Behind the Praise - Sunday December 27, 2009

"Hark the Herald Angels Sing"

“Hark the herald angels sing” Christmas Carol was written by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley founder of the Methodist church, in 1739. A sombre man, he requested slow and solemn music for his lyrics and thus “Hark the herald angels sing” was sung to a different tune initially. Over a hundred years later Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) composed a cantata in 1840 to commemorate Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. English musician William H. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn’s music to fit the lyrics of “Hark the herald angels sing” already written by Wesley.

Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDPwNPAV6tAg:

Click here see the various arrangements available:
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hark+the+herald+angels+sing&search_type=&aq=f

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote "Christmas Bells" on Christmas Day 1863 in the midst of the American Civil War and the news of his son Charles Appleton Longfellow having suffered wounds as a soldier in the Battle of New Hope Church, VA during the Mine Run Campaign. He had suffered the great loss of his wife two years prior to an accident with fire. His despair in the following years was recorded in his journal.The poem has been set to several tunes. The first tune was set in the 1870s by an English organist, John Baptiste Calkin, to his composition "Waltham". Elvis Presley, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Jimmie Rodgers have recorded this version. Less commonly, the poem has also been set to the 1845 composition "Mainzer" by Joseph Mainzer. Johnny Marks, known for his song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", set Longfellow’s poem to music in the 1950s. Marks' version has been recorded by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, Ed Ames, Kate Smith, Frank Sinatra, Sarah McLachlan, Pedro the Lion, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, The Carpenters, MercyMe, Bing Crosby, and Bette Midler. Marks' composition is now generally accepted as the de facto version and is generally what is used for modern recordings of the song, though Calkin's version is still heard as well. In 1990, John Gorka recorded his arrangement entitled "Christmas Bells", which uses stanzas 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the poem. In 2008, Mark Hall, lead vocalist of Casting Crowns, recorded his own arrangement, which was released on their Christmas album, Peace On Earth.

Click here to listen to the Casting Crowns version:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7670CXvPX0

"Sing, Sing, Sing"

This song was written by Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, Daniel Carson, Travis Nunn and Matt Gilder. Chris shared the following on how the song was written. "This song was written together as a band. Really it’s the only song that we’ve written together like that. Usually I have most of the song written before I bring it to the band, so this one is unique because it came out of us being in the room together. I remember the guys getting the feel of it and it beginning to come together musically. So I just found a corner of the room listening to what they were doing with my headphones and started singing out that first lyric idea of the chorus, “sing, sing, sing.” This song became a big part of our Passion regional events and World Tour. It is crazy to see how immediate this song is with the audience. It’s the most fun I’ve had with a song in a while. I love the energy and the connection this song brings with the audience."

Click here to worship along with Chris Tomlin:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGPN2Z-bgS0

"In the Cross of Christ I Glory"

There is a sto­ry (prob­ab­ly apo­cryph­al) about the in­spir­a­tion for these words. The tra­di­tion is that Bow­ring was sail­ing past the coast of Ma­cao, Chi­na. On the shore were the re­mains of an old, fire gut­ted church. Above the ru­ins, he saw the church’s cross still stand­ing. The ti­tle of this hymn was carved on Bow­ring’s tomb­stone.

"Completely Done"

The old is gone, the new is comeWhat You complete is completely doneWe're heirs with Christ, the victory wonWhat You complete is completely doneThis song was written by Jonathan & Ryan Baird. Jonathan is part of Sovereign Grace Church in Pasadena, California, where his dad, Lynn Baird, is a pastor. Jonathan leads the worship-team ministry, and is the primary worship leader at his church. Jonathan also sings and plays guitar for the band West Coast Revival (WCR) with his brothers Aaron and Ryan. Jonathan married his wife, Nicole, in October 2005. They live in Sierra Madre, California. Ryan is a member of Sovereign Grace Church in Pasadena, California, where he helps lead worship and leads the sound team. He sings and plays keyboard for the band West Coast Revival (WCR), which recently released its first self titled album. WCR plays for Sovereign Grace churches in the western U.S., and occasionally travels to the East Coast as well. Ryan and his wife, Chalene, were married in July of 2005. They live in Pasadena.

