Brian’s Links: Music!

I was perusing through the past “Kim’s (whoever) Links” blog posts to determine what I could bring to the table, and I noticed a glaring hole in the topics broached: music! I listen to music all day, and I know many of you out there do too, whether you’re at work or working out or commuting home. I used to think that Christian music got old so quickly because there were only a few different bands to listen to, but nowadays there’s a plethora of music out there in every genre! There is so much good music out there that is both theologically and melodically sound, both edifying and soulful! So I wanted to open some eyes to some new music (Disclaimer: I am not the authority on all good music and I’m sure there’s much more out there that I don’t know about)! Check it out:

1. Hymns, Redone.

Page CXVI
Page CSVI is a project that was started with the idea to make hymns accessible and known again. “They are the richest, most meaningful, and moving music ever written.”

King’s Kaleidoscope
An indie rock worship band from Mars Hill Church in Seattle (Pastor Mark Driscoll), this band incorporates a bunch of different instruments to get a unique sound. You can listen to all their albums on their site.

2. Music with a Beat

Trip Lee
William Lee Barefield III, better known as Trip Lee, was born and raised in Dallas, TX.  As a child, Trip had dreams of being a professional athlete or famous rapper, so he began to hone his lyrical skills at the age of 12.  “I rapped about random stuff—how hot I was or how many girls I could pull,” Trip says.  But upon giving his life to Christ, at age 14, his focus changed from fortune, fame and women to serving and ministering the Gospel (from Reach Records).

Lacrae
Lacrae is an artist with deep theological convictions (he is a favorite of John Piper and Desiring God ministries) and he makes sure that everyone knows through his rapping. He’s become “mainstream” but his passion is for impacting the urban youth with solid, biblical lyrics and Gospel preaching. He’s signed with Reach Records and has a group called the 116 Clique.

Rend Collective
This is a fun, genre-blurring group of artists that come from the small coastal town of Bangor, Northern Ireland. They have a unique and fun sound and have covered some great worship songs like “10,000 Reasons” and “Build Your Kingdom Here”.

Sovereign Grace Music
A stable in Lighthouse worship, Sovereign Grace comes out with great worship songs led by Bob Kauflin. They’ve recently had various artists cover their songs and the result was wonderful.

Just some final thoughts, Pastor Dustin Kensrue and Andy Girton write: “The idea that worship music should only be quiet and contemplative is simply not biblical. We have a lot of freedom to worship God in a variety of ways through music, and we see this expressed in scripture, from an impromptu tambourine jam on the shore of the Red Sea (Ex. 15:19–21), to a huge dance party in the streets of Jerusalem (1 Chron. 15:16–28), and a couple of saints singing midnight hymns in prison (Acts 16:25). When we get to heaven, the multitudes of angels and all the redeemed will raise their voice and cry out together to praise the Lamb who was slain. This will not be a quiet sound (Rev. 19:1–3).”

I hope that worship is an everyday activity as we listen to edifying music that points us to Christ and the Gospel!


brian-changBrian Chang serves in Lighthouse’s discipleship ministry and also works full-time for a software company. His passion is to help deepen believers’ conviction and understanding of their beliefs. He is grateful for the humble examples displayed by the church family, as well as their patience with his many flaws (especially when it comes to taste in food). In his free time, Brian enjoys reading about church history, writing book reviews, playing basketball, and working on bicycles.