Christian Praise Blog

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, praise, sacrifice of praise, the Secret

Well, I don’t know how many of you watch American Idol, but I do. Last night there was a Worship Pastor auditioning as well as a woman pastor. Avril Lavigne was the guest on the panel of judges for the evening and showed up wearing a hoodie with devils horns on the top of the hood. As soon as the Worship Pastor was finished singing (And he did do a great job) Avril piped right up and said, “No, American Idol will be too much for him since he is working as a Worship Pastor.” NOTE: These are not her exact words I don’t think.

It bothers me that Avril Lavigne would judge according to his position rather than his skill as a singer. The whole point of American Idol is to judge them on their singing skills, not whether they feel they can make it out on the road away from their family.I suppose we will chalk the comment up to her young age and forgive her.

Have you noticed that there have been quite a few Christians who have been auditioning for American Idol in the last couple of years. The ones that stand out to me are David Gokey, Kris Allen and this year Tasha Latyon and Jim Ranger.

I know there is a lot of slack going around about how Christians should not be going after fame and fortune but on the other hand I see how churches expect their music ministers to perform their duties and yet many of them get no recompense for doing it. There are people who say that they should do it for nothing because their reward is in heaven, but even the Levites were set aside to perform the work for God and were paid to do it.

I don’t understand how anyone can stand back and say that these people are wrong to try and provide for their families. What they know is music, and they are good at it. If we don’t want them going to “the world” to make a living then maybe we better start considering how we are supporting them as a church.

Is it any worse for a Music Pastor to get a job singing “non-christian” songs than a Pastor who tries to provide for his family by working in the secular world such as bankers or politicians?

I really think that we as Christians should stop judging what other people are doing and keep an eye on our own lives.

What do you think?

Sharron

You can view the audition here. Jim Ranger comes on at 7:55 in the video. Pay no attention to the writing on the top right corner of the video.

Technorati Tags: American Idol, Avril Lavigne, Christian Praise, Jim Ranger, Worship Pastor

You are probably thinking to yourselves right now, What does the movie “Julie and Julia” have to do with Christian Praise? Please allow me to tell you how I personally think that these two things actually go together.

I rarely watch movies, or even television for that matter, but a friend thought I might be interested in seeing this movie so there we sat, together in my living room watching “Julie and Julia”. It is a movie based on a blog written by Julie Powell who wanted to try and make her way through Julia Childs cookbook “”Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and blog about it daily. She (Julia Powell) had an admiration for Julia Childs and the movie intertwines the lives of these two women and their cooking endeavors.

It was while watching the movie that the idea struck me: Why not write/blog through the Psalms. David is certainly one of the many writers in the Bible who is totally lovable. God himself called him the apple of his eye. Who cannot relate to David? He has moments of total abandoment to the Lord and then in another moment of weakness ends up sinning and crying out to God.

David, like many of us, is totally identified with God and yet he is soooooooooo aware of his personal downfalls and even mood swings. Paul summed this up nicely in Romans 7 when he said, “We know that the law is spiritual, but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate, I do, and if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So I find this law at work–when I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7: 14-25

2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weakness , so that the power of Christ can work through me.

So, as Julie Powell did with Julia’s cookbook, I want to go through the Psalms with you and give you my perspective. Hopefully this will help us both to grow stronger in the Lord and in His mighty power. I don’t think I will be able to do this everyday like Julie Powell did in the movie, but I am going to try and do it as often as possible till we get through all 150 Psalms.

I will set up a special blog called “Psalms Blog” so that it will be easier to find and this will give it a special place where the Psalms are all together.

Keep your eyes open in the next few days for the first installment

Sharron

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, David, Julie and Julia, Psalms

Not all Christian Praise Songs are created equal. In fact, there are many so called “Christian Praise Songs” which I would not even consider appropriate to sing in churches today. A few years back, in the 90’s there was a song that people liked to sing which really bothered me tremendously. It was called “I Command Thee Satan”

Here are the words:

I Command Thee Satan

In the Name of the Lord

To Drop Your Weapons and Flee

For the Lord Has Given Us Authority

To Walk All Over Thee

I do realize that we have full authority over Satan so that really does not bother me, what does bother me is that by singing this Christian Praise Song or Chorus, we are singing to Satan. I believe that if we are to offer Christian Praise it should be actual Praise to God. I can see how we can rejoice in the fact that Satan has no power over us, but to sing this song, in my opinion is singing to Satan and I really don’t feel that it has a place in the church because of that.

I am sure you can think of many Christian Praise Songs, which can be doctrinally sound, but not really appropriate to be singing in church.

What do you think?

Sharron

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, Christian Praise Songs, Singing to Satan

Christian Praise is a subject that is very close to my heart and so I was curious this morning when I received a message telling me of a certain website which was asking the question: Who Wants All That Music! He said,

“Here’s my question: Who wants 30-40+ minutes of music in worship? Who? Why? I mean…explain this to  me. I seriously do not get it.”  

My interest was certainly peeked by this question and the answers that followed. It was so peeked that I almost was late for my own Christian Praise and Worship Service   and yes, we had about 30 minutes of Christian Praise and Worship and I loved every moment of it.

