VAPOUR WATER ICE

Started with the thought of making it a self titled album named after KERYGMA worship ministry.

Then tried naming it after one of the song titles:

We Will Follow

Reign Lord Reign

All Hail Yahweh

Praise The Lord Our God

Awake O My Soul

Song Of Christ

O Come

Sweet Anointing

Holy Spirit Purify Me

Sanctus

No satisfaction.

Then tried some phrases from the song lyrics:

God of goodness

Sure Foundation

new signs

brought to life

Kingdom come

holy be Your Name

creation's praises

glory of Your love

be glorified

seek and save

Living Word

year of favour

Jesus come
rain down

new life

Sanctify

Great is our God

holy is the Lord.

Still no satisfaction.

Wrestled for awhile with "Father, Son and Spirit" unable to get the idea of the Trinity out of my mind. The track list is also assembled in a manner stressing on the Trinity. Somehow felt the album title should also reflect this.

Was thinking about "Spirit, Water and Blood" (from 1 John 5:8), when it hit me that water can exist as solid, liquid or gas, 3 states, one element. Cool representation of 3 persons, one God.

"Vapour, Water, Ice" it shall be.

Satisfied.

FINAL CUT

It's done.

Final versions of the mixed and mastered tracks.

4 years of songwriting...and rewriting…and praying...9 months of music making
and the album is finally ready to be launched.

Just listening to the finished sound fills me with deep joy.

The album artwork and package design are also completed and ready to print.

Thank you Lord!

The 'B' Effect

When Christians (especially those in active ministry) neglect looking after one's own spiritual growth, they will experience the 'B' effect:

1. Breakdown - whenever a storm hits them, they break down, because the problem seems too big to handle. But the real reason is not the size of the problem but the spiritual strength (or the lack of it) of the Christian facing it.
2. Blowup - it takes very little for a weak Christian to explode with anger/irritation at people. They blowup and blow others also up. This typically occurs more within the family and then make inroads into other relationships at work, church etc.
3. Burnout - stress eats up the weak Christian way too easily and all aspects of life (marriage, family, work, ministry, church etc.) seem like a boring burden most of the time.

If you are experiencing any of the above, it's time to check on your personal spirituality:

• Do you dedicate time every day to spend quietly with God and His Word in solitude? At least an hour comprising 20 minutes of meditation on the Bible and 40 minutes of silent reflection is a must.
• Are you a lone ranger keeping your spirituality to yourself all the time? That's not healthy! Team up with another Christian to pray for each other and check on each other's personal spirituality every week (at least) and make yourselves accountable to each other.
• Are you still learning or are you satisfied with an I've-done-it-all mind-set especially in ministry? An attitude of excellence (Colossians 3:17) requires a constant desire to grow more, do you have it? What are you doing to grow more in your God given ministry? When was the last time you attended training?

Remember there's absolutely nothing more important than saving one's own soul first. No one wins the prize without completing the race (1 Cor 9:24).

Related Posts:

       From Quiet Solitude

       Praying the Scriptures

        

P to P to P

Image by law_keven via Flickr

Another cool reflection I learnt at the retreat on 'Commitment'

When God calls someone, He leads the person through three stages of relationship with Him, we can call them the 3 P's:

1. PROMISE - God gives a promise when He calls someone; for e.g. when Joseph is called, God promises him that he would be the greatest of his brothers.

2. PREPARATION - This is the tough part; this stage involves waiting on the Lord and allowing Him to work on us for the promise to be fulfilled. This stage also involves trial and suffering, but without which we would not become what God wants us to be. For e.g. Joseph had to endure his brothers' rejection and imprisonment for 17 years.

3. PROVIDENCE - This is the stage in which God fulfills the promise He made; for e.g. Joseph is exalted in a foreign land and becomes the greatest of his brothers. God thus leads Joseph from pit to pot (Potiphar) to prison to palace.

