Christian Praise Blog

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As a Christian Praise and Worship Music leader, I am often asked which is the best way to lead a Song Service. Although, I am sure many of you may not agree with me I always feel that a Christian Song Service should start with Thanksgiving and Christian Praise and then move on to Christian Worship. If you have been reading my blog or ezine articles you will see that I believe that there is a distinct difference between Christian Praise and Christian Worship.

When people walk into the church service they have many things on their minds. They are usually not prepared to jump into Christian Worship right off of the street. I have seen this done in some services and you can tell that the people are trying really hard to worship, but they are just not prepared properly to just jump into it. It is extremely hard for anyone to stop what they have been doing and engage in such an intimate time with God without first getting their heads together.

The Psalmist David said, I will enter His gates with Thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter His courts with Praise. (Psalm 100:4)

Some of us may not be feeling very happy when we come into song service, although most people will prepare themselves mentally in some respect, if you are going through hard times you may come into the song service with a heavy heart.

If we start directly with Christian Worship with a worship song such as “I Stand in Awe of You” many are not mentally prepared to commune with God in this way at this moment in time. But if we start our song service with Christian Praise songs such as “I Will Enter His Gates” or “This is the Day that the Lord Has Made”, they will start to focus in on God and then we can start to lead them slowly, song by song leading up to Christian Worship. Then they will be in the proper state of mind to truly worship God in His Holiness.

You can use these simple steps to bring yourself also from a place of hurriedness to the place of worship in your own time alone with God. I hope this little post on Christian Praise and Worship Music has helped you.

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For those of you who wish to know, Sunday September 20, 2009 was the final gathering of “Prayer in the Square”. This is where Christians from all denomination gather together to offer up Christian Praise and Prayer unto God on behalf of our nation.

Last Year “Prayer in the Square” had around 18000 people but this year a whopping estimate of 60,000 people showed up. Many congregations, such as ours, were not able to make it to Times Square in New York City on Sunday but joined together via the Internet along with many other countries. Wow! I can’t imagine the amount of Christian Praise and Prayer going up on our behalf.

If you want to read more about it I have posted the link here: Prayer in the Square

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Christian Praise may not seem like the thing you would like to do every time, but sometimes, it is the best thing you can do for yourself.

I already mentioned in another blog post how the purpose of Christian Praise is to benefit us, and not God. It helps us to take our minds off of what is going around in our heads and focus on all that God has done for us.

Sometimes, when we are deep in the mire of sad circumstances Christian Praise can be the last thing on our minds.

I want to share a little story with you about how Christian Praise can turn a situation totally around and lift us up out of the miry clay when all else seems to be coming down upon us.

Many years ago, when I was still quite young I had married a Christian man who seemed to love the Lord. Sadly, I found upon marrying him that he had a terrible problem with alcohol and although I had thought he was over it, he appartently was not. I went through quite a few years of terrible suffering because of the problem and had gotten very discouraged.

At one point in my life, we were going through a very terrible time with his drinking and I had had two children by then. I was sitting at the kitchen table with my cup of tea and wondering why God would have allowed this. Why was I suffering so? What had I done to deserve this? (I am sure you know the dispair and depression we can get ourselves into just thinking upon all of the problems we have).

My 2 year old daughter was sitting on the kitchen floor with her doll brush in her hand and was trying to give the cat a new hairdo. The cat didn’t mind at all and was use to her playing dress up with her etc. and so there I was trying to keep back the tears and she was blissfully brushing the cat’s hair.

All of a sudden, I heard her little voice start to sing as she continued to brush the cat’s hair. She was singing a very old Christian Praise song that I hadn’t sung in ages. There she was, like a little angel with her little voice singing the chorus of “At the Cross”

In case you don’t know the song, the words to the chorus are here;

At the cross, at the cross

Where I first saw the light

And the burdens of my heart rolled away

It was there by faith

I received my sight

And now I am happy all the day

She kept singing it over and over again and I realized that God was right here in that very room with me. He was telling me not to look at the problems but to keep my eyes on Him. Just like when I first became a Christian and realized what God had done for me, the feelings of faith and love strengthened me again and I could truly say that I became Happy again. I realized that I had taken my eyes off of Jesus and was focused on my problems. It took a little child to remind me that my problems aren’t so big after all when I think about the cross and all that God had done for me.

I will never forget that day and I thank God that I had the problems because once I realized how big God is and how much he loved me I was able to take courage and realized that loving God was all that was important. I just needed to be a good mom to my children and love God. That was all that was expected of me. What a happy day that was.

