100 Days of Good CCM Lyrics

Well Joshua you know I have one right off the bat:

"I could only imagine"
by MercyMe
from their 2001 album, Almost There

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By Your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When Your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

{Chorus}:
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine


Could not resist!

Sherrie

 

Fair enough idea Joshua but wouldn't it be better to define exactly what you mean by good ?

When you say 'good' CCM what are you comparing it to? Do you mean this 100 are good compared to some other CCM songs or do you mean they are good when compared to some traditional hymns?

No doubt you could quite easily find 100 CCM song lyrics which would not offend anyone, and may even be edifying when read as poetry, but that is not what the whole debate is about.

Could you take a standard Baptist Hymnal, select a hymn and nominate a CCM song which would be a worthy alternative? If you could show me 100 CCM songs which would be good enough to swap with 100 traditional hymns from a good Baptist hymnal I must admit I'd be very impressed.

That's just a suggestion, feel free to ignore it and carry on with the thread as intended, I just wanted to show you what it would take to impress someone who doesn't rate CCM, and I'm only speaking from a lyrical point of view, leaving the music aside for the time being.

Just to point out also that it wasn't me who e-mailed you with the challenge.

God Bless

Enda

 

G'day Joshua

You beat me to the draw on that last post mate. When I had finished another post elsewhere I had planned to ask if you were including "C P/W" songs in with CCM. I take it you are aiming at more the CCM side than the P/W on this thread?

I'm not familiar with all the Michael W Smith songs you mentioned, so how about songs like Keith Green's There Is A Redeemer, O Lord You're Beautiful, & Create In Me A Clean Heart?

Or should another thread be started to discuss this thread?

Pete

 

Joshua,

Are you saying this is a good one???

,
Molly

 

Joshua,

I would have to agree with Dr.Bob, there is too much mysticism and not enough Christ in this song.

I'm not trying to be over critical of this first choice but I can't help but notice that the words He/Him/His appear 13 times in this song whilst there is absolutely no specific mention of Jesus Christ. That genuinely saddens and concerns me. Is there any reasonable explanation for this other than that perhaps even the mention of Jesus' name would deter some non-Christian from buying the record?

I'd be interested in your thoughts on this, I think it's a valid point.

God Bless

Enda

 

Hi Enda,

Well, Enda: it's no secret that you do not like any forms of CCM, Enda. I do strongly disagree with your claims, Enda, but to address this specific criticism:
Enda, for some reason, there is always someone (in this case, you, Enda) who makes an effort, Enda, to critique a song for a perceived overusage of pronouns. And Enda, I must admit, I have yet to have anyone convince me of the validity of this claim, Enda. You see, Enda, the pronouns do not necessarily "take away" from the song, Enda, nor do they leave a cause for concern that the subject is not the Lord God. Enda, I am quite capable of understanding who the subject of the song really is, Enda. Moreover, Enda, I fail to see how this perceived overusage of pronouns diminishes the message of the song, Enda. Remember Enda: pronoun usage is the cornerstone of thrift in language, Enda............

 

My wife sings all the ancient hymns around the house during the day. It's wonderful to have the house filled with praises to the Lord Jesus!

But I like anything that brings Glory to God.

Here is one I like from the "King of Fools" CD by Delirious.


KING OR CRIPPLE (M. Smith)

King or cripple,
What have I become?
Beneath these kingly robes,
There lies a fragile man
What made me a king can sometimes cripple
All that you give can sometimes rob my innocence

Why do you let us walk upon a cliff so steep,
When deep below the sea there lies a bed of gold?
And if this should be our battle place,
Don't let me fall, Don't let us fall

Keep me
Won't you keep me?
Keep me
Won't you keep me?

I'd love to hold the hand of one who healed the blind
And saw the leper run into the arms of love
And king or cripple, they were the same to you
You took a broken man and you treat him like a king

 

This was another good one from that same album.


Lord You Have My Heart

Lord you have my heart
And I will search for yours
Jesus take my life and lead me on.

Lord you have my heart
And I will search for yours
Let me be to you a sacrifice.

(men) And I will praise you Lord
(ladies) I will praise you Lord
(men) And I will sing of love come down
(ladies) I will sing of love come down
(men) And as you show your face
(ladies) Show your face
(together) We'll see your glory here.

Written by Martin Smith ©1994 Curious? Music UK

 

Josh...I'll stop here unless you ask me to cotinue...but I could put up a 100 songs TODAY that some folks round these parts would call "CCM" which bring glory to the Lord JESUS and are blessing people everywhere.

I could get 20 or 30 of those from this one guy, Martin Smith. His group, Delirious, would certainly be out of place in the Sunday morning worship service but I saw them at a concert in Prestonwood Baptist of Dallas and it was powerful how everyone was in one accord and worshipping (the Spirit fell!)

My oldest 2 sons recommited their lives to Christ that night. One is still walking close while the other wanders...

But this is the hymns of today. The message is foolishness to some....


Message Of The Cross

This is the message of the cross, that we can be free,
To live in the victory, and turn from our sin,
My precious Lord Jesus, with sinners you died,
For there you revealed your love and you laid down your life.

