”The Kingdom Is Yours is a song for everyone who thought God left them when he was needed the most. The opposite is the most true. God shares his hope and kingdom not with the elite, but with the lowly.” (Dee Wilson)

“The Kingdom Is Yours is a song of hope and a reminder that the poor in spirit will inherit the earth. God honors the heart willing to lay its brokenness at his feet, and the soul that responds to violence, abuse and loss with the love of Christ. Society has its own standard of success, but God still honors faithfulness, humility and love when they’re hardest to do.” (Brittney Spencer)

“In a dog-eat-dog world, where only the strongest survive; where your brother may betray you in order to climb the next ring of the ‘corporate ladder,’ where loneliness threatens to be your closest friend, where abuse seems routine, and hope sounds like a fairy tail, Jesus speaks. He says his kingdom is at hand. He invites us in. It’s a place where the poor forever reign, where the pure finally win, where the peacemakers can rest, and where the persecuted rejoice. ’The Kingdom is Yours’ is a song of hope for those living in the tension of these two realities. It’s a reminder of what is to come.” (Micah Massey)

“The Kingdom is Yours is an encouraging reminder from Jesus’ beatitudes that the kingdom of God belongs to the unlikely: the grieving, the vulnerable, the hungry, the persecuted.” (Aaron Keyes)

VERSE 1
Blessed are the ones who do not bury
All the broken pieces of their heart
Blessed are the tears of all the weary
Pouring like a sky of falling stars

VERSE 2
Blessed are the wounded ones in mourning
Brave enough to show the Lord their scars
Blessed are the hurts that are not hidden
Open to the healing touch of God

CHORUS
The kingdom is yours, the kingdom is yours
Hold on a little more, this is not the end
Hope is in the Lord, keep your eyes on him

VERSE 3
Blessed are the ones who walk in kindness
Even in the face of great abuse
Blessed are the deeds that go unnoticed
Serving with unguarded gratitude

VERSE 4
Blessed are the ones who fight for justice
Longing for the coming day of peace
Blessed is the soul that thirsts for righteousness
Welcoming the last, the lost, the least

CHORUS
The kingdom is yours, the kingdom is yours
Hold on a little more, this is not the end
Hope is in the Lord, keep your eyes on him

VERSE 5
Blessed are the ones who suffer violence
And still have strength to love their enemies
Blessed is the faith of those who persevere
Though they fall, they’ll never know defeat

Written by Terrell Wilson (BMI), Brittney Spencer (BMI), Micah Massey (ASCAP), Aaron Keyes (ASCAP)
© 2017 Common Hymnal Digital (BMI), The Wilson Songbook Publishing (BMI), BSpencer Publishing (BMI), Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCAP), 10000 Fathers (ASCAP) (admin by IntegratedRights.com). CCLI 7109354

“The Kingdom Is Yours is a song of hope and a reminder that the poor in spirit will inherit the earth. God honors the heart willing to lay its brokenness at his feet, and the soul that responds to violence, abuse and loss with the love of Christ. Society has its own standard of success, but God still honors faithfulness, humility and love when they’re hardest to do.” (Brittney Spencer)

“In a dog-eat-dog world, where only the strongest survive; where your brother may betray you in order to climb the next ring of the ‘corporate ladder,’ where loneliness threatens to be your closest friend, where abuse seems routine, and hope sounds like a fairy tail, Jesus speaks. He says his kingdom is at hand. He invites us in. It’s a place where the poor forever reign, where the pure finally win, where the peacemakers can rest, and where the persecuted rejoice. ’The Kingdom is Yours’ is a song of hope for those living in the tension of these two realities. It’s a reminder of what is to come.” (Micah Massey)

“The Kingdom is Yours is an encouraging reminder from Jesus’ beatitudes that the kingdom of God belongs to the unlikely: the grieving, the vulnerable, the hungry, the persecuted.” (Aaron Keyes)

VERSE 1
Blessed are the ones who do not bury
All the broken pieces of their heart
Blessed are the tears of all the weary
Pouring like a sky of falling stars