The bible tells us in Matthew 21:16 “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’?”

Christian Praise will flood your soul when you take your eyes off of your problems and focus on God and all that He has done for you.

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Christian Praise becomes much easier for us when we realize how Big God really is and how much He truly loves us.

A few years ago, Bette Middler had a hit song called “From a Distance” which won a Grammy for “Song of the Year” in 1991. The words were nice and gave us the feeling that we were not alone in this world, that indeed God was watching us from a distance. It’s a lovely platitude but it doesn’t really tell us where God actually is.

Christian Praise can be hard to muster up if we only believe in a God somewhere up there in the sky who looks down on us once in awhile. It’s a nice thought but doesn’t do much else but give us a few warm and fuzzy feelings.

God is very much a part of your life and He chose it to be that way. He doesn’t just want to be God, He also wants to be your friend. Abraham was called God’s friend, because he took the time to walk and talk with God.

Adam had direct communion with God in the Garden, before they got banished for their sin. Many scholars believe because they were banished that communion with God was cut off, but this does not make sense if Abraham was considered God’s friend.

Jesus died so that the barrier between God and us can be breached. God loves to commune with us and the best way to bring in His presence is with Christian Praise. God abides in the praises of His people.

God is not some Sugar Daddy in the sky that we make requests to and wait for Him to grant them. He is so close that we cannot truly describe it in proper words.

Acts 17:28 Paul says: He is not far from us, for in him we live and move and have our being.

Every particle of yourself is in God and God is in every particle of you.

Jesus said in John 14:21-28 Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, “Master, (then) what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.

Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.

I have told you this while I am with you.

The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name–he will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you.

Because of this Christian Praise should come freely from your heart and lips as you marvel at the Greatness of God who comes to inhabit the very people He has purchased with the blood of Jesus. If we love Him and obey His commands, He will make His dwelling with us. Hallelujah!

Where is God? God is in me, and you, if you love Him and keep His commandments.

One of my favorite songs from years gone by is “How Big is God”

The words are:

Though men may strive to go beyond the reach of space
To go beyond the distant glimmering stars
This world’s a room so small within my Master’s house
The open sky but a portion of his yard.

How big is God, how big and wide His vast Domain
To try to tell these lips can only start
He’s big enough to rule this mighty universe
Yet small enough to live within my heart.

As winter chill may cause the tiny seed to fall
To lie asleep till waked by summer’s rain
The heart grown cold will warm and trod with life anew
The Master’s touch will bring the glow again.

How big is God, how big and wide His vast domain
To try to tell these lips can only start
He’s big enough to rule the mighty universe
Yet small enough to live within my heart.

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Christian Praise is something that we do to benefit us. Yes, I know this sounds kind of selfish but the truth of the matter is that God admonishes us to Praise Him, not because He needs it but because we need it.

Sadly, some people get this mixed up and think that it is their duty to offer Christian Praise to God. It is in their “to do list” of things that we must do to be a good Christian. Other things on that “to do list” is going to Church on Sunday and Praying. We feel that by being a good little Christian this will somehow earn us brownie points in heaven. How foolish people can be!

Think about it: Why would God need us to praise Him, or to show up for church on Sunday or to Pray or any other religious duty we feel we may need to do? These things stem from old pharisaic legalism that has nothing to do with our true Christian Worship. All of these things are to do with what God want to do for us and in us.

I mentioned in another blog post that the True Secret was not what they are teaching in Law of Attraction Seminars, it is the secret of Christian Praise. This is because of the many benefits we derive from Christian Praise.

Sadly, many people think that if they do things such as Christian Praise, showing up for Church on Sunday and praying then they will win favors with God and God will allow them things and do things for them because somehow they have proved themselves worthy.

I want to make this point very, very clear: You will never be worthy enough in God’s eyes to receive anything from God based on anything that You DO!

We receive from God and are blessed by God because of what He did for us, in sending His one and only Son Jesus to die for us and become an appropriation for our sins. It is because of Christ’s death and our acceptance of this that makes us worthy. He is our Righteousness. When God looks at us He sees Righteousness, not because of works that we have done but because of who we belong to. We are heirs with God and Joint heirs with Christ. Romans 8:17

Christian Praise then is a vehicle in which we draw nigh to God. It is a remembrance of all that God has done for us and in us. As we spend time in God’s presence and wait upon Him it is there that we gain strength that is needed in our daily lives.

