First Baptist Church of Euless – BEHIND THE PRAISE
Worship Songs
October 11th, 2009
“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 nowhere. 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, and David Phelps.
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+great+thou+art+&search_type=
Click here to purchase Carrie Underwood’s version:
"You Are Good"
Nearly Disposed - Israel Houghton's Testimony
"My mother became pregnant at the age of 17 in Waterloo, Iowa. You can imagine how this is shaping up. She was given the choice of a back-alley abortion or being disowned by her family. Thank God she chose the latter. Ultimately, she was disowned, abandoned by my biological father, and ended up in San Diego, California. Picture this. It was 1971 and my mother was 8 months pregnant, all alone, thousands of miles from home, and forced to enter reality unprepared. Pretty bleak. One day while walking down the street, a lady pulled up in her Volkswagen Bug, got out, and respectfully yet boldly, began to share the Gospel with her. Words of life and hope began to overtake the words of rejection and abandonment she had grown accustomed to. There on a street corner, she ended up on her knees and cried out to God-committing her life to Jesus Christ. The lady gave her a bible and that's how I got my name. My mother started reading at page one and well, you know-you have a bible, my name's on every page!
I'm often asked by skeptics or the stoic, why I'm as passionate about worshiping God as I am. The answer is simple for me. In this age of disposable relationships, I could have easily become a statistic and at best, a distant memory of a youthful mistake. Instead, a Sovereign God rescued my mother and me and gave us hope, a future, and a testimony of the providence of God. The very least I can do is enter into His gates with fresh thanksgiving, His courts with a passionate praise, and eventually bow before His throne in intimate worship. As far as leading worship goes (which is my passion and calling), I now realize that there have been demands put on me from every part of my experience since day one - culturally, emotionally, musically, and more. So things tend to sound cross-cultural, cross-denominational, and cross-generational. I like to call it, "The Sound of New Breed Worship." I tend to lead from an internal platform founded in Psalm 124:2, "If it had not been for the Lord who was on my side"....where in the world would I be? In an age of disposable relationships, maybe we should be asking ourselves that question a lot more often. I am confident that we would worship with far more conviction, intensity, and overwhelmed gratitude if we did. It is my delight to encourage you today."
Israel leads a worship band called New Breed - here's their website. You can listen to portions of the songs they sing, including "You Are Good":
www.newbreedmusic.com/
Click here to learn more about Israel Houghton:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Houghton
Click here to worship along with Israel:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAGZ8HmiWCM
Click here to see Israel singing "You Are Good" in concert:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCpy1Bg255A&feature=related
Click here to purchase “You Are Good”:
“Open the Eyes of My Heart”
Dove-Award winner Paul Baloche believes the best worship songs spring from the act of worship itself. Case in point: "Open the Eyes of My Heart," birthed during prayer time at Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, Texas, where he has served as worship pastor for more than 15 years.
Several years earlier Baloche heard a pastor pray, "Open the eyes of our hearts so that we can understand Your Word." The phrase stuck, inspiring Baloche to search the Scriptures—primarily Ephesians 1:18 and stories of biblical heroes who had seen the Lord in His glory.
Then one morning Baloche was lightly strumming his guitar as men and women came to the altar during a revival at his church. "The music had gone on for hours, and I had played everything I knew," he remembers. Aloud, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, we ask You to come and touch our hearts." At that moment "the phrase popped into my mind: 'Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord. We want to see You.'"
"It felt right—a sincere prayer," he says. "I sang the phrase a few times and people started singing with me. I don't recall how the rest came about. I was just remembering when Isaiah saw the Lord, and thought, Lord, to see You high and lifted up. It's shining so bright, Lord. Shining in the light of Your glory."
Later that week, Baloche polished the idea into a simple prayer song. "I'd much rather stumble upon a song idea in the midst of worship or in the midst of prayer," he says, "because it rings more true than sitting in a room trying to come up with clever lyrics."
Baloche receives numerous e-mails from Christians sharing the impact the song has had in their lives. His voice cracks as he tells the story of a family that had gathered around the deathbed of a loved one who had asked them to sing "Open the Eyes of My Heart" together as his last prayer.
The song has been recorded many times and in many languages. According to Baloche, some of the most exciting moments on his recent world tour occurred in Sweden and Germany when he sang the song and the audience sang it back to him in their native language.
"It was beautiful," he says. "I feel extremely grateful to be part of a song that helps people connect with God."
