1

if you love me (10/13/04)

If you love me you will obey my commands
If you hear then you must do
For I am the vine and you are the branch
The living branches bear the fruit
If you follow me you’ll take up your cross
Losing your life for my sake
And your labor will not be in vain
For the sleepers will wake
When your works show your faith

When our Father pours out blessings
We assume He’s meeting needs
We stop pleading and confessing
We stop living on our knees
And then our prayers read like the Christmas lists
Of our spoiled boys and girls -
That’s what we are;
After all, we love the world
But it is old and passing away
When it’s gone only we and these words will remain

CHORUS

There are people going hungry while we build a bigger church
As we lay down on our pillows they lay someone in the earth
We lay offerings at altars of a thousand foreign gods
And our children learn to worship as they’re taught
Oh, how our lives are gone in a day
And what account will we give
To the One who loved us more than life
If we ignore the instruction He gave?

CHORUS

2

where, why and when (3/27/03)

Sitting alone with the thoughts I am far too afraid to tell anyone
And out loud I hide in this Scripture shell
There’s no going home—there’s only survival on four years of memories
My conversations start to feel like prison cells

I know I shouldn’t be living this way

I know the goal is to look at each thing through the glass of the glory of God
But I’ve been a stranger to the bread and the wine
For some time
Has Christ been a stranger to me?

Where is the joy I am supposed to discover?
And why do I enter the closet with nothing to say?
When will forgiveness be as sweet as obedience?
When will I learn to obey?

Aching alone—nobody knows who I am anymore
No one but those I have hurt this year
Out on my own—will I keep reinventing the Puritan man
Whose disillusioning becomes my constant fear

I know I shouldn’t be living this way

3

romans 8:11-14 (4/12/06)

If the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead
Dwells in me, I shall be raised to life
Therefore I am in debt to the Spirit, not the flesh
For if I live by the flesh, then I must die

But if I’m putting to death
All the deeds of the body by the Spirit,
I will live—I will live
If I’m putting to death all the deeds of the body,
I will live—I will live
I will live

This is how I know I’m a child of God
I follow where the Spirit leads
And a holy life is my deepest desire
For my Maker is the One I long to please

4

romans 5 (11/18/05)

In the beginning, by the Word of His power,
God spoke the cosmos and the first garden flowered
In the day’s dawning hour, man was its glory and crown
The steward of paradise found
And the deceiver with his principal lie
Tempted our parents and freed them to die
The seed of the woman subjects His creation in hope
And man began pulling the long regal thorns from the ground

But the free gift is not like the trespass -
Purchased beforehand to be without price
And the toast we will drink at the lamb’s wedding supper:
One in Adam, One in Christ.

The incarnation of the first and last Word,
The kingdom of God met the sin of the world
Through a life of perfection, becoming obedient to death
In our justification, He rose
As condemnation came to all in the one,
As through one transgression, the race was undone
As our sin is a judgment and death reigns apart from our deeds,
We only hope in the grace
Of the Second Man’s righteousness, reckoned to all who believe

But the free gift is not like the trespass -
Purchased beforehand to be without price
And the toast we will drink at the lamb’s wedding supper:
One in Adam, One in
Christ’s gift is not like the trespass -
Through righteousness, grace reigns to eternal life
And the children of wrath are the vessels of mercy,
One in Adam, One in Christ.

5

for the sake of my name (3/28/06)

Will you remember the things I declared,
All of the promises I have proclaimed?
You know no other to whom I compare,
Revealing your future for the sake of My Name.

I stretch out my hand and none turn it back,
I bring the knowledge of wise men to shame,
I bring deliverance, I call the attack:
My purpose accomplished for the sake of My Name.

For I am God and there is no other,
Woe to the one who would quarrel with me!
I speak the end from the beginning,
So you’d know who ordained it to be -
Did you not know? I spoke not in secret,
I swear by myself, and my Word has gone out,
And my glory I will not give to another,
So you have no reason to doubt.

