This Southern Gospel music fan has decided to bring you his thoughts on the latest Gospel music. Just a God thing I guess. First of all, I want to extend condolences to Sarah Cupp on the loss of her brother and Debbie Singler on the loss of her sister. My prayers are with both of your families.
Now to the reviews.
First is Cana's Voice with their latest, Live at Champion Forest - This relatively new group is comprised of Taranda Greene, Jody McBrayer and Doug Anderson.
Cana's Voice has more of a modern sound but one that Southern Gospel fans can appreciate. The harmonies blend well and each as a soloist just add to the pleasure of this recording.
The performance of the classic hymn ,Great is Thy Faithfulness is done quite well by Taranda while McBrayer's rendition of In the Presence of Jehovah stirred me.
Heavenly Father features all 3 singers and the harmony is outstanding. Each song is sung with great feeling and conviction.
My favorite song on the project is Same Hands by Taranda. Her powerful voice and the background voices by the choir added joyful emphasis on this wonderful song. Although it's not so much your traditional Southern Gospel music, it's a music performance that moved me and makes me think that the future of Southern Gospel is in good hands.
Second is a group called The Browns and their solo release called Brave. This family group consisting of Shelly, Michaela, Adam, and Andrew and Shelly's husband as bus driver have teamed up with producer Wayne Haun and Stow Town Records owned by Ernie Haase of Signature Sound.
This up and coming group has been performing in Branson for years and won the Top Horizon award new groups three years in a row.
Brave is an upbeat song with a fiddling touch of Bluegrass and this family's harmonies are on point. It's a catchy tune that will get into your head and your heart.
That's all for this first Southern Gospel music review. Look for more coming soon and some important announcements about my future and the future of this blog. Also, If enjoyed this blog post, please email me at backyardgospel@gmail.com.
Until next time, may God Richly Bless you!!
Jerry Klems
A Simple Christian Man...
Friday, August 2, 2019
Monday, April 8, 2019
The 2 Minute Warning - A testimony
Just a Quick Testimony....
For those of you who know me, you know how much I love to go to church. This past sunday (04/07/19), I was scheduled to be in the office for a system upgrade at 9:30am. When I woke up, I was not in a great mood. My mother, who lives with me, could tell I was not happy.
Shortly thereafter, I proceeded to the Office. I normally pray on my way to work and this day was no different, except for my attitude. Finally, in desperation I said, " God, if you want me to work that's fine but I would rather be in church than in the office getting overtime."
It was no more than 5 minutes after that and I was no more than about 5 minutes from the office when the person who was doing the upgrade, called me and told me that the upgrade needed to be cancelled because he had not gotten the upgrade approved.
I quickly turned around and headed to church. The church service was nothing short of amazing. The Holy Ghost met with us and quite a few people hit the altar to pray, including myself.
I just to thank the Lord for that simple blessing!!
Until Next Time,
Jerry Klems (A.S.C.M) A Simple Christian Man
For those of you who know me, you know how much I love to go to church. This past sunday (04/07/19), I was scheduled to be in the office for a system upgrade at 9:30am. When I woke up, I was not in a great mood. My mother, who lives with me, could tell I was not happy.
Shortly thereafter, I proceeded to the Office. I normally pray on my way to work and this day was no different, except for my attitude. Finally, in desperation I said, " God, if you want me to work that's fine but I would rather be in church than in the office getting overtime."
It was no more than 5 minutes after that and I was no more than about 5 minutes from the office when the person who was doing the upgrade, called me and told me that the upgrade needed to be cancelled because he had not gotten the upgrade approved.
I quickly turned around and headed to church. The church service was nothing short of amazing. The Holy Ghost met with us and quite a few people hit the altar to pray, including myself.
I just to thank the Lord for that simple blessing!!
Until Next Time,
Jerry Klems (A.S.C.M) A Simple Christian Man
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Springing to New Life...
Well it's the middle of March and spring is only a few days away. Winter hopefully has had it's last shot and the warmer weather is coming soon. Living in Cincinnati as I do, I'm not very optimistic that winter is over but I last I have some hope.
Winter, other than the holidays, is mostly a dead and dreary season of the year. For the lost person, Winter is a perpetual season of dark and dreary days. There's no hope day to day for the blessed hope is only found in Jesus. As the sin debt increases, so does the desperation and conviction in a downward spiral until the person finally hits "rock bottom". More and more the lost keep looking for an answer but find none.
Finally the lost person takes one of two paths they either they get angry and stay away from God and vent to any Christian and blame them and God for it, or they will come their Christian friends and ask about Salvation. This is where Christians need to be ready to answer those tough questions about Salvation and why they need Jesus. Christian Brother and Sister do not be slack in your duty and mission for God!! Tell them with compassion and conviction why they need Jesus.
Just like Spring trying to spring into action after a long winter, the lost person tries to hang on as long as they can to avoid surrendering. They come to a point wherever they are that the pressure and conviction are too much and finally get saved!!
I have heard this from so many Christians right after they get saved, "Why did I wait so long?". I know I did. What happens is similar to transitioning from Winter to Spring. We start blooming as the light of Jesus Christ start shining in our lives. A weight is lifted off our shoulders and the storm clouds roll away. There's is no other feeling like it and I pray more people will experience what God has in store for them.
