Edward Amponsah has just released his new single titled “Jesus you have been so good”. The upbeat song is about the goodness of God in our lives even when we don’t deserve it. It echoes the sentiment of Psalm 116 :12. You will give praises to Jehovah dancing to this awesome song from Edward.
The track is generally available on all digital platforms now. Get the song and get your praise on!
It has taken almost all of January to get the inspiration to write anything on this blog as it has taken almost the same period to get going in the year. January funk is real guys, God help us.
I feel like I should share a snippet of what I have learnt in church over the past few weeks.
So, this year has been declared the “year of rest” in my church and the title verse is:
Exodus 33:14
And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”
And over the past few weeks, the pastor has been going through theme in order to link it to the our branch vision for the year “Pursuit of Holiness”. We have learnt that for us to have our rest, we must have the presence of God and in order for that to happen, we must intentionally pursue holiness.
We have also learnt that the rest does not mean that we do not work or we become lazy. We have for to work for the things of God, intentionally seek God and actively carry His presence every where we go.
This is Praise Central Blog started by a young guy hoping to promote authentic UK gospel music to my peers, whom I fear have being left behind because secular music is just too popular and they don’t often get to experience the amazing talents that exist in the UK gospel music scene. I felt it was time to provide real alternative to music sites that promote music that do not necessarily resonate with their professed faith.
On the other hand, we have many talented young musicians in the UK that started from the church, but because one reason or the other have decided to branch out in order to make a career out of music. It is time to show them that you can do gospel music in the UK and be successful. Lets not be discouraged, lets keep pushing and continue to do the work of God by using our God given talents for God.
Whilst I attend a branch of KICC church and often post KICC events on this blog and its associated social media platforms; this blog, Praise Central has nothing to do with the gospel music show on KICC TV called Praize Central. The show is anchored by gospel artiste, Wole Awolola.
There has been some understandable confusion in the past few months, I have gotten 1 or 2 enquiries about music placements on the KICC TV show. Let me be clear, I have no connection to KICC TV and so I am not in a position to get you music placement (one day maybe). I however promise to promote your music as much as I can.
On social media, I have a minimal level of following, this is one of the many reasons why I hesitated to continue (I opened Praise Central in early 2016). I am not the best writer by a long shot ( I am mildly sure that there will be some typos or grammatical errors in this post), but this is my shot to promote music that glorifies God in the age that seems so apathetic towards such.
I will work this year to continue to engage UK gospel artists and connect them with as many young people as God gives me the power to reach.
I hope to be your GMP, a gospel(UK) music plug.
This year is my year of rest and I will walk in pursuit of holiness to have the presence of God and ultimately the uncommon rest. I will work towards making Praise Central something that you the early adopters can be proud of, and more importantly something that glorifies our Almighty God.
Have a blessed week.
Jeremiah Akanji
KICC Bristol Praise Tabernacle present Summer Praise 2017!Featuring two-time MOBO award winner, Guvna B.
Also featuring Seth Pinnock & A New Thing, Madeline Kerzner, Silky Soul Singers, Esther Sadar, The ALTARnatives, the KICC Praise Tabernacle Choir and many more!
Taking place on Saturday 15th July 2017 from 12pm at the Elim Bristol City Church and Conference Centre, 3-15 Jamaica Street, Bristol BS2 8JP
In the month of April, I was fortunate enough to witness Travis Greene live in concert in London. Now if you have ever heard any of his songs, trust me when I say hearing him live is an experience not to be missed! As well as being a highly talented and professional musician, it came across to me that this man is evidently a worshiper. So as it usually is when you see someone famous, there’s that initial urge to pull out your phone and upload your live videos and pictures onto your social media platform of choice – not forgetting the hashtag of course (in our case #travisgreenelondon17). But it got to a point in the concert, where it was no longer a performance being given, but a ministration. A point where you literally forgot about yourself, your phone and your hashtags, and just couldn’t help but lift up your hands in worship. Yes we danced, we jumped, we sang, but we also prayed, received a word of knowledge and gave glory to God. Honestly it was a night to remember. It don’t think anyone left the building feeling the same way they came in. Driving home that night my friends, we were so pumped, reminiscing the highlights of the concert and bursting into an impromptu chorus of song every now and then. The next day, the experience still felt so fresh! It was like I was on a high and wasn’t ready to come down anytime soon! For about a week, I’d replay “The Hill” album to relive the experience over again. But after about two weeks, after getting back into my normal routine, the excitement had passed, and it was almost as if I was back to business as usual.
I’m sure this is something most of us can relate too. Almost like when you’ve just attended a Christian conference and left feeling like you can overcome the world. But after a while, the words of the speaker aren’t as strong in your mind anymore, and you find yourself almost back in the same state you once were.
So what do we do when the “music fades”, and the amazing encounter we had feels like a distant memory? Do we go searching for another gig or event to give us that “high” we once experienced?
Well one scripture that has been on my mind recently is John 15:4, where God calls us to “remain” or “abide” in Him. I am certain that if we made this our lifestyle, then attending these events would merely be the cherry on the cake of a continual high that we are already experiencing. Going to a Christian concert or conference can never be a replacement for our own personal one-on-one time with God. Things like taking time out to pray every day, meditating on God’s Word and just spending time with Him are all actions that will help us remain in the Lord. If we truly adopted a lifestyle of worship in all that we do, imagine how charged up we would be when we came to fellowship together?! The presence of God would be so strong!
So in attending these events, I believe we should see them as a highlight to our walk with God, not necessarily the only thing we rely on the keep us going. If we just live for the hype, then we will always end up back on square one. If we commit to living by John 15:4, then when the last song is sung, the band stops playing and the curtains are drawn, the music never has to fade.
Ashley BA
Ashley BA is currently a worship leader at KICC Praise Tabernacle. Having previously been part of worship bands including DTWG and Simply Vessels, she has a passion for ministering in song and leading others to exhault the name of God.
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