worship

Roughly twenty five years ago, Peter Heath and I started writing songs together. We took a hiatus of twenty years, but for the last year we have been collaborating on songs again. Peter, as you may know is an occasional contributor to Eclectic Christian, who now lives half way around the world. Through the miracle of modern technology we have been able to work together on five new songs. Peter is very much the driving force on the songs, and the primary contributor. I am honored that he puts my name on them as co-writer.

Read. Listen. They are not yet professional recordings but are still very listenable. I have put our most recent song, and my personal favorite, first. We have also included chord charts for all the songs should you wish to play them yourself or introduce them to your worship team. If you would like to use them for your church, simply let us know that you are doing so. In any case, please let us know what you think, we would love your feedback.

Your Will Be Done
Peter Heath & Michael Bell
Chord Chart

My hands are His, To work, to serve
My hands are His, To bless, to heal
My hands are His, for the glory of His name
His perfect will be done

2. With His voice He calmed the sea
Blessed the poor, prayed for you and me
Called the dead from the tomb
Said, “It is done,” the voice of God

My voice is His, to bless, to praise
My voice is His, in any – way
My voice is His, for the glory of His name
His perfect will be done

3. With His feet He traveled the land
From temple courts, to Samaritans
Strode the waves, bowed in the Garden
Walked out of the tomb, the feet of God

My feet are His, to go, to stay
My feet are His, any – where
My feet are His, for the glory of His name
His perfect will

My life is Yours, I give it all
My life is Yours, for any call
My life is Yours, for the glory of Your name
Your perfect will be done

Everything I Want
Peter Heath & Michael Bell
Chord Chart

You are perfect, holy,
Wonderful grace and beauty
You are purest of light
Glorious, awesome God

You are everything I want,
Everything I need
You’re beyond my reach
Until you reach for me.

You are everything I want,
Everything I need
Oh, draw me in
Till you are all I see.

Follow
Peter Heath & Michael Bell
Chord Chart

CH1. God of David, God of Joseph
I will follow, I will follow You
God of Heaven, Lord of my heart
Lead the way, I will follow You

2. You bring me water in the desert
Cool streams for my soul
You call my name in the storm
And trade my chaos for peace
Day by day You have met me here
Day and night You have held my hand
So lead me on, lead me on

CH2. God of David, God of Joseph
I will follow, I will follow You
God of Heaven, Lord of my heart
Lead me on, lead me on (go to CH1)

Tag. Lead the way, Lead me on
I will follow You (repeat)

Never Alone
Peter Heath & Michael Bell
Chord Chart

2. Anywhere for the sake of Your holy name
I will joyfully go, trusting in the claim that
You are there, You are there

CH. Where can I go without You?
There is no hidden place
Where can I go beyond You?
The compass can’t erase
Your love for me
You are ever near

3. From the blessing of home to the farthest land
I am never alone, I am in Your hand
You are there, You are there

God So Loved
Peter Heath & Michael Bell
Chord Chart

1. You gave us light and gave us life
Created us a home
Met every need beyond belief
Poured blessing down like rain

2. You’ve chosen us for royal priests
To pass the blessing on
Till every tribe and nation falls
In worship at the throne

3. You sent Your Son to live a life
Of sacrifice for us
To heal our hurts and set us free
And die upon that cross
The ransom paid, forgiveness made
Grace and justice one
Sin and Death and Satan crushed
And Life Eternal won

He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.
(Luk 13:18-22)

So what do we do with this?

The Kingdom of God slips in the back door when you’re not looking. You turn around and it’s not there. It’s always in that place where your eyes don’t go. Always eluding your definition, analysis, and explanation.

The Kingdom of God is that imperceptible something that produces evident and clear fruit. Though it’s tiny, it is the seed of great healing and redemption. From this overlooked seed comes great fruit and great change.

The Kingdom of God does not have a flag, border, capitol, zipcode, or budget. You cannot legislate the Kingdom. You cannot take a census of the Kingdom. You cannot politicize the Kingdom. You can try but I think you’ll find that when you get there you’re not “there” anymore.

The Kingdom of God is like a handful of sand. It may rest on your hand but grasping causes it to slip between your fingers. Seek it and you might get lost. Nail it down and you’ll have a board and nail but no kingdom.

What, then, can we say about this Kingdom? This Kingdom of God?

It is alive in the world right now. It is sowing seeds of redemption and harvesting change. It is the community of all those who place their trust, albeit sometimes irrationally, in a figure who promised redemption and healing and was both God and Man. The Kingdom of God is the Church Universal. That same entity that the Apostle’s Creed calls “The Holy Catholic Church.” It is the collection not of all those who agree with some set of propositions but, rather, of all those whose faith will not let them go. It is alive in those who preach redemption, reconciliation, love, justice, mercy, and peace. It is life for those who have departed from death.

Plus, it’s a scandalous thing. It’s a weed that grows in your backyard when you’re not looking. It’s the crabgrass that breaks up the sidewalks that run in your mind. It’s an infection. It’s a virus. It’s like a dandelion in the hands of a four-year-old–ready to be spread out into the world by being destroyed and scattered. When it grows and begins to be noticed, it’s inviting the fowl of the air into its branches. The Kingdom is associated with all the wrong people at all the wrong times and there’s nothing that we can do about it–except sit back and laugh at the ridiculous way that grace and mercy works in our world.

