Steven Curtis Chapman has a new album out that I want to commend to you. It’s called “Deep Roots”. I suspect that the name reflects the fact that Chapman is not only going back to his musical roots in bluegrass, but also that he’s reprising songs that have meant a lot to him over the years. The song selection includes classic hymns and old gospel songs. His duet with Ricky Skaggs on “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” may be the best track on the record. But probably my favorites are his fresh acoustic renditions of some of his early work. And by “early work,” I mean material that…

The worship sessions from the 2010 and 2012 Together for the Gospel conferences have just been released on an album. Bob Kauflin is the worship leader, and this recording really fantastic. There are sixteen songs in all for only $8.99. To get a feel for what 7,000 men singing around a piano sound like, watch the video below. Download the album here.

I love Steven Curtis Chapman’s music. His 1995 Christmas album is a staple at our house every year. Many of these songs are more than nostalgia to me. They are worship. Just this past Sunday as I was driving to church, my eyes were welling-up once again as I sang for the first time this year “Our God Is with Us”. I really love this music. Now, nearly 20 years later Chapman has released a new Christmas album titled “Joy”. Chapman has lived a lifetime since that first Christmas album, and it shows in the new one. One song in particular is addressed to those who are grieving at Christmastime.…

Andrew Peterson has given Desiring God Ministries permission to give away a free song from his new album. The record won’t be released until August 28, but you can download the song “Rest Easy” right now. Visit the Desiring God blog to download a free MP3 of the song. You can take a listen to the song below. [audio:http://cdn.desiringgod.org/audio/blog/RestEasy.mp3] In the video above, Peterson gives some background to the song. Among other things, he says: “This song is an exhortation to myself to anyone else out there who might be struggling to believe that God can both know them completely and love them completely.”

Joel Hartse asks “What happened to contemporary Christian music?” in a recent column for Christianity Today. He notes the unprecedented explosion of Christian rock during the 1990’s (with an interesting focus on some of the alternative bands) and how that heyday is long gone now. He gives three explanations for the decline:

I’ve really been enjoying Jill Phillips and Andy Gullahorn’s song “You Came Down” this Christmas season. I heard them perform it at the “Behold, the Lamb of God” concert here in Louisville a couple of weeks ago. After that, I bought it and have been listening to it ever since. It’s one that I think you will appreciate as well. It’s from their album “Christmas.” Push the play button below to preview the song, then go buy it. The single is $.99 and the album is only $8.99. Also, one other item is worth mentioning. Phillips and Gullahorn are husband and wife, and they covered “It’s Cold Outside” on this…

Barry Joslin is a professor at Boyce College who also serves as worship pastor at Ninth & O Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his worship team got permission from Sovereign Grace ministries to record the song “The Son of God Came Down” and to give it away as a gift to their congregation. Barry sings and plays guitar himself on this one. It’s a great recording, and it’s certainly a great song. You can download it here or listen to it below. The lyrics are below. [audio:http://aspen.nowsprouting.com/ninthandobaptistchurch/podcast_item/5/201/01+The+Son+of+God+Came+Down.mp3]