Great Thoughts (From Paul Washer) on Worship

 

Come to the Quiet (Psalm 131) by John Michael Talbot

 
Come to the Quiet (Psalm 131)
by John Michael Talbot

Lyrics: 
Lord, my heart is not proud
Nor are my eyes fixed on things beyond me
In the quiet, I have stilled my soul
Like a child at rest on its mother’s knee
I have stilled my soul within me

Israel, come and hope in your Lord
Do not set your eyes on things far beyond you
Just come to the quiet
Come and still your soul
Like a child at rest on its Daddy’s knee
Come and still your soul completely

Whole Lotta Love by ... Michael Winslow?

 This never gets old. 

Listening To This Morning: John Michael Talbot: Signatures

Here is what I have in my background this morning...

John Michael Talbot's Album called Signatures.

"God's Own Fool"

"God's Own Fool"
One of my all-time favorite Michael Card Songs:


Seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God's Holy wisdom is foolish to men
He must have seemed out of His mind

Does God Listen to Rap - Book Review

Does God Listen to Rap? Christians and the World's Most Controversial Music by Curtis Allen was a very interesting book.  Once I picked this book up, I devoured it... At 110 pages, I still had it read by the next day.

The topic itself, though there are many on both sides of the argument that would agree requires conversation, is usually approached poorly. For myself, I have no patience, whether in book or in blog post or in person, for those who simply want to air their opinions. No offense, but I don't have time for most opinions, not even my own.  I want truth, and when it comes to God and what He wants, I want the truth from scripture. I liked this book because Curtis Allen, as best as I believe anyone could, comes to the table with this truth.

To approach this topic from a Biblical perspective, since the Bible doesn't actually talk about Rap (or any musical style for that matter), the author also describes a correct method to handling and applying scripture to various areas of life.  And he does this in true rapper style, by inventing a word:

"So far right now the issue is not rap at all. Rap is just our immediate context for thinking about the character of God and how he relates to music. As we do this, I'm going to take what I call a theomethodosophical approach. This is a method that starts with and remains grounded in good theology but throws in some basic logic and philosophy where needed. It's not too different from what somebody else might call common-sense speculation. But look, I'm a rapper, and sometimes rappers just go ahead and invent words. It's what we do." 

"I'm taking this theomethodosophical approach because Scripture obviously doesn't speak directly to everything we are curious about. When that happens, we are biblically free to consider possibilities as long as we remain true to Scripture and don't put our conclusions on a par with Scripture."

That is precisely where many go wrong. They come up with conclusions, and quite often about musical styles, and they hold their conclusions up on the same level with the Bible. What naturally follows is a condemnation of any who don't abide by their conclusions or who don't come up with the same conclusions.

I need to add though that one of the most fascinating parts of this book was the first few chapters that dealt with the history of Rap. I learned about "Kool Herc and the Birth of the DJ", "Grandmaster Flash", and "The 1977 NYC Blackout". Before reading this book, my understanding about the beginnings of Rap music went only as far back as RUN DMC performing with Aerosmith... Yes.  I am a white boy from the midwest.

If you have had any struggle with developing a Biblical understanding of music or if you have come to some conclusions that you have help up on par with Scripture itself, then I would love to recommend this book to you, if for no other reason that to hear a level-headed, Biblical approach that might be different than YOU.

The Kindle version of this book isn't very pricy. Feel free to click on through and snag this book. You won't regret it.


 

Some good Noise Trade music right now...

If you have never been to NoiseTrade.com, now would be a good time to visit them.

Noise Trade has free music.

Yeah sure, there is the option of leaving the artist a tip, but sometimes I don't really know the artist that well.  There have been a couple of times that I have left a tip for an artist that I knew and I believed in supporting their work (or ministry in some cases).  But sometimes I just download something that sounds interesting, but I have never heard of it before.

If you haven't been there before, you should swing by and pick up Andrew Peterson's The Lost Boy Sampler.  So far I have loved all of Andrew Peterson's work, and this one doesn't seem to be a disappointment.

I also downloaded two albums from The Vespers.  I have never heard of this group, but so far I have really enjoyed what I've heard so far.  In fact, I am listening to them right now. Here is a video of them live in New York.

Free Music from Page CXVI

Page CXVI Hymns is giving away their entire music catalog... 74 songs... for free!

According to their website:

To celebrate our 7-year anniversary of making music, we're giving away our entire catalog of music for the month of March, including our original music from The Autumn Film!

They are celebrating their own "Jubilee" for 7 years of making music.

I have listened to most of their music over the past couple of years.  What I have listened to, I have really enjoyed.  As far as I can tell, they work hard at creating God-honoring, Christ-exalting music.

If you would like to download this music, just head on over to their website:

http://www.pagecxvi.com/jubilee/

If you download it, let me know in the comments.  I would like to hear what you think about their music.

Beautiful Pain

A little while back I posted a video titled G.O.S.P.E.L.  It is by a group called Propaganda with Humble Beast Records.  On the Vimeo page for that video there was a link to download their latest album, titled Art Ambidextrous.  I downloaded the album, but it sat in my downloads for over a month before I finally loaded it onto my phone.

Yesterday, while I was helping clean the house, I popped on my headphones and started listening to this album.  I gotta be honest, I think that I listened to this album 5 times in a row.  I especially liked one song titled Beautiful Pain. The first time I listened to it, it made me a little teary.

It is about pain, but how pain is beautiful. The pain in our lives can leave scars, but it is beautiful, if you know the deeper results of the pain. I love the passion in this guy. I also like the deep theology that is presented here. Give it a listen.




