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I’ve always liked this song.  I was reminded of that by a friend last week.

I’ve never been entirely sure what its about, though.  Here’s the lyrics.  Some say its about a man going through mid-lide crisis, but I’m not sure.  Any suggestions?

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Beautiful song.  Lyrics here.

[HT: Truth Matters]

I recently heard some music during Desiring God’s live stream of their 2010 Pastor’s Conference.  I did some investigating on Twitter and found out the name of the group was Page CXVI.

Confused by their name?  I was too.  I checked out the band’s site to find out that the name refers to page 116 in a particular version of C. S. Lewis’, The Magician’s Nephew.  There Lewis describes Aslan (the lion-king-savior-Jesus character) singing creation into existence from a dark nothing-filled void.  It’s definitely one of my favorite passages from the Narnian tales.

You should really check out Page CXVI’s new album, Hymns.  Songs included:

1. Come Thou Fount
2. In Christ Alone
3. My Jesus I Love Thee
4. When I Survey The Wonderful Cross
5. Nothing But the Blood
6. Solid Rock
7. Joy

Make sure to check out their website: Pagecxvi.com

Here’s one of their songs dubbed over a YouTube clip.  I really like the part at the end they repeat: “No guilt in life, no fear in death, from life’s first cry to final breath.”

Here’s Martin Luther King, Jr, singing his famous, “I have a dream…” speech.  C/o The Gregory Brothers.  Pretty cool.

Enjoy.

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The First Thanksgiving, by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris

While perusing the Scriptures and putting together some thoughts for a Thanksgiving sermon, it struck me that there are certain sinful attitudes that just can’t get along with thankfulness.

If we could know what these are and be aware of their tendency toward zapping the gratefulness out of our lives, then perhaps we’d be set on our way to more thankful living.

Here are the three ‘Thanksgiving-zapping’ attitudes:

• Pride

The proud individual does not give thanks.  He presumes to be above it.  The act of thanksgiving is essentially an exercise in humility.

• Self-Centeredness

The self-centered individual either fails to take notice of that for which he should be thankful or thinks that he deserved it anyways.  Either way, there’s no thanks.

• Unhappiness

The unhappy individual is not thankful, else their spirit would be lifted.  Think about it.  Have you ever been really thankful and really unhappy simultaneously.  I seriously doubt it.

This all fits rather well with a quote from John Piper in his book, Future Grace.  There he defines gratitude as,

“…a humble, happy response to the good will of someone who has done or tried to do you a favor.”

You can see the backbone of my post in Piper’s words: “humble, happy response.”

• The humble man is not proud.
• The happy man is obviously not unhappy.
• Somewhat less obvious, but still relevant, is that the self-centered man is not responsive.  Instead, he’s in his own little world.

[HT: had a little help from this post from this guy]

I’ve been assigned to reseach and write a 10 biographical paper on Martin Luther in a church history that I’m currently taking.  Here are some of the resources that I’ve found helpful (which means that they were already in my library, with the exception of Bainton’s, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, which I picked up from Amazon for $13 and some change).

Also, these two online issues of Christian History & Biography were great:

• Issue 34, April 1992—Martin Luther: The Reformer’s Early Years
• Issue 39, July 1993—Martin Luther: The Later Years

Thought this was interesting.

“Laughing With” Lyrics:

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God when the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God when it’s gotten real late and their kid’s not back from that party yet

No one laughs at God when their airplane starts to uncontrollably shake
No one’s laughing at God when they see the one they love hand in hand with someone else and they hope that they’re mistaken
No one laughs at God when the cops knock on their door and they say “We’ve got some bad new, sir,”
No one’s laughing at God when there’s a famine, fire or flood

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they’re about to choke

God can be funny
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus

God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God when they’ve lost all they got and they don’t know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize that the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one’s laughing at God when they’re saying their goodbyes

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they’re about to choke

God can be funny
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus

God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war

No one’s laughing at God in a hospital
No one’s laughing at God in a war

No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
We’re all laughing with God

Laughing With by Regina Spektor from the album Far

[HT: Josh Harris]

Justin Taylor writes,

It is hard to think of a sadder public figure in recent years. A black man who never found his identity as one created in God’s image, and who never experienced the identity of being conformed to the image of Christ. Black and white, male and female, rich and bankrupt, genius and punchline, private and public, innocent and deceptive–everything seemed to be jumbled up.

The one thing that comes to mind about Jackson is how bad he was at hiding his brokenness. Even while living in a literal fantasy land, it was obvious to everyone that this was a person–enormously gifted–desperately seeking a mask to cover, in futility, who he was.

May God use even this to increase our compassion and ministry to the lost, broken, and confused.

