Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas. Some of this information is original; most of it is copied from other websites such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org. It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.
About the Vocal Solo Music:
Follow Me – Ira Stanphill
(c.1953, Ira Stamphill)
Ira Forest Stanphill (1914-1993) was a well-known American gospel music songwriter of the mid-twentieth century. Stanphill began preaching when he was 22, first in a summer traveling ministry with Christian Ambassadors of the Assemblies of God, then becoming director of youth and music at a church in Breckenridge, Texas. He later became music director at Faith Tabernacle in Oklahoma City, then became pastor of Trinity Assembly of God in Orange, California. In the early 1940s, he served as associate pastor at Full Gospel Tabernacle in Bakersfield, California. In 1949, he became music director at Bethel Temple in Fort Worth, Texas.
In 1956, he was the founding pastor of Bethel Assembly of God Church in Lake Worth, Florida. In September 1962, he became pastor of the Assembly of God Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1968, he was pastor of Rosen Heights Assembly of God Church in Fort Worth, Texas. After serving 13 years as pastor of Rockwood Park Church in Fort Worth, he resigned to devote more time to evangelism and concerts, traveling to churches and Bible camps around the country, sometimes accompanied by his wife. They played and sang some of his compositions in addition to his preaching. In 1941, they joined the team of evangelist Raymond T. Richey. An ad for a crusade Stanphill held in 1964 described him as "Preacher of Old Time Religion." In addition to traveling throughout the United States, he preached in 40 other countries. Occasionally as part of his crusades, he would ask members of the congregation to suggest titles for songs. Selecting one title from the suggestions, he would write words and music for a song during the service. In the 1970s, Stanphill's ministry included a 30-minute weekly television program. Young At Heart originated on WCFC in Chicago. In the 1990s, he appeared on several Southern gospel music videos produced by Bill Gaither.
By the age of 10, Stanphill had already become a fluent musician, having learned to play the piano, organ, ukulele, and accordion. He went on to learn to play xylophone, guitar, saxophone, and clarinet. At 17, he was composing and performing his own music for church services, revival campaigns, and prayer meetings. Stanphill composed more than 500 gospel songs.
When he was a 39-year old singing preacher, who’d been conducting his own ministry for many years, he heard a story by Charles Greenaway at a Texas conference in 1953. The Greenaways (Charles and his wife Mary) had been young missionaries in Africa, and Ira Stanphill, as any minister committed to God’s work would do, probably expected to hear something interesting and informative from them as he attended the Grand Prairie conference one evening. Maybe he got more than he bargained for, because the story made its way onto a song sheet the next day, through his own tears. The Greenaways didn’t think Africa was for them at first, those many years earlier. Mary was sick, an irony that probably was not lost on her and Charles, who had gone to help people there through a medical missionary effort they were eager to use as a springboard to introduce God to the people. It seemed that the physical needs of the locals were so great, however, that no room was left for the deeper spiritual food they wanted to dispense too. And with Mary laid low, Charles’ spirit called out ‘Lord, send us somewhere else!’ He sensed God’s answer, a gentle but firm reminder that Jesus had likewise felt the sting of apathy and rejection. Do as He did, they sensed, and leave the rest to Him. Eventually, the Greenaways saw the spiritual fruit they longed to harvest. From one minister to another, Charles Greenaway’s story washed over Ira Stanphill. Stanphill certainly identified with messaging to other cultures, as he preached in 40 different countries outside of the U.S. before expiring at the age of 79. The words he wrote – loneliness, sacrifice, burdens, and misplaced pride –an experience like the Greenaways. Hang tough, and know the intimate fellowship with Him that comes along the coarse, uneven path.
I travelled down a lonely road and no one seemed to care.
The burden on my weary back had bowed me to despair.
I oft complained to Jesus how folks were treating me,
And then I heard Him say so tenderly:
“My feet were also weary upon the Calvary road.
The cross became so heavy, I fell beneath the load.
Be faithful, weary pilgrim, the morning I can see.
Just lift your cross and follow close to Me.”
“I work so hard for Jesus,” I often boast and say,
“I’ve sacrificed a lot of things to walk the narrow way.
I gave up fame and fortune; I’m worth a lot to Thee.
and then I hear Him gently say to me:
“I left the throne of glory and counted it but loss.
My hands were nailed in anger upon a cruel cross.
But now we’ll make the journey with your hand safe in mine.
So lift your cross and follow close to Me.”
O Jesus, if I die upon a foreign field some day,
‘Twould be no more than love demands, no less could I repay.