In reading the responses from many of the people it was clear to me that most do not understand the purpose of spending 30-40 minutes singing in a church service. They do not realize that this is actually a very short period of time.

The Psalmist David said in Psalm 84:1-4

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!

 2. My soul yearns, even faints,for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

3. Even the sparrow has found a home,and the swallow a nest for herself,where she may have her young—a place near your altar,O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

4. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.     

Then verse 10 says: Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

David loved being in the presence of God. His heart and soul yearns for the courts of the Lord. He says better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.

Why can’t we be like David, why don’t we all yearn for the presence of God? Where is the presence of God? In the praises of His people! Psalm 22:3

What about Zephania 3:17 that says that God rejoices over us with singing.

What about the fact that the Levites were commissioned to praise God on musical instruments…Do you think they did this for 5 minutes and then gave up?Do you think that the Glory of God would come into our presence without our praises?

Do you think that the worship in the temple lasted only 1 hour so that people could get home to make their roasts for Sunday dinner?

God says to keep the Sabbath and that it is Holy unto Him…We work for 8 hours every day, do we complain about spending time in God’s presence for 30-40 minutes?

I really don’t understand how people are complaining about praising God. Maybe I’m missing something here but I think we need more people like David who wished he could spend more and more time in God’s presence.

Just in case you wish to read the comments that were made then I will give you the link:

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/open-mic-at-the-imonk-cafe-who-wants-all-that-music/comment-page-2#comment-518334

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, long song services, praise and worship

I just finished reading an article on Christian Praise and how it affects non-christians. It bought back fond memories of when I first attended a Pentecostal Church.

Being bought up as a Baptist in the Montreal area of Canada I was used to singing hymns and nice little songs like Jesus Loves Me. This kept me on track when I was a little girl, but when I grew up and came back to God, my relationship with Him was completely different. He was no longer a God somewhere up there in the sky who was watching to see if I was naughty or nice (Kind of like a glorified Santa Claus), this time it was different.

I could feel the presence of Jesus in my life and knew something inside me had changed. I decided it was time to go back to church. Sadly, what I found in church was not what I was experiencing in my own one on one time with God.

I started to think perhaps I was strange, perhaps I was overly emotional, perhaps I was wrong somehow. Those around me didn’t get all excited about Jesus like I did. What was wrong with me?

I still continued to go to church as I knew this is what God wanted of me, and I loved learning more and more every chance I could get. Later, I met my husband and he was a Pentecostal. He told me about the Pentecostal church and I thought to my self….This sounds very strange to me…He finally convinced me to go to a meeting with him and I was totally surprised.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that Baptists are not true worshippers or have no feelings, or that Pentecostals are the only true believers or whatever. I am simply stating that the two churches I had attended were as different as night and day.

That night that I attended the church with my then to be husband was a turning point in my life. I realized as I stood there praising God with those around me that there was a presence that I had never felt in a church before. Yes, I had experienced this presence in my own prayer life, but never in a congregation. It was like I was finally home. Finally, I could see and feel the presence of God amongst those worshipping. It was like heaven came down and the glory of God filled that auditorium that night.

Since becoming a worship leader it has always been my goal to lead those in the congregation to the place where they too can feel the presence of God in the midst of them. It is only in the presence of our awesome God that people can know, without the shadow of a doubt that they are in the presence of God. As worship leaders we are like the doorkeepers to the very presence of God. We must lead them gently from the outer courts into the Holy of Holies where they can sense God and the beauty of His Holiness.

The article that I just read, reminded me of the importance of worship and its effects on the non-christian as well as those called by God to be His children.

The article is entitled: Worship and the Visitor

I think you will enjoy reading it and hopefully realize the importance of Christian Praise in our services.

Here is the link: http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/worship_the_visitor

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, praise and worship

Someone was asking me for the lyrics of the Christian Praise song “The Horse and Rider Song”. It’s very difficult to find this song on the Internet so I am writing the lyrics here for you and made a .wav file of my acapella version.

(click on the play button if you wish to hear my acapella version of it )

The Horse and Rider Song 

I Will Sing Unto the Lord For He Has Triumphed Gloriously

The Horse and Rider Thrown into the Sea

I Will Sing Unto the Lord For He Has Triumphed Gloriously

The Horse and Rider Thrown into the Sea

The Lord, My God, My Strength My Song

Has Now Become My Victory

The Lord, My God, My Strength My Song

Has Now Become My Victory

The Lord is God and I will praise Him

My Fathers God and I will E-x-a-l-t Him

The Lord is God and I will praise Him

My Fathers God and I will Exalt Him!

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, Christian Praise Songs, The Horse and Rider Song Lyrics

Many people are still asking what is the difference between Christian Praise and Worship. I do agree that there is a fine line between the two when they can merge together but generally Christian Praise is where we sing about What God has Done For Us, Christian worship is where we sing about Who God Is. We concentrate on His Holiness etc., when we worship God.

If you look through the blog you will see more concisely the difference I make between the two.

To give you another example I would like to show you a couple of Bible passages that may explain it better.

