Forgive me if you’ve already seen this. Just had to share.
Another tip: Always include the word “broken”!
Archive for the ‘videos’ Category
How To Write A Worship Song
On February - 8 - 2013
The Lamb Will Be The Light
On January - 15 - 2013
Here’s yet another new Grace Life Video. This one I wrote back in 2006 and integrated it into an original children’s musical I wrote based on “Pilgrim’s Progress” called “A Christian’s Journey”. I adapted it for our adult choir and had them sing it in the Shoals Christmas Praise we presented last month.
Here are the lyrics:
This righteous Man of innocence
Laid aside His own defense
And bore the wrath and wretched sin
Of all who put their faith in Him
And then at the appointed time
When God the Father gives the sign
This One will joyfully present
The souls His grace caused to repent
And the Lamb will be the light
In the city of our God
Our faith will then be sight
And we will stand in awe
“Worthy is the Lamb!”
With one voice we will cry
The Lamb will be the light
In the city of our God
All creation cries to see
The day of righteous liberty
Then new life in full display
We hasten on the coming day
We will rule and reign with Him
No longer bound by fallen sin
The matchless glory of the King
Will completely cover everything
Worthy are You
Our Lord and our God
Jesus Saves
On January - 10 - 2013
Here’s the latest Grace Life Music video. This is taken from last month’s Shoals Christmas Praise. Enjoy!
(BTW, onstage with me are (from L to R) Sarah Cosby, Mark Tucker, Chris Quaintance, and Julie Thompson)
What Miracle Is It?
On November - 8 - 2012
If there’s one band out there I greatly enjoy, it’s Third Day. And for full disclosure’s sake, we do several of their songs as congregationals at Grace Life Church, including “Your Love Oh Lord” and “Children Of God”. However, I was a bit disappointed the other day when I heard this particular song on the radio. It seems to be another in a long line of songs that just don’t say enough. Much of that has to do with trying to be marketable to wider audiences. But I wonder how much of it has to do with being ashamed of the gospel?
Here are the lyrics (you can listen to the song on YouTube here).
Well, late one night, she started to cry and thought he ain’t coming home
She was tired of the lies, tired of the fight, but she didn’t want to see him go
She fell on her knees and said, “I haven’t prayed since I was young
But Lord above I need a miracle”
(Chorus)
Well no matter who you are and no matter what you’ve done
There will come a time when you can’t make it on your own
And in your hour of desperation
Know you’re not the only one, praying
Lord above, I need a miracle
I need a miracle
He lost his job and all he had in the fall of ’09
Now he feared the worst, that he would lose his children and his wife
So he drove down deep into the woods and thought he’d end it all
And prayed, “Lord above, I need a miracle”
He turned on the radio to hear a song for the last time
He didn’t know what he was looking for even what he’d find
The song he heard gave him hope and strength to carry on
And on that night, they found a miracle
They found a miracle
In your hour of desperation
Know you’re not the only one, praying
Lord above, I need a miracle
I need a miracle
Several questions I have about this song:
*Are they endorsing the fact that having this life’s problems is the main problem?
*How are they defining this miracle? Is it God drawing a soul into seeing the depth of their sin?
*Where is the preaching of the gospel in this equation?
*Does the songwriter understand the difference between God-wrought conviction and felt needs?
*Are they trying to say that the girl in the first verse is a born-again believer (even though she hadn’t “prayed since she was young”)?
*Could the song not have better clarity with the characters as to their lostness?
*I totally agree with the song in that God uses trials and hardships to get our attention but what is the miracle that the characters in the song found?
*How many of these problems listed in the song were self-inflicted? The bible deals much more with change of behavior to see situations improve than it does supernatural intervention (especially if these characters are believers).
*Does this song just cater to a victim’s mentality?
I totally understand that people going through great trials calls for empathy from the Church. However, overlooking an individual’s contribution to those trials is not being true to the Bible. Believers should be holding one hand out to be held by the suffering individual while in the other hand presenting God’s solutions to them from His Word. Having heart-felt emotions for those in dire circumstances and even doing service ministry to those in need is only a part of the healing. Being reconciled to God through the gospel is the foundation for all healing.
