Casting Crowns - full Christmas Album "Peace On Earth" - including "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" - GREAT ALBUM!

From the Casting Crowns album Peace On Earth. 

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Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length 

1. "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Baptiste Calkin, Mark Hall, Dale Oliver 4:22

2. "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" John F. Wade, Hall, Adam Lester 3:47

3. "Joy To The World" Isaac Watts, Lowell Mason, Hall 2:37

4. "While You Were Sleeping" (Original Christmas Version) Hall 4:55

5. "Silent Night" Josef Mohr, Franz X. Gruber, Hall, Lester 3:33

6. "God Is With Us" Wayne Kirkpatrick 4:31

7. "Away In A Manger" Unknown lyricist, James R. Murray, William J. Kirkpatrick, Oliver 3:35

8. "Christmas Offering" Paul Baloche 5:14

9. "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" (arranged by Hall, Bernie Herms, and Jim Gray) Robert MacGimsey 3:08

10. "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (arranged by Melodee DeVevo and Herms) Unknown author 6:38

"I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" Lyrics	t]
by Casting Crowns | from the album Peace On Earth

I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play

And mild and sweet their songs repeat

Of peace on earth good will to men

And the bells are ringing

Like a choir they're singing

In my heart I hear them

Peace on earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed my head

There is no peace on earth I said

For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men

But the bells are ringing

Like a choir singing

Does anybody hear them?

Peace on earth, good will to men

Then rang the bells more loud and deep

God is not dead, nor doth He sleep

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to men

Then ringing singing on its way

The world revolved from night to day

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good will to men

And the bells they're ringing 

Like a choir they're singing

And with our hearts we'll hear them 

Peace on earth, good will to men

Do you hear the bells they're ringing?

The life the angels singing

Open up your heart and hear them

Peace on earth, good will to men

Peace on earth, Peace on earth

Peace on earth, Good will to men

Peace on Earth (Casting Crowns album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Peace on Earth

Studio album by Casting Crowns

Released October 7, 2008

Recorded Zoo Studio (Franklin, TN)
My Refuge Studio (McDonough, GA)
Ocean Way (Nashville, TN)
Genre Christmas

Length 39:53

Label Reunion
Producer Mark Hall, Mark A. Miller

Singles from Peace on Earth

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

Released: 2008


Peace on Earth is the first Christmas album by American Christian rock band Casting Crowns. Produced by Mark Hall and Mark A. Miller, it was released on October 7, 2008. Intended by Hall to bring out the worshipful aspect of Christmas, the album does not have songs relating to secular Christmas traditions, instead featuring a mix of traditional Christmas carols and original songs. As co-producer, Hall attempted to differentiate the album from their previous ones by attempting to use creative ideas they had not tried before, and he also wanted to utilize the band's female members in a broader and more visible role on the album.

Upon its release, Peace on Earth met with mixed reviews. Some critics praised the album's emphasis on traditional Christmas songs and the worship aspect of Christmas, while others criticized the album's original songs and felt it was a disappointment in comparison to the band's previous albums. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard Christian Albums and Catalog Albums charts, number two on the Holiday Albums chart, and number fifteen on the Billboard 200. Peace on Earth has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying shipments of five hundred thousand copies in the United States.


Contents

1 Background and recording
2 Composition
3 Commercial reception
4 Critical reception and accolades
5 Track listing
6 Personnel and credits
7 Charts and certifications
7.1 Album charts
7.2 Song charts
7.3 Certifications
8 References


Background and recording

According to Casting Crowns' lead vocalist Mark Hall, Peace on Earth was written based on the question "How do you know there's peace on earth in a world that isn't very peaceful?" Hall opined that when people hear Christmas carols, they often don't hear their true message. Hall intended the album to help people rediscover the worshipful nature behind the carols. As an example of a message he wanted people to hear, he gave "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", a song written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about his rediscovery of hope amidst several personal tragedies. 

Hall felt that the song's message of hope was one that his kids and their generation needed to hear. As a co-producer on the album, Hall wanted to introduce aspects and ideas that the band had not done before, and he felt the album offered a chance to branch out. He wanted the band's female members, Megan Garrett and Melodee DeVevo, to play a more prominent role, in part to show people "the gifts they have".
Composition

Peace on Earth does not contain material relating to secular Christmas traditions like Santa Claus or Jack Frost, instead featuring a mix of traditional Christmas carols and original songs. "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", instead of using a carol of bells, has a choir of children personifying the bells by singing the refrain of 'peace on earth'. "While You Were Sleeping", originally included on the band's 2005 album Lifesong, is included in its original form. 