We can be amazed at how a gated community that has the right reputation can be like an alabaster jar full of dirt and death. It may be that the gates to our communities aren’t keeping them pure but, rather, making us into swamps full of death and decay. Mind you it’s respectable death and socially adept decay but it’s still death and decay. But, then, just as we start getting comfortable with a new set of rules and a new law, the Kingdom breaks down those barriers, too. There’s no room for blame or us/them in the Kingdom. The Kingdom doesn’t have time for it–it’s too busy freeing captives, healing the sick, and giving sight to the blind.

So what can we say of this Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus, because we’re mucking it up by ourselves down here.

worship

Here is a new song by Peter (with a little input from me). Read the lyrics, listen to the music, and let us know what you think. The song lends itself quite well to congregational worship.

So, live from the the Evangelical Community Church of Abu Dhabi, here is:

Everything I Want – by Peter Heath

You are perfect, holy, Infinite love and mercy
You are purest of light, I am a shadow of You,

You are perfect, holy, Wonderful grace and beauty
You are purest of light, Glorious, awesome God

You are everything I want, Everything I need
You’re beyond my reach Until you reach for me.

You are everything I want, Everything I need
Oh, draw me in Till you are all I see.

Listen

Have a listen and let me know what you think.

I Will Follow – MP3

I Will Follow – Peter Heath

1. You lift me up to the mountain
Overwhelm with Your wonders
You rescue me from the pit
And give me strength to stand.
Day by day You have met me here
Day and night You have held my hand
So lead me on, lead me on

CH. God of David, God of Joseph
I will follow, I will follow You
God of Heaven, Lord of my heart
Lead the way, I will follow You

2. You bring me water in the desert
Cool streams for my soul
You call my name in the storm
And trade my chaos for peace
Day by day You have met me here
Day and night You have held my hand
So lead me on, lead me on

Robin Parry has done something similar in recommending his most influential theological book, and his guests have chimed in with favorites of their own.

For me, I think the most influential book I ever read was called Love is a Decision by Gary Smalley and John Trent. I haven’t read it for several years now, but I often think back to what I had read. I will let the Amazon review from Cindy speak for me on this one.

This was the first marriage book I was able to read without becoming angry about all the things my husband WASN’T doing. Instead, for the first time ever, I suddenly saw the things I WAS doing to push my husband away from me, to crush his spirit. God truly used this book to show me His amazing and perfect plan and order for marriage, and my life hasn’t been the same since. And when I changed, made the decision to honor my husband, he became everything I had hoped for without even trying or realizing. We are best friends now, not antagonists to one another. I never dreamed marriage could be as wonderful as mine is right now.

In short, marriage isn’t about what I get out of it, but what I put into it. If I choose to honor my wife, to respect her, and cherish her, no matter what our circumstances, then our marriage will thrive.

It should be required reading for engaged couples. If it was required reading I am sure we would see a decrease in the divorce rate! You can buy it used from Amazon for under three dollars.

Question: What books have been significant for you?

But just to show you that you can’t put Presbyterians in a box, along comes Tim Melton. The two poems that he has written at his site are probably two of the best poems I have read in a long time. I hope that he has more that he can share with the rest of us.

Here are a couple of samples to wet your appetite. The first is taken from the perspective of a dying maple leaf. The second is taken from the story of the man living among the tombs who is possessed by “legion”.

Click both links to read the full poems. You will definitely find it worth your while.

I Descend into The Beauty

a poem by Tim Melton

I look beyond the rolling scene
Of nugget hills and brilliant earth painted with the hue of Autumn charms,
Red and Orange and Crimson Yellow splotched with fields of Green grass meadow
Sprinkled with their spotted Cattle and dotted bold with whitewashed Farms;
I see the beauty of redemption and what awaits me as I dangle
From the Ridge above the Valley,
I fear what lies below…

Crazy Bill: The Gerasene Demoniac Revisited

a poem by Tim Melton

I was only eight years old, when I first heard The Voices
Seductive whispers in the night,
Painted horror blinded light
Perversion led to dark delight
When I was just a boy of eight, and I first heard The Voices…

Did you appreciate them as much as I did? Let me know what you thought.

He has categorized them by Bible Teaching, Missions, Thinking, Evangelism, Revival & Prayer.
While they may not all appeal to you, it will certainly give you a starting point for some great listening.

He has also has a interesting new post on ideas for prayer.

Nigel also runs “Bookling”, quite possibly the cheapest place to buy Christian and other books online.

Finally, I love the imagery he used in a sermon to describe Paul’s final words to the Colossians, I have reproduced it below.

“I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.” As Paul ended his letter to the Colossians, the shackles around his wrists clattered. He stopped and looked at them, as he had done so many times before. Then, he raised his pen again. “Remember my chains,” he added – three words to remind the believers of their need to suffer for Christ, and of his need for their prayers. He put his pen down. In the darkness of his prison cell all was quiet. Paul looked at his chains again, and he was reminded of the One for whom he bore them. He thought of his Saviour, and of his Saviour’s suffering: the thorns, the nails, the cross. A tear trickled down his cheek as he remembered how his Lord had shown indescribable mercy to him—Saul, now Paul—on the Damascus road. Then, sitting with his back pressed against the cold prison wall and his face buried in his hands, the man began to weep. ‘Thank you, thank you… thank you,’ he whispered. Joy, thankfulness, a sense of eternity, and sheer love for his Lord welled up within him. Paul lifted his pen one last time. He would end not with his name, nor with the reminder of his chains, but with a word that represented the core of his message, the passion of his life, and the very essence of his God. “Grace,” he wrote. “Grace be with you.”