praise music Archives - Tony Funderburk

Posted on November 14, 2019 by TonyOctober 25, 2022

I’ve been reading, lately, where at least a few Christians are starting to question the merit of contemporary praise and worship music. And before you younger ones try to tell me it’s the old fuddy duddies, this isn’t just coming from older Christians. And I’m glad to see it. Because I’ve listened to just about all the mantra music, in church, I care to. That’s why I’m sharing the words to Holy Holy Holy.

This song isn’t a deep theological study, but…

…it does address certain key points of the Christian faith. The Trinity. Sin. And the fact that there’s only one truly Holy in all of existence. God in three persons.

In the Rhyme and Reason Podcastversion of this post I share my updated take on this classic Christian hymn. Yes, I added a beat. And yes, I contemporized it. But I also kept it true to the lyrics. The message is intact. And it’s still as simply powerful as ever.

If you’re a Christian who’d like to see praise and worship get back to supporting the full message from the Bible, let me know. And if you’re a Christian who’s completely comfortable with the touchier, feelier, less theological praise and worship music, let me hear from you, too. We can talk about it. And I can show you where you’re wrong. 😉

Here are the lyrics to the song:

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
Though the darkness hides Thee
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see
Only Thou art Holy
There is none beside Thee
Perfect in power, love, and purity

instrumental

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

Stay tuned,

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Posted on August 9, 2019 by TonyMarch 2, 2025

The Actual Attributes of God

If you do an online search for the attributes of God, you’re liable to find what one pastor calls the “omni’s and the im’s”. You’ve probably heard of them…omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent…immutable and impassible. Those are some impressive (pun slightly intended) attributes. But they don’t truly represent the God of the Bible.

Wouldn’t you prefer the attributes of God to be connectors and not dividers?

So would God. He shows us, throughout His word, how much He wants us to be with Him. And He says those who reject His Son won’t be with Him. They’ll be somewhere, forever, where God will not be present. Hmm, that sort of rejects the omnipresent thing.

And here’s something God said to and through a prophet named Jeremiah: “…they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind.” Don’t take my word for it. Click the link and go read it for yourself. And it definitely shoots down the old omniscient notion.

As for omnipotence…Jesus did not possess that attribute as he hanged from the cross for you and me? So, the idea of unlimited power, able to do literally anything doesn’t fairly represent our Creator. And Jesus hanging on the cross leads me to the first “im”.

Don’t you think Jesus dying on the cross was a HUGE change from anything God had ever done? And let’s not forget the fact that He became a little baby in a human mother’s womb…and then a man. He’d never done that throughout all of His past existence. Those are massive changes. And since He’s a man forever, now, still another gigantic change. Sorry, that’s not immutability.

And guess what? God is full and overflowing with passion. He’s a real person. Not a stone god or idol. Literally, all through the Bible, you can see His passion for and toward us, His creations. And the crucifixion…have you noticed how, through the decades, it’s called The Passion? I mean, c’mon, Jesus was so distraught over the idea of His upcoming separation from God the Father, He sweat blood as He prayed. An impassible god would not…and could not…do that. So much for the “im’s”.

It’s infinitely more comforting to think of the connecting attributes of God.

And to know He’s alive, and that He became a man in order to intimately relate to our suffering and connect with us personally. Most of all…to know He’s so good and righteous and He loves us enough to give us eternal life. Just for believing and trusting. It’s such a humbling feeling to know the greatest Person in existence wants me to be with Him forever. And that’s why I wrote this song…

Our God is Living, Personal, Relational, Good, and Loving

The world is obsessed with death and dying.
They’re drowning in bitterness and crying.
It’s such an awful shame.
They could call upon the name of Jesus.
As followers, we say,
We know He’s the only Way that frees us
From the sins we hide deep inside.
They can’t please us.

Our bodies become the dust that scatters.
If that’s it, then nothing really matters.
We may as well give in
When we feel the world begin to seize us.
Who needs all that guilt and blame
You get, calling on the name of Jesus.
But it’s not like that. It’s a fact…Jesus sees us.

He’s living and He’s life…He’s personal to talk to,
Relational with every son and daughter.
He’s good and so much more. He’s loving to the core.
Jesus is the Living Water.
And each time a soul is saved, all the angels, above, sing…
“Our God is living, personal, relational, good, and loving.”

Our souls know infinity is calling.
But temptation can keep our spirits falling.
So, we need to fix our eyes
On the true, eternal prize of Jesus.
When we stand before the throne,
He knows our lives, alone, won’t appease us.
No, we need the blood of the Lamb.
We need Jesus.

Stay tuned,

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Posted on January 10, 2018 by TonyMarch 2, 2025

Praising God - Rhyme and Reason Podcast199

If praising God makes me odd, then I’ll be odd.

I don’t mind being called odd for doing something I know beyond a shadow of a doubt is the right thing to do. One of the best indicators of whether what I’m doing is right or not is if most of the other people on the planet aren’t doing it. And you can bet most of the other people on the planet aren’t praising God. Not the one true, living, loving Creator of Heaven and Earth anyway. (Click the player if you prefer to listen rather than read the rest of this)

Praising God makes total sense, when you actually think about it.

When your mom or dad or son or daughter or brother or sister do something right, you wanna give them a pat on the back. Or an “attaboy”. Right? You wanna brag on them. Tell anyone who’ll listen how awesome they are…and how you’re connected. It’s only natural. After all, everybody loves a winner.

Well, what makes it OK to praise people but odd to praise the people maker? Like I said, when you actually think about it, a Creator actually does exist, or absolutely nothing makes sense…or truly matters. If there is no Creator God, and if we all got here by some random accident, then praising God DOES make you odd. After all, if the God I’m talking about doesn’t exist, what an incredible waste of time to even write what I’m writing right now.

Think about how you got here and reverse engineer the process.

If your parents chromosomes hadn’t mixed together the way they did, you wouldn’t be here. Surely you can agree with that. OK. Then, how did your parents get here? The same way…right? But how did their parents get here? And their parents’ parents? And so on, and so on, and so on. Eventually you have to go back to the original two people. Yes, there had to be two to start with.

So where did those first two come from? I believe (and evidence backs me up) those first two people were custom made by the ultimate people maker…God. And if I’m right (and I am) then all other assertions are wrong. Of course, if I’m wrong (and I’m not) then anything goes. If you wanna say we all got here by chance, or you wanna say aliens seeded the planet with human spores, or you prefer to say the flying spaghetti monster sprinkled us here like parmesan cheese, your explanation is as good as anybody else’s.

Since human design is so complicated I say there has to be a Designer.

Because we’re designed by a thinking, feeling Creator, we can think, feel, and be creative. Things make sense because God is superbly sensible. He’s logical and reasonable, and He loves us enough to make an amazing planet and ecosystem for us to enjoy and thrive. So, that makes me wanna praise Him. And the way you’ll see me praising God the most is with my voice, keyboards, percussion, and other instruments. With songs of praise and gratitude. If that makes me odd, then so be it. Are you ready to be odd with me?

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Tony Funderburk

Your Life Has Rhyme And Reason Because God Made You

Tag Archives: praise music

This song isn’t a deep theological study, but…

Here are the lyrics to the song:

The Actual Attributes of God

Wouldn’t you prefer the attributes of God to be connectors and not dividers?

It’s infinitely more comforting to think of the connecting attributes of God.

Our God is Living, Personal, Relational, Good, and Loving

If praising God makes me odd, then I’ll be odd.

Praising God makes total sense, when you actually think about it.

Think about how you got here and reverse engineer the process.

Since human design is so complicated I say there has to be a Designer.