Gospel.com Blog

The Christmas holiday can lay claim to some of the most stirring and beautiful music in the Christian church’s library. This week’s featured hymn at the Center for Church Music is one of the most famous Christmas hymns of all–“O Come, All Ye Faithful”–stop by for MP3s, lyrics, sheet music, a devotional based on the hymn, and the complete history behind the song. And when you’re done, take a look at their resources for other famous Christmas songs, including “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Away in a Manger.” If you’re struggling to get into the holiday spirit, a few minutes spent reflecting on the church’s classic Christmas tunes might be just what you need!

Looking for some fresh Christmas music as the holiday approaches? At The Culture Beat, Alex Wainer notes a musician whose music reflects his Christian faith, but who has managed to remain outside the “contemporary Christian music” scene: Sufjan Stevens. On Stevens’ recent Christmas album, Alex notes:

Wary of what Stevens calls “that Creepy Christmas Feeling” we get from seeing the celebration of Jesus’ birth exploited for commercial gain, his musical goal is to quiet down the stress and clamor and retake the holiday’s mixture of the divine and human, when Immanuel came to us to dwell in mortal flesh.

That sounds like a message worth listening to.

The Unity Festival is coming! Unity is a multi-day Christian music festival in west Michigan from August 10-12, and there’s just a few weeks left in which to get tickets. The band lineup was recently finalized, so be sure to check out the latest schedule.

Writer and Bono fan Steve Stockman visited Regent College with some challenging words about pop culture and the church. Since C.S. Lewis’ death, who in the Christian world has been most effectively raising the flag of faith, grace, and justice? Stockman suggests that U2’s Bono is on such person, and that the church has work to do to recapture the cultural and intellectual leadership it once held.

Bill Reimer addresses these important issues in a recent post at the Regent Bookstore blog. Stop by and find out what Reimer likes–and doesn’t like–about Bono’s media campaign and public ministry in a “post-C.S. Lewis” world.

Mildred and Manolo Padilla had it all–fame, musical talent, and all the glamour of celebrity life. But something was still missing. Feeling uncertain and alone, they turned to Christ–and in doing so planted the seeds of a Gospel outreach that has persisted for over two decades.

At the CAM International website, read the inspiring story of how the Padillas, Guatamala’s premier singing sensation, came to meet Christ–and how they’ve influenced countless others through their music ministry.

The hymns and worship songs of Easter are among the most well-known and moving pieces of church music. Have you ever taken the time to meditate on the music of Easter?

The Center for Church Music is always a good resource to check for more info about such things, and their collection of Easter tunes doesn’t disappoint. They’ve got lyrics, MP3s, and histories for Easter songs like:

• Ah, Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended
• Christ the Lord is Risen Today
• O Sacred Head Now Wounded
• When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

…and others. Stop by, read the stories behind the songs, and listen to them online!

You may already be familiar with WaYfm, a Christian music station that broadcasts online. They’ve just added a new way you can connect with the station’s DJs–through their blogs! Check out the list of new DJ blogs and stay caught up with your favorite DJs even when they’re off the air.

The Luis Palau Orlando Festival is coming up in early April! It looks like quite the epic event–musicians like tobyMac, Kutless, and Point of Grace are just a few of the names on the lineup set to appear with evangelist Luis Palau.

If you want to get more involved with the Orlando Festival, several important event are taking place in February during the lead-up to the big event, including a youth training rally for junior-high and high-school students. They’re also looking for volunteers to help out at the Festival, so if you’re in the area and want to help out, stop by and read about the differents ways you can help.

Last week, we mentioned some Alliance ministries with insight into several Christmas music favorites. Here’s another one to add to that list: Woodrow Kroll of Back to the Bible has an excellent meditation on ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’. It’s part of an ongoing series of devotionals based on Christmas carols–he’s already talked about ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ and ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’.

All this interest in the music of Christmas is making for a really fun change of pace this year. Sing on!

It feels a bit early to be talking about events that take place in mid-2006, but you know how time flies. With that in mind, I note that the dates have been set for Unity Festival 2006, and tickets for the uber-concert are now available.

The people behind the Unity Festival are also organizing a little something called Rock the Coast, a music festival to be held next spring at an amusement park in west Michigan. Go on, mark your calendars!