Worship Pastor / Composer Travis L. Boyd & wife, Cynthia, sharing faith, inspiration, & discipleship resources, plus music & more for worship ministry. * We also provide info about Worship Sounds Music, found at the links to our Publishers & Distributors ~ Choral Anthems * Solos * Orchestrations * Worship Songs * Accompaniment Trax (See blog sidebar)
The Lord is my Pace-setter, I shall not rush;
He makes me to stop and rest for quiet intervals.
He provides me with images of stillness, which restores my serenity.
He leads me in ways of efficiency, through calmness of mind.
And His guidance is my peace.
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day,
I will not fret, for His presence is here.
His timelessness, His all-importance will keep me in balance.
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity
By anointing my mind with His oils of tranquillity.
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours,
For I shall walk in the pace of the Lord and dwell in His house forever.
“Japanese version of Psalm 23″ as published in Guidepost Magazine
The decision to ask Jesus to come into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior is the best decision you could ever make! The one true God is ready to give you forgiveness and eternal life as soon as you understand your need for Him and believe on the name of His only Son, Jesus, for your salvation. Here’s a blog page link to help you find the answers to your questions about Jesus. http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
We all meet together at the foot of the cross, leaving behind anything that would hinder the worship of Almighty God.
What a privelege and joy it is to be part of something that is older than the earth itself! According to the book of Job, the heavenly hosts were engaged in worship of the Living God long before the creation of our solar system. (Job 38) In the book of Revelation, we are given vivid descriptions of worship that is going on in heaven even now. (Rev. 4 & 5) When something significant happened to Biblical characters, their first thought was to build an altar and worship the Lord.
When the armies of Israel were to go forth in battle, they were always lead by a group of worship leaders. Have you ever wondered why? It is because they recognized that they were powerless without God’s help. They knew that if they acknowledged God as their strength, He would bring them victory. Any time they got away from this truth, they suffered great defeats. It is no different [for God’s people] today. In order for God to empower and strengthen us, we must acknowledge His all-consuming greatness and submit to Him as our Creator and our Redeemer. We must have the walls of pride and self-sufficiency come down in order to experience God’s full power in our lives and in the life of our church.
When the church gathers for a time of worship, we are all given an opportunity to experience God’s power within a community of fellow believers. Jesus spoke of the power of believers being physically and spiritually together (Matthew 18:20). This is so important for the health of our spiritual lives and for the work of the church. Nothing else can substitute for being a part of a corporate worship experience. Truly, the most foundational part of the Christian experience is worship of the Living God! Believers need to rediscover the joy of worshipping the Lord with the church family. True worship is a life-changing experience (that becomes a life style) of recognizing and expressing God’s worth. He is worthy of our worship and praise!
“Let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy! Sing to God, sing praises to His name; lift up a song to Him who rides upon the clouds; His name is the Lord, exult before Him!” Psalm 68:3 & 4
This post was written by Travis L. Boyd and is adapted from his article, “Worship is Joy!” in the April 8, 2010, edition of The First Word, the church newsletter of First Baptist Church of Duluth, Georgia.
The decision to ask Jesus to come into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior is the best decision you could ever make! The one true God is ready to give you forgiveness and eternal life as soon as you understand your need for Him and believe on the name of His only Son, Jesus, for your salvation. Here’s a blog page link to help you find the answers to your questions about Jesus. http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
This is what the Regency Park Baptist Church worship center looked like before the tornado.
On May 3, 1999, an F5 tornado roared through Central Oklahoma, devastating parts of the communites of Moore, Del City, Midwest City, and SW Oklahoma City. In the path of this tornado was a church that is close to our hearts, Regency Park Baptist Church in Moore, where Travis served from 1989 until 1993. The tornado destroyed 5 of the 6 buildings of Regency Park, as well as schools, homes, apartment buildings, and other structures. Over 40 people were killed on that day as a tornado outbreak swept across parts of the state. More than 3 dozen of Regency Park’s families lost their homes. Our hearts were hurting along with our friends and brothers and sisters in Christ, though we no longer lived in Moore. We kept in touch with the prayer needs of the people, and Travis was inspired to write a song of comfort and encouragement. That song was, “I Am Here.” It’s a message about the nearness of God’s presence even in times of uncertainty and calamity. “I Am Here” is still a special song to the people of Regency Park. Travis was asked to direct the Reunion Choir in singing it at the 50th Anniversary Celebration Worship service in July of 2011.
