Praise Video: He Knows My Name - Featuring Joseph Larson

SonLife Singer Joseph Larson

Hello!

Recently, I discovered SonLife Broadcasting Network on Channel 22.3 in Phoenix, Arizona.

SonLife is a somewhat new Christian Network by Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart.

Wait!  Who??  Jimmy Swaggart???

Some of you may be saying:  "Isn't he that disgraced evangelist who was discredited in the late 1980's and early 90's?"

Yup...one in the same.

So I began watching this new discovery with a little skepticism.

One of the first things I realized about SonLife's 24 hour a day programing...is that the music is AMAZING!!!!

It is uplifting, often uptempo, and has a modern southern gospel-country church-tent revival feel that my ear just loves!

And the musicians are some of the best I've ever seen!

Jimmy is still preaching along with his wife, son, grandson and others.

After watching SonLife for a week or so, one day I was reminded of the scripture: 

1 John 2:19 (NIV):  "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."

And I thought about this man who is still preaching the Gospel 20 plus years after his public fall...laboring for 2 decades generally out of the larger public spotlight....and I decided this was proof to me of Swaggart's genuine faith!

Born in 1937, Jimmy is now 77 years old and I believe from watching him he and his ministry have been completely restored to God.

Is he or his ministry perfect?  No...as nothing man does is!!  But SonLife declares the true message that Jesus is Lord and the son of God, that God raised him from the dead, and we find salvation through faith in Him alone.

I often leave the TV on when I'm home and turn up the volume a bit so even when I'm in other rooms I can hear Jimmy's anointed musicians praising God!

I'd never heard the song "He Knows My Name" before and love the way Swaggart's Praise team performs it.

Give it a listen...and put any old preconceived notions you have about Jimmy aside...and let the music Bless you!

  

All Images in this post are screen captures from the video

-------------------------------------

Thank you for stopping by!


Please:  Share! Comment! Join!

Funny Video: Me!Church

Hello!

I grew up in churches but have been out of the church for a while and recently with a renewed faith have been church shopping, literally going to at least two dozen looking for the right fit.

One Sunday morning I admitted that to a church member where I was visiting, and he seemed to reply rather disdainfully, "Oh, so you're a church shopper."

Images are Screen Captures from the video

Having heard this before...it seems many in the Christian church believe that you should simply start attending a nearby church and become a member there.

But when else does that ever apply?

Do we buy the first car we test drive...or the first home "for sale" we visit?

Of course, as in love, some people are Blessed to find the right match on the first try...but don't most of us look and search for almost everything before finding the right match?


Don't most of us spend time finding the right college/university, mechanic, doctor, lawyer, accountant etc, etc, etc?

Have you ever heard someone say that after they discovered their favorite restaurant that they go way out of their way to dine there, because they love the food, the service, and deserts etc"?

So shouldn't we look for the right church home...until we find it?

----------------------------------------------

The upside to all my searching is that I've certainly seen a lot of different worship...umm...rather to say..."styles" of church services.

From the quaint old fashioned, but quite "dead" little churches singing hymns from many decades ago...to dazzling MEGA-Churches with thousands of members, a modern light show and rockin' "praise" band.

I've attended churches who advertise themselves like a night club and who's messages seemed designed to entertain and wow...but aspired to little else.

I've heard sermons where the only focus was SEX, SEX, SEX and have felt in my spirit pastors "ooze" sexual lust from the pulpit.

 I've sat in churches and received mechanical "hello's and welcome's"...which is only slightly better than churches where I've come and gone and was literally not greeted in any way.

Recently, I attended a service where they turned off the lights, and while the preacher prayed loudly into the microphone people shouted prayers all over the room.  It was bedlam...and not the order Paul commands in 1 Corinthians 14.

So, yes, I'm still looking and pray that in time I can find a church to call home.  (I do plan to go back to one soon that I've attended a few times, where I was given a friendly greeting and the Spirit of God seemed to be there!)

----------------------------------------------

Perhaps all my searching is why I found the video "meChurch" so amusing.

Even if you love your church and didn't have a hard time finding it...you may enjoy it as well.