Click here to listen to the song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ3tn2nJrDo
Click here for another arrangement:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wutmEjdbedE
Click here to purchase Paul’s version:
"Friend of God"
Israel Houghton serves as one of the worship pastors for Lakewood Church in Houston. Here is a portion of his amazing story:
"I really should have been one of those abortion statistics you read about. My mother became pregnant with me when she was 17. My mother's white and my biological father's black. Her family wasn't supportive of their relationship and gave her the choice to have a back-alley abortion or to be disowned. I'm here because of the decision she made-and because of her conversion shortly after that. So when I lead worship, I'm crazy. I realize how fortunate I am to be called by God and to be protected, to be covered by him. I'm incredibly grateful.
I grew up in a fairly legalistic home. My parents loved God, and they did the very best they could with what they knew. They came from a very discipleship-oriented, fairly heavy-handed way of doing kingdom work. So I would have more easily said, "I am afraid of God" than "I am a friend of God." The view I had of God was dysfunctional, almost like he was looking for opportunities to punish me. That was more what I caught than what was taught.
But the more I said "I am a friend of God," the more that old, condemning view was purged from my life. I gained a healing sense of God saying, "I want to know you."
Here is a devotional thought on the song:
www.gospelflava.com/articles/songinword-friendofgod.html
Here is an interview with Israel Houghton that gives great insight into Israel’s walk with the Lord: www.cbn.com/700club/guests/interviews/israel_houghton_041205.aspx
Click here to listen to the song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty0SO7IvtXM
Click here to purchase the Chris Tomlin and Israel Houghton version:
“Shout to the Lord”
Darlene Zschech is the worship pastor of Hillsong Church, in Sydney, Australia (an Assemblies of God church). As worship pastor, she oversees the Worship and Creative Arts Department at Hillsong Church at the Hills and City congregations. Darlene leads worship most weeks for the Hillsong Television program (the official website says that the program reaches 125 countries around the globe). Hillsong made global headlines when their 2004 live CD release, For All You've Done reached number one in the Australian secular music charts.
Zschech was a child star of an Australian television series titled "Happy Go 'Round". She was traumatized at 13 when her parents divorced and a custody battle ensued. At 14, Zschech suffered from bulimia. A year later, as a young adult, she sang jingles for a number of international companies including McDonald's, KFC and Diet Coke.
Darlene wrote the song during a difficult time in her life. She slipped away to her study one evening and began to meditate on Psalm 96. Twenty minutes later she had the song completed. As a timid person she reluctantly approached her worship pastor about sharing with him the song. She was so embarrassed that he might not like it that as she fumbled her way through the song she kept saying “now you can change anything you want.” She finally was able to finish the song when her worship pastor stood with his back toward her. The first time the congregation sang the song it just took off, people stood and later commented that Darlene had written the song that expressed what people had always wanted to say but didn’t have the words to.
Currently, she and husband Mark Zschech have three daughters, Amy, Chloe, and Zoe Jewel. Zschech's best known song is "Shout to the Lord", sung by an estimated 25–30 million churchgoers every week. Darlene composed the praise anthem (based on Psalm 96) at the time that she was feeling discouraged. "I felt I could either scream and pull my hair out — or praise God" she said. This song is the title track for the first live album co-produced with Integrity Music featuring Darlene as a prominent female worship leader. Shout to the Lord was nominated as 'Album of the Year' for the 1997 Dove Awards and 'Song of the Year' for the 1998 Dove Awards. It has been recorded on over 20 different albums. In 2000, Darlene received a Dove Award nomination for 'Songwriter of the Year' and has received the 'International Award' from GMA (Gospel Music Association, USA).
In 2003, Zschech released her debut solo album entitled Kiss of Heaven. This was followed by her 2005 album, Change Your World.
In addition to writing songs, Zschech has written two books: Extravagant Worship (2001) and The Kiss of Heaven (2003).
Darlene Zschech and her husband Mark are executive directors of Mercy Ministries, which runs a residential program to help young women struggling with eating disorders, unplanned pregnancy and other life controlling disorders.
Click here to learn more about Darlene Zschech:
http://www.darlenezschech.com/
Click here to listen to Darlene share how she wrote the song:
www.theheartofworship.org/stories.shtml
Click here to visit Darlene’s myspace:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=32111098
Click here for the many recordings of “Shout to the Lord” - listed first is the recording on American Idol: Gives Back:
www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shout+to+the+lord+&search_type=
=
Click here to purchase "Shout to the Lord":
“A New Hallelujah”
This powerful song of praise was written by Michael W. Smith. Michael Whitaker Smith was born October 7, 1957 to Paul and Barbara Smith in Kenova, West Virginia. A sister named Kim would follow. Michael was a typical boy - active in baseball, his family's church activities, and playing piano. But in not-so-typical fashion, he wrote his first song at age five. At the age of ten, he made a decision to give his life to Christ. He dreamed of playing professional baseball.
