NEW MUSIC produces a deeper understanding of His love for us . “ Roar ” is a declarative statement of what our response to God ’ s goodness should be as Timmons encourages us to let our praises “ roar like a freight train ”.
SONG SPOTLIGHT “ Is He Worthy ?”
The album ends appropriately with the hopeful “ Fighting For Me ” which is an inspiring message of hope that points us to the evidence of God ’ s goodness that is all around us and has always been .
Timmon ’ s vocal talents carry this album and even though there are also plenty of big instrumental moments throughout , they don ’ t overtake the mix at any point . My only slight gripe is that a lot of the arrangements seemed similar in instrumentation and song structure . It would have been nice to have heard a soft ballad or quieter worship moment . I also really appreciated the heart and effort that Timmon ’ s obviously poured into this project . This is a very solid offering by Timmons worthy of multiple spins and there are a bunch of songs that will be loved by the local church .
As a worship leader in a traditional church , I have always found beauty in some of the more liturgical pieces of worship that celebrate God ’ s story and our part in it . Experiential elements like confession and absolution , taking part in communion and announcing what we believe as one body in the saying of the Apostle ’ s Creed , remind us of who we are in Christ while providing opportunities for God ’ s people to be active participants in worship .
One of my favorite parts of traditional worship is the ‘ call and response ’ where a Pastor or leader sings or says a line and the congregation responds similarly . This “ call to worship ” is a powerful tool for drawing the whole community into a selfless act of worship and is seldom seen in the modern worship world .
Enter the song “ Is He Worthy ” which is a gorgeously written ‘ call and response ’ that creatively outlines the majesty and power of God over darkness while pointing us to the light of salvation through Jesus . Written by Andrew Peterson and Ben Shive , verse one begins with the worship leader singing questions to the congregation that outline the malady of our sinfulness and need for a Savior . The creative curveball here is that the congregation doesn ’ t merely sing along with the leader , but instead joins him as co-leaders and by doing so create a truly unique worship moment . The verse melody is very singer friendly and easy to pick up further encouraging audience engagement which adds to the incredible community feel of this anthem .
Verse two is along the same lines thematically and the chorus keeps the question asking going by reminding us that only Jesus could conquer the grave but does that make Him worthy of all glory , honor and praise ? Of course , we know the answer to this obvious question but we don ’ t get to answer it as a community quite yet .
Verse three outlines the love and care for us that God has right now while also pointing us to the future we have in Heaven with him . The arrangement builds in intensity and fervor through chorus two before finally giving way to the answer to the question of “ Is He worthy ”? The music softens with the final question before erupting into a victorious proclamation as the community faithfully shouts ; “ He is , He is , He is , He is ! He is worthy , He is worthy of all blessing
and honor and glory , He is worthy of praise , He is !”
I am in love with this song and can ’ t wait to hear my congregation singing it . There isn ’ t much left to say other than this is an incredibly written and delivered masterpiece of modern worship and your congregation needs to be singing it now if they aren ’ t already .
Gerod Bass Worship leader in Tacoma , WA . Mentor with Worship Catalyst . Singer , songwriter , guitarist with a passion for impacting lives for the sake of the Gospel . www . oslc . com