This is the message of the cross, that we can be free,
To lay all our burdens here, at the foot of the tree,
The cross was the shame of the world,
but the glory of God,
For Jesus you conquered sin and you gave us new life!

You set me free when I came to the cross,
Poured out your blood for I was broken and lost,
There I was healed and you covered my sin,
It's there you saved me, this is the message of the cross.

This is the message of the cross, that we can be free,
To hunger for heaven, to hunger for Thee,
"The cross is such foolishness to the perishing,
But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God!"

You set us free when we come to the cross,
You pour out your blood for we are broken and lost.
Here we are healed and you cover our sin,
It's here you save us,

You set me free when I come to the cross,
Pour out your blood for I am broken and lost
Here I am healed and you cover my sin,
It's here you save me, this is the message of the cross.

Let us rejoice at the foot of the cross,
We can be free, glory to God. (repeat)

Thank you Lord, thank you Lord,
You've set us free, glory to God. (repeat)

Written by Martin Smith ©1994 Curious? Music UK

 

That post did nothing to address the point I was making. I wasn't talking about overusage of the pronoun, of course I accept that sometimes it is expedient to say He/Him/His, no, what I was referring to was EXCLUSIVE usage of the pronoun.

With respect people don't go around referring to their parents as He/She, we call them mum and dad and refer to them as such in conversation.

Is it really too much to ask that CCM artists should name the name of Christ in thier songs?

Phillippians 2:9-11

9 Wherefore God hath also highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Let us not take offence at the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, rather, let us proclaim His name loudly and clearly to all.

 

Enda!!! I agree!

Molly

 

No Enda, that is not a lot to ask. I agree . But remember there are some hymns that are the same way, and do not actually say the Lord Jesus Christ name.


Sherrie

 

Brother Enda,

I TOTALLY agree with what you are saying! If we can't be bold about WHO it is that we love, trust, & believe then I could find gospel songs by every pop band out there.


There are a lot of what we would call "secular" bands out there who have truth in their words...yet it's coming from the wrong perspective. Creed is one example.

This kid, Scott, grew up in a christian home. He speaks christianese well and knows how to paint the religious imagery in a way that speaks to the spirit within each of us.

A LOT of people think they are a christian band...yet he rejects that publicly.

On the other hand there are CCM groups who are purposely vague with lyrics in some of their songs with the belief that going to the largest possible numbers of people is their mission....to impact society with a "positive message" from a christian worldview.

Then there are still other christians who don't even want to approach the subject in their "art" (?) and have secular bands singing with a christian worldview.

In most cases, I disagree with that strategy but I can't honestly judge whether they have heard from God about that because some of these groups have had real fruit.

I would really like to find a common ground with you and Aaron but as long as you paint all of these people with the same extreme brush, I feel the need to balance your comments in the other extreme. However, could we both agree to a simple statement and work our way up from there?

how about this one?;

There are some things about CCM which seriously disturb me.



I bet we could all agree on that! Now we would need to define "CCM" and what "disturbs". Then we could analyze why it is disturbing.

If we want to be taken seriously we can't just reject CCM because drums come from Africa, ok?

 

CCM from 1990...Based on something slightly older

I believe in GOD the Father -- maker of heaven and earth
And in Jesus Christ His only Son
I believe in the virgin birth
I believe in the Man of Sorrows bruised for iniquities
I believe in the Lamb who was crucified and hung between two thieves

I believe in the resurrection on the third and glorious day
And I believe in the empty tomb and the stone that the angel rolled away
He descended and set the captives free
And now He sits at GOD's right hand and prepares a place for me


CHORUS
This is my creed -- the witness I have heard
The faith that has endured
This truth is assured
Through the darkest ages past
Though persecuted, it will last
And I will hold steadfast to this creed"

I believe He sent His Spirit to comfort and to reveal
To lead us into truth and light, to baptize and to seal
I believe that He will come back the way He went away
And receive us all unto Himself, but no man knows the day

I believe He is the Judge of all men, small and great
The resurrected souls of men receive from Him their fate
Some to death and some to life, some to their reward
Some to sing eternal praise forever to our Lord

Pete

 

And speaking of creeds, here is another CCM writer that has about 50 songs I love


Creed


I believe in God the Father
Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth
And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
Born of the virgin Mary
Suffered under Pontius Pilate
He was crucified and dead and buried

And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no it is making me
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man

I believe that He who suffered was crucified, buried, and dead
He descended into hell and on the third day, rose again
He ascended into Heaven where He sits at God's mighty right hand
I believe that He's returning
To judge the quick and the dead of the sons of men

And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no it is making me
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man

I believe it, I believe it
I believe it
I believe it, I believe it

I believe in God the Father
Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth
And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord
I believe in the Holy Spirit
One Holy Church
The communion of Saints
The forgiveness of sin
I believe in the resurrection
I believe in a life that never ends

And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no it is making me
I did not make it, no it is making me
I said I did not make it, no it is making me
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man