Your Kingdom Come
Artist: Matt Papa
Label: Centricity Music
Length: 18 tracks/74:00 minutes
 
On Your Kingdom Come Matt Papa is bold in every way. He incorporates Scripture to declare who God is and challenge believers. He touches on social justice issues, but goes further in songs like “Here Am I, Send Me,” reminding listeners that acts of compassion are not enough. “The world must hear the Gospel,” he says. “They must hear the name of Jesus. And we, the Church, must surrender all we have and go tell them!” He counts his recent marriage to Lauren, who “has always had a big heart for missions,” as a major influence. 
 
And if you are challenging people to look beyond themselves to a world in need, it doesn’t hurt to have fast and furious guitars adding punch. Whether the speed is fast or mid-tempo, the style brings to mind Delirious, although a few songs are enlivened by a punk influence. Think Relient K leading the song portion of a church service. This is raw and raucous modern worship that can also be melodious. It’s broken-up by a few brief but delightful acoustic songs. The production and execution make this a pleasure provided you can handle sound and lyrics that are aggressive.
 
Papa’s words challenge. “Where is the Difference” and “Woe to You” are confrontational, somewhat similar in style to Derek Webb and the late Keith Green. “Open Hands,” a song of surrender, which also happens to be the first single, is more along the lines of Jason Gray in content and sound.
 
If you like modern worship, and you want something that is a little edgier than the norm, this is worth checking out.
 
Michael Dalton
August 18, 2009