01. Alive Again
Matt Maher/Jason Ingram

Alive Again is about waking up to the kingdom of God. It started with a moment, driving north toward San Antonio. It was dark. Then it got light outside, but the Sun hadn't broken the horizon. Yet I could see. It spoke to me of the pre-imminence of Christ - shining around us, helping us see "the light before we see the sunrise" (Colossians 1) - I think one of the main themes of the whole record, really - that He is at the head, and in Him, "all things are held together".

St Augustine of Hippo was an amazing evangelist with a timely story for the church of today to reflect on. Here's a guy who went in the world in search of God, but because He didn't know God, he was led further away from God. I feel like this is a timely truth, because as God is drawing all souls towards Himself, we need to remember and proclaim that Christianity starts with a person and a relationship and moves outward.

02. Shout of the King
Matt Maher/Sarah Reeves

This was a song I co-wrote with Sarah Reeves. Originally for her CD, it never got recorded, so I decided to take a crack at it. Based on Numbers 23:21, or "The third oracle of Balaam", where it describes how completely "other" God is, in the sense of His faithfulness; and because of such truths, no misfortune is with God's people - that the "Shout of the King" is among them. Jesus is our biggest encourager - leading us in praise of the Father. Despite our sin and frailty, God truly is always for us.

03. Sing Over Your Children
Matt Maher/Jason Ingram

I knew subconsciously of Zephaniah 3:17 - that God sings joyfully over His people (aka, the shout of the King) - and that song, that voice can soften the hardest of hearts. Our relationship with God is initiated by Him and His love - freely given as gift; despite my constant temptation with the things of earth, God's love doesn't waver.

04. Hold Us Together
Matt Maher/Steve Wilson

It was January of 09 and I was on a flight from Phoenix to Nashville. I had an image in my mind in prayer of the church being the hands and feet of Christ in the world. As things are falling apart, people are looking for refuge - from so much constant uncertainty. I wrote the phrase 'love will hold us together, make us a shelter to weather the storm.' And then I wrote down on another page 'I will be my brother's keeper' and that was it.

The next day I was in a writing session with Steve Wilson, and felt really strongly about the idea, and going in a direction that in some way "tipped the hat" to more soulful songs of the 60's and 70's. I am really happy with how the song turned out.

05. No Greater Love
Matt Maher/Chris Tomlin/Audrey Assad

It was inspired by John 15:13, Chris Tomlin and I were talking about how God seems to be breaking down walls and divisions between denominations. While we respect our differences, we also recognize the commonalities that we have and the fact that we need to be working together, coming together to pray for the cities we live in and for the world; and being empowered to go out into them with the heart of God

06. Love Comes Down
Matt Maher/Michael Gungor/Audrey Assad/Paul Moak

In the midst of this massive poverty that now exists in the world and a growing disparaging difference between the haves and have nots I am trying to find the King of kings; this big God that I have been talking and singing about. I am trying to find him in the broken and the redeemed parts of life and in my own heart and in the church and in society and that is really what this song is about, It is just this big celebration of the incarnation - and a call for it to be celebrated more than one day a year. This song has gone through so many versions I can not even tell you, but once again it is an example of the collaborative process - and that it is good because of the sum of its parts than if I wrote it alone.

07. Flesh and Bone
Matt Maher/Sarah Hart/Marc Byrd

I have all these journals left over from college, and I had written a lyric in one of them (12 years ago)that said: 'I met a man who walked on water and wore his crown like a blue collar'-that Jesus was that humble-to leave the Kingdom of Heaven and to just come here on earth and spend thirty years hidden in obscurity and then spend three years with public ministry with twelve guys who were not that good at what they originally did and now they were followers of him. If I saw the world through the eyes of Jesus, would it give me more compassion? Would it help me to understand how he still loves us despite all our imperfections? I am trying to do that. I am so desperately trying to show people--especially in this world, especially where there is less and less of an emphasis on the soul and so much more emphasis on the physical realm and on the body (to the point that they are divided and not integrated); that we are more than just this. We are so much more. We are less then angels but we are so much more then flesh and bone.

08. Remembrance (Communion Song)
Matt Maher/Matt Redman

Matt Redman, in my humble opinion, is probably of the best (if not the best) corporate worship songwriters of the past 50 years. So writing with Matt was just a huge honor. We thought it would be great to write a worship song that teaches people about the spiritual nature of communion, without diving into theological differences. I think it will be a great song for the church because it will fill a void. There are not a lot of communion songs.

