Welcome to another week of new music on the Vision Radio Network! Just a reminder that Easterfest isn't far away, if you're considering heading over to Toowoomba, head on over to the Easterfest website and make yourself familiar with all the ticket info, artist info and other details you need to get up to speed on.

Okay, so lets get right into the new music for this week...

Jimmy Needham: 'Grace Amazing' from his Nightlights CD, released on the Inpop label, 2010.

Jimmy Needham is quite a favourite on Vision, stylistically he’s been likened to John Mayer. I was reading his blog and I really was quite impressed with his retelling of his time on tour in Denmark. Apart from the language difficulties he experienced, he has enjoyed his time in Denmark and in the afternoons he’s done some singing and speaking engagements at Christian boarding schools. Most of the students and some of the teachers were decidedly non-Christian and so his goal was to present the Gospel.

During the first school visit, he put together some very clever analogies, used compelling emotional stories to emphasise his points and used a lot of cultural rhetoric. How did it go? In Jimmy’s words...”It bombed!” This is when he shared that he wished he’d utilised the wisdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a man who was committed to the truth and who believed that the truth could stand on its own two legs. Bonhoeffer believed that a congregation ought not believe a message just because the speaker was clever in his emotional manipulation tactics.

So the next day, Jimmy sat reading his Bible and allowed God to teach him through the words of Paul who said that when he presented the Gospel to the Corinthians, he didn’t use lofty speech or wisdom, rather he simply preached Christ and Him crucified. So, Jimmy decided to use Paul’s (and Dietrich’s) example and during that afternoon’s ministry time at the next Christian boarding school, he simply shared the Gospel as it’s presented in the Bible.

He felt a little clumsy about it all, but in the end, the Gospel, the real pure Gospel was shared with the students and teachers. If any came to faith in Christ, it wouldn’t be because of any clever stories and rhetoric, it would be because the power of God and His Word would bring about the salvation of their souls and not for Jimmy’s glory but for God’s glory.

He finished his blog by saying, “Thanks to my patient King who kindly corrects me every step of the way. May I forever resolve to know nothing among people except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” This is a most appropriate song, it sings of the depths of God grace, which is so incredibly amazing that it would take lost souls and make them live again, saving them from certain death.

Hyland: 'This Love Is Free' from their Weights & Measures CD, released on Tooth & Nail label, 2011.

Hyland is a band who formed in the middle of 2008 and are distinctive due to their dynamic live performances but mostly because their lyrics are gripping and loaded with meaning and purpose. Band members are made up of John Lewis on vocals and guitar, Ben Early on vocals and keyboard, Mitchell Hansen on guitar and Steve Weigel on drums.

Hyland has developed a huge fan base already after performing at many major festivals across the US.
John Lewis (lead singer) says of this single, "This song was written during a really 'down' time in my life. It was about 3am and I was working on a song in my garage and I just couldn't get it. Finally I decided I was just going to go to bed and as I was falling asleep, in my head I heard the melody so I had to get out of bed and work with it. At about 5:30am my dad got up for work and said, 'What are you doing?' and I said,
'I'm working on this song and I just had to get it done.'

Then we kind of put it in our back pocket for at least a year and then I played it for someone at the record label who said we just had to record this song. We weren't even considering this song, we wanted to go with a more rocky feel, but he said it could really help some people.

It's really just about the fact that you get down, life is hard but there's always hope. God is big…God is always bigger than our past and so many times we let the past hold us back and we can't get past that. God is love and His love is free."

Hillsong: 'It Is Well With My Soul', a radio single released on the Hillsong label, 2011

Hillsong recorded this version of ‘It Is Well With My Soul’ in response to the devastating floods in Queensland in January of this year

It features a newly written chorus by Reuben Morgan and Ben Fielding and all the proceeds from the sale of the song have gone to the Premier’s flood relief effort.

There has been some criticism of this version of the song because of the additional lyrics in the chorus. Purists are unhappy that this classic and well-loved hymn has been ‘tampered with’. However, no such criticism that I know of was levelled at Chris Tomlin when he wrote some additional lyrics for the vastly more famous hymn ‘Amazing Grace’. I would point out that the additional lyrics written for ‘It Is Well With My Soul’ don’t detract from the hymn in any way, rather than enhance the hymn.

The song begins gently, but builds to become quite an anthem declaring that no matter our lot in life, Christ has taught us in His Word, that in Him, through His power and His Spirit indwelling us, it is well with my soul. Not because of what I can do or endure, but because of what He does in and through us in the face of the worst that this life can throw at us and we live victoriously in this life while we await His return. The Blessed Hope.

Additional chorus lyrics written are:
You are the rock, on which I stand
By Your grace it is well
My hope is sure, in Christ my Saviour
It is well with my soul

I've also added a new song by Seventh Day Slumber called 'Breaking Away' to our youth hours on Saturday nights (7-9pm). This track is from their Finally Awake CD which was released on the Bec label in 2008.

I'll catch you again next Monday, have a great week and a safe weekend.

Shalom, uvracha, v'Emet
(Peace, Blessing, Truth)

Mandy