Coming off the success of The Art of Celebration, with "Immeasurably More" and "My Lighthouse," and As Family We Go, with "You Will Never Run" and "Every Giant Will Fall," Rend Collective has returned with Good News, featuring the lead single "Rescuer (Good News)." 

The Ireland-native musicians named their band based on the Scripture: "Rend your hearts, not your garments." They have gained a reputation for unruly, infectious, heartfelt worship. I had the chance to speak with Rend Collective's lead singer Chris Llewellyn and drummer Gareth Gilkeson in-person about "Rescuer (Good News)."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

Gareth: The whole idea of "Rescuer" is in our DNA so much. I have two small boys, and everything they watch is about being rescued or rescuing someone. Ultimately, that's something that God has put on their hearts. We do need a Rescuer and we do need a Savior. In this case, Rescuer is another way of saying Savior, using slightly less religious language. 

The whole idea for the song is that we wanted to write a song about Jesus being our Rescuer, and the second title of the song is Good News in parentheses. The big thing about that is yes, there is a lot of bad news currently in the world, and I don't think you can turn on your television and not see things that are devastating and hurtful. But we need to balance the bad news with remembering the Good News of the Gospel. 

This song is Gospel-focused, drawn from Luke 4:18 "Good news for the captives," which is how we can describe Jesus and how the song starts. That whole idea continues with how Jesus is beauty for the blind man, He's good news even for the ones who are doubters and feel they are far away from God.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Luke 4:18-19 (NIV): "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  

Mark 1:14-15 (NIV): After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"

John 7:38 (NKJV): "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

John 4:29 (NKJV): "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"

Romans 5:8 (VOICE): "But think about this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible display-the Anointed One died for us."

John 3:16 (VOICE): "For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life."

What is the takeaway message?

Chris: The world in general knows that the Church thinks that Jesus is a Rescuer and a Savior, and what people are often surprised by is that Jesus is our own personal Rescuer. People believe they are too far from God and they've done something that means they can't be rescued. 

That's the intent of Jesus when He announces that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him to preach the good news to various categories of people: they are all surprising categories. That's where we are coming from in this song. We are trying to remind the world that Jesus did come to seek and save the lost, the doubters, the poor in spirit, the ones who feel like religion has let them down. Jesus hasn't let us down. He's our Rescuer. 

An important aspect of Christianity for us and the part that gets us excited is that we don't want to just stay inside the four church walls and make people happy in there at the expense of not giving a fresh perspective of Jesus outside of the walls of a church. That's our hope for this song. We are trying to bring people in with the verses and let them know that the song is for them and then give them a chorus to sing in response, taking them to the foot of the Cross.

Lyrics:
There is good news for the captive
Good news for the shamed
There is good news for the one who walked away
There is good news for the doubter
The one religion failed
For the good Lord has come to seek and save

He's our Rescuer
He's our Rescuer
We are free from sin forevermore
Oh, how sweet the sound
Oh, how grace abounds
We will praise the Lord, our Rescuer

He is beauty for the blind man
Riches for poor
He is friendship for the one the world ignores
He is pasture for the weary
Rest for those who strive
Oh, the good Lord is the way, the truth, the life
Yes, the good Lord is the way, the truth, the life

He's our Rescuer
He's our Rescuer
We are free from sin forevermore
Oh, how sweet the sound
Oh, how grace abounds
We will praise the Lord, our Rescuer

So come and be chainless
Come and be fearless
Come to the foot of Calvary
There is redemption
For every affliction
Here at the foot of Calvary

He's our Rescuer
He's our Rescuer
We are free from sin forevermore
Oh, how sweet the sound
Oh, how grace abounds
We will praise the Lord, our Rescuer

Believers may know Bible passages like Romans 5:8 and certainly John 3:16, but we should all continue to be so grateful that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The thought that Jesus laid His life down for us as sinners is so remarkable. Later on in Romans, Paul tells us that in Christ we were made flawless and white as snow, without any blemish by the sacrifice of Jesus. The story of the woman at the well stirs up my soul to think about how excited she was to drop her bucket and go tell everyone in the town to "come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Jesus knows everything about us, and His Spirit is the well of living water. That's a picture of His love for us. He is our Rescuer and our Savior. That's Good News!

God explains love in 1st John 4:19: "We love because He first loved us." God's love was given at an outrageous cost, the life of His only begotten Son. Not only should we love God because He first loved us, but we should also love others unconditionally because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God, our Creator, adores us immensely, and sent Jesus to die for us to show us the definition of love: "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8 (NIV).

Rend Collective has written another great anthem for the Church that reminds us that under our own strength, many obstacles we face will seem impossible, but with God all things are possible. The same goes for salvation. We can't earn Heaven. It's only through complete surrender to Jesus and putting all of our hope in Him that we can we be saved. This song is a great reminder of that biblical truth. I find myself praying and singing along with this amazing song as it expresses deep desires that many people have. As Christians, we all can loudly proclaim: "He's our Rescuer, He's our Rescuer, we are free from sin forevermore, oh, how sweet the sound, oh, how grace abounds, we will praise the Lord, our Rescuer!" Amen to that!

Watch the music video below.