Behind the Praise - Sunday February 7, 2010

"Counting on God"
Check out this song by the New Life Worship team:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RTR5EYnit4

"Keep on making a Way"
Check out the Worship Choir song for Sunday:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H49VDYKP-jA&feature=related

"The Lord Reigns"

Here is Klaus' testimony in his own words:

There are moments in each person’s life that shape us and cause us to change our course. One such moment in my life happened in the spring of 2003 at an “Encounter” event in Mexico. I attended the conference to help with worship and ended up with an encounter that would change my life. The word I received that weekend from Lindell was that I had not been forgotten, the Lord had need of me in this hour, and that a fountain for the nations was about to open up. Soon after, I received an invitation to be the Worship Leader at Christ For The Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas. From the fall of 2003 through the spring of 2005 I had the privilege of entering into the presence each morning with about 1000 students who were hungry to see God move in their life. That season also opened up the opportunity to produce two CFNI Worship projects,"Glorious" and "Overtaken". I was born in Germany, but by the time I was ten, my family ended up in Canada after several years in Chicago and Michigan. At the age of five I began taking piano lessons and continued training in classical and jazz until I was about 18. I remember hearing Keith Green for the first time and being captivated by the sound of his heart. A lot of other influences weighed in to shape my musical mindset. In 1984 I left Canada and moved to Dallas, Texas to attend Christ For The Nations, Institute. Soon after graduating, I married Julie, who is an amazing woman and my best friend. We have three children, Candace, 11, Aaron Judah, 2, and Olivia Grace, born June 20th of last year.After a number of years in music ministry in Plano, Texas, we felt a season of change coming into our lives. In 1995 I left the church where I was leading Worship and began getting involved with real estate and remodeling homes. Through the years I have continued traveling and Leading Worship while building custom homes in McKinney, Texas. In the spring of 2005 I left Christ For The Nations and started Pure Worship Ministries. We are producing Worship that I believe, touches the heart of God and ministers to His people. The best is yet to come.

Click here to learn more about Klaus Kuehn:
http://www.klausmusic.com/

Click here to listen online:
www.imeem.com/atst/music/c1gewWR1/klaus_kuehn_the_lord_reigns/

Click here to worship along with Klaus:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaWrJtY4fYY&feature=related

"Blessed Assurance"

The story behind the writing of "Blessed assurance" is simple, yet interesting. One day Miss Crosby was in the home of her friend Mrs. Joseph F. Knapp. In the Knapp home was installed what was believed to be the largest pipe organ ever placed in a private dwelling. However, on this particular day Mrs. Knapp called her guest over to the piano to listen to a new melody she had just composed. After playing the tune a few times she asked, 'What do you think the tune says?' "Blessed assurance Jesus is mine", answered Fanny Crosby, and then, drawing from her vast storehouse of Scripture knowledge, continued with “Oh what a foretaste of glory divine Heir of salvation, purchase of God Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. In a very short time a new sacred song was born with words by Fanny Crosby and music by Mrs. J. F. Knapp. Although written as far back as 1873 Blessed Assurance still remains a firm favorite with Christians everywhere.

Click here to read more about Fanny Crosby
www.sermonaudio.com/hymn_details.asp?PID=blessedassurance#history

Click here for an arrangement by the Isaacs:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE7AGB5nXTs&feature=related

Click here to worship along with Randy Travis:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fon84ecsAbI&feature=related

"Still"

… the challenge of the Church is to keep worship accessible to all people - Rueben MorganRueben wrote the song "Still" as a reminder to "be still and know that I am God". Reuben has a passion to see the church and the world inspired to worship God. A worship pastor on the Hillsong church leadership team, Reuben works alongside Darlene Zschech to create an atmosphere of praise and worship that draws people into God’s presence and helps soften hearts to Jesus’ salvation message. Reuben is an integral leader of the Hillsong church worship team, teaching often at the Worship and Creative Arts program. Leading worship on a weekly basis at
Hillsong church, Reuben was the youth Music Pastor who helped to establish ‘Hillsong United’- currently one of the most sought after youth praise and worship bands having appeared at Creation, Edmonton and Soul Survivor in 2003. He was one of the major producers on four of the United albums including Everyday, Best Friend, King Of Majesty and To The Ends Of The Earth. With a congregation of over 15,000 people, Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia is potentially the nations largest local church with a TV program that reaches over 125 different
countries across the globe. Hillsong has been instrumental in