Go here to get a free download of the song:
www.sovereigngracemusic.org/albums

Click here for a sample at the Worship God '09 conference:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-4xnWaaWs8




"Before the Throne of God Above"

This song was written by Charitie Lees Smith Bancroft in 1863, but was recently published by Vikki Cook who wrote an alternate melody for it.
You can hear the old version by clicking here. http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/e/beforetg.htm
You’ll recognize the tune as “Sweet hour of Prayer”

Click here to read through the words:
www.inchristalone.org/BeforeTheThrone.html
What a great line in the second verse:
“For God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me”.

Click here to worship along:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_GB_N_79-Q&mode=related&search=





"Here in your Presence"

Jon Egan wrote this song after meditating on the presence of God. He said that as he leads worship for the youth, he sees what a few moments spent in the presence of the Lord can do for people.

Click here to listen to Jon Egan share how he wrote the song, scroll down to the song:
www.theheartofworship.org/stories.shtml

Found in Your hands, fullness of joy
Every fear suddenly wiped away
here in Your presence All of my gains now fade away
Every crown no longer on display,
here in Your presence
Heaven is trembling in awe of Your wonders
The kings and their kingdom are standing amazed
Here in Your presence, we are undone
Here in Your presence, Heaven and Earth become one
Here in Your presence, all things are new
Here in Your presence, everything bows before You
Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchlessin every way
Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way

Click here to worship along with the New Life worship team:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFZyT2fEK3I

Behind the Praise - Sunday December 20, 2009

"Go Tell it on the Mountain"

"Go Tell It on the Mountain" is an African-American spiritual dating back to at least 1865 that has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers. It is considered a Christmas carol because its original lyric celebrates the Nativity: "Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere; go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born."

Like many carols, the precise history of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” is a bit fuzzy. Although generally considered an anonymous work, Studwell believes the piece was written by Frederick Jerome Work (1880-1942), a black composer, teacher and scholar. Work was deeply involved in the collection, arrangement and dissemination of black spirituals, so it is possible, says Studwell, that Work only discovered and preserved the song. However, Studwell’s research has led him to believe that Work actually penned the piece, which was then arranged and disseminated by his nephew John Wesley Work. Studwell places its first publication in the early 1900s, but the piece gained little notice until the 1920s when the Fisk University Singers began performing the song. Even then, it did not make much of a splash.“I looked through hundreds of carol collections and other song books and I could not find it in any collection prior to the 1950s,” says Studwell. About that time the song steadily began to gain in popularity, winning over listeners with energetic beat and its enthusiastic call to action. “Most carols of the 20th century are not so enthusiastic. This is more like some of the older carols, like Joy to the World or Come All Ye Faithful in that regard,” says Studwell. “It shows some real enthusiasm for the Christmas holiday."

Click here to listen to James Taylor sing the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifEUn1AxDYo

Click here to see the various arrangements available:
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=go+tell+it+on+the+mountain+&search_type=&aq=f

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote "Christmas Bells" on Christmas Day 1863 in the midst of the American Civil War and the news of his son Charles Appleton Longfellow having suffered wounds as a soldier in the Battle of New Hope Church, VA during the Mine Run Campaign. He had suffered the great loss of his wife two years prior to an accident with fire. His despair in the following years was recorded in his journal.
The poem has been set to several tunes. The first tune was set in the 1870s by an English organist, John Baptiste Calkin, to his composition "Waltham". Elvis Presley, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Jimmie Rodgers have recorded this version. Less commonly, the poem has also been set to the 1845 composition "Mainzer" by Joseph Mainzer. Johnny Marks, known for his song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", set Longfellow’s poem to music in the 1950s. Marks' version has been recorded by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, Ed Ames, Kate Smith, Frank Sinatra, Sarah McLachlan, Pedro the Lion, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, The Carpenters, MercyMe, Bing Crosby, and Bette Midler. Marks' composition is now generally accepted as the de facto version and is generally what is used for modern recordings of the song, though Calkin's version is still heard as well. In 1990, John Gorka recorded his arrangement entitled "Christmas Bells", which uses stanzas 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the poem. In 2008, Mark Hall, lead vocalist of Casting Crowns, recorded his own arrangement, which was released on their Christmas album, Peace On Earth.

