Author: Texas Gospel

HighRoad Releases Highly-Anticipated Debut Album on New Day Records

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High Road

NASHVILLE, TN (NOV 15, 2019) —  Produced by multiple Grammy® nominee, Ben Isaacs, the debut self-titled album by HighRoad released today, is packed full of beautifully written  songs sure to lift listeners’ spirits. HighRoad, 2018’s Singing News New Artist of the Year features Sarah Davidson (vocals and piano), Kristen Bearfield (mandolin, guitar, banjo, and vocals), Kinsey Rose (guitar and vocals), and Lauren Conklin (fiddle). This tremendously talented quartet, whose members have toured with George Jones and Mark Wills and backed up Jimmy Fortune and Bradley Walker on Gaither Homecoming videos, has certainly delivered their best album to date.

HighRoad is jam-packed with hit songs, from the Ralph Stanley classic “Two Coats” and Thomas Dorsey-penned standard “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” to future fan-favorites co-written by group members Davison, Rose, Bearfield, and Conklin, along with some of today’s greatest composers including Michael Farren, Tony Wood, Kenna West, Devin McGlamery, and Nathan Woodard. Farren and Wood combined with Davidson to bring us “Nothing At All,” HighRoad’s first radio single off the album.

A cut that may well become the group’s theme song is “High Road,” written by Pete Sallis and Tia Sillers.  This is a triple-rarity of sorts, which may prompt fans to beg radio to play “High Road” by HighRoad from HighRoad.  The song has an incredibly uplifting feel, expressing perfectly the joy these gifted ladies bring to their ministry and this album.

The new album arrives on the heels of HighRoad’s recent crossover success in the bluegrass genre. The band’s 2019 single, “Heaven’s Back Yard,” from the hit bluegrass album Gonna Sing Gonna Shout reached the coveted #1 position on the Singing News National Bluegrass Gospel chart.  The album features HighRoad, along with Claire Lynch, the Cox Family, Marty Raybon, and many others.

With a packed national schedule and a brand new album to tour, don’t miss the chance to see HighRoad in a city near you in the coming months.  It is a musical and inspirational experience.  For more information on HighRoad, visit highroadmusic.com.  The new album is available at a retailer near you and on all major digital subscription platforms.

Big changes for the LeFevre Quartet

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Lefevre

A big announcement came via a  Facebook LIVE and YouTube LIVE event Monday evening!  Mike LeFevre announced some changes for the LeFevre Quartet.  Departing will be Jeremy Peace and Keith Plott.  Mike says no one is mad at each other and change is inevitable.  The new version of the LeFevre quartet will have a very familiar name being added for tenor, Jay Parrack!

Jay was a loved member of Gold City for over a decade.  During that time, he won the Singing New Fan Award for “Favorite Young Artist” five times and the Singing News Fan Award for “Favorite Tenor” twice! To say he is a fan favorite, is an understatement.  Also joining the group in the bass position, Will Lane.

No doubt, we’ll be looking forward to what LeFevre Quartet will bring in 2020 with this new sound.

Why do Christians die even after praying?

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Is a Christian’s death from terminal illness proof that prayer has no meaning?  Is it proof that there is no God? The questions are fair, and to answer them we should consider why we pray, and how we are told to pray.

Prayer is about communion with God. He wants us to bring our concerns, worries, and feelings to Him. We share these things with our family, for example, because that’s what you do with people you care about. Sharing our cares with loved ones bonds us together, and bringing our cares to God brings us closer to Him.  So, why do people sometimes die even when they ask God to spare them?

Romans tells us, “…sin entered the world through one man….and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” And Hebrews tells us man is appointed once to die.  If a Christian prayed that he or she would never die, they would be asking God to go against Bible. Consider that Luke tells us when Jesus prayed before his execution, he said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.” Yet Jesus was executed anyway.  He brought his cares to God the Father for communion, not to place an order.  He didn’t ask for his desire without concern of God’s will; he asked for only what is in the will of the Father.

Christians pray to have communion with God.  All people, even Christians, die because we live in a world made imperfect by sin, and their deaths are certainly not proof there is no God.

What are your thoughts?

The Sunday Report, Nov 10, 2019

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Criminal acts against the church in North America continue at a steady pace.  Reported incidents are mostly petty crimes and acts of vandalism.

Halifax-area RCMP are asking for the public’s help in identifying the people responsible for vandalism at a church in Sackville. Valliant News reports derogatory comments were painted on the building and property was damaged by the vandal or vandals. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to the Halifax District RCMP at . If you wish to remain anonymous call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers toll free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477.)

RCMP are investigating a suspicious fire at a church nursery in Carman, Man.  CBC reports the fire was confined to one room. RCMP ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. 

Two men are charged with multiple charges including defacing religious property and defacing an institution because of religious animosity after bias-related graffiti was found at a Maryland Methodist Church, according to a report from Patch.com.

Two women in Lima, Ohio have agreed to reimburse the congregation of New Life Assembly and enter a diversity program after they pleaded guilty to vandalizing a church.  Hometownstations.com reports prosecutors dropped a higher charge of desecration as part of a negotiated plea deal.

A Former New York University professor is charged with a hate crime after police say security cameras caught him vandalizing a Brooklyn Church.  NBCNewYork.com reports Michael Gould Wartofsky previously taught sociology at NYU.

Investigators in Greene County, Tennessee are asking anyone with information about a fire that was intentionally set at the Gethsemane Methodist Church to call the local sheriff’s office.  The fire was set sometime between Nov 4 and Nov 5 according to a report from WJHL television.

A Toronto church has helped at least 33 families from 13 countries find a new home. The CBC reports the families are helped by the Etobicoke-based Islington United Church under Canada’s Private Sponsorship Program.

Please pray for the affected congregations and for those who committed these crimes.

Inferences based on the Bible are not scripture

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Why do so many in what’s been called the ‘new atheist movement’ promote the myth that science and faith are in conflict? How can the two contradict when one deals with man’s relationship with God and the other deals with understanding God’s creation?

Proponents of the alleged conflict idea quite often point to data that contradicts inferences made from scripture. This comes up so often, I think it’s something we as Christians need to consider when we share our faith.

I need to be very clear about two things.  An inference about science based on scripture is not the same as scripture.  Presenting it as such serves only to push people away from God when they think they have to choose between the inference and science.  Secondly, I am not suggesting we should change our faith in God based on scientific data. I have yet to see any lab experiment that has proven anything about God, only about His creation.

Every Christian should ask his or herself this important question:  When you begin a sentence with “The Bible says…,” do you finish the sentence with scripture every time, or are you guilty of ending it with something based on God’s word, but not actually God’s word?

What are your thoughts?