We talk a good game about making the Lord first in our lives, but do we really do it? In deepening our love for God, we need to ask the Lord how specifically we can put Him first in specific ways in our life and our art.

“Dusty Hills,” by Ketsa (ketsamusic.com) from the album “Raising Frequency,” 2019. Track shortened for editorial purposes. Promoted by freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode)

We in the Church have become consumers of worship, rather than an instrument of conveying deep love for the Lord. It deepens our relationship with Him, especially as we make it a daily expression.

Ad Music:

“Dream Stroll,” by Ketsa, from the album, “Abundance,” 2021. Track shortened for time purposes. Promoted by freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

One way we can love the Lord more deeply is by knowing, appreciating, and telling our story in Christ. Matt tells his story and how crucial it is for Jesus to be seen as the center of it.

Ad Music:

“Better World,” by Ketsa, from the album, “Abundance,” 2021. Promoted by freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode).

Neither political side has the moral high ground. More than ever, believers must be deeply rooted in Christ’s love, so that we know how to be before knowing what to do.

Ad Music:

“Good Times,” by Scott Holmes Music, from the album, “Carefree Music 2020,” 2020. Promoted by freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode).

The gospel is the good news - but we also need to understand the bad news we were living until the "good news" set us free. We can love the Lord deeply when we realized how ultimately loved we already are.

Matt talks about an over-arching mission for 2021 of following the two great commandments and how it directly affects our art.

Ad Music:

“Morning Mood,” by Edward Grieg, from “Peer Gynt - Suite No.1, Op. 46”, 1875.

“Early Morning Overdose,” by Bad Batch of Acid, from the album, “Contempt Media Vol. #02: Finite,” 2017. Promoted by freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode).

Matt walks through personal and creative goals for the next year, emphasizing that we won’t get there on our own. Only by joining with Jesus can we see real change in our lives.

Ad Music:

“Walking,” by Superconcrete, 2004. Distributed by tribeofnoise.com. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode)

Matt performs a dramatic reading of his short story, “Ruining Christmas”.

Soundtrack:

From the album, “Christmas Time,” by Borrtex, 2017. Promoted by freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode).

“Love and Generosity”

“Buying presents”

“Happy Holidays”

From the album, “Christmas Time II,” by Borrtex, 2018. Promoted by freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode).

“Telling Stories” - split into two segments

“Snowy Afternoon” - split into two segments

“Lights of Winter”

“Family Together” - split into two segments; layered & lengthened for time

“Children’s Joy”

“Sledging in Forest”

“Christmas Tree”

“In the Path of Totality,” by Soularflair, from the album, “Soundtrack Sampler 2 (Film/TV/Games),” 2018. Promoted by freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode). Used partial song.

“Tell the World,” by Caleb Etheridge, 2020. License available by request.

I pay tribute to “It’s a Wonderful Life,” my favorite movie of all-time. This episode is especially geared to all the George Baileys out there who play by the rules and wonder if it matters.

Soundtrack:

“Snowfall,” by TRG Banks, from the album, “TRG Banks’ Christmas Album,” 2018. Promoted by freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under Public Domain CC0 1.0 Universal (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).

“Buffalo Gals,” written by John Hodges; adapted by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1946.

Dickens, like many of us, is complicated. His brilliance is slightly shadowed by a cloud of choices he made in his personal life…a life of secrets. However, this flawed instrument gave us some of the best prose in the English language. Ad Music: “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwTRjvjVge51X-ILJ4i22ew); “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfRC80jSAc8); “Mary, Did You Know?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5ljQ13TbyM); “O Christmas Tree” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmQPYXNxDYI) Background Music: “Christmas Meditation,” by Dee Yan-Key, from the album, “Christmas Album,” 2020. Promoted by freemusicarchive.org. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode).