Stories/thoughts behind the songs:


He died for me, I live for Him – This was inspired by a banner that I came across when leading worship at New Forest Community Church. It simply states ‘He died for me, I live for him’ and got me thinking about the subject of salvation. For a while I’ve wanted to write something that expresses our thanks to God over the gift of our salvation, the fact that God has saved us and given us an amazing new life.

Resounding – I had a little guitar hook for a number of years, but hadn’t been able turn it into anything. I brought it to my friend Alan Bridges and together we crafted it into ‘Resounding’. I was inspired by the fact that worship isn’t just something that takes place down here on earth, but also in the heavens. It’s really inspiring to think that both Heaven and earth are worshipping together, with a real sense of unity and purpose. What an incredible sound it will be when we’re in the Heavens worshipping God with the angels, the elders and all of creation.

O my soul arise – I had the chorus to this song finished for a number of years but couldn’t for the life of me come up with a decent verse that actually fitted in with what I was trying to say. Eventually the verse and the tag poured out one day. A call to one’s self to arise and bless our maker. I was particularly inspired by Psalm 103 in which David is rousing his soul to worship God.

Face to the ground – It’s an amazing thing that we can come and worship such a Holy and awesome, even terrifying God. A song of worship to a holy God and a challenge for us to recognise his awesomeness and that we need to come before him with due reverence. I initially came up with some lyrics and a melody idea for the verses. I then brought it to my friends Phil and Laura who came up with a melody for the chorus and helped me finish the song off.

Who can we compare You to – The last song written on the album. We can describe God in many different ways or compare him to things we see on earth. However God is so much bigger, better and brighter than anything we may think of as big or impressive. How could we respond to such a brilliant God but worship him. The day we came to record it was a Sunday, so we played it during the worship to try and get a feel for band arrangements/dynamics. I really liked the feel of a song by the 'Doves' called 'the pounding' and wanted to do something similar.

Precious – A personal song, the title of which says it all really. I was in Malaysia leading some worship and as we finished and I put my guitar down the thought ‘Precious are the moments spent with you’ came into my mind. I jotted it down. About a year later I finished the song. The song really came home for me after watching the Passion of the Christ with my church and really ministered to me personally how precious Jesus is to me in my life. This is probably my favourate song on the album.

Journey to the cross – A song I wrote in the US with my friend Don Chapman. Don had told me about a series of radio talks by his church entitled ‘Journey to the cross’ and challenged me to try and write a song with that title. I started looking at the scriptures about Jesus’ death and resurrection. What struck me initially were the verses in Isaiah 53 and how Jesus was so disfigured when he went to the Cross. The bible describes him as unrecognisable and a ‘man of sorrows, which I was inspired to include in the song. I wanted to write a song that took us to the death of Jesus on a journey and for us to ponder on just what he did for us. The second verse is more triumphant, though I wanted to focus mainly on the fact that Jesus died for us and chose to go and die in our place. We could never understand what he had to endure on the cross.

Moon and Stars – A song declaring our God as creator. Really inspired by nature and the fact that we’re really with out an excuse to acknowledge God as maker of Heaven and earth. Literally everything you see outside, be it trees, sky, landscape, the sun, the clouds – they all point back to God. My lovely wife Amber helped me out on this one.

The Light of your presence – I wrote this song whilst in Scotland with my friends Lynn Swart and Gabby Tham. I was on my year out and was serving Lynn at a YWAM school of prayer week. I really didn’t know what to expect when I arrived but really met God in an amazingly intimate way. The light of your presence summed up what I had experienced in that trip and I wrote it all in one go on the second night there. It was a really exciting time for me.

With all my heart – This song literally came out of nowhere while in the shower. The song is about praising God with heart, mind, soul and strength.

Forevermore – A song about looking to Heaven and to that time when we will see Jesus face to face. Phil 3:18-21 says that our citizenship is in Heaven and I really wanted to write a song around this theme. This was another late song to make it on the album, but I’m really glad we had some extra time to record it.

Pour out over me – Inspired by a little idea I had on the guitar in a 7/8 time signature. A simple song that reflects our need for Jesus, asking Him to come and pour out his blessing over us.

I can do all things – Inspired by 1 Corinthians 1 and Philippians 3. Living God’s way is foolishness to those who don’t believe in him. However Paul in Philippians states that actually everything is rubbish next to knowing Christ and the fact that through him we can do all things. A song for the church to embrace.

Rhythm of the saints – At Soul Survivor there used to be a song-writing workshop called 'the rhythm of the Saints. This title stuck in my mind for a few years as a potential song idea. I remember bringing this song to my friends Phil & Laura Le Cheminant one day and to be honest wasn't sure it was any good. However they really liked it and encouraged me to press on with it. After a few tweaks and suggestions from my friends the song was born. A song that unashamedly proclaims that Jesus Christ is Lord. I hope that this song encourages you that there are millions of people from every tribe and tongue that love and follow Jesus Christ today. May the world and society we live in feel the rhythm of the saints.

Our God reigns – I wrote this song during my last year at University. I read Psalm 93 one day and it really leapt out at me and I knew there was a song to be found there. A few weeks later I came back to it and pretty much completed the song. For the chorus I was inspired by Psalm 95 vs 6 as our response to our mighty God, who reigns. This song was the title track of my first album released in 2003. However I really felt that I needed to record the song again and to hopefully give it a fresh sound.