So it's that time of year again. My All Nighter! This year however, I'm doing things a little differently, as I'm not having as concrete as schedule. I will still be watching Treasure Planet at 12:00, but other than that it will be more what I feel like doing rather than something I have already planned.
I might do hourly updates, we'll see, maybe I'll do one grand post at 7:00 or something.
As I was listening to Mumford and Sons, I became emotional. I longed for the times of yonder. I missed the old days. So I decide to rank all of Mumford's songs, except for their newest album. Their newest album was not one of my favorites - at all.
So, that was a long while ago (five months actually) and I never got to finishing that post. So here I am now, slightly procrastinating from studying and finally writing this post.
And I wrote that above like a whole other month ago, haha. As you can tell I've been suuuuuuper busy.
1. Hopeless Wanderer
2. The Cave
3. The Boxer (I know, I know)
4. Ghosts That We Knew
5. White Blank Page
6. Dust Bowl Dance
7. Lover's Eyes
8. Reminder
9. Lover of the Light
10. Little Lion Man (my guilty little pleasure)
11. Roll Away Your Stone (darkness is a hodge turned up to thick)
12. I Will Wait
13. Thistle & Weeds
14. Holland Road
15. Whisper's in the Dark
16. After the Storm
17. Awake My Soul
18. Sigh No More (there is a designer)
19. Winter Winds
20. Babel
21. Without Haste
22. Below My Feet
23. Where Are You Now
24. Broken Crown
25. For Those Below
While doing this, I realized something. Each song has one thing I REALLY like about it. 12-22 are pretty much interchangeable here or there
This is one of my favorite covers of Nothing But the Blood. Such passion, they are literally singing as loud as they can, giving it all to Him. When you watch them sing, it's just so awe-inspiring to see. While we can worship softly, and that's great too and we definitely should do that too (and some of my favorite worship songs are quite, calm-tempo songs), I love when we worship at the top of our lungs, giving it all to Him. Such raw vocals. Such a beautiful cover.
"Grace that flows like a river Washing over me Fount of Heaven, love of Christ Overflow in me
Thank You Jesus You set me free Christ my Savior You rescued me
Take this life delivered A vessel of Your love Wholly now devoted To see Your kingdom come
Thank You Jesus You set me free Christ my Savior You rescued me
You've given me life You've opened my eyes I love You Lord I love You Lord You've entered my heart You've set me apart I love You Lord I love You Lord"
All I care about is Jesus. Sure, I care about school but when I focus on Him a whole different kind of joy is present. Don't get me wrong I see the importance of school and other things, it is just that my main priority lies within Jesus. Sometimes I wonder why school matters so much. Sometimes I just want to quit school and make my sole focus Jesus. I don't know if I should be posting this, as it may come off as though I am not going to try anymore. That's not true. I will always try hard in what ever I do (do all things for the glory of God), I just sometimes lack the desire in school. Or take football for an example. I love football, it's my favorite sport. Not only have I given up playing football (which is one of the best decisions I have ever made) but I just don't care as much about NFL football as much as I use too. I just want to focus on Him.
As I sit here studying for a math test, I realized something. I had not written on my blog in over a month. So I said, "Freak!" And I opened up a new page and well, began writing. I would like to apologize to all of my viewers (all 7 of you). With the new Madden and new school year, I have been to busy in the past week, furthermore, prior to that I was gone in the cape and in New Hampshire for two weeks so, you know, I was busy to say the least.
Even though my list last time was great, and for the most part I still agree with it, as a lover of music I did what is expected: listened to more music. So here is my top 15 Worship songs.
Before I start I have two lists that are for songs that didn't quite make the cut but still deserve recognition,
The Pity List: Songs that have been a staple in Christian Worship music history, but did not make the cut.
(OR the Hillsong List with a few others...)
12. Oceans - Hillsong
WHAT? A new song on this list? But this is the pity list! The one for the oldies but goodies! Well, I put Oceans on this list because it didn't quite make it to the top 15. Oceans changed the Christian Music Industry partially. This song took the nation by storm and blew Hillsong United out of the water (pun intended) , already famous, but now much much more famous. It's been over two years since it was released and I still hear it on the radio. Here is a quote from wikipedia that really just shows you the impact:
"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart. The song stayed atop the chart for 45 consecutive weeks until it was overtaken in October 2014 by Carrie Underwood's song "Something in the Water". The song became the longest running number 1 on Hot Christian Songs. "Oceans" remained high on the chart at the end of 2014; it was listed at No. 3 on 27 December 2014 chart. Billboard named it as the number one song on the Hot Christian Songs chart for 2014. The song returned to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart for the week ending 18 April 2015 where it dethroned "Something in the Water" and remained for five weeks until the week of 16 May 2015 to a total of 50 non-consecutive weeks atop."
