REVIEW: "My Soul Yearns" by Vineyard UK

Vineyard has a long and rich history of bringing accessible praise and worship music to the church.  When I say “accessible,” I mean they write music that most musicians can pick up, learn, and sing/play in their local congregations.  Melodies are catchy, vocal range is accessible, melodic intervals are manageable, and the instrumental dynamics allow for other arrangements.  My Soul Yearns continues Vineyard’s focus of bringing music for the church by the church.  According to their website, this album “is an authentic expression of how God is moving with Holy power through the Vineyard UK & Ireland movement where worship is one of its cornerstones.”

My Soul Yearns features 4 worship leaders, each leading 3 songs at the 2011 Vineyard National Leaders Conference.  Carly Billingham, Dave Miller, Samuel Lane and Joe Blustin bring Vineyard UK’s passion for Jesus Christ from UK/Ireland to the US.  Here is a song-by-song breakdown of this 12-song live album:

1.  My Soul Yearns opens with a prayer to “galvanize us by the power of your Spirit to make a mark on this land” and a spontaneous worship moment.  It’s a cry of love to Jesus expressing that we belong to him and our souls yearn for him.  Samuel Lane leads this powerful worship song expressing the love of God and the reason we worship him.  It starts off slow but builds to a powerful chorus when the drums and guitars kick in.  This title track sums up the rest of the album.  We long for his Sprit to do the work in us first so we are empowered to go out into the world.

2.  Hear the Sound starts with a light upbeat rhythm that builds to a strong chorus.  It’s definitely a praise and worship song – recognizing the holiness of God giving him “glory and honor, thanks and praise.”  The dynamics add to the cries of the believer’s heart to hear the sound of our worship.  Led by Dave Miller, the melody is very singable for most vocalists, and can easily fit with various styles depending on the dynamics of the local worship team.

3.  Love Rain Down gets to the heart of the motivation of our “mission.”  We cannot and should not go out until we are filled with the Holy Spirit.  We cannot give Christ’s love away until we are filled with his love ourselves.  It’s a great way of poetically expressing the greatest commandment overflowing to love for our neighbors.  “This is our prayer that your love and your power would come like an ancient day, so your word will be heard and history is made as lives are changed” beautifully expresses the Great Commission.  The chorus (“Love rain down, fill us up and send us out to the cities and towns, one by one to see your kingdom come”) then expresses the need to be filled with the Spirit before being “sent out.” Carly Billingham’s voice adds to the purity and innocence of the song.  I highly recommend adding this song to your music library.

4.  Jesus Name speaks of the beauty and wonder of the name of Jesus. Joe Blustin leads this song with a richness of worship.  It’s a great worship song, good range, easy melody to learn, and great dynamics.  There is an ebb and flow to the worship going from a smooth flow in the verses to a strong chorus.

5.  The Lamb Has Conquered is an anthem-like song that celebrates the work of the cross.  It starts off kind of soft but it picks up to a strong chorus.  There is a section of the song that’s only drums and vocals, making it sound like a march to the drums.  In essence, this song expresses the Gospel, including the coming kingdom.  Dave Miller leads this powerful song.  It’s wonderful.  I highly recommend this song for a Sunday set list.

6.  Lift Up His Name (Part 1) is a short “spontaneous worship” time.  While the music is playing, people sing as they feel led by the Spirit.  For those who are unfamiliar with spontaneous worship, the congregation sings their personal praises to the Lord while the band plays simple chords and leads.  Vineyard has been doing this for decades, and many worship teams have emulated their desire to allow people to sing their hearts while the band eases back.  This portion of the song is only 1:05 in length, so it’s a pretty good feel for how spontaneous worship sounds.

7.  Adore Him is a ballad that includes a bunch of theology.  It takes what we know to be true of God and puts them in a teachable song yet it also includes a chorus that encourages others to adore the Father because we know these things to be true.  Using Romans 3, Colossians 3, Ephesians 3 and Psalm 119, Samuel Lane leads this worship song expressing our desire to come adore him by singing “To our God, To our Father, Be the glory, forever and ever.”

8.  Sweetly Broken is a great song of surrender and redemption. “At the cross you beckon me, you draw me gently to my knees, and I am lost for words, so lost in love, I’m sweetly broken, holy surrendered” beautifully expresses the heart of the believer.  Since Christ’s love pursues us, we’re brought to the beautiful brokenness as we follow his ways. Joe Blustin leads this great worship song.  I highly recommend this for congregational worship.

9.  Lift Up His Name (Part 2) continues the spontaneous worship from Part 1 into a song called “I Will Worship You.”  It’s a good song of surrender and a cry of worship.  Spontaneous worship songs are difficult to make recommendations for set lists because of their nature.  As with most worship songs, I encourage worship teams to allow their creativity to come out when arranging worship songs.  As long as the lyrics connect with the team and the congregation, go for it.

10. I Respond is a song of response to the cross.  It’s pretty straightforward of a “sinner” recognizing what Jesus did on the cross, and “I respond to your invitation.”  It has standard theological lyrics using phrases like “Wash me white as snow” and “you died on the cross.”  It may make a good song during an alter call. Carly Billingham leads this beautiful worship song.

11. Jesus, You Reign honors Jesus as our king.  It is a great song to lead into a spontaneous worship time with a good range for vocalists and easy melody for congregations to learn. Joe Blustin leads this song with the music starting off soft yet dissonant, and clears to a worshipful chorus.

12. You Are is a ballad that recognizes Jesus for who he is with lyrics like “You are the risen one who died to save … You are my God.”  It also expresses a willingness to hand over our lives to the Savior with lyrics like “You breathe new life into these dry bones again.”  Since it’s a piano-driven song, both traditional and contemporary worship services can use this song to express how Christ refreshes us when his presence is near us.  Carly Billingham leads this worship song.