Our first example is Matthew 21:1-17 also known as “The Triumphal Entry”

Here is the NIV version:

1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5″Say to the Daughter of Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, ” ‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.”

14The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
” ‘From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise?”

17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

We see here that the people were shouting “Hosanna” which literally translated means”To Save”. Here was their Savior riding in Jerusalem on a donkey ( there is a lot of significance here about the donkey but I am not writing a book, this is only a blog post).

It was a happy, jubilant time for the crowd. They did not realize that Jesus had come to save them by offering his blood for their sins. They were hoping that he had come to save them and usher in a new kingdom, but that was not to be as they had anticipated.

I want you to notice the air of festivity, the happiness of the crowd, how they took palm branches and placed them in front of him as he passed. They were rejoicing and so should we be rejoicing in Christian Praise as we make mention of all that the Lord has done on our behalf.

The Christian Praise Song “Hosanna in the Highest” shows this the best.

Compare this now with a story of Worship found in Revelation 4:10-11 NIV

¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
¹¹“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”

Christian Praise is all about realizing what God has done for us in our lives. It is all too common for us to focus on our struggles and everyday problems that often, we forget to offer Christian Praise to God for His blessings.

Many people, Christian or not, tend to look at life with a very negative slant sometimes. I am sure you know many people like this. They are always complaining about how bad things are, they are so concerned about the way that life is treating them that they miss out on the greatness of being alive. Some people are living a life of misery because they forget to look at what is going right in their lives and taking their eyes off of the problems and obstacles.

We all run into obstacles in our lives, this is a part of life. We are not to offer Christian Praise only when things in life are rosy and going well for us. For some people, life never seems to go well for them. It’s not that life is so harsh, but rather their eye’s are focused on the problems and not their blessings. We cannot condemn these people, it is a mindset that they have set themselves up in and can’t be undone unless they realize what they are doing. Don’t condemn them, pray for them that the light of God will shine in their hearts that they may be able to see what great things God has done for them.

Negative thinking is a major problem in our society today. The good news is that we have more and more people wanting to get themselves out of their negative mindset and trying to think more positively. Just look around any bookstore and you will see many self-help books based on how to think positively, how to think abundantly. People are realizing more and more that there is more to life than what they are experiencing. Sadly we see multitudes following “The Secret” or Abraham Hicks looking for more to life without realizing that God said that we receive not because what we ask for is for our own edification and glory. If we seek abundance for selfish reasons we will not receive from God, but we are promised that if we seek for God’s will then our prayers and petitions are answered. (James 4:3)(Mathew 7:7-11)

There is some truth to what they are teaching and much of it is based on Christian Scripture, but they miss the mark in that they are all about, how can I make my life happier and get the things I want. It misses the mark because Scripture teaches us that we are not to worry about food, or drink or clothing or any of the things that the world worries about. God has already taken care of that for us, but for those who do not know God, they search for a way out of their problems and end up in these messed up doctrines being indoctrinated into thinking that they are being enlightened.

As I said, they are partially true. Satan masquerades as an angel of light, trying to persuade people that this is the truth, when in reality it is only partial truth.(2 Corinthians11:14) Jesus is the true light of the world and if we ask, believing, we shall receive from Him.

If we have not it’s because we are not asking. As we become thankful for what we do have, then we will be given more. It is God’s will that we have an abundant life but we miss out on it because we forget to be thankful for what we do have.(Mark 4:25)

Without challenges, there can be no progress. Without obstacles, there can be no achievement. Be thankful for the opportunities that these provide.

For many people the theme song for their life is “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”. It’s time to change your tune. It’s time to sing another tune in your life. Focus on what God is doing, focus on the good that comes out of the obstacles and challenges, knowing that God loves you and is in control of your life. Let Christian Praise flow out of your heart and up to the throne of God, for He is worthy to be praised in all circumstances.

Technorati Tags: Abraham Hicks, Ask and receive, Christian Praise, the Secret

In Christian Praise, the song lyrics of “How Great Thou Art” are very familiar even to those who are not Bible Believing Christians. It is a close runner with the song “Amazing Grace” and for good reason.

As I have explained in other blog posts, Christian Praise is all about bringing our attention to the great things God has done in our lives. We need to focus on the great things God has done FOR us before we can worship Him for who He is. This is the distinction between Christian Praise and Worship.

Thinking about all of the wonderful things God has done for us and how he has created all good things for us helps us to concentrate on what a wonderful God we serve.

Read the lyrics and listen to the video and see if it doesn’t help you turn your attention away from your problems and onto God who is above all of these daily turmoils. Your daily problems will not seem so big when you realize how big your God is.

This song was originally a Swedish folk melody, called “O Store Gud” by Carl Boberg (1859-1940) It was translated in 1899 by Stuart K. Hine.

Here are the lyrics for “How Great Thou Art”

Verse1:

O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed:

Chorus:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Verse 2:

When through the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze

Chorus:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Verse 3:

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin

Chorus:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Verse 4:

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow in humble adoration,

And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Chorus:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, Christian Praise and Worship, How Great Thou Art