I am a huge fan of Christmastime.
I am an avid lover of Christmas music.
This is one of my all-time favorite Christmas projects.
David’s voice is incredible.
The arrangements are absolutely beautiful.
If you don’t have this recording yet…well…it’s time for you to own it.
There are two tracks in particular that I love:
Joy To The World & The First Noel
Get it here:
David Archuleta | Christmas From The Heart
What are some of your favorite Christmas recordings?
Leave a comment below…Â
I’ve spent the past week immersing myself in this new project from Elevation Worship called For The Honor. I love music that captures the heart of what’s happening in the life of a church and this recording does just that.
There are a couple songs I’ve used live from their last record, Kingdom Come being one that continues to resonate with me. This project definitely has several songs that should really connect well in a live worship experience in churches around the globe.
Two tracks have initially grabbed me and found themselves on repeat as I listen…All Things New and the title track, For The Honor. Both of these songs should find themselves in the current rotation of many churches in the months and years ahead. I especially love that For The Honor has a modern hymn expression and feel.
For the honor of the Savior
Let the cross be lifted high
The great exchange of love and grace
Came down to give us life
Musically and lyrically this recording is solid. They recorded this live and also have a DVD available. I’ve seen clips online and it looks great.
A friend of mine at Integrity Music sent John Mark McMillan’s Economy to me a couple weeks ago. To be honest, I had not listened to an entire John Mark McMillan project before this one.
I’m a fan of his song How He Loves and have led it many times in live worship experiences.
JMM is an artist and poet. The things that define his artistry are also some of the things that I’ve personally had trouble connecting with. I appreciate his work, but I don’t always get it.
Most of the songs on this offering were a struggle for me to lock into. There is a melancholy and achey-ness to his vibe and production. For me, this seemed to be more of a liability…except for 2 songs on the project.
Sins Are Stones and Who Is This desperately seem to groan and long for a soul-connection to God. There is depth in the writing, production and performance. I was captured by the worship cry within these two songs.
All our sins are stones at the bottom of Your oceans
And all our filthy stains have been washed away
By the blood of a Son I have overcome the grave
Oh my soul, praise Him, Oh my soul
I’ve had the incredible privilege of listening to this project for the past few weeks. Not often do I find a recording that moves me from beginning to end…but Gungor’s ‘Ghosts Upon The Earth’ has absolutely captured me.
There is an honesty and rawness to this recording in it’s entirety that I find nearly impossible to put into words. It is a conceptual work that takes you on a journey and through a spiritual experience as you give it the space to do so.
I still cannot get through the closing of the final song, ‘Every Breath’, without tearing up. There is an emotional connection to God and truth that completely affects me each time I’ve listened through this recording.
There is a lot more I could say about this project but it’s actually already been said better than I could offer in another blog post I read today. I’ll link to that here and you can read it if you’re so inclined:Â http://andrewsporch.wordpress.com
Please do yourself a favor and get Ghosts Upon The Earth. Listen to it. It’s incredible!
Available on iTunes HERE.
There are a lot of worship songs that have released over the past few years. When I’m thinking about the ones that people most everywhere seem to connect with, I have to include The Stand from Hillsong United.
On one hand, it is formulaic in the Hillsong United genre…start low, build it a bit, finish with a big anthem, and the crowd sings you out.
On the other hand, this song…beyond arrangement…is incredibly effective at engaging a crowd of singing worshipers and drawing them into a moment of declaring our heart allegiance to God.
I’ll stand with arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
I’ll stand my soul Lord to You surrrendered
All I am is Yours
As a worship leader, I love the moments when we see a shift from the band leading to the room leading. That’s happened many times when I’ve had this song in a worship set. It’s moving when the band is following the lead of the people worshiping. As far as I’m concerned, I’d be thrilled to see this happen more often in our worship experiences. I really feel like it’s a privileged to be a there when it does.
