Awesome Worship Concert

The Parachute Band were in town last week! They happened to be here as part of their Tour 2006, and were stopping in Singapore for a week before they made it home to NZ. The Parachute Band are part of the Parachute Music ministry (check out their site at http://www.parachutemusic.com/records/parachuteband.php), and have won multiple awards for their worship albums. More important than the recognition that they receive from man, they have a powerful worship ministry. I remember when I first heard one of their albums about 2 years ago in one of the Christian book shops. I bought the CD after listening to ONE song, because it just seemed that the words were so powerful.

Anyway, on Thursday night, Elena and I were at the Esplanade, all ready to catch them in concert. Tickets were $36 but I would imagine they were barely enough to cover the cost of booking the venue. It was an incredible 2 hours of worship, and the Esplanade Theatre was truly filled with the presence of God in that time. I dont' think the Esplanade has ever been filled with Christians dancing, singing and stretching out their hands to worship God in such an atmosphere.

In fact, it was so good that Elena and I brought some of the youth (William, Wen Wei, Jasper, Soi Kern and Ling Ling)on Sunday afternoon to Lighthouse Evangelism Woodlands to catch them again, and they too had a great time. The service at Lighthouse was so packed that we had to queue for 25 minutes to get into the sanctuary...which seats 5000! And yet, they did not turn a single person away...such is the hunger of people to worship the living God!

It is such a privilege to see the work that God is doing through this band, and their ministry. After the concert, during the altar call, many people stood up and went forward to receive Christ or to rededicate their lives. The area in front of the stage was so packed, you could not move. Truly, God has anointed these musicians who are so good at ushering the people into the presence of God. It reminds me too what a privilege it is to serve in the worship ministry, to see the work of God done through the act of worship.

It was also something that the leader of the Parachute Band, Libby Huirua was sharing. She cited an incident when she saw her 7 year old son worshipping God, and she asked him how he felt. His words to her were "Mum, its a privilege". Imagine, the wisdom of a 7 year old, who knows what it means to worship God!