Concet: Marvin Sapp

Dr. Marvin L. Sapp and the Lighthouse Full Life Center Church presents NYE 2011 - New Year’s Eve Celebration. Featuring the Williams Brothers and other special guests. Saturday December 31st at 9:30pm The Richard and Helen Devos Center for Arts & Worship, located, 2300 Plymouth Ave SE Grand Rapids, MI 49506.

VIP Tickets $25 in advance includes VIP reception for VIP tickets only or $30 At The Door and General Admission $5 in advance and $10 At The Door. For general admission, doors open at 8:30pm.
For ticket information contact the church office Tuesday-Friday 9am-4pm at 616.241.5448 or online at marvinsapp.com. Tickets are first come, first serve.

Pre-buy: David Crowder*Band's last album!

"Give Us Rest" releases January 10, 2012 and will be their last album as a band. You can pre-buy their last album at our website, calling us by phone, or by coming to our store. Here the David Crowder*Band says good bye to us as only they could:


The David Crowder*Band was formed in the year two thousand; it was the dawn of a millennium, Y2K was upon us, and out of this chaos was born the DC*B. That sounds way more epic than we intend it, but it is fact. We signed a 3 album deal with our friends at sixstepsrecords who are part of the EMI/CMG family. We didn’t want to be presumptuous, presuming there would be more than those first three albums, but we hoped. And so we began discussions about building a 6 album set, the second three, if we were ever to have the great privilege of recording them, would be loosely associated with the first three, you know, sort of like how in the creation story day one is related to day four, as in, first there is light, then on the fourth day the sun and moon and stars appear. We do these things because we are quite nerdy and also because we hope to inject meaning wherever and whenever we are able. We also like structure, and this seemed a pretty nifty structure to work within, since, well, it is one of the greatest stories ever. And sure enough, we have had the happy fortune to record five full-length albums and are hard at work on the 6th right now. 

The problem, or the beauty, is that we’ve never been able to see past album 6. In the meantime, a lot of life has happened. It is now 2011 (this is for anyone who may not have been paying attention) and in eleven years there have been many twists and turns. Each of us has gotten married. New humans have arrived as a result of these marriages, 5 to be exact. We have also lost some really good friends to death along the way and have gotten to celebrate together that death is not the end of things. It’s really crazy to think that we have lived over a decade of life together. And, in the middle of all this life, we have gotten to make music that was a reflection of what was happening among us. We have attempted, to the best of our ability, to insert all of these twists and turns into our music, hoping that our responses to God in the midst of these moments would be an aid to others. 

At the first of this year we began discussing what was next. For a long while, we have had a good idea what we were going to do for album number 6; we were going to record a Mass. Ambitious, maybe, but we had been working out the details of how it would connect to A Collision, you know the one with the boy and the atom on the cover. Mass happens to be a term used in physics, and this was exciting to us. But we also began conversations about what was to follow this sixth album. Some of us discussed maybe going back to school. Some of us talked about how great it might feel to be home with family more. Some mentioned maybe writing for a living, or at least getting to give more attention to it. Some talked about more music to be made and who they might enjoy making it with and how great it would be to have more diverse options open to them and the excitement they felt when thinking about those options (as in, if this was to be the period at the end of a sentence, they couldn’t wait to read the next paragraph!) And, out of these discussions, the decision was reached that this sixth album would be our last. None of us is sure what’s next, but we’re not afraid. We’re, in fact, really, really excited! And we’re sure that music will play a role in the future for most, if not all, of us, since, well, we wouldn’t know how to not have it a part of our lives. To what extent that will be, none of us is sure. We are hopeful and expecting, and praying that what is ahead of us deepens our need and experience of redemption and multiplies our ability and effectiveness in expressing the story of God in light of the call he has on each of our lives. 

We are forever grateful for the support we have had from our church community, both local and extended. Really. It has been beautiful, all of it. And we will most definitely keep you informed as things progress and life’s new twists and turns start to make themselves more apparent. 