VERSE 2
Blessed are the wounded ones in mourning
Brave enough to show the Lord their scars
Blessed are the hurts that are not hidden
Open to the healing touch of God

CHORUS
The kingdom is yours, the kingdom is yours
Hold on a little more, this is not the end
Hope is in the Lord, keep your eyes on him

VERSE 3
Blessed are the ones who walk in kindness
Even in the face of great abuse
Blessed are the deeds that go unnoticed
Serving with unguarded gratitude

VERSE 4
Blessed are the ones who fight for justice
Longing for the coming day of peace
Blessed is the soul that thirsts for righteousness
Welcoming the last, the lost, the least

CHORUS
The kingdom is yours, the kingdom is yours
Hold on a little more, this is not the end
Hope is in the Lord, keep your eyes on him

VERSE 5
Blessed are the ones who suffer violence
And still have strength to love their enemies
Blessed is the faith of those who persevere
Though they fall, they’ll never know defeat

Written by Terrell Wilson (BMI), Brittney Spencer (BMI), Micah Massey (ASCAP), Aaron Keyes (ASCAP)
© 2017 Common Hymnal Digital (BMI), The Wilson Songbook Publishing (BMI), BSpencer Publishing (BMI), Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCAP), 10000 Fathers (ASCAP) (admin by IntegratedRights.com). CCLI 7109354

Well, I was told that I met her.
I was told that Peace has been around here,
but they must be confused.

Confused with Silence, perhaps,
In fact – I asked her.
I asked Silence and She said

“Naw young man, Peace don’t live here
And I don’t even look like that queen,
She sings and carries a big sword with a smile so clean.
Her hair is natural and rings like bells
And in heels she a little taller than, Justice

I don’t know Justice!
And I have not met Peace.

And Justice, arms are long and his embrace is strong.
And you can hear every step he takes
No, not every step he ask for
Every step he takes
No, not every step that is given
Every step he takes

She said Royce

Go back and tell them they got me wrong.
I’m silent.

My cousins are dumb,
hush,
mute,
quiet,
settle,
shut up,
sit still!

Royce, you know them.

I don’t know Justice!
And I have not met Peace.

I’ve been waiting for them to pull up in one accord
And I can’t afford to wait much longer
These arms ain’t much stronger
But they are strong.
Shoot! I’ll pat myself in the back.
I look in the mirror and don’t know how to act, I’m black!
I’m black!
I’m black!
I’m black!

Black…
What is that anyway?
But a word full of culture and void of identity
So I have to give love to my enter me

Now, don’t get me wrong –  I haven’t always walked around proud
But even when I didn’t, with my fist up I said it loud.

I’m Black …

I don’t know Justice!
And I have not met Peace.

And I can’t help but wonder how would it feel to say it.
If I could ride with peace and justice in dat accord

I want to know them!
I want to see them
I want to talk with them
I want to kick it with the rest of the folks , like Freedom, Liberty, opportunity
I want to breathe
Not In hell
Not in hell
But inhale – exhale

Now listen, you said it and I’m flatter
You even used the hashtag #BlacklivesMatter

But when Yeshua left the many for the one
I known my Black life mattered before The hashtag became relevant
This skin is heaven sent.

But … I don’t know Justice!
And I have not met Peace.

I wish I could walk away, from the microphone telling you I met them
I give the ear an resolve it wants to hear,
But I can’t

I believe in a redeemer
I believe a The God of creation
And I can’t

Because I haven’t met justice
And I dont know peace

But I’ll tell you this
I’m going to keep looking
I’m going to keep pushing
I’m going to keep shaking
I’m going to keep talking
I’m going to keep yelling
I’m going to keep learning
I’m going to keep voting
I’m going to keep grown
I’m going to keep engaging

Because I’m going to meet them

And when I meet them going to bring them
To my school

To my job
To my house
To my hood
To my friends
To my brothers
To my sisters
To my mothers
To my fathers
To the jail
Inhale – Exhale
Inhale – exhale

I don’t know Justice!
And I have not met Peace.

