Behind the Praise - Sunday July 20, 2008

BLENDED WORSHIP - 9:30am



“All Hail the Power of Jesus Name”

Some years ago, missionary E. P. Scott went to India. He set out to visit a remote mountain tribe which had never heard the name of Christ. As he neared their land, he was suddenly surrounded by a savage band of warriors, all pointing their spears straight at his heart. Expecting a quick death, the missionary pulled out his violin and began playing and singing in their native language the hymn "All hail the power of Jesus' name." He reached the stanza that reads:


Let every tribe and every tongue
On this terrestrial ball
To him all majesty ascribe
And crown him Lord of all...

The natives lowered their weapons and some were in tears. E. P. Scott spent the rest of his life ministering to these primitive people.The hymn which so effectively moved this Indian tribe is often referred to as the "National Anthem of Christendom" and has been translated into almost every language where there are Christians. The author of the hymn, Edward Perronet was the descendent of a French Huguenot family which fled first to Switzerland and then to England to escape religious persecution. Perronet was a pastor who worked closely with John and Charles Wesley for many years in England's eighteenth- century revival. At that time, Methodists were savagely persecuted. According to John Wesley's diary, Edward did not escape his share of abuse either. "Edward Perronet was thrown down and rolled in mud and mire" at Bolton, he wrote.
Edward was uneasy about preaching in front of John Wesley. Wesley urged him to do so several times. Finally, Wesley forced the issue. He announced that Brother Perronet would speak the following week. A week later, witty Edward mounted the pulpit and declared he would deliver the greatest sermon ever preached. He then read Christ's "Sermon on the Mount" and sat down!


Click here to worship along on the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=itUNSwS4q9E

Click here to hear an acapella arrangement by Point of Grace:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKT0WZM5aI8

Click here to hear an organ arrangement of the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d54CqTpLW9E

Click here to sing along with Avalon:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucF_C7rYe58



“Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble”

Martin Smith is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter of the English Christian rock and worship band Delirious? He is generally considered to be one of the foremost songwriters in modern Christian worship music. Some of the most recognized songs by Delirious? include "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever”, "History Maker", "My Glorious", "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble", "Shout To The North", "Deeper", "Majesty (Here I Am)", and "What A Friend I've Found".

In 1995, Martin was involved in a near-fatal car accident, and during the weeks of his recovery, he decided to become a full-time musician. He wrote the 'King Of Fools' song 'August 30th' based on this experience.

Click here for the story behind the song
www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-197-DidYouFeeltheMountainsTremble-Smith.mp3

Click here to listen to the song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4Q5vVa0q8Q

Click here to sing along:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICRukDH7eKo

Click here to watch Martin Smith:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO_bKR2Wzhk&feature=related



"Come Thou Almighty King"


This familiar hymn is often used as a call to worship. It appeared anonymously in England in about 1757 to commemorate Trinity Sunday. It has been attributed by some to Charles Wesley since it first appeared in a pamphlet published by John Wesley. The first three verses each emphasize one of members of the Godhead. The fourth stanza is a grand affirmation of the mysterious doctrine of the Trinity, that God is one yet three and ever worthy of our love and adoration.


Click here for an organ arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYphS-GmrA0


Click here for another arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiwGgJ1Qa4g



"Give us Clean hands"

Charlie Hall wrote this song as a prayer for his generation in 1994. He said he wanted to be a part of the generation that was sold out to seeking God with their whole hearts. When he wrote the song he sensed his generation huddling and praying this prayer, "Oh God let us be the generation that seeks your face Oh, God of Jacob." The song is based on Psalm 24:3-63 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?Who may stand in his holy place?4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.



Click here to listen to how Charlie Hall wrote this song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hkQS8A8FiY


Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl5zSB3A-Z8



CONTEMPORARY SERVICE 11:00


"Here is our King"

Here is some background on the song written by David Crowder:

''What you are looking for is what is looking.' - St. Francis of Assisi I wrote this song after watching television for two days straight. The day after Christmas, December 26th, 2004, my eyes were fixed to this thing blinking at me from the dark wooden armoire in our living room. I, along with the rest of the world, watched as the most powerful earthquake in 40 years erupted under the Indian Ocean near Sumatra causing giant, deadly waves to crash ashore in nearly a dozen countries, killing tens of thousands. The death toll would eventually settle somewhere near 200,000. This is tremendously hard to take in. Close to 200,000 people, walking around, going about their business, stepping into eternity all together in a matter of hours. We watched story after story unfold knowing that each would end in either rescue or demise and our hearts broke. Our hearts broke and it is still tremendously hard to take in. It is a difficult thing to observe so vivid and complete, the depth of our fall. I mean we know things aren’t right, we know that things aren’t as they were intended. But here is this thing that comes from the middle of the sea to bring upon us devastation and to take from us our fathers and our mothers and to pull from our hands our children and our friends and our minds cannot fit this in. It is the depth of our fall upon us. Even the ground under our feet is not right. The air we breathe is not right. Here though, the hope I have found in Christ miraculously expands. I believe that we are part of a bigger story unfolding. I believe that the rescue of creation has been coming toward us for a long time. I believe that sure, there was a moment that I was found by this rescue and that I am rescued continually, but the even greater thing, the thing that expands in my chest in this moment is that there is more coming! He is coming to set things right. He is coming to set things straight. He is coming and this is tremendously hard to take in, but our hearts swell and this tide of hope grows and after all of this, after this brokenness, after these tears, after this fury, after this tearing that is life...finally, finally...we will lift up our heads...finally...and the clouds will break...and finally...he who is all light and healing... Finally... Finally... Majesty. Here.