09. Letting Go
Matt Maher/Paul Moak

If you imagine holding your life in your hand and your hand is in the shape of a fist you can not receive anything else because your fist is closed, but if your are holding your life in your hands and they're open, then you are free to receive something else and that is really what that song is about. The song is about the process of standing before God in complete transparency and realizing what I have to give is barely a comparison of what he has given me and as I hold on the love of God, I have to let go of everything else. If I want to hold on to Jesus even more then I just have to let go.

10. You Were on the Cross
Matt Maher/Kenny Butler/Audrey Assad

In the Laments of Job, you get this sense of, "everything is lost, everything is gone, everything that I have worked so hard for, everything that I had been blessed with and I have sores all over me" - I think most people don't really stop to imagine what that must have been like for Job. I got to thinking 'God where were you when this happened? He was on the cross.

I realized that not only is the cross in and of itself the atonement for all sin, but the way in which it happened is now a means by which all human suffering becomes a transformational moment. It does not matter how dark your situation is - God himself has been there and as you grieve it and morn it you can find consolation in him because he was there.

11. Christ Is Risen
Matt Maher/Mia Fieldes

God really is a genius (duh!). He used death to destroy death. He did not even have to lift a finger. He literally tricked death into destroying itself. Jesus used the process of death to completely eradicate it. So now it just becomes a process of transformation, now it is a window or a doorway. Every Easter in the Ukraine, congregations chant the phrase, "Christ is risen from the dead trampling over death by death, and redeeming us from the grave". I thought, "that is an amazing thought to sing. We should sing it in the west."

12. Garden
Matt Maher/Audrey Assad

The Garden is a constant theme throughout scripture. Our story of humanity begins in a garden. In the most romantic book of the bible, "Song of Songs", the beloved's heart is compared to an enclosed garden. Then we have Gethsemane and a new Adam being faithful to His bride, the church. Our story will end in a Garden which is in a Heaven and a new earth. Here's the most amazing thing - that while we are waiting for that, God now wants to take the human heart and make it a garden - like it was in the beginning.

01. Your Grace Is Enough
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher; additional lyrics by Chris Tomlin

This is probably the oldest song on the record, and I'm thankful so many people have appreciated it. I wrote it when I was going through some hard times in my life. I found myself on the back patio at home with my guitar, reading the Psalms, and I kept singing the same word: "Remember. Remember. Remember..." In the Psalms, David is crying out to God to remember His people. I was fascinated by that and began writing this song I was calling "Remember," asking God to remember us as we remember Him. When we recall the language of God's covenant, we end up being in a space where God is already remembering us. The chorus came from Paul's letter to the Romans, and the idea of the thorn in Paul's side, begging God to take it away. I think in my mid-twenties, the thorn in my side was loneliness; I was like, "OK God, give me something to fill that space." I think God comes to us and says, "No, I need to be enough."

02. Look Like A Fool
Music by Matt Maher; lyrics by Matt Maher and Bill Staines

The whole premise of Christianity is foolishness to the world. The things we do - feeding the hungry, clothing the naked - those are the fruits of a good prayer life. Christianity itself is completely counter-cultural. Put all that together, and the song becomes the expression of "I don't care if I look foolish to the world." This is what God calls us to do. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

03. For Your Glory
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher

The writer of Ecclesiastes says there's nothing new under the sun; that there's nothing we can think of that God hasn't already thought of, and that there's an appointed time for everything in life. So how do you respond to that actively? Do you just throw up your arms? Well, yes. As a Christian, you have the opportunity in every situation to experience the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Everything becomes an opportunity to give glory to God - our laughing and our crying; our dancing and our mourning. Whatever it is, we can give glory to God.

04. As It Is In Heaven
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher and Ed Cash

I wrote this one in the fall of 2004, after I hadn't written anything in months. I was originally thinking about the sufficiency of God as the Father of all; that's the "new song" sung about in Psalm 40. Fast forward three years. The record was done, but I felt like something was missing. My A&R director, Blaine Barcus, suggested that I work on it with Ed Cash. Ed heard the song and fell in love with the pre-chorus and chorus. We decided to break open the Lord's Prayer, which was where the chorus came from. The verses came out in 15 minutes over iChat. We both knew God's hand was moving. The whole process of rewriting and rerecording this song was a testament to unity; and I hope that this song becomes a way for people of all denominations to come together, and say that God is Father of all.

05. I Rejoice
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher

Underneath the shadow of Your wings, I rejoice in You - that was all I had for the longest time. I'd started crafting musical ideas and layering them on Garage Band on my computer, with only those words. A year later I was praying, singing, "I rejoice, I rejoice, I rejoice," and I asked myself, "What am I rejoicing in?" I realized I was rejoicing in God, and I just want to sing it! Then I had a conversation about the image of the Shadow of God's wings, and I thought of the shadow of Jesus' arms on the cross - we are in the shadow of the cross, filled with the light of the resurrection. There we rejoice in our adoption as God's children.

