I first heard Our King after we sung it at church a few months back. It struck me as instantly singable as well as lyrically powerful in its simple focus on the life, death and resurrection Jesus. But from whence has it come?

Generally I try and keep an ear to the ground for new congregational songs that are gathering momentum. But in my experience what typically happens is that a song gets a lot of airplay at festivals/conferences/CDs and only then diffuses its way to the ‘normality’ of a local church setting. So call me a cynic, but I was kinda surprised to hear this really catchy song at church which I’d never heard anywhere else before. Similarly there was no familiar Worship Together/Sovereign Grace/EMU copyright notice. Instead the subscription just noted the author’s name: Michael Tinker. Who?

Well, turns out Michael Tinker is currently a full time musician, based in Sheffield. He penned Our King back in 2007, in the midst of preparing a sermon from Mark’s gospel. He explains:

I wanted to take a break from writing so I thought I’d give a song a bit of a crack. I wanted to write about what kind of King we find in Mark and so I started working through his life.

Consequently the verses capture Mark’s intention of building up a picture of what kind of king Jesus is, through what he says and does. In that sense it’s the perfect accompaniment to a sermon series in Mark’s gospel (although I guess songs about Jesus are never going to be too far from the service-planner’s ‘go-to’ list!)

The chorus then takes the famous last words of slave-trader turned hymn-writer John Newton, framing them in the context of our habitual spiritual forgiveness, as well as a really catchy melody:

Even though our memories may fail us
May we always remember this:
We are great sinners
But we have a great Saviour in Christ.

That idea of our spiritual forgetfulness runs throughout Scripture; we have hearts that all too easily ‘forget’ who we are, what we’re really like, and what Jesus has done. That’s why the writers of the Bible regularly call us to “remember”, and so I love the words of Tinker’s chorus.

It’s also testimony to Our King‘s quality as a congregational song that it’s winged its way across three continents, despite not having a Kauflin/Redman/Hughes name at the end of it to give it some commercial welly. Why not give it a whirl at your church?

– Download a free audio demo of Our King, recorded live.

– Download the sheet music.

As well as organising a touring folk project focused on stories from World War I (Songs for the Voiceless), Michael is also the man behind Inspector Smart, a touring musical extravagansa introducing primary-school aged children to Jesus (kind of like an English Colin Buchanan, if that means anything to you).

A year ago my friend Matt Searles released his second album of Psalms, ‘From the River to the Ends of the Earth’.

It’s a fantastic collection that takes some of the psalms found in Scripture which focus on God’s reign as king, and setting them to modern music. It also features the very talented singer-songwriter Yvonne Lyon. I reviewed the album here, and said:

…a precious combination of substance, simplicity and singability makes for songs that you naturally find yourself joining in with, whilst simultaneously being pastored by.

Generously, to mark a year since its release, Matt has made the album available for free download for two weeks only. Which is an offer you should not miss out on.

Check it out here. And all the sheet music is available here. Two particular tracks to look out for are ‘Creator Sustainer’ and ‘Be at Rest’, which I know have gathered some momentum in being used for congregational singing.

And there’s more on the horizon from Matt:

I am still staggered by those who have written to say how they’ve found my first album ‘Now and Not Yet’ a blessing during times of great suffering and loss. I have a real heart to try to write into these situations again – setting more laments psalms to music, to give voice to those who want to pray but struggle to find the words. In the psalms our loving Father gives us words for when we lack them – so I’d appreciate your prayers as I seek to write tunes that even come close to fitting the raw emotion and poetry of the psalms.

One of my favourite songs to sing in church that I’ve come across this year is Mercy, written by Matt Redman and Jonas Myrin.

It’s a song all about God’s mercy, displayed at the cross of Christ, “where mercy paid for me … where the wrath I deserved it is gone”. As Matt says, Jesus’ death is “the centre-piece of the salvation story, but also the most amazing expression of the heart of God.”

The second verse means it also works well preparing for celebrating the Lord’s supper.

I particularly love the refrain “May I never lose the wonder, the wonder of your mercy”. Simple words, but a natural and fitting prayer of response to having reflected upon the cross of Christ.

And at the moment, Matt and Worship Together are giving away a free download of the song and music here. Check it out.