The CCF 2011 Songbook

Hello All,

I was thinking that certain seasons of life come with great anthems that are sung unto the Lord. I remember powerfully, the songs of my youth, when Calvary Chapel of Redlands, now the Packinghouse, sung choruses from the Maranatha Praise Book. Many of those songs still resonate in my heart today and there are times when I will sit with my guitar and just strum away on tunes like "As We Gather," "You Are My Hiding Place," "Sing Alleluia To The Lord," and "Holy, Holy, Holy." I love these songs and even sneak in an "I Love You Lord" to our recent Thursday night gatherings.

At that time, worship was simple, usually a chorus sung in the round, with the Ladies or "sisters" following the men. The chords were simple, the melodies were sweet and the heart of the music was fresh love unto the Lord.

Throughout each era of my life, I can recount songs that defined my love and zeal for the Lord. In the early 90's, it was "I Rely Upon Your Love" and "Exalt The Lord." Mid 90's and you had to love "Your Love Is All That I Need," "Stand Up And Dance" and "I Can't Wait." And then there were the Brad San Nieves years, with "You'll Reign Forever," "We Fall Down" and "You Alone." Even when we were in Spain, there were several beautiful Spanish songs that had no translation that moved my heart.

God has been faithful to give His people fresh expressions of worship, set to music, from decade to decade.  I love that you see this even in the Psalms, for example Psalm 45, which was "set to 'The Lillies.'" There are several Psalms with some musical notation at the head.

My point is that we have an opportunity to mark a season with the songs that we are singing to the Lord today. I believe that you and I will remember these songs for years to come. The melodies and the words will fill your minds and when decades have passed, you will treasure what the Lord did in your heart.

So, I propose that we really take the opportunity to meditate often on these songs. I went so far as to purchase them on iTunes recently, but I have had them on my Grooveshark queue for a while now and before that, in my YouTube favorites. I am posting the YouTube videos here, simply to mark the songs that are part of our congregational life. I pray that they might infiltrate your playlist soon. Why you ask? Because when these songs become more than songs to us, we will bring a mighty offering of praise unto the Lord! These songs will be so integrated with our Spirit's cry unto the Lord, that spontaneous worship will abound from us, unto Him! Imagine, sometime in the near future, we gather in a single place, with the sole purpose of singing each of these songs unto the Lord! What a mighty time that would be if our hearts were united to Christ and these songs became true anthems of our faith!

Here are 12 songs that are part of our current library. When possible, I found the ones that are audio only, as often the large productions can take away from the desired effect. If necessary, listen with your eyes closed, worship the Lord and let the words just wash over your heart!

Holy by Brenton Brown 


Beautiful Jesus by Kristian Stanfill


In Christ Alone by Keith Getty


You Alone Can Rescue by Matt Redman


Stronger by Hillsongs

The Saving One by Starfield 

He Is Lord by Hillsongs


At The Cross by Hillsongs

The Stand by Hillsong United


Reign In Us by Starfield

Our God by Chris Tomlin 


Revelation Song by Gateway Worship


Blessings,
Frank