Here is the G.O.S.P.E.L. video in case you missed it the first time.

Music Beta by Google

Yesterday I received my invitation to Music Beta by Google.  So far I am really loving it.  They offered some free music to get things rolling.  There were several categories of music to choose from, or you could select "add all". Since I love free stuff, I added it all.  Little did I know there would be 271 free songs!  (Yes, there is a 27 in there...)

This morning I downloaded the Music Manager on my home computer.  Once it was installed, it started uploading all of my music in the background.  It will continue to upload everything until it is complete. If it gets interrupted, it will pick up where it left off.  Hopefully my wife keeps the computer plugged in and turned on today!

After a day of using it (and using it while I type) it seems to work really well. As with all things Google, it is simple and easy to use. I can upload up to 22,000 songs without having to worry about adding additional storage.  There is an Android app available, but I will have to wait on that until I get an Android phone.

A Smoggy Day in Old L.A.

Just found this enjoyable video over at 22 Words.

a joyful noise!

I just read an interesting article on Christian Week, which I found via Tim Challies' weekly "A La Carte" post. It is by a guy names Michael Krahn and has to do with the affect that technology has had on singing in the church. Here is an excerpt:

I see a parallel between the lack of confidence in singing and the world of visual images in tabloid and fashion magazines. Photoshopped images create unrealistic body expectations. In the modern era of music autotuned recordings give us unrealistically perfect sounds.

The end goal of both processes is the same: the appearance of perfection. Whether we are trying to look as perfect as a picture we've seen or sound as perfect as a recording we've heard, we are destined to fail.

All of this has led to a crisis of confidence. Autotuned recordings have robbed average singers of confidence in the quality of their voices.

(read the rest of the article here)

Wonderful Song

My wife just introduced me to this new song by Steven Curtis Chapman. I thought it was wonderful and wanted to share it with you.



(...and I thought that "wonderful" was just the right word to describe it.)

Here are some of Steven Curtis Chapman's thoughts about this song.

Miracle of the Moment

It’s time for letting go
All of our “if onlys”
‘Cause we don’t have a time machine

And even if we did
Would we really want to use it
Would we really want to go change everything

‘Cause we are who and where and what we are for now
And this is the only moment we can do anything about

So breathe it in and breathe it out
And listen to your heartbeat
There’s a wonder in the here and now
It’s right there in front of you
And I don’t want you to miss the miracle of the moment

There’s only One who knows
What’s really out there waiting
And all the moments yet to be
And all we need to know
Is He’s out there waiting
To Him the future’s history

And He has given us a treasure called right now
And this is the only moment we can do anything about

So breathe it in and breathe it out
And listen to your heartbeat
There’s a wonder in the here and now
It’s right there in front of you
And I don’t want you to miss the miracle of the moment

And if it brings you tears
Then taste them as they fall
Let them soften your heart

And if it brings you laughter
Then throw your head back
And let it go
Let it go, yeah
You gotta let it go

And listen to your heartbeat

And breathe it in and breathe it out
And listen to your heartbeat
There’s a wonder in the here and now
It’s right there in front of you
And I don’t want you to miss the miracle of the moment

And breathe it in and breathe it out
And listen to your heartbeat
There’s a wonder in the here and now
It’s right there in front of you
And I don’t want you to miss the miracle of the moment

Steven Curtis Chapman

[HT: MM]

"Cinderella"

She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I’m sittin’ here wearin’ the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It’s been a long day and there’s still work to do,
She’s pulling at me saying “Dad I need you!
There’s a ball at the castle and I’ve been invited and I need to practice my dancin’
“Oh please, daddy, please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I’d approve of a dress
She says “Dad, the prom is just one week away,
And I need to practice my dancin’”
“Oh please, daddy, please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
‘Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone
She will be gone.

Well, she came home today
With a ring on her hand
Just glowin’ and tellin’ us all they had planned
She says “Dad, the wedding’s due six months away
And I need to practice my dancin’
“Oh please, daddy please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
(even one song)
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

Here is the acoustic version of that song.


[HT: MM]

I also found these two videos over on this blog. These two videos seemed very fitting:

Good Listening

I just bought Keith Green the live experience CD/DVD Combo.

I went into the store to buy my wife a CD for Mother's day. While I was back browsing the CD's I noticed this one out of the corner of my eye. I am recommending it because I absolutely love it.

I have always loved Keith Green. And even though I didn't start listening to him until after he had died, he was still a major influence in my life. His music opened my eyes to a much different perspective of Christianity than I was completely familiar with. His message is still impacting me.

So, I heartily recommend this CD and DVD. Especially if you are already a Keith Green fan, you will really enjoy this. There should be some clips on the right hand column of this blog. If there aren't, please drop me an e-mail.

Arthur Alligood

Mr. Adkins referred this music on his blog, so naturally I had to check it out. I have only listened to the first couple of songs so far, but I'm liking it. So, here you go:

Creed - Rich Mullins

[thanks to a small faith]

More Chris

Just found this while I was looking for the audition video.

Current Music

My current favorite CD is Chris Tomlin's See the Morning. I just love it.

The one thing that I really love about Chris Tomlin is his constant redirection to Christ. He doesn't do any singing about himself and his struggles, he just directs us to the one that it is really all about.

My favorite songs on this CD are Everlasting God and Glory in the Highest. In fact, if I had a current theme song, (the music playing in the background while I am walking down the street in slow motion) it would be Everlasting God. If you are interested, here are the lyrics:

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord

Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary

Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary

You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles.

If you don't have this CD I would absolutely recommend it.