Sight and Sound

MUSIC

To the Ends of the Earth
By United, Integrity Music.

If you haven’t heard of them, United is Australia’s best-selling modern worship team. They are the house worship band for Hillsong Church’s (Darlene Zschech) weekly Friday night youth service, which attracts more than 2,000 teens and young adults.

To the Ends of the Earth was recorded live at “Encounterfest” in Sydney last September and features the vocals of Marty Sampson, Reuben Morgan and a young cast of songwriters sporting some major talent. Standouts include the pop worshipful “All About You,” the tempered prayerful “All” and the hopeful “Glory.”

Although the cover of the album describes the work as “high-octane” modern worship, the recording rides in a comfortable, accessible fourth gear rather than an all-out fifth, making it highly enjoyable. If you enjoy Passion worship CDs, the bands Delirious or Sonicflood, then you’ll love this modern worship recording.
Margaret Feinberg

Again
By Donnie McClurkin, Verity.

Platinum-selling recording artist Donnie McClurkin found success in mainstream circles with his megahit “We Fall Down.” But songs such as “Speak to My Heart” and “Stand” have long made him a favorite with gospel fans. No doubt he’ll gain more with his new release titled Again.

The title tune, a smoothed out, relaxing cut, is a reminder to us that no matter the problem, we can go to God repeatedly. “The Prayer,” originally recorded by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, is redone beautifully with full orchestration by McClurkin and gospel’s sweetheart, Yolanda Adams. “All I Ever Really Wanted,” penned by McClurkin himself, is another pretty tune.

“Yes, You Can,” an infectious inspirational tune and the calypso-sounding “I’m Walking” are two lively cuts. A classic from Walter Hawkins, “Special Gift,” has been tastefully covered as well on Again. “Holy” and “Create in Me a Clean Heart,” both worshipful songs, allow the listener to bask in the presence of God. Other favorites include the Kevin Bond-penned track “Heart to Soul” and “So in Love With God.” “He’s Calling You” clearly summons the unbeliever to Christ.

Throughout this breathtaking collection of songs, this anointed man of God sings with passion and conviction. This is another solid project, lyrically and musically, from one of gospel’s finest.
Andrea R. Williams

She Must and Shall Go Free
By Derek Webb, Ino Records.

If you’re unfamiliar with Derek Webb, he was the bassist for the folk-rock band Caedmon’s Call for almost a decade. Now he’s gone solo with his debut record-ing, She Must and Shall Go Free. But don’t think for a moment the singer-songwriter has left his rootsy rock background. Songs such as the title cut and “Nobody Loves Me” carry a guitar-strummin’ smoothness that has made Caedmon’s a staple for college students for years.

The “she” Webb refers to in the album’s title is the church, and his subtley edgy lyrics address themes of idolatry, faithfulness and purity. Yet unlike other songwriters and artists, Web isn’t harsh in his criticism of the church, but rather humbly encourages and challenges her to become all she can for Christ’s sake. Standouts include the swinging swank of “Nothing (Without You)” and the thoughtfulness of “Wedding Dress.”

If you enjoy Caedmon’s Call, Rich Mullins or Keith Green, you’ll love this album.
Margaret Feinberg

BOOKS

The Beloved Disciple
By Beth Moore, Broadman & Holman,
352 pages, hardcover, $19.99.

In her latest Bible study, The Beloved Disciple, Beth Moore looks at familiar Scripture from the perspective of John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” as John’s Gospel states his identity.

Moore traces John’s steps with the Savior through the synoptic Gospels and through all of John’s writings–his Gospel, his epistles in 1, 2 and 3 John, and Revelation. She states outright the one-liner we should take away from the study: “Affection counts for more than ambition.”

Indeed, Moore wants her readers, like John, to learn that Christ “calls His beloved disciples to forsake ambition for affection.” Moore believes only disciples who are “convinced they are beloved will in turn love beyond themselves.”

