We I got saved in 1971, I left the secular band that I was playing in. I turned my life and my talent towards the Lord. It seems to me that the Lord honored that and helped me turn my music God ward. I met some other guys and we started a Christian band playing at churches and coffee houses around the Midwest. Those were exciting days during the Jesus Revolution, many people were coming to Christ. It truly was a wonderful time of revival and in gathering. I found myself putting scripture to music, trying to capture something of the Spirit of the Word. I have done this for many years with the help of the Helper. I put the Lord’s Prayer to music and entitled it Our Father, hope you are touched by it.
Archive for the ‘Worship, Praise and Music’ Category
The Lord ‘s Prayer
Posted in Worship, Praise and Music, tagged Our Father song, the Lord's Prayer song on March 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »
I Love Thee Oh Lord My Strength
Posted in Worship, Praise and Music, tagged psalm 18 song, scripture song on March 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The Psalms have been so important in my life! Our lives are filled with ups and downs! I have been so encouraged by the Psalms in my down times over the years, if the Lord had not been my strength, I would have failed. My enemies were too strong for me. Psalm 18:17 “He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me”.
Hosea 6
Posted in Worship, Praise and Music, tagged Hosea 6 song, scripture song Hosea on March 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“Come let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.” Hosea 6:1-3
30 years ago, after a severe trial, I put this verse to music. Maybe it will touch you.
The Song of Moses and the Lamb
Posted in Worship, Praise and Music, tagged scripture song, Song of Moses song on January 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »
For many years, I have written songs based on scripture. A few years ago I read in Revelation 15:3, that “they sang the song of Moses and the Lamb”. It is a wonderful verse, and we will all sing it some day when we all reach Heaven. Here is my attempt at making a song using those verses.
The Lord’s Prayer
Posted in Worship, Praise and Music, tagged Our Father, Song, the Lord's Prayer on December 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »
My version of the “Our Father” that I wrote a couple of years ago, I hope it blesses you.
Quote For the Day
Posted in Worship, Praise and Music, tagged greatest worship, true worship, Worship on December 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The greatest acts of worship in the Bible were not accompanied with music.
More Advice for Worship Leaders
Posted in Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged bible, faith, jesus, music, Worship, worship-leader-advice on November 5, 2025| 1 Comment »
Play songs that the congregation knows. As worship leader you are there to lead them. You are there to get help them engage praise and worship. I can not stress this enough. You are not there to perform a song because you think it is cool. There are high energy songs that are heavily produced that the congregation is just not able to sing. Make sure to sing songs that are singable by the congregation. You are to lead the congregation.
Make sure the lyrics of the songs that you are playing are doctrinally sound, lyrics focusing more on God and His greatness, and less on lyrics that focus on “me”. Also, there are many songs that are overly emotional, and that emotion can be confused for the Spirit. You need to be careful. We are told in Acts that God will send “times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord”. Acts 3:20.
Make sure the key you are playing in is suitable for the congregation. I personally try not to have key changes, but I know that is not always possible. I may have a set of songs in the key of G so that the transition between the songs flow better, allowing for more spontaneity during times of “free praise and worship”. Again, the congregation is part of the reason that I do that. You must remember that there are a lot of people who have no musical talent or even have an ear for music. There are many who can’t sing very well at all. Avoiding key changes makes it easier for the congregation. I may start the service with a couple of faster songs in the same key and then switch to a longer set of songs in the same key. For me, I try to make it flow better between songs.
If there is a “free time of worship and praise”, I do not play a chord progression. If I am playing a set of songs in E, I will just simply play full measures of E to Esus, back to E to Esus, etc. Stay in that simple mode. If you play a progression of chords, again you will lose the congregation. Doing a simple E to Esus repeatedly will keep it simple for the congregation. Again, you are there for the congregation to help make it easy for them to engage in “worship and Praise”.
Modern churches have created a huge problem; they have brought in musicians just because they can sing and play an instrument and they just end up performing. Many churches are satisfied because they have a really good worship team, even though they are devoid of the spirit. I have seen it repeatedly, congregations just standing not engaged because they don’t know the songs or the songs are hard to sing.
Again, this is all about the congregation. What can I do to help encourage the congregation to be engaged in praise and worship. I hope a few of these tips will help.
The Shade of a Huge Rock
Posted in Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged bible, christianity, conformed to His image, faith, god, jesus on October 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Isaiah 32:1-2 “Behold, a king will reign righteously, and princes will rule justly. And each will be like a refuge from the wind, and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry country, like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land”.
Isaiah 25:4 “For Thou hast been a defense for the helpless, defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat”.
Many years ago, while I was in a very severe testing in my life, a dear friend/mentor told me that one day I would be “like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land”. He told me to meditate on those verses in Isaiah. Now years later, as I look at these verses, I see that the testing of the Lord is what forms us. We become conformed to His image and learn obedience through testing and suffering. Even Jesus “learned obedience through the things that He suffered (Heb 5:8)”.
Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple”.
