Ramblings Intérieurs

Lead Me To The Cross
Hillsong United

Savior I come
Quiet my soul remember
Redemptions hill

Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and trialed
You are
Te word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you’re risen

To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart

85. Hillsong United Live in Manila 2008

They came. They saw. They conquered.

And they rocked. For Jesus.

The concert tickets says the show would start at 8 P.M. and we arrived in Cubao about fifteen minutes before 7 PM. I knew we were “late” because I know that there would be a lot of people and since we have the “General Admission” tickets, I wanted to go in early and be at the middle part. I was right. There were a lot people outside Araneta, mostly youth. But since we were already hungry, we ate first in Gateway and we entered the Big Dome at 7:30 P.M. and the middle part of the General Admission and Upper Box were already full. So we were at the farthest part of General Admission and at the back. But it didn’t matter. As I told my officemate Haze, it doesn’t matter where we are. What matters is that we came to the concert to be inspired, to experience, and feel the presence of God.

I must admit that I am really not that familiar yet with the songs of Hillsong United. I am still on the process of re-discovering Jesus. Praise and worship is one way for me of re-discovering Him. That is why I wanted to watch this concert even if it means withdrawing some money my savings account. Even if I have work the next day. Even if I am at the farthest part of Araneta Coliseum.

It was worth the sacrifices.

Surprisingly, there was no front act in the concert (No Filipino Christian rock band?). The show barely started but the crowd were already screaming their lungs out (and that includes me).

Joel Houston opened the show by reading a verse from the Bible which I can’t remember because I can barely understand what he was saying. I had to listen attentively whenever the members of the band talks to the crowd. This was maybe because we were at the back or because of the huge crowd.

The band started the concert with the song “Time Has Come.”

They proceeded into what would be an identical series of songs from the “With Hearts as One” album. It was the first time I heard the songs but my feet was stomping to the beat and enjoying the songs as they were being sung. I found myself praying and in worship on the middle part of the show when they were singing the slower songs, “Hosanna” and “All I Need Is You.”

They sang songs mostly from their new album, “With Hearts as One” and almost all the songs were fast and of course, rocking.

For encore, they sang “One Way” and “Solution.”

The crowd was of different mix. I saw kids, teenagers, yuppies, parents in where we were seated. They came from all classes. Even of different races. I saw some Chinese-Filipinos and a few Americans. Donita Rose and Rica Peralejo cried and worshipped in the front row with their Christian friends. It really didn’t matter who you are, where you came from, or what class you belong. What mattered is that they came to praise and worship God. The focus was on Jesus.

Earlier that day, I had a conversation through text with a friend and I was having a problem with that friend (I can’t blog about it for personal reasons) and the chorus of the song “All I Need Is You” brought home God’s message to me. “All I need is you, Lord. Is You, Lord.”

The complete set list (not sure of this is correct):

Time Has Come
Take It all
What the world will never take
My Future Decided
All I Need is You (my LSS)
Hosanna
Shout Unto God
The Stand
Break Free
Look To You
Salvation is Here
More than life
None But Jesus
From the Inside out
Came to my rescue
Savior King
Tell The world

Encore:

One Way (this song is what most, if not all, the crowd wanted to hear)
Solution

For pictures, visit my Multiply site: http://rolly07.multiply.com/photos/album/23/Hillsong_United_Live_in_Manila_2008

It was an overwhelming experience for me. The crowd. The band. The songs. There was even one part of the show that I shed a tear. There’s only one word to describe the Hillsong United concert in Manila.

Amazing.

31. Hillsong

If you have been reading my blog lately, you would know that I am now attending the weekly prayer gathering of the Light of Jesus in Valle Verde Club in Pasig called “The Feast.”

In “The Feast” I have re-discovered Christian music that I forgot for a while. One of these is the music of a great Christian group in Australia called Hillsong. It was about a decade ago when I first heard a song called “So Close (I Believe)” in a Born-Again church I used to semi-attend and the song’s lyrics captured me and I really felt that “God is with me, holding me, in His Hands, I belong and would never let me go.”

It was the start and few more songs came that touched my heart like no other songs did. “The Heart of Worship”, “Lord, I Offer My Life”, and “Majesty (Here I Am).”

Today I am again re-discovering their music and I am currently listening to one of their new songs called “This Is How We Overcome.”

I know this is one part of the start of my journey of re-discovering God and never letting go. By reading my blog, I am inviting you to read on and enjoy this journey with me.

After re-discovering Hillsong, I remember a Philippine Idol forumer’s signature saying “Music for God is the greatest music there is.”

I can only say “Amen.”