Matt Redman introduced Nathan Jess at Mission Worship’s “New Songs” Seminar over the weekend by saying that Nathan had soundchecked for him at an event in Northern Ireland, and that he’d been immediately struck by the strength of his voice. Admittedly, this was high on my list of compliments for Nathan - he has a voice that projects heart, feeling, emotion, and sincerity through his songs. It also turns out that he’s quite a songwriter, as his debut offering for Kingsway - ‘I Am Redeemed’ - shows. Let’s take a closer look.

Lyrically, this song portrays the Gospel message succinctly - telling a story of a man who came to earth, was betrayed, was raised up on the cross for our sins, and rose again to remain in Heaven with His Father for eternity. This message comes across poetically and personally, and like all the best worship songs, carries a degree of ownership for the worshipper - we can all take the message of this song for ourselves - we have been redeemed by Jesus and His sacrifice for us.

The arrangement is subtle, simple and effective. The influence of Claire & David Hamilton from Rend Collective works well in to the song - David’s guitar provides subtlety in the verses and a smooth opening riff to set the tone of the song (which also provides the bedrock for the chorus). Nathan’s vocal sits well in the mix - pushed forward, but not overpowering the backing. The drop back to just the acoustic guitar and vocal in the initial “Hallelujah” refrain is particularly well done, giving the song a base from which to build. This is the catalyst from which the song gets going - a strong progressive build-up follows in the subsequent choruses, with drums, bass and guitars working together. The layered vocals sit perfectly atop the build, providing texture and substance before a heavy guitar interlude releases a free, rocky rendition of the earlier “Hallelujah” refrain.

I’m really looking forward to hearing more of Nathan’s worship in the coming years - he has a purity in his worship that will inspire and encourage others, and also has the ability to put what’s on his heart into words, and poetic words at that. The Vineyard movement has always produced writers who can sing simple, personal love songs to the Lord, and in Nathan we have that and more - a passionate songwriter who’ll sing his heart out for the Lord.

Nathan’s single ‘I Am Redeemed’ is available on iTunes for a 79p download - buy it now! http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/i-am-redeemed-single/id480153235

Third Day and Brandon Heath perform Rich Mullins "Creed" in the studio from Garrett Viggers on Vimeo.

Hi guys, thought I'd share this with you.

Had this introduced to me a while back by a good friend who knows Garrett - it's an awesome version of Rich Mullins' "Creed".

More of Garrett's music can be found on his website, and he also features on Brian Johnson's "Love Came Down" CD/DVD (review here).

Hope you enjoy it!

Bless you.

With Bethel Music’s next corporate release looking very much as if it will be a predominantly acoustic offering, I thought it would be a good time to reflect upon a great live acoustic CD/DVD from Brian Johnson (worship pastor at Bethel Church, Redding). Recorded in 2009 by Jeremy Edwardson at the Soundhouse in Redding - the venue and production team for many of the Bethel and Jesus Culture releases - this album offers an intimate insight into Brian’s heart for worship. Brian is joined by his wife Jenn (backing vocals), Jeffrey Kunde of Jesus Culture switches from his usual guitar duties to play grand piano, Martin Rosenhoff plays a stirring cello part, and Gabe Valenzuela provides percussion. A very interesting twist to the arrangement sees Garrett Viggers adding his gifts on the hammered dulcimer for the latter half of the album.

The first thing that strikes me about this album is how natural it is. To illustrate this, one need look no further than the final track - 'Light A Fire'. I’ve been to a number of workshops and seminars over the years that have gone into the intricacies of writing lyrics for worship, but nowhere have I seen anyone explain how what seems like such a simple set of lines can make such a powerful song as this. Unsurprisingly from a church that lives, breathes and prays for the coming of revival, simply asking the Lord to “light a fire in us oh God, that no one can take away” creates a powerful message for a wholehearted song of worship to the Lord. If we want our congregations to sing passionately and in abandoned praise to the Lord, then it is imperative that the songs we give them to sing are easy to learn and easy to follow. Brian’s songwriting style heavily promotes these attributes, and the result (as you can see on the DVD) brings a room full of worshippers with the ability to sing their hearts out in deep engagement with the Lord.