As of today (July 30th 2015) It is sitting pretty at #6, so it has had a long run and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon.
11 Your Love Never Fails - Jesus Culture
I really like this song, but so many other songs beat it out for a spot on the top 15. It is a mainstay in Christian Worship, and to this day I count it being played.
10. One Thing Remains - Jesus Culture
Similar to Your Love Never Fails, I like this song, but it got beat.
9. Break Every Chain - Jesus Culture/Will Reagan and the United Pursuit
Made famous by Jesus Culture, made beautifully by Will Reagan. Just a warning, Will Reagan pops up a lot on the Top 15. This is one of my favorite songs. But similar to some of the others on this pity list, I listened to it too much. Unlike the others I listened to too much, I still enjoy this song a lot. I almost put this song on the Top 15, if that says anything. 8. To Know Your Name - Hillsong
I remember someone telling me how they didn't like this song because it was so old. This was back in 2010, when I really got into worship and stopped listening to pop (ahhh, 2009 a good year for pop music.) I haven't looked back since, so much so I don't know half of today's pop songs. Anyway, back to the song. I thought they were crazy, it's a great song. I use to listen to this song a lot, but it grew old to me. I still do enjoy it as one of my favorites though. 7. You'll Come - Hillsong
Haha. I use to confuse this song and The Stand because they were from the same album and they sound somewhat the same. Still though this song was a prominent figure in the history of worship music. 6. The Stand - Hillsong
A joke was once said, "If you ever want a congregation to raise their hands during worship you sing The Stand." While one could go in the direction of how artificial "hand-raising" can be at points in worship and the goal of worship is that we should worship our Creator, not look for hand raising percentage, but I won't go in that direction. I will say, though, that this song is still somewhat prominent in the worship scene. 5. Hosanna - Hillsong
I use to love this song, but then I listened to it too much. Now I listen to it once in a blue moon. Nonetheless, it is still a prominent figure in the history of Christian worship and a good song. 4. Our God - Chris Tomlin
Our God. This song almost didn't make the cut for this pity list, because I completely forgot about it. In that being said, this is song is synonymous with the term "Christian worship". 3. Cornerstone - Hillsong
This song is what you use when you want to pick a cliche worship song. 2. From the Inside Out - Hillsong
A mainstay in Christian music. One of my favorites, and can still be heard when you visit a youth pastors house. 1. Mighty to Save - Hillsong
Christian Music for 100 please. A worship song that is known by every Christian ever. What is Mighty to Save? That is correct.
The Not-Quite Worship Songs Songs: This is a list of songs that are Christian, but don't necessarily transition well to worship.
8. Your Love is Better - Will Reagan and the United Pursuit
So all of Will Reagan songs are awesome. I should just rank all of his songs and call it a day, Joking aside, this is a great song. This song could easily be a worship song, I have just never seen it been done.
7. Hold You Up - Shane Harper
Made famous by God's Not Dead, this song is actually really catchy and is one of my favorites.
6. You Are More - Tenth Avenue North
This is a fine example of a great Christian song that won't work in the worship setting. I use to not like this song because it was (and still is) a cliche K-LOVE song. But then I was like "eh, what the heck." And I still listen to it every once in a while when its on.
5. Walk by Faith - Jeremy Camp
One of my favorite Christian songs by one of the coolest Christian singers I have ever seen live. When I saw him live he not only sang but preached, and man was it awesome. The story behind this song is really cool too.
4. Bring Us Back - Bellarive
OK, so this could be a worship song, but I wanted to find a way to mention this song on this list because it is such a great song. Bellarive is awesome, I should make a list ranking all their songs too! Also this song has some great lyrical geniusness. 3. Multiplied - needtobreathe
I love this song. It is one of my favorites. It's just so raw and good. I immediately loved it the first time I heard it. That is when you know a song is good.
2. Skeleton Bones - John Mark McMillan
This is a great, and lesser known song. It's one of my favorites, and I love it. It has some great lyrics, and John Mark McMillan delivers in this song.
1. Tendons (The Release) - Bellarive
AHAHAHAHAHAH! I have listened to this song soooooo many times. It is nearly 7 and half minutes and I have listened to it nearly 350 times, which equates to 43.75 hours. The chorus is great for worship, but since there is spoken word, it doesn't work in the worship setting. I have seen it been done, but it was more of a performance than worship. It has such an amazing spoken word. I wasn't going to post any links to songs but I will for this one, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owOGhFV7vkk
And finally before I begin, a shout-out to Blimey Cow. They created a song titled "A Worship Song Written in 5 Minutes." They created it as a satire towards Christian worship today. I'm not sure if this a bad thing or not, but it's actually a great song.