[HT: Today's Big Thing]

Now this is cool.  Some guy in Australia (Rhett Dashwood) actually scoped out terrain on Google Maps painstakingly enough to find buildings and earth that form together to shape each letter of the alphabet. Very cool indeed.

Check out the entire entry here.  He’s got links to the actual coodinates so you can see where in Google maps he found each of these markings.

I once heard R.C. Sproul respond to the question, “What are your thoughts about the seeker sensitive movement?” In short, he said that its a bad thing because it rests on the assumption that unbelievers are desperately seeking for God and that the Bible makes it clear that no one seeks after God (Rom. 3:9-11). He qualifies this answer by saying that the only people seeking after God are those who have been born again (John 3:3).

But what about people who are obviously searching for something, be it inner peace, or beauty, or mystery, or simply  something bigger than themselves?  Aren’t there tons of people searching for these types of things?  And isn’t it fair to say that, whether they realize it or not, these folks are actually seeking after God?

Sproul cites Thomas Aquinas saying that the problem with fallen man is that we’re seeking the benefits that only God can give us (i.e a sense of purpose, personal fulfillment, true contentment, forgiveness, vindication, etc.), but at the same time we’re running as fast and as hard as we can from Him.  “The seeker out there,” Sproul says, “is not seeking God.  He’s seeking for a hiding place from God.”

Very interesting thoughts.  Makes me think of the many secular artists who often write songs about very spiritual and searching-related things, artists like Dave Matthews or Coldplay.  Often these songs have somewhat of an agnostic tone, willing to recognize that someone or something’s got to be out there, but who or what it is remains to be seen. Can you think of other artists and/or songs that fit into this category? Let me know. I’d love to give them a listen.

Here’s The Dave Matthews Band on a rooftop somewhere performing, “You Never Know.”  This one’s definitely the song of a seeker.    At one point Matthews sings, “Lying on the roof counting the stars that fill the sky.  I wonder if Someone’s in the heavens looking back down on me – I’ll never know.  So much space to believe.”  Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Here’s an update on the progress of Derek Webb’s latest work, Stockholm Syndrome.  If you are unaware as to all the controversy surrounding this project, read my earlier post here.

Apparently, Webb is sending out secret messages to his loyal fans, encouraging them to solve the mystery of what his new music is all about.

He’s set up a website (screenshot to the right), Paradiseisaparkinglot.com, complete with strange clues and slightly veiled instructions for how to obtain possible download links.

For more information, sign up for Derek’s newsletter and follow his new album’s Twitter feed, @ssyndrome.

I couldn’t resist.  This was just too good to be true!  Enjoy.

Related Links: World Superhero Registry—real people, real places, and real alter egos.  Seriously, though.  I’m not kidding, and neither are they!

[HT: Adam McClane]

Rumor has it that Derek Webb, one of my absolute, all-time, no-reservations-in-saying-this favorite singer/songwriters, has a new album, Stockholm Syndrome, that not only is about to be released, but has already began to stir things up in the Christian music industry. And not surprisingly—apparently Webb is the king of that—but not in a King Saul kind of way, more like a King David kind of way (see I Sam. 18:12).

For those who don’t already know—and don’t feel bad, because I didn’t—”Stockholm Syndrome,” according to its Wikipedia entry, refers to “ …a psychological response sometimes seen in abducted hostages, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger or risk in which they have been placed.”  Sounds both interesting and provocative considering what Webb has put out before.

From what I can gather, what makes Webb’s new album so controversial is both a word he uses and a problem he addresses.  To put it frankly, the word is “sh*t,”  and the problem is the poor treatment of gay and lesbians by evangelicals.  Derek’s planning on launching a new effort to provide the poorest of the poor with cleaner, healthier water supplies.  The name of this new effort, Giveash*t.org.  Here’s the proof.  Again, the site hasn’t launched yet, but I’m betting that it will before too long.

And yep, I agree.  That’s pretty controversial.  Good luck, Derek.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you—specifically, that God would grant you, by His grace, the wisdom, discernment, and prudence to know what, when, why, and how to do whatever it is that you feel He’s compelled you to do; and further, that He’d give you the courage and boldness to do it graciously.

For updates on the goings-on of Derek Webb and the great anticipation with which many of us await his forthcoming album, make sure to sign up for his newsletter (which may be done here).  Also, there’s the recent, cryptic emails that Derek has sent out to his fans (which may be viewed here).  In the second email, Derek tells of his new Twitter account which, he adds, will be the place to find any new information regarding the developments of his new album.  That twitter account is here.

In the meantime, enjoy this Derek Webb online game.  Yeah, I know.  I thought it was weird that there was a game too.

For those wanting more, here are the links where I got all of my information.  Enjoy.

[HT: Sojourners Magazine---Patrol Magazine---Brian Allain---Patrol Magazine again---Christianity Today]

Here’s Martin Luther King, Jr, singing his famous, “I have a dream…” speech.  C/o The Gregory Brothers.  Pretty cool.  Enjoy.

