Jars of Clay

Without a doubt, no group has influenced my spiritual walk while in Korea like Jars of Clay. That’s largely because I’ve gotten acquainted with three of their CDs since I came to Handong Global University in 2005.

Redemption Songs, which consists of some familiar hymns and other, lesser-known tunes, has become one of my all-time favorites. The musical style on this CD is rather “unplugged”, harkening back to an earlier era. However, the songs found here never fail to divert my focus from my own struggles and issues to the God who is much greater than any of them.

Who We Are Instead contains mostly original tunes that largely retain that musical style found on the aforementioned CD. The songs are equally as inspirational and convicting, and frequently point to the character of our Creator. “Sunny Days”, “Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet,” and “Lesser Things” are personal favorites.

When my parents came here in December, they brought a few new CDs with them. Among them was Good Monsters (pictured above), which contains tunes of a much different style than the earlier two CDs. The themes of forgiveness and redemption are still inherent here, though, and tunes like “All My Tears” and “There is a River” point to the healing found only in Jesus.