He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:9 ESV)
There’s a difference between hearing and hearing. Yes, you read that right. One thing that Jesus often would say to his opponents is that although they had ears, they could not hear. They heard the words that came from his mouth, but they did not understand them. They heard, but then they didn’t. To hear is to understand and to live in light of what we have heard.
Here at the Blog, we are going to start a new series called “Music We Should Hear.” The goal is to share music with you that we should hear. Not music that just sounds good or is fun to listen to, but that has substance to it’s lyrics. We want lyrics that will inspire our faith, convict of us sin and point us to Jesus.
Jimmy Needham: Hymn Sessions
Our first in the series features Jimmy Needham‘s “Hymn Sessions: Volume 1”. I found this album after Desiring God had posted a video of Needham singing “How Great Thou Art” from this album. According to the Desiring God interview, Jimmy Needham didn’t grow up in a Christian home and therefore didn’t grow up singing the great old hymns of the faith. But in college, he was introduced to many of them and he fell in love. And you can tell from this album. Before we get to the album, check out this video of Jimmy Needham to get an idea of why he loves hymns
Needham’s style is a unique blend of pop and soul with some hints of R&B (rapper Trip Lee makes an appearance on this album). I have no doubt that you will be encouraged by Needham’s unique twist on many of these great old hymns of the faith.
Do you have a favorite album you think we should feature in our series? Email us at MWSH@ashlandlex.org or tweet to us and use hashtag #MWSH