You have been stubborn for so many years,
Deaf to my Word, you prefer to complain;
Damning my providence through the blindness of tears,
I’m delaying my wrath for the sake of My Name.

Is my arm so short that I cannot save?
Behold My Servant enduring your pain -
Your Maker’s your husband, and there’s a wedding beyond the grave
For the people I’ve chosen for the sake of My Name.

CHORUS

6

the sower (2/5/07)

Behold, the sower went out to sow
And as he sowed, some seed fell on good soil
Some fell in rocky places, some among thorns
And some fell in the road
The seed is good, but even good seed won’t grow everywhere it’s planted
Like what you hear: It’s not enough to simply understand it

Some of you who hear will rejoice for a season
The seed springs up as soon as it falls
But the heat of affliction you find displeasing
The sun comes out and you wither after all
A plant with no root cannot bear any fruit -
It is sure to be thrown in the fire
So if God in Christ is not your life’s pursuit
Labor in prayer that God might change your desires

CHORUS

Some of you who hear think it solves your problems -
The seed springs up in the briars and thorns
But soon you find the Word doesn’t salve your conscience;
It won’t fit in with the way you lived before
Your money and worry keep you in a hurry
These briars conspire to choke your faith
So if you don’t find your thoughts and the Scripture concurring,
Labor in prayer, that God might put you in your place

CHORUS

Some of you who hear are not really listening -
The seed is cast beside the road
The evil one takes what you don’t think is missing -
When truth is gone, there is nothing to grow
You think you’re in control, you know what’s good for your soul
Let those birds come along and take your seed for a song
So if your ears don’t hear and your heart is dull
Labor in prayer that God might show you you’re wrong

Solo over chorus form

Some of you who hear feel the weight of glory -
The seed springs up from the rich, dark earth
You hear in the parable more than a story -
Mysteries granted through spiritual birth
And knowledge revealed to your heart is made real
When the way you live agrees with what you say you know
So if your life bears the fruit of a spirit that yields
Labor in prayer, that God might not let you go

Behold, the sower went out to sow
And as he sowed, some seed fell on good soil
Some fell in rocky places, some among thorns
And some fell in the road
The seed is good, but even good seed won’t grow everywhere it’s planted
Like what you hear: You’ll only understand if God will grant it
Your heart is the soil, the seed is the word
And the sole proof of faith is the battle to live what you’ve heard

7

this is really me (9/21/02)

In a crowded city on a corner
Stands a much-too-made-up woman
Selling herself
Though she is diseased, she’s still addicted
To the cheap satisfaction
And a feeling she can’t find anywhere else

She had been betrothed to a faithful man
She left him for reasons she can’t always understand
And as the bride of my Savior in a world of cheap release
I see
That this is really me
This is really me

In the mirror, first thing in the morning
Stands a not-so-made-up Christian
Selling himself
To the household gods he’s manufactured
With a hand in the cookie jar of cheap grace
And a hand in his own hell

Here he stands, betrothed to a faithful God
Holding on to the promise of His faithfulness
(Even when he is not)
One moment in the Spirit, the next embracing some fantasy
I see
That this is really me
This is really me

And I don’t want to believe it, ’cause I cannot take the guilt
As every day I add to the reasons the blood of my bridegroom was spilled

In the throne room where my God is seated
Stands a brilliant, spotless lamb
Approaching the throne
Stretching forth His hands, I see the nail scars
And the blood of the Only Begotten begins to plead for His own

He says, “I have been betrothed to an unclean bride,
But she’s washed in the blood and cleansed in the water
That flowed from my side”
And as the Advocate Himself ascends to take His right-hand seat
Without blemish without blame, facing no charge of adultery
Both just and justifier, by the grace of God I weep to see
That in the eyes of the Father
This is really me
This is really me

8

green and grown (2/5/05)

One man—his wife
Courtship sales pitch, unintended lies
Vague memories of her bridal eyes
Green and gone
Now she accuses and he denies
Love is commitment, selfish interest dies
And that which is not valued according to its worth is despised

