Saturday, September 3, 2016

Jesus Loves Me - Music Story

Chord progressions evoke emotions and even suggest lyrics! Play this chord progression slowly on your guitar, keyboard, or music app:

Guitar Chords
Piano Chords

What do you feel? What ideas go through your mind? As I was playing this progression, I felt a yearning to be loved perfectly. This reminded me that Jesus loves me. Perfectly, completely! So I wrote song lyrics describing his love for me and set them to a simple melody accompanied by the chords. However, the song was incomplete. I left out why I hunger for perfect love.

A month later a friend invited me to hear a Christian leader speak at the Union League Club downtown Chicago. Every other month Moody Business Network hosts a luncheon for the business community. According to their website, “Each MBN event features a guest speaker from the top ranks of business, athletics or academia who shares their life story.”

As Greg Koukl, Founder and President of Stand to Reason, shared his story, he explained my longing for perfect love. God judges my behavior and attitudes perfectly for he knows my motives and intentions and the depth of harm I have caused others. God cannot overlook that harm. His justice is perfect, crushing, condemning. Jesus loves me, a condemned person! He loves me so much that he bore the weight of God’s perfect justice so I don’t have to. He loves me completely, perfectly! His love for me makes it possible for God to offer me perfect mercy.

I incorporated those thoughts into the song. It was almost complete. After weaving a few notes from the children’s hymn, “Jesus Loves Me,” in the music, the song was finished.

From the album “This & That – A Little Bit of Everything” this video is music scrolling playback of a song based on John 15:12-14.

Kathy

Print (PDF) and digital (MusicXML™) sheet music for Jesus Loves Me are available.
Sheet Music
   Click here for PDF.

MusicXML
Click here for MusicXML.
(MusicXML™ is the standard open format for sharing digital sheet music. Check the help files in your music notation app for directions on importing MusicXML files.)