In the meantime, as you can imagine, this album we’re working on is pretty special to us. Fittingly enough, it seems our little Mass has turned itself into a Requiem. We’d love your prayers as we endeavor to put a period at the end of this sentence. And obviously it was not overstated when we said The 7 Tour will be a thing you may not want to miss. We would love for you to join us for one last evening together, singing these songs that God has allowed us to carry. 

With Love and Gratitude, 
The DC*B

Advent: A Week of Joy

This third week of Advent is all about joy! Now there exists some varying traditions in the color of this candle. Traditionally, pink or rose is used; however, some churches use a purple candle here, and the Sunday before Christmas they would use the rose candle. The first two weeks of advent tend to be more subdued, while this candle reminds us that Christmas is a time for rejoicing and cheer. This candle sometimes is referred to as the shepherd candle. The shepherds were the first to be told about the birth of Christ from angels who told them to rejoice. Now, I know that many people teach that shepherds were the lowest of society, which is true; but the greatest, previous, king of Israel was a shepherd boy... interesting.
The song for this week is by Tenth Avenue North of "Deck the Halls." Now in my mind, Tenth Avenue North is not a band known for their silliness; however, their rendition of "Deck the Halls" embraces the idea of simple joy at Christmas. That and this video just makes me giggle. (Warning: For those who take things literally and seriously, be warned this video is neither of those things.)

Concert: Fred Hammond

“Don’t miss Michigan native Fred Hammond at DeVos Performance Hall on Friday, December 30th at 7 PM for a night of hand clapping, high-energy gospel music.

Tickets are $47.50 and on sale now at the box office, Ticketmaster ticket centers, 1-800-745-3000 and ticketmaster.com. Groups of 10 or more save at devosperformancehall.com.”

Pre-buy: The Movie: Courageous

The movie Courageous is releasing January 17, 2012!
Pre-buy your copy today online, by phone, or in our store at the AMAZING price of $17.97!

Grammy News! - Mary Mary

The amazing year that multi-Grammy® Award-winning My Block/Columbia recording artists Mary Mary has had thus far refuses to slow down, moving full-steam ahead in a blessed and highly favored fashion. Their sixth studio album, released earlier this year and appropriately titled Something Big, has fueled one of the duo’s biggest, most successful years yet. Mary Mary – sisters Erica and Tina Campbell – have just been nominated for two 2012 Grammy® Awards: for Best Gospel Song (“Sitting With Me”) and Best Gospel Album (“Something Big”). Adding to the pair’s three previous Grammys®, these nominations for music’s highest award continue to acknowledge an act with incredible staying power, functioning at the very highest levels of the music industry.

Advent: A Week of Perparation

The second week of Advent uses the purple candle of preparation or the Bethlehem candle. This week is about preparing not only decorations, but preparing our selves spiritually for the coming of Christ. For this week I am reminded of the actions the old priests of the Old Testament would go through in order to purify themselves. Now I am aware that those were part of the system of works and outward cleansing, but they saw it more as an outward sign of inward cleansing. This raises the question of what in my life I need cleansing. Are my relationships hurting? Am I too wrapped up in the buying of presents that I forget the real reason of Christmas?
The song for this week is a classic by Jars of Clay, "The Little Drummer Boy."

November Best Sellers

#1 - Wow Hits 2012 - Various                                    #2 - Christmas in Diverse City - tobyMac                #3 - How Great is Our God - Chris Tomlin               #4 - Songs Kids Really Love to Sing: Christmas - Various                                                                       #5 - Peace on Earth - Casting Crowns                       #6 - Oh for Joy - David Crowder*Band                        #7 - Wow Christmas 2011 - Various                          #8 - My Paper Heart - Francesca Battistelli               #9 - Blessings - Laura Story                                     #10 - Come to the Well - Casting Crowns

Gospel Radio in Grand Rapids!

Power 91.9 WDPW: The People's Choice is a sweet radio station plays amazing gospel music and has great DJs with great shows!

Their website is also a great resource to find new music videos, concerts in the area, and to find out their most played songs! You will be sad if you don't check it out!

Christmas Movie: The Heart of Christmas

This movie is based on a true story of a little boy's last Christmas.
WARNING: This movie WILL make you cry.