See What a Morning (Resurrection Hymn)

See What a Morning (Resurrection Hymn) (iTunes)
Words and Music by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty
From the album Sacraments and Seasons (Integrity Music)

Irish modern hymnwriters Stuart Townend and Keith Getty have collaborated on a number of powerful hymns that proclaim the truths of the Gospel through strong melodies that are suited well for congregational singing. This week I've included the writers' words on the origins of this resurrection hymn as they are included on gettymusic.com.

Keith: I wanted to write a triumphant melody, and as soon as i came up with this idea I heard 'Resurrection' -- a song that could be sung on Easter morning or at the beginning of a time of worship, which excites us to the truth that Christ is risen. Stuart and I have enjoyed writing story songs together, and we chatted and decided this would be a great melody for the Resurrection story.

Stuart: Keith sent me through this melody with some lyrical thematic ideas. I really wanted to convey the immediacy of the Easter morning experience, and how that morning changed history forever. The third verse is a response of praise as we realise the amazing consequence of Christ's resurrection for our lives, drawing us into relationship with the triune God.

The recording is by Keith's partner in life and, often, in hymnwriting, his wife, Kristyn Getty.

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CTK Reader Update

Reader Update: There will be no weekly e-newsletter sent out next week on Wednesday, July 9. 

Children's Church Update

Please note, there will be No 6 & 7 year-old Children's Church Class this Sunday, June 29th. Those children will remain in the worship service, however the 4’s & 5’s class would still be meeting.

News from General Assembly

Here's a bit of news concerning our General Assembly (annual PCA pastors gathering) last week in Houston. In the same vein, a lot of work has been put into developing a specific set of the policies for our CTK network. You can expect to see those in the next several months with implementation following. 

New CTK Website

CTK Cambridge has a New Website! Some things aren't where they used to be. Find weekly bulletins attached to posts along with sermons here. And find a link to online giving here. Check out the new site and let us know your feedback.

Behold the Lamb

Behold the Lamb (iTunes)
Words and Music by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend
From the album There Is a Hope (Integrity Music)

"Behold the Lamb" is a collaboration by modern hymnwriters Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend.  Keith and Stuart also worked together on numerous other songs, including, "In Christ Alone," "Across the Lands," and "The Power of the Cross." The Gettys were both born in Northern Ireland. Keith studied music starting at a young age, playing guitar, flute, and piano and gaining success as an orchestrator. Kristyn began singing as a teenager and earned a degree in English literature. Townend, born in West Yorkshire, also studied literature in college. All three have become leaders in modern hymnwriting and worship leading.

This week's hymn focuses on the theme of communion, with the first verse preparing singers for the Lord's Supper, the second and third verses centering around the bread and the wine, respectively, and the final verse being a response to the meal and an anticipation of the wedding feast of the Lamb.

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CTK Sound Team

CTK’s Sound Team is looking for a few new volunteers to run the sound board during Sunday morning services. Volunteers participate on a rotating basis, every 4-6 weeks, based on availability.  Training is offered for those who are interested. Please email Amanda with questions and interest.

Father, Long Before Creation

Father, Long Before Creation (iTunes)
Words from Chinese hymn, translated by Francis Jones, Music by Andrew Osenga
From the album Beams of Heaven: Indelible Grace IV (Indelible Grace Music)

This week's hymn came from an anonymous Chinese text that was sung by Chinese Christians in the mid-20th century. A scholar of Chinese music and culture named Bliss Wyant gave the hymn text to missionary Francis Jones, who translated it into English. The translation was first published in 1953 in a bulletin of the National Council of Churches and, subsequently, was included in numerous hymnals. The lyrics find their basis in Ephesians 1:3-14, where Paul writes of God's initiative in choosing his people in love, "to the praise of his glorious grace" (v. 6). The hymn's third verse also references John 3:16, as it reads, "God so loved us, that his only Son he gave."

The tune for this week's hymn was written by Andrew Osenga, who is known for being a member of the popular Christian band, Caedmon's Call. The band recorded the hymn in 2006, entitling it "Sing His Love", and Indelible Grace included it on its fourth album in 2008.

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Sunday School Teachers Needed

Children’s Sunday School teachers are needed to teach during the upcoming school year. The fall session begins September 13; classes run Sundays from 8:45 – 9:45am for children aged 2 1/2 years through youth (curriculum materials provided). Please contact Dana (dana@ctkcambridge.org) for more information.

How Firm a Foundation

How Firm a Foundation (iTunes)
Author of text unknown, Music by Joseph Funk
From the album At the Table (Ordinary Time)

"How Firm a Foundation" was first published by English Baptist minister, John Rippon (1751-1836), in 1787 in a collection known as A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, Intended to be an Appendix to Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns.  The author is listed only as "K," which could be Robert Keene, a member of Rippon's church, although other names have also been linked with the text.  The tune most affiliated with these lyrics was composed by Joseph Funk (1778-1862), an American music teacher, publisher, and composer and a member of the Mennonite church.  He included it in his publication A Compilation of Genuine Church Music in 1832.  The hymn reminds singers of God's promises which are found in his Word, specifically focusing on words from Isaiah 43:1-5.

