Career
Green was born in Portland, Oregon to missionary parents, Charles and Jo Green. He is one of six siblings who spent much of his early life in Argentina. He studied Music at Grand Canyon University, graduating in 1976. He originally broke into Christian music with the Mobile, Alabama based youth worship group Truth. He also sang backup vocals and played bass with Sandi Patti, White Heart and the Gaither Vocal Band. In 1982, he joined the Christian rock band White Heart as a vocalist. But a difference in ministry vision accompanied by a confrontation with his brother, Randy, led to a spiritual renewal in Steve's life in 1983. He signed a solo contract with Sparrow Records, and his self-titled debut album appeared in 1984. In the same year, he established Steve Green Ministries.
His break out year came in 1985 with the release of He Holds The Keys. The album garnered Green a nomination and win as Male Vocalist of the Year in the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) category. The following year, 1986, saw the release of two recordings, "For God And God Alone," and a high church style worship album entitled "A Mighty Fortress." The following year saw the release of his first Christmas recording, "Joy To The World." In early 1988, he released an album dedicated to his parents called "Find Us Faithful." As the 1980s came to an end, many of Green's songs became recognized standards including "People Need The Lord" and "Broken And Spilled Out." He was often considered the male version of Sandi Patti, using many of the same songwriters and styles as well as the traditional ending the song on a (literal) high note. Green also contributed background vocals to Patti's 1986 hit, "Let There Be Praise."
Green was one of the first artists to be involved with Promise Keepers, performing at their inaugural event at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado in July 1993 before 50,000 men. His song "Answer The Call" was inspired by the event and another song, "O Men of God Arise," embodies the Promise Keeper mentality.
Green recorded "The Mission" in 1989 and continued his success with "We Believe" in 1991. As the early 1990s direction of Christian music changed to a more rock oriented format, Green returned to traditional roots by releasing an album of hymns in 1992. Yet Green switched styles in 1994 on his "Where Mercy Begins" album. He also received the first of two career boosts due to outside events.
On September 9, 1994, a US Air jet crashed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killing all aboard. One passenger was an up and coming Christian singer named Kirk Lynn. Lynn has just recorded Green's song "As We Sail To Heaven's Shore" from the 1988 "Find Us Faithful" album. Only a rough cut played at the memorial service for the passengers, grieving family members were told where to find the original song by Green, which boosted album sales for the older recording.
Green's style change continued on his 1996 recording, "The Letter." He was also instrumental in attempting to set up an accountability group for Christian artists following the adultery scandals of Michael English, Marabeth Jordan, and Sandi Patty as well as the Mike Warnke debacle. He was helped in this endeavor by Steve Camp, Wes King, and Michael W. Smith. That year also saw the release of his second Christmas album, "The First Noel."
Green changed focus again in 1998 by declaring he would only record songs that honor the Lord - songs that he could be satisfied with should it be his last recording. That year saw the release of "The Faithful" and 2000 saw the release of a devotional song album entitled "Morning Light." Two years later Green released "Woven In Time" and again found himself receiving a career boost.
Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster
Green was a personal friend of Space Shuttle Columbia commander Rick Husband, who was killed along with six others in the February 2003 disintegration during reentry. Green was interviewed by CNN and his song "God Of Wonders" got a boost from the unexpected publicity. He released another album in 2005.
Green's sister is married to Dr. Mark Bailey, president of the evangelical Dallas Theological Seminary, and he helped the seminary celebrate its eightieth anniversary in April 2004. He has also written a thirty day devotional titled, "The Power of the Cross" and has recorded numerous children's videos and songs.
His bilingual abilities have seen the release of two Spanish CDs in the United States.
He is married to Marijean Green, who has testified to her own struggle with bulimia and they have two children, Summer (b. 1984) and Josiah (b. 1986).
Green has expanded his musical ministry to include videos and James Dobson's Focus on the Family.
