WE'VE COME THIS FAR BY FAITH

We sang a traditional Gospel song this past Sunday called "We've Come This Far By Faith" to close out our service - and it has been stuck in my head all day today !!! Seri Murdock helped to lead the song & taught it to all of the part singers in our morning rehearsal before the service started and I have to say that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SONG !!!  Singing this song definitely makes me excited to explore more traditional gospel music and introduce it to our congregation :)  After looking up this song online I think there are additional lyrics, but we sang the chorus and the main verse so that's a start ;) Hope you enjoy it as much as I do !!!

"For we live by faith, not by sight"

- 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)

LISTEN BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW:

WE'VE COME THIS FAR BY FAITH

WE'VE COME THIS FAR BY FAITH

Albert A. Goodson

We've come this far by faith

Leaning on the Lord

Trusting in his holy word

He never failed me yet

Woah, Woah, Woah

Can't turn around

We've come this far by faith

SET A FIRE

Hey all !!!

Its been a while since my last post - It was a crazy summer and a last couple months - in a good way !!! :) Today we learned a new song in the NJ Region of the NYC Church called "Set A Fire" by United Pursuit (a worship band out of Knoxville TN).  We have been singing another one of their songs called "Nothing I Hold Onto" for a while but I didn't make the connection that it was the same band until I looked this song up online after my friend Damon emailed me a link to a youtube video of "Set A Fire" suggesting that I teach it at our Sunday worship service.  Our NJ region Fall Theme is SOUL WARS ...

...and there is a great line in this song that goes "set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, that I can't control" ... So when I checked this song out, I LOVED IT !!! for many reasons.   Its a really accessible and easy to learn worship song, which seems simple at first and yet is so deep and passionate.  Here are the lyrics:

SET A FIRE

Lyrics by Will Reagan & United Pursuit

"There's no place that I'd rather be

There's no place that I'd rather be

There's no place that I'd rather be

Than here in your love

Here in your love

So set a fire down in my soul

That I can't contain

That I can't control

I want more of you God

I want more of you God"

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE RECORDING:

SET A FIRE

TO DOWNLOAD MP3:
RIGHT CLICK THE LINK ABOVE AND SELECT "DOWNLOAD LINKED FILE"

I hope this song encourages you as much as it has encouraged me !!! Much love !!!

Ross

"ALIENS" - NE CAMPUS MINISTRY RETREAT SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP

This morning we had an AMAZING time of worship at the FALL 2011 NORTHEAST CAMPUS MINISTRY RETREAT in STAMFORD, CT ! Here are a couple MP3s from our worship service.  I was especially inspired by the energy of the congregation on these two songs, "Forever" and "Men Who Dream" ...

There is one point in "Forever" about 3/4s of the way through the song where the band drops out completely and you hear the whole church sing "His love endures forever" and it just always gives me goosebumps !!! I love hearing the church sing and praise and honor God !!! Truly His love endures forever, amen.

But for some reason I feel like "Men Who Dream" was particularly impacting on a personal level this weekend.  I have heard this song - and loved it - many times growing up, however I don't think it has ever connected me to God the way that it did this weekend.  Lately I have been studying out the books of Isaiah, Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah in my chronological bible for my quiet times.  In the book of Ezra, after years of captivity, the Israelites were allowed to return to Jerusalem - to their home ! They were finally able to rebuild the temple of the Lord, and after a little bit of drama and a few regal correspondences, they end up not only getting PERMISSION but also getting FUNDING from the Babylonian government to rebuild the temple !!! When you read these books, you feel the passion of these people - Nehemiah, Esther, Mordecai, Ezra, Isaiah - to see the promised restoration...

Fast forward a few thousand years and its amazing how we can still relate to this passage.  Many things have happened in our church in the last 10 years.  We have seen great things and some not so great things.  But sometimes, like how Nehemiah felt about Jerusalem, it breaks my heart to see where the church IS at compared to where it WAS at - to what I have seen that it can be: the zeal, passion, fire, and love.  It has been hard seeing what the church has gone through in the last 7-8 years knowing what the church CAN and SHOULD be.  And AMEN! we know Romans 8:28 says that in "ALL things God works for the the good of those who love him", and that there were much needed changes that had to take place ... but just like the remnant in Babylon longed to see the glory of the temple restored, there are some of us who long like Nehemiah to see the wall rebuilt ... who long like Paul to see the Gospel spread ... to see the kingdom advanced ...

