Christmas Eve Services

I spent weeks trying to get my pastor to tell me what the heck he was planning for those services, got very little response, so I went on the offensive... to make a long story short, I asked him for 45 minutes of the one-hour service to tell the Christmas story in song, from the Old Testament through the birth of Christ. It was a condensed version of Andrew Peterson's absolutely amazing Behold the Lamb of God album, and it was as good as it could have possibly been without getting Nashville session players to sit in on the services.

The story of God's plan to save mankind is so amazing, and yet I get numb to the gospel since I've heard it so many times in my 25+ years. Peterson has put the greatest story ever told to music in an amazing way. I've seen the show live twice (and will go every year I am able until I am no longer alive on this planet) and cried both times. Peterson has performed the show hundreds of times over the years, and claims that he cries every time he sings it. Now I've performed his show twice, and I've cried both times. It's just so powerful. There is no other album of music on this planet that I would recommend you purchase more than this one. While easily classified as Christmas music, I think it is so much more. I listen to it year 'round, and I can't imagine anyone not loving it.

Three different 50+ year-old men approached me, teary-eyed, to say it was the best Christmas service they've ever been to. Needless to say, it was a good Sunday at church.

Never have I put my band to a tougher test than I did in the 10 days leading up to our Christmas Eve services. We're used to playing 4-5 songs each Sunday, maybe 1 or 2 of which are new. This required the band to learn 9 very unpredictable songs... it was hard work, but so worth it.