No matter what stage we are in right now, we must remember 4 important facts:

A. God is with me

B. God is in control

C. God is working on me

D. God will ensure the outcome is good

A faith that is not tested cannot be trusted. Isaiah 40:31

The Servant's Profile

Image via Wikipedia

1. A Servant is a Giver - because the Christian servant reflects God who is the greatest giver ever, no one can out do Him in giving.

As His servant we give our time and other resources and make ourselves available for the purpose of the Kingdom.

2. A Servant is a Forgiver - an outstanding Old Testament example of forgiveness is Joseph. In the New Testament we have our Lord Jesus Himself.

As God's servant, we should forgive and also forget; hatred has no place except hatred of sin.

3. A Servant Endures - in the midst of trial and suffering, the Christian servant's trust and hope in God do not weaken.

 

Job, Joseph, the Psalmist and so many others show us the way. When all is not going too well, we must learn to wait upon the Lord.

Praying the Scriptures

I attended this 3-day retreat last weekend focused entirely on deepening my personal commitment to God, family, church and other relationships. I learnt so much during these 3 days and wish to blog some of the key learning points that I personally found very useful.

In this post I want to share this simple method of reflecting on scripture during personal prayer times:

• Choose a book of the Bible for daily reading - I have chosen to start with the Gospel of John.
• Start reading a passage from the beginning of the selected book, preferably a full chapter.
• Read it slowly a couple of times and then silently ask the following questions:
  • What does this passage tell me about the character of God?
  • Does this chapter describe any sin that I should give up?
  • What promise of God does this passage reveal that I can claim?
  • What commandment of God does this passage instruct that I should obey?
  • What lesson does this passage teach me to learn?
    
• Maintain a daily prayer journal/log in which the scripture reference and the answers to each of the above questions can be written down.
• Spend at least 20 minutes daily for this spiritual exercise.
• Keep the prayer journal close at hand and whenever possible, spend a few minutes to read the answers during the rest of the day. If your prayer time is in the evening, you can do this on the following day

It’s an amazing method of obtaining fresh and deep insights into the Word of God. I hope this way of praying the scriptures is useful to you too.

O Come – New & Revised!

Well, we added percussion, modified the dynamics a bit and I still didn’t like it…always got the feeling this song deserves more.

So we ditched the entire music and redid it completely. We changed the rhythm adding some light drums to a different set of percussions, put in an Indian flute along with some piano and that did it!

Now the song sounds like what I heard in my mind - only need to add in the guitar parts.

2nd Cut – O Come

Image by Loci Lenar via Flickr

The second cut has percussion tracks added in, sounds very neat and full now.

After listening to it a few more times, feel like tinkering with the percussion arrangements some more, else it sounds a little monotonous towards the latter half of the song.

Also thinking of replaying the flute parts at the next octave, will try it and see next week.

1st Cut – Reign Lord Reign

Liked the music the first time I heard it in Mano’s studio.

However, on repeated listens later at home, find the synth/strings work too overpowering - definitely needs to be toned down somewhat.

The intro also has a particular tone that needs to be replaced, will work on it next week and sort it out.

This is a 3/4 song and I really don’t have a confident sense for this rhythm, so will probably take some time to finalize this one.

1st Cut – Praise the Lord Our God

Image by Celestial Photography via Flickr

Re-worked the whole arrangement with Mano today and now it sounds complete.

This song starts with a rocking piano intro and maintains an up-tempo rhythm throughout. From the bridge onwards, it gets more interesting with tabla and flute giving an Indian feel, creating a fusion sound overall.

Still need to add in the guitars and I’ll probably change one of the intro instruments, feels a bit out of place there. In the verse also, there’s a particular organ rhythm that can make way for the guitar, let’s see.

With this version, the song is coming together very well now.

1st Cut – Sweet Anointing (Rain Down)

Image by hickory hardscrabble via Flickr

This one’s all rock - liked it instantly when I heard it.

The interludes are full of happy sounding flute work with lots of space left for Bruce to fill in with his guitar later on.

It’s a simple single verse + chorus type of song of the Holy Spirit

The music is nicely built on a Celtic up-tempo rhythm and I don’t really feel like changing anything, Just have to wait and see what the guitars add to the final version.