On the Lifesong version, the band had altered the song (originally written as a Christmas song) to remove the most "seasonal" elements; the version included on Peace on Earth features the lyrics in their original form. On "God Is With Us", originally recorded by Amy Grant, Hall shares lead vocal duties with the band's female members. "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is an instrumental piece, which makes extensive use of DeVevo's violin playing."Away in a Manger" was originally included on WOW Christmas (2005), and is included on Peace on Earth in that form.
Commercial reception

Peace on Earth was released on October 7, 2008. It debuted at number four on the Billboard Christian Albums chart as well as at number two on the Holiday Albums chart and number fifty-six on the Billboard 200. It reached a peak of number one, two, and fifteen on those charts, respectively, as well as a peak of number one on the Catalog Albums chart. In the United States, it ranked as the thirtieth best-selling Christian album of 2008, the fifth best-selling Christian album of 2009, and the 151st best-selling album of 2009.Peace on Earth received a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in November 2009, signifying shipments of over 500,000 copies in the United States.

The album's lead single, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", peaked at number three on the Billboard Christian Songs chart and number one on the Hot Christian AC chart; it also became the band's first and only entry on theAdult Contemporary chart, peaking at number twenty-six. Several other songs from the album also charted; "Away in a Manger" charted in 2005 following its appearance on WOW Christmas, peaking at number seven on the Christian Songs and Hot Christian AC chart. "While You Were Sleeping" peaked at number eight on the Christian Songs chart and number four on the Hot Christian AC chart, and "Joy to the World" peaked at number twenty-two on the Christian Songs chart.

Critical reception and accolades
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic
CCM Magazine
Christianity Today
Cross Rhythms
Jesus Freak Hideout


Upon its release, Peace on Earth met with a mixed reception from music critics. Jared Johnson of Allmusic gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, praising it for its "wide appeal" and for having "a cohesive set of songs that brings out the worship aspect of the holidays" and particularly praising "While You Were Sleeping" and "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".

Andrew Greer of CCM Magazine gave it 3 out of 5 stars, regarding it as a let-down in comparison to the band's previous albums as well as holiday albums that other artists had put out. Russ Breimier of Christianity Today gave it 2 out of 5 stars, describing it as "predictable". However, he praised "While You Were Sleeping" as an example of Mark Hall's "bold, poignant songwriting". Tony Cummings of Cross Rhythms gave the album a perfect 10 out of 10 stars, saying that it "bucks all the trends in that it doesn't contain saccharine, sleigh bell-drenched arrangements nor those ghastly songs about Santa and chestnuts roasting in an open fire" and praising it as an "inventive and on occasions brilliant exploration of the wonders of the incarnation".

Justin Mabee of Jesus Freak Hideout gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, praising the traditional Christmas songs on the album but criticizing the original songs as having a "forced feel to them, almost like Casting Crowns wanted to do a whole album of traditional songs, but were told differently"; he remarked that "this would have probably worked better, because the originality is lacking in these few original Christmas tunes".

At the 40th GMA Dove Awards, Peace on Earth was nominated for and received the award for Christmas Album of the Year.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length 

1. "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Baptiste Calkin, Mark Hall, Dale Oliver 4:22

2. "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" John F. Wade, Hall, Adam Lester 3:47

3. "Joy To The World" Isaac Watts, Lowell Mason, Hall 2:37

4. "While You Were Sleeping" (Original Christmas Version) Hall 4:55

5. "Silent Night" Josef Mohr, Franz X. Gruber, Hall, Lester 3:33

6. "God Is With Us" Wayne Kirkpatrick 4:31

7. "Away In A Manger" Unknown lyricist, James R. Murray, William J. Kirkpatrick, Oliver 3:35

8. "Christmas Offering" Paul Baloche 5:14

9. "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" (arranged by Hall, Bernie Herms, and Jim Gray) Robert MacGimsey 3:08

10. "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (arranged by Melodee DeVevo and Herms) Unknown author 6:38

First the manger. Then the throne.

Is God miraculously protecting Israel? By Dr. David R. Reagan Founder & Director, Lamb & Lion Ministries

Is God miraculously protecting Israel?

By Dr. David R. Reagan
Founder & Director, Lamb & Lion Ministries

Lamb & Lion Ministries conducts a number of Bible conferences in the Dallas, Texas area each year. Our June 2013 conference theme was Living on Borrowed Time (watch). We also hold a special banquet afterwards, and there is where I gave an all new presentation on the prophetic significance of the resurgence of Israeli military power since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.

The following in an excerpt where I'll demonstrate using two examples how God continues to divinely protect Israel through miraculous, against-all-odds, military victories.


