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WHATS UP: New songs added on Dlevels, updated Events calendar

Galatians 1:6-9

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different Gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the Gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other Gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

Recently, I read a devotional that was based on the above scripture. This looked at how the Galatian church was being misinformed by other leaders and persuaded by other gospels; therefore they moved away from Paul’s teaching. When Paul heard of this, he was astonished at how quickly they had gotten off track. The writer of the devotional stated that, most Christians get off track because in an effort to get closer to Jesus they focus on their emotional experience of Him and not the sacrifice or his words. Without His truth ringing in their heads, they are bound to get off track.

This got me thinking about how emotion played a vital role in the way I viewed Christianity and worship. For me as a young man growing up in the church, I always looked at it as being boring, old-fashion and rigid. It was the same routine every Saturday. What I looked forward to the most were breaks in service to congregate with my friends. To me, the church I attended did not cater to the youth- this could explain why most of us left in our teenage years.

Since I have gotten older, I have come to realized that the problem was not the church but the fact that none of us, youths, knew Jesus back then. Furthermore, we did not strive to attain a level of intimacy with Him. An emotional high was the objective, “If it feels good, do it,” therefore we stopped because it was not fun. This is the motto that most of us live by today; why do it, if you feel forced, if you only feel obligated to, if you do not thoroughly enjoy it?

Some persons may say, “I do enjoy Christianity,” but if they should be honest with themselves, they only enjoy certain aspects. They avoid going to church early or staying late to avoid a part of the worship, they don’t read 1 Chronicles to hear about who begat who and who is the son of who. Get the picture!

So as to not bore you any longer, the writer’s conclusion was, to get on track and stay on track one has to begin by getting to know Jesus first. The teachings and facts discovered, through this process, will make the difference whether you want to get closer to Him, or not. Should you not have this foundation then you will easily turn away from Christ to other gospels- whether this be the world or another religion. And I could not agree more.

What do you think?

P.S. this does not absolve the church from the fact that they need to take the experience, thoughts and ideas of the youths, in their congregation, into consideration in planning their activities.

Thought: “To stay on track, let God guide your thinking.”

Island Worship presents…Spanish Town Gospel Fest 2

November 28, 2008

Featuring: Jermaine Edwards, Prodigal Son, Dj Nicholas, Judith Gayle, Lubert Levy, Appointed ( Glad Tidings Open Bible), One Nation ( New Life Worship Center), S.O.P. & Speaking Hands ( Lighthouse Assembly)

Venue: Lighthouse Assembly, 1 Garbally Drive, Spanish Town

Showtime: 7pm

Don;t Miss it!

Adm: $300-$400

Ticket outlets: Right Selection Beauty & Barber Salon, Value Plus Building, Supplies & Equipment, AJ’s Supermarket, La Vega Pharmacy ( St Jago Plaza), Lighthouse Assembly ( Spanish Town)

Contact Info: 571-8878, 840-2546, 847-5482
worship@gmail.com

Lisa Grant…’Leaning’ on her love for God

One of Gospel’s brightest talents Lisa Grant is ‘Stepping Out’ and after a lifetime of performing and ministering, the soulful songstress is ready to take her ministry to the next level. A life-long ‘church-goer’, it wasn’t until the early 90’s that Lisa decided to commit her life entirely unto the Lord at the tender age of 12. Today, a few singles and live performances later, she is poised to stamp her mark in an industry that has seen considerable rise over the last few years, with an album planned for early 2009.

A gentle soul with a voice that hugs the ear; endearing and beseeching, quite like the message that she has embraced and sworn to share with the world through her Music.

The 27 year old songwriter already has an album to her credit and despite the low awareness around her 2007 effort ‘Never Look Back’, Lisa has continually toiled in relentlessness for her chance. Crusades, open air meetings and of course the popular Power of Praise concert series have all been her stomping grounds and with the backing of the emerging P&W Music group machinery, of which she is the managing director, Lisa is expecting great things at the turn of the new year.

With an album well in sight, which is expected to feature some of the heaviest-hitters in the industry on all fronts, the cheerful singer has all right to be excited about God’s plans for her life and ministry.  She is very clear about what she needs to accomplish through her Music.

“I would like to see lives being changed through my ministry in Music. I have seen where secular Music has changed people’s lives in a negative way and I would love to see my Music changing people’s lives for the better. I want to see persons smiling again, being encouraged and families coming together, despite the rough and sometimes chaotic situations that we face day by day,” she shared.

Lisa began singing at the age of four at the Sons and Daughters United Church of God in Rollington Town, where she grew up and it was here that her journey began after a fateful meeting with record executive and P&W head Randolph McLean, this after he witnessed a stirring performance by her at a watch night service.

Lisa smiled, “He (McLean) would not take no for an answer and one day he took me to a studio in Vineyard town, the name of the producer was Jon Williams, where I recorded my first single in 2002 and a few years after that I did my debut album.”

She is currently enjoying encouraging success with her Latin-inspired rework of the hymnal classic ‘Leaning’ of which she also has a video out and the title track of the upcoming ‘Power of Praise’ compilation. She also has a third effort on the P&W Music project titled ‘Stepping Out’, featuring Ryan Mark. She has also performed internationally, most recently in Bahamas, where she received plaudits for her smooth delivery and impressive vocal abilities.

With an impressive production slate featuring Katalys Crew’s Paul Barclay, Dannie Brownie and Arif Butler and some of Gospel’s luminaries helping out on the project, expectation and anticipation have shot through the roof but fans will have to wait a while for the release of the album.

Mclean advised during a recent studio session that plans for the release are well advanced and that it should be ready by the first quarter of 2009.

Describing her musical style, Lisa explained, “I like to sing songs that have an upbeat rhythm, something that the crowd can move to. At the same time I like the message of the songs to be something that they can relate to in their culture. I also like songs that cause people to worship and to think about God and His goodness, songs that will cause them to put trust in God and to continue trusting God”

Apart from McLean and her parents, Lisa considers international ministers Donnie McLurkin and Crystal Lewis as well as local standout Chevelle Franklin as her main sources of inspiration and also expressed her ambition to perform with them.