Another great song to encourage you this week:
music
Jeremy Camp’s New Song: Word of Life
I’m really enjoying this new song from Jeremy Camp!
Music Monday: Give You Glory by Jeremy Camp
Music Monday: One Step Away by Casting Crowns
Music Monday: O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Don’t Miss List: Hello, December Edition
I picked up our Christmas tree last night, so I’m in a Christmas-y mood. That might be obvious with some, but not all, of this Don’t Miss List:
Rev. Kevin DeYoung pleads with pastors: Don’t cancel Sunday services for Christmas!
I LOVE THIS! As someone who loves Christmas Eve service but usually has to miss it in order to see all my cousins at our family party, I often wish more churches still held Christmas Day services (yes — that used to be a thing). Since this year, Christmas falls on a Sunday I really want to find a service to attend.
I greatly appreciated DeYoung’s letter here and the reasons he gives for not cancelling Christmas Sunday services at your church.
Here’s one of them: “It’s Christmas for crying out loud! It’s the day we celebrate the incarnation, the birth of the Messiah, the entrance into our world of the second Person of Trinity. Don’t we want to sing? Don’t we want to celebrate? Don’t we want to preach and praise and pray?”
I do want to sing and celebrate and hear the word. Pastors, please know that some of us really do want to be in your church this Christmas!
Music Monday: Oh, Happy Day! Aretha Franklin and Mavis Staples
Music Monday: Great is Thy Faithfulness
Performed by Chris Rice
Hillsong Music: Popular Yes, but Is it Biblical?
Hillsong is an enormous church network and through its music, the church reaches far outside of that network. Many churches use Hillsong songs on Sunday mornings. But I wonder how many of them ever stopped to examine the songs for doctrine.
That’s precisely what Chris Rosebrough, Steve Kozar and Amy Spreeman did on a recent episode of Fighting for the Faith. Given the popularity of the music I highly recommend listening to it.
Mahalia Jackson with Louis Armstrong: Just a Closer Walk With Thee
For your music Monday.