Saturday, November 29, 2014

Maranatha! Singers




      Maranatha! Singers God's Love


Maranatha is an Aramaic word that means “the Lord is coming” or “come, O Lord.” The early church faced much persecution, and life for a Christian under Roman rule was not easy. The Romans required everyone to declare that Caesar was god. The early Christians knew that there is only one God and one Lord—Jesus Christ—and in all good conscience they could not call Caesar “Lord,” so the Romans looked upon them as traitors, persecuted them, and put them to death.

 Living under those adverse conditions, the believers’ morale was lifted by the hope of the coming of the Lord. “Maranatha!” became the common greeting of the oppressed believers, replacing the Jewish greeting shalom (“peace”). The followers of Jesus knew there would be no peace because Jesus had told them so (Matthew 10:34; Luke 12:51). But they also knew the Lord would be returning to set up His kingdom, and from that truth they drew great comfort. They were constantly reminding and being reminded that the Lord is coming (Luke 21:28; Revelation 22:12). Jesus taught several parables on this same theme of watching and waiting and being prepared for His return (Matthew 25:1-13; Luke 12:35-40).

Today, believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ live our lives in the light of the knowledge that He can come at any time. We are to be ready when the call comes. Every day we should expect Him to come, and every day we should long for Him to come. Maranatha reminds us to keep our eyes on the eternal things of the Spirit. To dwell on material things is to be in constant mental turmoil. Looking down, we see the earth; looking around, we see earthly things. But looking up, we see the hope of the soon coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. To those who are discouraged today, Maranatha! To those who are worried today, Maranatha! To those who are filled with anxiety over the problems they are facing, Maranatha! Our Lord is coming!
From - http://www.gotquestions.org/maranatha.html

Maranatha! Music began as a non-profit outreach of Calvary Chapel in 1971. The Jesus People of the late 1960s and early 1970s began to write new hymns and worship songs with a folk-rock style. Maranatha! Music was founded at this time in order to publish and promote this new type of Christian music. Founder Chuck Smith sold the label to his nephew Chuck Fromm. The label is currently distributed by Warner Music Entertainment's Word Music.

In the early 1970s Calvary Chapel was home to more than 15 musical groups that were representative of the Jesus people movement. Some of the early Maranatha! recording groups were Sweet Comfort Band, Love Song, Chuck Girard, Children of the Day, The Way, Debby Kerner, Mustard Seed Faith, Karen Lafferty, and Daniel Amos. The label's first release was a various artists compilation entitled The Everlastin' Living Jesus Music Concert, in 1971.
From Wikipedia


Sunday, November 23, 2014

Fred Hammond



   For more than 25 years, gospel music listeners around the world have known Fred Hammond as a talented songwriter, bassist and vocalist singing praises to our God. He is also known throughout the music industry as a gifted musical arranger and producer. But, his work with Face to Face Productions Corporation, the company for which he is both founder and CEO, has earned him the title the “Babyface” of gospel.

        Fred Hammond Giving God Praise Playlist


 Fred Hammond has been active both as a member of the gospel performing
group Commissioned, and as a solo artist (currently for Verity Records). He is a multiple Grammy-, Dove-, Stellar-award winner and nominee as a performer, producer and writer.

Hammond first gained recognition while playing bass guitar for the gospel group The Winans.  By 1985 he was one of the six original members of the group Commissioned, participating in 10 of the group's 12 albums.
After his time with Commissioned ended, he regained fame in the gospel community after selling millions of albums with his musical group Radical For Christ.
In 2002 Hammond returned to the group Commissioned (now with members Keith Staten, Marvin Sapp, Mitchell Jones, Karl Reid, Michael Williams, and Marcus Cole) to produce the Commissioned Reunion Live album.
Hammond produced Make Me Like The Moon, a stirring gospel ballad co-written by Chanté Moore and Kenny Lattimore for their 2006 double-CD of gospel and R&B love songs entitled Uncovered/Covered (released October 10, 2006 by LaFace/Verity/Zomba Music Group). He also performs with Sean Combs on the album Thank You.
From Wikipedia

       Fred Hammond on TBN Sep 25, 2014 Interviewed by Donnie McClurkin


Total Praise



Richard Smallwood's Total Praise played by FAMU, Morris Brown, TNSU, Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, JCSU, Morehouse and Tuskegee Marching Bands