Song of the Week: “Christ Be Magnified”

Song of the Week: “Christ Be Magnified” by Cody Carnes  

by Kevin Lorow

 “O Christ be magnified. Let His praise arise. Christ be magnified in me. O Christ be magnified from the altar of my life. Christ be magnified in me.”

This song has been around for a short while, but it has quickly become a favorite of mine to sing at CVC. It has such a simple message and a catchy melody that our church quickly caught on and loved to declare it together.

The heart of this song is the heart of worship itself: to magnify Christ. When Christians “worship” or “ascribe worth” to something, we’re taking part in an action (not just singing) that communicates value, worth, and significance to God. To magnify something is to “make it seem more significant or great.” 

Put simply, worshipping God is making much of Him!

The verses of this song set the tone right from the start. “Where creation suddenly articulate with a thousand tongues to lift one cry, then from north to south and east to west we’d hear Christ be magnified.”

These lyrics are inspired by a few passages in Scripture that talk about the purpose of Creation. In Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” These lyrics cause us to stop and imagine what it would be like if creation around us had voices to speak with. If they did, we’d hear all of Creation singing out the greatness of God! The earth itself declares the magnificence of its Creator! Elsewhere in Scripture we’re told that if people stop declaring God’s greatness, the rocks themselves will start singing them out! 

However, the most striking part of this song isn’t until the bridge “If the cross brings transformation, I’ll be crucified with You. Because death is just the doorway into resurrection life and if I join You in Your suffering then I’ll join You when You rise. And when You return in glory with all the angels and the saints my heart will still be singing, my song will be the same.” 

What an incredible declaration! It sounds like a lot to commit to. It IS a lot to commit to. Those are bold words to say – “I’ll be crucified with you.” To say that we’ll join in Christ’s suffering is not something to think of lightly, but it is something that we see modeled for us in Scripture! 

 These words seem to flow right out of Philippians 3 “whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him… That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

Or maybe put more simply in Galatians 2 “Through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” 
Paul’s encouragement to Christ-followers is this: When we repent of our sins and confess our need for Christ’s sacrifice, it is as though we died with Him on the cross.  Our old selves were crucified with Christ on the cross, and our new lives should look completely transformed into something unlike the old. 

They should look like Jesus.   

Our lives are meant to be lived in such a way that they make much of Jesus. Christ should be magnified by how we live our lives! This week, would you purposefully pursue making much of Jesus at work and home? Would you magnify the name of Christ by how you speak and how you act? 
Let’s join in with the song of Creation and declare the greatness of our God.

Song Link: https://open.spotify.com/track/0WfYGGL9NugwFZPWKLdz4N?si=4cdc8ef47e8c4b5a

For the fame of the King,
Kevin

Song of the Week: Mercy Ran

By Kevin Lorow, Cuyahoga Valley Church Worship Arts Assistant

Song of the Week: Mercy Ran – Evergreen

“For when justice called for payment mercy ran to die for me.
Come and praise the name of Jesus, the Lamb for sinners slain.”

Over this past year, Mercy Ran has grown to become one of more treasured worship songs that we use here at Cuyahoga Valley Church. This can seem a little surprising when listening to the song. The verses are very hymn-like, and the energy of the song doesn’t really rise until 4 minutes in (some songs are over within 4 minutes)! But the heart of this song is found in the lyrics of the bridge… “when justice called for payment, mercy ran to die for me.”

The verses of Mercy Ran tell us the story of the Gospel. We were once “orphans of the shadow” (Ephesians 5:8) that we were “bound by sin and darkness” (Romans 6:20) but set free by grace (Ephesians 1:7)! Now that we have been saved, this life is not our own. It is meant to be lived for the glory of Him who saved us! (Romans 14:8)

Mercy Ran‘s chorus tells of the wonder of considering that God Almighty would take the penalty of our sins through His glorious love (2 Corinthians 5). We should be amazed at the fact that God was willing to sacrifice Himself to pay the penalty that we deserved for rejecting Him!

And finally the bridge of Mercy Ran… “When Justice called for payment, mercy ran to die for me.” Because of our sins against God, His just nature demanded payment (Romans 6:23) – this payment being death! We stood condemned by God for sinning against Him. In His divine and just nature, a payment had to be made. But God being rich in mercy, made a way for us through graciously giving us His Son. (Ephesians 2) Romans 8 tells us this “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
God has spared nothing in His plan to bring us salvation and extend redemption. He has spared nothing! He even offered up His own Son’s life. He has graciously given everything so that we could know Him and be spared the wrathful judgment that we deserve.

What an incredible reminder… To know that God held nothing back from redeeming and ransoming you from your self-inflicted sinful death sentence should be nothing short of life-altering. Singing these lyrics breaks my heart every time I sing it. Knowing that God didn’t hold back but through His justice, love, and mercy, died on a cross in my place.

“Praise the Lamb for sinners slain” because “Hallelujah. Jesus saves.”

SONG OF THE WEEK: The Way

by Kevin Lorow, Cuyahoga Valley Church Worship Arts Assistant

SONG OF THE WEEK: The Way (New Horizons) – Pat Barrett

If you’re like the rest of us, you’ve still got this song stuck in your head from Sunday! We declared this anthem together while we watched several of our brothers and sisters get baptized and go public with their declaration of having received new life in Christ!

I believe You are
The way, the truth, the life
I believe You are
The way, the truth, the life

It’s repetitive, but this words are taken right out of Scripture in John 14:6.“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’.”

There’s something unique and powerful when we affirm the decision to follow Jesus and to live believing what He has said. There is no other way, no other truth, and no other life apart from Him. The words of the bridge should also be a deep encouragement, and a defiant statement to the schemes that the devil can use to pry us away from our Lord.

And it’s a new horizon and I’m set on You
And You meet me here today with mercies that are new
All my fears and doubts, they can all come too
Because they can’t stay long when I’m here with You

We’re told in Lamentations:
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

No matter what comes with the horizon, we can rest in confidence that God will be there as well, and that He will continue to show us His mercy! Because of that, we can live in defiance of our fears and doubts, knowing that our great and awesome God will conquer them! Praise be to God for the new life He has given to us!