Christian Praise is for our Benefit and not for God’s. God is not some self-indulgent entity that requires that we pay homage to Him. He is not like the gods of the heathen that need alms and praise to appease Him. God loves us just the way we are. He looks beyond our faults and sees the blood of Christ which covers a multitude of sins. He sees us as His children and lovingly reaches down his hands in love to help us. He is deserving of our praise, but he certainly doesn’t need it.

They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Christian Praise is something we should do on a daily basis, not because God needs it, but because we do.

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As a Christian Praise and Worship Leader I realize that many people who come into our church services are a little frazzled and perhaps have many things on their minds. It’s not easy getting a family all dressed and ready to come to Church on Sunday mornings and our thoughts may be scattered and our nerves may be frazzled from all of the preparation. Our motives are right, there is no denying that, but when we come into the house of the Lord we may not be at our best to offer Christian Praise and worship. I find it very beneficial to start out our Christian Praise and Worship service with songs and verses of Scriptpure that help us to get our focus corrected. The Christian Praise and Worship Music should be aimed at leading the congregation from a place of Praise to the inner sanctuary where we can worship God in the beauty of His Holiness. I do not understand churches that start their Christian Praise with Worship. How can I walk in off the street after perhaps battling it out with the kids in the car and be prepared to enter the Holy of Holies? Yes, somedays I can put myself together and actually walk in prepared to worship but for the majority of people they need to be led into Christian Praise and Worship like leading a small child. Our minds are like little children and they don’t always want to do what we want them to do when we want them to do it. This is one of the reasons that the Bible tells us that we need to renew our minds and that is done only through the Word of God. Because I am accutely aware of the things that go on when preparing to get to church on Sunday I do not start the Christian Praise and Worship Service with purely Worship songs. I will always start off on a plane where many people find themselves when they walk into the service. This is why I generally start the service with songs like: I will enter His Gates with Thanksgiving in my Heart, I will enter His Courts with Praise, I will say this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice for he has made me glad. This brings our focus away from the momentary distractions and helps us to remember that this is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.(Psalm 118:24) Then I might go into the Chorus: What a Mighty God we serve This brings us closer to realizing how Great God is Another great chorus to help us prepare ourselves is the wonderful Christian Praise Song: We Have Come into This House The Chorus goes; We have come into this house and gathered in His Name to Worship Him 3x Worship Him Christ the Lord He is all my righteousness, I stand complete in Him and Worship Him 3x Worshp Him Christ the Lord This helps us to realize what we are actually here for. Once we get ourselves lined up in why we are here and what we are here to do and how great God is, then we are truly ready to offer Him Worship. First, Comes Christian Praise and that leads to Worship.

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If you were invited to a Christian Praise Service or a Christian Worship Service you would find that they are two different types of Services. Generally churches combine the two and call them “Christian Praise and Worship Service”. This keeps the confusion down, but in actuality Christian Praise and Christian Worship are two different things.

As a Christian Praise and Worship Leader for many years I always taught the congregation about the differences between Christian Praise and Worship.

• Christian Praise can be defined as focusing on what God has done in our lives.
• Christian Worship can be defined as focusing on Who God IS.

We can see a great example of Christian Worship in Revelation 4:8-12

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”

9. Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,

10.the 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.”

Compare this to this example of Christian Praise in Exodus:15:1-21

¹Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

²The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

³The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

⁴Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.

⁵The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.

⁶Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

⁷And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

⁸And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

⁹The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

¹⁰Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

¹²Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

¹³Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

¹⁴The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

¹⁵Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.

¹⁶Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

¹⁷Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O LORD, which thy hands have established.

¹⁸The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

¹⁹For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

²⁰And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

²¹And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

The above passage shows us that after God had brought the Israelites safely through the red sea and drowned the Egyptians Moses took up a song of praise extolling the wonders of what God had done on their behalf.

We sing this at church.It’s called “The Horse and Rider Song” You can see the lyrics and hear the acapella version my other post here. http://www.christianpraiseblog.com/christian-praise/christian-praise-the-horse-and-rider-song-lyrics

When people first come into a church service their minds are not generally prepared to go right into worshipping and so I have always started my Song Services with Christian Praise. This prepares the way for us to go from singing about what God has done for us into Christian Worship where we can adore God in the beauty of His Holiness.

I hope this example has been clear to you and hopefully it will help you to understand the difference between Christian Praise and Christian Worship.

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