Review: NVC Worship’s ‘Illuminated’

NVC Worship releases their debut album

On Jan. 22, 2023, Northview Church of Fargo, ND, released its first-ever album, “Illuminated.” The album, containing seven songs lasting a duration of 41 minutes, is filled with the word and message of God. 

They hosted a release worship that night at six along with an after “party” filled with snacks and fellowship. Stephen Glasser, Associate Pastor of Northview, introduced the worship session by saying, “It’s all about Jesus.” 

Throughout his opening prayer, he reiterated the idea that the worship that night and all worship following would be about lifting up God and glorifying His name.

At the debut worship, they presented a video of the process that the team of seven individuals who had written and produced the album had gone through to make the songs that would be lifted up to God.

Fate Schuster, a worship leader, spoke of the constant prayer that went into making this album. Dave Schuster, another individual on the team explained, “They[the songs] are a gift to our church. They are a gift to build up, to encourage, and to inspire people to a deeper knowledge of who Christ is.” 

Josh Schuster told of how the group didn’t come into the writing of this album with the expectation that it would become widespread but that it would help even one person in the congregation. 

During the worship service, the Northview Worship team sang their new songs along with sprinkling a few other songs that were well-known to the congregation.

The album covered topics like trusting in God’s protection, being “brought home” to God’s heart, and surrendering to God’s plan. The room was filled with an eminence of happiness and love.

The combination of the seven voices with acoustic guitars, varied percussion usage, keyboard, bass, electric guitar, and so many other instrumental parts created a wonderful melody that was both calming and passionate.

The first two songs, “Shield” and “Illuminate,” told of God’s protection over us and the care He has taken in illuminating a path for each one of us that will bring us closer to Him.

The third and longest song on the track is “King Jesus,” lasting 8 minutes and 50 seconds. It’s a message to our King Jesus and how we love to lift glory to His name. A repeated line is, “All authority and power be to Jesus Christ the Lord.” This line perfectly captured the meaning of the album and highlighted what the heart of a Jesus follower should look like.

“Come Have Your Way” is the next song and it painted the picture of what it looks like to truly surrender to God and His plan.

The fifth song, “Psalm 5,” was based on a verse talking about praying and crying out to God. One part of the chorus says, “I am here kneeling at the altar. I am here with a sacrifice of praise.” These lines together perfectly emulate being at the feet of Jesus and understanding the sacrifice He made for us.

The second to last song, “A New Song,” is all about the new song we sing once we become Christian and turn from our worldly ways. It speaks on how we must be outwardly different through Jesus with the line, “Love has won, so lift your song.” It highlighted that we must tell the world of His Word and stop holding back.

“Great Is Your Love,” the final song, has an air of sincere happiness in God. This song was my personal favorite as it gave the message of how big God’s love is for us and how grateful we are for this, singing, “Great is Your love, higher than the heavens.”

Overall this album’s mixture of vocal performance and meaningful lyrics give it a rating of 5/5. I truly felt moved by this album, and the fact that it came from a local group made it even better. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys praising in their car while they drive or to those who are looking for a way into Jesus. I know I will definitely have this on repeat!

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