I don’t know if I have ever mentioned Page CXVI before, but I have now. I love their music and now they are giving away a free album. Please go grab it for yourself!

This weekend my wife and I had the opportunity to attend a concert near Milwaukee. Headlining the concert was Steven Curtis Chapman and the two guys with him were Andrew Peterson and Josh Wilson. Josh Wilson we had never heard of but Andrew Peterson is one of our favorites. In fact, the whole reason we went was to see Andrew Peterson and the other two guys were bonuses.

Let me just say at the outset…we were blown away! I figured it would be your typical concert where Josh Wilson opens up with a few songs, then Peterson comes out and does a few more, and then Chapman would come out and be the main act. It was nothing like that! All three guys took the stage at the same time and sang with one another’s songs. At times one or two of them would drop away and the focus would be on one guy. Then sort of a round robin thing would happen.

The name of the tour is “Songs and Stories” and it wasn’t until we were part way through the concert the idea of the title hit me…all of the songs they sang were stories from their lives—either about marriage, kids, life, growing up, and the hard times that God uses to sharpen us. Many times before they would sing a song they would tell you how the song came about and what inspired it.

There is plenty more I could say and I’ll probably say more in a future post. However, let me share just the top moment about each guy.

Josh Wilson

I had never heard of Josh before, but he is a very talented musician. He talked about how he has been used to being sort of a one-man-band over the years and demonstrated how he uses these different loop pedals to record parts and play them back to give a pretty awesome sound. I would recommend you watch this video here for an explanation and an idea of what we here. When he played Amazing Grace it was pretty incredible.

Andrew Peterson

I’ve been following Peterson and his music for a long time (10 years?). He is folksy, real, theological, and a gifted song writer and author. He shared the story of how the song “Dancing in the Minefields” came to be. I was surprised to hear that it was the result of a senseless disagreement that he and his wife had around their 15 year wedding anniversary. Once he told the story I jokingly Tweeted “If ‘Dancing in the Minefields’ was the result of an argument, I’m hoping Andrew Peterson & his wife have a few more disagreements!” Seriously…if you have not heard this song then you need to get it right away. Don’t stop with that song though, you’ll enjoy the entire album. I’ll say more about Peterson in an upcoming post.

Steven Curtis Chapman

I’ve been listening to SCC for as long as I’ve been a believer. Most of his songs are personal reflections of his life with his family and it was so much more real hearing him explain the songs to us last night. The moment that was the standout for SCC wasn’t even a song but it was when he was plugging his adoption work. He  and his wife have adopted three kids so far and have formed an organization called Show Hope. Show Hope is an organization to help couples financially that are wanting to adopt a child. Their stories are awesome and so are those of the people they have helped. Michelle and I want to adopt someday and hearing these stories last night just fueled that even more for us. We believe there is no greater picture of the gospel on earth than the picture of adopting a child.

So the entire night was great! We enjoyed the weekend away and we topped it off today by getting to see some friends after church.

We sang this song a few times in church in recent months and I wanted to put the lyrics in front of us all so we can read through them and reflect upon the magnitude of them. If you want a good version of this song to download you can find that through The Gospel Coalition Site recorded by Sojourn.

This song was originally penned by Isaac Newton in 1779 and is a reflection on Psalm 32:5-7. Read through and reflect on these words.

Approach my soul, the mercy seat
Where Holy One and helpless meet
There fall before my Judges’ feet
Thy promise is my only plea, O God

Send wings to lift the clutch of sin
You who dwell between the cherubim
From war without and fear within
Relieve the grief from the shoulders of crumbling men

O God—Pour out your mercy to me
My God, Oh what striking love to bleed.

Fashion my heart in your alchemy
With the brass to front the devil’s perjury
And surefire grace my Jesus speaks
I must. I will. I do believe. O Lord.

It has been a while since I have introduced any music on the blog, so let me take that opportunity right now to tell you about a cool indie group out of Philadelphia called Reilly. They are fresh in my mind because I took Michelle to see them last night in Green Bay at  Cup O’ Joy.

They have a unique sound that blends styles of alternative and rock music with dueling violins. In fact, the violins are probably my favorite part. The husband and wife duo of Dan and Noele on the violin are fantastic to watch and listen to. John Reilly, the bands vocal lead and front man, has a great sound and is very dynamic on stage.