Written by Royce Lovett (BMI), Kevin Dailey, Ryan James Carr (ASCAP)
© 2020 Common Hymnal Digital (BMI), Royce Lovett Music (BMI), Common Hymnal Online, Kip Central, Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCAP), Ryan James Carr (ASCAP) (admin by CapitolCMGPublishing.com). CCLI 7157120.

]]> https://www.redletterchristians.org/i-dont-know-justice/feed/ 0 33955 https://www.redletterchristians.org/h-r-40-reparations-now/ https://www.redletterchristians.org/h-r-40-reparations-now/#respond Tue, 09 Aug 2022 18:29:49 +0000 https://www.redletterchristians.org/?p=33936 “While it might be convenient to assume that we can address the current divisive racial and political climate in our nation through race neutral means, experience shows that we have not escaped our history. Though the Civil Rights Movement challenged many of the most racist practices and structures that subjugated the African American community, it was not followed by a commitment to truth and reconciliation. For that reason, the legacy of racial inequality has persisted, and left the nation vulnerable to a range of problems that continue to yield division, racial disparities and injustice. By passing H.R. 40, Congress can start a movement toward the national reckoning we need to bridge racial divides.”(Sheila Jackson Lee)

VERSE 1
Queens and Kings from Africa
Taken in chains to build America
Infinite wealth gap off our blood and sweat
Reparative justice, now we’re here to get

CHORUS
H.R. 40
Reparations now
H.R. 40
We won’t back down

VERSE 2
Lynchings and land loss, voter suppression
Violent policing, incarceration
You made us separate and unequal
But we are not slaves, we are God’s people

RAP
Let’s address it, we gotta continue the message
Gotta stress it, lest we steady forget it
Cruelty, brutality, the inhumanity of slavery
All up in the states and colonies
We need a national apology
Check America’s economy
We know it wasn’t built in harmony
Can’t escape it, tell ‘em to face it, how the nation
Miscalculated they sovereignty
What happened to the 40 acres and a mule?
All we got was segregated buses and schools
How that make sense when we the human infrastructure
We the ones who laid the bricks and who mixed the mortar
H.R. 40 to the floor or Executive Order
H.R. 40 to the floor or Executive Order
No excuses anymore, this of utmost importance
Ain’t no I O U’s or a blessed assurance
We need a real investment
Talkin generational wealth
To shift generational health
You best believe who we in step with
Issa global conversation
Know our family round the world need reparations
Look until you get the message
We gon keep it in motion
We gon keep it pushin we know where we going
For our ancestors and descendents
It’s only right that we do it
It’s influenced, but look its more than a movement

VERSE 3
Peoples and nations, who lost their names
Stories and history, we must reclaim
Civilization, the first, we’re from
We will not rest ‘til full repair is done

H.R. 40 (REPARATIONS NOW) 

Written by Rev. Mark Thompson (Matsimela Mapfumo) (ASCAP), Nabil Ince (BMI), Vincent Charlow (BMI), Olivia Mogul (ASCAP), Bryan Joy (ASCAP)
© 2022 Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCAP), Make It Plain (ASCAP), Mekkatte (ASCAP), BJOY MUSICS (ASCAP), Common Hymnal Digital (BMI), Seaux Chill Publishing (BMI), Soul Lore Creative (BMI) (admin by IntegratedRights.com)

Rev Otis Moss III, founder of Unashamed Media Group, asked Common Hymnal to contribute music for “Otis’ Dream,” the Get Out The Vote film he wrote and produced for the 2020 election. More specifically, he asked them to produce a new arrangement of the old spiritual ‘I Want Jesus To Walk With Me’ for the final credits.

The project’s goal was to combat the wave of voter suppression that was forming in states across the nation despite the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. And encourage black Christians to vote.

The film tells the story of his grandfather, a sharecropper, who was denied the right to vote in rural Georgia in the forties after walking over 18 miles to three different polling locations. Oprah Winfrey first heard the story in the early eighties and has told it in election cycles ever since. She previewed the movie and interviewed Otis on SuperSoul Sunday before the 2020 election. The film was shown in black churches across the country that weekend and will hopefully inspire black Christians to get out and vote for many election seasons to come.

