I don’t like a lot of contemporary Christian music. There. I said it.
Being the music person that I am, I’ve always had an eclectic taste in music– I enjoy everything from country to jazz. If you peruse my CD collection you’ll find everything from Rascal Flatts to Michael Buble. But I’ve always wanted the main diet of music that I’m feeding my children (and myself) to be something that would turn our thoughts toward God. I grew up on the likes of Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and Keith Green. Throughout college, I got turned on to Twila Paris and Rich Mullins. But after that, the stuff on Christian radio wasn’t doing a lot for me. I nearly drove off of the road the first time I heard Scot Underwood’s You are God. "You… You are… You are God… You are God, GOD, GOD… You… You are… You are God… You are God, GOD, GOD!!" Just a little lyrical creativity, people. Puh-leeze.
So, I have been rejoicing with great joy ever since I discovered Sovereign Grace Music. It started at John Piper’s Conference for pastors this past February, when I decided that I was going to write down the name of every song and composer that I saw flashed up on the big screen. The worship is such a big part of why I love Piper’s conference, and I was determined to try to find some of the music to take home with us this year. Eventually, I discovered that much of the music they use is composed by the good folks over at Sovereign Grace Music. So far, I’ve purchased Valley of Vision, Awesome God (which is for kids, but I am enjoying it as much or more than the kids are) and Worship God Live. They’re all fantastic! (And very reasonably priced! They even offer accompaniment tracks for $3 each. How generous is that??)
The lyrics are Scripture saturated and God-centered and it is all musically interesting. I don’t get a kick-back from this post– I just really want to encourage all of you to go and check out the great music. You won’t be sorry that you did.
We enjoy the “Valley of Vision” CD, too. Are you aware that the CD is based on many of the prayers and meditations by Puritans published by Banner of Truth in “The Valley of Vision-A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions”?
Just wanted to bring this to your attention in case you aren’t acquainted with the book–I think you’d enjoy it, too!
We love sovereign grace music as well. Love the Valley of Vision book and CD.
Thanks for pointing others to it!
Kim
Wow! You guys have been busy! What a beautiful picture! Happy Easter! Love ya, Big Sis
We’ve been listening to Sovereign Grace Music for a long time. It’s wonderful! Their scripture memory CDs are great, too. We especially like the Upward CD, Bob Kauflin’s hymns project. Beautiful.
You might be interested in another group, too. The Reformed University Fellowship at Belmont University has a group called Indelible Grace. What they’ve done is taken old hymns and set them to new music. The music is guitar driven, folk-rock. They’ve made four CDs: Indelible Grace, Pilgrim Days, For All the Saints, and Beams of Heaven.
I’m not getting paid to tell you about these either, but they’ve become the soundtrack of our family!
Check out the website:
igracemusic.com
Julie
Ooh! Try these: King of Grace and What a Savior (this one is a Christmas CD). Glad you discovered them.
OH THANK YOU for this recommendation! I will check it out! (And thanks to Julie for the other group, I will check them out too).
YES! I love the Valley of Vision CD, and the Indelible Grace musicians are fabulous, too. You won’t be disappointed in them! I saw them last year at a conference and it was such a blessing!