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Here Is Love

Here Is Love (iTunes)
Words by William Rees and William Williams, translated by William Edwards, 
Music by Robert Lowry
From the album Glorious (Cfaworship)

"Here Is Love" is the product of four men, three from Wales and one from the U.S.  William Rees (1802-1883), the son of a farmer, enjoyed writing, astronomy, and politics alongside his work as a minister.  He wrote the first two verse of "Here Is Love" (originally "Dyma gariad fel y moroedd") in his native tongue.  The last two verses are often attributed to William Williams (1717-1791), a Welsh poet and leader in the Welsh Methodist movement; however, the authorship of these verses is uncertain.  Rees' verses were translated into English by another William, last name Edwards (1848-1929), who was a Welsh theologian and Greek New Testament scholar. The translated verses were first published in 1900 in The Baptist Book of Praise. The hymn became known as "The Love-Song of the Welsh Revival" of 1904-1905.

Robert Lowry (1826-1899), an American literature professor, Baptist preacher, and hymn writer, contributed the tune to the hymn, composing it in 1876.  He wrote around 500 hymn tunes during his lifetime. 

From these four men we have a beautiful hymn that celebrates Christ's boundless love for us and calls us to respond to his love with lives filled with praise. In Romans 5:8 Paul writes, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

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10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) (iTunes)
Words and Music by Jonas Myrin and Matt Redman
From the album 10,000 Reasons (Live) (sixsteprecords/Sparrow Records)

This week's featured song has become popular in recent years. Written in 2011 by Jonas Myrin and Matt Redman, the song is based on Psalm 103:1-5, calling singers to worship the Lord at all times and remember his holiness, his goodness, and his steadfast love. Jonas Myrin is a Swedish singer/songwriter and worship leader affiliated with Hillsong Church London. He has co-written songs with Christian artists such as Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Chris Tomlin. Matt Redman (b. 1974) is a Christian songwriter and worship leader from England who has been writing and leading worship songs for over 20 years. Together they have created a contemporary worship song that reminds us of the endless reasons we have to bless God's name.

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Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (iTunes)
Words by Robert Robinson, Music by Asahel Nettleton
From the album Roots Run Deep (BEC Recordings)

"Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" was penned by English pastor Robert Robinson (1735-1790) when he was 22 years old, having been converted to Christianity after years of youthful rebellion.  These lines from hymnary.org describe the text -- "Using imagery of Christ as the giver of living water and the shepherd gathering his sheep back into the fold, this hymn reminds the worshipper of the ever bountiful grace of God.  Like Robinson, we too are 'prone to wander,' and are quick to seek redemption through our own power.  But God continues to bring us back from our wandering, until, songs of praise on our lips, we dance forever before the mount of his redeeming love."  In the second verse of his hymn, Robinson includes a lyric that often bewilders singers -- "Here I raise my Ebenezer."  The line alludes to 1 Samuel 7:3-12, a story where Samuel cries out to God on behalf of the Israelites to save them from a Philistine attack.  When God provides protection and victory, Samuel builds a monument to God's help and faithfulness and names it "Ebenezer," which means "stone of help."

The authorship of this hymn's tune, NETTLETON, is somewhat unclear, but American evangelist Asahel Nettleton (1783-1844) is often give credit for the melody.  It first appeared in print in Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music in 1813.

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Jesus, I Come

Jesus, I Come (iTunes)
Words by William Sleeper, Music by Greg Thompson
From the album For All the Saints: Indelible Grace III (Indelible Grace Music)

William Sleeper (1819-1904) was a native New Englander, born in Danbury, New Hampshire. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, The University of Vermont, and Andover Theological Seminary. Sleeper pastored churches in Maine and Massachusetts, spending 30 years of his career at Summer Street Congregational Church in Worcester. This week's hymn, originally known by the first line, "Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night," was published in 1887. The text acknowledges the depths from which we came and looks to Jesus as the true source of "freedom, gladness, and light." 

The tune we sing was written by Greg Thompson, who began his pastoral career working for Reformed University Fellowship and now serves the congregation of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, VA.

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My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less

My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less (iTunes)
Words by Edward Mote, Music by William Bradbury
From the album Waves of Grace (Grace Community Church)

Edward Mote (1797-1874) worked as a cabinet maker in London before entering the ministry and serving at Rehoboth Baptist Church for the rest of his career.  As Mote told the story, he came up with the text while walking to work one morning in 1834. The following Sunday, he visited a friend's wife who was very sick. When they wanted to sing a hymn with her and had no hymnal, Mote pulled out his recently-composed verses, which they sang together. The sick woman so appreciated the text that she asked for a copy. Mote sent his hymn for publication shortly thereafter. The text is considered a "gospel hymn," with the first verse proclaiming God's grace, the middle verses applying God's grace in troubled times, and the last verse stating the final realization of God's grace.

William Bradbury (1816-1868), a native New Englander, was an organist, teacher and composer. He and his brother, Edward, started the Bradbury Piano Company in New York City. He wrote the tune, "The Solid Rock," for Mote's text, as well as the melodies for "Jesus Loves Me," "Just As I Am," and other well-known hymns.