Click here to worship along with the Hillsong version
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk8horRi3_E

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

“Wonderful Grace of Jesus”

"Wonderful Grace of Jesus"—the very title proclaims from the outset and at the beginning of each stanza that this hymn by Haldor Lillenas is a hymn of grace. First introduced in 1918, this song has become a favorite across denominational lines in the Church today. Its upbeat, bouncy meter and somewhat unusual refrain, which splits into two parts, with the melody alternating between the bass/tenor and alto/soprano parts, endear the tune to many. However, as is often the case, the strong doctrinal message carried by the words of the hymn are often obscured in the enthusiasm for the music. In fact, the author himself, in his autobiography, cautions against distorting the words of the hymn by performing it at too rapid a tempo. Haldor Lillenas was born in Norway in 1855, but his family emigrated to America when he was a young child.2 He was trained at Deets Pacific Bible College in Los Angeles, and became a pastor in the Church of the Nazarene. He received his musical training through personal study and correspondence courses. Eventually, Lillenas would obtain more renown through his musical endeavors than through his pastoral ministry. In 1925, while pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene in Indianapolis, he founded the Lillenas Publishing Company, which was later purchased by the Nazarene Publishing House, and became its music division. Over his lifetime Lillenas wrote more than 4,000 hymn texts and tunes, many of which are still in use today both by the Nazarene and by other denominations. While at first glance "Wonderful Grace of Jesus" may seem to be simply a general song of praise to God for His grace, several of its phrases make it clear that the author understands not just the term but the substance of the grace of God. In the first stanza and the chorus, the surpassing nature of God’s grace is set forth with the phrases "greater than all my sin" and "Broader than the scope of my transgressions, greater far than all my sin and shame" (Rom 5:20). It is grace, Lillenas proclaims, that takes away the burden of sin and liberates the captive soul. In the second stanza, Lillenas demonstrates his understanding of the extent of God’s grace. Not covering just a favored few, the grace of God reaches to "all the lost." People may choose to reject grace, but God extends the offer of salvation freely to all (Titus 2:11). Also in this stanza, and again in the chorus, the sufficiency of grace is described. Lillenas says he has been "saved to the uttermost" by an "all-sufficient grace." Lillenas’s view of salvation by grace is not one of meeting God halfway, with both parties contributing to the transaction (Titus 3:5; Eph 2:8). His words here indicate an understanding that when Christ completed His work on the cross, salvation was finished (John 19:30), leaving nothing for man to do but accept the gift of grace and be completely saved. The third stanza touches on another hallmark of the doctrine of grace—that regardless of the magnitude of one’s sin, God’s grace is available and is sufficient for salvation even to "the most defiled." This is reminiscent of Fanny Crosby’s words in "To God be the Glory"3 when she wrote "The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives." The words of this third stanza may strike some as inconsistent with Lillenas’s Nazarene theology. While members of GES generally recognize that ultimate sanctification will occur only in the presence of the Lord in Heaven, Nazarene theology teaches a doctrine of "entire sanctification," in which the believer can and should obtain complete sanctification in this life.4 Connected to this doctrine is the Nazarene teaching that apostasy in the life of a believer can result in the loss of salvation. Thus, for the Nazarene, there is no true doctrine of eternal security, as promulgated by GES. This makes Lillenas’s words in the third stanza even more interesting, when he writes "Purchasing peace and heaven for all eternity," and even in the second stanza where he tells us that we have been "saved to the uttermost" (italics added). While these words may have meant something quite different to Lillenas, they seem equally applicable to our understanding of God’s grace in salvation, sanctification, and security.
"Wonderful Grace of Jesus" combines doctrinal truth with a buoyant melody and serves as a good vehicle for teaching the doctrine of grace. It touches on the availability, sufficiency, and efficacy of the salvation offered by grace through faith in Christ, and so carries an appropriate message for believer and unbeliever alike. Though we should be aware that Lillenas’s own theology may not line up completely with that of most GES readers , his words do carry the Gospel of grace, making this hymn worthy of the category "Hymn of Grace."

Click here for an arrangement by the Cathedrals:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKS5MgytW54

Click here for an orchestral arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiI45LwEgak