Top 15
15. All I Need is You - Jesus Culture
I really really love this song. I remember the first time I heard it, I was at a work crew event (where I serve the campers staying at the camp) and we were cleaning up. This song was playing, and I was like "wait, I think I know this song." I had heard it before because Hillsong had had an album on sale and it was like $ 3.84 for 30 songs, so I bought it. When ever I was on shuffle I would occasionally hear a song from the album. When I got home I looked it up and began to listen to it more. Then more recently, I saw Judah Smith speak (it was OK to be honest, it was more to share the gospel than a deep sermon like I had been expecting.) but the worship was top notch, I mean it was L-E-G-I-T legit. They sang this song and I was just in surrender and worship to Him. This was my anthem song I would listen to for a while after this. The lyrics are so true though, like the focus should be that all we need is Him.
14. 10,000 Reasons - Matt Redman
This first time I heard this song, for some reason I didn't want to like it. I was like "no I won't like it." Then we sang in worship, and it was pretty cool. It has been one of my favorite songs for a while now.
13. You Make Me Brave/It is Well - Bethel
OK, so this is technically cheating because they are two different songs but, shhhhhhh. OK, so You Make Me Brave. So originally I bought this song because I had a dollar left on my iTunes gift card. My journey with this song would pick up in February of this year. I was at church and they sang this song and I was like "I know this song." It sounded so cool, and I really liked it. After that I would occasionally listen to it. Then this summer I went on a missions trip and we expierenced a lot of spiritual warfare, and in the midst of that a friend of mine and I sang this song before we went to bed. Even in the scariest of moments we just worshiped God and praised him for his protection and giving us the strength to look to Him. After the trip this song and It is Well were what I listened to a lot. OK, so It is Well. So somehow this song got purchased on iTunes, I'm not entirely sure how, but it did. This is one of the songs that has more recently become a favorite. I love the lyrics in this song. It talks about how, through all the pain and hardships of life their eyes are on the Lord and trusting Him. It's just a beautiful song, and Kristine DiMarco has a really good singing voice. I really started listening to this song because at first I forced myself to because I wanted to learn it. Then I began listening to it because it's on the same album as You Make Me Brave. I'm glad I did. This is one of my favorite songs right now. Furthermore I looked up the history of the song, and it actually uses the main chorus from the hymn It is Well. The story of the song is amazing and I will include it later. Both are great songs and really deserve to be on this list.
12. Closer - Bethel
This song was almost replaced by All I Need is You. But I kept it over Let it Rain. This song means a lot to me because it is closely associated to a trip I went on. Putting that aside, the lyrics are beautiful;
So wonderful craftsmanship was put into this song. Also not to mention it's extremely catchy. The singer that sang this song the first time I heard it is still in my head with the line "your love has ravished my heart.)
11. Forever - Kari Jobe
I first heard this song at a retreat. I love this song because of the lyrics. It's the resurrection but in song. The beginning parts are so sad and when you listen to the recordings you can feel that sorrow. But it's so real. Funny story, for some reason I intentionally didn't listen to the Kari Jobe version for nearly a year. I would only listen to the Bethel Church version. Anyway, It is just a beautiful song.
10. Taste of Eternity - Bellarive
Ahhhh, Bellarive. Bellerive never fails, ever. They always produce top-notch music. This song is great. There is so much good about this song. The lyrics are awesome, the singing is great, it's catchy overall it's just a great song. I would write more, but I just don't know what to say. Honestly it's not super-repetive which is great, there is so much variation in the song. Which is what makes Bellerive great, they are original and not at all repetitive.
9. Scandal of Grace - Hillsong United
I wish this song was higher, but we're but we're getting to the best of the best. This song is one of my favorites of all time. I honestly feel bad it's so high, but errrr this actually making me anxious because it should be like 3, but there are better songs. Well anyway, focusing on the song. It's a great song. The chorus is great. The lyrics have depth, like all the other songs on this list. It's a little repetitive, but it's a good receptive.
8. Nothing I Hold on to/Climb - Will Reagan and the United Pursuit
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. This verse is the basis for this song. Some say this song is too repetitive. Yep, I don't care. When you have a few set of lyrics that are so true and so raw it really doesn't matter how repetitive a song is. Even in the repetitiveness, there is so much variety. Furthermore Will Reagan and his worship music is always so beautiful and is broken down and just focused on worshiping Him.
7. Holy Spirit -Bryan and Katie Torwalt
This song kind of died down a little bit unfortunately. That doesn't take away from how great the song is. The song is so beautiful. I feel like it's in it's own category. For me this song means a lot because I knew this song before it was popular *puts on hipster glasses* so I was really happily when it got popular. Furthermore, I knew of Bryan and Katie Torwalt before I knew Holy Spirit. So when I found out they were the original writers I was like "yesssss!" I know Glorious and Let The Sound of Heaven before Holy Spirit. Bryan and Katie Torwalt are one of my favorite artists.
