Christmas Albums

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I have no desire to rank the best Christmas albums of all time, or anything like that.  I rarely buy anything to listen to for Christmas because I would rather spend cash on stuff I can keep listening to after Christmas.  But on occasion I find something that I must have for holiday enjoyment.  Here are my personal favorites that I will be spinning through Christmas Day.  These are in no particular order.

BeholdBehold the Lamb of God - Andrew Peterson

The best Christ-centered incarnation (notice I didn't say Christmas) album I've ever heard.  "So Long, Moses" is fantastic (history of redemption) as is "Labor of Love" (perspective of Mary).

From "So Long Moses"

He'll bear no beauty or glory
Rejected, despised
A man of such sorrow
We'll cover our eyes

He'll take up our sickness
Carry our tears
For his people
He will be pierced

He'll be crushed for our evils
Our punishment feel
By his wounds
We will be healed.

From you, O Bethlehem
Small among Judah
A ruler will come
Ancient and strong.

Williams_chrThe Andy Williams Christmas Album - Andy Williams

My favorite "old school" Christmas album.  It was the staple in my home as a kid.  Great holiday favorites mixed with Christmas hymns.  Also a few unique pieces like a very interesting version of "Jingle Bells."

RoseRose of Bethlehem - Selah

Another good Christ-centered album.  It's very hard to beat these harmonies from a creative trio.  "Rose of Bethlehem" is my personal favorite from this album, but my wife really digs "Mystery" which is one singer standing in awe of the incarnation and the love of God.  Their version of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" (my favorite Christmas hymn) presents a profound sense of longing and crying out.

ConnickWhen My Heart Finds Christmas - Harry Connick, Jr.

He has a newer Christmas album out, but this one is his best IMHO.  Part of the reason is the incredible title track "When My Heart Finds Christmas."  This album is at times beautiful, other times it's fun.  A family favorite every year and probably the best all-around Christmas album.

RomanticA Romantic Christmas - John Tesh

Everyone loves to make fun of John Tesh and make fun of the people who like John Tesh.  I have two of his albums, both instrumental, and they are fantastic.  Winter Song is one of my favorite soft classical albums.  Great for reading, studying, getting cozy and all that.  But for Christmas it's A Romantic Christmas.  There is no better music for late nights in mid December, sipping mocha by the fireplace with your hot wife, and then making out later.   If you aren't married yet, hurry up so you can make out to this stuff.  It's really good.

Todd Agnew: "My Jesus"

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Have you heard "My Jesus" by Todd Agnew?  Love this song.  It might be my new life anthem.  I got the CD in a Relevant Network box like 2 months ago and didn't get past the first song until now.  Shame on me.  Here are the lyrics.  Go buy the CD, Reflection of Something.  Oh, and his version of "It is Well" (hidden track) is creative and powerful.

"My Jesus"

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus

Monergism: Tim Keller Resources

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Justin Taylor has just informed me that Monergism has built a Tim Keller resource page.  It looks like they haven't located any articles other than the ones I've listed in my Tim Keller Articles post (maybe they used my links to build their page?), but they have added some audio resources which is helpful.  Always glad to see Keller's ideas getting out there. 

So I've added a link on my Keller post to Monergism, which is a tremendous resource for all thing reformed.  Oh, and I've finally added D.J. Chuang's Keller resource page, which I keep forgetting to add.  Chuang's site was one of the first places I learned about Keller.

100,000

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As of this post my stats tell me this site has been viewed 100,104 times.  Thanks to all who read, and especially to those who interact with ideas of truth and culture here. 

It looks like hit #100,000 was someone who came to my site from a yahoo email to my video sermon post and then went to my homepage.  If that was you, then you've won lifetime access to the beautiful Joe Thorn Buddha bobble-head.  Enjoy!

Hershael York is My Homey

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With all apologies to all my SBTS professors that are dear to my heart, I may have decided on a favorite.  Hershael York has, in great detail, just posted on his experience at the Blackalicious and G Love and Special Sauce concert he and his wife attended with their son in Nashville. 

Hershael is fun and insightful in the classroom, and this post is right in that vein.  He leaves some reflections on the evening as well, and I'm thankful for them.

Memorable quotes...

I think it is safe to say that I am probably the only professor at Southern Seminary who has ever been to a G Love and Blackalicious concert.

I am not a hip hop fan, though I confess that I have a certain admiration when they 'freestyle.'

"She's got sauce--your baby's not sweet like mine" was a crowd favorite, as was "Booty Call," which was about precisely what you think it was about. "Two Birds" flew through the set and "Don't Drop It" didn't get dropped, but I kept hoping for him to do "Cold Beverages," a favorite of mine, though he never did.

Tanya and I...inadvertently found ourselves standing in the middle of the drinkers, smokers, and tokers. We could hear dying brain cells gasping their last shallow breaths.

I felt neither uncomfortable nor offended. I had seen all this before. I used to have my own band years ago, after all, and things haven't changed that much.

