Hillsong Church has announced their new live worship project, Open Heaven / River Wild. For the past 23 years, Hillsong Church has had the long legacy of producing and releasing live worship projects, yet this is the first time and project that the church has recorded an entire album live at its annual conference in Sydney, Austraila with more than 25,000 in attendance.
This year's project features songs written by a variety of Hillsong worship leaders including Reuben Morgan, Taya Smith, Marty Sampson, Joel Houston, Ben Fielding and others. The unique album name is no accident.
"In Jesus... heaven opens, and in us He stirs a 'River Wild'... a passionate explosive love for God and for the humanity He created," explained Hillsong's Global Creative Director Cassandra Langton. "This is the premise of the album and our prayer is that these songs would ignite and stir within you a passion for God and a love for people."
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Casting Minds To Calvary| Posted October 14, 2015 Open Heaven / River Wild is the latest live worship album from Hillsong Worship, available everywhere October 16. As the writers and singers of "Mighty to Save," "Stronger," "Forever Reign," "Cornerstone" and "This I Believe (The Creed)," worshippers worldwide have been consistently blessed by Hillsong's music ministry. Hillsong Worship's Reuben Morgan, Ben Fielding, Matt Crocker, Joel Houston, Annie Garratt and others are all featured on this stellar collection of Jesus-focused songs for the Church, which is not to be missed.
"O Praise the Name (Anástasis)," which opens with "I cast my mind to Calvary, where Jesus bled and died for me," is a reminder that our worship of God should not be based on our circumstances, but based on who God is. Commit your life to Jesus and offer Him your heart and your life as you sing along with this great song "O Praise His Name forevermore, for endless days we will sing Your praise, O Lord our God." Looking up the origin of the word "Anástasis," it means resurrection. The song is a perfect way to cast your mind to Calvary.
Many of the songs are arranged in a very sing-able and catchy style, such as the female-led gorgeous song "Love on the Line," which is filled with great statements of faith, proclaiming Him as the Lord of our lives: "With arms held high, Lord I give my life... with all I am, In Your grace I stand." You'll be singing along loudly, "To the One who has rescued my soul...to the One who is Savior of all, I sing forever!"
I'm really engaged by the emotional vocals and the deep, prayerful lyrics throughout the album. "All I know is everything I have means nothing, Jesus, if You' re not my one thing. Everything I need right now, all I need is You right now" are the biblical cries of worship in the heartfelt and soul-stirring song "One Thing."
A sincere desire for the presence of God and to see His Kingdom on earth is found in every song, especially "Open Heaven / River Wild" and "What A Savior," which are both instantly sing-able prayer songs featuring declarations about Jesus. In this era of electronic music, it is refreshing to hear Hillsong's signature rock style in full effect on these songs.
I hope to be singing "Heart like Heaven" with fellow believers. The song is also featured on UNITED's studio album Empires. You'll sing along loudly with the reverent chorus "Singing Holy, Heart like Heaven, singing Holy, God Almighty, singing Holy is Your Name."
"Here With You" is yet another gorgeous female-led ballad for the Church. The song has a great worshipful chorus: "Always with You, through Your Spirit in me, everything's changing, I will never be without You."
Closing Thoughts:
These great new worship songs really set me in the proper mindset to praise God for loving me so much that He gave His life away for all that was lost. I really enjoy the exciting musical vibe of this album, and the melodies and lyrics are all catchy and biblical. Open Heaven / River Wild is loaded with great rock beats, catchy melodies and solid lyrics reflecting unashamed faith in Jesus. Don't miss out on this incredible worship album, one of the best of the year for sure. If you want to experience a fresh, biblically-inspired and Jesus focused worship album, look no further.
These are very passionate worship songs sung with vocal sincerity and reverence with biblically based lyrics. There are several instantly sing-able and worshipful arrangements that you'll want to add to your Sunday morning set-list. I especially recommend "Love on the Line," "One Thing," "Open Heaven / River Wild," "Heart like Heaven," "Here with You," "In God We Trust" and one of my top worship songs of the year, "O Praise the Name (Anástasis)." All of the songs are catchy, exciting and worshipful. Open Heaven / River Wild is a must-have for your praise and worship collection. This album invites listeners to cast our minds to Calvary.
Song to Download Now:
"O Praise the Name (Anástasis)" (Get it on iTunes here.)
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