Wednesday 16 April 2014

Matt Papa: The Easter EP

Artist: Matt Papa
Record: The Easter EP
Rating: 4/5
Similar artists: Third Day, Delirious
Genre: Alternative Rock, Worship
Release Date: April 2014
Length: 27:00

Matt Papa is a minister and recording artist based in North Carolina, U.S.A. He is currently an artist-in-residence and worship leader at The Summit Church, Durham. Matt has been writing and recording songs for over a decade and has released six albums. His music is characterised by deep and powerful lyrics with strong scriptural ties. He says that he treats each song as a sermon that people are to remember.

His latest release, The Easter EP, is appropriate in addressing important and often over-looked questions around Easter time.  The album deeply contemplates God's overwhelming act of love and the implications that this has on humans today.  To me, the album made be rethink the time of Easter and consider questions such as, how do we respond to the story of Christ? Has Easter been reduced to a time of chocolate bunnies and mundane, 'over-told' sermons about Jesus' death on the cross? Can this story ever be 'over-told'? Am I living as if Jesus is alive?

The third track on the EP, This Changes Everything is of a happy tone but when listening closely, I found a sense of urgency raised by the lyric, 'Did we miss something? Are we not supposed to cry when so many don't know that Jesus is alive?' Does the story of Jesus really change the way we view and respond to Grace in our daily lives?

While the album raises these important, introspective questions, it is also a joyous and celebratory expression of Jesus'overcoming! What happy, uplifting songs of worship! I thoroughly recommend that y'all go download this EP from Noisetrade (link) and play it while you're hunting for your eggs ;)

I pray that you have a happy and meaningful Easter!

Sammy


No comments:

Post a Comment