Click here to listen to the Casting Crowns version:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7670CXvPX0

"Good Christian Men Rejoice"


Words: Heinrich Suso (?-1366); Folk­lore has it that Suso, hear­ing an­gels sing these words, joined them in a dance of wor­ship. This song has survived several complex revisions since its anonymous fourteenth-century creation. In 1601, Bartholomaeus Gesius wrote a modern arrangement of the traditional tune, now called "In Dulci Jubilo." Later, Johann Sebastian Bach included Gesius's theme in his Chorale Preludes for the organ. In its next generation, Sir John Stainer made further refinements to the tune under its new title, "Nun singet und seid froh." The Christmas song that we enjoy today is courtesy of Reverend Dr. John Mason Neale, who translated the lyrics into English from German.


Click here to listen to a wonderful choral arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAHe1i27U6c

Click here for an organ arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N-ZAHRfRF8

"Away in a Manger"

Away in a manager is always the first carol that children are taught. Away in a Manger was originally published in 1885. The publication of Away in a Manger was in a Lutheran Sunday school book and this created the misconception that the lyrics of Away in a Manger were actually written by Martin Luther himself. The author is unknown. The music to Away in a Manger was composed by William J. Kirkpatrick in 1895.

Click here to see the various versions available:
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=away+in+a+manger&search_type=&aq=f

Click here to hear celtic arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOJb6uOF05Q

"Untitled Hymn"

This song by Chris Rice was on his recording "Run the earth and watch the sky". What a great name for a recording.

Click here to learn more about Chris
www.christianmusic.com/chrisrice/bio.html

Click here to worship along with the song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=39XD1ImxGWw&mode=related&search=

Click here to listen to worship along with song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_4g8_e16dc&mode=related&search=

"God is With Us"

Lisa Speir will share this reflective song by Casting Crowns. Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhzWypOp-E4&feature=PlayList&p=827530AE83D06DAF&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=8

Behind the Praise - Sunday December 13, 2009

"Joy To The World"

One of our most popular Christmas carols is the result of the efforts of Isaac Watts and Lowell Mason—and, some believe, George Frederick Handel. Watts was a frail, quiet man only five feet tall. Mason was an energetic publisher, choir director, and composer. Handel was a large, robust musical genius. Handel and Watts were contemporaries in London and one imagines they must have appreciated each other's talents. Mason lived 100 years later in Boston.
In 1719 Isaac Watts, already a notable scholar and author, sat down under a tree at the Abney Estate near London and began to compose poetry based on Psalm 98. Watts had begun writing verses as a small child. In his teen years he complained that the songs in church were hard to sing. His father said, "Well, you write some that are better." And so he did. For the next two years, young Isaac wrote a new hymn each week. (He would eventually write more than 600 of them, all based on Scripture.) Today, hymns like "Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed" and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" are hallmarks of the Christian church, and Watts is regarded as "the Father of English Hymnody."In 1741 George Frederick Handel, who was already famous as the composer of several operas and oratorios, decided that he wanted to do a truly great work. After spending time in prayer, he arose from his knees and for 23 days labored almost continuously day and night. The immortal Messiah, now a Christmas tradition, was the fruit of that incessant struggle.A nobleman once praised Handel for the "entertainment" he had furnished in one of his compositions. In no uncertain terms Handel let the nobleman know that his music was composed to make men better, not to entertain them.Almost a century later, Lowell Mason set Watts's poem of "joy" to music. For years it was assumed that Mason used tunes from Handel's Messiah for portions of the arrangement, but the veracity of that claim is now debated among scholars. Listeners can judge for themselves. But this we know: It was Mason who ultimately brought the pieces together to give us "Joy to the world"

Click here to listen to the acapella group Take 6:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=evywpq32Oa0

Click here if you like Michael Bolton:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXY8Vtnrsxc