: )





------------------------------------

Please comment...share...and join!

Moving Video: Indonesia's Kimyal People Welcome First New Testament In Their Language!

All Images are Screen Captures from the video

 

In the United States and many places in the world, a large number of people take the Bible for granted.

In fact seeing a Gideon Bible, free for the taking in hotels and motels across the U.S. has become the butt of jokes for comedians and TV sit-coms.

But recently I've watched two DVD's that really opened my eyes to the fact that many people literally gave up their lives through the ages to give us Bibles in our own languages.  (More on those in future posts)

So one might begin to assume that most everyone in the world already has a copy of the Bible in their own language.

But earlier this year, United Bible Societies posted a wonderful video on YouTube of Indonesia's Kimyal people "dancing, weeping and praying," as they "welcome God's Word into their remote village."

It is quite moving!

As the description below the video on YouTube states it wasn't without loss: 

"Work on the translation of the New Testament into Kimyal was begun in 1963 by Regions Beyond Mission Union (now World Team) missionaries Phil and Phyliss Masters who moved to West Papua, Indonesia, to evangelise the Kimyal people.


Sadly, Phil Masters and a fellow missionary Stan Dale were killed by members of the neighbouring Yali tribe and the translation work was halted. However, the work eventually resumed and the New Testament was completed in early 2010 by a Kimyal translation team led by another World Team missionary, Rosa Kidd.

The Kimyal New Testament was published by the Indonesian Bible Society in March 2010, and was welcomed by the community during a highly emotional celebration in Korupun, West Papua."

Revelation 5:13 (NASB)

 

“To Him who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb, be blessing

and honor and glory

and dominion forever and ever.”

 

 

 

 

Video: Daves Highway Performs Lead Me To The Cross (by Hillsong)

A while ago I was surfing on YouTube and came across Dave's Highway, a young gospel group from Mississippi.

A screen capture from the video

I remember being impressed with their music and thought that if they kept at it they would simply get better and better.

Just today I saw a more recent video of them performing "Lead Me To The Cross" by Hillsong and they had in fact improved a great deal.

Posted on April 2, 2011, and recorded live in what appears to be their living room Erika 13 (on keys), Zachary 15 (on guitar), and Delaney 16 create a very beautiful version of this song.

They announced then that they had a new CD coming out with 10 of their own songs.



I've provided a link at the bottom of this post to their YouTube channel where you can see and hear more of their music, learn more about how to support them, purchase their music, and link with them on Facebook, etc.



Lead Me To The Cross - Lyrics

Savior I come
Quiet my soul remember
Redemption's hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as loss

Chorus:
Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Oh Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and tried
Human
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as loss

Chorus

Bridge:
To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart

----------------------------------------------

Dave's Highway on YouTube

----------------------------------------------

Psalm 100 (NIV) 

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
² Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

 

 

 

Christian Music: Don Francisco - He's Alive

In 1980, Christian music pioneer Don Francisco won a Dove "Song of the Year" Award, for his recording "He's Alive".

Written from the point of view of Peter, one of Jesus' Disciples, just after His crucifixion and death on the cross.

The song puts into emotion what the disciples must have felt in the hours and days after Jesus' death and then the excitement of discovering the empty tomb!


 

Visit Don Francisco's website to learn more about his career and current ministry.

---------------------

Peter & John Run to the Sepulchre
(Saint Pierre et Saint Jean courent au sépulcre)
James Tissot

 

 

 

John 20:1-8 (NIV)

The Empty Tomb

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.








-----------------------

Please share, comment and join!