Many other churches and individuals have also been touched by this message of God’s abiding presence. The Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma sang “I Am Here” as part of their repertoire in several concerts during the months of recovery efforts for the people whose lives had been torn asunder. Regency Park was able to meet offsite temporarily as they renovated and restored their one remaining building, which had been heavily damaged by the tornado. Eventually, they were able to purchase adjoining land and build a new Worship center, fellowship space, offices, and additional classroom space. The photograph of the remains of Regency Park’s former worship center was taken not long after the tornado, before the building had to be razed. This church continues to serve their community and be a light for Christ in this world, in spite of all of the challenges they have overcome. God was with them through it all, and his message to the people of Regency Park through their darkest hour still resonates for all who know the Lord: “Be encouraged! I Am here!”
In this aerial view of some of the devastation in the community of Moore, the buildings of Regency Park Baptist Church are the red brick buildings on the far left, shown under the white water tower. 5 of the 6 buildings were no longer structurally sound and were razed. The two story educational building at the farthest left side of the photo is the only remaining building still standing today. The other red brick church building shown near the taller water tower is the First Baptist Church of Moore, which also sustained damage. Since their damage was not as severe, this church was able to salvage all of their buildings and was able to shelter the homeless and care for tornado victims in other ways, with help from volunteers from churches all over the Oklahoma City metro area.
NOTE: There were schools that were destroyed in the 1999 tornado, just as there have been in the 2013 storm. In 1999, it was later in the day when the tornado hit; so school children were no longer in those buildings. In fact, in the above photo, you should have been able to see a school that was across the street from Regency Park. (Regency is on the west side of Janeway Avenue, and the school was on the east side.) However, that school was blown away. In addition, there was a Moore Public Schools resource center right next to Regency Park, on the same side of Janeway. That building was also blown away and was not re-built. Regency Park Baptist purchased the adjacent land where the resource building had been from the school district, and their new buildings are on the purchased lot (a large parcel of city block size).
2013 UPDATE: Regency Park Baptist Church did not lose any of its buildings in the May, 2013, tornado. So far, from their church facebook page, they are reporting that 3 member families lost their homes in the 2013 storm, and 5 had major damage. I’m sure that there is some minor damage such as lost shingles or broken windows in many more homes, and they are all coping with having no water or electricity as well as debris everywhere (in the immediate aftermath). One family also lost family members. Their graand-daughter and young great grandson were among the lives lost. Regency Park members are already involved in helping and are looking for additional ways to help as neighborhoods are opened up for clean-up. Local and state churches and agencies are hard at work, and help is coming in from everywhere. Please continue to pray for the people in this devastated area and for all of those who are helping them to recover.
Travis directs the reunion choir (at the Regency Park Baptist Church 50th Anniversary service) in singing “I Am Here”. The service took place in the new Worship Center, which was built to replace the one destroyed by the tornado in 1999.
Click this image to go to our WorshipSounds website.
* “I Am Here”, written by Travis L. Boyd, is still available as a Choral Anthem for SATB Choir on our website, with a Full Orchestration available as well.
* “I Am Here” is also available in a solo version in multiple keys for vocalists.
Both the choral and solo versions can be found on ourWorship Sounds Music website.
@ http://www.worshipsounds.com
(See the Adult Choir music page for the choral version and the Home Page for the solo versions.)
The Medium Voice Solo version demo above features the accompaniment track, which is the same arrangement as the Full Orchestration that is available.
PLEASE VIEW THIS CHORAL VIDEO DEMO IN FULLSCREEN MODE TO SEE LYRICS BEST.
The SATB Choral Video demo features a computer playback of the piano part and vocals, with the music scrolling as you listen.
There is a Full Orchestration available for “I Am Here”.
The new Worship Center of Regency Park Baptist Church, built for the glory of God.