You want to know something strange? Do you know what I did during the concert? I prayed. My heart was breaking for many of the kids around me. In the middle of the music and surrounded by the revelry, mostly I felt sad. I knew that most of these kids did not understand that they are playing with fire. They didn't seem to consider the consequences that their actions lead to. But I did. I have counseled husbands whose wives were sexually promiscuous and it haunted them. I have had to sit with patients dying of aids that they contracted sexually. I have listened to men who have no attention span and cannot hold a job lament that they burned out their brains with drugs. I've counseled girls who had abortions, girls who had babies out of wedlock, young adults who have become addicted to alcohol and drugs. I am the guy who helps people put the shattered pieces of their lives back together after they realize that much of their fun is really bondage.

I was...reflecting on Richard Blackaby's poignant message on grace and entering the world of those who need it rather than just scolding them You can hear it here). Still, I thought, I just don't know what to do now that I am in their world.

Mood Music

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Here are a few albums that I find enjoyable in different circumstances.

Dirty_three_cinderDirty Three: Cinder

My take: A beautiful, mostly instrumetal (guitar-drums-violin) album.  Very mellow and relaxing. 

Usage: Good for reading late with candles lit and a beverage you want to sip.

Dusted says: "With a solid emotional through-line and a few sonic surprises, Cinder is a musical novella, whose narrative compels you to its last luxurious line."

Go_teamThe Go! Team: Thunder, Lightning, Strike

My take: Active and fun beats, hip-hoppish, often lined with cheerleader background vocals.  A thrill-ride of an album that induces foot-taping and head-bobbing throughout.  Check out my family video that includes two clips from the CD. 

Usage: When you feel like jumping on the bed or dancing in your underwear.

musicOMH.com says: "Effortlessly cool and implausibly inventive, Thunder Lightning Strike is that rare thing, an instant classic. Let The Go! Team become the new soundtrack to your lives."

TakkSigur Ros: Takk...

My take: Dream-inducing, magical, haunting, and enveloping songs.  Thoroughly blissful.  I can't stop playing it.

Usage: Close the door, put on high-quality headphones, turn it up slightly too loud, dim the lights nearly off, put your feet up, and head off to neverland.

musicOMH.com says: "Takk's songs are...epics of over seven minutes that generally take at least half of that to get going, and they evoke euphoria, delight and wonder."

Free music downloads; videos ("Glosoli" is incredible)

Video Preaching at Church

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Several months ago my wife and I attended Harvest Bible Chapel (James MacDonald) inPalatine, IL.  We tried very hard to make sure we were at the main church on a day MacDonald would be there.  We got there and found out he wasn't there, but Joe Stowell was preaching.  Okay, cool.  Feed me.  Uh, it was Stowell on video from an earlier service. 

Right now I'm ten minutes into Mark Driscoll's sermon "Jesus Took Our Wrath" and he hasn't started the sermon yet.  That's actually not a strange thing for Driscoll, especially since he has about an hour and five minutes left.  He is explaining how Mars Hill has been growing in leaps and bounds.  Faster than they can accommodate.  And they are looking for ways to make space, and space is hard to come by.  Wouldn't we all like to have their problems.  One quick solution that won't last for long is adding a fifth service on Sunday.  As a pastor that sounds like a nightmare for my physical/emotional well being.

So instead of just killing the pastor and staff along the way, they have chosen to make some of the sermons video sermons.  Driscoll will preach the first service, it will be taped and used at a service or two that day.  That takes care of the killing the pastor/staff part, but I'm a bit concerned at the direction of good churches that I highly respect who are turning to this option.  I wonder if this isn't an abuse of the gifts of modernity, rather than using these gifts in a way that truly benefits the church. 

Let me just give a few thoughts as to why I don't like this trend.  I don't mean to pick on Harvest or MHC or MacDonald or Driscoll, but they have triggered my thoughts.

1. There's a dynamic that isn't there when the preacher isn't standing in front of his people.  Every sermon I preach changes because of how the audience responds, how I feel, the sense of "unction" and so on.  I don't think these are repeatable things, and so the dynamic is lost.  If I have the story right, Martyn Lloyd-Jones didn't like his sermons audio recorded (though they were) because he felt like you couldn't replicate the experience so it wouldn't be the same. 

2. Video preaching is, it seems to me, a way of doing an 'end run' around the real need: more preachers/more churches.  We are to pray for workers for the harvest, not for digital machines that can video-photocopy a sermon and reproduce it.  If God's providing the people to join the flock, I want to believe that God is providing enough pastor/preachers who can shepherd the flock.  I know the philosophy at MHC behind why they don't want to share the pulpit, but I'm not sure I fully buy it as the better option.

3. Video preaching seems like the result of personality-driven ministry.  The preacher is so important and so beloved that no one else can fill their shoes well enough to preach in their place.  I hope this isn't the case, but guys like MacDonald and Driscoll are very charismatic and certainly some are coming who would not if they weren't there.