Battle of Yad Mordecai

Overall, the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 resulted in an incredible, unbelievable, marvelous victory for Israel, and during the war there were many miraculous events. I want to tell you about one that you will find hard to believe. It occurred at a kibbutz called Yad Mordecai which is located 36 miles south of Tel Aviv near the northern border of the Gaza strip. The kibbutz is located on the coastal road from Egypt to Tel Aviv.

The attacking Egyptian army consisting of 5,000 troops divided as it headed north. Half of the troops headed for Jerusalem and the other half of the troops went up the coastal highway toward Tel Aviv until they reached the kibbutz of Yad Mordecai.

It's one of the most marvelous places I've ever visited in Israel. There are the actual remains of that battle that can be visited.

The kibbutz had evacuated all of its children and most of its women as they prepared for the Egyptian attack. The kibbutz was left with only a handful of fighters, even some who were mere boys not more than 13 or 14 years old. The leader was an intellectual, and he was not a fighter. He was not a person who was a military person, so he didn't really know what he was doing. There were a few big fighters I wouldn't want to tangle with.

The kibbutz was left with only 130 defenders against the massive Egyptian army. In total, there were 110 kibbutzniks and there were 20 fighters who came down to help from Tel Aviv. That's all they could get because everyone knew this particular kibbutz was going to be slaughtered.

In preparation, the defenders dug trenches and reinforced them with sandbags. Their armament consisted of this: 37 rifles, one anti-tank gun, two light mortars, and two machine guns. That's all they had! Here's the frightening reality they faced as the Egyptian army with tanks approached.

There was no hope for the kibbutz. Everyone knew that.They knew that this was a suicide mission, but they were willing to take a suicide stand.

The Egyptians attacked furiously with ground troops, tank assaults, artillery barrages and air sorties. Incredibly, the Yad Mordecai defenders held out for five days! The Egyptians were not able to overrun the kibbutz until the defenders decided to retreat under the cover of darkness because more than one-half of them had been killed and the other half had been wounded. Over 300 Egyptian soldiers died in the battle and the five days gave the defenders of Tel Aviv the time to prepare their defenses.

The kibbutz today has left the vehicles that the Egyptians could not take with them and they put up metal figures to illustrate the coming army. They've also put up primitive weapons in the remaining trenches used against the Egyptian army for reenactment.

While the kibbutz held off the advancing Egyptian army, four Messerschmitt airplanes had arrived from Czechoslovakia. They'd been hastily assembled so that they could be used. They were deployed on May the 29th to help stop the Egyptian army before it could reach Tel Aviv.

How in the world could 130 untrained civilians with only rudimentary armament hold off the Egyptian army for five days? No one to this day has ever been able to explain it. It had to be a miracle of God.


Operation Thunderbolt

Let's now look at another example of how mightily God protects Israel, this time by empowering the Israeli Defense Forces through Operation Thunderbolt which occurred in June and July of 1976.

On June 27, 1976, an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris made a stopover in Athens. It let off some passengers and picked up some new ones. Among the passengers they picked up were four terrorists consisting of two Palestinians and two Germans. They hijacked the plane as soon as it took off and took the plane to Benghazi, Libya where it was refueled. Then they flew it a great distance to the southern part of Africa to the nation of Uganda where President Idi Amin was waiting to welcome them. All of this had been pre-orchestrated. He was part of the deal and he was delighted to have all this attention from the world.

Upon landing, four more terrorists joined the group. They preceded to separate the hostages. All the Jews were identified and herded into a recently abandoned yet brand new terminal building. The rest of the passengers were released and flown to Paris. Amazingly, the Air France crew decided to stay behind with the Jewish hostages, so the number of hostages including the crew was 106 people.

The hijackers immediately issued an ultimatum. Israel was to either release the 53 terrorists held in Israel and four other countries, or all the hostages would be killed by July first.

The Israeli government immediately launched negotiations with the terrorists while considering a military alternative. As a result of the negotiations, the hijackers postponed the date. They postponed it to July 4, 1976.

After the deadline was postponed, a military alternative began to be considered by the Israelis. It's just unbelievable what Israel was up against, for they were talking about a military operation 2,500 miles south of Tel Aviv. The hijackers, Idi Amin, and all the people in Uganda never even occurred to them. Never once had the Israelis ever considered there would be any kind of military action because the distance was just too far.

As it turned out, the Israelis had two advantages. The first was they were able to interview all the passengers who had been released. That was a big mistake of the terrorists, because they could tell the Israelis in detail about the building and where the people were being held. Second, and this is unbelievable, the Israelis discovered that the abandoned terminal building had been built by an Israeli company. They were then able to get all the blueprints of the building. Coincidence?