Jesus can brighten your dark skies and melt your cold heart and make it really warm for the first time. Your life will bloom and sometimes will have weeds and storms in it but you will have the best friend you could ever have Jesus who will never leave you and will take you through if you will let him.
Let us pray. Jesus, I ask you to enter the hearts of my lost loved ones and friends. Convict them of their sins with the power of the Holy Ghost and save them by the power of your grace. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Until next time,
Jerry A.S.C.M (A Simple Christian Man)
Winter, other than the holidays, is mostly a dead and dreary season of the year. For the lost person, Winter is a perpetual season of dark and dreary days. There's no hope day to day for the blessed hope is only found in Jesus. As the sin debt increases, so does the desperation and conviction in a downward spiral until the person finally hits "rock bottom". More and more the lost keep looking for an answer but find none.
Finally the lost person takes one of two paths they either they get angry and stay away from God and vent to any Christian and blame them and God for it, or they will come their Christian friends and ask about Salvation. This is where Christians need to be ready to answer those tough questions about Salvation and why they need Jesus. Christian Brother and Sister do not be slack in your duty and mission for God!! Tell them with compassion and conviction why they need Jesus.
Just like Spring trying to spring into action after a long winter, the lost person tries to hang on as long as they can to avoid surrendering. They come to a point wherever they are that the pressure and conviction are too much and finally get saved!!
I have heard this from so many Christians right after they get saved, "Why did I wait so long?". I know I did. What happens is similar to transitioning from Winter to Spring. We start blooming as the light of Jesus Christ start shining in our lives. A weight is lifted off our shoulders and the storm clouds roll away. There's is no other feeling like it and I pray more people will experience what God has in store for them.
Jesus can brighten your dark skies and melt your cold heart and make it really warm for the first time. Your life will bloom and sometimes will have weeds and storms in it but you will have the best friend you could ever have Jesus who will never leave you and will take you through if you will let him.
Let us pray. Jesus, I ask you to enter the hearts of my lost loved ones and friends. Convict them of their sins with the power of the Holy Ghost and save them by the power of your grace. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Until next time,
Jerry A.S.C.M (A Simple Christian Man)
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Snowed Out but Not Shut Out
Today is a revival for my Blog, A Simple Christian Man. God has compelled me to start blogging again because he says I have something to say.
Today, we had snow in Cincinnati, enough to have church services cancelled for the day. For those people who know me at all, I was not happy at the prospect of not having church with my church family today. I vented on Facebook to let things loose instead of letting it the frustration build up and fester.
Quickly, I had to come up with a backup plan to somehow have "church" this morning. Thanks to Youtube, The Gaither Vocal Band and Ernie Haase and Signature Sound provided special singing today, all I had to do was find a "preacher" for my Internet service.
There are so many preachers that I relate to but I can always can count on Dr. Charles Stanley to provide a message to touch my heart. Today's message was about forgiveness using the scripture of the Prodigal Son.
Since I have a Prodigal Son, Jacob, serving time in prison for theft, I can relate. Jacob does not to be scolded, he needs to be forgiven and loved by his father on earth and in heaven. Too often, we admonish those that hurt us and the hurt just gets worse and worse. It is far better but not necessarily easier to forgive them. Forgiveness is not for the person who hurt us but it is for us in order to let go and move on.
From my personal experience, I have to move on from death of a spouse, marriage and divorce of second wife and my son to being in prison. I don't do this to impress you about me to I do it impress upon you how great God is. God has brought me through so many things that I don't know how I made it without him.
What I want to leave with you is this, No matter the circumstance or situation, God will bring you through, whether it be a cancelled church or service or Prodigal Son, GOD IS ALWAYS THERE.
Until Next Time,
Jerry Klems A.S.C.M. (A Simple Christian Man)
Today, we had snow in Cincinnati, enough to have church services cancelled for the day. For those people who know me at all, I was not happy at the prospect of not having church with my church family today. I vented on Facebook to let things loose instead of letting it the frustration build up and fester.
Quickly, I had to come up with a backup plan to somehow have "church" this morning. Thanks to Youtube, The Gaither Vocal Band and Ernie Haase and Signature Sound provided special singing today, all I had to do was find a "preacher" for my Internet service.
There are so many preachers that I relate to but I can always can count on Dr. Charles Stanley to provide a message to touch my heart. Today's message was about forgiveness using the scripture of the Prodigal Son.
Since I have a Prodigal Son, Jacob, serving time in prison for theft, I can relate. Jacob does not to be scolded, he needs to be forgiven and loved by his father on earth and in heaven. Too often, we admonish those that hurt us and the hurt just gets worse and worse. It is far better but not necessarily easier to forgive them. Forgiveness is not for the person who hurt us but it is for us in order to let go and move on.
From my personal experience, I have to move on from death of a spouse, marriage and divorce of second wife and my son to being in prison. I don't do this to impress you about me to I do it impress upon you how great God is. God has brought me through so many things that I don't know how I made it without him.
What I want to leave with you is this, No matter the circumstance or situation, God will bring you through, whether it be a cancelled church or service or Prodigal Son, GOD IS ALWAYS THERE.
Until Next Time,
Jerry Klems A.S.C.M. (A Simple Christian Man)
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