Sunday Singables: "Rise" by Kari Jobe
Today is the first of the Sunday Singables posts. Being a worship pastor, I come across a lot of worship music; some good and some not so good. It is often hard to find usable music for congregational singing, even if the song itself is pretty good. There are many songs that I enjoy listening to, and even singing along with, but that would not fit in a church service (an example would be another wonderful song from this same album, "What Love is This?") I have to take into account the rhythm, the lyrics, and whether or not it is something my congregation would be able to sing. Thankfully, there is a lot of music that is great on all counts. Each Sunday I will try to feature one of those songs that we use in our congregation for worship.
"Rise" by Kari Jobe, from the album Where I Find You released in 2012
Why I recommend this song for worship -
We will be doing this song next Sunday in worship at our church. Why? Because it says a lot about the God of the Bible. When God reveals Himself in scripture, especially in the OT, it is through action. He doesn't just say He is kind or just or merciful, He shows it by being kind or just or merciful. After reading the story of Abraham we see God as gracious, just, and holy. God doesn't have to declare it. His actions speak for Him. This song does that same thing. It recounts God's great deeds and then shows how those actions declare a different attribute of God, whether it is kindness, mercy, or His triumph.
This is a song that not only speaks the same things as scripture, but speaks them the same way that scripture does. To add to that, it has an upbeat and joyful tune that encourages us to respond emotionally by rising to praise the Lord.
Lyrics that are Biblical and a tune that matches those lyrics... both pluses.
Changes I Made-
This song is great, but not perfect, at least for my congregation. I did make one word change and a few chord changes as you'll see in the lead sheet below. First of all, in the chorus I changed the words from "Let every nation..." to "From every nation..." I think that fits a bit more with the promise of a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation rising to praise the Lord. It also flows better grammatically.
I also changed the GM7 chord to a simple G2. That might be a bit easier for a beginning guitar playing and might sound a little more normal for the average singer. However, if you would like to be more true to the original recording, just play a GM7 in place of the G2 during the verses and intro.
You can find this song on amazon or itunes.
I hope you enjoy the song and find it useful for your own personal worship and even the worship of your congregation. If you have other songs you'd like me to review, feel free to leave a comment about them. I'll do my best to respond. Thanks!
"Rise" by Kari Jobe, from the album Where I Find You released in 2012
Why I recommend this song for worship -
We will be doing this song next Sunday in worship at our church. Why? Because it says a lot about the God of the Bible. When God reveals Himself in scripture, especially in the OT, it is through action. He doesn't just say He is kind or just or merciful, He shows it by being kind or just or merciful. After reading the story of Abraham we see God as gracious, just, and holy. God doesn't have to declare it. His actions speak for Him. This song does that same thing. It recounts God's great deeds and then shows how those actions declare a different attribute of God, whether it is kindness, mercy, or His triumph.
This is a song that not only speaks the same things as scripture, but speaks them the same way that scripture does. To add to that, it has an upbeat and joyful tune that encourages us to respond emotionally by rising to praise the Lord.
Lyrics that are Biblical and a tune that matches those lyrics... both pluses.
Changes I Made-
This song is great, but not perfect, at least for my congregation. I did make one word change and a few chord changes as you'll see in the lead sheet below. First of all, in the chorus I changed the words from "Let every nation..." to "From every nation..." I think that fits a bit more with the promise of a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation rising to praise the Lord. It also flows better grammatically.
I also changed the GM7 chord to a simple G2. That might be a bit easier for a beginning guitar playing and might sound a little more normal for the average singer. However, if you would like to be more true to the original recording, just play a GM7 in place of the G2 during the verses and intro.
(just click on the picture and copy it to a Word doc to play along with the song)
You can find this song on amazon or itunes.
I hope you enjoy the song and find it useful for your own personal worship and even the worship of your congregation. If you have other songs you'd like me to review, feel free to leave a comment about them. I'll do my best to respond. Thanks!
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