Stories behind the songs - Sunday October 28, 2007

“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.”

C. S. Lewis

"Say So"
Another great song by Israel Houghton click here to read about his ministry with "NEW BREED"
www.newbreedmusic.com/
Click here to listen to Israel in the studio singing "SAY SO"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayuUrynTMy0
Click here to worship along at a worship event the song "SAY SO"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGlVQzUweso&mode=related&search=
Click here to watch more of Israel sharing a new song "If not for Your Grace"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgizH3sIizU&mode=related&search=

"You are so Awesome" Worship Choir with Soloist John Brewer
This dynamic song is from the group "Youthful Praise" click here to read more about J.J. Hairston and the ministry of "Youthful Praise", you can also scroll down on this website and listen to the song
www.gospelflava.com/articles/youthfulpraiseliveaudio.html
Click here to worship along with "Youthful Praise"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTg1mfo_81k
Click here to worship along with the New Life Inspirational Gospel choir
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxVFTPUwXjo

"At Calvary"
Daniel Brink Towner (1850-1919) was an American Gospel music composer and teacher. In 1885, entered full-time evangelistic work and was associated with D. L. Moody, L. W. Munhall, Major D. W. Whittle and others. Music director at Moody Bible Institute from 1893 to 1919. Composed over 2000 hymns tunes, including the music for "Trust and Obey," Anywhere With Jesus," "Saved By the Blood," and "At Calvary."
Click here to read the lyrics of this great hymn
www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/t/atcalvry.htm
click here to listen to a gospel organ version
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8uBu3Ix7Wk
click here to worship along
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYxRPEZSYLo
click here to worship along with Lynda Randle & Jessy Dixon on one of the Gaither videos
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTsREFcTKbE

"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=

Message - 2020 Vision Team and Personnel Reports

"Wherever He leads I'll go " Click here to read the lyrics and listen to the song http://home.fuse.net/rust/130.html

"I love You Lord - Medley"
A remote mobile home gleams faintly in the crisp Autumn sunrise. Within that metal refuge in the high deserts of central Oregon, a young mother is having a quiet time with the Lord. Her toddler is still asleep. Her husband is a full time college student, and the couple is surviving on $400 per month. They have no home church, no friends nearby, and she does not drive. Even the expense of a long distance phone call might leave them without milk or bread in weeks to come. Such is the backdrop of Laurie Klein's classic praise song, "Love You, Lord", written in 1974.
"It was a very hopeless time, a very depressed time," she summarizes. "I felt the poverty of my own life keenly at that point, both emotionally and physically."
"That morning I was so empty," she says, recalling her time with the Lord. "I knew I didn't have anything to offer Him. I asked if He would like to hear me sing . . if He would just give me something He would be in the mood to hear." Klein describes "I Love You, Lord", as a gift from God that emerged spontaneously: "I sang the first half and put the chords with it with no effort," she says.
I love You Lord and I lift my voice To worship You O my soul, rejoice!
Intrigued and moved by these words, she remembers thinking, "maybe I should write that down." She stopped long enough to get a pen. When she came back, the last two phrases came just as easily:
Take joy, my King in what you hear May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear.
Laurie's husband, Bill, recognized the simple beauty of the song and encouraged her to play it for a local pastor and some visiting musicians. Eventually the song surfaced at Jack Hayford's Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California. There Buck and Annie Herring learned the song and included it on Annie's Kids of the Kingdom. But its greatest exposure was on Maranatha! Music's Praise 4 in 1980. Since then, Bill Klein has lost count but estimates the song has been released on 60 or 70 recordings. As of this writing, the most recent recording is a classic rock arrangement on Petra Praise 2: We Need Jesus. Laurie's personal favorite is Phil Keaggy's instrumental on The Wind and the Wheat. "I Love You Lord" has emerged in at least a half-dozen dialects, but the author particularly enjoys a Pidgin English version that starts, "Me like-a You, Papa-God". Pondering the enduring popularity of the classic, she says, I feel like God not only gave me the song, but He kissed it. He has kind of a "Midas touch." The things He touches are golden ... and I think people recognize this. I also think that's why it has translated well into other languages and cultures.

The Kleins, now parents of two grown daughters, live in Dearpark, Washington. Both have served on staff at various churches over the years, but their focus these days is House of Mercy, through which Bill acts as consultant to worship leaders of various denominations. A sampling of their song writing, including a stunning version of "I Love You, Lord", is available on a 1996 independent recording called All My Days.
Now 47 years old, Laurie Klein is more driven by a thirst for intimacy with God than ever. God has placed the phrase, "prepare Me a place" on her heart as a personal theme for this year. "We're called to prepare room for Him," Laurie explains. The heart of a worshiper becomes evident as she speaks. "We must be prepared to meet Him no matter who we're talking to or what we're doing, whether we're worshiping in church or worshiping with all the tasks that make up our day." That, she has come to understand, genuinely makes a "sweet, sweet sound" in God's ear.
Click here to hear an acapella version
www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6QE2k1FepQ
Click here to hear the DaeGu male choir sing the song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHmi3kr-JWY
Click here to hear Bill Gaither and the Homecoming friends sing the song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUbeq90ZsCM