Oh, to be such a disciple! To have learned of the Lord how to be like Jesus, “to sustain the weary with one word”! To be a refuge and shelter from the storms of this life! To have rivers of water “flowing from our innermost being” (John 7:38). To be like a “shade of a huge rock in a dry and parched land”!
We can be these things to those around us. In our churches, in our lives outside the church and in our families. We have something in us that the world does not have. We have the Spirit, and it can flow out of us to show mercy to all around us. Lord help us to be more like You!
Bringing the Lame and Blind
Posted in Church in Crisis, Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged bible, David Ravenhill, faith, god, jesus, what is true worship, Worship on June 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »
By David Ravenhill
If you were to ask an average believer how many of them stole something this past week. I’m sure the vast majority of them would look at you dumbfounded at the very suggestion. We are all well aware that stealing is forbidden by God and made it to His top ten list of commandments. ‘Thou shalt not steal’ ranks just below ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’.
Now if stealing is wrong, and it clearly is, then stealing from God Himself would be the ultimate theft. Right!? According to the Prophet Malachi, God accused His people of robbing Him. The robbery was in their tithes and offering which they either withheld completely or replaced with inferior offerings.
Just in case you’re not familiar with the passage I’m referring to, here it is:
‘But when you present the blind for sacrifice is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would He receive you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts. “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive you kindly?” Malachi 1:8,9
God was clearly upset with His people and the way they were treating Him. God goes on to say.
“…you bring what was taken by robbery, and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the Lord. But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I AM A GREAT KING…Malachi 1:13,14
The point I’m trying to make here, is that in the New Testament, our sacrifices are no longer in the form of four-footed animals but through our praise and worship. Here is how the writer of Hebrews refers to it.
“Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips that give thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15
Nothing perturbs me more than going to church and having to listen to God’s people barely uttering a word of praise. The vast majority of people are not even singing and those that are can barely be heard. Almost every Sunday I go home with a pit in my stomach telling myself. ‘We robbed God again’, We robbed God again’. If that’s how I feel, then I wonder how God feels?
God had to remind His people that He is a GREAT KING. He’s trying to tell them to honor Him as such and not treat Him as though He’s not that important. If you turn from Malachi to Matthew just a few pages on but 400 years later, we have the account of the three Magi announcing to King Herod that they were on their way to worship the King of the Jews. Where they bringing the blind and the lame? No, they brought Him gold, frankincense and myrrh; a sacrifice and offering worthy of the KING.
Keep in mind that under the Old Testament economy the priest was responsible for examining every sacrifice prior to it being offered. If the sacrifice was blemished in any way it was to be rejected; only the very best sacrifice was acceptable. No wonder we read the Psalmist saying,
‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.’ Psalm 19:14
Today, we no longer bring our sacrifices to an earthly priest but directly to the Lord Himself who is our great High Priest. He is the one who decides to accept or reject our sacrifice of praise. Unless we are doing our very best to offer Him as perfect a sacrifice as possible, then we are no different from God’s people in Malachi’s time, who substituted the lame and blind instead of offering the best of their flock.
We read in Proverbs
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Proverbs 3:27
If we apply this verse to God Himself, then surely, He deserves the praise and honor that is due Him. God is worthy of so much more than just singing a few self-centered songs we refer to as worship. Worship should focus solely on God’s greatness, majesty, holiness, righteousness, and power. I love the lyrics of that song that says ‘Let’s forget about ourselves and concentrate on Him and worship Him’. I’m convinced if we truly did just, that we would experience so much more of His presence in our services.
Throughout God’s word we are exhorted to ‘Make a joyful NOISE to the Lord.’ Or ‘SHOUT joyfully to God, all the earth.’ Or ‘O clap your hands, all peoples; SHOUT to God with the voice of joy.’ Nothing should excite us more than being in His presence and then in turn to let Him know how much we love Him.
One last thought. Imagine being asked to take charge of preparing a large family Thanksgiving meal. Family members will be driving in from various places, some even flying in from overseas for the occasion. Chances are we wouldn’t find you shopping for a turkey the same day of the meal, or trying to decide at the last minute whether or not to serve cake and ice-cream or apple pie for dessert. No doubt you would have been planning for weeks or at least days before.
Worship should be considered as the greatest of all Thanksgivings. The ‘first fruits’ of any service, is the time we set apart, to give thanks to God for all His benefits. It is the responsibility of the worship leader to take the necessary time to pray and prepare for this very special occasion. Every detail should be thought out in advance and not simply thrown together at the last minute. Each song should be skillfully knit together to produce a seamless tapestry of worship fit for the King of kings. The task of the worship leader is to cast up a highway of song that leads the congregation into the very presence of God. Songs should be considered as steps with each song lifting us higher and higher until we find ourselves in awe of His glorious majesty.
The role of the worship leader, is in many ways, as important or even more important than the one delivering the message. The worship time is God’s time, and should be treated as such, while the remaining time is for our benefit and spiritual growth.