Moore’s journey is intertwined with John’s journey to receive Christ’s love and to bestow it on others. Readers learn deeply personal events from Moore’s own life in which Christ’s love abounds and she in turn became a blessing. As the book progresses and Moore continually refers to her readers as “Beloved,” the address takes on richer and richer significance. Through Moore, we feel intensely the humanity and warmth of the Savior’s love, and want to rush to share this passion with others.

As with Moore’s previous Bible studies, The Beloved Disciple is encouraged for use in group settings, and materials are available to facilitate this use. If, however, you only read the book in the quiet of your private study, you will still realize there is no greater ambition than to walk with Love.
Pamela Robinson

The Ancient Language of Eden
By Don Milam, Destiny Image
Publishers, 191 pages, softcover, $12.99.

Don Milam takes readers on a profound literary journey to discover what he calls “the original language of Jesus” in The Ancient Language of Eden. Fresh out of Bible college, Milam was well-versed in theological jargon, but found he could not communicate in settings that were foreign to him, whether overseas or at home. With a bloated soul but a starving spirit, he tells the story of how he reached out to the Father and learned a language that was new to him–a language of love, grace and mercy.

Despite the obscure title, The Ancient Language of Eden is relevant and compelling. Milam tells of his trials working with alcoholics in the inner city, being hauled off to prison in Mozambique, watching his marriage start to slip away and giving up the ministry for a time to become a painter.

Milam writes of the spiritual hunger in God’s people to shed the chains of religious slavery and run toward His loving arms. He urges readers to journey back to the biblical Garden of Eden where the language of the Father is spoken–the ancient language of love, grace and mercy.
Debra L. Edgar

The Seven Cries of Today’s Teens
By Timothy Smith, Integrity Publishers,
241 pages, softcover, $14.99.

Based on a Gallup survey, The Seven Cries of Today’s Teens offers a well-informed, enlighten-ing presentation of our teens’ top seven needs.

Family counselor and Gallup Institute Fellow Timothy Smith devotes one chapter to each need–the need for trust, for love, for security, for purpose, to be heard, to be valued and for support.

Each need is a “cry,” Smith insists, “a signal, a call for help or a demand for attention. It does not necessarily have to be a cry of sorrow or pain–but it will become that if no one responds.”

These are the cries of “the millenial generation.” Smith says a millenial is generally defined as a young person who was born after 1981, noting that the first millenials graduated in the high school class of 2000.

In spite of and because of the violence known in the millenial generation, Smith has discovered these young people are “neo-traditionalists” at heart. They value relationships over possessions and desire time with family and friends and to have clear “borders” set for them.

Smith concludes each chapter with discussion questions designed for parent to parent and parent to teen. A “Responding to the Cry” section follows the questions and provides “tools to use at home” and “tools to use at church.” Not only parents and church youth ministers, but also any adult with a heart for ministry will want to respond to give today’s teens the help and attention they crave.

This book is a must-read in these challenging times.
Pamela Robinson

A Call to the Secret Place
By Michal Ann Goll, Destiny Image,
191 pages, softcover, $12.99.

Deep intimacy with God is in the “secret place” Michal Ann Goll refers to in her book titled A Call to the Secret Place. Who is welcome in the secret place, and how does one get there? Goll says God invites every Christian, and one arrives by being alone with God–focused and receptive to His love–and meditating on His Word.

In this follow-up to her book Women on the Front Lines, Goll highlights the lives of seven women, including Susanna Wesley and Fanny Crosby, who exemplify total surrender to Christ. One of Goll’s contemporary subjects is Gwen Shaw, who has preached and prophesied in many nations.

Goll’s tone is conversational. However, she relies heavily on metaphors to communicate her points throughout the book, managing to integrate them successfully in the final chapter.
Leslie Santamaria

Karen Davis must pray for protection when she goes to the bank or the grocery store. A worship leader, pastor’s wife and a Messianic Jew living in Haifa, Israel, Davis could have stayed in New York, where she and her husband, David, a Broadway director and actor, were part of the street-ministry outreach of Times Square Church.