What do you think?

Marks of a Pharisee

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Read Doug Wilson's "The Marks of a Pharisee."

We do not widen our phylacteries; we have floppy Bibles with ribbonsin them. We do not offer lengthy prayers in the synagogues; we do in the churches. We do not look at the woman caught in adultery with contempt; we look at the immodestly-dressed college girl with contempt. And in a basic display of a censorious and religious bookkeeping system, our hearts (and sometimes our mouths) are full of phrases that rhyme with "that’s not fair!"

May God deliver us.

Peterson: Eat This Book

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Eat_this_bookEugene Peterson's follow up to Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places is called Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading and is due out at the end of December.  Very cool.  This is the second book in a five book series Peterson is planning on spiritual theology.

I am one of a handful of guys who are "mega-blogging" Christ Plays at Jesus Creed.  It should be starting soon and I will post on it when it does.

(HT: Prodigal Kiwi)

When Sin Doesn't Make the Papers

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Every week I deliver a biblical and counter-cultural message to our congregation, often challenging the ways of our world, the problem of insurmountable sinfulness in humanity and in each of our hearts, and pointing to God who became flesh as the answer and end of all our searches for meaning and escape from the consequences of our sin.

But I only make it into the local paper when a 1 inch hole pops through a water main on our street causing nearly no real problems or issues.

Trip to North Park

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Scot McKnight (Jesus Creed) invited me to come this Monday to North Park University (Chicago), where he is a professor, to hear Dr. Donald Hagner lecture and then eat dinner with them as well as some NPU professors. 

Img_1856_600I showed up a little early for an absolutely riveting discussion on divorce (link shows short video) between Scot, Don, and Kermit Zarley (a former pro golfer who has funded the lecture series).  Then Dr. Hagner delivered part one of his lecture series on "A Positive Theology of Judaism from the New Testament."  Interesting and provocative.  Learn more about the lecture series here, and here's Scot's short post on it.

It was an enjoyable day: I learned some new things, met some good people, and ate some great Italian food at Via Veneto.

Challies Interviews Derek Webb

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Tim Challies has interviewed Derek Webb about his new CD, Mockingbird (which sounds very good), his thoughts on social justice, favorite books, and more.  Interview: Part 1 & Part 2.

From Part 1...

It's like once you come down the aisle responding to the call for salvation - you come down the aisle and you pray the prayer and as you're walking out they give you your little gift bag. And your little gift bag is all of your politics and sexuality and culture and art and all wrapped up, it's all been thought out for you. Just take your gift bag and you're going to be fine. And we just can't be people who are satisfied with that. That is completely oversimplifying issues that are very difficult and very detailed and are very nuanced. We must have a more meaningful discussion about these issues in the church because you simply cannot be as predictable as we have become as the Western church. You cannot be that predictable and follow Jesus. You cannot! Jesus was not predictable in his politics. I do think Jesus makes quite a few very political statements, but he was in no way predictable. There were moments where he might have looked very conservative as we might try to put our terms and categories on him today and look back, but there are also moments where he looked like a flaming liberal. There is nothing we can do about it. If your concern is in following Jesus and that is what you really want to do, as opposed to following some kind of subcultural caricature of a political idea, you're going to have to be willing to follow him back and forth and back and forth. You're going to have to be willing to have people, even in the church, call you a liberal, which can be very derogatory when used by these people. I think the more we align ourselves with political parties in the church the more it makes it impossible to follow Jesus.

From Part 2...

I think that one book that has been tremendously helpful to me is a book by this guy Steve Turner, it's called Imagine. Steve Turner's a guy who studied at L'Abri under Francis Schaeffer, and he wrote this book. It's probably the most thorough and biblical and liberating treatment of how a Christian might engage in the arts. It is one of those books that will take the roof off the house. I read it every couple of years just to remind myself of what's true because when it comes to the arts the church has really mixed up ideas about what the role of art is in culture and especially church culture. So that book really has blown my mind a number of times and I think that should be required reading for anybody.

Harry Potter Playlist

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Harry Potter, er, Daniel Radcliffe (who plays Harry on screen) has a 'celebrity playlist' up at iTunes.  I thought it would be interesting to see what he picked.  I liked the list, but I found a few of his explanations of the songs curious.  Notice the interesting mix of meanings.

FYI for non-iTunes users, they usually have the celebrity pick 10-15 songs and describe something about what they like about each song. 

"Gouge Away" (Track 7): "Biblical imagery, half whispered vocals and an incredible chorus..."

"Me Ves y Sufres" (Track 8): "An incredibly sad song. To me it sounds like it's about someone who, because of their own actions, has no hope of happiness."

"What I'm Looking For" (Track 9): "A song that seems to me, to be saying, 'Hey, there may not be a meaning to life. So let's all just enjoy living it.' A good attitude to have."