All I ask is that Christian bands and songwriters be very specific even though the demands for artistic aesthetics are at play. When writing songs that are expressly Christian, including a ministry element, then art is created for God’s sake and not art’s sake. Fidelity to the revealed will of God as found in the holy scriptures is paramount paling in comparison to iTunes sales.
Brother Music Minister, I believe that this song is way too ambiguous to use in a church service. I will keep listening to Third Day but will have to skip over this song.
Fantastic Half-Time Show
On October - 10 - 2012
I’m sure my daughter, who marches with the UNA Band, would disagree, but this show is impressive to say the least. Wish is was Bama’s Million Dollar Band and not OSU. 
OSU Marching Band Performs Video Game Tribute – Watch More Funny Videos
Could There Be A Greater Love?
On May - 22 - 2012
Here is a song by Delane Angel, a long-time member at GLC, who has also assisted in leading music here. He serves as somewhat of an itinerant music minister, serving in other local churches who need a solid Music Minister. He is currently serving with Ricky Nelson at New Life Baptist Church in Collinwood, TN. We love Delane deeply here at GLC.
Here’s the video:
Temples
On May - 4 - 2012
Here’s one of the newest songs at Grace Life Church. It features Wes (at the piano) and Lance (at the guitar) Voorhees. Wes wrote the song based on 1 Cor. 6:19 and it’s a great easy song to integrate into your church’s song list. Enjoy!
Worth A Watch
On February - 6 - 2012
It looks like the Church Music guys have been reading this blog! Haha. Seriously, I’m very encouraged by the paradigm shift that has taken place at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. For total disclosure, I’ve not attended there but if I were to continue with my education, I would seriously consider SBTS. Enjoy!
The New Division of Biblical Worship from Southern Seminary on Vimeo.
What’s Going On Here?
On January - 30 - 2012
I know you think I’m posting this video just to poke fun at this poor chap. I’m not. The scriptures exhort us to “speak the truth in love”. The most loving thing that could be done for this gentleman is for someone to sit him down and kindly say “you cannot sing and it is possible that you think too highly of yourself”. His issue is not so much that he cannot sing but in the seeming arrogance of a competing spirit and “I’m gonna blow you away with this” body language. Maybe I’m reading way too much into it but I just don’t see how this is serving the church.
I’ve worked with plenty of folks who were not the most talented. I’m probably one myself. But serving with a selfless, God-centered approach will testify to the greatness of Jesus Christ much more than this example. There’s no way I can know the singer’s heart–I can only go by what I see on the video. I pray that he does love the Lord and is seeking to honor the Lord in his singing.
It’s also my prayer that this gentleman has some accountability and does serve the Lord in other ways besides this. He might need to get some help in harnessing his gifts and include more character before he showcases again.
It’s also worth mentioning that a singer who has exceptional talent doesn’t guarantee spiritual success, either. Regardless of talent, no one has any business in thinking he or she is something because of talent (or for any other reason) 1 Cor. 4:7. We are mere stewards of talents and gifts and no amount of polish or expertise gives anyone the option of playing the pride card.
Please forgive me if I am speaking to anything out of context. Hopefully having more context would help me understand this video better.
Brother Music Minister, serve the folks in your church by establishing an atmosphere of speaking the truth in love. Strive to remove as many distractions as possible from the music that is presented in your services.
Lux Aurumque
On December - 23 - 2011
Enjoy this Christmas song by a contemporary choral master. I’ve sung this piece with the Nashville Symphony Chorus and absolutely am still enamored with it.
Here are the lyrics:
Latin Lyrics:
Lux,
calida gravisque pura velut aurum
et canunt angeli molliter
modo natum.
English Lyrics:
Light,
warm and heavy as pure gold
and the angels sing softly
to the new-born baby. – Edward Esch