Common Hymnal feels passionate about this issue and plans to support several Get Out The Vote initiatives this coming year. This recording is one of their contributions to the discussion.

Because of the deadline, they recorded the first version in an all-nighter and vowed to re-produce a full version of the song when they had a window of time. The result is this new music video, featuring vocals by The Spirituals, Junior Garr, Niiella, Sharon Irving and Chris Blue, and footage from the film and the animation that Ron Abdou and Zach Stewart created for the original track.

PLEASE visit otisdream.com to watch the story in its fullness, and find helpful resources.

”Honestly and painfully I admit, I’ve been asleep at the proverbial wheel of the fight for justice in the U.S., particularly for PoC. I’m living in the predominantly white south, far removed from the culture that raised me. With an invigorated sense of identity and purpose, I have written a series of transparent assessments of recent events and my emotional response to them. ‘Waking Up’ describes the process of being asleep, waking up, and finding meaning.” (Bobby Alexandre)

READ: Praise+Protest Pledge

TITLE
Written by Bobby Alexandre (ASCAP), Ryan James Carr (ASCAP)
© 2020 Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCAP), Out Word (ASCAP), Ryan James Carr (ASCAP) (admin by CapitolCMGPublishing.com)

Fruitless sleep
Wake-less ignorance
Like running from time
Or digging the sky

Emotionless. Motionless.
Resting blissfully. Awoken Bitterly.
To realize we have experienced ears
And virgin hearts

To never feel like this before.

To be re-booted:
The zest of being refreshed
and fitted with new shoes.
To sleepwalk for so long
and stumble through the night—
how humbling the light

I turn my face with hand upraised
overwhelmed by the rays of truth
That illuminate injustice
Squinting my eyes
Then when forcing them open
I’m incensed
My fist now clenched
Hangs in the air
As a beacon for those that follow
Lady liberty, no torch
We suffer violence
And the violent take it by force

In the midst of the US presidential election of 2016, with the backdrop of a series of events fueled by racial tension and violence across America, the writers of ‘How Much Longer’ met together to write for the first time. Three sons of preachers; two black, one white.

How Much Longer was conceived and written on a former plantation near a cemetery where slaves and Confederate soldiers were buried side by side. Reflecting on the current turmoil we wrestled with two ideas:

1. How much longer will we continue to see the same kinds of divisive issues in America around race and ethnicity? How much longer will justice sleep?

2. Why do we continue to fight one another in life with such fervor even though we know that eventually, we will return to the earth? As we looked to the graveyard in the distance, we pondered whether we would only have unity and peace in death.

We concluded our session with the burden of creating a battle cry for renewal as reflected in the bridge: Come on brother, lay your weapons down, where the river of justice rolls and all oppression drowns.

HOW MUCH LONGER?
Written by Art Hooker (BMI), Ben Hardesty (BMI), Courtney Orlando (ASCAP)
© 2017 Common Hymnal Digital (BMI), New Metropolitan Music (BMI), Benjo Darro Music Company (BMI), Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCAP), Theocentric Music (ASCAP) (admin by CapitolCMGPublishing.com). CCLI 7109361.

VERSE 1
E
In the silence, tell me, can you hear
The voices calling out, of the disappeared?
A
Broken spirits, dormant dreams
E
How much longer will justice sleep?

PRE CHORUS
C#m B
When a lawless heart is the voice we’re hearing
E
We need freedom

CHORUS
A E
How much longer ’til we sing a new song?
A E
How much longer ’til we sing a new song?

VERSE 2
Hearts of saints and sinners, too
Both have walked away from the destitute
Call them back to sing as one
A song of freedom now, a song to overcome

BRIDGE
E
Come on brother, lay your weapons down
Where the river of justice rolls and all oppression drowns
It flows with life, love and truth
May the old be washed away and hearts be made anew