Click here for the various recordings:
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=joy+to+the+world&search_type=&aq=f

"Down in Bethlehem"

Click here to listen to this song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXyyELHqkII&feature=related

"Hark the Herald Angels Sing"

“Hark the herald angels sing” Christmas Carol was written by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley founder of the Methodist church, in 1739. A sombre man, he requested slow and solemn music for his lyrics and thus “Hark the herald angels sing” was sung to a different tune initially. Over a hundred years later Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) composed a cantata in 1840 to commemorate Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. English musician William H. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn’s music to fit the lyrics of “Hark the herald angels sing” already written by Wesley.

Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDPwNPAV6tAg:

Click here see the various arrangements available: www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hark+the+herald+angels+sing&search_type=&aq=f

"Angels We have Heard on high"

The words of the song are based on a traditional French carol known as Les Anges dans nos Campagnes (literally, The Angels in our Countryside). Its most common English version was translated in 1862 by James Chadwick. It is most commonly sung to the hymn tune "Gloria", as arranged by Edward Shippen Barnes. Its most memorable feature is its chorus: Gloria in Excelsis Deo! (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")

Click here to listen to Josh Groban:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSfhyjKr7pE

Click here for an arrangement by Christina Aguilera:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zlz1NNBsOw


“You are For me”

Click here to visit Kari Jobe’s website:
http://www.karijobe.com/

Click here to hear Kari share about how she wrote the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB4phSOaheM&feature=PlayList&p=E7841C140C8806D7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7
Click here to listen to Kari Jobe sing the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdfKTTeGj2U&feature=fvw

Click here to purchase “You are for me”


"O Holy Night"

"O Holy Night" ("Cantique de Noël") is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877), a wine merchant and poet. Cappeau was asked to write a Christmas poem by a parish priest. It has become a standard modern carol for solo performance with an operatic finish. In the carol, the singer recalls the birth of Jesus. It was translated into English by Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight, editor of Dwight's Journal of Music in 1855, and lyrics also exist in other languages. On 24 December 1906, Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian inventor, broadcast the first AM radio program, which included him playing "O Holy Night" on the violin. The carol therefore appears to have been the first piece of music to be broadcast on radio. It later appeared in an edition of carols by Josiah Armes, published by Oxford in 1936, subsequently increasing its popularity.

Click here to listen to Josh Grobans' arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQWXfHzOKUU

Click here to see the other arrangements available:
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=o+holy+night+&search_type=&aq=f

Behind the Praise - Sunday December 6, 2009

"We Three Kings"


Written by Rev. John Henry Hopkins (1820-1891) in 1857, he wrote both the music and lyrics of this carol. In 1863 the said Christmas carol was published in Rev. Hopkins' Carols, Hymns and Song. "We Three Kings" was written for the General Theological Seminary in New York during their Christmas pageant. Interesting Fact: Aside from being a writer and editor, Hopkins was also a stained glass artist and book illustrator.

We three kings of Orient are Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain

Following yonder star O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright

Westward leading, still proceeding Guide us to thy Perfect Light

Click here for an arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHf1p3C8iVw

Click here for another arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDe3zcTejjQ

"O Come All Ye Faithful"

Also known in Latin as "Adeste Fidelis", this Christmas carol is credited to an English hymnist named John Francis Wade (1711-1786). Written originally in Latin, 'O Come All Ye Faithful', it was penned as a hymn by an Englishman called John Wade. In Latin, it is known as 'Adeste Fideles'. Another Englishman called John Reading composed its music in early 1700s, which was first published in 'Cantus Diversi' in 1751. Rev. Frederick Oakley translated it to English in 1841.

