THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE > SONGS FOR THE KINGDOM

Week 2 Songs

Music is one good way to let the Good News enter our hearts. Throughout this series we are suggesting some songs from a variety of genres for reflecting on the Kingdom. Take a listen and see what speaks to your tastes and heart. View all songs for the series here.

Hope In a Hopeless World - Margaret Becker

Veteran Christian musician Margaret Becker sings this challenging call-to-action in response to a broken world.
Baby born in New York City
Wrapped in a blanket that's tattered and worn
Mother done the best she can
Picking hope in a hopeless world

Elder son, he stayed in school
He listened to his mother, didn't drink or use
Yet every job he wants, he gets refused
It takes hope in a hopeless world

Refrain:
Looking for hope in a hopeless world
Searching for love in such hateful times
Trying to stay strong while my mind gets weak
Looking for hope in a hopeless world

On a corner stands a young girl
The home she left was from the better part of town
Her daddy did things she just can't talk about
Is there hope in a hopeless world?

You got a quarter for the homeless man
Can you spare some change for the soldiers who fought the war?
Put some money in those hats and those tins
Give them hope in a hopeless world

Looking for hope in a hopeless world
Trying to find love in such hateful times
Looking for hope in a hopeless world
To ease my mind, ease my mind
You got to listen to the voice inside
That speaks of love, don't compromise
Realize time is passing you by
Mountains to climb
Can't be standing still, don't be standing still

Church is full, but the prayers don't seem to be heard
Saturday's child don't want to go to Sunday school
Whatever happened to the golden rule
Teach them hope in a hopeless world

Somebody out there's got to listen
Somebody out there's got to know what I'm talking about, now
Raise your hand, raise your hand if you're with me
Give them hope in a hopeless world
Written by Phil Roy and Bob Jr. Thiele © 1993 WB Music Corp. / Behind Bars Music / Sony/ATV Tunes LLC / Philster Music / ASCAP
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What Sort of King - Jesse Manibusan

Catholic liturgical musician Jesse Manibusan wrote this song about the upside-down nature of Jesus' kingship and the Kingdom he preached.
What sort of king / would give his life so others might live?
We are the kingdom / the kingdom of God
What sort of king / cares for the poor and broken of heart?
We are the kingdom / the kingdom of God

And those without choices will have a choice
Those who were silenced will find their voice
And everyone will be welcomed in
To a kingdom where justice shall reign

What sort of king honors all persons / woman or man?
We are the kingdom, the kingdom of God
What sort of king honors all persons / straight or gay?
We are the kingdom / the kingdom of God

And those without choices will have a choice
Those who were silenced will find their voice
And everyone will be welcomed in
To a kingdom where justice shall reign
What sort of king would be compassion
In the midst of our violence?
We are the kingdom / the kingdom of God

(And the blind shall see... and the deaf will hear...
And the lame will leap for joy... let the children come...
And we'll see with new eyes... and we'll hear with new ears...)
Words & music © 1992 Jesse Manibusan
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Show the Way - David Wilcox

Folk guitarist and songwriter has a gift for telling stories with just his voice and a guitar (sometimes in very strange tunings, mind you).  Here he sings of hope and the reason to fight against fear, despair, and complacency.
You say you see no hope, you say you see no reason
We should dream that the world would ever change
You're saying love is foolish to believe
'Cause there'll always be some crazy with an Army or a knife
To wake you from your day dream, put the fear back in your life

Look, if someone wrote a play just to glorify
What's stronger than hate, would they not arrange the stage
To look as if the hero came too late, he's almost in defeat
It's looking like the Evil side will win, so on the Edge 
Of every seat, from the moment that the whole thing begins
It is....

Love that mixed the mortar
And it's love who stacked these stones
And it's love who made the stage here
Although it looks like we're alone
In this scene set in shadows
Like the night is here to stay
There is evil cast around us
But it's love that wrote this play...
For in this darkness love can show the way
So now the stage is set.  You feel your own heart beating
In your chest.  This life's not over yet.
So we get up on our feet and do our best.  
We play against the Fear.  
We play against the reasons not to try
We're playing for the tears burning in the happy angel's eyes
Written by David Wilcox © 1993 Irving Music, Inc./Midnight Ocean Bonfire Music (BMI)
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Waiting on the World to Change - John Mayer

John Mayer faced criticism for his song, "Waiting on the World to Change," which addresses his generation's limited action for social change. Some said it amounted to a list of excuses. Mayer said of his song:
It's saying, "Well, I'll just watch American Idol because I know that if I were engaged in changing anything for the better, or the better as I see it, it would go unnoticed or be completely ineffective." A lot of people have that feeling.
The song's lyrics (below) allude to corruption, limitations of the mainstream media, a lack of power, and more. Whatever your opinions of Mayer, how do we maintain a commitment to fight for God's Kingdom when the odds seem stacked against us?
Me and all my friends 
We're all misunderstood 
They say we stand for nothing and 
There's no way we ever could 

Now we see everything that's going wrong 
With the world and those who lead it 
We just feel like we don't have the means 
To rise above and beat it 

Refrain:
So we keep waiting 
Waiting on the world to change (2x)

It's hard to beat the system 
When we're standing at a distance 
So we keep waiting 
Waiting on the world to change 
Now if we had the power 
To bring our neighbors home from war 
They would have never missed a Christmas 
No more ribbons on their door 
And when you trust your television 
What you get is what you got 
Cause when they own the information, oh 
They can bend it all they want 

That's why we're waiting 
Waiting on the world to change 
We keep on waiting 
Waiting on the world to change 
It's not that we don't care, 
We just know that the fight ain't fair 
So we keep on waiting 
Waiting on the world to change 

And we're still waiting 
Waiting on the world to change 
We keep on waiting waiting on the world to change 
One day our generation 
Is gonna rule the population 
So we keep on waiting 
Waiting on the world to change...
Written by John Mayer. © 2006 Sony/ATV Tunes LLC, Specific Harm Music (ASCAP)
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