These themes of simple, effective, teachable and heartfelt songs continue right through the album with songs such as “Worthy is the Lamb”, “I Really Love You” and “I Love Your Name” - all marked with Brian’s humility in songwriting - giving all the glory back to the Lord in worship. Interspersed within these songs we find a couple of Bethel favourites - a contemplative version of Keith Green’s “Oh Lord You’re Beautiful”, and the title track of Bethel’s first live album “Here is Love” gets another outing here. The title track - “Love Came Down - brings to mind a talk given by Bill Johnson - pastor of Bethel Redding and also Brian’s father - where he talks about the need for storing up the Lord’s goodness, grace and love so that we always have something to hold dear, even when we seem away from Him and aren’t necessarily hearing direct from Him. I’ll leave you with the empowering lyrics of the first verse:

 “If my heart is overwhelmed, and I cannot hear Your voice,

I’ll hold on to what is true, though I cannot see.

If the storms of life they come, and the road ahead gets steep,

I will lift these hands in faith, I will believe.”

Amen to that Brian, bless you. 

I've been listening to this song a lot recently, it goes some way to describing where I'm at just now. God wants us to tear down the walls, loose the chains and free our hearts for Him. He wants the best for us, He wants our hearts. Giving our hearts back to Him is the least we can do.

Isaiah 6:8 shows us Isaiah's prophecy of the Lord asking "Whom shall I send, who will go for me", and of the response - "Here I am, send me". Seize the opportunity, stand up, put your hand up for the Lord, He will give you the tools you need. I pray this would be your anthem this week.

(It's a stirringly good video too.....)

Bless you,

Ed

Rend Collective's "Organic Family Hymnal" (on which this is track 1) can be found here on iTunes 

I find it very comforting that in the midst of the modern desire within worship music for new songs, that hymns have not only stood the test of time, but are actually being reworked by modern worship leaders in such a way that they come across as new songs in their own right. In a side project to their usual brand of music, Hello Industry's Nathan Peterson and James Ross have produced an uplifting acoustic album of hymns. Incidentally, the oldest of these (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing) is some 253 years in print.

However you like to term your regular "alone time" with the Lord (maybe "quiet time", "devotional time", "reflective time" etc.) I suggest that if you are perhaps looking for some music to listen to, you try this. Since finding this album just before Christmas, I must have listened to it in it's entirety more than 20 times. It is quite simply amazing - it has opened my eyes to several hymns that I never knew existed, and it has also changed the way I view certain hymns that I thought had perhaps been overdone in their existent versions.

The inspiration in this album lies in it's simplicity in my opinion. Sparse arrangements, with only acoustic guitar and a double bass give the vocal lines the chance to be heard clearly - and it is in the lyrics of these hymns where their beauty lies. Nathan Peterson's voice is pushed to the fore in the mix, and the vocals sit perfectly over the subtle and sensitive backing. When harmonies come in (the prime examples being used in "I Need Thee Every Hour" and "All Hail The Power of Jesus' Name") they add a pleasant layer to the texture, and give a lift to the arrangement.  

The selection of hymns on this album is diverse yet cohesive, and the arrangements have a subtle blend of the familiar and the creative. A couple of great examples of this are "Nearer My God to Thee" - a hymn that starts off in quite a reflective manner but builds up through each verse before opening out into a stirring finale. "I Surrender All", usually a bright, major hymn, is given an overhaul into the minor key, and in doing so creates an emotive ambience to the backing, again with Nathan's powerful vocal. 

Nathan's sleeve notes for this album seem like a perfect way to end this review, he leaves us with the words:

“We hope the music on this album (and all of our albums) screams passion, sincerity, and creativity. And we hope our fans and friends enjoy experiencing this album as much as we’ve enjoyed making it!” 

It's safe to say I have really enjoyed this album, and if you want to do the same, find them at http://helloindustry.bandcamp.com