Click here to read more about the history of the song:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adeste_Fideles

Click here to listen to Bianca Ryan sing the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I8XAf4Rwa4

Click here to hear a traditional setting:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZKp4npV47Q&feature=related

Click here for the various recordings of this Carol:
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=o+come+all+ye+faithful&search_type=&aq=f

"Mary did You know"

Mark Lowry is best known as a singer and comedian who spent more than a decade as a regular fixture of Bill Gaither's vocal band. But years from now, when all is said and done, Lowry's most enduring legacy will probably be the beautiful little song that he wrote 18 years ago as a meditation for a Christmas program at his church.
In 1984, the leaders at Lowry's Nashville congregation asked him if he'd be willing to write a musical for Advent. He gladly agreed.Inspiration came as Lowry focused his heart and mind on the wonder of Christmas.
"I tried to picture Mary holding the baby Jesus on the first Christmas morning and wondered what she was thinking about that child," he says. "She knew he was special—the Virgin Birth was her first clue—but could she ever imagine all the things that he would do while he was here?"
Soon, Lowry came up with a series of questions that he would like to ask Mary: "Did she know he would walk on water? Raise the dead? Give sight to the blind?"
Lowry decided to use the questions as a monologue to be recited between the scenes of his musical. But the profundity of those questions lingered in his mind long after the church musical was done.
Six years later, harmonica virtuoso Buddy Greene supplied just the right music and "Mary, Did You Know?" was complete.
Since then, Lowry and Greene's tune has become a modern classic. It has been recorded by more than 30 different artists (besides Lowry), including Kenny Rogers, Kathleen Battle, and Reba McEntire.
"I hear from a lot of people who have sung it in the church choir for Christmas and Easter programs," says Lowry. "When I wrote it, I felt there was something special there, but I never imagined how wide-reaching it would become."

Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfpK6cNPF7Y

"Lord I lift Your Name on High"

Rick Founds wrote this song.It was written in 1989 during Found's morning devotion. Having developed the habit of playing guitar while watching television, he found it very natural to play while reading Scripture on his computer monitor."I'd just reach over and grab my guitar," he recalls. "I'd plunk along with whatever I was reading that day."He remembers marveling one early morning at the love of God who created the world though He knew we would rebel and fall. It amazed Rick that God had a plan to redeem us from the very beginning. As Founds meditated over his cyber-Bible and touched his guitar strings, God's plan struck him as something of a cycle.He thought of the cycle of rain that comes down, waters the earth, evaporates back into the clouds and then returns.Suddenly, the now famous chorus emerged: "You came from heaven to earth to show the way / From the earth to the cross my debt to pay / From the cross to the grave / From the grave to the sky..." Interrupting his own lyric, Founds explains, "The response to grasping even a little bit of that knowledge is praise, and thanksgiving and gratitude!" When he completes the line, 'Lord, I Lift Your Name on High,' a moment of silent awe follows.

Click here to read more about this Carol:
www.ccli.com/WorshipResources/SongStories.cfm?itemID=11

Click here to worship along with Rick Founds:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBezK_v_FqY

Click here to worship along with the group Petra:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cx5YmS7GXQ&feature=related

Click here to worship along with some great images:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OF5iaFNE7Q


“You are For me”

Click here to visit Kari Jobe’s website:
http://www.karijobe.com/

Click here to hear Kari share about how she wrote the song:
www.youtube.com/watchv=mB4phSOaheM&feature=PlayList&p=E7841C140C8806D7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7
Click here to listen to Kari Jobe sing the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdfKTTeGj2U&feature=fvw

Click here to purchase “You are for me”




"Tell me the Story of Jesus"

This great hymn was written by Fanny Crosby, here is some short information on her testimony:

The story of Fanny Crosby is one of sorrow, yet of the deepest love. At the age of six weeks old, Fanny developed an eye infection. The family physician was unavailable so another physician was called. He applied hot mustard poultices to the baby’s eyes. This caused severe burns to Fanny’s eyes and she was permanently blind from then on.Fanny never felt bitter but instead grew into a young woman who “saw” God in everything around her and in every circumstance that life handed to her. Although she was physically blind, Fanny had the keenest of spiritual sight…which is reflected in her 9,000 plus hymns. Her love for God and her eagerness to share with others what Christ had done for them brought countless numbers to Christ.