Michael attended college at Marshall University in West Virginia but after one semester dropped out to move to Nashville and pursue a career in music. (side note trivia: In 1992, Michael received an honorary Doctorate of Music degree from Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia.)
The years 1979-1981 are best written by Michael himself in his book It's Time To Be Bold. From chapter 1, we read:
While playing keyboards for the group Higher Ground, I signed my first songwriting contract with Paragon/Benson Publishing Company. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I was knocking down $200 a week to do something that I loved. Writing songs for a living meant that I didn't have to wait tables anymore, or work at Coca-Cola, or plant shrubs with a landscaping company.
I thought my life had peaked and God didn't have to do anything else for me. I wasn't looking for a record deal, a higher salary, or even a girlfriend - and especially not a wife. Writing music, I was as content as I'd ever been, and I labored at it sixteen hours a day. Then one afternoon while I was working in my office, Deborah Kay Davis walked by.
I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. When she passed by, it was all over for me. I was blown away. Totally head over heels in love. I frantically picked up the phone and called my mother in West Virginia.
"Mom, I can't believe it. You're not going to believe this, Mom. I just saw the girl I'm going to marry." "What's her name?""I don't know, Mom. I haven't met her yet. But I gotta go. I'll find out and call you back."
My poor mother! She must have thought I'd lost my mind. But I'd never been so clearheaded in my life.
I left my office and went searching for this girl in the warehouse. Sherlock Holmes couldn't have done a better job of tracking her down, and eventually I found myself standing outside the ladies' restroom, waiting for her to emerge. She walked out. I introduced myself. We were engaged three and a half weeks later - and married four months after that!
In 1982, Michael was asked to play keyboards in a band that was backing up young artist Amy Grant. He also continued to write songs for himself.
The story goes that Amy's managers, Mike Blanton and Dan Harrell could not find a Christian record label that would sign Michael or a young New Yorker named Kathy Troccoli. Believing so much in these two young talents, they started Reunion Records. The rest is history, Michael has been writing, singing and leading worship for the body of Christ ever since.
Can you hear, there’s a new song
Breaking out from the children of freedom
Every race and every nation
Sing it out sing a new Hallelujah
Let us sing love to the nations
Bringing hope of the grace that has freed us
Make Him known and make Him famous
Sing it out sing to the new Hallelujah
Arise
Let the church Arise
Let love reach to the other side
Alive come alive
Let the song Arise
Click here to visit Michael W. Smith's myspace: www.myspace.com/michaelwsmith
Click here to learn more about Michael W. Smith:
www.michaelwsmith.com/
Click here to worship along with Michael W. Smith:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjxtWwi9vbk
Click here to purchase “A New Hallelujah”:
“Here I Am to Worship”
If songs are like children to their writers, then 25-year-old Englishman Tim Hughes carried "Here I Am To Worship" to full term, letting the reverent tune take perfect shape over a nine-month period. Back in 1999 while still in college, he first sat down to craft a musical response to his reading of Philippians 2:5, which says, "Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus." And from the start, he had the humility part mastered.
"I was playing around with my guitar when the verse just came out," he modestly recalls. "However, I couldn't get a chorus that I was happy with. The original one was embarrassingly bad!"
Thankfully, Tim recorded the verse into his Dictaphone, and months later during a quiet creative time, he patched it together with another strong melody idea and brought "Here I Am To Worship" to fruition.
"I'd been reading about the cross and thinking through Jesus' amazing sacrifice," Tim says of the lyrical theme. "Sometimes when God meets with us we don't quite know how to respond properly. It's often too much for us to take in. Hopefully in a small way the chorus captures that: 'Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely, worthy, wonderful.'"
Although the song had been completed, the writer was still not convinced of its potential. Leading worship at his Soul Survivor home church one day, Tim sang "Here I Am To Worship" for his fellow members and was duly advised by his pastor Mike Pilavachi to start using it more often. Since then, Hughes - who built his own chops leading Delirious and Matt Redman favorites - has seen the song take on a life of its own.
"It must be a God thing.... People have seemed to really connect with it, and we've had some special times in worship using the song," he admits. "I remember one time at the end of a Worship Together conference in San Diego when we'd been performing the song. The band stopped, and then the congregation just kept singing the chorus for about 15 minutes."
Click here to listen to the story behind the song by Tim Hughes:
www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-196-HereIAmtoWorship-Hughes.mp3
Click here to worship along with Michael W. Smith:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_kAjok4-Uk
Click here to read more about the composer Tim Hughes
www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/worship/1227531/
Click here to purchase Tim Hughes’ version:
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