy and loving-kindness." One can see these theological ideas in the opening stanza of Lyte's hymn, but in a free poetic form. When the hymn appeared in the influential collection Hymns Ancient and Modern, the editors substituted "Alleluia! Alleluia!" for "Praise him! Praise him!", a change that not only improved the ease of singing, but elevated the exaltation.
A missing stanza four corresponds very closely with verses 15-17:
Frail as summer's flower we perish: Blows the wind and it is gone.
But, while mortals rise and perish, God endures unchanging on.
Praise him! Praise him! Praise the high eternal One!
Besides a sense of jubilation, this hymn emphasizes God's providence. The poet consistently emphasizes the reliability of God.
John Goss (1800-1880) composed LAUDA ANIMA (Latin for the opening words of Psalm 103) for this text in 1868. Along with his original harmonizations, intended to interpret the different stanzas, the tune was also included in the appendix to Robert Brown¬ Borthwick's Supplemental Hymn and Tune Book (1869). LAUDA ANIMA is one of the finest tunes that arose out of the Victorian era. A reviewer in The Musical Times, June 1869, said, "It is at once the most beautiful and dignified hymn tune which has lately come under our notice."
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise the everlasting King!
Praise him for his grace and favor to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever, slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia! Glorious in his faithfulness!
Fatherlike he tends and spares us; well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us, rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia! Widely yet his mercy flows!
Angels, help us to adore him; you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him, dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise with us the God of grace!
O God, Our Help in Ages Past
“Our God, Our Help in Ages Past” is a hymn by Isaac Watts which paraphrases Psalm 90. It originally consisted of nine stanzas. In present usage, however, the hymn is usually limited to stanzas one, two, three, five, seven and nine. In 1738, John Wesley in his hymnal, Psalms and Hymns, changed the first line of the text from "Our God" to "O God." Both Watts' wording and Wesley's rewording remain in current use. The hymn was originally part of The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, published by Watts in 1719. In this book he paraphrased in Christian verse the entire psalter with the exception of twelve Psalms which he felt were unsuited for Christian usage.
The hymn tune "St. Anne" to which the text is most often sung was composed by William Croft in 1708 whilst he was the organist of the church of St Anne, Soho. It first appeared anonymously in the Supplement to the New Version of the Psalms, 6th edition in 1708. It was originally intended to be used with a version of Psalm 62. It was not until sometime later when set to Watts' text that the tune gained recognition.
The complete nine verses are as follows:
Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home.
Under the shadow of Thy throne Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same.
Thy Word commands our flesh to dust, Return, ye sons of men:
All nations rose from earth at first, And turn to earth again.
A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood, With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood, And lost in following years.
Time, like an ever rolling stream, Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day.
Like flowery fields the nations stand Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower’s hand Lie withering ere ‘tis night.
Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while life shall last, And our eternal home.
About the Congregational Responses:
Goodness of God - Jenn Johnson, Ed Cash, Jason Ingram, Ben Fielding, and Brian Johnson
(c.2018, Alletrop Music/Shout! Music Publishing Australia/Fellow Ships Music/So Essential Tunes/Bethel Music Publishing)
Jennifer "Jenn" Johnson (b.1982) is an American Christian worship singer, songwriter and worship pastor. She is a co-founding member of Bethel Music, and is one-half of the husband-and-wife worship duo Brian and Jenn Johnson. She is also a senior worship pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California, and a Senior Overseer of WorshipU, an online school of worship sponsored by Bethel.
The story behind Bethel Music's "Goodness of God" centers on Jenn Johnson's personal experience of adopting her fourth child, Ryder Moses.
Johnson related this story: “We had just gotten home from our adoption of our son, Ryder. He was a gift that we never saw coming. We have three kids already. We thought we were done having children. Brian and I were always open to adoption. But, out of the blue, we just felt like the Lord say to us, 'I have this for you if you want this--like a gift. I have a present for you." We knew adoption was the Lord's plan for us; to have a baby again when you've been out of baby season for eight years was such a blessing. Darlene Zschech, who had been with us, told us the translation of the verse 'Here I am, send me' from Isaiah 6:8 says, 'my answer is yes before you even ask.' I was so struck with that phrase. When we had the chance to adopt, I felt myself saying yes before I was even asked. Within the next year, we were matched up. And, we brought our new son home to our family. During the adoption process, I found myself driving on a long country road. I was just singing to the Lord when I recorded a song on my phone about the "faithfulness" and "kindness of God." I wrote and sang most of "Goodness of God" as an overflow of my heart at that moment. That led to finishing and recording this song with Ed Cash, Jason Ingram, and Ben Fielding.”
This unplanned recording session became the foundation for the song, which expresses gratitude for God's unwavering presence and goodness through life's challenges and joys.
I love You, Lord. For Your mercy never failed me.
All my days I've been held in Your hands.
From the moment that I wake up Until I lay my head,
Oh, I will sing Of the goodness of God.
And all my life You have been faithful;
And all my life You have been so, so good.
With every breath That I am able,
Oh, I will sing Of the goodness of God.
I love Your voice, You have led me through the fire.
And in darkest night You are close like no other.
I've known You as a Father; I’ve known You as a Friend.
And I have lived In the goodness of God, yeah.
'Cause Your goodness Is running after, It's running after me;
Your goodness is running after, It’s running after me.
With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now.
I give You everything, ’Cause Your goodness
Is running after, It’s running after me, oh.