Spontaneous Worship

"...I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also." - 1 Corinthians 14:15

If the worship leader is sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit, then somewhere at some point in the worship session, there will be moments of spontaneous worship and praise. It may happen at the beginning, middle or end of a song; it can happen more than once during a session also.

When the worship leader senses the moment, and takes the risk of stepping forward in faith to release that spontaneous song, many times I have experienced that something happens – the level of worship always goes up a notch or two and the Lord is rightfully glorified.

Spontaneous worship usually happens in one or more of the following ways:

• An additional line or two complementing or amplifying the theme of the song, usually done during the song itself. A brilliant example is the Vineyard live recording of the “Come and follow” album. There is this song led by Andy Park “Who is like our God?” (Brian Doerksen, Brian Thiessen & Brian Duane, Mercy/Vineyard Publishing). After every verse, Andy sings a few spontaneous lines that beautifully enhance the feeling of awe we already feel with the written lyrics of this song. It is so well done, that the attention is always on the Lord and at the same time we can’t help but notice the sincerity of the worship leader singing from the heart out of genuine love for Him.

• Free praise, worship & thanksgiving – sometimes in word and sometimes in song. At times when nothing seems to be happening and inspiration seems far away, I like to start in this manner. I gently guide the people to lift their voices and join me in praising the Lord and just pour out our hearts to Him. Our God is always ready to make His home “in the praises of His people…” (Psalm 22:3) and things start happening now – the praising gets more and more intense, I start strumming some chord on my guitar, the words form into melodies and I get inspiration to start the song. This way, my breakthrough is already achieved and the people find it easier to be engaged right from the beginning of the session. When a song or a medley of songs has helped people to worship God intimately, our hearts cannot help but express our feelings for Him in a spontaneous outpouring of praise, worship and thanksgiving at the end of the song. Taking the same song as an example, at the end of it, you can listen to Andy leading this outpouring with the people joining in and it’s so awesome just to listen to it!

• Singing or speaking in tongues – Not advisable when the majority of the congregation is non-charismatic and is not gifted in speaking in tongues. But if they are familiar with this charism and I feel the Holy Spirit is inspiring me, then I go for it. For me, it mostly happens when I am doing a song of the Holy Spirit and suddenly I sense the need for spontaneity and normal words are just not there – here speaking or singing in tongues becomes the offering of spontaneous worship. “…for when we do not know how to pray properly, then the Spirit personally makes our petitions for us in groans that cannot be put into words;” – Romans 8:26. Sometimes, prophetic words or visions also come out from the people after an outbreak of tongues.

• The spontaneous song – this occurs very rarely for me to be honest! When the session moves to a point where the congregation is in silent worship, the Lord sings over His people through the worship leader or someone else in the Worship team. Steve Kuban’s “I will fight for you” (Spirit And Truth Publishing) is a classic example of this. Or it could be the people’s song to the Lord too like “We will ride” (Andy Park, Mercy Vineyard publishing).

It’s good to practice this gift in personal Worship to know what kind of melodies or musical keys you are comfortable in. When on stage and the Lord inspires spontaneous worship, you don’t want to be caught singing off-key!

So how do I know if it’s inspired by the Spirit of God or a spirit of performance? Well, if it inspires the people to deeper worship or helps them to draw closer to God, then it’s definitely a move of the Holy Spirit. Else, it’s a move of the performance spirit and it will only take the focus away from God and instead draw attention to me and the worship gets lost somewhere in between!

The worship leader should be prepared to take risks on stage and actually go for it in faith to know better how to use this gift. Personally I feel very satisfied if I’ve guided the people to these moments of spontaneity at least once during a session. However I need to remember that spontaneity is not a technique – it has to come from my heart (and people can usually tell when it is or is not from the heart!) to inspire someone else to join in and celebrate the Lord with me.

“Cry and shout for joy, you who live in Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is among you in his greatness.” – Isaiah 12:6

1st Cut - ‘O Come’

The music for this one is completely different from the other songs - lots of mellow electric piano, strings and flute work and no drums or percussions. Once vocal harmonies and guitars are added, it should sound much fuller.