A word of wisdom here to those leading worship – let the songs do the work. In other words refrain from talking except for your initial welcome. Now a word to those in leadership. Don’t hijack the worship by veering off into some type of ministry time, that can come later in the service. Prophetic words or words of knowledge won’t perish if not used immediately. There is a time and place for everything so let’s not short change God by interrupting the service and thereby robbing God of all the honor He deserves.
If I’ve ruffled a few feathers please forgive me. I’m simply trying to right a wrong that has invaded the church for far too long. Let’s WORSHIP HIM!
Worship Accepted or Rejected?
Posted in Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged faith, god, jesus, praise, Worship, worshiptainment on January 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »
By David Ravenhill
A.W. Tozer referred to worship as the missing jewel in the evangelical crown. I couldn’t agree more. My father often referred to Prayer as being preoccupied with our needs, Praise as being preoccupied with our blessings, and Worship as being preoccupied with God Himself. My father wasn’t discounting prayer or praise as everything has its time and place. Worship, however, is the first and foremost commandment of all, regardless of our personal state or struggles.
There is a biblical or scriptural reason why we begin our services with singing. Colossians exhorts us that in all things Christ is to have preeminence or first place. Having said that, we need to take very seriously how we fulfill or carry out that admonition.
I believe the book of Malachi provides us with great clarity as to how God sees or interprets our worship. After all, He alone has the right to reject or accept what we offer Him.
Let me address for a moment this truth that God would reject our sacrifice of praise or worship. King David, the great psalmist, made it very clear that not everything he offered to God was acceptable. Psalm 19:14 says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight.” The prophet Isaiah wrote, “I am sick of your sacrifices. Don’t bring me any more of them…” (Isaiah 1:11). Jesus told the religious people of His day, “You honor me with your lips, but your heart is far from me.” We see in the Old Testament that one of the roles of the priest was that of inspecting every sacrifice to make sure it was acceptable. Anything found to be torn, sick, or blemished in any way was immediately rejected.
Let me take you back to Malachi for a moment. In the first chapter, God, in His role as the Great High Priest, is examining the sacrifices His people are offering Him. Let’s listen in:
“A son honors his father and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?” says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name.”
God makes it clear throughout the remaining chapter that it was not the quantity but the quality of the sacrifices they were offering Him. They were bringing the blind, lame, and sick, thinking God wouldn’t notice, but He did and still does. God finally cries out, “Oh, that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar!” He continues, “…you bring what was taken by robbery, and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering. Should I receive that from your hand?” says the Lord.
Today, the Lord would be seen pleading with those controlling the sound system to cut the mikes, dismiss the singers and musicians, asking them to search their hearts as well as the words they are singing. If most of the worship set is about God’s love for me rather than my love for God, then I become the object of worship. Now, obviously, there is a place to thank God for His incredible love, grace, mercy, etc. However, we need to make the transition from praise to worship if we are to truly ‘worship Him in spirit and in truth.’
I personally believe the role of a worship leader is to ‘cast up a highway’ that enables the people to come into the very presence of God. I believe there should be as much time given to preparing the worship set as the pastor spends preparing his message for the people. After all, worship is what we offer the Lord, while the message should create a greater hunger for the Lord. If we spend less time in preparation to worship than we do to receive, then we are no longer giving Him preeminence!
Allow me to drill down a little further on our approach to God. God told His people Israel that whenever they built an altar upon which they would offer Him sacrifices, they had to build it of uncut stones. (Exodus 20:24-26) He made it clear that if they embellished the stones in any way with their own tools, they would immediately profane the altar and render it useless. Now, while we no longer build altars, the principle nevertheless remains. In other words, if I play or sing in such a way as to draw attention to myself, then I’m the one seeking the attention that should be directed to the Lord alone. If we have singers or musicians who love the limelight, then our sacrifice becomes unacceptable to Him. As the psalmist wrote, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to your name give glory.” (Psalm 115:1)
One further word regarding the ‘worship set’. I would encourage those who feel called to lead to take whatever time necessary to prayerfully and carefully select songs/hymns that build upon each other. Just as the rungs of a ladder lift the person higher with each step, so likewise should the songs. To me, this principle separates a song leader from a true worship leader. Just choosing five or six unrelated songs that you enjoy is not the same as carefully choosing songs that relate to each other. For instance, choosing songs all having to do with the name of Jesus or the blood, etc., are far more effective than just unrelated songs that tend to zig-zag all over the place and tend to lead to nowhere. Forgive me if that seems cynical, but after sixty years of ministry in numerous countries, I can count on both hands the number of times I’ve really felt led to linger in the presence of the Lord; or in the words of the song “I stand, I stand in awe of Thee…Holy God to whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of you.”
If I’ve trodden on some toes, please forgive me. My goal is to prepare God’s people for the day when we will all unite together with the redeemed from all the ages and sing as one:
‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and praise.’ (Revelation 5:12)
PS. I’m aware that worship involves far more than just music, etc. Webster’s dictionary of 1823 describes worship as: “to honor with extravagant love and extreme submission.” Webster no doubt had in mind Abraham offering his beloved son Isaac as an act of worship. Notice also that Abraham first built an altar. We are not told that he embellished it in any way!
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