If you haven’t heard of Reilly before then I would encourage you to check out some of their music. they have three albums out and they are all fantastic. You can get the best deal by ordering from their website, however, you can also get their latest album the cheapest on Amazon.

I wanted to continue to introduce you to some music that you might not be familiar with. The group Ordinary Time has done what other groups have done by setting old hymns to new tunes, however, they have done so in a very folksy acoustic way. They have also come up with some their own original hymns as well. So far I have only listened to this one album but I know that I am already sold on them!

You can check out their website here, and browse their music and listen to some samples on iTunes here. If you want to save a few dollars be sure you buy your album directly through their own web store.

Who is Matt Boswell you ask? Well it wasn’t all that long ago I was asking the same question. I got one of his albums as part of my membership for being a “Friend of the Blog” over at Challies.com. I downloaded the album and have enjoyed listening through it about a dozen times now.

From Matt’s website it says:

My name is Matt Boswell and I am a native Texan. I serve as a director of worship at Watermark Church in Dallas, TX, and also a staff songwriter for Word Music. My passion is to see the church engaged in worship that gospel-centered, and from that understanding, to practice worship individually, in our homes, and in our congregations. I am head over heels in love with my bride, Jamie and our life is very full with our three small children. Follow me on Twitter @mattboswell.

“Vintage” is Matt’s second album, which came out a few years back. This album is primarily a collection of older hymns that Matt has set to a new tune. His music is beautiful and helps focus your mind upon Christ. If you are not familiar with him or his music then let me suggest you:

1. Visit his website, “Living Worship”
2. Purchase some of his music and bring some joy to your soul. You can do so directly through iTunes.

Continuing from my post yesterday about Sovereign Grace’s new album, Risen; I wanted to introduce everyone to another album that you probably don’t know about, My Cry Ascends by singer/songwriter Gregory Wilber. This album is a compilation of various artists like Michael Card, Steve Green, Wes King, and others. It has a Celtic sound with theologically rich and memorable lyrics. From Ligonier Ministries website:

My Cry Ascends is a graceful collection of new Psalms and hymns for the church composed by Greg Wilbur. The music is recorded in a folk tradition with elements of Celtic style and southern harmony. Listeners will enjoy the hardy musical instrumentation: piano, viola, flutes, tin whistle, acoustic guitar, mandolin, bagpipe, hammer dulcimer and percussion. Rich biblical texts and expressive tunes feature the singing of Michael Card, Steve Green, Wes King, Katy Snow, Nathan Clark George and Bruce Carroll. The songs were written with congregational singing in mind, and it is our hope that this CD will bring these wonderful pieces into wider familiarity as an appropriate offering to the Most High God as He calls His people into worship.

You can preview the album at iTunes and purchase it directly through iTunes for $9.99 or the actual disc through Ligonier for $12.00.

I am sure that most of my friends know about Sovereign Grace Music, but I know there are a good number of people at church and in my Sunday School that are not as familiar with them. If you are not familiar with Sovereign Grace Music you need to be. They are writing and making some of the most theologically significant tunes for the church today.

On Tuesday Sovereign Grace released their latest album, “Risen.” I downloaded it yesterday and have really enjoyed it so far. I have never been disappointed by their music and that streak continues. I believe I now have 14 of their albums.

There are a variety of ways you can get this album and their music.

1. Buy and download directly from their website.
2. Buy and download through iTunes.
3. Buy and download through Amazon.
4. And if you still want a round plastic circle you can get them directly through Sovereign Grace Music’s website.

Right now SGM is having some technical difficulties with their website on the new album. Once it is up on their site it will only be $5.00. I couldn’t wait so I paid a couple of extra dollars and got it through Amazon.

I’ll have some other posts on great music in the coming days. There are so many great writers and singers out there that I believe the church is missing out on.

There are not many things that encourage me more than a faithful churchmen. Bob Kauflin is an example of one such man. Bob Kauflin is director of worship development for Sovereign Grace Ministries.

On Bob’s blog, Worship Matters, he posted some notes today from a speaking engagement that he had back in November of 2010. The gist is that he was looking at music and asking the question “Is music a gift or is it a god?”

I love Bob’s summary:

Music is useful, but not necessary.
Music is good. But Jesus is better.
Music is a gift, but not a god.
Music isn’t my life. Christ is.

If you want to be encouraged and uplifted regarding music, worship, and the church then I suggest you head over to Bob’s blog and get reading. Bob also has written a great book that shares the name of his blog, Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God.