“No greater love hath mortal man than for a friend to die.”
These are the words He gently spoke to me:
“If just a cup of water I place within your hand,
Then just a cup of water is all that I demand.”
But if by death to living they can Thy glory see,
I’ll take my cross and follow close to Thee.
About the Hymns:
Holy, Holy, Holy
Reginald Heber (1783-1826) wrote this text for Trinity Sunday, the day for which lectionary in the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer prescribes the reading of Revelation 4. Using reverent and apocalyptic language, "Holy, Holy, Holy!" alludes to Revelation 4:6-11; 5:13; 15:2-4; and Isaiah 6:1-3 to sing the great majesty of the triune God. Note the cosmic scope of the text: human beings (st. 1), saints and angels in glory (st. 2), and all creation (st. 4) praise the name of the Lord. Though God's holiness, love, and purity are cloaked in mystery, we can still experience God's mercy and mighty power, and we can participate in praising God. It references the Sanctus, which is often called the "Holy holy holy" in English. The name is a tribute to the First Council of Nicaea which formalized the doctrine of the Trinity in 325.
It was first published in the third edition (1826) of A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for the Parish Church of Banbury and was also published posthumously in Heber's Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Services of the Year (1827). The unusual single rhyme (all on the "ee" sound) and the uneven number of syllables in some lines have not detracted from the hymn's popularity. It was soon adopted by hymn-book compilers, and is the best known and most widely used of the author's hymns.
John Bacchus Dykes composed the tune NICAEA for this hymn in 1861. The tune name is a tribute to the First Council of Nicaea which formalized the doctrine of the Trinity in 325.
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and Mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, Holy, Holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man, Thy glory may not see:
Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise Thy name in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, Holy, Holy! merciful and mighty,
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!
How Great Thou Art
"How Great Thou Art" is a based on a Swedish poem written by Carl Gustav Boberg (1859–1940) in Sweden in 1885. “O Store Gud” (O Great God) is a paraphrase of Psalm 8 and has nine verses. It was sung in the underground church in Sweden in the late 1800s when the Baptists and Mission Friends were persecuted. Boberg himself gave the following information about his inspiration for this hymn:
It was that time of year when everything seemed to be in its richest colouring;; the birds were singing in trees and everywhere. It was very warm; a thunderstorm appeared on the horizon and soon thunder and lightning. We had to hurry to shelter. But the storm was soon over and the clear sky appeared. When I came home I opened my window toward the sea. There evidently had been a funeral and the bells were playing the tune of “When eternity’s clock calling my saved soul to its Sabbath rest”. That evening, I wrote the song, “O Store Gud”.
Boberg first published "O Store Gud" in the “Mönsterås Tidningen” (Mönsterås News) on 13 March 1886.The poem became matched to an old Swedish folk tune and sung in public for the first known occasion in a church in the Swedish province of Värmland in 1888. It was soon published in additional hymn collections and was translated into German and Russian.
British Methodist missionary Stuart Wesley Keene Hine (1899-1989) heard the Russian translation of the German version of the song while on an evangelistic mission to the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine, near the Polish border, in 1931. Upon hearing it, Hine was inspired to create his English paraphrase known as “How Great Thou Art". According to Michael Ireland, "Hine and his wife, Edith, learned the Russian translation, and started using it in their evangelistic services. Hine also started re-writing some of the verses --- and writing new verses (all in Russian) --- as events inspired him." Hine finalized his English translation in 1949
When the Billy Graham team went to London in 1954 for the Harringay Crusade, they were given a pamphlet containing Hine's work. They worked closely with Hine to prepare the song for use in their campaigns. They sang it in the 1955 Toronto campaign, but it didn't really catch on until they took it to the Madison Square Garden in 1957. According to Cliff Barrows (Dr. Graham's longtime associate), they sang it one hundred times during that campaign because the people wouldn't let them stop.
George Beverly Shea's recording of the beloved hymn ranks number 204 on the top recordings of the 20th century according to the Recording Industry Association of America. It was voted the United Kingdom's favourite hymn by BBC's Songs of Praise. "How Great Thou Art" was ranked second (after "Amazing Grace") on a list of the favorite hymns of all time in a survey by Today's Christian magazine in 2001.
Evangelist Billy Graham indicated: “The reason I like 'How Great Thou Art' is because it glorifies God. It turns Christian’s eyes toward God, rather than upon themselves. I use it as often as possible because it is such a God-honoring song.”
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.
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 see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze,
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.
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!"
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!
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
No comments:
Post a Comment