Lieutenant Colonel Yoni Netanyahu, or Jonathan Netanyahu as his nickname was Yoni, was selected to lead the commando assault team. He was the older brother of the man who now serves as the Prime Minister of Israel today. He is Benjamin Netanyahu's older brother. Although Yoni was only 30 years old at the time, he had accumulated an outstanding record of military leadership and daring which advanced him early to the position of Lieutenant Colonel.

To prepare the team for the attack, Yoni came up with an idea that has been followed by military and police forces around the world since that time. He took bales of hay and put them end to end, laying out the exact floor plan of the building to the exact size, including all the doors and so forth. Then his team practiced mock assault after mock assault on this mock building as they prepared, just in case the Israeli Cabinet said, "Go get them."

Well, the Israeli Cabinet did finally say, "Go get them!" And so, on July 3rd, they launched the attack. The attack came out of an air base in southern Israel.

Yoni used four Lockheed C-130 Hercules airplanes and two Boeing 747s in the raid. More than 100 personnel were recruited. They were divided into five teams. Yoni's assault team consisted of 29 elite commandos. A second group was assigned the job of encircling the new terminal building, immobilizing it, and killing all the Ugandan soldiers. A third was given the task of destroying all the MiG fighters on the ground. That was very important because they didn't want those fighters coming after these big, old, slow airplanes. A fourth group was assigned the responsibility of refueling the Israeli airplanes. Finally, a fifth squad was put in charge of rounding up and evacuating the hostages.

The mission was launched and set on the afternoon of July third. The planes flew nearly all the way at an altitude of 100 feet to avoid radar detection. Just try flying a plane as big as a Boeing 747 or one of these Hercules at 100 feet. It's not easy. The flight took seven hours and 40 minutes. They arrived just one minute behind schedule. Uganda was on a different time than Israel, but they arrived one minute behind schedule at 12:01 AM, which is the beginning of July 4, 1976.

The surprise blitz attack proved successful beyond any expectation. All seven of the hijackers who were present were killed, together with 33-45 Ugandan soldiers, and all eight MiG fighters on the ground were destroyed.

Three hostages died in the crossfire. As the commandos went in they began to yell, "Get on the floor! Get on the floor!" Some of the people didn't understand Hebrew and they stood up and got shot. Ten more hostages were wounded. One was left behind because she had been taken to the hospital.

A total of 102 hostages were taken back to Israel alive.Five Israeli commandos were wounded. Only one commando was killed, and that was Yoni Netanyahu, the leader of the raid, himself. His grave can be seen at Israel's National Cemetery, which is a place that I always visit when leading tours to Israel.

The entire raid including the refueling of the planes and the evacuation of the hostages took a total of only one hour and 39 minutes. To this day this amazing raid is considered to be one of the most outstanding examples of military planning, coordination, and execution in the entire annuals of history.


Meaning Behind the Might

What does Israel's military rising into a world power today all mean to Christians at the beginning of the 21st Century? What does it mean to you and me? What message should we take home?

I can assure you it means a lot. Think about it. God is fulfilling promises He made to Israel over 2,000 years ago, and He's fulfilling them in precise detail. That should get you excited for two reasons. First, it's a definite sign that we are living in the season of the Lord's return. Second, it should assure you that God is going to precisely fulfill every promise He has made to you and to me, to His Church.

I get so excited every time I see God fulfilling promises for the Jews, because I know it's an absolute guarantee that He's going to fulfill every promise He has made to you and to me. He has promised that one day very soon Jesus will appear in the heavens to rapture the Church out of this world. The dead in Christ will be resurrected first, then those of us who are alive will be taken, not even experiencing death. We will be translated from mortal to immortal in the blinking of an eye.

We'll then be taken back to Heaven where we will be judged of our works to determine not our salvation but our degrees of reward. Then we will celebrate our union with Jesus at a great Wedding Feast.

At the end of that wedding feast, Jesus is going to stand up and say something like, "OK, let's go!" Jesus will return to this earth, and we will come with Him. We will be there in Jerusalem to witness His arrival on the Mount of Olives. We will be there to witness the salvation of the remnant of the Jews. We will hear Him speak that supernatural word which will result in the instantaneous destruction of the Antichrist and his armies. And we will then shout, "Hosanna, Hosanna" as Jesus descends into the Kidron Valley on His white horse and rides up to that Eastern Gate to institute his thousand year kingdom here on earth.