Most of the songs in this album I would consider more “adult contemporary” or “easy listening” compared to other modern worship artists.  All the songs have melodies that are easy to sing along since the vocal ranges are obtainable by most vocalists.  Vineyard has a reputation of writing songs that are easy to sing and easy to arrange for most worship teams.  Every song in My Soul Yearns makes a great addition to a worship team’s library and I highly recommend downloading this album to add to your music library.  It has theology, poetry, and beauty.  Enjoy!

Does God Still Heal Today?

Let’s ask my friend, Randall.  Back in September 2010, he began displaying definitive symptoms that something was terribly wrong.  On February 8, 2011, he was officially diagnosed with having Glioblastoma Multiforme, an aggressive form of brain tumor.  Prognoses for this type of brain tumor are not good.  The median survival time is 14 months.  Even if treatment works well, 1-in-4 survives past a year.  When Randall was diagnosed, the medical doctors immediately set him up for surgery to attempt removal of the tumor.  When the surgeons went in, they found the tumor was larger than what they measured on the scan; it was the size of a softball; one doctor called it “a whopper.”  The tumor also crossed to the other side of the brain (called a midline shift), and he also had brain stem compression and hydrocephalus (water on the brain).  Because of the severity of the tumor, the surgeons could only remove half of the tumor, and gave him 12 months to live.

Tumor the size of a softball; photo used by permission.

So what do you do when medical experts give you only 12 months to live??  Like many people, Randall and his wife started praying.  The morning after the diagnosis, Randall had a dream that he was in Heaven with God.  God told him it was not yet his time, and that the tumor did not come from him.  The cancer is a work of the enemy trying to kill him off because of the calling God has for Randall’s life.  [We also have to remember that nothing happens on earth, good or bad, without God allowing it to happen.  It’s called sovereignty.]  Others started praying with him.  Eight pastors visited him in the hospital.  Many laid hands on him, anointed him with oil, and prayed for God to miraculously heal him.  When he came home from surgery, many from his local church brought meals for the family and prayed in their home.  The only thing that was prayed by all these people was healing “in the name of Jesus.”

Can healing occur outside the name of Jesus?  Perhaps, but on May 26, 2011, the brain scan reveled the “whopper” tumor was GONE!  There was no midline shift, no water on the brain, and NO TUMOR!  It IS a medical miracle.  Even the doctors called it a miracle short of giving God the glory.  Three months later, Randall had another scan.  The tumor is still gone, and his brain looked healthier than the previous scan!

Hole in the head remained, tumor is gone; photo used by permission.

Does God still heal today?  According to Randall, YES!  According to the Bible, let’s look into this a bit more.  Psalm 103:2-5 (NASB) says,

“Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget none of His benefits;

Who pardons all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases;

Who redeems your life from the pit,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;

Who satisfies your years with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.”

The same God who healed in the Bible is the same God who heals today.  No disease is too complicated for him to heal.  No sin is too great for him to forgive.  He expresses his deep love for humanity by physically, emotionally, and spiritually restoring them unto himself.  He shows no favoritism.  Anyone can call on his name, and seek his healing and deliverance.  Isaiah 53:5 (NIV) says, “But he [Jesus] was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are HEALED.”  The Hebrew word for healed in this verse is Rapa, which means “make fresh, complete, whole.”  When God heals, he goes all the way.  Another name for God is Jehovah Rapha, “the Lord who heals.”  So biblically speaking, we should believe in miraculous healing because God’s character includes "healer."

Also, we look at the life of Jesus.  Miraculous healing was a sign to everyone that the Kingdom of God was there.  Jesus even told his opponents in John 10:37-38 (NIV), “Do not believe me unless I do the works [miracles] of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works [miracles], that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”  Essentially, Jesus was saying that the miraculous healing they witnessed is a testimony that God and Jesus [Father and Son] are one.  What does that say about us?  If we heal the same as Jesus, is it a sign that we are also one with God the Father?  If so, does it fulfill Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemene that we would be one with him and the Father?  I say, YES!!!  Ask God to reveal his kingdom to us!  Ask him for his kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  When we do, we’ll see more signs and wonders than we would expect to count.  So ask!

Whenever I hear people say, “Well, if it’s God’s will, he will heal.”  All I want to say in response to that is, “God’s desire is the restore people to himself.  So, it IS his will to heal.  Ask away!!!”  We would not be asking God for any “special favors” when we ask for healing.  It’s his nature to heal, it’s his desire to heal, and it’s his passion to heal.  He does this everyday.  It should be a privilege to ask God for healing because we get to see his mighty works with our own eyes!  We would not be asking him to do something he’s never done before.  So ask!!!!

My friends, Randall and Michelle; photo used by permission

Randall is one of many testimonies to the goodness and loving nature of God the Father!  Does this mean we can stop praying for Randall?  By no means!  We continue to pray for more completeness in his healing.  Even though the tumor is gone, he still has difficulty in his mobility.  Plus, the doctors still maintain that the tumor may come back.  Every three months, Randall is required to have a brain scan to ensure the tumor does not return.  So, we continue to pray for Randall’s healing so “his youth is renewed like the eagle.”

If you know someone who needs miraculous healing, be free to ask the Lord who heals. He may surprise you with how he reveals his deep love for them.  Seek out those who have a strong faith in the healing nature of God, and surround yourself with those people.  They may surprise you with how much they love the Lord and how much they love people.

God still heals TODAY.  So, I’ll say it again.  ASK!