Sacrifice Of Praise
Steve Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You???ve given the gift of life
And hid in our hearts eternity
Revealed in the mercies of Christ
Tho??? darkness surrounds us in shadows of death
We look for Your heavenly rays
The fruit of our lips giving thanks with each breath
We offer to Thee our praise
For Your generous favors O God
For the gift of our freedom in Christ
As an offering of praise unto You
We will give our lives in sacrifice
Our fountain of praise begins with Thee
It flows from Your heart above
Mercy like rain comes cleansing and free
To shower Your children in love
The thirst of our souls left parched by sin
Is quenched by Your river of grace
As rains that ascend to the heavens again
We offer to Thee our praise
The fire of our praise begins with Thee
You bathe us in flames of light
Each fiber within us is yearning to be
Engulfed in the glory of Christ
May all that is empty within be consumed
And fire for Thee set ablaze
With a fragrance of sacrifice sweet as perfume
We offer to Thee our praise
Our praise
The lyrics of Steve Green's song "Sacrifice of Praise" express devotion and gratitude to God for the gift of life and mercy, despite the darkness that surrounds us in the form of sin and death. The lyrics begin with the idea that each cry of praise originates from God, as He is the source of all good things in life, including the gift of life itself and eternal salvation through Christ. Even in times of difficulty and darkness, the song encourages believers to keep their eyes on God's "heavenly rays" and offer Him praise through their words and deeds.
The song goes on to expand on the idea of offering a sacrifice of praise to God. The lyrics refer to God's generous favors and the gift of freedom that we have through Christ, inspiring believers to offer their lives as a sacrifice of praise to God. The song also makes use of metaphors and imagery related to water and fire. The "fountain of praise" that flows from God's heart and the "river of grace" that quenches our souls' thirst are likened to rain and water, while the "fire of our praise" that bathes us in light and consumes our emptiness is compared to flames and perfume. Overall, the song paints a vivid picture of believers worshiping and giving thanks to God through various forms of praise, both in good times and bad.
Line by Line Meaning
Each cry of praise begins with Thee
We start our prayers and expression of gratitude with You, O God
You've given the gift of life
You have blessed us with the precious gift of life
And hid in our hearts eternity
You have given us a glimpse of eternal life and the hope that lies within it
Revealed in the mercies of Christ
Through the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, we have access to this eternal life
Tho' darkness surrounds us in shadows of death
Even when we are surrounded by darkness and death, we look towards You for light and salvation
We look for Your heavenly rays
We seek Your divine guidance and love to help us overcome the trials and tribulations of life
The fruit of our lips giving thanks with each breath
We offer You our heartfelt thanks and praise with every breath we take
We offer to Thee our praise
We present our gratitude and worship to You, O God
For Your generous favors O God
We acknowledge and appreciate all the blessings and goodness You have bestowed upon us
For the gift of our freedom in Christ
We are grateful for the freedom and redemption we have received through Jesus Christ
As an offering of praise unto You
As a sign of our unending devotion and appreciation, we offer our praise to You
We will give our lives in sacrifice
We are willing to give up ourselves and everything for Your sake, O God
Our fountain of praise begins with Thee
Our source of worship and praise comes solely from You, O God
It flows from Your heart above
It is Your divine love and goodness that inspires us to worship and praise You
Mercy like rain comes cleansing and free
Your mercy is like rain that cleanses and purifies us, and is given freely to all who seek it
To shower Your children in love
You shower us, Your beloved children, with love and blessings every day
The thirst of our souls left parched by sin
Our souls were once dry and thirsty due to sin, but You have quenched that thirst by Your grace
Is quenched by Your river of grace
Your river of grace washes away our sins and satisfies our spiritual thirst
As rains that ascend to the heavens again
Our prayers and worship rise up to You like rain, and are returned back to us as blessings and grace
The fire of our praise begins with Thee
Our passion and intensity for worship and praise comes from You, O God
You bathe us in flames of light
Your divine light and presence fills us and empowers us to worship You with all our hearts
Each fiber within us is yearning to be
Every part of our being longs to be immersed in Your glory, O God
Engulfed in the glory of Christ
We desire to be completely consumed by the glory of Jesus Christ
May all that is empty within be consumed
We pray that every part of us that is empty and broken will be filled and made whole by Your divine love
And fire for Thee set ablaze
May our passion and zeal for worship and service to You burn brightly like a flame
With a fragrance of sacrifice sweet as perfume
May our sacrifice of praise and worship be a sweet aroma to You, O God
We offer to Thee our praise
We present our gratitude and worship to You, O God
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: FRED MACKRELL, PHILIP L. NAISH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind