Have you ever seen a famous flash mob videos? They’re all over the net. If you have not seen one, the video below is a good starting point. In the video, Over 2,000 people from Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. They called it Dance Your Shoes Off! and each participant left a new pair of shoes on the field for those in need. Song is a Second Baptist Church original called “Rise Up” performed by Lauren James Camey, a member of the church. It was produced by Joshua Moore.
A Multitude from the Great Tribulation
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5: 11-13)
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You
Kari Jobe leading “Revelation Song” from the 2008 Gateway Worship release “Wake Up The World”.
This songIt Is Well With My Soul has struck my attention today. This is a song of hope. It gives us the message that amidst trouble, sorrow, or pain, we have our Heavenly Father who is for us.That out of these circumstances, God’s goodness still revealed and we can still see hope, peace, and love. Our lives here on Earth is temporal so let us invest more into something that has eternal value.
Reading the history of this hymn, I read that it was penned by a Chicago Lawyer named Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871 at the age of four, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford’s daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.” Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died. (Source: Wikipedia)
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
(Psalm 46:1)
It Is Well With My Soul
This is a copy of the Original Hymn from Wikipedia:
It Is Well With My Soul
Horatio Spafford
When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain: It is well, with my soul, It is well, with my soul, It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live: If Jordan above me shall roll, No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life, Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, The sky, not the grave, is our goal; Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul.
Chris Tomlin were at the Youth Specialties convention when his band was asked to to back up a guy named Matt Maher who originally wrote and composed this song.
What is “Grace”? For most Christians, we define “grace” as God’s unmerited favor. It is kindness from God that we don’t deserve. An unconditional gift! There is nothing we have done, nor can ever do to earn this favor. “In Christian theology it is defined as a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence; a virtue coming from God; a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine favor.(1)”
The famous acronym for GRACE is this: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
This is the exact message of Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Our salvation is by the grace of God through Jesus Christ for Jesus is “The Way” and no other.
I’m looking for a topic to write on this blog today and I stumbled on a song in Youtube entitled “O Praise Him” by The David Crowder Band. I first heard about this band back in New Zealand when they performed at the annual Parachute Music Festival usually held in Mystery Creek, Hamilton, New Zealand. If you love the new breed of christian songs, you will surely like this band from Waco, Texas. This band began when David Crowder, from Texarkana, Texas, found out that almost half of the students of Baylor University, a christian university were not attending church. He and Chris Seay started University Baptist Church (Waco, Texas) in 1995 while he was still a student. Crowder led worship there and continued to do so throughout the year. The church’s congregation grew, as did the band’s lineup.
The chorus goes “O Praise Him! He is holy!” Wow, a huge reminder and that’s what I needed to hear today. There are time in our lives that we struggle and simply cruising along the busy-ness of our run-of-the-mill schedules. Psalms 50:23 tells us that “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.” When we praise, we express our gratitude for personal favors, to bring honor to His marvelous works, to glorify Him in everything we do. “All to Christ the King” as what this song telling us to do. God has put a new song into our mouth (Psalm 40). He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.(Deutoronomy 10:21). “It is an eternal honor to any soul to be in the friendship of God. Why are people ashamed of being thought religious? Because they know nothing of religion. He who knows his Maker may glory in his God, for without him what has any soul but disgrace, pain, shame, and perdition? How strange is it that those who fear God should be ashamed to own it, while sinners boldly proclaim their relationship to Satan!”(Adam Clarke’s Bible commentary)
Turn your ear to heaven and hear the noise inside The sound of angels’ awe The sound of angel’s songs And all this for a King We could join and sing All to Christ the King
How constant, how divine This song of ours will rise Oh, how constant, how divine This love of ours will rise, will rise
O praise Him O praise Him He is holy He is holy, yeah
Turn your gaze to heaven and raise a joyous noise The sound of salvation comes The sound of rescued ones And all this for a King Angels join to sing All for Christ our King
Oh la la la la la la Oh la la la la la la Oh la la la la la la la la la
How infinite and sweet This love, so rescuing Oh, how infinitely sweet This great love that has redeemed As one, we sing
David Crowder Band’s new CD “Illuminate” hits the highest highs and never lets go of the excellence it portrayed in its original small release album. Those unfamiliar with DCB should know that its hallmark is creating modern worship music that rocks the house at the same time. Fused with techno-beats and returning heavy guitar sounds, the album is an excellent collection of songs that is worth getting. Sure-fire hits are: “O Praise Him”, “Revolutionary Love”, and “No One Like You.” In addition, David Crowder’s lyrics and one-of-a-kind voice never fail to inspire awe. Even more comprehensive and diverse in sound than their second album “Can You Hear Us?”, “Iluminate” has plenty of songs to keep you on the ledge between sheer worship and modern rock, enjoying every moment along the way. Matthew Y. Ho Kang “foodiephotog” (Glendale, CA United States)
I had never listened to David Crowder until I saw him perform at Creation East this summer
. I was blown away by his music. The lyrics are simply awesome. Since then I have purchased three of his cd’s including illumination. This is a fantastic cd. I especially like Revolutionary Love, and O praise Him. Buy this Cd. It is awesome. His book Praise Habit is also really good.