Spoke to Sheetal who wrote this song, she prefers some light percussion work to be included, will request Mano to maybe add in some Indian percussions.

Otherwise, the music sounds apt for the mood and theme of the song, which is an intense invocation for the presence of God.

Song Story - ‘Holy Spirit, Purify Me’

There was this retreat during a weekend 6 years ago, where I had to lead worship and I needed a fresh song of praying for the Holy Spirit. I was looking for a short and simple song that would express a worshipper’s prayer to receive the Presence of the Lord.

Well, to cut it short, I never found that new song and so I took the other alternative and wrote one myself.

Lyrically, this song is only a 4 liner and more of a repetitive chant than a full fledged worship song.

I also used it on the final day of that retreat and amazing things happened!

We initiated that particular session with this song and then led the congregation into a prayer acknowledging and surrendering to the Lordship of the Holy Trinity.

Then, we encouraged them to lift up their own free prayers asking for the Spirit’s infilling and then it happened!

As if on cue, one of them broke down crying out “Jesus, I love You, I need You!” and fell to the ground, then another followed suit, then another and so on…though I’ve seen this happen before, it never fails to amaze me that all we have to do is just call out and He answers!

I saw soul-healing, some receiving the gift of tongues, some starting to believe in God more firmly and a deliverance also took place. And to think that all it took was this simple 4-line prayer to start it all – what an incredibly good and generous God we serve!

“… you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come upon you…” - Acts 1:8

2nd Cut - ‘Holy Spirit, Purify Me’

Worked with Mano on ‘Holy Spirit, Purify Me’ today.

First, we reworked the arrangement of the lyrics to bring down the monotony a bit (though this happens to be a chant actually).

Then we continued the percussion line in the intro into the verses also, this gave the continuity between intro and verse, which I felt was somehow missing (my wife, Irene had the same feedback) in the first cut.

Mano had already replaced the electric violin outro with the intro and enhanced it with some Indian flute work.

Now it sounds the way I want it to, leaving only guitar parts to be added.

2nd Cut - ‘All Hail Yahweh’

‘All Hail Yahweh’ with guitars sounds even better now. Bruce has played a cool guitar solo before the bridge on a very unique scale bordering on carnatic notes - not something usually heard in worship music; it does add a different colour to the song.

The changes to the bridge part are also done reducing intensity and then building it up into the chorus, which enhances the worship effectively.

The percussions still need to be heard a bit more - should be taken care of in the final mix I guess.

Reforming the Performing

At some point or the other, people active in on-stage ministries like preaching or worship struggle with the performance spirit.

On stage, with the spotlight on, with all the excitement, songs, music, people clapping & cheering etc. it’s so easy to get carried away and turn the session into a musical concert riding on people’s emotions. That’s when the session doesn’t anoint but annoys.

Signs of having yielded to the performance spirit:

- I want to be doing the worship leading all the time and do whatever I can to ensure other worship leaders do not get opportunities.

- I forget compliments are just a way of confirming my calling and instead look forward to compliments only to feed my ego.

- I feign humility when receiving compliments while gloating on the inside.

- I want only my songs to be used in the worship session.

- I monopolize the stage as much as possible.

- I can’t stand it when another worship leader is complimented.

- I dislike small crowds and enjoy only big crowds and big programs.

- I wear flashy, attention-grabbing clothes or accessories.

- I make exaggerated gyrations and movements when playing my musical instrument (guitarists are particularly susceptible to this!)

- I need all kinds of trappings like multicolored strobe lights, smoke bombs etc. to get into that “worship” groove.

- I manipulate people and their emotions to create feel-good “worship.”

A few tips that have helped me and continue to help me:

- I have an honest spiritual guide who gives frank feedback on my sessions. I also choose a few more sincere people who know my ministry, from whom I can expect straightforward feedback and opinions.

- Always have a time of personal worship at least a day before a worship session.

- Pray against pride and pray for the Lord to increase.

- Work with my worship team closely, mentor them and share the stage as much as possible with them even if it means ‘my time’ is reduced.

