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Who Wrote It?

   “God Knew Your Name” was written and composed by James Likens, a former parish pastor of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, and currently the owner of JDL Productions and Grandpa Jim Publishing.
   He is also known as “Grandpa Jim,” a delightful and somewhat whacky teller of Bible stories with what he calls “StoryTunes.”
   The song was written on a Saturday morning in November of 1997. He was to video taped the first Grandpa Jim show for The LCMS Satellite Service that morning. As he was waiting for a ride, and while sitting at a kitchen table, the song ‘HAPPENED.” 
   The writer is conviced that God simply allowed him to run into the song. The first three verses of the song were written in just under 12 minutes. The final verse was written the following Monday morning at the headquarters of The Lutheran

   James Likens received two Telly Awards in 1999.
   The first was for “LIFE: It’s a CLASS project,” and the second was for the music video “God Knew Your Name.”
   He also received a Silver Angel Award for “Just In Time For Christmas.

Church–Missouri Synod.
   The almost tragic thing about the wirting of the song was that after he wrote the first three verses on Saturday morning, he forgot the melody he had composed. You see, he doesn’t know how to “write” music,. only compose it.
   The initial words were scrawled on a piece of paper that was in his guitar case. To see that page, CLICK HERE.
   The song was orginally written for a dramatic film entitled
“LIFE: it’s a “CLASS” project.”  This film was produced by The President’s Commission on the Sanctity of Life of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. It deals with abortion, euthanasia and casual sex. It can be ordered from Lutheran Visuals for only $29.95.
   Since November 1997, Likens has written over 50 songs that deal with significant stories of the Bible. He has a CD, and several videos that can be found at his web site, www.storytunes.com.
   He believes that God has given him the gifts to do what he does, and he does what he does to the glory of God.

Visit Grandpa Jim. CLICK HERE.

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© 2000 JDL Productions “God Knew Your Name”  © 1998 James Likens, ASCAP
All material on this web site may not be copied or used on other sites without the written permission of JDL Production, St. Louis, MO To obtain permission, please call
James Likens, 314-308-5203 or for Email
CLICK HERE