Behind the Praise - Sunday June 6, 2010

BLENDED 9:30AM

“Mighty is the Power of the Cross”

This song was written by Chris Tomlin & Jesse Reeves. Chris was stirred by the phrase "What can take a dying man and bring him back to life again". Chris and Jesse were amazed by the mystery of the cross, as it is foolishness to those who are perishing.

What can take a dying man And raise him up to life again?
What can heal the wounded soul? What can make us white as snow?
What can fill the emptiness?What can mend our brokenness?
Brokenness?Chorus:Mighty, awesome, wonderful Is the Holy cross.
Where the Lamb lay down His lifeTo lift us from the fall.
Mighty is the power of the cross.

Click here to hear more about how this song on the cross was written:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gDVwQ_Oyhc

Click here for a moving visual portrayal of the cross:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkO-D0fatRQ&feature=related

“The Wonderful Cross”

ISAAC WATTS & CHRIS TOMLIN

The original song was written by Isaac Watts, the new chorus was written by Chris Tomlin. Isaac was born in 1674 and Chris was born in 1972. Even though they are separated by three hundred years, there is no separation between their passion and commitment to leading God's people in worship. WOW! The past meets the present.

Click here to hear Chris Tomlin talk about how this new arrangement came about. www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-306-TheWonderfulCross-Tomlin.mp3

Click here to learn more about Chris Tomlin
www.christomlin.com/

You can listen to more of Chris Tomlins' music on his myspace website.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=94631118

Isaac Watts (July 17, 1674 – November 25, 1748) is recognized as the "Father of English Hymnody", as he was the first prolific and popular English hymnwriter, credited with some 750 hymns. Many of his hymns remain in active use today and have been translated into many languages.

Click here to read more about Isaac Watts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Watts

This is an interesting read on Isaac Watts.
www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/w/a/t/watts_i.htm

Isaac is best known for his emphasizing the role of music in worship, where the congregation actually began to sing with the choir. Watts became the congregation's pastor in 1702. Just five feet tall, he was an unprepossessing figure in the pulpit. Health problems continued to plague him, and an assistant had to be appointed to fill in for him after a severe bout with illness in 1703. Despite these problems, Watts was a powerful preacher. The Mark Lane congregation outgrew its quarters and twice had to move to larger facilities, and Watts' sermons began to be collected and printed. Part of his success was due to his emphasis on the role of music in worship. A minister, he felt, should not only write sermons but should seek to involve his congregation in worship through music.

“How Great Thou Art”

The history of the hymn How Great Thou Art begins with Mr. Carl Gustaf Boberg (1859-1940). He was a Swedish pastor, editor, and member of the Swedish parliament. Mr. Boberg was enjoying a nice walk when a thunderstorm suddenly appeared out of no where. A severe wind began to blow. After the storm was over, Mr. Boberg looked out over the clear bay. He then heard a church bell in the distance. And the words to How Great Thou Art begin to form in his heart -- O Lord, my God, When I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands hath made. . . Can you imagine what Boberg felt as he formed these words? There was such calmness after the fierce storm he could only utter those words of peace. This poem, titled O Store Gud (O Great God) was published in 1891 in Witness of the Truth, the weekly newspaper that Boberg edited. It was later translated in German. In 1927, it was published in a Russian version of the German text.

How Great Thou Art was sung by George Beverly Shea at the London Crusade of the Billy Graham evangelistic team in 1954. He later sang this song over 100 times during a revival in New York at a Billy Graham Crusade. This caused the hymn to receive new attention in Sweden and America and be published in several songbooks. Today millions across the world continue to sing this beautiful song. Giving God all praise, glory, and honor for who He is -- the Creator of this universe.

Click here to see the different arrangements available from Elvis Presley, Alan Jackson, The Grand Ole Opera Sandy Patti, Crystal Lewis, & David Phelps.
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+great+thou+art+&search_type=

“Nothing but the Blood”

Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would write these words, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." (Romans 3:25) The emphasis of this verse is on the shed blood that satisfies or propitiates our sin debt. Another way of saying the same thing is, "What can wash away our sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus." More than likely it was this verse or one like it, dealing with the subject of blood, which caused Pastor Robert Lowry to write a hymn.
Born in Philadelphia, on March 12, 1826, young Robert accepted Christ as his personal Savior at the age of 17 and later graduated from Bucknell University with high scholastic honors. In the 73 years of his life here on earth, he pastored churches in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York City and Brooklyn. Along with his preaching, Dr. Lowry also had the gift of music in the writing of hymns. When asked about his method for writing songs, he would answer by saying:
I have no set method. Sometimes, the music comes and the words follow…. I watch my moods, and when anything strikes me, whether words or music, no matter where I am, at home or on the street, I jot it down…. My brain is sort of a spinning machine, for there is music running through it all the time. The tunes of nearly all the hymns I have written have been completed on paper, before I tried them on the organ. Frequently, the words of the hymn and the music have been written at the same time.
He supplied the music for such familiar hymns as We’re Marching to Zion, Savior, Thy Dying Love, Where Is my Wandering Boy Tonight, I Need Thee Every Hour and Fanny Crosby’s song, All the Way my Savior Leads Me. The words and music would come together in 1864 to produce Shall We Gather at the River. Then, in the Easter season of 1874, Christ Arose would flow from his pen and his heart. Finally, in 1876, Pastor Lowry would give us the answer to our sin debt in his song, Nothing but the Blood.
Down through the ages, man has tried to work off his sin debt in good works and religion—only to fail. The Bible says, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22) Robert Lowry understood this very well:

Oh! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Click here to sing along with the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxDHamIhF7o

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