06. Maranatha (Come Again)
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher

Maranatha, or "Come Again," started primarily as an instrumental, musical idea. I had these lyrics for a really long time, based on Psalm 122, lyrics that pertained to the idea of going up to the House of the Lord. However, the Lord came here. I started to ask "what kind of impact does that idea have on the psalmist...what does that portray in regards to the orphans and widows?" In my mind, it portrays how the lowest of low are being made great in the kingdom. The chorus was originally a bridge because I wanted the bridge to be about Christ returning as the House of God on earth. That's where the idea of "Maranatha," or "Come Again" came from...taking the imagery of Christ coming, of Him feeding His flock - and using us in the process to portray that - i.e., we are the 'cloud of witnesses,' like what Paul talks about when he describes those who have been marginalized - responded to the call of following Christ.

07. Great Things
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher

One day I was looking again at the Magnificat, Mary's prayer at Jesus' birth announcement, and I thought of it as the first prayer ever prayed by somebody saying yes to the will of God. Some weeks later, I was practicing with my band and realized what I wanted was to combine Paul's foundational theology with the theology of the incarnation: "You alone have done great things/ I can't boast of anything/ Mighty one, King of kings, Jesus/ You alone have done great things by Your living word in me." The idea was to echo that what happened to Mary, happens to us as Christians. When we say yes to God, we receive the Word into us. Mary's situation happened in a very, very unique and profound way. As Christians, we can have a similar spiritual encounter.

Funny side-note: As the production took off, it became more and more like a country song! Every one was like, "You wrote a country song!" Well, I didn't really mean it to be; it just kind of went that way.

08. Leave a Light On
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher

For the record, I had no idea that "We'll leave the light on" was Motel 6's tagline. I grew up in Canada! I had not a clue. I had heard a talk on Pentecost, and how at the Ascension, there was the reality of worshipping in the presence of God, but doubt still existed. There's comfort in that. We watch the glory of God make itself known and manifest in the world one second, and strain to see Him in our own hearts the next. Herein lies the call to faithfulness. Jesus used the parable of 10 virgins with lamp stands; that some ran out of oil...that His coming would be sudden...to keep watch and be ready...so as I worship and doubt, I'll leave a light on. That light is the fire of His own Spirit, once again affirming that I cannot do it on my own; I need Him in me to stay ready.

09. Shine Like the Son
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher

It's relatively simple; the song is breaking open the familiar words, "How beautiful is the sound of those who bring good news." God made us ready to shine like the sun. Well, there was some confusion, and a long story short, I eventually decided to change sun to Son. But the point is this: We are called to live in the middle of the lost and the poor. There is a tendency, especially sometimes in American, Christian culture, to construct a very safe environment to live in - to the point where we don't know anybody who's been marginalized. I think we are called to be salt and light. We are called to go into the middle of where people are, just as God comes into the middle of wherever we are.

10. Unwavering
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher

I have friends who were forced to leave New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina. Overnight, my best friend, Paul George, went from doing a simple Bible study to building showers everyday, and helping grown men get clothing. My friend was a school teacher in New Orleans, and she lost everything. I remember looking on TV at images of the poor-it was like they had come out of nowhere. This song came from watching all of this poverty unfold, and yet sensing God's unwavering plan. We are sent out to be God's hands and feet, and the neat thing about being in solidarity with the poor, is that when you are poor, you are completely dead to the world. It doesn't really have much control over you, because you recognize your own poverty. We all need Jesus.

11. Lay It Down
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher and Brenton Brown

The verse and the chorus came, as many of my songs do, in the midst of a worship time. Someone was talking about laying all of our stuff down at the feet of Jesus, and I started singing, "Everything I am/ Everything I long to be/ I'll lay it down at Your feet." I believe I wrote that in the fall of 2003, or earlier, and had it for a long time. Then, in the spring of 2006, Brenton Brown and I got together to write. We talked about how amazing it is that what we lay down is so minuscule compared to what God gives us. Yet, beautiful surrender happens, and brings us closer to God.

12. Empty & Beautiful
Music and lyrics by Matt Maher

For me as a Christian, I'm realizing more and more that the world isn't my worst enemy - I'm my biggest enemy. If I could spend more time letting God love me, then maybe I'd be a more effective apostle. That's why we can look at a cross and not see death, but rather the grace of love, forgiveness and hope. The chorus was inspired by Second Timothy: "I fought the fight, I've kept the faith, I've finished the race." I believe Paul's not saying that as a boasting man; he'd been abandoned and rejected, scorned and lost. But Paul knows grace. He knows the biggest battle he's fought is not against the world, but against his self.