I cannot say enough about Marcus “Flame” Gray’s new album, “Captured.” Once again, he has put together an album that combines musical and creative excellence with profound theological depth. As far as I’m concerned, Flame is a genius, and this album is a must-buy both for hip-hop fans and for all those others who might need to broaden their horizons. My favorite tracks on here are “Nonsense,” “Alive,” “All I Need,” and “Move.” The cameo by MC Ryan Fullerton is also at the top of my list, so be sure to listen to “Daniel 10.” Continue Reading →

A world without music would be a world in black and white. With all the color removed, it just wouldn’t be as beautiful as it was meant to be. Music is so much a part of this season of the year that I thought it would be worth a few posts to talk about the music that my family listens to most at Christmas time.

I’m certain you’ll find some items here that you are already well-acquainted with. Perhaps there will be some other items that are new to you or that you had forgotten about and are glad to be reminded of. So for what it’s worth, here it goes.

Each album cover links to an Amazon.com page where you can order or download the music. I will break this into three sections: sacred, traditional, and pop. These categories overlap somewhat, but hopefully this division will make sense to you by the time I’m done. Today’s post will focus on sacred music. The main criterion for being included on this list is the music’s ability to evoke worship. I will be interested to hear from you what you would have included in this list. Continue Reading →

As I was driving in to work this morning, I was listening to Miranda Lambert’s song “The House that Built Me.” I’d heard the song before, but today I actually paid attention to the words for the first time. It wasn’t long before I felt like someone would need to pass me a hanky. I experienced then what many of you have experienced before too. Music has the ability to reach inside your guts and communicate like no other medium can. Continue Reading →

I just saw that Owl City has recorded a new version of “In Christ Alone.” You can download it here or listen below. (HT: Brad Jones)

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UPDATE: Tim Challies pointed out something in the comments below that I didn’t notice when I posted this earlier today. This version leaves out the verse that talks about the cross. I have no idea why the second verse is omitted. Perhaps he left it out because all four verses push the song past the three and half minute time limit for pop songs. Whatever the reason, it’s too bad he omitted it. Nevertheless, I’m grateful that he recorded the song. I think it’s really good.

Printed below are all four verses. The omitted verse is the one that is italicized and bold. Continue Reading →

I just heard the news that the Christian rock band Petra is getting back together for a reunion tour. This is beyond belief, but I say more power to them. Greg Volz not John Schlitt will be lead singer.

For those of you who can’t remember or haven’t heard of Petra, you can check them out below. You will see that, for some unexplained reason, tortured and confused teenager dude was a running motif in their videos from the late 80′s. Continue Reading →