What more is there to sing about after having to Face The Nation and taking the Basics Of Life on a Ride during the Season Of Love? (Sorry, I had to do it!) Well, if you are Mark Harris, Marty Magehee, Kirk Sullivan, and Andy Chrisman, you focus on The Message. The four aforementioned gentlemen, collectively known as 4Him, do just that on their sixth release for Benson Records.
The Message is vintage 4Him, the kind of stuff that won them Dove awards for New Artist of the Year and three straight Group of the Year awards. With the writing and production skills of Brent Bourgeois, Chris Eaton, Michael Omartian, Keith Dudley, Mark Harris, and (of course, the "5th Him") Don Koch, this album is musically and spiritually challenging to anyone who loves the music of 4Him. It is also in accordance with the self-proclaimed mission of 4Him which is to edify the church, evangelize the lost and to strive for excellence in music.
As always, each of the guys gets a chance to display the solo talents that earned him the opportunity to sing in the group, Truth. Perhaps the most talented soloist of the group, Andy Chrisman, displays his vocal prowess on the best song on the album, the title track. This song is very similar in message to one of 4Him's previous #1 releases, "The Basics Of Life." The chorus is simple, but the message is missed by so many Christians today. We should all strive to do these things in our lives because of who we are in Christ:
To live a love that never fails Love my neighbor as myself And to give til there is nothing left to give To live a faith that never dies To be crucified with Christ Until all that lives through me Is the message
The song encourages the listener to imagine what the world would be like if these principles were applied to our daily lives:
If we all will work together We can make this world a better place to live We can make a difference if we try
This song epitomizes 4Him's music with excellence in musical style and lyrical content.
Some may notice that Marty Magehee is sporting a new look on the new album cover. That's right, he has a goatee and a Caesar haircut (a la Jars of Clay). But that doesn't mean the boys are going alternative anytime soon. Although, they do get close on a few of these songs. Take "Land Of Mercy," for example. This song rocks! But so does the message. It describes how God's mercy covers all the sin of the world. "Lay It All On The Line" is another upbeat song that is packed with a message: stop wasting time on things that don't matter and give your life totally to the Lord. When you lay it all on the line for Jesus Christ, only then can He share with you the magnificent plan He has for your life. The album does slow down a bit on "The Measure of a Man," but the message keeps getting stronger. Co-written by Stephanie Lewis, this song describes how God counts the value of a man not by the world's standards of wealth, looks, or intelligence, but by his inner character-the true measure of a man.
The message of The Message is to consistently be a witness of the message of Jesus Christ by living it in our lives. There are few sure things in life. But, if you are a 4Him fan, The Message is as close to a sure thing as you are going to get!
Similar sounding releases
1995East to WestNorth Of The Sky
1995Dallas HolmFace Of Mercy
1998Greg LongJesus Saves
2003NewSongMore Life
1995Scott KrippayneWild Imagination
2002The KatinasLifestyle
