25 Years of Praise
Yes, We Still Bring the Sacrifice of Praise
It's been 25 years since "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise" was published!
Few songwriters who write for the church reach the pinnacle of recognition that Kirk and Deby Dearman have with their song, "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise." Translated into every major language and sung in churches around the world, the song ranked in the Top Ten for ten straight years on the charts of Christian Copyright Licensing International.
STORY BEHIND THE SONG:
WE BRING THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE
I was a young husband and father of two little girls, serving as worship leader of Shady Grove Church, in Grand Prairie, TX. The church was in the midst of genuine revival and one of the many visible fruits was a strong conscious awareness of God's presence in the corporate times of worship.
It was during this season of revival that a guest teacher came one Sunday and taught on the subject of "The Sacrifice of Praise." This was a new and interesting concept to me, as well as to the congregation. The term is mentioned in several scriptures. Psalm 50:23 says "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me." And Hebrews 13 says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
As I drove home from church that Sunday, I was thinking about the teaching that had gone deep into my spirit; a little concept that held a key to enduring life's difficulties, praise and sacrifice mingled together, just like in the tabernacle! Wow, what a concept. I began to sing the words, "We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord" and, within a total of no more than five minutes, I had written the four-line chorus. There in my little Honda Civic, cruising along the old Dallas - Ft. Worth Turnpike, the now classic song was born. I affectionately call it my "car-tune".
I had always thought that a "sacrifice of praise" was equivalent to saying "praise the Lord" when having a bad day. I had no idea that God was giving to me and my family - and the Church worldwide - a powerful truth from scripture, summed up in a little chorus that was so powerful it would carry many through their darkest hour:
"We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord
We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord
And we offer up to You the sacrifices of thanksgiving
And we offer up to You the sacrifices of joy"
©1984 John T. Benson Publishing Company (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc., 741 Cool Springs Blvd., Franklin TN 37067)
The following Sunday morning, I taught the song to the congregation and they loved it. Students from Christ for the Nations, a nearby Bible school heard the song, taught it to their school and recorded it on a worship project that went around the world. I was totally unaware that this song was traveling at light speed - with no promotion other than God Himself!
In 1988 our family was living as missionaries in Brussels, Belgium, when we received a phone call from the Christian Copyright Licensing organization, which keeps record of the songs churches are singing across America. They had been trying to track us down for some time to tell us that "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise" was the number one song being sung in churches across America. In fact, by then the song had already been translated into many languages and was being sung around the world! We had no idea that this was happening.
Over the years, I have said that "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise" is the easiest song I've ever written, but the hardest one I've ever had to live. What took only five minutes to write has had taken a lifetime to become a part of my testimony.
Through many personal tests and trials, I've learned that "the sacrifice of praise" is much more than just praising God when you don't feel like it. It costs us something. It involves letting go and a deeper level of trust in God when we don't understand what He's doing or why certain things happen. It's trusting Him, no matter what.
Often our greatest sacrifice is letting go of our preconceived ideas about how our life should be. We need to live in a state of continual surrender to God, even when things fall apart. Even when we have no idea where our lives are headed. There are many examples of this in scripture:
Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, Issac. Joseph endured betrayal and imprisonment. Esther risked her life to save her people. Job lost everything he owned, including his family. Their praise came at the cost of great personal suffering and loss.
This level of praise does not come from knowing that everything will turn out all right, but from knowing that God is faithful, whether things turn out the way we want or not; that God is bigger than our circumstance and wiser than our ability to figure things out. It's a level of praise that arises from knowing that the God who created the universe and breathed life into man can certainly be trusted with what is best for me, my children and my children's children.
Most importantly, the "sacrifice of praise" is not an unrealistic praise that ignores the reality of your situation. It is not a happy song sung while your heart is breaking. It's not a litany of positive scriptures when your situation is desperate. It is not meant to encourage denial, pretending that things are fine when they are not. A true "sacrifice of praise" arises in the midst of the raw, nitty-gritty of our reality. It arises when you acknowledge how hopeless your situation really is. But it goes one important step further; it adds the words, " But for God!" This sacrifice may be as simple as a shift of attitude that says, "God, I trust You, even though my circumstances say it's hopeless."