6. Beautiful Things - Gungor
Ahhhh, Gungor. You've become one of my favorite bands. You are so strange, but I love you guys because of that. You make the coolest music. But to be honest I miss the days of Beautiful Things. Those songs on that album are some of my favorites of all time. Like You Have Me or Beautiful Things or People of God. Beautiful things is a lovely song. I remember when I first heard it, my entire family had it stuck in our heads for the day. So much so that when I went to bed that night, I was humming the chorus and my dad from across the hall was like "Ethan, you have that stuck in your head too?" This is worship at it's finest, it is also Gungor at it's finest. I also love it when the two chorus intertwine to make one and they go on at the same time. Ahhh, so good.
5. How He Loves - John Mark McMillan/David Crowder Band
Early I mentioned how Mighty to Save would be the answer to the Jeopardy question: A worship song that is known by every Christian ever. I think this song apply too. Originally I enjoyed the David Crowder version better than the John Mark McMillan. I remember thinking "I don't think I will ever like any other version over the David Crowder Version." Well I was wrong. I've really grown to like the John Mark McMillan. Sloppy Wet Vs. Unforeseen! I use to like unforeseen because it sounded better -- at first-- then I saw a video by John Mark McMillan about why he wrote the song, which you can find here. SLOPPPY WET TO THE DEATH! RHAAAAAA!
4. All the Poor and Powerless - All Sons and Daughters/The Digital Age
This song is legit. Similar to Beautiful Things, it has awesome like verse lyrics and an awesome chorus. Furthermore, I knew this song before it was cool *puts on hipster glasses over the ones that are already on* I remember one of the coolest experiences was when I litterally shouted this song from the mountains. This somewhat of a controversy now a days. Are you an All Sons and Daughters or a Digital Age? I like the All Sons and Daughters version a lot more than the Digital Age (which happen to be the other band members from the original David Crowder Band). It is so much better and has a really cool piano intro. But I love the chorus in The Digital Age version, they literally scream as loud as the can.
3. Set a Fire - Will Reagan and the United Pursuit
This song hopped down a few spots from last year. It's such a great song and it's one of my favorite favorites. This is a great song. Receptive yes, but it's just so pure and focuses on worship. I will always be happy when this song is in the set list. The lyrics are just focused on wanting more. I remember the lyric "No place I'd rather be" It's so true. Even though it's so repetitive, the lyrics have a lot of depth. It just resonates with me. What a wonderful song. This could be number one, but it's not.
2. Through and Through - Will Reagan and the United Pursuit
I love this song. Similar to Set a Fire it's extremely simple. But that's the beauty of it. Even in the simpleness of the song, it is just so powerful. It is so true too. It'a all about grace which is the gospel at it's center. It's such a beautiful song. The lyrics are just wonderful and it is a beauty of a worship song. As I stated early, I wasn't going to post the links to songs but I will for this song because it's a beautiful rendition by Will: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y7h6K13z0I
1. Sinking Deep - Hillsong Young and Free
I love this song. The intro piano part is beautiful. I think some of the songs on they album were strange but this one really hit the mark. This is song is really special to me personally. I first heard this song at a retreat before the beginning of the school year, and I listened to it a lot at during the beginning part of the school year. Furthermore, the lyrics are beautiful, so well written. The vocals are great. This is wonderful song for worship. Even as I listen to it right now it nostalgic and emotional and just wow. I am always overjoyed when I see this song on the setlist. I may write more later.
Haha, so this was really hard and I left out a lot of really good songs. Some could easily argue a place on this list. So, soon I'm going to release a much much bigger list of the best worship songs.
BONUS:
Top 5 Hymns!
5. It is Well
I picked this hymn solely for the story behind it. To save time, I quoted from Wikipedia:
This hymn was written after traumatic events in Spafford's life. The first was the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer and had invested significantly in property in the area of Chicago that was extensively damaged by the great fire). His business interests were further hit by the economic downturn of 1873, at which time he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre. In a late change of plan, he sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sea vessel, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford's daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone …". Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died
Such an awe-inspiring story.
4. Be Thou My Vision
I love this hymn. It has had some great covers. Like the Rend Collective Cover, or the Gungor Cover. It actually is surprisingly catchy.
3. How Great Thou Art
Another great hymn, wonderfully written.
2. Amazing Grace
I almost didn't put this on the list, because it has lost a lot of it's original meaning. I feel like this song is now more associated with America than Jesus.
1. Jesus Paid it All
This is a great hymn, and it is one of my favorite songs. Some may say hymns are old. But I think this one can not age. It is making a pretty nice comeback too, I have noticed.
AHHHHH I FORGOT A SONG! So you see All I Need is You by Hillsong sitting at #15? Well last minute I realized I had forgotten All I Need is You, so I took out Let it Rain by Michael W. Smith/Jesus Culture. So Shout-Out to them!
