Music Ministry - Voices in Praise

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven!

Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness!

Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise him with the lyre and harp!

Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes!

Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals.

Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!

Praise the Lord!                                    Psalm 150

“Friend of God”

     …highlighting the story behind the song from the upcoming May 13 worship set…

This week’s worship set includes the song “Friend of God” by Israel Houghton. He and his band New Breed are known for eclectic, cross-cultural praise and worship music and high-energy performances. Israel talks about how he came to see himself as a friend of God and how the story of his birth plays a significant role in that relationship. I really should have been one of those abortion statistics you read about. My mother became pregnant with me when she was 17. My mother's white and my biological father's black. Her family wasn't supportive of their relationship and gave her the choice to have a back-alley abortion or to be disowned. I'm here because of the decision she made-and because of her conversion shortly after that. So when I lead worship…I realize how fortunate I am to be called by God and to be protected, to be covered by him. I'm incredibly grateful...

At New Breed's retreat two years ago, we were kind of defining our group mission. We had a moderator help us think that through, and I assumed it would be kind of straightforward. Here's why we exist. It's great. God bless you, everybody. Have a good day. But God hijacked our whole time together. The moderator handed us a sheet listing promises of God and ways we're described in the Bible. He instructed us to circle the one that stood out the most to us. So there are all these statements --"I'm more than a conqueror through Christ." "Nothing can separate me from God," Romans 8, all this stuff. And then I see the statement, "I am a friend of God." Without even thinking of it, I circled that. So the moderator went around the room asking everyone what we'd circled. When it was my turn, before I could even say "I am a…;" I just started weeping, uncontrollably…

I grew up in a fairly legalistic home. My parents loved God, and they did the very best they could with what they knew. They came from a very discipleship-oriented, fairly heavy-handed way of doing kingdom work. So I would have more easily said, "I am afraid of God" than "I am a friend of God." The view I had of God was dysfunctional, almost like he was looking for opportunities to punish me. That was more what I caught than what was taught. But the more I said "I am a friend of God," the more that old, condemning view was purged from my life. I gained a healing sense of God saying, "I want to know you."…

It's so liberating. It sets me free just to worship with reckless abandon, complete belief that God enjoys me singing to him and approaching him with reverence and fear.

Visit the official web site of Israel Houghton and New Breed for more information about their music ministry. To hear sound clips and buy the music, go to Christianbook.com 
Resource: LaTonya Taylor : Christianity Today International