For the Sake of the World

I was looking forward to this album quite a bit, and it has [mostly] lived up to my expectations. There are some amazing intimate moments here, and its finding and hitting those moments that Bethel's worship teams do so well. Musically, this album is top notch. It is easy to see that these are people who play and worship together year round and that the recording is not just a special event, but an event that captures what they already do anyways.Having proper recordings of Closer and To Our God, two songs that have been gaining a buzz on Youtube and other internet outlets for a little while now, is nice. They are both great songs. There are also a few songs that are repeats from last year's studio album [The Loft Sessions], and, to be honest, I think the recordings here actually lose a little energy... Which is odd because you would think the live versions would be the more energetic ones.The only critical thing I can say is that there is a noticeable lack of "high energy" songs on here. The last live album [Be Lifted High] was full of good energetic praise songs alongside the more intimate ones. This one is full of mid-tempo powerful songs, but most of the few upbeat ones here are the a fore mentioned repeats from last year's studio album.In closing, I like this album. The mid-tempo "power" songs that are all over this album are what has define Bethel Music for a few albums, and they the are the songs that keep bringing me back.Yes,sir, I like it. I like it a lot.

The presence of God is palpable on this album. Bethel Church consistently publishes worship albums of high caliber and this is no exception. For the past month it has been on repeat in my car. In addition to planned songs, there are also several tracks of spontaneous worship included. Brian & Jenn Johnson and Jeremy Riddle anchor the roster with contributions from William Matthews and Stephanie Frizzell. Frizzell is very emotive in her singing and on the song "Closer" you can feel her heart as she engages with God.The album has a mixture of songs of praise and adoration, declarations of truth, and heart cries to God. Musically the style is primarily rock oriented with a few tender songs and lots of vamping in the spontaneous worship moments. Towards the end of the album, songs such as "In Your Light," "Freedom," and "This is What You Do" taking on a more pop sound oriented towards opening a set at church rather than the deeper engaging songs in other parts of the album. Personal favorites on album are: "For the Sake of the World," "Closer," "Forgiven," "To Our God," "Everything to You," "Who You Are," and "Our Father" which is a great version of the Lord's Prayer put to music.I highly recommend the album whether you're looking for something to facilitate personal worship time or just enjoy really good music.

I think I over-anticipated this album, so at first I was disappointed, because the album starts out with an entire set of slower worship songs, so you feel like you came into the middle of a worship time, instead of at the beginning. They pick it up at the end, and this album's version of "This Is What You Do" (not sure that's the actual title) is the BEST version yet. Anyway, this album has grown on me and I resolved my perceptions by putting the songs in a playlist AFTER some other upbeat worship songs, and now I love it! :) Songwise, the album is solid, and worth purchasing if you like Bethel music.

If you enjoyed "Be Lifted High" and "The Loft Sessions" from Bethel Live, you will enjoy this album. It has a lot of the same tones and pace as seen in those other albums. "For the Sake of the World" has some great spontaneous songs and anthem songs, but does not deliver on innovation.I am really enjoying it, but I feel that it is more of "Be Lifted High" part 2.Check out a full review at[...]We have the latest praise and worship news, reviews, and information.

I could listen to this album all day without getting tired of it. The reason is that the words of worship causes worship inside me tobubble up for our Father in heaven. It has really been a blessing to be able to have the words that pull the strings of my heart for the Fatherplaced into expressible worship songs that I can sing out. One favorite of mine is "Closer" by Steffany Frizzell. This song continuouslyopens my mind to the reality of God's love for us...He fills me with SO much love that I cannot help but to love Him back :)I love it!

I ordered this because I heard several of the songs played at a power and love conference. I have this cd in my car and I now play it everywhere I go. My kids are starting to sing along and it's such a beautiful sound to hear out of their mouths.

I bought this CD/DVD without hearing any of it because I felt that I needed to buy it and really listen. I was right. It gets frequent play and is both uplifting and soothing at the same time.The DVD is well done, leaving me to feel like I'm there. I could ues all usual adjectives to describe this playlist but they fall short and become cliches. I'll leave it at "it's just what I needed".

I actually watched this recording via livestream months ago and I couldn't wait for the release. It is another great album by Bethel. The heart of worship pours through and the live feel is not lost in translation. Jeremy Riddle, Brian and Jenn Johnson, William Matthews, and Steffany ard equally capturing. Bethel Church in Redding consistently puts out great worship albums from Jesus Culture to Bethel to their Emerging Voices.. you won't be disappointed.

I bought this CD because I'd heard track 4 and really loved it. When it arrived (promptly) I was surprised to find there was also a quite lengthy DVD of the live recordings of several of the tracks. This was a bonus, and I really enjoyed watching the complete, track recordings. Some of the other tracks on the CD took a bit of getting used to, I couldn't make out the words and they were 'spontaneous' worship recordings. However, now I've listened to it a lot, I love the other tracks too. One of my friends liked my CD so much, I gave her my copy of both the CD and the DVD, and I'm just about to order another copy for myself. I would recommend this CD.

This must be one of the BEST worship albums that I have heard in years. The 13 tracks are Jesus-focussed and recorded at a live worship event which means that the finished sound is full of the presence of the Holy Spirit as the band and congregation are lost in worship of Jesus.Another bonus is the DVD of all the tracks (over 1¼ hrs of worship) plus an additional ½ hour of interviews and insight into the Bethel communityI cannot recommend this highly enough - it is EXCELLENTDon't think about it - just BUY the album ... you won't be diasppointed

The quality of the dvd and cd are excellent as are the mix of songs. Very uplifting and inspiring and the worship band draws you into a place of intimacy with God, you almost feel you are there with the people on the dvd. Even the special but simple set designs add to the enjoyment of this production. This is my first dvd from Bethel, and it has got me hooked and looking forward to the next one.

I was very disappointed in the sound quality of this DVD. I could hardly make out a single word they were singing.

Cant get enough of this worship from Bethel. Wonderful, inspiring worship. Definitely recommend if you like their style. Title song is great.