CD Review – You and You Alone by Pat and Joel Sczebel

youandyoualone.jpgSovereign Grace Ministries has just released our 5th recording in the Overflow series. Overflow began because we simply weren’t able to put out enough projects to keep up with the songs that were being written by Sovereign Grace songwriters. Produced by local churches using local instrumentalists and vocalists, the Overflow highlight emerging songs that encourage passionate, biblically informed, Christ-glorifying worship. One of the aspects of the Overflow CDs I’m most excited about is seeing a greater variety in the songs that Sovereign Grace is producing.

You and You Alone” is an enhanced CD, including guitar charts and lead sheets. It was recorded and produced in Vancouver, British Columbia, and features the father-son team of Pat and Joel Sczebel. I’ve known Pat for over ten years and led worship with him on the Worship God Live CD a few years ago. He is the worship pastor at the Sovereign Grace church in Surrey and is one of the most contagiously joyful guys I know. He also has a significant songwriting gift. More importantly, he is a great husband and dad, and this CD is one more sign of how he’s passed a love for the Savior on to his children.

You and You Alone” has ten songs, and the writing credits ended up being split between Pat and Joel. Here are my comments on the songs.

Trust in You (Joel) opens the CD with an energetic, faith-filled proclamation of God’s sovereignty and power. I like the fact that the second verse expresses a desire to be used by God because we know he’ll protect us in every situation.

Over All (Pat) is a mid-tempo song, again declaring God’s sovereignty. Verse 1 acknowledges God’s rule over creation, while verse 2 reminds us that God rules over our sufferings.

Yesterday, Today, and Forever (Joel) is drawn from Hebrews 13:8, but also includes references to Ps. 102:26-27, Ps. 25:3, Colossians 1:15-19, and Rom. 8:38-39. I love to see younger guys writing songs that are saturated with God’s Word.

The Greatest of All (Pat) is a stirring 6/8 song that includes a chorus taken from a hymn:

Redeemed how I love to proclaim it
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb
Redeemed through your infinite mercy
Your child, and forever, I am

The verses fill out what it means to be redeemed. Jesus gave his life to “buy me back from slavery,” to “set me free from my chains.” His death alone “canceled the debts that I owed,” and “satisfied the law’s demands.”

In You is a simple confession of what we find in our union with Christ – grace, perfect rest, deliverance from shame, shelter from what we deserved, awesome mercy, joy forever, and so much more.

I Surrender All (Pat) is a reflective, piano-driven song of commitment that I contributed a partial verse to.

Father, you’ve given your precious Son
Who laid down his life for my sin
He purchased my freedom and made me an heir
Now I belong to him

You Are Good (Joel) begins with a bass solo and leads into a driving song of joyful celebration that calls to mind God’s goodness, expressed in giving us new life and lifting us up when we fall. You can download a free MP3 and guitar chart of this song at the end of this post.

Lord, You Are Gracious (Pat) is a beautiful reflection on God’s mercy towards undeserving sinners. “You do not treat us as our sins deserve, though we are guilty as charged; Your Son was treated as if responsible for all my sin.”

You Alone (Joel) is a hymn-like song that leads us into wholehearted devotion to the one who in wondrous love gave his Son to bear all our sins.

Jesus, You Are Beautiful (Pat) is the kind of song that Pat excels at writing. A simple expression of love for the Savior who first loved us.

The CD ends with a simple reprise of I Surrender All, accompanied by a guitar, and at one point a cappella. It’s an appropriate response to the rich truths that have been explored and celebrated for the entire album.

You can read an interview of Pat and Joel at the New Attitude blog. You can also download a free MP3 of “You are Good” by right-clicking here. The guitar chart is available for download here.

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5 Responses to CD Review – You and You Alone by Pat and Joel Sczebel

  1. Trill November 15, 2007 at 11:36 AM #

    Pat was my group leader at my very first New Attitude. It was also one of my most memorable ones. He made us sing “O Canada” in the hall before (or after) one of the sessions to everyone waiting! My pastor has mentioned to our congregation several times that Pat is a very humble servant. I can imagine that “I surrender All” and “Lord You are Gracious” reflects Pat’s humility before God. I look forward to hearing it soon! Thanks Bob.

  2. Jayson Wittrup November 15, 2007 at 11:57 AM #

    Bob,

    I’ve loved Pat’s work and the thoughts he shared at your WorshipGod 2006 conference. I did not hesitate to buy this CD today upon reading of its release. Curious…I purchased the MP3 download version but didn’t get the chord/lead charts with it. Is that something only the old-fashioned CD purchasers get :-) Or did I miss a step in the purchasing process?

    Any chance Pat is coming back for WorshipGod 2008 ?

    Jayson

  3. ckauflin November 15, 2007 at 12:26 PM #

    Jayson,

    Glad you were able to purchase the CD! I wanted to let you know that the MP3 set does not include the Guitar and Lead sheets, however you can download them free on the Sovereign Grace site by going here:

    http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/category.aspx?categoryID=2074

    Thanks!
    Chelsea Kauflin

  4. Jamie November 17, 2007 at 12:53 AM #

    Is that free mp3 song download still available? Clicking on it doesn’t seem to work.

  5. Justin Breithaupt November 24, 2007 at 9:48 PM #

    I need a Inspirational Christian song that I can share legally with my new Operating System I’m putting together. Ultumix Linux Cristian Edition. I will have it out shortly after Christmas. I thought Holy Holy Holy would be a great Hymn but I don’t know if it’s free or not or where to download it if it is. I’ve been trying to find a bunch of free Christian Music but I can’t find any. I didn’t see any here that was free to share either. I thought that maybe you could help me. I want to use this music for a startup sound to encourage the user to follow Christ every time the Computer Starts. This Operating System of mine is free too. No I haven’t received donations yet. I hope I will though. I want to build free computers for families for Christmas. Anyway I appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks.

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