Country Gospel Music: Alison Krauss - Jacob's Dream

1 Corinthians 15:55 (NIV)

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”

---------------------

Lyrics below

Jacob's Dream

In the spring of 1856 with the snow still on the ground
Two little boys were lost in the mountains above the town
The father went out hunting the boys had stayed behind
While mother tended to her chores they wandered from her side

The two had gone to follow him and lost their way instead
By dusk the boys had not been found and fear had turned to dread
200 men had gathered there to comb the mountain side
The fires were built on the highest peak in hopes they'd see the light

William-Adolphe Bouguereau 
Song of the Angels (1881)

Oh mommy and daddy why can't you hear our cries
The day is almost over, soon it will be night
We're so cold and hungry and our feet are tired and sore
We promise not to stray again from our cabin door

Now Jacob Dibert woke one night from a strange and erie dream
He saw a path between two hills near a dark and swollen stream
He told his wife he saw the boys huddled close beside a log
For two more nights the dream returned this vision sent from God

Oh mommy and daddy why can't you hear our cries
The day is almost over, soon it will be night
We're so cold and hungry and our feet are tired and sore
We promise not to stray again from our cabin door

a thousand men had searched in vain the west side of Bob's creek
But Jacob's wife knew of this place and said to travel east
With a guide to take him there, Jacob came upon the scene
And found the boys cold and still beneath the old birch tree



Oh mommy and daddy, look past the tears you cry
We're both up in Heaven now, God is by our side
As you lay us down to rest in the presence of the Lord
Know that we will meet you here at Heaven's door

Oh mommy and daddy, look past the tears you cry
We're both up in Heaven now, God is by our side
And as you lay us down to rest in the presence of the Lord
Know that we will meet you here at Heaven's door

------------------------------------


Please comment, share and join!

Christian Music Video: Just As I Am - Rhema (A Little Girl With A BIG Voice)

Just 8 years old at the time of this recording, little gospel singer Rhema sings with conviction using an amazingly mature delivery and powerful voice.

She has already attracted a lot of attention appearing on television and making appearances at churches, non-profit organizations, charities, hospitals and special events.  

It hasn't all been smooth sailing for this precious little girl...she spent the first three weeks of her life in the hospital, and then sadly, lost her mother after a long battle with cancer in 2008.

If you'd like to find out more about this amazing little girl please visit her website:
http://www.rhemamarvanne.com/about.html


It's only fair to warn you to hold on to yer weave, yer hat or yer glasses at 2:30 to 2:45, when little Rhema hits and holds a high note that is truly awe inspiring!! 

Remember she was only 8 years old at the time of this recording!!

Lyrics Printed Below

Just As I Am - Rhema

Dear Lord, I’m on my knees again
I come to You, because You understand
I’ve tried so hard, but I just can’t change myself
That’s why I know I need Your help

So here I am
This is my plea
My only hope is your love for me
I’m reaching out, so desperately
Come take my hand
Take all of me
Just as I am

O Lord, You make what’s broken new
Why can’t I just learn to follow you
I wanna know You to feel You in my soul
I surrender all control

I am not afraid
To follow you where you lead me
I can leave the past behind me
I’m forgiven and I’m free
So here I am

---------------------------

All images are screen captures taken from the video.

Please comment, share and join!

Cute Video: Psalm 100 Recited By Little Boy!



A still from the video





Christians:  What's not to like about this one?  : )

A little boy recites Psalm 100 from the Bible.

He has it down so well that even the distraction of Mom or someone pulling down his hood doesn't distract him.

 

 

Psalm 100:1-5 (KJV)

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

² Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence
with singing.
³ Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us,
and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts
with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth
endureth to all generations.

And he adds:  And generations means, my children's, children's, children's, children's, children's.  : ) 

Predictably there are a few comments on YouTube talking about brainwashing and indoctrination of children.

Wonder where they are when little girls are in make-up and lingerie singing Britney, Madonna and Katy Perry "sex" songs?

Or when children are plopped in front of TV cartoons for hours everyday?

That's the real brain-washing folks!  : /

--------------

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

--------------

Please share, comment and join!

Gospel Music Video: Alan Jackson - The Old Rugged Cross

Embedded below is a video (with lyrics) of a nice country-gospel version of
The Old Rugged Cross, sung by Alan Jackson.



The Empty Cross!  Three days later a symbol of Triumph and Victory! 
The Night of Golgatha - Vasily Petrovich Vereshchagin

Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

    and by his wounds we are healed.

Matthew 16:21 (NIV)

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the
hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the
law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

<sup>-------------------------------------

Please share, comment and join!  : )</sup>