“forgive us (OUR confessION)”
[feat. chris burns] by phil king
The story and the study
from Phil King
During my sophomore year of high school, I took an engineering class that quickly became my favorite. We were fortunate to have access to this class in public school—it was a blast working with robotic arms, programming devices, and lasers. My enthusiasm for the subject made me sound like a true nerd, but I embraced it. However, one classmate stood out for his intense dislike of Jesus and, consequently, his distaste for me as a Christian.
One day, his harassment became overwhelming, and I found myself arguing back, lacking the "gentleness and respect" that 1 Peter 3:15 calls for. I may have won the argument, but I lost sight of the opportunity to share God's love with him.
Upon returning home, the Holy Spirit prompted me to reflect on my behavior. I realized how far I had strayed from God's love and humility in my response. Rather than feeling shame, God guided me to apologize and make things right with my classmate.
That evening, I wrote him a letter of apology, acknowledging that my response hadn't reflected God's love. I even included a Ghirardelli caramel square as a peace offering. The next day, I watched him read the letter in class, his expression revealing a sense of surprise and appreciation.
From that moment, our relationship shifted. He was kinder to me, and we never argued again. Although we eventually lost touch, I believe that moment of reconciliation had a lasting impact on both of us.
As Christians, we often face opposition from those who believe they're acting justly. Yet, we must remain true to Christ's nature, showing love even when it's not returned. The song "Forgive Us" transitions into "You Are So Beautiful," echoing our need to seek forgiveness and extend grace to others.
While we may never be perfect, God's power and grace enable us to strive to be bridge builders and lovers of those who don't reciprocate our affection. We do this because He first loved us.
forgive us (our confession)
lyrics
Verse 1
We’ve loved when it’s been easy
We’ve lived the way we want
We've claimed to represent
The Kingdom of the Lord
We've offered good intentions
We’ve slept when called to prayer
And when it really mattered
We simply were not there
Pre Chorus
Much has been expected
'Cause there's so much we've received
Chorus
Forgive us
Forgive us
We confess we have not lived like Jesus
Forgive us
Verse 2
His Word is all around us
Yet we're starved for daily bread
We've delegated worship
And Sung our songs instead
Bridge
He’s everything we’d hope to be
He’s faithful, good, and kind
He’s slow to anger, rich in love
He’s the wisdom of the Wise
He's Father to the Fatherless
The Light that ever shines
The home for every prodigal
The reason we’re alive
Phil King Bio
Phil King is fervent about leading and writing songs that bring many people to Jesus. Over the course of his life Phil has used his genre fluid sound, soulful voice, love for God, and heart for the Church to invite a diverse people to experience God.
King is the launch artist for newly formed label, Euphonic City, co-founded by two of his long-time mentors and friends, Paul Wright and Jennie Lee Riddle. He has been working on his fifth record which is a timely and rich gathering of songs for his Euphonic City debut. This release of Phil King will begin with 5 singles, culminating with a 14 track album featuring many of his family friends.
In his early 20’s he became the worship leader at Christ for the Nations in Dallas, TX before taking a position as a worship pastor at Gateway Church. Most recently, King moved he and his wife to Amarillo, Texas to join Trinity Fellowship Church where they have started their family and are now raising their young twins.
Phil has written multilingual anthems such as “So Worthy'' that have traveled far and wide. And notably, for the pro-life movement, “Not Forgotten” was performed by Phil and Francesca Battistelli at a Focus on the Family event, “Alive From New York” in Times Square attended by 20,000. King often leads at conferences and worship experiences. He has sung and played on records and live events for artists that include Michael W. Smith, Danny Gokey, Charity Gayle, Lauren Daigle, and others. His songwriting credits include Leeland, Matt Redman, Micah Tyler, Christine D’Clario, Rita Springer, and more. But most of all, Phil’s favorite thing is to be available to the men and women of God who carry the Gospel to the furthermost regions of the earth. In Phil’s own words, “I love the harvest field!”
CREDITS:
Produced and Mixed by Seth Talley
Mastered by Bob Boyd at Ambient Digital
feature: chris burns
Executive Producer: Jennie Lee Riddle
Label: Euphonic City in cooperation with people & Songs
drums/percussion: tim buell
keys: dustin ransom
cello: cara fox
electric guitars: Jason Richard, Jonathan Crone
acoustic guitars: seth talley
strings: tyler smith
writers: David Gentiles, Jennie Lee Riddle, Melanie Tierce, The Emerging Sound
© 2023 New Hope Road Music (ASCAP) / Jennie Lee Riddle Music (BMI)/ Tent Peg Music (BMI) / The Emerging Sound Publishing (BMI). All rights reserved. CCLI# Pending