[HT: Today's Big Thing]

Coldplay has just released a live CD called, LeftRightLeftRightLeft…….WHICH THEY’RE GIVING AWAY FOR FREE.  Get your free download here.  Of  course, their music is wonderful, but it’s the haunting, inviting, and often thinly-veiled way in which they approach God, spirituality, and the afterlife that keeps me coming back album after album.

Here are a few related links you may enjoy:

• “Glimpses of God” (Christianity Today’s review of, Viva La Vida)
• “Coldplay Speaks” (Stephen Altrogge’s search for common grace in the life and work of Coldplay)
• “Chris Martin Made Me Sad” (Dan Kimball reflects upon the negative impact being reared in a heavily churched environment had on Coldplay frontman, Chris Martin)

Here’s the first track off of this album, “Glass of Water.”  Listen and read along.

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[HT: Take Your Vitamin Z]

If you’ve ever picked up playing a guitar, a set of drums, a piano, or some other rock-related instrument for any length of time, then you must know what a “jam session” is.  Though I’ve never played along with a fire alarm, this video still brings back many memories of jam sessions passed.

[HT: Today's Big Thing]

What a song!

“Given To Fly”
He could’ve tuned in, tuned in - But he tuned out - A bad time, nothing could save him
Alone in a corridor, waiting, locked out - He got up outta there, ran for hundreds of miles
He made it to the ocean, had a smoke in a tree - The wind rose up, set him down on his knee

A wave came crashing like a fist to the jaw - Delivered him wings, “Hey, look at me now”
Arms wide open with the sea as his floor - Oh, power, oh

He’s.. flying - Whole - High.. wide, oh

He floated back down ’cause he wanted to share - His key to the locks on the chains he saw everywhere
But first he was stripped and then he was stabbed - By faceless men, well… - He still stands

And he still gives his love, he just gives it away - The love he receives is the love that is saved
And sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky - A human being that was given to fly

High.. flying - Oh, oh - High.. flying - Oh, oh - He’s flying - Oh, oh

Here’s Derek Webb singing, “Wedding Dress,” off of his debut album, She Must and Shall Go Free.  Lyrics for this one here.

This one’s from U2’s, The Edge,  performing, “Van Diemen’s Land,” (lyrics here)on the Rattle and Hum DVD (This DVD, by the way, is nothing short of awesome.  It opens with their cover of The Beatles’, “Helter Skelter.”  Perfect!).    Enjoy.

The man, the myth, the legend…here’s Stevie Ray Vaughn in an encore performance of, “Lenny.” Lyrics here.

P.S. You can get a copy of this entire concert on DVD from Amazon for less than $10.  It is, in my opinion, Stevie Ray at his very best.

Eric Clapton with a buddy of his, Mark Knopfler, performing, “Layla.”  Lyrics here.

Here’s a little number that we put together for a Wednesday night campaign called, “LIFE.” Enjoy.

And yes, that is Luke Braswell singing along with me.  And yes, the song is original (…as if you couldn’t tell).

Here’s Coldplay’s, Chris Martin, strumming and singing their song, “The Scientist.”  Lyrics for this one are here.

And while we’re on Coldplay, make sure to check out one of their newer music videos, “Life In Technicolor ii.”  The puppets work rather well in this one!

One of my very favorite bands, The Counting Crows, performing The Grateful Dead’s song, “Friend of the Devil.”  Lyrics can be found here.

Hercules was commissioned by King Eurystheus to capture Cerberus alive without the aid of any weapons.

Greek and Roman mythology give account of a three-headed dog named, Cerberus, who was positioned at the gates of Hades in order to keep those who entered from ever leaving.  

Over the centuries, Cerberus has become quite the iconic figure across numerous forms of artwork.  To the right is Cerberus featured on an ancient Etruscan vase.  

Recently, he even made a cameo appearance as “Fluffy” in the movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

On a related note, three heads seem to work better not just on evil, hell-guarding dogs, but also on

guitars and funny improv-based TV shows.

Case in point: Steve Vai & Whose Line Is It Anyways

Enjoy this one.  It’s John Mayer’s, “In Your Atmosphere.”  Lyrics here.  At about the 4:18 mark, Mayer seems to drift into another quasi-song of sorts. Don’t worry, though, it’s even better than the initial tune.  Make sure to watch long enough to get to it.

Here’s perhaps the greatest live, acoustic, rock production that ever been assembled: The Eagles’, “Hotel California” (from the Hell Freezes Over Tour).  Get the lyrics here.

A couple of the Foo Fighters performing their song, “My Hero.” Read the lyrics here.

This one’s, “Better Together,” from Jack Johnson.  Lyrics here.