''Since the writing of this song I have received a number of emails requesting explanation for the verses of this song. Don’t you just love the English language? The complete thought of the first verse is found in the chorus and therefore the whole could read, “here is our king from wherever spring arrives.” In other words, our king comes to us from the same place springtime does. Whatever the source of spring and newness. He comes from the same place that put this thing in our chests that makes it necessary for us to search for him and the fact that we are compelled to search for him gives a hint as to the goodness of him who we search for. The second verse when read one way is a simple redemption metaphor for spring or newness or surrender. Roses fold up at night and open in the light of morning with the sunrise. When one considers that Christ was also referred to as “the rose of Sharon” it takes on a different redemptive metaphor. The main thing I hoped to do with this songs was redeem the images of this massive wave that we saw. There is the biggest wave ever headed for us. It is coming from the place of love and springtime and it is terrifying.' - David Crowder
Written by David Crowder ©2005 worshiptogether.com Songs / sixsteps Music (ASCAP) Admin by EMI CMG Publishing

Click here to listen to David share about how the song came about:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aea5Mq4sSUA

Click here to worship along with David:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w7t9DyGkqg

Click here to listen to the song online:
www.last.fm/music/David+Crowder+Band/+videos/+1-gImM9CUWXrE

Click here to visit Davids' myspace:
www.myspace.com/davidcrowderband

"Everlasting"

Brenton Brown wrote this song after both he and his wife had being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Brown described their illness in the following excerpt from Christianity today.

Brown: It's called fibromyalgia, a form of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. What defines it are the symptoms, the most obvious ones [being] fatigue. You feel jet-lagged most of the time. There are other symptoms like nausea, muscle pain, muscle aches. There's no known cure. Basically it was just like waking up one day and finding out that I had someone else's body. Very strange. I wasn't thinking as clearly. And over the last three years we've basically had to relearn how to live life with our new bodies. It's been a challenge.
Chronic Fatigue is a little bit like having mono[nucleosis]. You feel very fatigued, very drained. And no matter how much you sleep, you're still going to feel tired. You can never shake off that tired feeling. I just kept going for six months. And then my pastor, the board of our church and the group of doctors that I was seeing all decided, "This is not working. You're not going to be able to force your way through this."
Brenton Brown, born in South Africa, is a Christian songwriter and worship leader. He left South Africa for Oxford, England in his early twenties on a Rhodes Scholarship. While studying politics, philosophy and theology he joined the Vineyard music (UK), serving as worship pastor at the Oxford Vineyard, UK, and eventually as coordinator of the Vineyard (UK) Worship Development Team. His songs, Lord Reign in me, All who are thirsty, Humble King, Hallelujah [Your love is amazing] and Holy were recorded on the popular Vineyard UK projects during this time. He has since left the UK and now lives in Malibu, California with his wife, Jude. Brenton is an artist on the worship label Survivor and in 2006 released his first solo album, Everlasting God with Survivor in the UK and rest of the world, and with Sparrow in the United States and Canada.

Check out Brenton’s ministry here:
www.brentonbrownmusic.com/

Click here to listen to him share about how the song came about
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YePOcs88kqw

Click here to listen to Lincoln Brewsters' arrangement
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP2nz6PG8KM&mode=related&search=

Click here to listen to Brenton Brown & Paul Baloche
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bLWwnVBuF8


"Give us Clean hands"
Charlie Hall wrote this song as a prayer for his generation in 1994. He said he wanted to be a part of the generation that was sold out to seeking God with their whole hearts. When he wrote the song he sensed his generation huddling and praying this prayer, "Oh God let us be the generation that seeks your face Oh, God of Jacob." The song is based on Psalm 24:3-63 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?Who may stand in his holy place?4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

Click here to listen to how Charlie Hall wrote this song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hkQS8A8FiY

Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl5zSB3A-Z8



"More than Life"

Reuben Morgan wrote this worship song. Reuben Morgan is the worship pastor and one of the many worship leaders, songwriters at the Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. He is well known for such songs as "Eagles Wings", "Hear Our Praises", "I Give You My Heart", "My Redeemer Lives" and "Touching Heaven, Changing Earth".

Here is a list of questions asked of Reuben Morgan in an interview and his answers.

Reuben when did you first pick up the guitar?
I started getting lessons from a friend at age 7… And then I can remember so clearly getting my first guitar not too long after that. I worked washing my parents' cars until I had enough money to pay for it!


What are your key musical influences?
I have a musical pallet for such a wide range of styles. Perhaps it was my parents' influence or where I studied. I would say that I have been influenced from Miles Davis to Dire Straits to Bach… the list goes on!


As a pastor at Hillsong Church, what kind of things does your week entail?
My first priority is our church; so week-to-week I lead worship and spend time with people. Apart from that, my time has been freed up to mostly write. I'm not the sort of person who can write on the go so I really value the space and time just to make it all work.


What is the heart of worship?
I would say that Knowing God is the heart of worship—intimacy with Him.

What motivates you to keep going?
I am definitely motivated by my family—my wife Sarah and our son Jones and then all of our incredible family—they are such a blessing! My motivation for doing everything I do though is a desire to see everybody everywhere inspired to worship our God.

Click here to worship along with the Hillsongs worship ministry:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbeIEpr4kGg

Click here to worship along with Reuben Morgan:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYiviL-5n2M