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March 2004 Table of Contents
Musical Insights
"Somebody's Praying Me Through"
By Karla Worley
Gary Rhodes and I purposefully created this product with the intent that it will be just the jumping off point for a new and fresh movement of prayer in your church and community. Some goals we set in structuring the content of Somebody's Praying Me Through are: To gain a greater understanding of how God works through intercessory prayer; to examine Biblical truths about intercessory prayer; to witness how God has worked through intercessory prayer in the lives of contemporary, historical and Biblical believers; to participate in intercessory prayer; to encourage and minister to each other in the local church body; to celebrate what God is doing in the world today through the prayers of his people; to thank God for hearing and answering prayer.
That seems like a big agenda! But it is accomplished very simply. Gather the body of Christ together-your own church, or several churches in your community. Tell each other your stories. Listen, then pray and worship in response.
Think of this gathering as a campfire, around which you will gather to sing, share and celebrate. Because we want you to hear what God is doing in the larger world, Gary and I have invited some well-known Christian leaders to share with us around our campfire. We've collected the testimonies and thoughts of some brothers and sisters in Christ whom you've never met, but who are much like you. We want you to invite some of your own church members to share around that campfire. And of course, we want to hear what God has to say to us, so we've included many of his words on prayer found in the Word. As we all take turns speaking and listening, the moments will come when we want to pray together and break into song together. If you've ever gathered around a campfire like that with other believers, you know that you come away with your spirit restored, your heart refreshed, and your resolve renewed. That's what Gary and I pray for you and your congregation.
Why Use A DVD?
We also want to introduce you to the valuable contribution that digital media makes to worship, if you are not already employing it. The accompaniment DVD is a particularly valuable component of this project because the worship service is built around personal testimonies about intercessory prayer. Your church members need to hear not only what God is doing in your church, but to know what God is doing through prayer in the whole Body of his church. That's why we included comments by President George W. Bush, Brooklyn Tabernacle pastor Jim Cymbala, and others.
What God says about prayer is also a very important part of this service, and the DVD provides Scriptures which speak into the mix of testimony and song, as well as lyrics for congregational singing. These Scriptures and lyrics can be useful in congregational worship in addition to this presentation.
Some of you may never have attempted a DVD musical before. We've worked with the editors at Word Music to try to make our DVD as simple to use as possible. When connecting audio, you only need to connect the right and left channels to your sound system, and the video output to your video system. There is no audio recorded in the "center" or "surround" channels. Upon inserting the DVD, you are automatically taken to the main title graphic, then move to the Main Menu page.
At the Main Menu you have three options: Select Audio Options/Pre-Show Loop/Bonus Material.
Select Audio Options will take you to a Track Menu, where you will select the audio for use in your presentation. Once you select the audio preference you can start the musical at the beginning, or select different tracks within the musical. The DVD is presented in three formats, split, stereo and click track. The click version allows your own musicians to accompany the performance, while syncing tempos to lyrics and digital images.
The Pre-Show Loop is the title graphic in a loop form that can be used on screen before your presentation to "set the stage" for the musical.
The Bonus Materials include interviews with the creators, Gary Rhodes and Karla Worley, an interview with former missionary and hostage Gracia Burnham, and an extended interview with former Taliban prisoners Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry Masterson.
These bonus materials can be used to promote the event, to prepare your choir or congregation, as added material during the performance or incorporated into related worship services on prayer that may lead up to the performance of this work.
Building Prayer Into Your Worship
In the church, we're often guilty of talking about prayer, but failing to actually pray. That's why we've intentionally built into this work some moments to stop and pray. We've indicated two places for extended prayer times. But don't let that limit you! Every church will handle these prayer times in their own way. Pray in the manner consistent with your tradition, and let the Spirit make you sensitive to recognize the moments you need to stop to pray. Here are some ideas to consider both during the musical, and during worship times in the weeks prior to the musical:
Corporate Prayer
Draw into small groups or pray together one-on-one where you are seated. During the prayer time for families, you may want to encourage family members to get together and pray, even if they are not seated together.
Open the altar for people to come and kneel, praying alone, together, or with staff/counselors prepared to pray with them.
Read scriptures or written prayers aloud responsively.
We have used the choruses "Hear Our Praises", "Calling Out To You" and "Made Me Glad" as congregational prayer responses, but you may also have a hymn or chorus that you know would voice the prayers of your congregation.
Individual Prayer
Silent prayer at the altar or seated.
Guided prayer: During the two extended prayer times indicated in the work, you might be comfortable guiding your members through their personal prayer by using a printed prayer guide they might write on or using visuals on screen.
In addition, the production notes available online at wordmusic.com give you extensive ideas and downloadable study helps on how to prepare your choir and congregation for the musical. It is our prayer that your ministry rediscovers the blessings that are found when "Somebody's Praying Me Through!"
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