- Remember worship is all about the Lord and His people, NOT about me.

- Learn to enjoy all crowds, big or small: this keeps my heart in its proper place.

- Never forget that God is the real audience.

- Never run after an opportunity to lead worship. Trust God and joyfully take whatever He provides.

- Remember, we can probably attract people with the flashy, but cannot keep them without integrity.

In short, worship should always be awe-filled not awful. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John 3:30

3rd Cut - ‘Song of Christ’

Robert finally made it to Chennai to complete the vocal recording for ‘Song of Christ’ today. His classy singing + Bruce’s guitar work well with the rest of the music to bring out the exact overall feel I had in mind when I wrote this song.

Must say it’s very satisfying to listen to this version!

1st Cut - ‘Holy Spirit, Purify Me’

First cut of ‘Holy Spirit, Purify Me’ reached me today.

This has a lot more Indian/Ethnic sound to it - starting with a simple ethnic stringed instrument intro, the music builds up with a brief flute line leading into the verse, then space for some guitar interlude with percussion provided by an Indian Tabla.

Since this song is more of a chant, we repeat the verse, then another interlude and then verse again leading into an electric violin outro.

Felt the percussion in the intro should continue in the verses also apart from rearranging the lyrics and replacing the electric violin outro with the intro supplemented with Indian flute.

2nd Cut - ‘Awake O My Soul’

Percussions and Bruce’s guitar work added, now it sounds absolutely awesome!

The tone of the electric guitar from the second verse onwards is one of the most pleasant sounds I’ve ever heard. Great fills and a special emotive solo, all in all, high quality electric guitar work.

Mano’s trademark flute and electric sitar all add up to make ‘Awake O My Soul’ very special.

Handling Temptation

I recently spoke on this subject in my prayer group...since all of us struggle with some temptation or the other, I thought of blogging my talk's notes, hope they help you in come way!

IT’S SOURCE

Temptation comes from the enemy and myself, James 1:14, “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”

It arouses and manipulates the senses (sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste) and urges us to give in to the flesh.

Temptation challenges our morals and weaknesses; and by gradually drawing us into habitual sins, it aims to enslave and lead us away from God.

Biblical example: the temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3).

WHAT IT IS NOT

It is not the same as testing, which comes from God, confronts us to renounce the flesh & walk in the spirit, and challenges our fruits & our walk with God. It aims to strengthen us and lead us closer to God.

Biblical example: God asking Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac.

Secondly, temptation is NOT sin...getting tempted is not a sin by itself - it is our response to the temptation that determines whether we are in sin or not.

OVERCOMING TEMPTATION - THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES

1. Resist and it will flee (James 4:7), resist = not wanting it AT ALL! We succumb because deep down we enjoy it, take pleasure from it, we want it. If that desire does not go, no amount of praying can defeat it.

Remember and trust in God’s promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

So no one can say 'I can't resist it', else the Bible is lying.

2. Pray - Jesus taught us in Luke 22:40 and again in 46 "...he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." Use the gifts, I especially pray in tongues when I am tempted.

3. Know the Word of God - "Thy Word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee" (Psalms 119:11) that’s how Jesus overcame temptation - Jesus was physically starving during the temptations, but spiritually overflowing - that is the power of grace through prayer and the Word.

4. Do not hide it - the enemy loves darkness and he cannot stand the light, bring it out into the open and it will lose its power over us e.g. talking about it in confession or to a spiritual director or a prayer partner.

5. Avoid compromising situations - e.g. if you are constantly tempted to visit a porn site while browsing the internet, keep the computer in the hall or keep the door open while browsing.

6. Change our attitude - instead of looking at temptation as a trap/snare, look at it positively as an opportunity to do what's right.

7. Detachment - When God asks you to give something up, we should be able to not just obey, but obey cheerfully. See Abraham or Tobit or better still Job, nothing could shake their trust in God – they simply obeyed. God does only what’s best – if job/house/money/people go, that’s what God wants in my life at that point, which means it’s best for me in God's eyes – this is real detachment.