One family home
Six-figure trappings, hand-cut stone
Each one crowds himself in alone
With green and gold
The purchase of dreams in itself satisfies
Till blank disillusion cuts all the family ties
And that which is not valued according to its worth is despised

One man—one fight
High risk assignment, middle of the night
He lost his country’s appetite
For green and guns
He willingly gave all his comrades’ lives
The cost in most cases outweighs the price
And that which is not valued according to its worth is despised

One faith—one Christ
Image of the Father who saves the self-enticed
Revealed in glory to a world that He surprised
Green and grown
Now we forget and think ourselves wise
This Christ is the ground of the trifles we prize
We cannot expect in death what had no foretaste in life
And that which is not valued according to its worth is despised

9

if (2/15/04)

If one mistake fills a thousand dreams
With one desire just beyond my reach
And if I sin to get some peace,
Will your striving never cease?

If morning comes and evening falls
And I’ve not thought of you at all
If I ignore a sacred call,
Will your striving never cease?

If I hold my precious things
High above the giver’s grace
If the sun will melt my wings
And I fly up anyway

And if I know where the truth is found
And still reject both its source and ground
And if I run from the race and crown
Will your striving never cease?

If I love to disobey
In the body of this death
If I cannot always say
That I love who gives me breath

If my whole life is a failed pursuit
Of things I think will make me good
If it killed your Son to bear this fruit
Will your striving never cease?

10

romans 8:28-32 (4/12/06)

We know that God causes all things to work together for good
To those who love God, to those who are called
According to His purpose
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be
Conformed to the image of His Son
So we would be His brothers

And those He predestined, he called
And those whom He called, he justified
And those whom He justified, He also glorified

What shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who is against us?
He who did not spare His own Son,
How shall He not also freely with Him give us all things?

11

be with me (4/20/05)

When the sun comes up on a colder day
And the fire we built seems a memory
If the mountains move and the bridge gives way
I will stay with you—will you stay with me?

When I think you mean what you did not say
And the arguments lack apologies;
If I can’t sing songs that I used to play,
I will comfort you—will you comfort me?

When the years dry up and affection fades,
And expectation meets with reality;
And when time collects what is left unpaid,
I will look to you—will you look to me?

If fear takes what we have loved away,
Or if anxious thoughts rob our sanity;
If even a promise can bend and break,
I will trust in you—will you trust in me?

When I wonder how we will make it through
And my troubled heart becomes my enemy,
Please remind me who makes the promise true.
I will be with you; you will be with me.

12

we don’t have a voice (1/7/08)

We were outraged
We went to war
When we heard about the train the Germans made the Hebrews board
All their secrets
We revealed
Doctors making medicine to kill and not to heal
The lines of those tracks converge in the distance
Where families were broken apart
We called it injustice—they were given no choice
We went to war because they didn’t have a voice

Court’s adjourning
We changed the law
The needle to the womb is more familiar to us all
Who knew what secrets
We would steal
Doctors making medicine to kill and not heal
Now the lines of these tracks converge in a future
Where bodies are broken apart
What once was injustice we’ve dared to call “choice”
We don’t cover our ears because they don’t have a voice

This train has run through decades and kings
Bearing away our unwanted things
While we make much of the life freedom brings
The burden is all on the backs of a herd
Of free men who die where the tracks converge
Oh, what would they say?

“We would scream to the stars
If we thought they would come to our aid
We would fight for our lives
If in fact, any weapon remained
But we die in these chambers
The great minds of science contrived
They don’t seem to know we’re alive
So we don’t have a voice”

In the papers
On the screen
In the books and in the films you will not hear the silent scream
On your records
In the news
We’re the only class they are permitted to abuse
And the lines of these tracks converge in the present
Where all but morality goes
The cries of “injustice” are laughed off as noise
This false peace must end because we don’t have a voice

“We would scream to the stars
If we thought they would come to our aid
We would fight for our lives
If in fact, any weapon remained
But we die in these chambers
The great minds of science contrived
They don’t want to know we’re alive
So we don’t have a voice”

all songs composed and arranged by michael roderick

copyright michael roderick 2009