I suppose Grace Fellowship Church is like most churches in that we have our favorite songs. We sing a great variety of songs, many of which would be familiar to you, I’m sure. But we also sing some that are a little off the beaten path, so to speak. I thought I’d share twelve of our favorite songs with you—twelve of our favorites that may be unfamiliar to you.
We Are Not Overcome
I begin with We Are Not Overcome, the newest song we have added to our repertoire. This one comes from Bifrost Arts and is a powerful song of comfort based on Lamentations 3. Joshua, our lead worshipper, had to do quite a bit of work to make this one suitable for congregational singing, but he succeeded well. “Flesh will fail and bones will break / Thieves will steal, the earth will shake / Night will fall, the light will fade / The Lord will give and take away.” Then the chorus proclaims, simply, “Because of his great love, we are not overcome.”
We Are Listening
We Are Listening comes from Before the Throne, still my favorite of Sojourn’s albums. Because we are one of those churches that continues to have both a morning and evening service, we often sing this one to rejoice in the fact that “Morning and evening we come / To delight in the Word of our God.”
I Glory in Christ
I Glory in Christ is a Horatius Bonar hymn that Sandra McCraken retuned and recorded on her album In Feast or Fallow. It is a cry to God that we would value him above all else, and that we would boast in nothing but the cross. “God forbid that I should glory, / Save in the Redeemer’s cross. / Counting shame for Him but honor, / Counting earthly gain but loss. / All the love of God is here, / A love that casteth out all fear.”
My One Comfort
My One Comfort is Dustin Kensrue’s adaptation of question and answer one of the Heidelberg Catechism. It works equally well with full instrumentation and as an acoustic track (as you hear in the YouTube video I linked to). “My one comfort both in life and death / Is that I am not my own. / I was bought with blood and I confess / I belong to you alone.”
Draw Me Nearer
There are a couple of versions of this hymn. The traditional version is titled “I Am Thine, O Lord,” but several years ago Caedmon’s Call adapted it as “Draw Me Nearer.” Their version is one we sing often, though Joshua adapted it a little bit to make it more suited to congregational singing. “Draw me nearer to the cross where thou has died. / Draw me nearer to thy precious, bleeding side.”
He Will Hold Me Fast
If “We Shall Overcome” is our newest song, He Will Hold Me Fast would be just barely in front of it, as we began singing it just this summer. Already it has become a favorite. Matt Merker of Capitol Hill Baptist Church adapted it from an older hymn, and it is a sweet song of comfort and hope. “I could never keep my hold, / He will hold me fast; / For my love is often cold, / He must hold me fast.”
Grace Alone
Grace Alone is another song written by Dustin Kensrue, and it was recorded by his (former?) band The Modern Post. The song simply rejoices in God for his salvation. “I was an orphan lost at the fall / Running away when I’d hear your call / But Father, you worked your will / I had no righteousness of my own / I had no right to draw near your throne / But Father, you loved me still.”
Grace and Peace
Grace and Peace was written by Joel Sczebel and recorded for the Sovereign Grace Music album Grace Has Come. The song calls us to marvel at what God has done in saving sinners for himself. Joshua has adapted it a little bit, largely to pick up the speed at least a little bit from the recorded version you hear at the link. “Grace and peace, oh, how can this be? / The matchless King of all / Paid the blood price for me! / Slaughtered lamb, what atonement You bring!”
I Know That My Redeemer Lives
It is very possible that your church sings I Know That My Redeemer Lives, but we sing the version we found on Rise O Buried Lord, an album produced by Redeemer Church of Knoxville. Adding the doxology as the final verse makes even more beautiful. It is a hymn that rejoices in the resurrection and all it means to the believer. “I know that my Redeemer lives! / What joy this blest assurance gives! / He lives, he lives, who once was dead; / he lives, my ever-living Head!”
Come to the Feast
Come to the Feast is the standout track from Songs for the Book of Luke, an album produced by The Gospel Coalition. It is a hymn that calls on the Christian to share the gospel with others, and calls the unbeliever to respond to the free offer of the gospel. “Come to the feast, come to the table / The great and the least, the rich and the poor / Come to the feast, come to the table, / Come and hunger no more.”
Calmer of My Troubled Heart
Calmer of My Troubled Heart is one of many songs we sing that originates with Indelible Grace and/or Matthew Smith, and this one comes from Smith’s The Road Sessions. If I understand correctly, it was originally penned by Charles Wesley and later adapted by Smith and Clint Wells. It is a sweet and simple hymn that prays to God. “Calmer of my troubled heart; / Bid my unbelief depart. / Speak and all my sorrows cease, / Speak and all my soul is peace.”
May Your Power Rest on Me
I will close with May Your Power Rest on Me, another track from Sojourn. This one is a song expressing confidence in the Lord, that “I can bear all things when temptation springs / for your sustain me all my days / though the trial still goes on / your grace will be my song…”
What are some of the “off the beaten path” songs your church sings?