No temptation or testing can overcome me if I am detached. What I have, I can use and enjoy, but if it is taken away, no worries – remember Job’s principle: ‘God gives and God takes away.’ When God is really first, attachments will disappear.

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." - James 1:12

1st Cut - ‘Awake O My Soul’

First cut itself blew me away!

This time, the intro is a simple piano riff leading into the first verse, chorus, interlude and going full-on with drums into the second verse, then space for a guitar solo, reducing intensity for the chorus, then slowly building up again into another repetition of the chorus and then the outro.

Just wish for some light percussion work from the beginning, which Mano agreed to add.

This is probably the most melodic song on the album, wonder what Bruce’s guitar would do to this one.

1st Cut - ‘All Hail Yahweh’

Heard the first cut of ‘All Hail Yahweh’ today.

This has a distinct Indian/Ethnic feel to it, starting with an electric sitar intro followed by verse-1, chorus, verse-2, solo, bridge, chorus and an electric sitar outro.

The percussion work sounds neat and may be better to make it more prominent in the final mix. The other change I suggested is to tone it down after the solo and build the intensity during the bridge and then go full blast on the chorus again.

2nd Cut - ‘Song of Christ’

All changes done and the music sounds great; the Indian flute especially stands out.

Sent this version to Robz to practise his singing and he likes the music too.

His vocals would lift this song up another notch!

From Quiet Solitude

You lead worship and just can't engage the congregation...you preach, no one listens...you pray over someone, nothing happens...forgot the last time you gave a prophecy, visions have disappeared, words-of-knowledge seem a million miles away...you go through the ministry motions and when someone talks about the 'anointing', you think "anointing? now, what in heaven is that??"

Sounds familiar? No? good for you :)

Yes? Please check your prayer life...your personal prayer life and read on.

Too many servants of God substitute personal prayer with community worship. I did this during my initial years of walking with Lord and how! Membership in 4 prayer groups at the same time, one of which met daily...plus I used to give talks/lead worship in all of them...trust me, attending and/or ministering in 10 prayer meetings a week is the fastest effective route to spiritual (and even physical) burnout!

Then circumstances (pretty sure the Lord also had a hand in it!) pushed me to live without a community fellowship for about 3 years.

But I ended up enjoying spiritual growth in those 3 years like no other...built my personal prayer life, learned to seek God's will, learned to depend on God for my needs and even received excellent training in worship ministry etc.

That's why I am blogging this post...so that someone may read it and avoid the same mistakes.

Before Jesus did anything significant like choosing His apostles (Luke 6:12-14), ministering to others (Mark 1:35-39), walking on water (Matthew 14:22-27) or even before His passion (Mark 14:32-39), He never gathered with His followers singing 'let's all praise and sing alleluia', instead, Jesus prayed......alone. Let us also do likewise.

Community worship and fellowship are no doubt very important, but personal relationship with Christ comes first. Just as loving God comes first before loving neighbor. Believing and practicing otherwise is a sure way to stifle the Holy Spirit's anointing.

For how can I inspire someone to worship God with a song I myself haven’t used to worship Him in that quiet place?

Or how can I help another be comfortable with God in silence if I myself don’t know how to listen to Him in solitude?

Luke 5:16, "...Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." How much more should we?

Editing ‘Song of Christ’

Met with Mano and Bruce today to explain in greater detail all my requirements on the overall sound of the album.

We walked through ‘Song of Christ’ section by section, replacing the oboe intro with an Indian flute and repeating it as the interlude before the second verse and the outro.

Mano had added a percussion track from the second verse onwards, we added it to the first verse also and toned downed the drums - now it sounds even better; all we need is Bruce’s guitar work to complete the music!

We also discussed the overall sound and decided to maintain rock grooves fusing it with some Indian & ethnic sounds for all the songs.

Presenting God

“Look, I shall send my messenger to clear a way before me. And suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to his Temple;” – Malachi 3:1

For the people to behold the arrival of the Lord, a way is to be organized for Him. Similar to Malachi in the Old Testament or John the Baptist in the Gospels, the worship leader is called to prepare the way of the Lord.