Click here to hear a gaither video of the song great harmony:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cclh18f3Fc4

Click here to hear a great trio sing the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JezvAf3PGfU

"The First Noel"

The word Nowell comes from the French word Noël meaning "Christmas", from the Latin word natalis ("birth"). It may also be from the Gaulish words "noio" or "neu" meaning "new" and "helle" meaning "light" referring to the winter solstice when sunlight begins overtaking darkness.


Click here to read more about the song:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_No%C3%ABl#Animaniacs_parody

Click here to listen to Clay Aiken sing the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJhlB-CzCsc

Click here to hear Helmut Lotti sing the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=We4xRHMuCNg&feature=related**

Click here for an interesting arrangement - one person, two guitars:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cyWiw3cSOI



“Crown Him with Many Crowns”

This worshipful text is the combined effort of two distinguished Anglican clergymen, each of whom desired to write a hymn of exaltation to our suffering but now victorious Lord.
Matthew Bridges' version first appeared in 1851 with six stanzas. Twenty-three years later Godfrey Thring wrote six additional stanzas, which appeared in his collection Hymns and Sacred Lyrics. The hymn's present forrn includes stanzas one, two, and four by Bridges and the third verse by Thring.
Each crown in this hymn text exalts Christ for some specific aspect of His person or ministry—
(1) Stanza one for His eternal Kingship;
(2) stanza two for His love demonstrated in redemptive suffering; (
(3) stanza three for His victorious resurrection and ascension, and
(4) stanza four as a member of the Triune Godhead ever worthy of worship and praise.
The tune, Diadernata (the Greek word for crowns), was composed especially for this text by George Elvey, a noted organist at St. George's Chapel in Windsor, England, where British royalty often attend.
Click here to read more about this hymn:
http://songsandhymns.org/hymns/detail/crown-him-with-many-crowns

Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdK4lzg8gsU

Click here for another arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWCEFKsZqLY

I'M THANKFUL

"More than anything, I’m thankful for Jesus. I could not make it through the day if I didn’t have Him. He lavishly gives His love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, peace, purpose, provision, patience and hope, just to name a few! Jesus is the only thing in life that really matters."

Deborah Reavis

I am thankful for the opportunity to teach and learn from all the terrific GAs. The blessings I have received for 8 wonderful years are far too many to count. Girls, Moms and Dads, You are the best. Thank you God for choosing me for this task.

Kathy Fairchild

BEHIND THE PRAISE - Sunday November 29, 2009

"Hosanna"

Paul Baloche wrote this with Brenton Brown to be sung on Palm Sunday. Contemplating that sense of expectancy led Paul to start with the phrase “Praise is rising”. Paul said there is that same sense of expectancy when God’s people gather to worship that was felt along the road in Jerusalem when the people crowded the streets to get a glimpse of Jesus.
Ever wonder what Hosanna really means? Hosanna is Hebrew for "Save now" from Psalm 118. It is an intensified imperative, a cry, addressed to God, particularly used in the Feast of Tabernacles, when prayers for rain were offered. In the New Testament the crowd shouted it when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. It is used as an exclamation in Christian worship.

Click here to listen to Paul share how he wrote the song:
www.theheartofworship.org/stories.shtml

Click here to worship along with Paul Baloche
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TIg2QOzPpg

or here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BZoDH2H1Ls

"In the House of the Lord"

This song was composed by Laird Sillimon, check out his ministry here:
www.sillimonsound.com/

Check out Laird's myspace here:
www.myspace.com/lscovenant

Click here for an arrangement of this powerful worship song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=anFH8nPscfk

"Shout to the North"

Men of faith rise up and sing Of the great and glorious king
You are strong when you feel weak In your brokenness complete

Shout to the north and the southSing to the east and the west
Jesus is saviour to all Lord of heaven and earth

Rise up women of the truth Stand and sing to broken hearts
Who can know the healing powerOf our awesome king of love

We've been through fire.We've been through rain
We've been refined by thepower of his name
We've fallen deeper in love with you You've burned the truth on our lips

Rise up church with broken wings Fill this place with songs again
Of our God who regins on high By his grace again we'll fly.