And what was exciting to me was to worship this morning in a room of somewhere in the range of 500 campus students who have this same desire ... To be used by God to see great things happen once again and to see the wall rebuilt ...

"Captives came

Back into Zion

From their freedom

Came a scheme

While the city

It lay in ruin

We believe

They had a dream ..."

Let us never stop dreaming for God ! Amen.

LISTEN BELOW:

FOREVER

MEN WHO DREAM

(NOTE: To download MP3, right click link and select "Download Linked File")

"ALIENS" - 2011 NORTHEAST CAMPUS MINISTRIES RETREAT

I'm currently up here in Stamford, CT helping lead the worship for the NORTHEAST CAMPUS MINISTRIES FALL RETREAT - "ALIENS" (check out the flyer below !!!).  Last night we opened the retreat with a time of worship, and then we got to hear Marty Wilkinson from the San Antonio TX church preach the word !!! IT WAS AWESOME !!!

It has really been a blast so far, but the most enjoyable and inspiring part for me has definitely been the worship ... last night we were able to sing and worship our AWESOME GOD !!! IT WAS INCREDIBLE ... The energy was electric and the singing was heartfelt ... it was truly a time of worship and praise !!! Below are some of the songs that we sang as well as a special song that I did with Alicia Gerald from the Harlem campus ministry.  I hope these songs encourage you as much as they encourage me !!! I will definitely be jamming out to them on my iPod for a while :-)  

LISTEN BELOW:

REJOICE IN THE LAW OF THE LORD

OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART

HOLY HOLY HOLY

HUMBLE YOURSELF IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD

I NEED YOUR LOVE

MY LORD MY GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES

PRAISES HEARD AROUND THE WORLD

"ALIENS" - FEAT. ALICIA GERALD

(NOTE: To download MP3, right click link and select "Download Linked File")

"REMEMBER HYMN" - WELCOME !!!

My name is Ross Lippencott and I am a Youth & Family Minister as well as a Worship Leader with the NJ Region of the New York City Church of Christ.  

THE GOAL of this blog is to provide worship leaders, singers, and musicians with resources to take back to their respective ministries and use to help encourage our brothers and sisters and worship our GREAT and AWESOME God through song !!!

AT FIRST I wanted to simply post songs, lyrics, chords, MP3's, videos, etc. ... However after thinking about it more I have decided that I would like to use this blog as a creative outlet to get some of my thoughts down - an outlet to document this journey that I have set out on... I can only imagine how fun it will be 10 years from now to look back and read some of these posts and to see what I was thinking at the time and to remember what I was learning ... Over the last 6 years I have gone from hating Christian music to loving Christian music and from making fun of Christian lyrics to writing Christian songs.  Before I made Jesus Lord, Christianity was corny - especially those contemporary Christian songs. When Christian songs came on the radio I would change the station ... So I guess my point in saying all that is that in the last 6 years ... well ... a lot has changed.  I have changed.  And 6 years from now I hope I will have changed some more :) And through this blog hopefully I will have some documentation of my journey...

If there's one thing I have learned, it is that WORSHIP is not just something we do on Sunday mornings when we come to church - WORSHIP is  a MINDSET and a LIFESTYLE.  As a Christian, my goal is to worship God in everything that I do ... its not just about the songs that I sing or the music I play ... It is about who I am, and who God is - My relationship with Him.  And that is why I want this blog to be more than just me posting music...

I was trying to think of a good name for the blog (very tough thing to do) and I was praying and meditating on what name would really communicate the message of my blog and what I am all about and I thought about how God constantly calls us in his word to remember him and not to forget his law and the amazing things he has done ... and so I came up with "REMEMBER HYMN":

REMEMBER: To recall to the mind by an act or effort of memory

HYMN: A song or ode in praise or honor of God

Besides the fact that it is a play on words, I love the idea of this being a blog that helps me as well as others to remember Him through song !  This is really why we sing in the first place - Is so that we can remember Him - who he is and how much he loves us and cares for us !!! It is my hope and prayer that this blog helps me and many others to remember Him !

So... Hey ! Welcome to my blog.... "REMEMBER HYMN" !!!
- Ross

"Do this in remembrance of me"

- 1 CORINTHIANS 11:24