Jesus, Only Jesus

Arranged by Mary McDonald

What’s this?

It’s a section of this Substack containing videos of my choir’s anthems, along with my comments. A longer description can be found on the About page. If you subscribe to this Substack but don’t wish to receive notifications for this section, select Manage Subscription from the upper-right menu and turn it off there.

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Jesus, Only Jesus

From the distributor’s website:

Dramatic and effective, this contemporary ballad from Matt Redman's album Passion calls all to worship and adoration. The arrangement gradually builds from the restrained opening, proceeding to a crescendo of affirmation…

The arrangement we used follows Jesus, Only Jesus with All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name and then returns for the final words of Jesus, Only Jesus. We seamlessly jumped past All Hail the Power to the ending without altering anything by simply turning to the last page at the transition. I’m not certain of the reason for the change, but it may have had to do with the time available. We run on a tight schedule.

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Lyrics (as sung)

There evidently were no lyric slides for this anthem beyond the title slide—I don’t know why—so I offer these, adapted for our arrangement from Matt Redman’s slightly different one.

Who has the power to raise the dead?
Who can save us from our sin?
He is our hope, our righteousness
Jesus, only Jesus

And who can make the blind to see?
Who holds the keys that set us free?
He paid it all to bring us peace
Jesus, only Jesus

Holy, King almighty Lord
Saints and angels all adore

I join with them and bow before
Jesus, only Jesus

Who can command the highest praise?
Who has the name above all names?
You stand alone, I stand amazed
Jesus, only Jesus

You will command the highest praise
Yours is the name above all names
You stand alone, I stand amazed
Jesus, only Jesus

Holy, King almighty Lord
Saints and angels all adore
I join with them and bow before
Jesus, only Jesus

You will command the highest praise
Yours is the name above all names
You stand alone, I stand amazed
Jesus, only Jesus
Jesus, only Jesus
Only Jesus

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Behind the Scenes

This another anthem I am happy to still have playing in my head. I can tell you that there is a huge difference between listening to other people sing and singing in the choir yourself!

We first read through this anthem at choir practice a few days ago. The planned anthem was canceled for its second time (again, I don’t know why). We sampled several others, some of which we had recently read through, but this one was the favorite.

We could have sung a little better with additional rehearsal time, but not much. The multiple modulations (key changes) can make finding pitches at the transitions more difficult—try it sometime when you’re singing 4-part harmony, or polyphony—but it comes automatically with enough practice. So there were some glitches, but it sounded great from where I was standing.

I don’t know if I will be posting more anthems after this one. Next week is our last Sunday before we break until September, and it will be a choir, bells, and orchestra service. If the anthem recording turns out well, and if I like the anthem itself enough, I’ll post it. Another recnt anthem, while it was a choral arrangement of a fine hymn, just didn’t inspire me enough to put out the effort to present it here.

As I mentioned last time, with my 75th birthday coming up in August I am having to again evaluate whether I am still physically up to rehearsing and singing every week. This is my third year to make such an evaluation.

I have sung in church choirs on and off since 1992—about 21 choir seasons across six choirs and 33 years—and I really don’t want to give it up, but I may not have much choice. My balance has been deteriorating ever since I took a nasty fall eight years ago. I developed new problems in my legs a year ago, after already having had problems with them for decades, and I am walking with a cane again, one that I’ve owned and used intermittently for 30 years. At least I’m experienced at using it.

All of this does not mix well with climbing up and down those risers. And then for rehearsals there’s driving at night on the increasingly dangerous roads leading to the church, though I could pay for rides. I’ve wanted to continue singing rather badly. But there is more to this story, not involving physical ailments. It’s not about this church specifically—it applies to every church I have belonged to, whether conservative or liberal, and I have belonged to both kinds.

If I am successful at freeing up more of my time, I may write about this other concern in my main blog,

ClearMiddle’s Clarifications

. It’s a delicate subject.

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Recorded at Christ Community Church, Carmichael, California, May 11, 2025.
Excerpted from this livestream.

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