Can you suggest any good Christian worship songs?

Question

Hi,
I'm helping out with worship at my church, and I'm looking for some new worship songs to introduce. If you could suggest any songs, modern or old, I would greatly appreciate it! If you can, please suggest songs that are not too commonly played at churches (i.e.: ones that I probably don't know about already, just so that I can get acquainted with a wide range of songs). Please also stick to any song that would fit in the praise and worship genres, I don't want anything extremely out-of-the-box, i'm looking for something suitable for a church service. Thanks so much for helping!

Answer 1

Title
Journey Into The Worship Movement

by Derek Joseph Levendusky

Content


For almost ten years now, the Holy Spirit has been moving across the earth, igniting a youth movement that’s affectionately been called “The Worship Movement.” What is it? In the mid 1990’s, youth began to hunger for more than being entertained by the church or the world. The church began to respond to this hunger by creating ministries and music that would feed this desire among young people. I lived in Lindale, Texas, in 1996 where my wife and I were part of Benson Records band Harvest. For Christian music history buffs, our landlords were Buck and Annie Herring (Second Chapter of Acts), we lived across the street from Keith Green’s house, and one of our neighbors was Dallas Holm. We attended a little church in Lindale called Community Christian Fellowship (CCF), where a man named Paul Baloche led worship. One of the first Sundays we attended CCF, Paul said, “I want to try out a new song on you guys. It’s called ‘Open the Eyes of My Heart.’” The band began to play, and Paul sang, “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord…open the eyes of my heart…”

I looked at my wife and shrugged. “Not bad,” I said. Little did I realize how God would use this song all across the world in the worship movement.

It was during this time that I began hearing about a group in England named Delirious that was having tens of thousands gather at their monthly worship concerts. Their song “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” became an anthem of the modern worship movement.

Recently, Lynn Nichols, Vice President, A&R for Sparrow Records, said of Delirious, “ 'While Delirious may not be solely responsible for the new worship movement, as some have said, they have certainly been at the front edge of the movement. They have raised the standard of worship by merging a high degree of art and musical integrity with deeply spiritual lyrics that are 'fresh manna' for the hungry masses.”

During this time, songwriters like Matt Redman and Darlene Zchesch came on the scene and began to make their mark, as churches all over the world began to sing their music.

In 1998, a friend of mine in Tulsa began telling me about a local worship leader there named Darrell Evans who was “writing some great stuff for youth.” He put out a few records with Hosanna Integrity and his songs swept through the church and across the world. He authored such tunes as “Let the River Flow,” “Trading my Sorrows,” and “Freedom.” Darrell will be at Beyond the Song in Lima, NY this year.

Within a few years, it seems that everyone’s uncle was making a worship CD. The worship movement was in full swing. Soon after, the movement evolved, as prophetic worship appeared on the radar screen. I say that with no disrespect to Kent Henry, a personal friend, who was doing prophetic worship when no one else was in the early 1990’s. Incidentally, many prophetic worship leaders I know cite Kent Henry as a significant influence on their worship ministries. Unlike the early 1990’s, prophetic worship emerged with boldness with the entrance of a new millennium, coming right down Main Street of the worship movement.

In year 2000, my band Isaiah 6 and I were invited to Virginia to do a joint concert with a worship leader named Jason Upton. We had a tremendous night of ministry. I came back to New York and began to tell my family and friends, “You’ve got to hear this guy’s music!” Later in year 2000, Jason Upton ministered at “The Call,” a gathering of over 300,000 youth in Washington D.C., and the secret was out. Soon Jason Upton was the poster boy for the prophetic worship movement.

The music comes in all shapes and flavors, but the heart of the worship movement is fourfold:


1) Intimacy

The Holy Spirit has been moving the songs of His church from “Holy” to “Daddy.” We will always have a song that cries, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” but for so long the Abba cry of the Body of Christ has been quiet. The worship movement is being used to draw God’s people to know the Father, and walk in confidence with Him. One of the songs the Lord has used in our ministry is a song we wrote called, Called toKnow You, which says: “Called to know You, called to love You; To walk with you, it is my great reward; I want to know You, I want to love You; You are the pearl that I’ve been searching for…”


2) Honesty

You cannot be intimate with someone you cannot be honest with. Part of the worship movement is learning to approach God the way David did, with raw honesty. It is bringing all the aches, pains, and complaints that the soul is faced with to a loving Father that understands our weakness. One of Jason Upton’s songs called, I Will Wait pleads, “Evil armies all around me, another wall that’s in my way; But I believe the word You promised me, so I will wait another day!”