May God Bless and Keep You - Jim Strathdee
(c.1994, Desert Flower Music)
Internationally known artists, Jim and Jean Strathdee sing with thousands of people each year as they offer their music in concerts, worship, conferences, reteats, and workshops. Most often they travel throughout the United States and Canada, but over the 40 year span of their ministry they have shared their music in India, New Zealand, Cuba, and Central America. Their music spans a diversity of sound and style and includes use of guitar, piano, mandolin, harmonica, African drums, and Native American flute. They see music as an agent of transformation where ecumenical and inter-faith communities come together to make a stand for positive change. Jim and Jean have served on the staff of United Methodist churches in southern and northern California and Hawaii. They have written hundreds of hymns, songs, and anthems.
May God bless and keep you,
May God's loving face now shine on you and be gracious, gracious, Amen.
About the Modern Band Music:
God So Loved - Andrew Bergthold, Ed Cash, Franni Cash, Martin Cash, and Scott Cash
(c.2019, Capitol CMG Publishing)
The song "God So Loved" by the contemporary Christian music band We the Kingdom was inspired by John 3:16 ("For God so loved the world...") and born out of a musical idea that came to the group early in the morning. Songwriter Ed Cash started with a small groove in his head around 6:00 a.m., strumming a fretless acoustic bass (a Thunder Chief) to capture the initial idea. The band spent roughly two years refining the track. It was written to offer comfort, healing, and a reminder that Jesus welcomes people right in the middle of their failures, shame, and brokenness. The bridge and conclusion incorporate the familiar, traditional lyrics of the classic "Doxology" ("Praise God from whom all blessings flow..."), which came together naturally as the band members collaborated and reflected on a cathartic release of worship. Because the verse emphasizes that God loved "the world," the band later created a "World Version" featuring guest artists and cultural musical influences from different countries.
Come all you weary, come all you thirsty Come to the well that never runs dry
Drink of the water, come and thirst no more
Come all you sinners, come find His mercy Come to the table He will satisfy
Taste of His goodness, find what you're looking for
For God so loved the world that He gave us His one and only Son to save us
Whoever believes in Him will live forever
Bring all your failures, bring your addictions Come lay them down at the foot of the cross
Jesus is waiting there, with open arms
For God so loved the world that He gave us His one and only Son to save us
Whoever believes in Him will live forever
Praise God praise God From whom all blessings flow
Praise Him praise Him For the wonders of His love
For God so loved the world that He gave us His one and only Son to save us
Whoever believes in Him will live forever
For God so loved the world that He gave us His one and only Son to save us
For God so loved, God so loved the world
The Perfect Love Of Jesus - Aodhan King, Kaylea Coates, Leala Dasher, Mark Alan Schoolmeesters
(c.2025, Common Hymnal Digital, Live Original Publishing, Monroe Music Publishing, Standing Room Only, The Underground Collection, Thirsting Hart Music)
“The Perfect Love of Jesus” is a contemporary Christian worship song by LO Worship featuring Aodhán King (formerly of Hillsong Young & Free). It was first released as a single and later featured prominently on LO Worship’s debut live album, Songs for the Anxious Heart. The track was born out of conversations within the Louisiana-based collective (tied to Sadie Robertson-Huff’s Live Original ministry) regarding anxiety, human striving, and the pressure to earn God's approval. The writers wanted to challenge the "scoreboard mentality" where people feel they have to perform or maintain perfection to stay close to God. The bridge features the reassuring refrain, "I'm loved, I'm chosen / Your arms are wide open / I could never mess it up," emphasizing that God's grace is far more powerful than human mistakes. The lyrics and reflections draw heavily from concepts like Psalm 23 ("surely goodness and love will follow me...") and Ephesians 3, reminding listeners of the wide and deep measure of Christ's love
Better than I ever considered Your forgiveness
Heals the depths of my being This where I find acceptance
No exceptions Undeniably free
After all I've seen It's so clear to me
Without the love of Jesus I don't know where I would be
Overwhelming grace Covers all my days
Oh the perfect love of Jesus Is everything (to me)
I don't have to strive for perfection In your presence
I have all I that I need You sit with me in all of my questions
And You listen Oh You're patient with me
I'm loved I'm chosen Your arms wide open
I could never mess it up I could never mess it up
Gratitude - Benjamin Hastings, Brandon Lake, and Dante Bowe
(c.2019, Bethel Worship Publishing, admin. by Bethel Music Publishing; Maverick City Publishing, admin. by Heritage Worship Music Publishing
"Gratitude" is a song by Brandon Lake. The song was released on June 3, 2022, as the third single from his second studio album, House of Miracles (2020). Lake co-wrote the song with Benjamin Hastings and Dante Bowe. Brandon Lake shared in interview with Billboard that song came about during a trip to Australia to co-write with friends who were in Hillsong. During a writing session with Benjamin Hastings at his apartment overlooking the Sydney Opera House, Lake discussed with Hastings over how they had nothing to God that is impressive, and how humbling it was, thus inspiring the lyrics of the song.
The song "Gratitude" provides the singer with an opportunity for deep reflection on their genuine feelings of thankfulness. In the Christian journey, gratitude plays a crucial role preventing bitterness from taking root in our hearts towards the life we lead. Having a mindset of gratitude allows us to appreciate both the ordinary and extraordinary blessings bestowed upon us by God. This perspective transforms everything we receive into a perceived blessing.
All my words fall short, I got nothing new; How could I express, All my gratitude
I could sing these songs, As I often do, But every song must end, And You never do
So I throw up my hands And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah
And I know it’s not much, But I’ve nothing else fit for a king
Except for a heart singing hallelujah, Hallelujah
I’ve got one response, I’ve got just one move
With my arms stretched wide, I will worship You
So I throw up my hands And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah
And I know it’s not much But I’ve nothing else fit for a king
Except for a heart singing hallelujah, Hallelujah
Come on my soul, Oh don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song, ‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord
Come on my soul, Oh don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song, ‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord
So I throw up my hands And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
