Thursday, September 6, 2007

Stories Behind the songs - Sunday September 9, 2007

Worship quote this week:

Jesus felt, tasted struggled with and learned from the very same kind of pain, disappointments, weaknesses and challenges that you face.
"Hosanna"
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 worship along with Paul Baloche
or here
"Your Grace is Enough"
Click here to listen to how the song was written
Click here to worship along

"Halfway" worship choir with soloist Stephanie Meyer
This great southern gospel song was written and recorded by Hopes Call,
here is there website http://www.hopescall.com/ check out there song "You are Loved" upper right hand corner of their website scroll around on their pop-up player.

"My Life is in You Lord"
Daniel Gardner wrote about the meaning of this song he composed:
This comes down to being our ultimate declaration. We are in Christ; he is in us and works through us. Our true life is in the heavenlies, not here on earth.
The only way we can grow into that understanding is the same way we grow into anything—we have to “think on it,” repeat it to ourselves, speak/sing it aloud, pray it. We have an easy habit of saying and repeating what is true, and having not a clue as to what it really means. Use the declarations in this song, sung again and again, to invite the Holy Spirit to work this understanding of your position in Christ deeply inside of you.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0M0NALW7EM

"Before the Throne of God Above"
“Before the throne of God above” I had heard this song on the radio and was reintroduced to the song when I had the opportunity to visit the Village church in Flower Mound on Palm Sunday evening this year.
I love the verse that says “For God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me”. The 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 worship along:
* Click here to hear the Carolina Crown drum and bugle corps' rendition:

"The Wonderful Cross"
Click here to hear Chris Tomlin tell about how the song came about.
If you haven't watched this moving video from one of the Passion meetings check out part one and part two.

"Break Dividing Walls"
David Ruis is a great song writer. He wrote songs like "Sweet Mercies", "You're worthy of my praise", "We will Dance", "Let your Glory Fall" and this great song based on Psalm 133 known as the Psalm of unity. Here is a paragraph from his testimony:
I was raised in a very conservative religous household and trained classically musically. My musical journey took me through boys' choirs and classical piano and very little more in the church than the classic "hymn sandwich" every Sunday. My theological journey took me through cessasionsim, suits and ties and very little awareness - let alone understanding or application - of what I now know as "worship".
That all began to shift as a young church planter with an encounter with the Lord as the result of colliding with the Vineyard movement of churches in February of 1987. The proverbial paradigm shift propelled me into an intimacy with God that I never even dreamed was possible - a roller coaster of a ride through the gifts of the Holy Spirit and power encounters - to an awareness of the kingdom of God, power that is anchored in compassion and community that has the poor and marginalized at its center.

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