Maranatha, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Watch Dr. David Reagan continue his teaching on
this tremendous end times sign!

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!! - World Edition in several languages - featuring Chris Tomlin

Published on Apr 12, 2013

Music video by Passion performing How Great Is Our God (World Edition) [feat. Chris Tomlin]. (P) (C) 2012 sixstepsrecords/Sparrow Records. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws. Manufactured by EMI Christian Music Group,

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HOW GREAT

IS OUR 

GOD!

NO ONE

CAN

COMPARE!

NAME

ABOVE

ALL

NAMES!

MY HEART

WILL SING!

HOW GREAT

IS OUR

GOD!!!

Aaronic Blessing - Blessings On Ye Head!

May you know today 

of His daily love and care.

For you.

Blessings on ye head,

Steve Martin

Thanks Linus, for quoting Scripture. You can help teach our children. And grandchildren.

Breaking Israel News: 5,000 American Academics Boycott Israel

Editor's Note: Education without truth is stupidity. Steve Martin 

5,000 American Academics 

Boycott Israel

Posted by: Ayal Kellman December 17, 2013

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When thou smitest a scorner, the simple will become prudent; and when one that hath understanding is reproved, he will understand knowledge. (Proverbs 19:25)

America’s oldest and largest educational association approved this week a boycott of Israeli universities. The American Studies Association (ASA), a 5,000 member association of interdisciplinary cultural and historical scholars is calling on American universities to end cooperation with Israeli institutions. Despite acknowledging that there are other countries with worse human rights records, the ASA has singled out Israel for their boycott. Here are eight reactions to the boycott, tell us what you think in the comments below:

1) Ron Dermer, Israeli Ambassador to the United States

(Photo: Facebook)

“Rather than standing up for academic freedom and human rights by boycotting countries where professors are imprisoned for their views, the ASA chooses as its first-ever boycott to boycott Israel, the sole democracy in the Middle East, in which academics are free to say what they want, write what they want and research what they want,”

2)  Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Professor

(Photo: Screenshot)

“You would think that historians and others who belong to the American Studies Association would understand that in light of the history of discrimination against Jews, you can’t just pick the Jewish state and Jewish universities as the place to “start” and stop….Shame on those members of the American Studies Association for singling out the Jew among nations. Shame on them for applying a double standard to Jewish universities. Israeli academic institutions are strong enough to survive this exercise in bigotry.”

3) Abe Foxman, Anti Defamation League Director

(Photo: Wiki Commons)

“This shameful, morally bankrupt and intellectually dishonest attack on academic freedom by the American Studies Association should be soundly condemned by all who are committed to the ideal that open exchange of ideas is the most effective way to achieve change. Targeting Israeli institutions solely because they are in Israel — the only democratic country in the Middle East where scholarship and debate are encouraged and flourish — is based on a myopic and fundamentally distorted perspective of Israel and the conflict and is manifestly unjust.”

4) Ronald S. Lauder, World Jewish Congress President

(Photo: World Jewish Congress)

“…[the vote] shows the Orwellian anti-Semitism and moral bankruptcy of the American Studies Association…The American Studies Association singles out the Jewish state, the one Middle Eastern country that shares American values, for opprobrium? No wonder many Americans dismiss the academy as deeply biased and disconnected with reality.”

5) Geri Palast, Director of The Israel Action Network

(Photo: Facebook)

“The Israel Action Network is troubled that members of the American Studies Association voted to support a boycott of Israeli academic institutions that directly violates the strongly held principle of academic freedom…”The resolution, which purports to support academic freedom in which scholars are free to pursue ideas without being targeted for repression, discipline, or institutional censorship, in actuality urges a sweeping boycott of Israeli academic institutions based on tortured logic, factual inaccuracies and distortions of the role of Israel’s universities, public and private, in the implementation of government policy.”

6) Lawrence Summers, Former Harvard President

(Photo: Wiki Commons)

“I think academic boycotts, on principle, are abhorrent,” Summers stated. “The way to change behavior if you don’t like it is to talk to people, not to isolate them.”

7) Professor Manuel Trajtenberg, Tel Aviv University

(Photo: Wiki Commons)

“It’s almost like a betrayal in the family. It’s very grave and very saddening that this happens, particularly so in the U.S.,”

8) Yaakov Peri, Minister of Science and Technology

(Photo: Facebook)

“The decision does not differentiate, and even links between, the expression of political opinion and the undertaking of scientific endeavors. It is an inappropriate act which does not befit the American Studies Association…The main victim here is the concept of universal science [itself], which has the ability to connect people of different ethnicities, nationality and political opinions – and should stay that way.”

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