Come Lord Jesus

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Come Lord Jesus is a simple song written by Alison & Alastair Johnson and David Vickers who are involved in our church plant in the area of Tinsley, Sheffield.  The song is a heart-felt cry to the Lord Jesus to move the mountains and to make the demons flee in this place, reclaiming the community for Jesus. In this latest song, David originally spoke out some of the words and the rest just started to come out as the team were all talking and praying with the piano nearby.

There Will Be A Day

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This song was co-written with my good friend Gareth Robinson over the period of about three years. In 2004, Gareth called me into his office and said he had a short stanza for a hymn, which now makes up the first section of this song. At the time, I didn't really get hymns, and so - after many attempts to put a chorus to the song, I left it by the wayside.

Fast forward a copy of years and whilst trying to write a hymn (now that I got them) I suddenly thought about the short lyric sheet that Gareth had left me.

Over the course of several months I crafted together the first draft of the song. Well, I say first draft, but as far as I was concerned, it was the finished article.

Several months later, Gareth e-mailed me back saying that he had spent a long time thinking about it and sent a four page word document with ideas for lyrics on.

Slightly daunted, (I mean, I thought this song was finished!) it took me a couple of weeks to redraft the song and make sure every word was perfect. Gareth had said it was a good song, but he thought it could be an excellent song.

I think we are both really pleased with the finished article and it has been submitted to the Spring Harvest 2010 book and for publishing with Kingsway. Perserverance pays off!

Adoration

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'Adoration' is a co-write with my good friend Andy Baker. After attending a Worship Central event in London, I was struck by the phrase 'adoration' which Tim Hughes kept singing during a spontaneous moment in the worship at the evening gathering. Having picked up on this word from a song that Brenton Brown sung in a session that he did, I really liked this word and its meaning.

In starting to write this song, I wanted to get the point across that our worship and adoration to God isn't based upon how we feel but runs much deeper, though, other than the first verse, I didn't really know how to express that. In talking it through with Becca, she suggested that I try to unpack the meaning of adoring God in the chorus.

Around this time, Andy kept suggesting that we ought to get together and write a long-waited Baker/Law number! At the end of a record session for Andy's new album, I presented the first verse to him and suggested that he try to write a chorus for it. About a week later, Andy sent me an mp3 of a chorus he felt worked. Other than some minor tweaks, I absolutely loved it. Not only was the melody catchy, but the lyrics captured exactly the message I was hoping for: "So to bring devotion; more than mere emotion".

Andy said that what the song really needed was a bridge that was simple and singable! Funnily enough there was a bridge that I thought was simple and singable that I had tried attaching to several other songs of mine, which - in a moment of divine revelation - thought, 'Hey! That bridge would work total work with this song!!!'. And, lo and behold, the bridge worked beautifully. I excitedly phoned Andy, who was on the road at the time, travelling from some gig or other (that's Andy for you!), and played him the song over his mobile phone. He loved it and suggested we get together to finish off some of the lyrics, which we did a few days later.

Working with Andy was a real pleasure. Working with other songwriters and worship leaders sharpens our skills so much and brings a fresh eliment that a song wouldn't have without it.

Just As I Am

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I went through a season of trying to write a song for the sake of writing a song. As you can probably imagine, this was a rather fruitless period for me. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't seem to stumble upon that sweet melody or those heart-melting words. One day, whilst trying to write a song, I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, "Nick, I don't want you to write for Me, or about Me, but I want you to write to Me". I immediately responded by singing what was on my heart, which was the first verse of this song.

Around the same period time, I was dwelling upon the lyric "Come, just as you are to worship" from Brian Doerksen's song Come, Now Is The Time To Worship and Charlotte Elliott's hymn, also called 'Just As I Am', which was the main source of inspiration for the lyric.

The beautiful thing about God is that we don't have to go through rituals, try harder or come as we 'ought to be', but we can come before our just and merciful God because of the sacrifice of our loving Saviour. I was tempted to keep the song as two short sections that could be used at the end of other songs, but felt like an integral part the song's message was missing. The words to the chorus naturally flowed: "Just as I am, Lord, I freely come / No condemnation, unconditional love / Without one hope but for Jesus' blood / So, Lamb of God, I come / Lamb of God, I come".

So, we boldly approach with confidence the throne of God, just as we are, all because of Jesus' blood. Hallelujah!