My Favorite Christmas Albums

The Christmas season is upon us once again. And part of what makes the Christmas season so special is its music. Since there are so many different Christmas albums out there these days, I thought I'd share my three favorite to help any of you who might be looking for a little bit more variety. Here they are:

1. A Very Rosie Christmas, Rosie Thomas
Favorite Song = O Come, O Come Emmanuel

2. Very Merry Christmas, Dave Barnes
Favorite Songs = Christmas Tonight and The Christmas Song

3. Silent Night, Red Mountain Church
Favorite Song = Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

I Never Wanted To Follow Jesus

There is a song that I remember hearing as a kid called "I have decided to follow Jesus." It's a slower song that is supposed to be worshipful. In the first verse, the phrase "I have decided to follow Jesus" is repeated a few times, followed by "no turning back, no turning back." This video might jog your memory.

I was reminded about the song a couple of years ago when I heard the tune again from Red Mountain Church. The melody was the same, but the lyrics were changed. In her incredible voice, Ashley Spurling simply says "I never wanted to follow Jesus...He rescued me."

I'm very glad Red Mountain redid the song and corrected the lyrics. I'm not sure how the original lyrics were ever meant to be a worship song. The truth is no one desires to follow Christ. We were enemies of God and hated Him until He gave us new hearts to accept the free offer of redemption. The response to this glorious truth is not "I have decided to follow Jesus", a statement of self-determination. That isn't worship.

This is:


Update: My friend Evan relayed the back story behind the writing of the original song. It can be found here. In the context that the song was written, I now see the justification for the use of the line "I have decided to follow Jesus." So, I apologize for posting without knowing the context.

The truth is we do make decisions daily to follow Christ rather than the world. And a newly converted person can declare "I have decided to follow Jesus." But this post is still a plea for these declarations to be rooted in the knowledge of the sovereign decision of God to allow us to make these choices. Dead heart => made alive => respond with repentance and faith => worship God for His grace.

Favorite Albums of the Decade

If you’re anything like me, music is associated with certain times and circumstances in your life. The moment you hear a song or an album, you’re taken back into nostalgic memories of the past. That is one of the things that makes music so great.

It was really fun to think back over the last ten years and recall the albums that I have tirelessly played on my CD player or my iPod. With most of them I was taken back to either the first time I heard the album, or an experience where it acted as a sort of soundtrack. Some of these albums shaped the way I thought about music and some of them were just plain enjoyable. Here were my top 29 favorite (though not necessarily best) albums from the decade:

29. Poses, Rufus Wainwright (2001)
28. Rebel, Lecrae (2008)
27. Dreaming Out Loud, OneRepublic (2007)
26. Nickel Creek, Nickel Creek (2000)
25. A World Like Ours, Nicholas Alan (2005)
24. Brother Bring the Sun, Dave Barnes (2004)
23. Simply Nothing, Shawn McDonald (2004)
22. These Friends of Mine, Rosie Thomas (2006)
21. Phil Wickham, Phil Wickham (2006)
20. Nothing Left to Lose, Mat Kearney (2006)
19. She Must and Shall Go Free, Derek Webb (2003)
18. Vertigo, Jump, Little Children (2001)
17. Second Circle, Enter the Worship Circle (2003)
16. Continuum, John Mayer (2006)
15. If Songs Could Be Held, Rosie Thomas (2005)
14. The Beautiful Letdown, Switchfoot (2003)
13. Seven Swans, Sufjan Stevens (2004)
12. A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay (2002)
11. A Collision, David Crowder Band (2005)
10. Help My Unbelief, Red Mountain Music (2006)
9. For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver (2008)
8. O, Damien Rice (2002)
7. Hard Candy, Counting Crows (2002)
6. Illinois, Sufjan Stevens (2005)
5. Eyes Open, Snow Patrol (2006)
4. X & Y, Coldplay (2005)
3. Room for Squares, John Mayer (2001)
2. In Rainbows, Radiohead (2007)
1. Mute Math, Mute Math (2006)

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

This song has been in my head all week. I love the way it portrays the wonderful truth of the Incarnation. This is the reason for celebration today. God putting on flesh, coming to set His people free from the sin that separates us from Him.

Do yourself a favor and go listen to the Red Mountain version here.

Best Concerts I Saw in 2008

4. Red Mountain Music - March 29 @ Christ Community Church, Athens, GA
If you've been around my blog for a while, you'll know that this was a treat for me. They're so good at bringing old hymns alive.

3. Coldplay - November 11 @ Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Not quite as good as the year before, but still pretty entertaining

2. John Mayer - August 29 @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Alpharetta, GA
This was the first time I had seen him in many years. It was a treat to see a guy that used to be so good at playing small acoustic shows at Eddie's Attic and the 40 Watt be able to rock it out on the big stage. He is sick on the guitar, his lyrics are incredibly thoughtful, and his melodies are captivating.

1. Radiohead - May 8 @ Lakewood Ampitheatre, Atlanta, GA
Great band, great lights, great company, and great seats. All because of our great story. This show made me a Radiohead fan.

