iTues #3 - Fireball Ministry

I've been having a bit of a rave about these guys (& gal) of late... they bring The Rock! Check out the vid below & the links here. Enjoy!

Stryper Review - Metro Theatre, Sydney 26/08/10

It’s been over half my life since I last saw Stryper and admittedly they’ve dropped off my radar a number of times in those intervening years (their ’90’s inactivity notwithstanding). However, they do hold a unique and special place in the development of my musical (and other) interests and leanings so when I found out that they were finally returning, I knew I had to be there.

I was pleased to see a full (if not officially sold out) and energised venue as Stryper took to the plain stage with a minimum of fuss and kicked into “Sing-Along Song” - one of many tracks from their ‘To Hell With The Devil’ magnum opus from 1986. Insisting upon crowd participation from the outset (as if the first track wasn’t a clue!) the band proceeded to impress with lively renditions of both favourites and a few surprises from across their entire studio catalogue, with the exception of 1988’s ‘In God We Trust’ (a minor disappointment, though it is arguably their weakest album). Each band member was on top of their game and they gelled beautifully, exceeding expectation with their tightness. Everything from Michael Sweet’s voice to his and Oz Fox’s harmony leads, to the rhythm section and the backing vocal harmonies of Oz and Tim Gaines were delivered with a relaxed professionalism that provided the performance with a great flow and momentum.

At about the mid-point Sweet took a moment to speak to the crowd on a more serious note than the previous light-hearted banter that had peppered the set, specifically to clarify their message about the salvation to be found in the work of Jesus and point to that as their primary reason for doing what they do. He made this statement clearly, yet concisely so as not to mess too much with the aforementioned momentum and in so doing, displayed great experience and understanding of his craft along with credence and conviction in his message. Aside from this point and a short closing prayer (and the obligatory bible tossing) the focus lay on the music and to illustrate this point, the next track was an enjoyable (if perfunctory) run-through of Judas Priest’s “Breaking The Law” as a nod to their musical influences and a taste of their forthcoming covers album.

With the first half of the performance focussing on older material, it was pleasing to hear some of their newer numbers mixed in for the second half; also pleasing was the syrupy ballad quotient being limited to a stripped-down version of “Honestly”. “The Way” was a fitting end to a terrific main set, with the guitar lead work on fire and Sweet’s ability to hit the high scream also impressive. After a short break the band returned to hit us with the one-two that we’d been waiting for: “To Hell With The Devil” and “Soldiers Under Command”. I must admit though (returning to my earlier point about the missing ‘I.G.W.T.’ material) that I would have liked to see “Soldiers...” slipped in late in the main set and the band being a little more adventurous in ending with something like “Come To The Everlife”, just to mess with us. A small point though and I hope they don’t let another 22 years pass before gracing our shores again!

Set list:

1. Sing-Along Song
2. Murder By Pride
3. Loud 'n' Clear
4. The Rock That Makes Me Roll
5. Reach Out
6. Calling On You
7. Free
8. More Than A Man
9. Breaking The Law
10. Peace Of Mind
11. Honestly
12. 4 Leaf Clover*
13. Open Your Eyes
14. All For One
15. The Way.....................................
16. Abyss / To Hell With The Devil
17. Soldiers Under Command

* (I may have this in the wrong position, it might have been before “Honestly”... let me know in the comments if you know.)

(I didn't take a camera, but there are some shots here.)

How To Create Angels

It has concerned me of late that a lot of people are confused about the existence of angels, how they come to be and what their purpose(s) is/are, even whilst believing in their existence. Even though I am not a student of angelology I feel compelled to attempt to clarify at least the basic, most important points as best as I can within the framework of a blog post.

My concern has arisen from frequently hearing people referring to loved ones who have died as now being “angels in heaven” who have been called home by god (small “g” intentional) and as such I feel a need to point out the differences between humans and angels.

Just as humans are beings created by God, angels are too. In itself, this is enough to suggest that the two types of creatures are not aspects of one another based upon their present physical condition. By this I mean that a human’s spirit does not become an angel after physical death (it remains a human, albeit temporarily in a non-corporeal form); in addition, an angel is not an aspect of a human or a human in a particular plane of existence, but a unique, non-material creature that can - on rare occasions - be given the ability to appear in humanoid form.

Angels exist in vast numbers, reside with God in the heavenly realm and are used by God to assist Him in His earthly work. Some angels also spend their “lives” in perpetual worship of God. They are ageless and sexless. They are in some respects “greater” than humans and in some ways “lesser” and in all of this they are quite simply very different from ourselves.

I am aware that I have really only just touched on this subject and I plan to write a more detailed post in future, more specifically dealing with different aspects of angels and providing references to accompany the points made. This post is simply designed to prompt further thinking on a dangerously misunderstood subject. Please know, reader, that we are all immortal beings with two choices as to where to exist in our immortal state. The only way to join the host of angels in God’s presence is to put our faith in His son Jesus who died to provide us that very opportunity.

For the moment, let me leave you with the knowledge that whilst we will never become angels we are better off for this fact because God has imbued them with abilities that we don’t have and employs them to assist us - unseen - all throughout our lives; indeed, I don’t think one needs to be a Christian to recognise that sometimes things transpire in our lives to suggest that we are - sometimes inexplicably - being looked after by a “guardian angel”, not a person previously lost to us, but an agent specifically created by God to help us.