Obscure Music Monday

"Death has been swallowed up in victory;

Death, where is your victory?

Where is your sting?" ~ 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

You all know how much I love music. Some of you know that I am a big fan of a lot of music that much of the world seems to be unaware of- much of which is Christian.  Over the next few Mondays I am going to be sharing some songs with you that are very meaningful to me, even if only to me.  I hope you will enjoy.

You may or may not not know James Ward, a talented musician, singer and songwriter.  But I do.  I can tell you a lot about James. In 1982 at the Youth Specialties convention in Dallas he was one of the featured performers, and he blew me away.  He was a skinny, James Taylor-looking white guy who could sing like Stevie Wonder.  A few years later he became the regular music leader at the YS conventions, and I always loved seeing James on the piano at those events.  He came to Greensboro, NC at my invitation sometime in the late 1980s and did a concert for the NC Yearly Meeting of Friends youth, knocking their socks off.  From that event I can tell you that James loves spiced, steamed shrimp, but gets nervous if you try to buy him ice cream too close to concert time.  In 1991 he did a New Year's Eve concert at Youthquake in Burlington, Vermont, and rang in 1992 with a bang.  His album Good Advice is #15 on my Top 50 CCM Countdown.  His Ain't No Rock was a standard youth group song at several of my stops, and I have performed his classic song Morning Sun at a couple of sunrise services.  In short, I am a fan.

One of the songs on the classic 1985 Good Advice was Death Has Ended.  Last week was a week filled with tragedy and questions for myself and many old friends.  I once said in a sermon that I wonder if God ever tires of hearing the questions "Why me?" or "Why not me?"  Death and illness seem so random, and we all struggle when loved ones meet their earthly demise- especially under tragic circumstances.  But the bottom line from scripture is this- Jesus has already beaten death for us.  Other religions are based on what you DO to make god love you.  Christianity is all about what has been DONE- by Jesus.  This song says that in an amazing way.  Close your eyes (there is no video, the picture never changes), crank up the volume, give it a listen, and don't quit on it halfway through.  It's like an 80s pop song and a rousing church choir anthem had a baby.  I promise you, we are about to have some CHURCH up in here...

"Thanks be unto Jesus, thanks be unto God! He has won the battle through the power of the cross!"  Death will lose.  Satan will lose. Easter is on the way.  AMEN & AMEN!!!

Because of Jesus,