But one trip to Israel changed the direction of their lives. From the moment they landed until they left two weeks later, Karen wept.

Immigrating to Israel in 1989, the Davises ministered to drug addicts and alcoholics, founding a rehabilitation center for both Jews and Arabs and a new congregation called Kehilat HaCarmel (Carmel Assembly), built on the very top of Mount Carmel, near where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal.

“For over a decade now we have witnessed the miracle of the transforming power of God’s love as He works in the hearts of afflicted men to be reconciled to Him through the blood of Yeshua and then toward each other,” Karen says.

Now citizens of Israel, the Davises live in an atmosphere of tension. Karen’s response as a psalmist has been recorded on her new release with Galilee of the Nations, Sar Shalom (Prince of Peace).

The album contains fresh Messianic worship songs birthed out of her longing to unite Jews, Arabs and Gentiles to Yeshua, the Prince of Peace. Once news of the album gets out, Karen expects that she will hear from people all over the world who are connecting to the new heavenly sounds emerging from Israel today.
Marsha Gallardo

CHARISMATIC TOP SELLERS

1. Total Forgiveness
R.T. Kendall (Charisma House)

2. Matters of the Heart
Juanita Bynum (Charisma House)

3. A Divine Revelation of Hell
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

4. Pigs in the Parlor
Frank and Ida Mae Hammond
(Impact Christian Books)

5. A Divine Revelation of Heaven
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

6. The Three Battlegrounds
Francis Frangipane (Arrow Publications)

7. The Tongue: A Creative Force
Charles Capps (Harrison House)

8. The Final Quest
Rick Joyner (Whitaker House)

9. A Divine Revelation of the Spirit Realm
Mary K. Baxter (Whitaker House)

10. No More Sheets
Juanita Bynum (Pneuma Life Publishing)

CHARISMA RECOMMENDS

They Felt the Spirit’s Touch
By Scott Hagan, Charisma House,
256 pages, softcover, $13.99.

Scott Hagan explores the lives of 20 obscure people mentioned in the book of Acts, including Stephen, Cornelius and Apollos. Hagan expounds on the biblical narrative with humor and thought-provoking character development. Rich in imagery, this book shows how the Spirit moved in ordinary lives to change the first-century world.

Bible Health Secrets
By Reginald Cherry, M.D.;
Siloam Press; 224 pages; hardcover; $18.99.

Dr. Reginald Cherry believes the Bible holds the secrets to healing from
cancer and other diseases. In this new book he outlines the Bible’s food restrictions as well as preventative herbs and spices mentioned in Scripture. Readers will discover a spiritual and dietary lifestyle that they can easily apply in order to experience abundant health.

Daniel Notes
By Greg Hinnant, Creation House Press,
320 pages, softcover, $14.99.

Author, teacher and pastor Greg Hinnant takes readers on a journey exploring the life of an amazing man. This commentary on Daniel is well-researched, thoroughly cross-referenced and scholarly. Yet, Hinnant keeps it down to earth, easy to read and practical. Readers will be inspired by Daniel’s ultimate faith, absolute loyalty,
fiery testing and amazing rewards. But most importantly Daniel experienced the fullest and richest knowledge of God–available to all believers.

Catch the Wave
By Steven Cole, Creation House Press,
96 pages, softcover, $9.99.

Steven Cole believes we can have a real and personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Cole teaches who the Holy Spirit is, what the gifts of the Spirit are and how the Spirit moves. The author wants believers to catch the wave and use the power of the Holy Spirit to bring glory to God and fulfill His purpose for their lives.

Secretos del corazón
(Matters of the Heart)
By Juanita Bynum, Casa Creación,
204 pages, softcover, $9.99.

In this Spanish translation of her newest book, Bible teacher Juanita Bynum explores the close connection between the heart and mind–and she explains why this key to intimacy with God is so vital. Bynum says she was shocked when God told her she was not concerned with the condition of her heart even though she was faithfully serving Him. Readers may discover deceit in their own hearts when they read this painfully transparent account of spiritual growth and the integrity it requires.