Schrader - "Open the Eyes of My Heart" (St. John's Methodist - Kansas City, MO)

OFFERTORY ANTHEM
"Open the Eyes of My Heart" (arranged by Jack Schrader, 2004)
Chancel Choir; Grace Mott, soloist; Dale Morehouse, piano and conductor
St. John's Methodist - Kansas City, MO
August 18, 2024
Paul Joseph Baloche (b. 1962) is an American Christian music artist, worship leader and singer-songwriter. A New Jersey native, he was the worship pastor at Community Christian Fellowship in Texas for 26 years. He wrote the words and music of "Open the Eyes of My Heart" in 1997. The lyrics are based on a verse from the Apostle Paul 's letter to the Ephesians, Eph. 1:18: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.”
Baloche's earnest prayer for intimacy with God is one of the most popular praise songs of the day. St. Louis-born Jack Schrader approaches it as a gentle, stylized ballad, starting with a solo, building to the memorable refrain, and concluding with a lyrical section of "Holy, Holy, Holy."