3) Undignified Praise

Religion teaches man to follow the traditions of men and to fear men more than God, which often results in a ritualism, apathy, or conservatism in worship. True worship often expresses itself with an outpouring of praise that does not conform to a mold or fear man. Such was the praise of King David when he danced in a linen ephod before the ark of the covenant (2 Samuel 6:14). Darrell Evans has written some great tunes with these themes, like the song, We Will Embrace Your Move where he rejoices, “Oh God be our God and we’ll be Your people of praise; We’ll dance and we’ll sing for our God is the ancient of days!”


4) Prophecy

The prophetic worship movement exploded in the early 2000’s, as ministries like Jason Upton and even Delirious were willing to step out and be spontaneous, trusting the Holy Spirit to give them spontaneous music and songs. Some of our most beloved and famous worship songs, like The Air I Breathe by Marie Barnett, were written in spontaneous prophetic worship. But prophetic worship is not just about spontaneous music. It’s more about interacting with God. Therefore, the worship movement has ushered in an experience that is no longer one way, man to God; but now interactive, man to God and God to man.

What do the days ahead hold for the worship movement? Our heart and prayer and confidence is that the worship movement will become a missions movement (see the article “They Had Been With Jesus”). Our desire is that Beyond the Song will be used by the Lord to progress the worship movement in the northeast United States, and to transform it into a great missions movement “to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It may be that we’ve only begun to see the fruit of what God is doing, and that the best days are yet to come.


Derek Joseph Levendusky is the founder and director of Isaiah 6 Ministries and Beyond the Song.
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Tree63 - All Over The World
From the album Worship Volume One: I Stand For You

Even As the World began
the stars they sang and all the angels
shouted for joy
shouted for joy

And looking back through history
Your people they have always had
A song they must sing
A song they must sing
Chorus:
All over the world Your song will resound
All over the world Your praises ring out
We're living to see You're name and renown
All over the world

Young and old, near and far
there's a place for ev'ry heart to
join in your song
join in your song

And every nation tribe and tongue
come together join as one
give glory to God
glory to God

Great is Your name
and great will be your song (repeat)
We lift up our hands and pray
We lift up our hands and pray
for holy is Your name

Your name, Your renown, are the desire of our souls
Your fame, Your glory, Your song,

Lyrics may not be reproduced without permission from the publisher.
**********************************************************************
There is a great evangelistic song called "Until You Return." Here are the lyrics to the chorus below:

I will pray Lord
I will fast
I will die, for the harvest
I will weep Lord
I will reap
Until you return
**********************************************************************
There is also a song by Isaiah Six called "Who Will Go?" that will make you want to pack up everything
and head to the fields yourself. It is awesome. Some of the words as follows:
I've seen a Harvest Field,
It's vast, it's wide, it's real.
Ripe and ready to be taken in...

But it did not reveal a willing man to tarry there within..

The need is greater than I've ever known..

And billions of people are dying, and millions of Christians ignore,
and the Life of our Savior is crying, Oh it's what I gave it for........
It ends up with "I will go, I will go, I will go for you.......
copyright1998 Isaiah Six ministries.

I left out a bunch of lines but you Might finds words and music at their
website. Derek Levendusky is the leader of the group and he is a committed
evangelist. I'm sure he'd love to have you guys use the song for Jesus!

Answer 2

Lincoln Brewster - Everlasting God, You Reign, I Surrender, Love the Lord, Salvation is Here Caedmon's Call - Only Hope Mikeschair - Let the Waters Rise Robbie Seay Band - Song of Hope Sent By Ravens - New Fire Vota - Hard to Believe Silverline - Get it Right, Voices in the Night Jason Gray - More Like Falling in Love Chasen - On and On Leeland - New Creation, Follow You Civil Twilight - Letters from the Sky Grey Holiday - You Belong to Me Tenth Avenue North - Hold My Heart, By My Side The Send - Need Thousand Foot Krutch - Fire It Up Jars of Clay - I Want to Fall in Love With You Pillar - Fireproof, Frontline MercyMe - Here Am I Jeremy Camp - I'll Take You Back Since October - Beautiful, Guilty This Beautiful Republic - Surrender Saved My Life, Learning to Fall Anberlin - Feel Good Drag, End of Silence, Love Song Red - Breathe into Me, Already Over, Ordinary World The Afters - Ocean Wide, Light Up the Sky, You Rush of Fools - Undo Downhere - Here I Am Jesus Culture - Obsession Jadon Lavik - What If Blindside - Pitiful, Sleepwalking, Caught a Glimpse, Follow You Down Newsboys - Born Again Falling Up - Broken Heart Mat Gilman and Cory Asbury - Holy Phil Wickham - True Love, Cannons, I Love You Matthew West - More Steven Curtis Chapman - Dive, I Do Believe, Magnificent Obsession Wes King - I Believe Satellites and Sirens - Anchor Josh Wilson - Before the Morning Fee - Everything Falls Stellar Kart - Everything is Different Now Michael W. Smith - Deep in Love With You, You are the Love of My Life, Above All Philips Craig and Dean - Let My Words Be Few Desperation Band - Wherever You Go Paul Coleman - One Thing Safetysuit - Anywhere But Here Phil Stacey - You're Not Shaken Salvador - Shine

Answer 3

Healing Rain by Michael W. Smith. I love Smitty and just about any of his songs would be great. I haven't bought an album for a few years but one night on You Tube I stumbled across this song. I cried the whole song because it was so beautiful. It is on the self titled album. Here are the lyrics.

Healing Rain Lyrics

Healing rain is coming down
It's coming nearer to this old town
Rich and poor, weak and strong
It's bringing mercy, it won't be long
Healing rain is coming down
It's coming closer to the lost and found
Tears of joy and tears of shame
Are washed forever in Jesus' name

Chorus
Healing rain, it comes with fire
So let it fall and take us higher
Healing rain, I'm not afraid
To be washed in Heaven's rain

Lift your heads, let us return
To the mercy seat where time began
And in your eyes I see the pain
Come soak this dry heart with healing rain
And only You, the Son of man
Can take a leper and let him stand
So lift your hands, they can be held
By someone greater, the Great I Am

Healing rain is falling down
Healing rain is falling down
I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid

Answer 4

Only Grace- Mathew West
In This Very Room
Untitled Hymn-(Come to Jesus)- Chris Rice
He Reigns
Indescribable
The Majesty and Glory of Your Name
Go Light the World (Carry Your Candle)? Chris Rice

Answer 5

Hey you could try some D.C. Talk or Newsboys. Both of those bands are pretty good imo. As for songs maybe in the light or Breakfast.

Answer 6

I'm not much into Gospel but I've always loved "I believe" by Sounds of Blackness, Trin-i-tee's "By God's Grace"
Bob Marley's "Jah Lives"
El Shaddai - can't remember the singer's name

and since I'm Roman Catholic the Gregorian Chant CDs Chant one and two, very soothing and uplifting, and I could help but suggest them, I was really impressed.

Answer 7

"Stomp" by Kirk Franklin (I think). That one's my favorite. Now if you went to Faithworld here in Orlando, FL, it would totally be differant. My suggestion for best Christian music would be ANYTHING from Clint Brown or LaRue Stewart. They're the best, and the best-selling!!! Try it out. I'm positive you'll love it!!!

Answer 8

Worship Songs

Song (Artist or Album)

Lifesong (Casting Crowns)
Praise You in This Storm (Casting Crowns)
Victory Chant(Bob Fitts)
Your Grace is Enough (Chris Tomlin)
Indescribable (Chris Tomlin)
Above All(Micheal W. Smith)
Breathe(Micheal W. Smith)
Forever(Micheal W. Smith)
He is Exalted (God Of Wonders Vol. 1)
How Great is Our Good(Chris Tomlin)
The Heart of Worship(Micheal W. Smith)
Open the Eyes of My Heart(Micheal W. Smith)
He Reigns(Newsboys)
You Are My King(Newsboys)
It is You(Newsboys)
Presence (Newsboys)
Let My Words Be Few(Matt Redman)
Blessed Be Your Name(Matt Redman)
Better is One Day(Matt Redman)

Answer 9

How about some bluegrass gospel. On Heaven's Bright Shore, or the religous songs from "Oh Brother! where art thou?', particularly 'the river'

There are some classic gospel songs like 'that's the way I want to go!" that are guaranteed to please lots of people.

Answer 10

Anything by Third Day. We use their songs a lot.
Especially their Offerings & Offerings 2 cd's.

Answer 11

May I give you, this link, it's branded, Creative Worship. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M4_IlbaZHA -something I never grow tired of, always brings tears to my eyes, the title of the song is : "Above All" May God bless you....