It’s not that the omnipotent Lord of the universe needs someone to prepare a way for Him to arrive, but the way is actually needed for us to realize His arrival.

We are kidding ourselves if we think we can simply walk into God’s Holy Presence and experience it without adequate preparation!

After all, He is Spirit, we are flesh. He is holy, we are sinners. He is God and we are only created beings.

The predominant task of the worship leader is to prepare an environment conducive for presenting the God of the people to the people of God. Throughout the worship session, with every song, prayer, dance, etc. this environment is sensitively organized by the worship ministry so that the congregation is guided to offer their worship honestly.

“Go up on a high mountain, messenger of Zion. Shout as loud as you can, messenger of Jerusalem! Shout fearlessly, say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God.’” – Isaiah 40:9. The worship leader is sort of like this messenger shouting to the congregation, “here is our God, c’mon worship Him!!”

1st Cut – 'Song of Christ'

Mano informed that music for ‘Song of Christ’ is ready for listening…sort of a first cut.

Listening to it totally zapped me that someone could listen to just the vocal track and create such beautiful music around it!

The song starts with a melodic oboe intro followed by verse-1, chorus, interlude, verse-2, bridge, guitar solo, chorus twice and outro. Mano plans a lot more guitar work for the interlude and outro.

I took this version home and listened to it few more times and thought of a few changes. The drums till the interlude can be toned down a bit and a percussion track added; not too keen on the oboe intro also, maybe it can be replaced.

The Lees

One of the coolest guitarists I’ve ever known is a multi-talented dude called Bruce Lee (no relation to the martial arts superstar, though I happen to be a fan of both!) – ‘multi’ ‘cos apart from bass, lead and rhythm guitar, he also plays drums, mridangam, flute, keyboard, saxophone and God knows whatever else!

He and his wife Nisha (an out of the world pianist herself) also happen to be my good friends and both agreed to help out with the album.

Bruce will take care of all the guitar work and Nisha will handle the vocal parts along with Mano.

Thank you Lord for providing the right people at the right time!

Finalizing the Music Maker

Contacted Gerard a.k.a. Mano to his friends to check if he would be willing to take up the music production for the album and he agreed.

Gave him raw recordings of the songs and he seemed to like them :)

Mano’s way of making music is very unique – he wants only the vocal track sung in preferred key and tempo. He decides on the feel of the song from the vocal track, chooses the chords and produces the music all by himself! Can’t wait to see what he does with these songs!

So finally, after years of waiting, writing, re-writing, composing and re-composing, work has finally begun on the album, praise the Lord!

Track List

Writing many songs over 4-5 years, it’s a bit challenging deciding which ones should get into the album and which ones to leave out.

After lots of reflection and prayer, sensed the Lord leading me to bring out a collection of songs that is totally Trinity focused. The idea is to have 3 songs of the Father, 3 of the Son and 3 of the Holy Spirit and culminating with the final track worshipping the Trinity.

This meant I am short by one ‘Holy Spirit’ song, so requested a good friend/sister-in-Christ/worship leader/songwriter, Sheetal if I could use one her songs ‘O Come’ and she graciously agreed. I love this song - an infectious chant, already popular and widely used in India.

So here’s the final track list:

      01. We Will Follow
      02. Reign Lord Reign
      03. All Hail Yahweh
      04. Praise The Lord Our God
      05. Awake O My Soul
      06. Song Of Christ
      07. O Come
      08. Sweet Anointing (Rain Down)
      09. Holy Spirit, Purify Me
      10. Sanctus

Now all I need is an album title…

No Other gods

Is God really the object of my worship?

I frequently challenge myself with this question.

Worship sessions sometimes have the potential to subtly create many other gods - the song...the music...the stage...the band...the people...the compliment...the musical instrument...my skill...my voice...and...me. Any of these can become an idol.

Makes me realize how much prayer I need to keep my focus on God alone!

John 4:23 - "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." Am I this kind of a worshipper?

Through our lives and through our worship, can we influence others to worship in spirit and truth? If we can achieve that, then we would be genuine worship leaders.

Then the worship sessions will be more fruitful in terms of changing us on the inside. For what good is the ‘worship’ if we simply sing a few songs, rattle off some prayers and leave without meeting the God we are supposed to worship?

John 20:10-13 reveals even the presence of angels did not satisfy Mary Magdalene for the only person she was seeking was Christ - nothing less could satisfy her. And that should be our sole desire too when we worship - encountering God.

There are 3 authentic signs of encountering God, everything else is secondary:

1. Realization of our sinfulness leading to sincere repentance - Luke 5:8, Isaiah 6:5, Luke 7:38.

2. Experience of God's forgiving love - Luke 15:20, Isaiah 6:6-7

3. Transformation in our lives: turning from sin and finding purpose in life. - Acts 9:19-21, Isaiah 6:8-9.

If we can deliver worship sessions that enable us to encounter our holy God and experience these signs, how awesome would that be!

Lord, fill me with the grace and charism to meet this goal above all else. May You always be the only One I worship, Amen.

"It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" - Luke 4:18

Song Story: ‘Song of Christ’

One day, this timeless hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ kept playing in my mind repeatedly for a few hours; after awhile, for no particular reason, started singing verses from Luke 4:18-19 and John 6 to the tune of ‘Amazing Grace’ and suddenly something sparked off the idea for ‘Song of Christ.’

Riding back from work that evening, as I kept humming to myself, the tune slowly started changing and by the time I got home, the basic idea of the lyrics and melody were already there.

Still remember running frantically to my room, switching on the voice recorder in my mobile phone, hunting for my guitar and desperately praying ‘Lord, please let me remember this one!’

Thank God for voice recorders! The song was fully done in a few days, which is unusually fast for me.

Struggled more with the title to be honest – finally deciding to call it ‘Song of Christ.’ Sort of felt the whole mission of Jesus is summarized in Luke 4:18-19 and John 6; that He will set us free from death if only we would believe in Him and give ourselves to Him; this to me is really His life-song.

The night I finished writing and composing it, I knew someone else should sing this one; reason being this is a Jesus-singing-in-the-first-person kind of lyric (probably my first prophetic song), and somehow it made more sense to have a different male voice singing it.

Had only one person in mind: my good friend and fellow worship leader/songwriter gifted with a voice I’d gladly kill for - Robert Martin.

Sent Robby a raw recording of the tune and he agreed to sing it without hesitation, good fella!

Lose That Pride

The Bible says in Psalm 92:1, “It is good to give thanks to Yahweh, to make music for your name Most High...” And so obediently we worship in our personal/family prayer and in community services like the Mass or prayer meetings. Because we know it is good as per God's word.

And yet the Bible also says in Romans 11:35-36, “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things…Amen.”

If we take both verses together we cannot help but ask

              - if nothing can be given to God, who is it good for to give worship and thanks to Him?

              - and why is it good?

The first one is easier to answer, worship is good...for us.

To understand why, we need to understand pride.

"...you will be like gods..." (Genesis 3:5) was a temptation that our first parents could not resist. And it is a temptation all of us struggle with today...for who does not enjoy being in control...of self, of family, of school, of office or of even ministry? We love to be in charge and do what we want...like gods.

Pride is a reservoir of all other sins and one of it's offspring, greed (for wealth) is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). Pride turns our focus away from God and urges us to lift ourselves up selfishly and be like gods (Isaiah 14:13-14). No wonder pride is the first of the seven deadly sins (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Contrast this with worship, which calls for humble submission to another, acknowledging another as greater than ourselves, admitting another as god.

Pride and worship are therefore spiritual opposites. For pride says 'I am god', whereas worship says 'you are god.' This is why God's word commands us to worship no other but the Lord (Luke 4:8), because what/who we worship becomes our God.

As William Temple once said, “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His Beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose – and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.”

The more we worship the one true God, the more we will receive grace to become humble, overcome pride, die to selfishness and live a life of victory over sin placing others before self.

So come, let us worship the Lord.