To view a photo album from Regency Park’s facebook page, which has photos of the tornado damage in 1999 as well as photos of the one remaining building (the 2-story Education Building), which did not have to be razed. There are some photos in this album of the worship space that was created on the main floor of the education building when the damaged building was repaired as well as a few photos of the beginning of work on the newly purchased land where new buildings were eventually located. https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.126506717416263.21312.126214997445435&type=3
Thank you for spending your valuable time reading the contents of this page. We hope that it has been helpful to you. If you or someone that you know is looking for answers about life, we hope that you will visit our page called “Do You Know Jesus?”. The links provided on this page will help to answer life’s deepest questions. Here is the link to “Do You Know Jesus?”: http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
Please feel free to share this URL with anyone who is looking for answers about life, eternity, and peace with God.
This photo is of The Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma in concert at Regency Park Baptist Church in Moore, Oklaoma, with Dr. Bill Green directing.
**THE SINGING CHURCHWOMEN OF OKLAHOMA**
The Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma are a group near and dear to my heart. Not only was my wife, Cindy, a member of this group for over 14 years, but we also know so many of the women personally. When Cindy joined the group, we were living in Western Oklahoma; so she was part of the Singing Churchwomen West (the group is so large that they only combine the East & West groups once of twice a year. In most months, each group gives a concert on their side of the state of Oklahoma). A few years later, I was called to a church on the East side of the state, so Cindy was then a part of the Singing Churchwomen East for several years and eventually served as their President-Elect and then President. In addition to these connections, some of the women are the wives of Ministers of Worship; and their husbands are in The Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma, a group which I was a member of for 18 years. I’ve met some of the wives of my brothers when they would come to our concerts or even come along as travelling companions on our mission trips. There were also women in the group who had been part of my church choirs from all 4 of the churches that I had served in full-time ministry in Oklahoma. The Singing Churchwomen are a very special group of women who love the Lord and each other and love to sing praises to the Lord. I have heard some amazing, angelic sounds from this group.
It has been my joy to arrange and compose music for The Singing Churchwomen, and to hear them sing some of my music in concert and in the recordings that they have made. In addition to pieces that I was asked to arrange or re-voice for the group, they have also sung (and sometimes recorded) many of my original choral pieces in SSAA arrangements, including “You Are a Spring,” “Let the Trumpet Sound,” “He Took Up a Cross,” “One Like Me,” and “God is Faithful.” I’d have to say my favorite song to hear them sing was my choral anthem entitled, “I Am Here.” This anthem is a message of hope and encouragement and a reminder that God is right here with us even when the circumstances of life are very difficult. Knowing so many of these women and the challenges and trials they have overcome and endured, it was like listening to the beautiful combined voices of so many sisters in Christ, sharing their personal testimony of God’s nearness in their time of need. This particular photo is very meaningful to me because I served at Regency Park Baptist Church, where this concert took place, from 1989 until 1993. We still have a lot of friends from this church and attended their 50th Anniversary Celebration in July of 2011. It was this church for which I wrote “I Am Here” after their buildings and over 40 members’ homes were destroyed in the May, 1999 F5 tornado that hit Moore and Southwest Oklahoma City. The nearness of God’s presence is so necessary and comforting when our lives have been turned upside down; and there is no more meaningful picture of this fact for me than to see this photo of the group that so beautifully sang the message of “I Am Here”…. in concert in the new worship center built by Regency Park.
And, He was there…just as He is here now.
Sometimes, we need a reminder of the nearness of our God. Whether we are just feeling alone or are in a time of trial, the assurance of God’s presence is a healing gift to our spirits. This assurance often comes directly from His spirit within us. Sometimes it comes through reading scripture or through a sermon or testimony. And sometime, it comes in a song. Be encouraged. He is here!
Some of the lyrics from “I Am Here”:
Be encouraged! I am here….
Bring comfort for each tear,
Giving hope when all seems lost
In the power of the cross.
When the walls around you crumble,
And your heart is filled with fear,
Rest assured that I’ll be with you!
I Am here.”
Thank you for spending your valuable time reading the contents of this page. We hope that it has been helpful to you. If you or someone that you know is looking for answers about life, we hope that you will visit our page called “Do You Know Jesus?”. The links provided on this page will help to answer life’s deepest questions. Here is the link to “Do You Know Jesus?”: http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
Please feel free to share this URL with anyone who is looking for answers about life, eternity, and peace with God.
The Lord is my Shepherd.
Worship Sounds Music 