Ever since writing the blog post on “The Horse and Rider” song I have had many emails asking me if I know of other Christian Praise and Worship songs in a minor Key. The funny thing about this is that after answering these emails the same question came up on Yahoo Answers and so I was able to answer the fellow there also. Who would have thought that Christian Praise and Worship Songs in a Minor Key would have been so popular?

To make a long story short here are the answers that I wrote to the query on Christian Praise and worship songs in a minor key on Yahoo Answers:

p.s. I go by the name of Cyberscribe on Yahoo Answers

What are some good Christian hymns or praise and worship songs that are in a minor key?

Best Answer – Chosen by Asker

Source(s):

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, Christian Songs in a Minor Key, praise and worship songs, praise songs

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

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.”

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

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.

 

 

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, Christian Praise and Worship Music, Christian Worship, Worship God

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.

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, Christian Praise and Worship

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.

Technorati Tags: Christian Praise, Christian Praise and Worship Music, Christian Worship, The Horse and Rider Song