"You Are My Peace" - Inhabited

Song: You Are My Peace

Artist: Inhabited

Album: The Revolution

So, a buddy of mine from work passed away recently.  As I was driving to his memorial service, this is the song that rose up in me.  I wanted to share it with you.

I've always enjoyed Inhabited's music, and they deserve more recognition than I'm giving them here. Given the circumstances and the inspiration behind this post, though, I'm going to keep it to this.  Please enjoy the song, and I hope it helps you find peace in whatever situation you are dealing with right now:

"Jesus, You Gave It All" - Darlene Zschech/Hillsong

Song: "Jesus, You Gave It All"
Album: Touching Heaven, Changing Earth
Artist: Darlene Zschech/Hillsong

One of my absolute favorite things in this world is hearing an awesome worship song for the first time, then finding out that it's already ten or fifteen years old.  That's what Christian Music Discovery is all about: taking these gems of God-inspired music and sharing them so that they can bless the people of God.

That being said, I present to you one such song: "Jesus, You Gave It All" by Darlene Zschech (though you can tell that the whole Hillsong crew is there with her).

I absolutely love this song.  Everything about this song is perfect, from the intro, to that recurring lick/progression, to the heavy bass (Hillsong has never been afraid of bass or distortion), to the hook at the end and the guitar solo.  I love that Darlene always gives herself completely over in worship and literally gives it all.

It is also a fantastic reminder for every point in life: feel like living the Christ life (not a typo) is too hard?  Jesus gave it ALL for you; does it feel like God has forgotten you?  Well, Jesus gave it all for YOU.  Feel like you're not worthy of God's love?  Hey, Jesus GAVE it all for you.

No matter where we are in life, you can be comforted by remembering that Jesus gave it all for you.  Let's celebrate that!





Now, as a bonus, I included this clip I found of them doing it live.  You'll see what I'm talking about in giving yourself over in worship.

"All For You" - Fusebox

Song: "All For You"
Album: "Once Again"
Artist: Fusebox

An absolutely wonderful alt-metal worship song from little-known Fusebox (best known as Rebecca St. James' backing band back in the day).  I love this song, and it's not even my favorite on the album.

Enjoy.

"Sweetly Broken" - Casey Corum

The best version of "Sweetly Broken" out there, done by Vineyard worship leader Casey Corum. Rocks hard and drives from start to finish, yet is clean, melodic, and very well put together. Love it. Hope you do too. From the album "More Than Ever."


 


Now, I realized that the posts have been slow to come for a while (understatement), but we're back underway, so stay tuned for more selections from Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian music.

"Like You Promised" - Amber Brooks

We've all been there: those times in life when we feel distant from God, or that He's somehow afar off.  We're desperate, we're longing; we feel like something's missing, like the passion is gone, like God's presence is not as real as it once was.  Yes, we've all been there, but it's good to know that in the midst of what seem like the darkest and driest of times, God is always faithful to answer when we call.  Today, we highlight such a cry of desperation: "Like You Promised" by Amber Brooks.

Now, the one thing that we have to remember when petitioning God in times like this is to keep it simple, and Amber does just that with this powerful worship song.  The worshipper starts out asking God to come and "stir the stagnant waters."  Yep, that's pretty much what we need right about now.  Amber even addresses keeping the request simple: "I don't have all the right words to provoke You to want me."  Yes, Lord; I'm at a place where I don't know what else to say, except that I need You, and more of You, right now.  And so we have the chorus:

Won't you come, come like you promised
Pour out your Spirit, pour out your Spirit.

In coming the bridge, the worshipper is able to put themselves in remembrance of how much God loves them ("You love like a father,") and even the intensity with which He loves us ("fierce like no other.")

All it all, it's a simple song, but when it comes to those dry times of the soul, that's what we need as worshippers; we need to be able to just cry out to God and demonstrate how we long for Him, and then allow Him to come and fill us up as he so faithfully does.  "Like You Promised" serves as a wonderful reminder of what Psalm 139 tells us:

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me. - Psalm 139:7-10 (NKJV)

I hope you enjoy "Like You Promised," and I hope that it can help you or someone you know through a time of desperation and longing.

You can listen to "Like You Promised" on the YouTube video below:




Stay tuned!  On our next feature, we'll play one of my favorite games: "Guess That Group's Next Big Single."  We'll be featuring the music of Anberlin.

As always, thanks for checking out Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian Music.

"Glory" - Casting Crowns

I love to talk about Casting Crowns: who would've thought that this youth ministry band from Atlanta would have an album that hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 200, and after 54 weeks only fall to #39?  I believe that we can officially say that God is using them to make a positive impact in our world, especially given some of their greatest hits: "Voice Of Truth," "Lifesong," "Slow Fade," "Until The Whole World Hears," and the list goes on. 