Athens weekend

So Roy and I got to go to Athens this past weekend. It was eventful as well as relaxing. This pic to the left pretty much sums up what most of the weekend looked like. From Jittery Joe's to Cups to Hot Corner, we spent most of the time in coffee shops reading and personal computing. Roy also worked on his new website/blog.


One of the highlights for me was being able to see Red Mountain play Saturday night, as well as lead worship at Christ Community Sunday morning. If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, I'm sure you've become aware of this group of musicians from Birmingham. They pretty much take old unknown hymns and write music to them. And the hymns, unlike a lot of modern day stuff, engage my heart because they talk a lot about how messed up we are, but how much more gracious God is. So, check them out if you haven't already.

Here's what the rest of the weekend looked like:

Athens-based Terrapin Brewing Co. had a grand opening Saturday, so we got to sample some pretty good beer.

We also got to meet the newest member of the Bryant family, Ethan.

New Red Mountain CD

I am very excited to now have Red Mountain's new CD, This Breaks My Heart of Stone. At this point, I've only made it through a couple of times, but so far I really dig it. There's such a raw emotion that is felt in all their albums. And I'm really attracted to it. They redo old hymns, most of which you've never heard of, which I really enjoy. The hymns embrace the idea that God has everything to do with our salvation and how His love is on us, even when our hearts are cold.

I was having a conversation with my roomie this morning about how a lot of Reformed music seems to have a depressing feel. And Red Mountain Music definitely fits that description to some degree. But, honestly that's why I think it's so great. Like the Puritans, who were so in tune with the depth of their sin, these redone hymns talk a lot about how screwed up we all are. But becuase of this acute awareness of sin, the lyrics are able to continue on and talk about the grace of God through Christ in a much more profound way. I think it's a good thing to come to a point of near depression over the depravity of our own hearts, and not to wallow in that guilt, but to lift up a now humble, broken heart to God and praise Him for His grace.

Here's what the producer said about the album:

The further we get, the less we seem to be sure of, the less we seem to know. If I'm honest, I'll admit that I struggle with being angry. I struggle with cynicism. It's not only hard to believe. It's hard to love. It's hard to be hurt. It's hard to see so many other people hurting. It's hard to stay. It's easier to just be cynical.

And yet, there are moments where the light shines. There are moments where I am "convinced as a sinner, to Jesus I come". There are moments when I meet someone and their belief shakes me somewhere deep inside, because I feel a similar belief inside myself. These moments of belief don’t seem to happen very often, but when they do, it feels like rain is falling on the drought of my soul.

For me - and I think for a lot of us - these moments of belief often coincide with music. These songs remind me, they remind us, that the gospel is at work. That redemption is taking place. That sad things are being made untrue. That hopefully in small pieces and small moments, our hardened hearts are breaking.

Willing to be saved by grace

I listened to a song called "Draw my soul to thee" this morning by a favorite group of mine,Red Mountain Music. In it these lyrics really stuck out to me:

"Bid me seek Thy smiling face;
Willing to be saved by grace"

and later

"Teach me to confide in Thee; Thy salvation's wholly free."

These lyrics struck me because most of the time recently, I have not been willing to be saved by grace alone. I find it more comfortable to try to do good things. And of course, when I fail, I suffer much guilt and shame because I can't measure up.

So, that's my prayer today. That I would be willing to let myself to rely completely on Christ's work for my salvation and standing before God.

It is Finished

Hark, the voice of love and mercy,
Sound aloud from Calvary!
See, it rends the rocks asunder,
Shakes the earth and veils the sky!
"It is finished, It is finished,"
Hear the dying Savior cry.

"It is finished," O what pleasure,
So these charming words afford.
Heavenly blessings, without measure,
Flow to us from Christ the Lord.
"It is finished, it is finished,"
Saints the dying words record.

Finished all the types and shadows,
Of the ceremonial law;
Finished all that God had promised;
Death and hell no more shall awe.
"It is finished, it is finished,"
Saints from hence your comfort draw.

Tune your harps anew, ye seraphs;
join to sing the pleasing theme;
Saints on earth and all in heaven,
Join to praise Immanuel's name.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Glory to the bleeding lamb!

Red Mountain Music - It is Finished

Come Boldly

Come boldly to a throne of grace,
Ye wretched sinners come;
And lay your load at Jesus' feet,
And plead what he has done.

"How can I come?" Some soul may say,
"I'm lame and cannot walk;
My guilt and sin have stopped my mouth;
I sigh, but dare not talk."

Come boldly to the throne of grace,
Though lost, and blind, and lame;
Jehovah is the sinner's Friend,
And ever was the same.

He makes the dead to hear his voice;
He makes the blind to see;
The sinner lost he came to save,
And set the prisoner free.

Come boldly to the throne of grace,
For Jesus fills the throne;
And those he kills he makes alive;
He hears the sigh or groan.

Poor bankrupt souls, who feel and know
The hell of sin within,
Come boldly to the throne of grace;
The Lord will take you in.

What an amazing truth to be able to come boldy into His presence to find mercy and recieve grace in our time of need. Check out Red Mountain Music and be blessed.