Click here to sing through the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqsdnwli0Qo

“I Stand Amazed in the Presence"

This hymn was written by Charles Gabriel. Growing up on an Io­wa farm, Ga­bri­el taught him­self to play the fam­i­ly’s reed or­gan. He be­gan teach­ing in sing­ing schools by age 16, and be­came well known as a teach­er and com­pos­er. He served as mu­sic di­rect­or at Grace Meth­od­ist Epis­co­pal Church, San Fran­cis­co, Cal­i­for­nia (1890-2), then moved to Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois. In 1912 he be­gan work­ing with Hom­er Ro­de­heav­er’s pub­lish­ing com­pa­ny. His ed­it­ed some 43 song books, 7 men’s chor­us books, 19 an­them col­lect­ions, and 23 can­ta­tas.

I stand amazed in the presence Of Jesus the Nazarene
And I wonder how He could love me, A sinner condemned, unclean.

How marvelous, how wonderful And my song shall ever be.
How marvelous, how wonderful Is my Savior's love for me.

For me it was in the garden He prayed, "Not my will, but thine"
He had no tears for His own griefs, But sweat drops of blood for mine.

He took my sins and my sorrows, He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calv'ry, And suffered and died alone.

When with the ransomed in glory His face I at last shall see,
'Twill be my joy thro' the ages, To sing of His love for me.

Click here for an arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjCoX4tRoT8

Click here for another arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkFOtaO8B9c&feature=related

“You are For me”

Click here to visit Kari Jobe’s website:
www.karijobe.com/

Click here to hear Kari share about how she wrote the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB4phSOaheM&feature=PlayList&p=E7841C140C8806D7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7
Click here to listen to Kari Jobe sing the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdfKTTeGj2U&feature=fvw

Click here to purchase Kari's version:


"Jesus Paid it All"

The following is from Alex Nifong who wrote the additional chorus:
I have an old hymnal that I frequently play through sometimes during my private times alone with the Lord. I was playing through that song one day in Jan of 05 and I just started praying and singing out the phrase O praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead. It was as simple as that. Just a prayer that came right out of my heart. This is a new arrangement of the old hymn, based on the recording from the Passion album "Everything glorious". It adds a new line "O praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead".

Check out the composer of the tag on his website
www.alexnifong.com/

Here’s a story about the song:

The words were written by Elvina M. Hall and the music by John T. Grape on New Year’s night, 1886, some missionaries were holding open-air services in order to attract passers-by to a near-by mission, where meetings were to be held later. "All to Christ I owe" was sung, and after a gentleman had given a short address he hastened away to the mission. He soon heard footsteps close behind him and a young woman caught up with him and said: "I heard you addressing the open-air meeting just now; do you think, sir, that Jesus could save a sinner like me?"The gentleman replied that there was no doubt about that, if she was anxious to be saved. She told him that she was a servant girl, and had left her place that morning after a disagreement with her mistress. As she had been wandering about the streets in the dark, wondering where she was to spend the night, the sweet melodies of this hymn had attracted her, and she drew near and listened attentively. As the different verses were being sung, she felt that the words surely had something to do with her. Through the whole service she seemed to hear what met her oppressed soul’s need at that moment. God’s Spirit had showed her what a poor, sinful and wretched creature she was, and had led her to ask what she must do. On hearing her experience, the gentleman took her back to the mission and left her with the ladies in charge. The young, wayward woman was brought to Christ that night. A situation was secured for her in a minister’s family. There she became ill and had to be taken to a hospital. She rapidly failed and it became evident that she would not be long on earth. One day the gentleman whom she had met on New Year’s night was visiting her in the ward. After quoting a few suitable verses of Scripture, he repeated her favorite hymn, "All to Christ I owe"…and she seemed overwhelmed with the thought of coming to glory…Two hours afterward she passed away.

Click here to worship along
www.youtube.com/watch?v=onxhvivQYfI

Click here to worship along with a younger generation led by Kristian Stanfill:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-OOjfaBGnA&mode=related&search=

You can go here to Kristians' myspace and click on the song just to listen
www.myspace.com/kristianstanfill

WOW - here it is in Spanish
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRRBtWP_buA