Now, while we're all well-acquainted with Casting Crown's hits, I wanted to take the time to introduce you to one of their lessor-know songs: "Glory," from their debut self-titled album. 

I get excited when I talk about "Glory:" as far as praise and worship songs go, it's a cut above.  It's incredibly simple (as far as the lyrics go,) yet it's an anthem of praise if ever one existed.  It soars in it's communication, yet serves as a congregational chorus easily lifted in unity.  Let me walk you through it:

We start out with a simple fade-in of super-delayed electric guitar, which is then punctuated by a splashes of distortion.  The kick drum then gets us moving rapidly in a forward direction; we're going somewhere now.  The bass serves to reinforce this forward progress of praise into God's presence, and then the lyrics come: "You are Holy in this place."  Yes, absolutely.  We're onto something good here.

From here, the song doesn't let up.  It takes the listener full-bore into the adoration of our great and glorious savior, Jesus, acknowledging who He is and why we worship Him.  As we get into the chorus, "Glory " then solicits something from the worshipper - a commitment: "When you call my name, I'll run to you."  Yes, after all Jesus has done for me, I'll come running!  Now questions asked!

Now, my absolute favorite part of this song is the bridge.  Why?  Because of the descant part.  Megan and Melodee offer up a song of Alleluias that makes for the most beautiful descant part I've heard in music.  The listener is lifted up and given the inward longing to sing with the angels in adoration.  The first time I heard it, I was amazed at the gifting that God had bestowed upon these two, and it ministered to me greatly. 

I believe it will minister to you greatly as well, and I'm quite sure that "Glory" will do for you exactly what it did for me: ignite an instant desire to praise God with all your might.

You can listen to "Glory" on the Youtube video below:




Stay tuned for our next review, where we'll take a look at "Like You Promised," a worship song by up-and-coming worshipper Amber Brooks.

Did you like today's selection?  Let us know!  Leave us a comment, or click on the profile link and send us a message. 

Stay tuned for more great picks from Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian Music.

"Falling In Love" - Falling Up

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a special day for me; I'm about to tell you about one of the biggest influences behind my starting Christian Music Discovery: Falling Up's powerful worship offering, "Falling In Love," from their debut album, "Crashings."  This story takes a little time:

I remember being in the offices of my church just after having started college, and the girl that was interning for the youth minister and I were discussing the "Crashings" album.  "Broken Heart" was a huge radio success, and Falling Up was quickly establishing itself as a new force in Christian music.  As we were talking, she said to me, "Have you listened to track ten yet?"  I replied, "No, I haven't."  She insisted that I do so as soon as possible.

I am eternally grateful that she did.

As I sat and listened to the song, I was immediately drawn in by the intricate opening set up by the guitar and drums (BTW, Josh is one of the best drummers in Christian music, hands down.)  And then, the lyrics came: "You are my one true love."  Is there any better way to describe God? 

As I continued to listen, and the music continued to draw me in, almost into a worshipful trance, the chorus came, and I was launched into the words "All of my dreams and my passions are in your hands."  This was the point at which "Falling In Love" began to change me.

You see, at the time, due to some certain circumstances, I was having trouble understanding what God's will for my life was in the long run.  I had so many things that I wanted to do, but I didn't know which of them were God's plans and which of them were mine.  This song gave me such a peace about letting go, and letting God.  It took me back to what Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:12 - " . . . I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day."  I could place all my plans and dreams in His hands, and know that he would hold them for the appointed time. 

At the time, it astounded me that such a masterpiece of Christian music was so widely unheard of; I kept waiting for them to release it as a single, so that others could partake of the powerful ministry given through this song, but it never happened, and so came Falling Up's next album.  This contributed to my eventually starting Christian Music Discovery: I wanted to make sure that people knew that songs like "Falling in Love" were out there, waiting to be heard.

I'm thankful that, after several years now, "Falling In Love" has become one of Falling Up's most popular songs (it's one of the bestsellers on their greatest hits album according to iTunes, and the most popular YouTube video of theirs by far,)  but I wanted to go ahead and share this song with you anyway, because I really feel that as many people as possible need to hear and know this work.

Now, I could go on and on about the intricacies of the music, the dynamic shifts in rythym and progression, the power of the lyrics, and the emotional evocation that the whole song brings, but when all is said and done, the only thing that can really do justice to "Falling In Love" is to say this:  it is absolutely Falling Up's best track ever, and one of the greatest and most under-appreciated peices of Christian music of all time. You need only hear it to know.

That being said, you can listen to "Falling In Love" on the YouTube video below:




I hope you enjoy "Falling In Love," and stay tuned for more great music from Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian music.