"Awesome God" is a contemporary worship

Contemporary worship

Contemporary worship is a form of Christian worship that emerged within Western evangelical Protestantism in the twentieth century. It was originally confined to the charismatic movement, but is now found to varying extents in a wide range of churches, including many that do not subscribe to a...

 song written by Rich Mullins

Rich Mullins

Richard Wayne "Rich" Mullins was an American Contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter born in Richmond, Indiana. He had two sisters and two brothers....

 and first recorded on his 1988 album, Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth

Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth

Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth is the third album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released in 1988. The album received 31st place in the book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music ....

. It was the first single from the album and rose to the No. 1 spot on Christian radio and subsequently became a popular congregational song. Its title is inspired by a biblical

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 expression (Nehemiah

Book of Nehemiah

The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Told largely in the form of a first-person memoir, it concerns the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws...

 1:5, Nehemiah 9:32, Psalm 47, Daniel

Book of Daniel

The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...

 9:4, etc.), variously translated as "Awesome God", (JPS

Jewish Publication Society of America Version

The Jewish Publication Society of America Version of the Tanakh was the first Bible translation published by the Jewish Publication Society of America and the first translation of the Tanakh into English by a committee of Jews...

, in the old-fashioned meaning "awe-inspiring"), "great" (KJV), among other alternatives.

Many Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 bands

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 have performed versions in various styles, from ska

Ska

Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...

 to swing

Swing (genre)

Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and became a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States...

 to straight rock

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 and traditional worship style.

Commentary

Mullins did not consider the song to be one of his best. In an interview with The Lighthouse Electronic Magazine in April 1996, he said:

"You know, the thing I like about Awesome God is that it's one of the worst-written songs that I ever wrote; it's just poorly crafted. But the thing is that sometimes, I think, that when you become too conscientious about being a songwriter, the message becomes a vehicle for the medium. This is a temptation that I think all songwriters have. I think a great songwriter is someone who is able to take a very meaningful piece of wisdom - or of folly or whatever - and say it in a way that is most likely to make people respond. But, what you want them to respond to is not how cleverly you did that; what you want them to respond to is your message."

Congregational and other use

The song may be used as a hymn

Hymn

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

 and can be sung using only the chorus, alone or in medley.

Hillsong United

Hillsong United

The Hillsong United band is an Australian praise and worship band that originated as a part of Hillsong Church. The band tours the world, performing at the various Hillsong church locations as well as general concert venues. They compose the songs for their own performances and for the other...

Band Team also covered it on their 2005 live album, Look To You.