As an addition to the original chorus, my wife Deby, wrote two verses in 1991 that express the concept a bit further. We slowed the melody down and began to sing it as our confession in the midst of our own trials. Perhaps the second verse sums it up best:
"Lord, You've taught us in Your Word to give thanks in everything
You'll provide a place of refuge beneath the shadow of Your wing
So we purpose to obey You and to walk in all Your ways
Lord, in every situation we'll bring the sacrifice of praise"
©1984 John T. Benson Publishing Company (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc., 741 Cool Springs Blvd., Franklin TN 37067)
Deby and I have sung this little song and have clung to the truths it holds through the most difficult days of our lives.Through it all, we have learned that God is bigger than all of life's impossibilities. We haven't handled our storms of life perfectly, but . . . we are still bringing the sacrifice of praise!
A few testimonies
A young pastor and worship leader suffered damage to his vocal cords. Standing in the back of the sanctuary listening to his replacement, because he could no longer speak or sing - they began singing "we bring the sacrifice of praise". He started weeping and knew God was requiring him to trust him - with or with out a voice.
He was not healed, but now . . . many years later, he speaks in a whisper and occasionally whispers a sermon over a microphone. Those in the congregation sit on the edge of their seat and hear the sweetest whisper from a man who is still offering the sacrifice of praise. As an author he writes about trusting our faithful God when life falls apart.
A mother praying in the middle of the night for her daughter who had cancer sensed that God was asking her to 'bring a sacrifice of praise" and began singing the song over and over throughout the night. The next day her daughter went to the doctor and discovered her cancer was gone!
A missionary was discouraged and leaving the mission field. He started walking through the jungle praying for a sign if God wanted him to stay. After walking for hours, he heard the sound of singing in a distant village. As he came closer he realized the song he was hearing was "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise". He approached the hut and found a small home group. This was the sign he needed to keep him on the mission field. STORY BEHIND THE SONG:
WE BRING THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE
I was a young husband and father of two little girls, serving as worship leader of Shady Grove Church, in Grand Prairie, TX. The church was in the midst of genuine revival and one of the many visible fruits was a strong conscious awareness of God's presence in the corporate times of worship.
It was during this season of revival that a guest teacher came one Sunday and taught on the subject of "The Sacrifice of Praise." This was a new and interesting concept to me, as well as to the congregation. The term is mentioned in several scriptures. Psalm 50:23 says "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me." And Hebrews 13 says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
As I drove home from church that Sunday, I was thinking about the teaching that had gone deep into my spirit; a little concept that held a key to enduring life's difficulties, praise and sacrifice mingled together, just like in the tabernacle! Wow, what a concept. I began to sing the words, "We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord" and, within a total of no more than five minutes, I had written the four-line chorus. There in my little Honda Civic, cruising along the old Dallas - Ft. Worth Turnpike, the now classic song was born. I affectionately call it my "car-tune".
I had always thought that a "sacrifice of praise" was equivalent to saying "praise the Lord" when having a bad day. I had no idea that God was giving to me and my family - and the Church worldwide - a powerful truth from scripture, summed up in a little chorus that was so powerful it would carry many through their darkest hour:
"We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord
We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord
And we offer up to You the sacrifices of thanksgiving
And we offer up to You the sacrifices of joy"
©1984 John T. Benson Publishing Company (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc., 741 Cool Springs Blvd., Franklin TN 37067)
The following Sunday morning, I taught the song to the congregation and they loved it. Students from Christ for the Nations, a nearby Bible school heard the song, taught it to their school and recorded it on a worship project that went around the world. I was totally unaware that this song was traveling at light speed - with no promotion other than God Himself!
In 1988 our family was living as missionaries in Brussels, Belgium, when we received a phone call from the Christian Copyright Licensing organization, which keeps record of the songs churches are singing across America. They had been trying to track us down for some time to tell us that "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise" was the number one song being sung in churches across America. In fact, by then the song had already been translated into many languages and was being sung around the world! We had no idea that this was happening.
Over the years, I have said that "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise" is the easiest song I've ever written, but the hardest one I've ever had to live. What took only five minutes to write has had taken a lifetime to become a part of my testimony.
Through many personal tests and trials, I've learned that "the sacrifice of praise" is much more than just praising God when you don't feel like it. It costs us something. It involves letting go and a deeper level of trust in God when we don't understand what He's doing or why certain things happen. It's trusting Him, no matter what.
Often our greatest sacrifice is letting go of our preconceived ideas about how our life should be. We need to live in a state of continual surrender to God, even when things fall apart. Even when we have no idea where our lives are headed. There are many examples of this in scripture:
Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, Issac. Joseph endured betrayal and imprisonment. Esther risked her life to save her people. Job lost everything he owned, including his family. Their praise came at the cost of great personal suffering and loss.
This level of praise does not come from knowing that everything will turn out all right, but from knowing that God is faithful, whether things turn out the way we want or not; that God is bigger than our circumstance and wiser than our ability to figure things out. It's a level of praise that arises from knowing that the God who created the universe and breathed life into man can certainly be trusted with what is best for me, my children and my children's children.
Most importantly, the "sacrifice of praise" is not an unrealistic praise that ignores the reality of your situation. It is not a happy song sung while your heart is breaking. It's not a litany of positive scriptures when your situation is desperate. It is not meant to encourage denial, pretending that things are fine when they are not. A true "sacrifice of praise" arises in the midst of the raw, nitty-gritty of our reality. It arises when you acknowledge how hopeless your situation really is. But it goes one important step further; it adds the words, " But for God!" This sacrifice may be as simple as a shift of attitude that says, "God, I trust You, even though my circumstances say it's hopeless."
As an addition to the original chorus, my wife Deby, wrote two verses in 1991 that express the concept a bit further. We slowed the melody down and began to sing it as our confession in the midst of our own trials. Perhaps the second verse sums it up best:
"Lord, You've taught us in Your Word to give thanks in everything
You'll provide a place of refuge beneath the shadow of Your wing
So we purpose to obey You and to walk in all Your ways
Lord, in every situation we'll bring the sacrifice of praise"
©1984 John T. Benson Publishing Company (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc., 741 Cool Springs Blvd., Franklin TN 37067)
Deby and I have sung this little song and have clung to the truths it holds through the most difficult days of our lives.Through it all, we have learned that God is bigger than all of life's impossibilities. We haven't handled our storms of life perfectly, but . . . we are still bringing the sacrifice of praise!
A few testimonies
A young pastor and worship leader suffered damage to his vocal cords. Standing in the back of the sanctuary listening to his replacement, because he could no longer speak or sing - they began singing "we bring the sacrifice of praise". He started weeping and knew God was requiring him to trust him - with or with out a voice.
He was not healed, but now . . . many years later, he speaks in a whisper and occasionally whispers a sermon over a microphone. Those in the congregation sit on the edge of their seat and hear the sweetest whisper from a man who is still offering the sacrifice of praise. As an author he writes about trusting our faithful God when life falls apart.
A mother praying in the middle of the night for her daughter who had cancer sensed that God was asking her to 'bring a sacrifice of praise" and began singing the song over and over throughout the night. The next day her daughter went to the doctor and discovered her cancer was gone!
A missionary was discouraged and leaving the mission field. He started walking through the jungle praying for a sign if God wanted him to stay. After walking for hours, he heard the sound of singing in a distant village. As he came closer he realized the song he was hearing was "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise". He approached the hut and found a small home group. This was the sign he needed to keep him on the mission field.
Listen to the updated version of the song below,
but don't forget to turn off the music player in the bottom left hand corner first.
